Stars who broke Grammy records: Beyonce, Adele and more
With another year of Grammys awarded, it’s high time to take a look at the Grammy Award records and all the big names they’ve broken over the course of the awards’ six-decade history.
Taylor Swift skipped the 2019 Grammys – instead opted to attend the British Academy Film Awards with friend Joe Alwyn – but she broke a Grammy record in 2010, when she was still on the verge of pop music. Swift was barely out of her teens at the time, but the record holder for youngest Grammy winner was 12 years younger when she won.
Beyoncé And Jay-Z were also no-shows at the 2019 ceremony, but they returned in 2021 – and have always remained legends in the eyes of the Recording Academy. Jay-Z right with Quincy Jones for the most nominations (80), and Beyoncé broke a record in 2010 that Adele tied in 2012, as detailed in the gallery below. Queen Bey is also the most decorated female artist of all time.
Billy Eilish, for its part, took home the 2020 awards with wins in the night’s biggest categories, including Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best New Artist. Moreover, she was only 18 years old at the time.
“[Billie] was very grateful, of course, and many of her friends were there, “her brother, Finneas O’Connelltold Fashion in February 2020. “She has more go with the flow than me, but we were both a bit embarrassed to win that much; you hope it will be a bit even, but after the third in a row… Well, we love all our fellow nominees.
The producer noted that he was pulling Lizzo or Lil Nas X. “If I had bet on anyone, I would have lost money winning everything,” he said.
O’Connell continued, “I thought ‘Truth Hurts’ would win Record of the Year. And I thought ‘Old Town Road’ would win Song of the Year, because it did. I was hopeful about Album of the Year, and that’s one that I’m very proud of because I like listening to that album from front to back. That was the only one that made me think, ‘Maybe!’”
And though Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Kanye West and Steve Wonder have all won 20 or more Grammy Awards to date, none of those artists have come close to beating the record for the most lifetime Grammy wins. Scroll down to see that record holder and several other stars whose prize shelves need reinforcements.