Billie Eilish had a good night on Jan. 26, 2020. The then-18-year-old stepped out to attend the 2020 GRAMMY Awards after the release of her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go.
Videos by American Songwriter
Eilish went into the night nominated for six awards and wound up winning in all but one category.
The singer won Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Bad Guy” and Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for her freshman release. She also came out victorious in the Best New Artist category. Eilish’s sole loss came in the Best Pop Solo Performance category, which Lizzo won.
Those five wins secured Eilish’s spot in the record books. When Eilish swept the “Big Four” categories, she became only the second person to do so. Prior to Eilish, Christopher Cross won the four awards in 1981. She was also the first woman to accomplish the feat.
That isn’t all, though. Eilish’s Album of the Year win made her the youngest to take the prize in GRAMMY history. Previously, Taylor Swift held the record, as she released Fearless when she was 20.
On top of all of those distinctions, GRAMMY became the youngest Record of the Year winner in history. Kimbra and Sam Smith once shared the record. Both singers were 22 when they won for “Somebody That I Used to Know” and “Stay With Me,” respectively.
Eilish had some near-records too.
In the Best New Artist category, Eilish became the youngest person to win since LeAnn Rimes did so at age 14 in 1996. Eilish’s Song of the Year win made her the youngest victorious musician since Lorde won for “Royals” in 2013 when she 17. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go was the first debut release to win Album of the Year since Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me in 2002.
All of the records Eilish set in 2020 still stand leading up to the 2025 ceremony. In the years since her historic showing, Eilish has won four more GRAMMYs, bringing her total to nine. She’s up for seven awards at the 2025 GRAMMYs, which will be held Feb. 2.
Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.