First female artist to win all four Grammy Award general field categories at a single ceremony

At the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, staged at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, on 26 January 2020, Billie Eilish (USA, b. Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell) walked away with winner trophies for all of the so-called “big four” categories: Album of the Year (for her debut studio set When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?), Song of the Year, Record of the Year (both for “Bad Guy”) and Best New Artist. It was only the second time in Grammys history that an individual had made a clean sweep of the four prestigious awards, after Christopher Cross (USA, b. Christopher Geppert) took the honours at the 23rd edition of the Grammys on 25 February 1981.

Cross actually won five Grammys at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall in 1981. In addition to Album of the Year (for his self-titled debut), Song of the Year, Record of the Year (both for “Sailing”) and Best New Artist, he also won in the Best Arrangement category (alongside producer Michael Omartian), also for “Sailing”.

Adele (UK, b. Adele Adkins) was the first female to be awarded trophies in each of the “big four” categories (Eilish was the second) – but not on the same night. She won Best New Artist in 2009 and added Album of the Year (21), Song of the Year and Record of the Year (both for “Rolling in the Deep”) at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards on 12 February 2012. As of 2020, Cross, Adele and Eilish are the only three musicians to win all four categories in the history of the Grammys.

On 23 February 2003, at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Norah Jones (USA) won Album of the Year (for Come Away with Me), Record of the Year (for “Don’t Know Why”) and Best New Artist. “Don’t Know Why” was also named Song of the Year, but the trophy was collected by Jesse Harris, whose original composition appeared on an album of his from 1999. Jones’ personal tally of 2003 awards increased to five when she won in the Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (“Don’t Know Why”) categories.

“Bad Guy” topped the US Hot 100 singles chart on 24 August 2019 – Eilish’s first American No.1. It was the track that brought the record 19-week chart-topping run of Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road” to an end.

Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep… was the first debut release to win Album of the Year since Norah Jones’ Come Away with Me in 2003.