Women take top honors at performance-heavy Grammy Awards

(Image credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

published 15 March 2021

The 63rd annual Grammy Awards ended Sunday night with Billie Eilish winning record of the year for "Everything I Wanted," then trying to give the Grammy to Megan Thee Stallion, who had already won best new artist and best rap performance (with Beyoncé) for "Savage." "This is really embarrassing for me," Eilish, 19, said in her acceptance speech. "Megan, girl, I was going to write a speech about how you deserve this, but then I was like 'There was no way they're going to choose me. ... You had a year that was incomparable. You're a queen. You deserve it, honestly."

Eilish, who also won record of the year last year, for "Bad Guy," beat Beyoncé, Black Pumas, DaBaby, Doja Cat, Dua Lipa, and Post Malone for record of the year. Beyoncé won her 28th Grammy, making her the winningest female artist and singer (man or woman) in Grammy history. (Producer Quincy Jones also has 28 Grammys and conductor George Solti leads with 31.) Taylor Swift won her third album of the year, for Folklore, the first female artist to win three times. And H.E.R. won song of the year for her protest anthem "I Can't Breathe," which also won song of the year.

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Other top prizes went to Harry Styles (best pop performance for "Watermelon Sugar)," Dua Lipa (best pop vocal album for Future Nostalgia), Fiona Apple (best rock performance for "Shameika" and best alternative album, Fetch the Bolt Cutters), The Strokes (best rock album for The New Abnormal), John Legend (best R&B album for Bigger Love), Nas (best rap album for King's Disease), and Miranda Lambert (best country album, Wildcard).

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.