2021 Grammy Award Winners

2021 Grammy Award Winners

  • The stage for the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards was set on March 14, 2021. This year, the festivities were located in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center, a departure from the traditional Staples Center venue due to COVID-19 constraints.
  • Trevor Noah, known for his sharp wit and insightful commentary, took on the role of the evening’s host. His humor lightened the mood and kept audiences engaged.
  • Songs and albums released from September 1, 2019, to August 31, 2020, made the cut for this year’s nominations, framing the musical achievements during a most unusual year.
  • Beyoncé became the most awarded female artist in Grammy history, bringing her total number of Grammy wins to 28.
  • All nominees in the Best Rock Performance category were women for the first time, and the award went to Fiona Apple for Shameika.
  • Taylor Swift won Album of the Year for Folklore, making this her third win in this prestigious category.
  • In an ironic twist, despite the ceremony celebrating the best in music, one of the most talked-about performances was not a song at all but rather the spoken word. Amanda Gorman, the young poet who gained fame at the Presidential Inauguration, announced the winners for the evening’s global music categories.
  • Pandemic Adaptations: The ceremony featured both live and pre-recorded performances, a nod to social distancing requirements.
  • Harry Styles’ Feather Boa: The singer wore multiple feather boas during his performance of Watermelon Sugar, sparking numerous memes and social media conversations.
  1. Billie Eilish’s Humility: Despite winning Record of the Year for Everything I Wanted, Billie Eilish insisted that Megan Thee Stallion deserved the award during her acceptance speech.
Record of the Year:
Everything I Wanted – Billie Eilish
Album of the Year:
Folklore – Taylor Swift
Song of the Year:
I Can’t Breathe – Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. & Tiara Thomas, songwriters (H.E.R.)
Best New Artist:
Megan Thee Stallion
Best Pop Solo Performance:
Watermelon Sugar – Harry Styles
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
Rain On Me – Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:
American Standard – James Taylor
Best Pop Vocal Album:
Future Nostalgia – Dua Lipa
Best Dance Recording:
10% – Kaytranada Featuring Kali Uchis
Best Dance/Electronic Album:
Bubba – Kaytranada
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album:
Live at the Royal Albert Hall – Snarky Puppy
Best Rock Performance:
Shameika, Fiona Apple
Best Metal Performance:
Bum-Rush, Body Count
Best Rock Song:
Stay High, Brittany Howard, songwriter (Brittany Howard)
Best Rock Album:
The New Abnormal – The Strokes
Best Alternative Music Album:
Fetch the Bolt Cutters – Fiona Apple
Best R&B Performance:
Black Parade – Beyoncé
Best Traditional R&B Performance:
Anything For You – Ledisi
Best R&B Song:
Better Than I Imagine – Robert Glasper, Meshell Ndegeocello & Gabriella Wilson, songwriters (Robert Glasper Featuring H.E.R. & Meshell Ndegeocello)
Best Progressive R&B Album:
It Is What It Is – Thundercat
Best R&B Album:
Beggir Love – John Legend
Best Rap Performance:
Savage – Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé
Best Melodic Rap Performance:
Lockdown – Anderson .Paak
Best Rap Song:
Savage – Beyoncé, Shawn Carter, Brittany Hazzard, Derrick Milano, Terius Nash, Megan Pete, Bobby Session Jr., Jordan Kyle Lanier Thorpe & Anthony White, songwriters (Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé)
Best Rap Album:
King’s Disease – Nas
Best Country Solo Performance:
When My Amy Prays – Vince Gill
Best Country Duo/Group Performance:
10,000 Hours – Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber
Best Country Song:
Crowded Table – Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby & Lori McKenna, songwriters (The Highwomen)
Best Country Album:
Wildcard – Miranda Lambert
Best New Age Album:
More Guitar Stories – Jim “Kimo” West
Best Improvised Jazz Solo:
“All Blues,” Chick Corea, soloist
Best Jazz Vocal Album:
Secrets Are The Best Stories – Kurt Elling Featuring Danilo Pérez
Best Jazz Instrumental Album:
Trilogy 2 – Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album:
Data Lords – Maria Schneider Orchestra
Best Latin Jazz Album:
Four Questions – Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
Best Gospel Performance/Song:
“Movin’ On,” Jonathan McReynolds & Mali Music; Darryl L. Howell, Jonathan Caleb McReynolds, Kortney Jamaal Pollard & Terrell Demetrius Wilson, songwriters
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song:
“There Was Jesus,” Zach Williams & Dolly Parton; Case Beathard, Jonathan Smith & Zach Williams, songwriters
Best Gospel Album:
Gospel According to PJ – PJ Morton
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album:
Jesus Is King – Kanye West
Best Roots Gospel Album:
Celebrating Fisk! (The 150th Anniversary Album) – Fisk Jubilee Singers
Best Latin Pop or Urban Album:
YHLQMDLG – Bad Bunny
Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album:
La Conquista Del Espacio – Fito Paez
Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano):
Un Canto Por Mexico, Vol. 1 – Natalia Lafourcade
Best Tropical Latin Album:
40 – Grupo Niche
Best American Roots Performance:
“I Remember Everything,” John Prine
Best American Roots Song:
“I Remember Everything,” Pat McLaughlin & John Prine, songwriters (John Prine)
Best Americana Album:
World on the Ground – Sarah Jarosz
Best Bluegrass Album:
Home – Billy Strings
Best Traditional Blues Album:
Rawer Than Raw – Bobby Rush
Best Contemporary Blues Album:
Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? –  Fantastic Negrito
Best Folk Album:
All the Good Times – Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Best Regional Roots Music Album:
Atmosphere – New Orleans Nightcrawlers
Best Reggae Album:
Got to Be Tough – Toots & the Maytals
Best Global Music Album:
Twice as Tall – Burna Boy
Best Children’s Music Album:
All the Ladies – Joanie Leeds
Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling):
Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth – Rachel Maddow
Best Comedy Album:
Black Mitzvah – Tiffany Haddish
Best Musical Theater Album:
Jagged Little Pill – Original Cast
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media:
Jojo Rabbit – Various Artists
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media:
Joker – Hildur Guðnadóttir, composer
Best Song Written for Visual Media:
No Time to Die – (From No Time to Die), Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas Baird O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
Best Instrumental Composition:
Sputnik – Maria Schneider, composer (Maria Schneider)
Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Capella:
Donna Lee – John Beasley, arranger (John Beasley)
Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals:
He Won’t Hold You – Jacob Collier, arranger (Jacob Collier Featuring Rapsody)
Best Recording Package:
Vols. 11 & 12 – Doug Cunningham & Jason Noto, art directors (Desert Sessions)
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package:
Ode to Joy – Lawrence Azerrad & Jeff Tweedy, art directors (Wilco)
Best Album Notes:
Dead Man’s Pop – Bob Mehr, album notes writer (The Replacements)
Best Historical Album:
It’s Such a Good Feeling: The Best of Mister Rogers – Lee Lodyga & Cheryl Pawelski, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer (Mister Rogers)
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical:
Hyperspace – Drew Brown, Andrew Coleman, Shawn Everett, Serban Ghenea, David Greenbaum, Jaycen Joshua & Mike Larson, engineers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer (Beck)
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical:
Andrew Watt
Best Remixed Recording:
Roses (Imanbek Remix) – Imanbek Zeikenov, remixer (SAINt JHN)
Best Engineered Album, Classical:
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, ‘Babi Yar,’ David Frost & Charlie Post, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Producer of the Year, Classical:
David Frost
Best Orchestral Performance:
Ives: Complete Symphonies – Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Best Opera Recording:
Gershwin: Porgy and Bess – David Robertson, conductor; Angle Blue & Eric Owens; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestral The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
Best Choral Performance:
Danielpour: The Passion of Yeshua – JoAnn Falletta, conductor; James K. Bass & Adam Luebke, chorus masters (James K. Bass, J’Nai Bridges, Timothy Fallon, Kenneth Overton, Hila Plitmann & Matthew Worth; Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus & UCLA Chamber Singers)
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance:
Contemporary Voices – Pacifica Quartet
Best Classical Instrumental Solo:
Theofanidis: Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra – Richard O’Neill; David Alan Miller, conductor (Albany Symphony)
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album:
Smyth: The Prison – Sarah Brailey & Dashon Burton; James Blachly, conductor (Experiential Chorus; Experiential Orchestra)
Best Classical Compendium:
Thomas, M.T.: From the Diary of Anne Frank & Meditations on Rilke – Isabel Leonard; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Jack Vad, producer
Best Contemporary Classical Composition:
Rouse: Symphony No. 5 – Christopher Rouse, composer (Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
Best Music Video:
Brown Skin Girl – Beyoncé
Best Music Film:
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice – Linda Ronstadt