Billie Eilish, a voice of the youth, tops the Grammy Awards
NEW YORK — Singer Billie Eilish, who gave voice to young people struggling with depression on a do-it-yourself album she made at home with her older brother, is atop the music world.
The 18-year-old made history at the Grammy Awards Sunday. Not only did she become the youngest person to win one of Grammy’s top awards — record, song and album of the year, and best new artist — Eilish is the first artist to sweep all four since Christopher Cross in 1981.
Her triumph came on a night made sombre by the death of former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant. It also ended a tumultuous week for the Recording Academy that included its ousted CEO accusing the Grammys nominations process of being rigged, and Diddy calling out the organization for not giving enough respect to R&B and hip-hop.
An estimated 18.7 million people watched the show, which ran late and packed three of its top awards into the final 15 minutes. That’s down from the 19.9 million who watched in 2019 and the 19.8 million viewers in 2018, the Nielsen company said on Monday.