Billie Eilish said winning the Grammy for record of the year is 'embarrassing' and dedicated her speech to Megan Thee Stallion
- Billie Eilish won record of the year for "Everything I Wanted" at the Grammys on Sunday.
- She said it was "really embarrassing" and that Megan Thee Stallion's "Savage" should've won instead.
- "I was like, 'There's no way they're gonna choose me.' I was like, 'It's hers.'"
Billie Eilish won record of the year at the Grammy Awards on Sunday for the second time in a row - a feat that she described as "really embarrassing."
The 19-year-old singer-songwriter, who had already won best song written for visual media during the pre-show, was rewarded for her personal single "Everything I Wanted." She won the same award in 2020 for "Bad Guy."
"This is really embarrassing for me," Eilish said when she and her brother, Finneas O'Connell, took the stage. "Megan, girl - I was gonna write a speech about how you deserve this, but then I was like, 'There's no way they're gonna choose me.' I was like, 'It's hers.'"
Megan Thee Stallion's smash hit "Savage," featuring Beyoncé, had already won best rap song and performance and was widely considered the frontrunner for record of the year. The Houston rapper also won best new artist.
"You deserve this," Eilish continued, addressing Megan in the audience. "You had a year that I think is un-top-able. You are a queen, I wanna cry thinking about how much I love you, you're so beautiful, you're so talented. You deserve everything in the world, I think about you constantly, I root for you always. You deserve it, honestly, genuinely. Can we just cheer for Megan Thee Stallion?"
Eilish then led the crowd in a round of applause, before concluding that she does "appreciate" the win.
"Thank you to the Academy, thank you to Ringo," she said, addressing the Beatles drummer, who presented her with the award. "I love you, I love my team, thank you for seeing me, and thank you to my brother Finneas."
Shortly after the ceremony ended, O'Connell retweeted a gif of his and Eilish's surprised reactions.
"When you're happily waiting to hear 'Savage,'" he wrote.
O'Connell cowrote and produced "Everything I Wanted," which was released in late 2019. It was inspired by a dream Eilish had about jumping off a building, but blossomed into an ode to the siblings' close relationship.
Although both Megan and Beyoncé had a very successful evening, the Grammys have been criticized in the past for favoring white artists over Black artists, especially in the "Big Four" categories. Eilish's speech recalled Adele's reaction to winning album of the year in 2017, when she said Beyoncé's "Lemonade" was more deserving.
Last year, Eilish was similarly sheepish while accepting the award for album of the year, which she said should've gone to Ariana Grande's "Thank U, Next."
Eilish is just the fifth artist to win record of the year twice, and the second female musician. She joins Simon & Garfunkel, U2, Roberta Flack, and Henry Mancini, and is the youngest artist in the exclusive club.