Taylor Swift and Aaron Dessner at THE 63rd ANNUAL GRAMMY® AWARDS, broadcast live from the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Sunday, March 14, 2021 (8:00-11:30 PM, live ET/5:00-8:30 PM, live PT) on the CBS Television Network and Paramount+. Photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS ©2021 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Despite ranking as betting favorites, Taylor Swift’s “exile” and “cardigan” did not win for Best Pop Duo/Group and Solo Performance, respectively. “Cardigan” also came up short in Song of the Year, while “folklore” missed in the Best Pop Vocal Album race.
The superstar singer-songwriter did not, however, go home empty-handed. By any stretch of the imagination.
“folklore” won the Grammy for Album of the Year, becoming Swift’s third career victor in the category. Swift previously won for “Fearless” and “1989.”
Like “Fearless” (the broadening of her pop-country sound) and “1989” (marking her transition to full-on pop), “folklore” represented a major milestone for Swift. It was Swift’s deepest-ever trip external storytelling, while also making a foray into alternative-pop.