Taylor Swift has set an all-time record at the Grammys as the performer who has the most wins in the album of the year category. “Midnights” won that coveted prize Sunday night, pushing her total to four.
Coming into the ceremony, she was tied with Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder, who each racked up three wins in the category during their hot streaks.
During her acceptance speech, Swift acknowledged “Midnights” collaborator Jack Antonoff, whom she called “a once-in-a-generation producer,” and her engineer, Laura Sisk, and Sam Dew. She also thanked Lana Del Rey, who features on the song “Snow on the Beach.”
“So many female artists would not be where they are or have the inspiration without the work she has done,” Swift said of Del Rey. “She is a legacy artist, a legend in her prime right now. I’m so lucky to know you and to be your friend.”
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Swift continued, “I would love to tell you that this is the best moment of my life, but I feel this happy when I finish a song or when I crack the code to a bridge that I love, or when I am shot-listing a music video, or when I am rehearsing with my dancers or my band, or getting ready to go to Tokyo to play a show. For me, the award is the work. All I want to do is keep being able to do this. I love it so much. It makes me so happy. It makes me unbelievably blown away that it makes some people happy who voted for this award too. All they want to do is keep doing this. So thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to do what I love so much! Mind blown! Thank you so much!”
Swift’s run of triumphs for album of the year began with her second full-length release, “Fearless,” which came out on top at the Grammys in 2010. At the time, she was the youngest person ever to win for album of the year. (She was subsequently superseded by an even younger Billie Eilish.) The singer-songwriter followed that up with album of the year wins for “1989” in 2016 and “Folklore” in 2021.
Only twice has Swift been nominated for album of the year and then failed to win it: with “Red” in 2014 and “Evermore” in 2022. Her total nominations in the category have added up to six. Four other original studio albums did not score a nomination for the top prize (“Taylor Swift,” “Speak Now,” “Reputation” and “Lover”).
The album of the year category has been a sweet spot for Swift among the top four general categories. She has not won in the categories of record of the year, song of the year or best new artist, although she’s been nominated in all those categories. In fact, she set a record in November for the most career nominations for song of the year by any artist — seven — despite never previously prevailing in that category.
Earlier in the awards ceremony, Swift took home the prize for best pop vocal album for “Midnights,” and announced her next studio album, called “The Tortured Poets Department,” out April 19, in her acceptance speech.
“Okay, this is my 13th Grammy, which is my lucky number. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that,” Swift joked at the top of her speech. “I want to say thank you to the members of the Recording Academy for voting this way, but I know that the way that the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans. So I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I have been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand-new album comes out April 19th. It’s called ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’ I’m going to go and post the cover right now backstage. Thank you, I love you! Thank you!”
