No Sweep: At 2021 Grammys, the ‘Big Four’ Awards Went to Four Different Artists (2024)

Last year, Billie Eilish became the first artist in 39 years to sweep the coveted “Big Four” Grammys (album, record and song of the year plus best new artist). This year, no artist won in more than one of those categories. Taylor Swift won album of the year and the other Big Four awards were divvied up by Eilish, H.E.R. (and two co-writers) and Megan Thee Stallion.

It’s the first time in five years that no artist won more than one Big Four award. This last happened at the Grammys for 2015, when Swift also won album of the year. That, in turn, was the first time it happened since the awards for 2009, when (you guessed it) Swift won album of the year for the first time.

(That means Swift has never picked up a second Big Four award in any of the three times she has won album of the year. She’s in pretty good company in that regard:Stevie Wonder also won album of the year three times without picking up a second Big Four award.)

These three years of the awards being widely dispersed are outliers in recent decades. In general, we’re seeing more sweeps or at least mini-sweeps in the Big Four categories than we used to. If you sense a stat coming on, you’re right: In the 31 years between the Grammys’ second year, 1959 (when the best new artist category was introduced, completing the Big Four awards), and 1989, no artist, songwriter or producer won more than one Big Four award a total of 15 times – nearly half the time.

But in the 31 years between 1990 and 2020, the Big Four awards have gone four different ways just six times. Such an outcome is becoming a rarity.

Here are the six times since 1990 that no artist won more than one of the Big Four awards:

1990 (presented Feb. 20, 1991):Album: Quincy Jones’ Back on the Block; record: Phil Collins’ “Another Day in Paradise”; song: “From a Distance,” Julie Gold, songwriter; new artist: Mariah Carey.

1996 (presented Feb. 26, 1997):Album: Celine Dion’s Falling Into You; record: Eric Clapton’s “Change the World”; song: “Change the World” (Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick and Tommy Sims, songwriters); new artist: LeAnn Rimes.

2003 (presented Feb. 8, 2004):Album: OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below; record: Coldplay’s “Clocks”; song: “Dance With My Father” (Richard Marx and Luther Vandross, songwriters); new artist: Evanescence.

2009 (presented Jan. 31, 2010):Album: Swift’s Fearless; record: Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody”; song: “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (Kuk Harrell, Beyoncé, Terius “Dream” Nash and Chris “Tricky” Stewart, songwriters); new artist: Zac Brown Band.

2015 (presented Feb. 15, 2016):Album: Swift’s 1989; record: Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk!”; song: “Thinking Out Loud” (Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge, songwriters); new artist: Meghan Trainor.

2020 (presented March 14, 2021):Album: Swift’s Folklore; record: Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted”; song: “I Can’t Breathe” (Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas, songwriters); new artist: Megan Thee Stallion.

Post script: As you probably know, the only artist to sweep the Big Four awards prior to Eilish was Christopher Cross, at the Grammys for 1980. In the following year (just as happened this year, in the wake of Eilish’s sweep), no artist won more than one of the Big Four awards. John Lennon and Yoko Ono took album of the year for Double Fantasy. Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes” won record of the year. That smash, written by Jackie DeShannon and Donna Weiss, won song of the year. Sheena Easton won best new artist.