Taylor Swift Makes Grammys History as Women Rule Music's Top Honors

epa11128269 (L-R) Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus of Boygenius, winners of the "Best Rock Performance" award for "Not Strong Enough", the "Best Rock Song" award for “Not Strong Enough”, and the "Best Alternative Music Album" award for "The Record"; Taylor Swift, winner of the "Album of the Year" and "Best Pop Vocal Album" awards for "Midnights"; and Jack Antonoff, winner of "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical", pose in the press room during the 66th annual Grammy Awards ceremony at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, USA, 04 February 2024.  EPA/ALLISON DINNER
epa11128269 (L-R) Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus of Boygenius, winners of the "Best Rock Performance" award for "Not Strong Enough", the "Best Rock Song" award for “Not Strong Enough”, and the "Best Alternative Music Album" award for "The Record"; Taylor Swift, winner of the "Album of the Year" and "Best Pop Vocal Album" awards for "Midnights"; and Jack Antonoff, winner of "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical", pose in the press room during the 66th annual Grammy Awards ceremony at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, USA, 04 February 2024. EPA/ALLISON DINNER
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Taylor Swift Makes Grammys History as Women Rule Music's Top Honors

epa11128269 (L-R) Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus of Boygenius, winners of the "Best Rock Performance" award for "Not Strong Enough", the "Best Rock Song" award for “Not Strong Enough”, and the "Best Alternative Music Album" award for "The Record"; Taylor Swift, winner of the "Album of the Year" and "Best Pop Vocal Album" awards for "Midnights"; and Jack Antonoff, winner of "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical", pose in the press room during the 66th annual Grammy Awards ceremony at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, USA, 04 February 2024.  EPA/ALLISON DINNER
epa11128269 (L-R) Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus of Boygenius, winners of the "Best Rock Performance" award for "Not Strong Enough", the "Best Rock Song" award for “Not Strong Enough”, and the "Best Alternative Music Album" award for "The Record"; Taylor Swift, winner of the "Album of the Year" and "Best Pop Vocal Album" awards for "Midnights"; and Jack Antonoff, winner of "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical", pose in the press room during the 66th annual Grammy Awards ceremony at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, USA, 04 February 2024. EPA/ALLISON DINNER

Pop superstar Taylor Swift set another record on Sunday, winning the Grammy award for album of the year for an unprecedented fourth time as women dominated the music industry's top honors.
Swift also announced from the Grammys stage that she would release a new album in April, Reuters reported.
The 34-year-old won album of the year for "Midnights," eclipsing music legends Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder, who each claimed the prize three times.
Swift said she was thrilled by the honor and gushed about the fulfillment she feels from writing and singing songs. "It makes me so happy," she said. "All I want to do is keep doing this."
Earlier, Swift claimed the prize for best pop vocal performance and used the moment to announce that she will release "The Tortured Poets Department" on April 19.
"I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I've been keeping from you for the last two years," Swift said as she disclosed the new album, which was made available for pre-sales during the Grammys telecast.
Swift, who is about to jet to Tokyo to resume the world's highest-grossing concert tour, was among the women who swept the major Grammy awards on Sunday.
Billie Eilish claimed song of the year for "What Was I Made For?," a ballad written for the "Barbie" movie soundtrack.
"As a woman, it feels a lot of the time like you're not being seen," Eilish told reporters backstage. "I feel that this makes me feel very seen. Sometimes it feels really good to have somebody tell you 'good job.'"
Miley Cyrus, winner of her first two Grammys on Sunday, landed the record of the year honor for her empowerment anthem "Flowers."
"This award is amazing," Cyrus said, "but I really hope that it doesn’t change anything because my life was beautiful yesterday."
Best new artist went to R&B and pop singer Victoria Monet, who thanked her mom, "a single mom raising this really bad girl."
Winners were chosen by the musicians, producers, engineers and others who make up the Recording Academy. The group has worked to diversify its membership in recent years by inviting more women and people of color to its ranks.
SZA, who went into the night as the most-nominated artist, won three trophies including best R&B song for "Snooze."
"I came really, really far," she said. "I can't believe this is happening, and it feels very fake."
Indie rock band boygenius, a band formed by musicians Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, also claimed three awards.
JONI MITCHELL, BILLY JOEL PERFORM
Comedian Trevor Noah, back for a fourth stint as host, opened the show on CBS by joking that it was "the only concert that starts on time."
Folk singer Joni Mitchell performed for the first time at the Grammys, singing "Both Sides Now" from a chair and sporting blonde braids and a beret, with Brandi Carlile playing guitar beside her.
In a tribute to the many musicians and industry executives who passed away in the last year, Stevie Wonder played "For Once In My Life" to honor the late Tony Bennett who sang along from a video.
Annie Lennox sang "Nothing Compares 2 U" in a tribute to Sinead O'Connor, and Fantasia Barrino honored Tina Turner with her version of "Proud Mary," backed by singers in shiny gold and silver fringed outfits.
Jon Batiste played "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lean On Me" in a tribute to Clarence Avant, known as "the Godfather of Black music."
Near the start of the show, country star Luke Combs sang his cover hit "Fast Car," alongside the original singer and writer of the 1988 song, Tracy Chapman.
Toward the end, Billy Joel performed his new single "Turn The Lights Back On," his first original song in 17 years.
In accepting the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, rapper Jay-Z aired some Grammy grievances, including the fact that his superstar wife Beyonce had never won album of the year despite having earned more Grammys than anyone else.
"I don’t want to embarrass this young lady," Jay-Z said as Beyonce watched from the audience. "But she has more Grammys than anyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work."



Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Aya Nakamura: Set for Olympics Opening Ceremony?

Lady Gaga said she was recording a new album. Tolga Akmen / AFP/File
Lady Gaga said she was recording a new album. Tolga Akmen / AFP/File
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Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Aya Nakamura: Set for Olympics Opening Ceremony?

Lady Gaga said she was recording a new album. Tolga Akmen / AFP/File
Lady Gaga said she was recording a new album. Tolga Akmen / AFP/File

World-famous stars are in line to perform at Friday's opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, which will take place along the Seine river.
The exact line-up is a tightly guarded secret, but here are three performers strongly rumored to be appearing:
Lady Gaga
One of the world's biggest-selling artists, pop queen Lady Gaga -- real name Stefani Germanotta -- brings extravagant showmanship and costumes to the stage, along with her infectious electropop beats.
She won an Oscar for "Shallow", a song she co-wrote for the 2018 film remake "A Star is Born".
In that film she sang the classic "La Vie en rose" by French legend Edith Piaf -- whose songs are expected to feature in the Olympics extravaganza.
Lady Gaga was seen arriving at a hotel in the French capital days ahead of the opening bash.
Her anticipated Olympic turn comes during a busy year for the Oscar-winning US songwriter, 38.
Earlier this month she announced she was back in the studio at work on a new album.
She also appears as love-interest Harley Quinn in the new "Joker" movie, screening at the Venice Film Festival that starts in late August.
"Music is one of the most powerful things the world has to offer," she said prior to her electrifying 2017 Super Bowl halftime show performance.
"No matter what race or religion or nationality or sexual orientation or gender that you are, it has the power to unite us."
Celine Dion
Canadian superstar singer Dion is set to return to the spotlight after her fight against a rare illness was laid bare in a recent documentary.
She has been posing for selfies with fans around Paris since the start of the week.
Sources have indicated she may sing Piaf's stirring love anthem "Hymne A l'Amour" at the ceremony.
If she performs it will be the 56-year-old Dion's second time at the Games, after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Last month she vowed she would fight her way back from the debilitating rare neurological condition that has kept her off stage.
Dion first disclosed in December 2022 that she had been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, an incurable autoimmune disorder.
But she told US network NBC in June: "I'm going to go back onstage, even if I have to crawl. Even if I have to talk with my hands, I will. I will."
She has sold more than 250 million albums during a career spanning decades, and picked up two Grammys for her rendition of "My Heart Will Go On", the hit song from the 1997 epic "Titanic".
Aya Nakamura
Franco-Malian R&B superstar Aya Nakamura, 29, is the most listened to French-speaking singer in the world, with seven billion streams online.
She is known for hits such as "Djadja", which has close to a billion streams on YouTube alone, and "Pookie".
She faced down a wave of abuse from right-wing activists over her mooted Olympics appearance.
The backlash came after media reports suggested she had discussed performing a song by Piaf at a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron.
Neither party confirmed the claim but Macron publicly backed the singer for the Olympics ceremony.
Far-right politicians and conservatives have accused her of "vulgarity" and disrespecting the French language in her lyrics.
Born Aya Danioko in the Malian capital Bamako in 1995 into a family of traditional musicians, she moved with her parents to the Paris suburbs as a child.
She told AFP in an interview in 2020 her music was about "feelings of love in all their aspects".
"I have made my own musical universe and that is what I am most proud of. I make the music I like, even if people try to pigeon-hole me."