Taylor Swift Makes History With GRAMMYs Album of the Year Win

This is amazing news!

Written by Lauren Laffer
Taylor Swift Makes History With GRAMMYs Album of the Year Win
Taylor Swift at THE 63rd ANNUAL GRAMMY¨ AWARDS, broadcast live from the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Sunday, March 14, 2021 (8:00-11:30 PM, live ET/5:00-8:30 PM, live PT) on the CBS Television Network and Paramount+. Photo: Francis Specker/CBS ©2021 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

When Taylor Swift announced her surprise album folklore, there was no telling what the new music might mean for the singer. But now, nearly a year after its release, the project has earned a top accolade – the GRAMMY for Album of the Year.

The win is already major for the pop icon, but it also marks a historical event. With the win, Swift became the first woman to win Album of the Year three times. She previously won with Fearless in 2010 and 1989 in 2016.

Only three other artists have earned a three-peat with Album of the Year at the GRAMMYs. Those names include Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon.

Swift was joined on stage by her folklore collaborators Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner, Laura Sisk and Jonathan Low.

“I want to thank all of my collaborators who are on the stage,” said Swift upon accepting the award. She also went on to thank her longtime boyfriend, actor Joe Alwyn, who helped write several of the songs featured on folklore under a pseudonym.

“Joe, who is the first person I play every single song that I write and I had the best time writing songs with you in quarantine,” she shared.

Swift also went on to drop a folklore Easter egg within her speech, which included calling out several of the main characters in her songs. “I want to thank James, Inez and Betty and their parents, who are the second and third people that I play every new song I write,” she said, referencing actors and longtime friends Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and their three daughters.

The “cardigan” singer wrapped her speech by thanking her biggest supporters of all – her fans. “But mostly, we just want to thank the fans. You guys met us in this imaginary world that we created and we can’t tell you how honored we are forever by this. Thank you so much and thank you to the Recording Academy. We’ll never forget that you did this for us. Thank you so much!”

Earlier in the evening, Swift took to the GRAMMYs stage for a whimsical medley performance of songs from folklore and its sister album evermore. She was joined by Antonoff and Dessner as the three of them were the main creators behind the project.

“[It’s] really exciting because this has been an adventure that the three of us have gone on since the very beginning of quarantine and lockdown and we’ve only gotten to be together in the same room once and so this is really awesome to get to be together with them again,” she told CBS backstage just days before the awards.

The 63rd GRAMMY Awards marked a big night for music in general as Swift wasn’t the only artist to make history. Dan + Shay became the first artist to win Best Country Duo/Group Performance three consecutive times. They won with their Justin Bieber-collaboration, “10,000 Hours.” Previous honors include “Tequila” in 2019 and “Speechless” in 2020. Mickey Guyton also made history by becoming the first Black solo female artist to earn a Grammy nomination in a country music category (she lost to Vince Gill’s “When My Amy Prays”). And Beyoncé became the most-awarded GRAMMYs winner in history with 28 total trophies through her career.