LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – The 66th Grammy Awards have kicked off at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles. Hosted by Trevor Noah, the prime-time ceremony is set to be broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+ at 5 p.m. PT.
Leading the nominations this year is SZA with nine nods, including song, record, and album of the year. She is followed by Phoebe Bridgers, recording engineer Serban Ghenea, and Victoria Monét, each receiving seven nominations. Additionally, Jack Antonoff, Jon Batiste, Brandy Clark, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift all received six nominations each.
The Recording Academy has also added three new categories for this year’s edition: African music performance, alternative jazz album, and pop dance recording.
The majority of the awards are being given out at the Justin Tranter-hosted Premiere Ceremony, which began at 12:30 p.m. PT and is being streamed live from the Peacock Theater. Winners for the various categories will continue to be announced throughout the Premiere and prime-time events.
The Latin Pop Album category was won by Gaby Moreno’s “X Mí (Vol. 1)”, while Meshell Ndegeocello took home the award for Alternative Jazz Album with “The Omnichord Real Book”. Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo’s “El Arte del Bolero Vol. 2” won in the Latin Jazz Album category, and “Basie Swings the Blues” by The Count Basie Orchestra Directed by Scotty Barnhart won for Large Jazz Ensemble Album.
Album Notes honors went to “Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos” by Robert Gordon & Deanie Parker. For the Boxed or Special Limited-Edition Package category, “For the Birds: The Birdsong Project” by Jeri Heiden & John Heiden emerged as the winner.
The Comedy Album category saw Dave Chappelle’s “What’s in a Name?” claiming the top spot, while Boygenius’s “The Record” was awarded Best Alternative Music Album. The Rap Album winner was “Michael” by Killer Mike, and the award for Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical, went to Theron Thomas.
The evening also witnessed wins in various other categories, including Contemporary Christian Music Album, Country Song, Immersive Audio Album, and Dance/Electronic Recording, among many others. The anticipation for more winners and surprises will continue as the 66th Grammy Awards unfold in downtown Los Angeles.