Taylor Swift hands over 2024 Grammy Award Win to Jason Kelce’s daughter Wyatt, following the sudden loss of her favourite dog Winnie

It cements her position as the one of the greatest songwriters of her era – although she was gracious enough to use her speech to praise fellow nominee Lana Del Rey, calling her “a legend in her prime” who has set the agenda for an entire generation of female artists.

Despite Taylor taking the main title, it was a fairly even-handed night by Grammy standards.

Favoured nominees like Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, SZA and Boygenius all went home with multiple prizes, while the best new artist went to R&B star Victoria Monét – the first time a female R&B act has scooped that award since Alicia Keys in 2002.

Along the way, there were plenty of surprise appearances (Celine Dion!) and show-stopping performances (Burna Boy, Dua Lipa).

Here are the highlights, lowlights and takeaways from “music’s biggest night”.

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TAKEAWAY: Taylor Swift wasn’t just recognised for her music

By any metric, it’s an incredible feat: Taylor Swift has won album of the year three times more than The Beatles, two more than Adele and one more than Stevie Wonder.

In fact, she’s won the prize more than anyone. Ever.

Her latest honour is for 2022’s Midnights – a hazy, dream-scrubbed collection of songs about late-night obsessions.

At the time of release, it was not her best-received album. And for that reason, many people thought R&B star SZA or indie band Boygenius were more likely to win.

But the Grammys aren’t simply about musical merit, and Swift is currently in the middle of an imperial phase. Her Eras tour has broken box office records, boosted local economies, prompted a government inquiry into Ticketmaster and even caused seismic activity.

The singer has also been named Time Magazine’s person of the year, while her romance with Travis Kelce brought new eyes to American football.

It’s hard to argue against her cultural dominance – but it all stems from the music.

That’s a factor the Recording Academy’s 11,000 voters will have been keenly aware of. They take songwriting incredibly seriously, which means they take Swift – who exists at the crossroads of commercial success and sonic innovation – seriously as well.