The Latest: Billie Eilish wins record of the year at Grammys

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Billie Eilish arrives at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Sunday, March 14, 2021. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

NEW YORK ā€“ The Latest on the Grammy Awards (all times local):

8:45 p.m.

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Billie Eillish has won the Grammy Award for record of the year for the second straight year.

The 19-year-old Eillish won on Sunday night for ā€œEverything I Wanted,ā€ a year after winning it for ā€œBad Guy.ā€

Eillish appeared genuinely stunned accepting the award, saying, ā€œThis is really embarrassing for me.ā€

She told fellow nominee Megan Thee Stallion, ā€œMegan, girl, I was going to write a speech about how you deserve this, but then I was like ā€˜There was no way theyā€™re going to choose me.ā€™ā€

She also beat fellow nominees BeyoncƩ, Black Pumas, DaBaby, Doja Cat, Dua Lipa and Post Malone.

It was a night women made history as BeyoncƩ and Taylor Swift hit milestones.

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ā€” Doja Cat went for neon feathers and DaBaby brightened up the Grammys in a bright mustard and green floral suit as musicā€™s big night offered a luxe fashion moment for the stars.

ā€” Kanye West, Fiona Apple, Megan Thee Stallion and BeyoncĆ© along with her daughter, Blue Ivy, are among some of the winners at the Grammy Awards.

ā€” A peek behind the masks and precautious at the Grammys

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8:10 a.m.

Taylor Swift will go down in Grammy lore.

Swiftā€™s album ā€œfolkloreā€ won the Grammy Award for album of the year on Sunday night, making her the first female artist to win the award three times.

She also won it in 2010 for her album ā€œFearless,ā€ and again in 2015 for ā€œ1989.ā€

Swiftā€™s ā€œfolkloreā€ won over nominated albums by JhenĆ© Aiko, Black Pumas, Coldplay, Jacob Collier, HAIM, Dua Lipa and Post Malone.

Accepting the award, Swift said ā€œwe just want to thank the fans, you guys met us in this imaginary world that we created, and we canā€™t tell you how honored we are forever.ā€

She also thanked her collaborators, Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, as well as her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, saying he turned writing songs during a pandemic fun.

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8:05 p.m.

BeyoncƩ has just won her 28th Grammy, making her the winningest woman in Grammy history.

BeyoncĆ© broke the record with her victory Sunday night for best R&B performance for ā€œBlack Parade,ā€ surpassing the 27 Grammys won by Alison Krauss.

She had tied the record just minutes earlier when she won best rap song with Megan Thee Stallion for ā€œSavage.ā€

She won another Grammy with daughter Blue Ivy for best music video earlier Sunday.

Accepting the award on the outdoor stage at the Los Angeles Convention Center, BeyoncĆ© said ā€œthis is so overwhelming, Iā€™ve been working my whole life, since 9 years old, I canā€™t believe this happened, itā€™s such a magical night.ā€

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7:50 p.m.

Dua Lipaā€™s ā€œFuture Nostalgiaā€ has won the Grammy for best pop vocal album.

Itā€™s the third Grammy for the English-born singer-songwriter, who won best new artist at the 2019 Grammy Awards and whose performance of ā€œLevitatingā€ from ā€œFuture Nostalgiaā€ aired early in the show.

Accepting the award on Monday night, she said, ā€œOne thing Iā€™ve really come to realize is how much happiness is so important. I felt really jaded after my last album where I felt like I had to make sad music to feel like it mattered. Iā€™m so grateful and so honored, because happiness is something that we all deserve.ā€

Dua Lipa won over albums by Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift.

She thanked her managers, who have been with her since she was 17, her label and her team. ā€œThis is insane,ā€ she said. ā€œThis means so much.ā€

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7:30 p.m.

The Grammy for best rap song goes to ā€œSavageā€ by Megan Thee Stallion and BeyoncĆ©, giving BeyoncĆ© a record-tying 27th Grammy.

With the total, BeyoncƩ matched Alison Krauss as the woman who has won the most Grammys, and may surpass Krauss later Sunday night.

Megan Thee Stallion accepted the award minutes after her head-turning performance of ā€œW.A.P.ā€ with Cardi B aired on the show. She praised all the nominees, saying, ā€œMusic really helped a lot of us get through the pandemic.ā€

Megan, who earlier was crowned best new artist, thanked BeyoncĆ© for her role in the song, saying ā€œWhen I was little, I wanted to grow up to be the rap BeyoncĆ©.ā€

BeyoncĆ© jumped on the mic to say, ā€œI just want to quickly give my love to Megan,ā€ adding ā€œI have so much respect for youā€ and thanked her for inviting to contribute to the track.

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7:05 p.m.

H.E.R.ā€™s ā€œI Canā€™t Breatheā€ has won song of the year at the Grammys.

The song with its Black Lives Matter themes won the songwriterā€™s award Sunday night over songs by superstars including BeyoncĆ©, Taylor Swift and Billie Eillish.

H.E.R. shared the award with co-writers Dernst Emile II and Tiare Thomas.

As she accepted she said, ā€œIā€™ve never been so proud to be an artist. We wrote this song over FaceTime, and I didnā€™t imagine that my fear and my pain would turn into impact and it would possibly turn into change.ā€

H.E.R. previously won Grammys for best R&B performance and best R&B album.

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6:45 p.m.

Bruno Mars celebrated Little Richard, Lionel Richie honored Kenny Rogers and Brandi Carlile paid tribute to John Prine during an in memoriam segment on the Grammy Awards that featured an especially long list of names after a year of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mars, joined by Anderson .Paak blazed through Little Richardā€™s ā€œGood Golly Miss Molly.ā€ Richie sang ā€œLady,ā€ the ballad he wrote and Rogers made a hit adding, ā€œI miss you Kennyā€ as he ended.

And Carlile sang ā€œI Remember Everythingā€ for Prine, one of the artists lost in 2020 to the coronavirus, along with Charley Pride, K.T. Oslin, Adam Schlesiner, Trini Lopez and many others.

The performances were interspersed between montages of the names and faces of the dead.

Host Trevor Noah introduced the segment by telling viewers they can see the names of nearly 1,000 people in the music industry who died last year at Grammys.com.

Brittany Howard, backed up by Chris Martin on piano, ended the tribute with a stirring version of the Broadway standard ā€œYouā€™ll Never Walk Alone.ā€

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6:35 p.m.

Harry Styles has won his first Grammy, taking for best pop solo performance for ā€œWatermelon Sugar.ā€

Styles accepted the award Sunday night for the song that he also performed to open the show, dressed in a leather suit and a feather boa. Heā€™s nominated for two more Grammys on Sunday night.

Styles topped fellow nominees Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift.

The former One Direction member has put out two solo albums and his sophomore effort is called ā€œFine Lines.ā€ It also contains the song ā€œLights Up.ā€

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6:30p.m.

Taylor Swift performed at the Grammys for the first time in five years, singing a medley of songs from her albums ā€œevermoreā€ and ā€œfolkloreā€ in a mystical woodland-and-cabin setting.

Swift sang ā€œCardigan,ā€ ā€œAugustā€ and ā€œWillowā€ on Sunday night, starting while lying on a faux-grassy hillside with trees and projected fireflies behind her in a gold gown and headpiece that had echoes of a forest fairy. She made her way into a cabin where she picked up a guitar and was backed up by collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner.

The audience-free scene was set up on a stage inside the Los Angeles Convention Center, where most of the performances were pre-recorded this week because of pandemic precautions, though the show is presenting all of the performers as though they were live.

Swift is nominated for six Grammys on Sunday including album of the year for ā€œfolklore.ā€ A win would make her the first woman to take the award three times.

Just before her performance, Miranda Lambert won best country album, a Grammy previously won by Swift, in a category that was nearly all women.

Lambertā€™s ā€œNightfallā€ beat out albums by Ingrid Andress, Brandy Clark, Little Big Town and Ashley McBryde.

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5:55 p.m.

The Grammys are spotlighting some of the nationā€™s best-known music clubs that were forced to close their doors because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Representatives from the Station Inn in Nashville, the Troubadour and Hotel CafĆ© in Los Angeles, and the Apollo Theater in New York were chosen to present trophies during Sunday nightā€™s show. Each of the venues holds a unique place in music.

JT Gray from the Station Inn, known for its bluegrass tradition, will announce the best country album. Rachelle Erratchu of the Troubadour, where Elton John made his U.S. debut in 1970, will hand out the best pop solo performance trophy.

Billy Mitchell of the Apollo, famed for its amateur nights, will award the best rap song. Candice Fox of the Hotel CafƩ, known for featuring acoustic-based songwriters, will announce album of the year.

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5:25 p.m.

Megan Thee Stallion has won best new artist at the Grammy Awards.

The 26-year-old became just the fifth rapper to win the award, which she accepted in person on the outdoor stage Sunday night, tearing up before she even began talking.

The award was the first one handed out during the telecast, but Megan Thee Stallion had already won a Grammy earlier Sunday for ā€œSavage,ā€ her hit that features BeyoncĆ©.

The song is also nominated for best rap song and record of the year.

She beat out fellow nominees Ingrid Andress, Phoebe Bridgers, Chika, Noah Cyrus, D Smoke, Doja Cat and Kaytranada.

Megan Thee Stallion had a monster musical year that also brought unwanted attention when she was shot in the foot. Rapper Tory Lanez has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the shooting.

ā€œItā€™s been a hell of a year, but we made it,ā€ she said.

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5:10 p.m.

Trevor Noah opened the pandemic-altered 63rd annual Grammy Awards on an outdoor stage in front of a sparse crowd outside the Los Angeles Convention Center, with the Grammyā€™s usual home, the Staples Center, as a backdrop.

ā€œWe have made the decision to socially distance from the Staples Center,ā€ the host said. ā€œThis is not a Zoom background.ā€

Noah walked inside the Convention Center during his presentation, where the showā€™s performances, many of them pre-recorded, will be broadcast from.

On four stages that face one other in the audience-free room, he introduced Black Pumas, HAIM, Billie Eillish and Harry Styles, who began the nightā€™s music with a rendition of his ā€œWatermelon Sugar.ā€

The song is among the nominees for best pop vocal performance, one of three nominations for the ex-One Direction singer.

He performed with a full band wearing a black leather sports coat with no shirt underneath, and a green feather boa.

Eillish, who dominated last yearā€™s Grammys, immediately followed with a performance of ā€œEverything I Wanted.ā€ The three sisters of HAIM played immediately after Eillish.

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4:50 p.m.

Jacob Collier says he recorded his Grammy-nominated album in the same North London home ā€œwhere I learned to walk as a 1-year-old.ā€

Before Sundayā€™s Grammy Awards at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Collier told The Associated Press that ā€œDjesse Vol. 3,ā€ which is nominated for album of the year, is the fourth he has recorded in his music room there.

Collier said: ā€œI produced it by myself and I played the instruments on the album and I wrote the songs and arranged it and mixed it and stuff. But I mean, really it was just an experiment.ā€

He says the acclaim for the album and the nomination came ā€œcompletely out of the blueā€ and itā€™s surreal to ā€œbe among these giants, these legends of the industry.

Collierā€™s fellow nominees in the category include Taylor Swift and Post Malone.

ā€” Marcela Isaza at the Grammy Awards (@misaza)

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4:40 p.m.

Noah Cyrus says itā€™s ā€œbeen a roller coaster of tearsā€ to be nominated for best new artist at the Grammy Awards while dealing with the loss of her grandmother.

The 21-year-old Cyrus told The Associated Press before Sundayā€™s Grammy Awards that she had already been thinking of Loretta ā€œMammieā€ Finley, who died in August, when ā€œsomeone said, ā€˜You look just like your grandma.ā€™ And I started tearing up and itā€™s just been really emotional because I would have given anything to be with her, you know, or let her have her just be able to watch this on the TV. But I feel like I kind of have her with me.ā€

She said she has taken comfort and support from her family, which includes her father Billy Ray Cyrus and sister Miley Cyrus.

Wearing a wildly elaborate Schiaparelli cream-colored gown, Noah Cyrus says to make her own name she has had to ā€œtry to work with ten times more passion, more loveā€ and to ā€œbe more driven.ā€

ā€” Jonathan Landrum Jr. at the Grammy Awards (@MrLandrum31)

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4:30 p.m.

DaBaby says his Grammy performance will be ā€œbeautifulā€ despite performing in a ā€œroom full of nobody.ā€

DaBaby is among the performers who, because of the pandemic, pre-recorded a performance at the Los Angeles Convention Center with no audience that will air during Sunday nightā€™s Grammy Awards telecast.

Decked out in a broad-brimmed, green-and-red fedora, yellow turtleneck and floral jacket in the run-up to the show, DaBaby told The Associated Press that ā€œat the end of the day, we still have the ability to express ourselves through camera. So itā€™s no different than like a music video.ā€

He says he added a third verse with a special message to his performance of ā€œRockstar,ā€ which is nominated for four Grammys, and could become just the second rap song to win record of the year.

DaBaby says he ā€œfeels like itā€™s going to touch everybody.ā€

ā€” Marcela Isaza at the Grammy Awards (@misaza)

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3:15 p.m.

Brandi Carlile is excited to perform at Sundayā€™s Grammy Awards, even if there isnā€™t an audience. She says sheā€™s really only performing for one person ā€” the late singer-songwriter John Prine.

ā€œI think that in the past performing in front of an audience is the only thing that matters to me,ā€ Carlile tells The Associated Press. ā€œBut this time Iā€™m just performing for John Prine. Itā€™s just for John, and I know heā€™s there.ā€

Carlile spoke to the AP this week and addressed how different it feels to be playing live music again after a year of the pandemic. She says ā€œit feels good to be dressed up and to be sparkling.ā€

She said that after being a performer for her entire adult life, the lockdown has given her a chance to stop. Even if she is ready to get back to rhythm of touring.

ā€œIā€™m kind of a born entertainer, you know, thatā€™s who I am. But I always wondered what would happen if I stopped for long enough to kind of look inward,ā€ Carlile says. ā€œIā€™m really happy with what did happen, but Iā€™m ready to get back on the road again.ā€

ā€” Jonathan Landrum Jr. at the Grammy Awards (@MrLandrum31)

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3 p.m.

Country star Mickey Guyton says her performance Sunday night on the Grammy Awards will be ā€œa moment for Black people in country music.ā€

Guyton, a first-time nominee and first-time performer, is the first solo Black female artist to be nominated in a country category at the Grammys, following in the footsteps of the Pointer Sisters who have won a country Grammy Award.

ā€œMy life changed once I started running towards everything that made me different,ā€ Guyton told The Associated Press during interviews backstage prior to the show. ā€œThey say country music is three chords and the truth. So I started writing my truth as a Black woman, singing country music and my experiences in my life. And one of those first songs was ā€˜Black Like Me.ā€™ā€

She said that stepping on that stage is not only important to her, but all those communities that have felt marginalized in country music.

ā€œI realize that not only am I walking through those doors as a Black woman, I need to hold the door open for many other Black, brown, LBGTQA plus artists that have the same dreams,ā€ says Guyton.

ā€” Jonathan Landrum Jr. at the Grammy Awards (@MrLandrum31)

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2:20 p.m.

Justin Bieber is a Grammy winner in the country genre for his ā€œ10,000 Hoursā€ collaboration with Dan + Shay.

Dan + Shay accepted the best country duo/group performance Grammy virtually. Bieber did not appear during the Grammys Premiere Ceremony, where the majority of Sundayā€™s awards are bestowed.

It is Bieberā€™s second Grammy. He previously won for best dance recording for ā€œWhere Are U Nowā€ with Diplo and Skrillex.

Dan + Shay have won two previous Grammys, for ā€œSpeechlessā€ and ā€œTequila.ā€

___ 2: 15 p.m.

Late singer songwriter John Prine won two posthumous Grammys for best American roots song and best American roots performance for his last recorded song, ā€œI Remember Everything,ā€ a song about loss and memory.

Prine died last year at the age of 73 of complications due to COVID-19. His wife, Fiona Whelan, told reporters during a virtual press conference on Sunday that the song spoke to the importance of memories and really connected with people this past year.

ā€œJohn had a way of pointing out the most simple everyday things that sometimes we overlook,ā€ said Whelan.

Prine, a two-time Grammy winner who wrote songs like ā€œAngel from Montgomeryā€ and ā€œSam Stone,ā€ also received a lifetime achievement award last year.

ā€œI feel Johnā€™s presence today very strongly,ā€ said Whelan.

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2 p.m.

Megan Thee Stallion has won a Grammy for ā€œSavage,ā€ her collaboration with BeyoncĆ©.

She excitedly screamed for several seconds and rushed to compose herself while accepting the award virtually during the Grammysā€™ Premiere Ceremony.

She thanked God, her grandmother and her mother for pushing her, then turning her gratitude toward Queen Bey.

She said: ā€œI still canā€™t even believe this,ā€ as she struggled to keep her composure.

Megan Thee Stallion is among the performers on the main Grammys show that airs at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS.

The win brings BeyoncƩ one step closer to becoming the most decorated woman in Grammys history.

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1:35 p.m.

The late jazz pianist Chick Corea won two Grammys Sunday only about a month after his death.

Corea won the trophy for best improvised jazz solo and moments later won for best jazz instrumental album, which he shared with Christian McBride & Brian Blade. The wins for ā€œAll Bluesā€ and ā€œTrilogy 2ā€ means Corea has a staggering 25 Grammys.

His widow, Gayle Moran, accepted both awards virtually. ā€œHis mission in life was to keep the music fires burning bright,ā€ she said through tears.

Corea, who died at 79 on Feb. 9 of a rare form of cancer, was not the only artist who won a posthumous Grammy. John Prine also won two.

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1 p.m.

Billie Eilish and her producer brother, Finneas, have won a Grammy for their song ā€œNo Time to Dieā€ from the pandemic-delayed James Bond film.

The pair appeared remotely to accept the song written for visual media honor and Eilish excitedly thanked actor Daniel Craig and ā€œNo Time to Dieā€ director Cary Joji Fukunaga.

Eilish says ā€œIt was a dream to make this song, to work on this.ā€ As for Finneas, he said: ā€œI feel very lucky to be your brother.ā€

The award was announced during the Grammysā€™ Premiere Ceremony, which hands out the majority of the awards ahead of the main telecast at 8 p.m. Eastern.

ā€œJojo Rabbitā€ and the ā€œJokerā€ soundtrack also won Grammys in the segment of the show that awarded music created for visual media.

ā€œJojo Rabbitā€ director Taika Waititi accepted the award virtually from what appeared to be a trailer. He said he was working on a film set. He joked, ā€œI guess theyā€™re just giving Grammys to anyone now. Iā€™ll take it.ā€

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12:20 p.m.

BeyoncĆ© ā€” and her 9-year-old daughter Blue Ivy ā€” have won the Grammy Award for best music video.

Blue Ivy is the second youngest winner of a Grammy behind Leah Peasell, who was 8 when The Peasall Sisters won album of the year at the 2002 show for their appearance on ā€œO Brother, Where Art Thou?ā€ soundtrack.

Neither BeyoncƩ or Blue Ivy were on the virtual Premiere Ceremony where the award was announced.

The win brings BeyoncƩ a step closer to becoming the most decorated woman in Grammy history. BeyoncƩ won her 25th Grammy on Sunday, hours before the official awards show begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.

With 27 wins, Alison Krauss holds the title for most Grammys for a female artist.

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11 a.m.

It could be a night for the history books for Taylor Swift and BeyoncĆ© at Sundayā€™s Grammy Awards.

BeyoncĆ© has never won album of the year throughout her career ā€” sheā€™s not up for the honor this year because she didnā€™t release a project during the eligibility period ā€” but she is the most nominated act.

Trevor Noah will host the show, which airs at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS and Paramount+. The Grammys were originally scheduled for Jan. 31 but were pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Follow APā€™s complete coverage of the Grammys at www.apnews.com/GrammyAwards


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