How Women Won the 61st Grammys
Led by Alicia Keys as host, the women who appeared on the Grammys stage this year made it resoundingly clear who runs the music world.
Written by Selome Hailu
Photos courtesy of Getty Images
After the 2018 Grammys, president and CEO of the Recording Academy Neil Portnow crassly deflected criticism that the award show had snubbed women musicians. He claimed that women needed “to step up, because [he thought] they would be welcome.”
Portnow’s comment was ignorant of women’s immense contributions to music that year and the systemic barriers for women to achieve the same success as men in the music industry. But the 2019 Grammys proved Portnow wrong: it was never about a need to step up musically. It’s about the people in power making a real, progressive effort to give female musicians the recognition they deserve.
The 61st annual Grammy Awards were on Sunday, February 10, and the show was far more feminine than last year’s ceremony allowed. Alicia Keys set a tone of kindness and empathy as host by praising each performer with exuberant warmth — a courtesy she extended to herself as well.
She wasted no time with modesty, reminding everyone of the 15 Grammys under her belt. At the same time, though, her story was far from arrogant. After mentioning her accolades, Keys recounted how she’d dreamt of winning Song of the Year with her 2003 hit “If I Ain’t Got You.” She lost to John Mayer’s “Daughters,” but many believed she was was robbed, Keys and Mayer included.
Though an outright complaint may have been warranted, she graciously chose to tell the story of how Mayer broke his Grammy in half to give her a part of what she deserved. Last night, Mayer joined her again onstage to present an award, but also to exemplify that it’s on men to use their platforms to make room for the recognition of women in music.
Until that happens, women are still continuing to prove their worth with stellar recordings and live performances. Dolly Parton was recognized as the 2019 MusiCares Person of the Year, and her tribute was studded with feminine excellence. She was joined by an ensemble of Miley Cyrus, Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, Linda Perry, and Katy Perry with Little Big Town playing behind them.
The medley of Parton’s most iconic songs spoke to both her incredible contributions to music and the versatility women musicians bring to the public eye. Each performer brought her own unique take on the genre of country pop to revitalize Parton’s classics, finishing powerfully with “9 to 5.”
While we all know none of the women onstage need 40 hour office jobs to make a living, the song still stood to make a statement: these women work, and though their careers are “enough to drive them crazy,” they continue on.
Dolly Parton wasn’t the only woman honored during the ceremony. Next came came Diana Ross’ 75th birthday performance, where she joyfully called out, “Happy birthday to me!” as her family and audience members crowded around her to celebrate. The late Aretha Franklin received a tribute as well, with Yolanda Adams, Fantasia, and Andra Day giving a powerhouse rendition of “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”
There were women in 15 of the 18 performances in last night’s Grammys, compared to 9 of last year’s 19. Alicia Keys played two pianos at the same time in tribute to Hazel Scott, a trailblazer in both jazz music and black television. Lady Gaga showed off her alto chops by making a solo out of her now Grammy-winning duet “Shallow.” She performed as herself instead of her character Ally in A Star is Born, taking Bradley Cooper’s parts as her own and adapting the soulful soundtrack piece to the hallmark eccentricity of her style. Other notable performances came from Janelle Monae, H.E.R., and Kacey Musgraves, who also won Album of the Year.
Musgraves’ win was part of a larger pattern; the awards themselves went to far more women than last year. Musgraves won four awards, Gaga won three, and Cardi B became the first solo woman to win Best Rap Album. Many categories typically dominated by men went in a different direction Sunday night.
But like any award show, the night was not without its flaws. Jennifer Lopez was an ill-fitting choice to perform the Motown tribute, Grammy producers cut off one of Drake’s acceptance speeches as he tried to say that awards don’t matter as much as the craft of making music itself, and many had hoped for a tribute to the late Mac Miller, whose parents were invited to the show.
Portnow made yet another faux-pas, giving a cheesy speech about diversity and inclusion, despite never rescinding his misogynistic comments from last year. Dua Lipa didn’t let him go free, however; in her acceptance of the award for Best New Artist, she quipped, “I guess we’ve really stepped up.”
Though Portnow may have yet to understand, women have been “stepping up” for decades. And, like Michelle Obama told us during her surprise appearance, until the men running the institutions of recognition step up for them, or rather step aside, women are making strides any way by showing up for one another.
While watching the happy-go-lucky girl power of women holding hands, speaking with eloquence, and singing their hearts out made the night unforgettable, it was more than just a show. Years ago, Beyoncé posed a question reiterated by Michelle Obama and Alicia Keys at the ceremony, and the Grammys reminded everyone who forgot its answer.
Who run the world? Girls.