Grammy favourites added to their previous wins in the ‘gospel & contemporary Christian music’ category at the annual awards on Sunday, with top honours going to Kirk Franklin, Lecrae, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Tye Tribbett and Blind Boys of Alabama.
Gospel singer Franklin won his 20th Grammy for his performance and songwriting on All Things in the ‘best gospel performance/song’ category.
Musician Lecrae. PICTURE: Alex Harper
TAYLOR SWIFT MAKES GRAMMYS HISTORY AS WOMEN RULE MUSIC’S TOP HONOURS
Pop superstar Taylor Swift set another record on Sunday, winning the Grammy award for album of the year for an unprecedented fourth time as women dominated the music industry’s top honours.
Swift also announced from the Grammys stage that she would release a new album in April.
The 34-year-old won album of the year for Midnights, eclipsing music legends Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder, who each claimed the prize three times.
Swift said she was thrilled by the honour and gushed about the fulfillment she feels from writing and singing songs. “It makes me so happy,” she said. “All I want to do is keep doing this.”
Earlier, Swift claimed the prize for best pop vocal performance and used the moment to announce that she will release The Tortured Poets Department on 19th April.
“I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I’ve been keeping from you for the last two years,” Swift said as she disclosed the new album, which was made available for pre-sales during the Grammys telecast.
Swift, who is about to jet to Tokyo to resume the world’s highest-grossing concert tour, was among the women who swept the major Grammy awards on Sunday.
Billie Eilish claimed song of the year for What Was I Made For?, a ballad written for the Barbie movie soundtrack.
“As a woman, it feels a lot of the time like you’re not being seen,” Eilish told reporters backstage. “I feel that this makes me feel very seen. Sometimes it feels really good to have somebody tell you ‘good job.'”
Miley Cyrus, winner of her first two Grammys on Sunday, landed the record of the year honour for her empowerment anthem Flowers.
“This award is amazing,” Cyrus said, “but I really hope that it doesn’t change anything because my life was beautiful yesterday.”
Best new artist went to R&B and pop singer Victoria Monet, who thanked her mom, “a single mom raising this really bad girl”.
– LISA RICHWINE and DANIELLE BROADWAY, Los Angeles, US/Reuters
Franklin, who won the only category he was nominated in, said in an Instagram video before the ceremony that he gets nervous and has “a lot of anxiety about award shows”.
The Grammy winner added that he does not like to compete against his friends, with a nod to a category that included a number of nominees Franklin has collaborated with in the past, including Marvin Winans, Hezekiah Walker and Karen Clark Sheard.
Clark Sheard won her own award with The Clark Sisters, an American Gospel vocal group of five sisters, who received the lifetime achievement award, which was announced in advance of the ceremonies.
The Clark Sisters have won two Grammys as a group, and they are the highest-selling female gospel group in history.
Lecrae received his third and fourth Grammy Sunday night, taking home best contemporary Christian music album for Church Clothes 4 and sharing an award with Tasha Cobbs Leonard for their performance of Your Power in the best contemporary Christian performance/song category.
The father of three took his daughter to the awards as his date. “I just wanted to be the father I never had and give my kids experiences. God is beyond kind,” Lecrae wrote on Instagram after his win.
Winning songwriters for Your Power included Alexandria Dollar, Jordan Dollar, Antonio Gardener, Micheal Girgenti, Lasanna “Ace” Harris, David Hein, Deandre Hunter, Dylan Hyde, Christian Louisana, Patrick Darius Mix, Jr, Lecrae Moore, Justin Pelham, Jeffrey Lawrence Shannon and Allen Swoope.
Tribbett, who copastors LiVe Church in Orlando, Florida, with his wife, Shanté Tribbett, won his third Grammy, taking home best Gospel album for All Things New: Live in Orlando.
The Blind Boys of Alabama won their sixth Grammy honoring the album Echoes of the South in the best roots Gospel album category. The group, which was founded in 1939, was also nominated for best Americana performance and best American roots performance.
Echoes of the South is expected to be the last album from the longtime leader of the Blind Boys of Alabama, Jimmy Carter, who retired at the age of 91 after singing with the group for 41 years.
“We’re grateful for what Jimmy has done, but we are going to do great things through God that has made us,” said Ricky McKinnie, a member of the group, at a press conference after their win. “We thank God for Jimmy Carter and all of the guys that have been before him.”
