The Highs, Lows and Wildest Moments From the 2024 Grammy Awards

Dua Lipa performs onstage during the 66th GRAMMY Awards

Music's biggest night has finally arrived! It's time for the 2024 Grammy Awards, honoring the best best music from 2024. And while the Recording Academy passes out upwards of 90 Grammys each year (and there was a tie in one category this year, so that's one extra), less than a dozen get passed out live on air. So what fills up the 3.5-hour-long telecast? Well, performances of course! The Grammys are basically just one massive concert with some of the biggest names in music performing their hits from 2023.

The evening, hosted by Trevor Noah, included impassioned winner speeches, entertaining jokes, and jaw-dropping red carpet looks. Of course, there were also plenty of weird, wild and unexpected things that happened as well.

Here's a rundown of all the evening's biggest, most memorable moments:

The highs, lows and wildest moments that happened at the 2024 Grammy Awards

High: Dua Lipa opens the show with new single "Training Season"

To start the 2024 Grammys off on a high note, Dua Lipa performed her unreleased single "Training Season" along with a cube of scaffolding and leather-clad male dancers. She then strutted to the stage where she regaled fans with "Houdini" and performed some impressive choreo if I do say so myself.

Related: Grammy Awards Red Carpet 2024: See the Fabulous Fashions Worn by Your Favorite Music Stars

Low: "Crypto.com Arena"

Of all the branded stadium names in the world, the Crypto.com Arena has to be among the most cumbersome. As the announcer reminded audiences, this year's Grammys were hosted there.

Whoa: Meryl Streep is late and is Mark Ronson's mother-in-law

In his opening monologue, host Trevor Noah let the audience know that Meryl Streep would be arriving to the show shortly and that she is, in fact, Mark Ronson's mother-in-law, since he's married to her daughter Grace Gummer.

Low: Taylor Swift walks in during the middle of Trevor Noah's opening

Apparently most of the high-profile stars at the Grammys showed up late, leading to a fairly clunky opening monologue where Noah kept referencing individuals who would be arriving later. One such guest was Taylor Swift, who walked into the event with her massive entourage as Noah was talking.

High: Tracy Chapman performs "Fast Car" for the first time in years

In a coup for the Grammys, Tracy Chapman, who originally wrote and recorded "Fast Car" but hasn't performed the song publicly since her last tour in 2009, took to the stage for a duet with Luke Combs. Combs covered the song for his latest album and was nominated for a Grammy for his performance.

Whoa: SZA's performance includes sword-fighting.

SZA's "Kill Bill" performance at the Grammys included plenty of sword-wielding martial artists as backup dancers. One even climbed on a table and whipped a katana above Phoebe Bridgers' head.

Whoa: Miley Cyrus calls out the audience for not being more into "Flowers"

After winning her first Grammy for "Flowers" for Best Pop Solo Performance, Cyrus took to the stage to perform the song. However, during the first chorus, Cyrus shouted at the crowd, "Why are you acting like you don't know this song?" calling out the audience for not being a little too chill. Later in the performance, however, Kylie Minogue, Taylor Swift and Oprah all seemed very into the performance.

High: Kacey Musgraves announces her fifth album with a commercial

If you went to the bathroom during the commercial breaks, you might have missed some announcements, one of which was for the upcoming Kacey Musgraves album. After a short trailer of images, we hear Kacey sing, "My Saturn has returned," before referring fans to her website, which has been updated with "KM5" merch.

Whoa: SZA is late to collect her Grammy because she was taking a shot

When Lizzo announced SZA had won Best R&B Song for her hit "Snooze," the room stood to applause but SZA was nowhere to be found. She then erupted from back stage where she emotionally claimed her trophy and said she was backstage taking a shot.

Low: Another ad for the Sphere in the form of a U2 performance

Las Vegas's new massive concert venue, the Sphere, has notoriously been losing massive amounts of money since it opened. The venue's latest attempt to draw in fans seems to be securing prime placement on the Grammys, with U2 recording a performance from the new venue that was streamed into the LA-based awards show before presenting the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album.

Whoa: Taylor Swift announces a new album

After winning her 13th Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album for her latest album Midnights, Taylor Swift announced that her next album, titled The Tortured Poets Department would be released on April 19, stunning many fans who had assumed that a recent change in her Instagram profile photo was signaling Reputation (Taylor's Version).

High: Fantasia Barrino's tribute to Tina Turner

To close out a (long, somewhat disjoined) in memoriam section, Fantasia Barrino performed Tina Turner's "Proud Mary" as a tribute to the late musician. Oprah Winfrey introduced the Color Purple star and Barrino pulled out all the stops dancing through the crowd

High: Jay-Z calls out the Recording Academy for not giving Beyoncé Album of the Year

While neither Jay-Z nor Beyoncé were eligible for competitive awards this year, the pair appeared at the Grammys because Jay-Z had been awarded the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. In his speech, he called out the Academy for some of their injustices over the year. One in particular that he highlighted was the fact that Beyoncé, who is the most awarded artists of all time with 32 Grammys, has never won Album of the Year. Instead, Bey has won many of her Grammys in genre categories where the Academy feels more comfortable honoring minority artists.

High: 80-year-old Joni Mitchell performs

Living legend Joni Mitchell, who won a Grammy of her own today, performed her iconic "Both Sides Now" at the Grammys, taking the stage for the first time in her career.

Low: The Recording Academy CEO's monologue

Well into the third hour of the telecast, the Recording Academy's CEO Harvey Mason Jr. took to the stage to deliver a long-winded monologue about the power of music to bring people together. While a lovely sentiment, the prepared remarks were a bit pat and cumbersome.

Whoa: Taylor Swift gives Jack Antonoff a noogie

Not much more to say on that.

High: Meryl Streep and Mark Ronson are the cutest duo ever

The pair presented the Record of the Year Grammy and their opening gambit confusing Album, Record and Song of the Year was so sweet. Who wouldn't love to have Meryl Streep kiss you on the cheek?

Whoa: Celine Dion shows up to present Album of the Year

In a very chic coat it must be said.

High, Low or Whoa (depending on who you ask): Taylor Swift wins a fourth Album of the Year Grammy

Swift, who has previously won the award three times for Fearless, 1989 and Folklore beat out an impressive lineup of talented musicians to win the prestigious award for a record-breaking fourth time. While her fans are undoubtedly thrilled, others are frustrated that Swift keeps getting recognition in this category while minority artists struggle to clinch the night's top prize.

Low: The runtime

With most awards shows trying to cut down the runtime, the Grammys opted for a bloated 3.5-hour-long telecast that was full of unnecessary filler, especially considering that only nine actual awards were presented on air. The definition of "this could have been an email," or at least 1.5 hours shorter.

Next, The Complete List of 2024 Grammys Winners and Nominees