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."



Actor Anthony Head, Known for ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ Has Died at 72

Anthony Head arrives for the European premiere of 'The Iron Lady' on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, in London. (AP)
Anthony Head arrives for the European premiere of 'The Iron Lady' on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, in London. (AP)
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Actor Anthony Head, Known for ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ Has Died at 72

Anthony Head arrives for the European premiere of 'The Iron Lady' on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, in London. (AP)
Anthony Head arrives for the European premiere of 'The Iron Lady' on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, in London. (AP)

Anthony Head, the suave, smooth-voiced British actor known for roles in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Ted Lasso," has died, his family said Friday. He was 72.

Head’s daughters, actors Emily and Daisy Head, told the Press Association news agency that the actor passed away due to complications from pneumonia.

The performer became known to British TV audiences in the 1980s as one half of a will-they, won’t-they romantic couple in a series of ads for Nescafe instant coffee.

Head achieved US fame as librarian Rupert Giles, mentor to the title character in the cult-favorite supernatural series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which ran from 1997 to 2003.

He most recently played Rupert Mannion, the villainous ex-husband of Hannah Waddingham’s character Rebecca, in "Ted Lasso."

"Our grief is far greater than the hole he has left behind, but we know his legacy will live on, in the shows he was a part of, and in the audiences that love them," his daughters said. "How lucky we are to know we are able to watch him doing what he loved, even when he is no longer with us."


Taylor Swift’s ‘Toy Story 5’ Song Is a Return to Pop Country

 This image released by Pixar shows the characters Bullseye and Jessie, voiced by Joan Cusack, center, in a scene from "Toy Story 5." (Pixar-Disney via AP)
This image released by Pixar shows the characters Bullseye and Jessie, voiced by Joan Cusack, center, in a scene from "Toy Story 5." (Pixar-Disney via AP)
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Taylor Swift’s ‘Toy Story 5’ Song Is a Return to Pop Country

 This image released by Pixar shows the characters Bullseye and Jessie, voiced by Joan Cusack, center, in a scene from "Toy Story 5." (Pixar-Disney via AP)
This image released by Pixar shows the characters Bullseye and Jessie, voiced by Joan Cusack, center, in a scene from "Toy Story 5." (Pixar-Disney via AP)

Taylor Swift's new song for the Disney and Pixar's forthcoming “Toy Story 5” film is here. On Friday, Swift released “I Knew It, I Knew You,” a bit of a return to country music for the performer who first made a name for herself in the Nashville music scene before taking over the world.

Swift doesn't sing with a familiar twang on “I Knew It, I Knew You,” but no matter — the song features some elements inextricable from the country genre: Live instrumentation, plucky banjo and harmonica that opens the track.

Most view Swift's last official foray into the country music genre to be 2012's “Red,” though the album is much more of a crossover experiment. It would be more astute to label “Speak Now” as her last true-blue, full-length, country music release — and that was more than 15 years ago.

Additionally: “I Knew It, I Knew You” is also Swift's first original material since “The Life of a Showgirl” was released in October.

The song is also co-produced by Jack Antonoff, her former, frequent collaborator. Swift started working with Antonoff on 2014's “1989” through 2024's “The Tortured Poets Department.”

Notably, the pair started their long collaboration after Swift's country era, perhaps with the rare exception of “Betty” from her 2020 “Folklore” album.

“Writing this song felt like a musical departure and coming home at the same time. Creating something for Jessie was a new challenge and also felt like second nature all at once,” Swift wrote on social media Friday, referencing the beloved cowgirl character. “And being a ‘Toy Story’ kid from the age of 5 til now... is an adventure I plan to be on, to infinity and beyond.”

Last weekend, billboards with the initials “TS,” stylized like the “Toy Story” logo, appeared in Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Toronto, Mexico City and London — fitting, as “TS” works both for the beloved franchise and the musician.

On Monday, Swift confirmed the song was forthcoming, writing on Instagram, “I’ve always dreamed of getting to write for these characters who I’ve adored since I was a 5-year-old kid watching the first Toy Story movie. I fell instantly in love with Toy Story 5 when I was lucky enough to see it in its early stages, and I wrote this song as soon as I got home from the screening. Sometimes you just know, right?”

She also shared that preorders for three CD single versions of the track were available on her site. They quickly sold out: One features the song as it appears in the film, another is an acoustic version and the last is a piano version.

“It’s incredible just how meaningful it’s been having Taylor write and perform this song. Her connection to Jessie and the immediate way she understood what the character was going through was undeniable,” “Toy Story 5” director and writer Andrew Stanton said in a press statement at the time. “The song is so deeply connected to ‘Toy Story.’ So much so that on first listen, it instantly felt like it had always belonged there, like a long-lost family member. It was kismet.”

Some fans online have begun speculating: Could this be an Oscar contender in the original song category?

Quite possibly, if it adheres to all relevant rules and regulations! For 2027 Academy Awards consideration, a feature film — and its song submissions — must have a qualifying theatrical release between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 this year. “Toy Story 5” will be released in theaters worldwide on June 19, so it qualifies there.

It also depends on when “I Knew It, I Knew You” is placed in “Toy Story 5.” There's a new rule this year: If the song plays over the end credits, it must also overlap with the last 15 seconds of the film before the credits actually begin.

At any rate, if Swift's song is submitted — and if she were to win — she'd be just that much closer to an EGOT. She has 14 Grammys and an Emmy. An Oscar would mean she'd only need a Tony. Could Broadway be next?


Shakira to Perform at World Cup Opening Ceremony in Mexico

Colombian singer Shakira performs during a free concert at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on May 2, 2026. (AFP)
Colombian singer Shakira performs during a free concert at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on May 2, 2026. (AFP)
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Shakira to Perform at World Cup Opening Ceremony in Mexico

Colombian singer Shakira performs during a free concert at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on May 2, 2026. (AFP)
Colombian singer Shakira performs during a free concert at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on May 2, 2026. (AFP)

Colombian singer Shakira will perform the official World Cup song "Dai Dai" at the opening ceremony in Mexico, FIFA said on Friday.

Shakira will ‌be joined ‌by ⁠Burna Boy on ⁠Thursday at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

The opening ceremony will begin 90 minutes ⁠before kickoff between ‌Mexico ‌and South Africa.

Dai ‌Dai is an ‌Italian phrase meaning "let's go" or "come on."

The show will also ‌feature Colombian star J Balvin and South ⁠African ⁠singer Tyla.

Shakira is also set to perform at the first-ever World Cup final halftime show at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.