Beyoncé shies away from limelight, Taylor Swift fangirls: What you didn’t see on TV at the Grammys

LOS ANGELES — As some of your favorite singers accepted their first (or 13th and 14th, in Taylor Swift's case) trophies during the 66th annual Grammy Awards Sunday night, some of the juiciest moments were happening off-camera.

Backstage, first-time nominee boygenius collected three awards and admitted that they were calling it quits. As Swift was poised to make Grammys history, she made sure to fangirl over as many of her industry colleagues as possible, standing and singing along to most of the performances, even if she was the only one in her section doing so. And Beyoncé kept a relatively low profile as she, Jay-Z and Blue Ivy Carter graced the ceremony for a brief time.

Here's what it was like inside the show – and backstage! – and take a peek at all the moments you didn’t see on TV.

Taylor Swift sings along to Olivia Rodrigo, beelines for Ice Spice after best new artist loss

With each commercial break, the A-listers and their guests seated at the front of the house had the opportunity to mix and mingle.

This allowed admirers to fawn over Swift and request selfies with her when she was on the move, massive train crumbled in one hand like a huge wad of tissue. (Her publicist and security guard deterred most from approaching whenever she’d remain seated at her table with Jack Antonoff, Margaret Qualley and Lana Del Rey). But these breaks also gave the album of the year winner the chance to fangirl over her favorite artists, too.

At one point, Swift made a beeline for three-time winner boygenius – which includes “Red (Taylor’s Version)” collaborator Phoebe Bridgers – and Bo Burnham, who was seated with the trio, and enthusiastically hugged the group. She spent nearly an entire commercial break with SZA, briefly chatted with longtime friend Ed Sheeran and, when the ceremony cut to a break after Victoria Monét’s best new artist win, Swift shot up out of her seat, crossed to the other side of the stage-front area and had a conversation with Ice Spice for a few minutes.

As Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs sang their “Fast Car” duet, Swift swayed along with the melody, her back corset strings moving along with her beat. When Olivia Rodrigo launched into the second chorus of “Vampire,” Swift got up out of her seat and appeared to know every word of the track as she sang and danced along.

Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Blue Ivy cause commotion in the VIP area

After Jay-Z accepted the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award with a brutally honest speech in which he showed he wasn’t afraid to call out the Recording Academy, his and Grammy-winning daughter Blue Ivy’s return to their seats, which they didn’t arrive at until well into the three-hour show, was met with flashes that could be seen clear across the arena.

As a crowd gathered to bask in the Carters’ aura, Beyoncé kept a lower profile (as much as possible when you’re Beyoncé, anyway) from the vantage point of those not seated with the VIPs. Wearing a white wide-brimmed hat and sporting long, silver-white hair, the superstar didn’t stray far from her family’s table.

The Carters left as quickly as they came, seemingly departing during the break before Burna Boy took to the stage.

Boygenius says this is really the end: 'Now we walk into the sunset'

The trio of Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus confirmed backstage that despite the critical success and fan adoration of their Grammy-winning 2023 album, “The Record,” the recently announced boygenius hiatus is the end of the group.

“We told each other at the beginning of the project that it would have a finite date, and we completed that time and now we walk into the sunset,” Bridgers said.

When asked if they had any plans to return, each of the musicians said, separately, a definitive “no.”

Billie Eilish talks about 'life-changing' Greta Gerwig job for 'Barbie' soundtrack

Billie Eilish and collaborator brother Finneas O'Connell entered backstage carrying their shared Grammy awards – best song written for visual media and best song for "What Was I Made For?" from the "Barbie" soundtrack – one in each of their hands.

Eilish, 22, discussed how the songwriting job from director/producer Greta Gerwig was a lifeline to get the creatively stalled duo back to writing music.

"We didn't really realize how life-changing it was going to be," said Eilish. "It woke us up and got us back on our thing."

After speaking about "Barbie" and "being seen" in the music industry, Eilish realized she hadn't let her brother pipe in with an answer.

"Sorry about that," Eilish said as they walked off the stage.

Coco Jones won her Grammy while on the red carpet

Coco Jones is just getting acquainted with her first Grammy for best R&B performance.

The "Moment of Your Life" singer was dealing with Los Angeles rain and the red carpet when her name was announced in the Grammys pre-show, she told reporters backstage.

"That's when I heard that I won that award," said Jones, looking at the Grammy in her hand. "I'm really soaking it in right now looking at this award, thinking about my vision board where I edited my face onto that picture of Beyoncé holding all her awards. It's just too surreal to really unpack right here."

Gaby Moreno ‘never thought’ she’d receive Grammy recognition

Gaby Moreno, resplendent in a satin purple gown, said backstage that her award-winning “X Mi (Vol, 1)” album – her eighth – was the culmination of “so many years of hard work.”

The Guatemalan singer's win for best Latin pop album was the first of her career, and she said she “never in a million years thought I would receive recognition like this.”

Moreno confirmed the Feb. 16 release of her new album, “Dusk,” which she described as “a bit more American roots.”

Singing in English and Spanish on the new record, Moreno said she wants to inject more Latin into the roots genre.

“I feel it needs more Latin representation. I’ve lived in the U.S. for 23 years and I want to keep representing my culture with the music that I do.”

Karol G wants to show ‘Griselda’ badness  just like everyone else

Karol G spoke out backstage about being the first woman to win the Grammy for best música urbana album. “As a woman, it’s tough in this industry," the Colombian singer said. "So I hold this with a lot of pride. I want to show girls we are made for big and great things."

Big things like even more acting, as Karol G, 32, made her acting debut in Netflix's "Griselda," playing a trusted confidant to Sofia Vergara's drug lord Griselda Blanco.

"I loved every moment on the set," Karol G said, beaming. "And I'd love to be the bad girl in another series or a movie. Whichever."

Even Grammy nominees Jelly Roll and Tyla aren’t immune to the LA rain

On the red carpet – located inside a massive white tent on a street outside the arena – there was almost no sign that celebrities, donning outfits and accessories likely worth thousands of dollars, had to travel through any rain to put their best face forward for photographers and reporters.

Almost.

As the red carpet arrivals started shifting into high gear, Tyla – who won the inaugural best African music performance category – gracefully emerged through a billowing, wet opening in the tent on the reporters’ side of the red carpet barricade with nary a raindrop on her ethereal green silk rope-like gown.

Over at the red carpet exit, with 15 minutes to go until host Trevor Noah kicked off the ceremony, Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo had a slight hesitation as they determined how to navigate an approximately 200-foot open-air trek to the next tent, which led to the arena doors. They allowed a few people to go ahead of them with the umbrella-wielding runners, who were transporting guests between the red carpet and the ceremony, before the best new artist nominee ushered his wife ahead of them and they braved the downpour together.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Grammys 2024: What wasn't on TV, including Beyoncé keeping low profile