2023 was a huge year in the film, television, and music industries. As 2024 begins, the successes of the entertainment industry are highlighted at the annual award shows, the Emmys for television, the Grammys for music, and the Golden Globes and Oscars for film. 

The Emmys took place on January 15th and saw near category sweeps, EGOT recipients and a fair share of controversy. The controversy was around Best Comedy winner, The Bear. Despite being entered in the comedy category, the show is an undeniable dramedy, leaning heavily into the drama. The Bear won Best Comedy Show, as well as Best Actor in a Comedy for Jeremy Allen White, Best Supporting Actress and Actor in a Comedy for Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, respectively, as well as Best Writing and Directing for a Comedy Series for writer, director, creator and producer Christopher Storer. Other big winners include Succession and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver. Music legend Elton John won his first Emmy for Disney+ special, Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium, officially making him a receipt of the coveted EGOT, earned only by winning an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award. Elton John is only the 19th person to ever win an EGOT. Additionally, history was made by Abbott Elementary star Quinta Brunson, who became the first black woman to win the best actress in a comedy award since Isabel Sanford in 1981.

The Grammys is undeniably the biggest night in music with stars like Taylor Swift, Billy Joel and Tracy Chapman venturing to Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles for a night of celebrating music and performers. Winning her first ever Grammy, Miley Cyrus took home the award for Record of the Year for hit single “Flowers”. In the other main categories, the academy awarded Taylor Swift with the award for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for her record breaking album “Midnights.” Swift’s Album of the Year win makes her the artist with the most wins in the category in the history of the Grammys. Billie Eilish took home the Song of the Year award for “What Was I Made For” from the Barbie soundtrack, and pop-R&B singer Victoria Monet beat out Ice Spice, Noah Kahan, Gracie Abrams, and others for Best New Artist. In true Taylor Swift fashion, the pop powerhouse announced a brand new album, “The Tortured Poets Department” coming in April while accepting the award for Album of the Year. Best Country Album was awarded to Lainey Wilson for “Bell Bottom Country,” and Best R&B Song was just one of the few awards won by SZA. Non-televised category winners include Boygenius for Best Alternative Music Album, one of three awards won by the group and three of the four won by band member Phoebe Bridgers. Best Rock Album was won by Paramore for “This Is Why,” and Country superstars Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves won Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “I Remember Everything.” The 66th Grammy Awards was the first Grammys ceremony in which every category on the main telecast was won by a woman. 

The Oscars, the biggest night in film, took place on March 10th and also saw a fair amount of controversy as Barbie star and producer Margot Robbie as well as director and writer Greta Gerwig received no nominations for the film. Nonetheless, Barbie star and Best Supporting Actor nominee Ryan Gosling performed the many times nominated original song “I’m Just Ken” backed by his co-stars, dancers, and to the surprise of many, rock and roll legend Slash. Winners in the “Big Five” major categories- Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Original Screenplay- were Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, Emma Stone, and Anatomy of a Fall, respectively. The only award won by Barbie was Best Original Song for Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell’s ballad, “What Was I Made For?” Oppenheimer and Poor Things dominated the Academy Awards and saw Robert Downy Jr. win his first OSCAR for his performance in Oppenheimer for which he won Best Supporting Actor. 

Other major award shows include the Screen Actors Guild Awards, which was streamed exclusively on Netflix, the Spirit Awards, the Brits, and the People’s Choice Awards.