
Beyoncé (L), Megan Thee Stallion (R)
Photo by Cliff Lipson/CBS via Getty Images
How Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Burna Boy & More Made History At The 2021 GRAMMY Awards Show
By now, the reviews are in: critics are calling the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show one of the strongest in recent memory, if not the strongest. That’s partly because we saw history made in real time. Beyoncé became the most-awarded woman in GRAMMY history, Taylor Swift became the first woman to win Album Of The Year three times, and Megan Thee Stallion—our Best New Artist—acted as an empowering avatar for the female-led pop vanguard.
As GRAMMY season winds down, let’s examine the ways in which the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show was historic.
All Hail Queen Bey...
Now that she's won more GRAMMYs than the bluegrass great Alison Krauss, Beyoncé is now the most-awarded female artist in GRAMMY history. (At 28, she’s tied with Quincy Jones.) And at nine, she was the most-nominated artist at the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show.
...And Blue Ivy, Too!
Congrats Best Music Video winner - 'BROWN SKIN GIRL' @Beyonce #BlueIvy @wizkidayo ✨ #GRAMMYs
WATCH NOW ⬇️––#GRAMMYPremiere https://t.co/b1dROc2jH3— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) March 14, 2021
At nine, Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy is now the second-youngest person to win a GRAMMY, for her writing credit on “Brown Skin Girl,” which won Best Music Video. (The youngest in GRAMMY history was eight-year-old Leah Peasall in 2001.)
Another Feather In Taylor Swift’s Cap
Taylor Swift previously won Album Of The Year for Fearless and 1989. Now, folklore marks a triage of wins in that vaunted category.
Fiona Apple’s First Win In 24 Years
With "Shameika" Fiona Apple won Best Rock Performance at the 2021 #GRAMMYs https://t.co/qzKrwsSgBe
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) March 14, 2021
Fiona Apple’s Fetch The Bolt Cutters, a critical favorite of 2020, won in the Best Rock Performance (“Shameika”) and Best Alternative Music categories—her first win since “Criminal” won Best Female Rock Vocal Performance back in 1997.
A Step Forward For Electronic Music
Kaytrananda is the first Black artist to win Best Dance/Electronic album, for BUBBA.
Burna Boy Leads The Global Music Charge
Last year, the GRAMMYs changed the Best World Music category’s title to the more inclusive Best Global Music Category. Burna Boy just became the first winner of this award for Twice As Tall, paving the way for brilliant global artists in 2022, 2023 and beyond!