It’s “about damn time” took on new meaning for Lizzo on Sunday (February 5) when she accepted the Record of the Year (ROTY) award at this year’s GRAMMYs.
The show may be long over, but we’re still celebrating the special successes of the night.
Having entered the night with 5 nominations for work found aboard her 2022 album ‘Special,’ the ROTY capture came as one of two triumphs for her Hot 100 #1 hit ‘About Damn Time’ (following success in the Best Remixed Recording category).
As the first Black woman to get the award this century, the ROTY win puts Liz in an exclusive class of Black female hitmakers who have collected the coveted gramophone since its inception in 1959.
Late Pop icon Whitney Houston – thanks to her blockbuster #1 hit ‘I Will Always Love You’ – was the last Black songstress to take the trophy home. Ahead of that 1994 win, Natalie Cole‘s ‘Unforgettable‘ was crowned the category’s victor in 1992 and Tina Turner‘s ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’ snagged it in 1985.
In 1973, Robert Flack made history for becoming the first African American female to bag the ROTY trophy. She made history the next year for becoming the first woman overall to win it twice.
At writing, Flack leads Adele, Billie Eilish, and Norah Jones as the only ladies to have won the award more than once.
