Bringing up Taylor Swift in an awards show monologue never goes out of style.
And Trevor Noah, hosting the Grammys for the fourth consecutive year, was characteristically on point Feb. 4 at Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena. While he kicked off by practically summoning Meryl Streep out of thin air—"You thought I was lying!" he exclaimed as the empty chair next to her son-in-law Mark Ronson was then filled by the three-time Oscar winner—he soon got around to mentioning the silliest controversy of the year.
"I think it is so unfair how NFL fans have been complaining about the cameras cutting to Taylor Swift," Noah noted after addressing the statuesque singer's entrance. "Right? Like she's controlling the cameras at the games. Like, just let her live, let her live."
"In fact, on Taylor's behalf, you know what I'm gonna do?" he offered. "I'm gonna give her a break. Every time they mention Taylor Swift, I'm gonna get revenge. Every time someone says 'Taylor Swift,' I'm gonna cut the cameras to someone who played football. That's what I'll do—cut, bam, just like that! Oh, yeah, you like that, Terry Crews?! You better fix your face, Terry!"
Cut to the America's Got Talent host who spent six years in the NFL. But more importantly...
Cut to Swift, who thoroughly enjoyed this joke about the 12 Kansas City Chiefs games she attended this year.
"Yeah, we watching you all night, Terry, no relaxing for you!" Noah explained as Crews feigned anger but was obviously very much enjoying himself. "Do you work for the CIA, Terry?! I can read lips, Terry, better watch what you say!"
Cut back to Swift full-on laughing as Noah gently touched on the wildest conspiracy theories circulating about Swift and her Super Bowl-bound boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
Noah, also a nominee tonight—Best Comedy Album for I Wish You Would (though Dave Chappelle's What's In a Name? was an early winner)—then noted that should Swift win Album of the Year for Midnights, one of her six nominations, she'll make history as the first-ever artist to win that award four times.
And he mentioned other people in the room, too, of course, applauding 21 Savage's 1 billion streams so far in 2024 ("In fact I actually listened earlier today, so it's a billion and one—you're welcome, my friend"), cheering Olivia Rodrigo ("I cannot wait to see what you rhyme 'blood-sucker' with on national TV—'Ice trucker'? 'Fuddrucker'?") and promising the characteristically some-time-later appearance of Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
He also warned, JIC anyone missed the memo, that the show was live and therefore anything could happen. "This is like flying in a Boeing airplane," he cracked. "One minute there's a door, the next minute—we outside. And my job as host is to just keep the good vibes going tonight, right, and make sure Katt Williams doesn't say anything about me after the show and that everyone had a good time."
The former host of The Daily Show acknowledged that this particular gig is a tough one, since it's no easy task to please a crowd while also poking fun at them or their craft, no matter how lighthearted the humor. And he saw Swift's unimpressed reaction when Golden Globes host Jo Koy cracked a mild joke about the number of times the NFL game broadcasts cut to her this past season.
"Here's the thing about award shows," Noah told CBS Mornings co-anchor Gayle King Jan. 31, "is everybody loves the joke when it's not about them, and your goal and your hope is to tell a joke about the person that they also think is funny. So, it's difficult. And I think every comedian understands this."
The Grammys were "nerve-wracking" for him, he continued, because "these are superstars. Yeah, these are like, I don't wanna get on the wrong side of Taylor Swift fans. So you're trying to walk this fine line of being, you know, the comedian, but then also still being nice about the night."
Noah's a winner in our book regardless (and none other than Taylor Swift seems to agree), but see the full list of artists who've won Grammys tonight so far:
Album of the Year
World Music Radio - Jon Batiste
The Record - boygenius
Endless Summer Vacation - Miley Cyrus
Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd - Lana Del Rey
The Age of Pleasure - Janelle Monáe
Guts - Olivia Rodrigo
WINNER: Midnights- Taylor Swift
SOS- SZA
Record of the Year
"Worship"– Jon Batiste"
"Not Strong Enough"– boygenius
WINNER: "Flowers" – Miley Cyrus
"What Was I Made For?" – Billie Eilish
"On My Mama" – Victoria Monét
"Vampire"– Olivia Rodrigo
"Anti-Hero" – Taylor Swift"Kill Bill" – SZA
Best New Artist
Gracie Abrams
Fred again..
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Coco Jones
Noah Kahan
WINNER: Victoria Monét
The War and Treaty
Song of the Year
Lana Del Rey – "A&W"
Taylor Swift – "Anti-Hero"
Jon Batiste – "Butterfly"
Dua Lipa – "Dance the Night"
Miley Cyrus – "Flowers"
SZA – "Kill Bill"
Olivia Rodrigo – "Vampire"
WINNER: Billie Eilish – "What Was I Made For
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
"Thousand Miles" - Miley Cyrus featuring Brandi Carlile
"Candy Necklace" - Lana Del Rey featuring Jon Baptiste
"Never Felt So Alone" – Labrinth featuring Billie Eilish
"Karma" – Taylor Swift featuring Ice Spice
WINNER: "Ghost in the Machine" – SZA featuring Phoebe Bridgers
Best Pop Vocal Album
Kelly Clarkson – Chemistry
Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation
Olivia Rodrigo – Guts
Ed Sheeran – (Subtract)
WINNER: Taylor Swift – Midnights
Best Music Video
WINNER: The Beatles – "I'm Only Sleeping"
Tyler Childers – "In Your Love"
Billie Eilish – "What Was I Made For?"
Kendrick Lamar – "Count Me Out"
Troye Sivan – "Rush"
Best Rap Album
Drake & 21 Savage – Her Loss
WINNER: Killer Mike – Michael
Metro Boomin – Heroes & Villains
Nas – King's Disease III
Travis Scott – Utopia
Best Rap Song
Doja Cat – "Attention"
Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice ft. Aqua – "Barbie World"
Lil Uzi Vert – "Just Wanna Rock"
Drake & 21 Savage – "Rich Flex"
WINNER: Killer Mike ft. André 3000, Future, and Eryn Allen Kane – "Scientists & Engineers"
Best Song Written For Visual Media
Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice featuring Aqua – "Barbie World"
Dua Lipa – "Dance the Night"
Ryan Gosling – "I'm Just Ken"
Rihanna – "Lift Me Up"
WINNER: Billie Eilish – "What Was I Made For?"
Best Latin Pop Album
Pablo Alborán – La Cuarta Hoja
AleMor – Beautiful Humans, Vol. 1
Paula Arenas – A Ciegas
Pedro Capó – La Neta
Maluma – Don Juan
WINNER: Gaby Moreno – X Mí (Vol. 1)
Best Rock Album
Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
Greta Van Fleet – Starcatcher
Metallica – 72 Seasons
WINNER: Paramore – This Is Why
Queens of the Stone Age – In Times New Roman…
Best Rock Song
WINNER: Boygenius – "Not Strong Enough"
Foo Fighters – "Rescued"
Olivia Rodrigo – "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl"
Queens of the Stone Age – "Emotion Sickness"
The Rolling Stones – "Angry"
Best Country Album
Kelsea Ballerini – Rolling Up the Welcome Mat
Brothers Osborne – Brothers Osborne
Zach Bryan – Zach Bryan
Tyler Childers – Rustin' In the Rain
WINNER: Lainey Wilson – Bell Bottom Country
Best Country Song
Brandy Clark & Jessie Jo Dillon, songwriters, Brandy Clark – "Buried"
WINNER: Chris Stapleton & Dan Wilson, songwriters, Chris Stapleton – "White Horse"
John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin & Ryan Vojtesak, songwriters, Morgan Wallen – "Last Night"
Tyler Childers & Geno Seale, songwriters, Tyler Childers – "In Your Love"
Zach Bryan & Kacey Musgraves, songwriters, Zach Bryan ft. Kacey Musgraves – "I Remember Everything"
Best R&B Album
Babyface – Girls Night Out
Coco Jones – What I Didn't Tell You (Deluxe)
Emily King – Special Occasion
WINNER: Victoria Monét – Jaguar II
Summer Walker – Clear 2: Soft Life EP
Best R&B Song
Coco Jones – "ICU"
Halle – "Angel"
Robert Glasper ft. SiR & Alex Isley – "Back to Love"
WINNER: SZA – "Snooze"
Victoria Monét – "On My Mama"