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GRAMMY Rewind: Billie Eilish Raves Over Megan Thee Stallion While Accepting The GRAMMY For Record Of The Year For "Everything I Wanted" In 2021
Billie Eilish

Photo credit: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

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GRAMMY Rewind: Billie Eilish Raves Over Megan Thee Stallion While Accepting The GRAMMY For Record Of The Year For "Everything I Wanted" In 2021

After becoming the youngest artist to sweep the Big Four General Field categories at the 62nd GRAMMY Awards, Billie Eilish followed up her 2020 success with another Record Of The Year GRAMMY win in 2021

GRAMMYs/Apr 22, 2022 - 10:04 pm

How does a 19-year-old artist follow up becoming the youngest person to ever win GRAMMYs for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Album Of The Year, and Best New Artist in the same year? They win more GRAMMYs.

This week's episode of GRAMMY Rewind spotlights seven-time GRAMMY winner Billie Eilish during the 2021 GRAMMYs Awards show, her second GRAMMY Awards, when she took home the GRAMMY for Record Of The Year for her hit single "Everything I Wanted." The singer/songwriter dedicates much of her acceptance speech to Megan The Stallion, saying, "Megan, girl, I was going to write a speech about how you deserve this, but then I was like, 'There's no way they're going to choose me.'" (That same year, Megan Thee Stallion was nominated alongside Eilish in the illustrious category for her record-breaking track "Savage,” featuring Beyoncé.)

Eilish’s "Everything I Wanted" peaked at No. 8 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and earned the pop superstar GRAMMY nominations for Song Of The Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 2021 GRAMMYs Awards show.

Watch Billie Eilish's full acceptance speech above and check back every Friday for new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind

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GRAMMY Rewind: Faith Hill Graciously Thanks Her Supporters After 'Breathe' Wins Best Country Album In 2001
Faith Hill at the 2001 GRAMMYs.

Photo: HECTOR MATA/AFP via Getty Images

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GRAMMY Rewind: Faith Hill Graciously Thanks Her Supporters After 'Breathe' Wins Best Country Album In 2001

After winning Best Country Album for 'Breathe' — one of her three wins at the 2001 GRAMMYs — Faith Hill delivered a heartfelt speech thanking her family for helping her achieve her dreams, and her team for making that dream a reality.

GRAMMYs/May 26, 2023 - 05:02 pm

When Dolly Parton, flanked by Brad Paisley, handed Faith Hill her GRAMMY for Best Country Album in 2001 — for her classic 1999 album Breathe — it felt like a passing of the torch.*

The first words out of an awestruck Hill's mouth, to Parton: "Wow! And coming from you, thank you so much. I just admire you so much."

Hill went on to deliver a heartfelt speech, in which she thanked her parents for helping facilitate her music dreams and expressed how long and hard her journey to the GRAMMYs stage was.

Breathe helped Hill take home three GRAMMYs that night — the others being Best Female Country Vocal Performance ("Breathe") and Best Country Collaboration With Vocals ("Let's Make Love," with three-time GRAMMY-winning husband Tim McGraw.)

Check out the throwback to Y2K-era country music history above, and keep checking back to GRAMMY.com for more episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

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GRAMMY Rewind: Daft Punk Shares "Love" For Macklemore After 'Random Access Memories' Wins Album Of The Year In 2014
Daft Punk on stage with Nile Rodgers (left), Paul Williams (center) and Pharrell Williams (center right) at the 2014 GRAMMYs.

Photo: Michael Tran/FilmMagic

GRAMMY Rewind: Daft Punk Shares "Love" For Macklemore After 'Random Access Memories' Wins Album Of The Year In 2014

Notorious for their silent (and masked) appearances, French EDM duo Daft Punk had 'Random Access Memories' collaborator Paul Williams deliver their heartwarming message at the 56th GRAMMY Awards — which included a shout-out to Macklemore.

GRAMMYs/May 17, 2023 - 05:00 pm

This year, Daft Punk is celebrating their 20th anniversary. Their groundbreaking album Random Access Memories also celebrates a milestone anniversary in 2023, turning 10 on May 17.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, we turn back the clock to 2014, when Daft Punk won the prestigious Album of the Year award for Random Access Memories. Notorious for their silent, faceless appearances, musical legend Paul Williams accepted the duo's award while they stood back.

"Back when I was drinking and using, I used to imagine things that weren't there that were frightening. Then, I got sober, and two robots called me and asked me to make an album," Williams joked at the beginning of the speech.

"I just got a message from the robots, and what they wanted me to say is that as elegant and as classy as the GRAMMY has ever been is the moment when we saw those wonderful marriages," Williams said, referring to Macklemore's revolutionary performance of "Same Love" at the same ceremony. "'Same Love' is fantastic, and it was the height of fairness and the power of love for all people at any time, in any combination."

Williams went on to praise Daft Punk's generous spirit, their fellow collaborators, and the love that went into making the album.

Press play on the video above to watch Paul Williams' full acceptance speech for Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

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7 Artists Inspired By Their Mothers: Billie Eilish, Jacob Collier & More
Virginia Grohl, mother of guitarist Dave Grohl, holds a framed cover of a 1977 SPIN magazine with a picture of her son

Photo: Gerald Martineau/The The Washington Post via Getty Images

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7 Artists Inspired By Their Mothers: Billie Eilish, Jacob Collier & More

In celebration of Mothers' Day, take a look at how moms have made a lasting and loving impact on artists including Tupac, Christina Aguilera and Dave Grohl.

GRAMMYs/May 14, 2023 - 06:25 pm

Before Taylor Swift and Beyoncé became household names, their biggest champions were their mothers. Today, these global superstars honor their beginnings by being their own mother's biggest fans.

These musicians honor their moms through everything from social media posts to actually sharing the stage. In recent years, Lizzo has been vocal about the importance of her mom's support (and supportive of her mom and sister parking a food truck outside of stadium concerts); John Legend praises his mom for always encouraging him to sing in school and church. Swift wrote a song in tribute to her mother’s cancer journey, while Miranda Lambert and Sheryl Crow have shared important lessons learned from thier moms. Beyoncé tells the world, "I got this s— from Tina."

For Mothers Day, GRAMMY.com honors seven more musicians who celebrate their remarkable moms.

Jacob Collier

Jacob Collier truly grew up in a house of music. The singer/songwriter was raised to love multiple instruments by his mother Suzie Collier, herself an internationally sought-after violinist and conductor who teaches at the Royal College of Music.

Naturally, Collier's music career began in the family home and recording YouTube videos in a room decked with instruments. For more than 10 years, the Colliers  have shared themselves playing lively jazz standards and Christmas songs from this foundational space.

"Really, I was brought up with music as a second language," Collier reflected in an interview with The Irish Times. My mother was extremely encouraging of the sensitivities of my brain. It was this sense of curiosity but never pressure."

Several years and five GRAMMY Awards later, Collier delights his audiences with surprise duets with "Mamma Collier," where they speak this language (and rock fantastic matching jackets) of their own.

Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera was taken by her mother, Shelly Loraine Kearns, for singing auditions at the age of 7 and it eventually landed her placement in the iconic "Mickey Mouse Club." Yet childhood was far from perfect for Aguilera. Much of her music written in adulthood is a testament to Kearns' strength and their shared experience of domestic abuse at the hands of her father.

"I watched my mom have to be submissive, watch her Ps and Qs or she's gonna get beat up," Aguilera recalled to Paper Magazine. In considering what kind of woman she wanted to become, she adds, "You can either be, unfortunately, so damaged by it that you take a turn for the worse, or you can feel empowered by it and make choices to never go down that route."

Aguilera powerfully honors her mom's survivorship in several songs, such as "Oh, Mother" and this vulnerable performance of "I'm OK," which offers the chorus: "Bruises fade father, but the pain remains the same… Strength is my mother for all the love she gave / Every morning that I wake I look back to yesterday / And I'm OK."

Tupac Shakur

In Tupac's resonant single "Dear Mama," the rapper praises his mother Afeni Shakur as a "Black queen." He ends the track with, "You are appreciated." 

Afeni's story is as fascinating and complex as her son's. While pregnant with Shakur, Afeni faced a 350 year jail sentence on charges related to her affiliation with the Black Panther Party. She acted as her own attorney in court and served 11 months of the sentence, giving birth as a free woman. While she went on to battle addiction, she and Tupac reunited and she encouraged Shakur in using his creativity in the fight for justice.

This spring, the story continues through a five-part special with the same title on FX Network. 17 year old Shakur accounts in the trailer, "My mother taught me to analyze society and not be quiet."

Shakur's music and legacy center themes of freedom, inspired by his mother. This includes anthems like, "Keep Ya Head Up"  and "Changes."

"My mother taught me to analyze society and not be quiet," he late rapper says in the trailer for an FX docuseries about their relationship. "I think my mother knew that freedom wouldn’t come in her lifetime, just like I know that it won’t come in mine."

Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish has one of the most recognizable families in music, including her and FINNEAS' mother, Maggie Baird. Baird has appeared in multiple of her daughter's Vanity Fair interviews, documentary, and frequently travels on tour with her daughter. They share a mission in vegan activism and have received environmental awards for their efforts.

Most importantly, Eilish credits her mother for saving her life when she was feeling suicidal. Baird checked in regularly with her daughter giving her permission to take a break from the world stage at any point.

In a most recent birthday post, Eilish affectionately wrote of her mother, "You make the world go round. I told you yesterday that when I think about how much I love you, I want to sob and throw up."

WILLOW

In recent years, WILLOW played homage to her mother, Jada Pinkett Smith, for Mother's Day. After a loving video tribute, she planned a surprise performance of a favorite song from Pinkett Smith's former metal band, Wicked Wisdom, alongside its original members. In which, WILLOW mirrors Pinkett Smith’s confidence and vocal range.

Throughout her childhood, WILLOW watched her mother perform with wonder. She elaborates, "I was my mom's biggest fan. Every night, I wanted to ride on the security guard's shoulders and watch her perform. She was a rock star, and I was living for Wicked Wisdom," WILLOW said. "I felt like it was only right for me to pay homage to a time in her life because she showed me what womaning up really is about."

This legacy comes through in WILLOW's most recent explorations in the worlds of alt and pop-punk.

Beyond a shared love of music, WILLOW, Pinkett Smith, and Jada's mother deepen their bond with their show Red Table Talk on Facebook Watch. In which, they share multi-generational, candid conversations on provocative topics ranging from race relations to forgiveness.

Camila Cabello

Camila Cabello and her mother, Sinuhe Estrabao, traveled far to get where she is today as an international pop-star. The two had a month-long journey when migrating from Cuba to the US when Cabello was six years old. Cabello shares in Popsugar, "I think the most important thing I've learned from my mom has been: You're human if you have fear, but you can't ever let it determine how hard you go at a situation. If anything, it should make you go harder — go for it all the way."

Though introverted, Cabello channeled this courage into making the decision to audition for "The X Factor" as a teenager.

When Cabello received Billboard's Breakthrough Artist Award, she began her acceptance speech by acknowledging her No. 1: "The only reason I am standing here on this stage, in this auditorium, on this soil in this country is because of one woman - and that's my mom."

Dave Grohl

Dave Grohl has an immense passion for a mother's role in a musician's life, and even hosts and executive produced the documentary series, "From Cradle to Stage." The series features interviews with rock stars and their moms; his own mother, Virgina Hanlon Grohl, wrote a book in 2017 with the same title.

In a NBC interview, Grohl said, "The relationship between a mother and their child — the mother and the artist — is maybe the most important relationship of any musician's life... It's the foundation of their understanding of love, and love is every artist's greatest muse. You know, every lyric you write is rooted in that."

Mother's Day Playlist: Listen To 15 Songs About Moms

GRAMMY Rewind: Macy Gray Praises Hip-Hop & Her Legendary Mentors After "I Try" Wins In 2001
Macy Gray at the 2001 GRAMMYs.

Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images

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GRAMMY Rewind: Macy Gray Praises Hip-Hop & Her Legendary Mentors After "I Try" Wins In 2001

Macy Gray gave a shout-out to Prince, Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder and Sly Stone during a quick but heartfelt acceptance speech for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 43rd GRAMMY Awards.

GRAMMYs/May 12, 2023 - 05:00 pm

After having a whirlwind year thanks to her runaway hit "I Try," Macy Gray celebrated yet another accomplishment thanks to the ubiquitous jam: her first GRAMMY.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, we flashback to the evening Gray won the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance award for her chart-topping single, "I Try." Though her acceptance speech was short and sweet, she made sure the people who got her there — starting off with her biggest inspirations.  

"I just want to thank all of my mentors, like Prince, Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder, Sly Stone," Gray said at the start of her speech. She went on to praise the hip-hop community, her band and her family.

"I'm really flattered by all of you who voted for me. Thanks!" Gray exclaimed as she made her way off the stage.

Gray also scored Record of the Year and Song of the Year nominations for "I Try" that year. The year prior, she was up for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Do Something" as well as the coveted Best New Artist. 

Press play on the video above to watch Macy Gray's quick but gracious acceptance speech for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2001 GRAMMYs, and check back to GRAMMY.com every Friday for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind. 

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