Women artistes were back big time at the Grammys. Female acts taking the top prizes was welcomed by the people after much introspection over gender inequality in awards in the film and music industries. A year and a half of the #MeToo movement had also put the focus on women with regard to equality.
The album of the year was Kacey Musgraves’ country-pop release “Golden Hour” and the best new artiste award went to British singer Dua Lipa. Female voices had been rather muted in 2018 when the Grammys were criticised for the low number of female nominees. The tide of opinion seems to have made amends already.
Six women were nominated for best new artist, and five of the eight album-of-the-year nominees were women, including Brandi Carlile, who described herself as “a kid from the ’90s from Lilith Fair.”
“Those women were just dominating those platforms. They were dominating those arena and amphitheatre stages. They were getting record deals. They were becoming record executives themselves. But watching those gains backslide for the last 20 years has been heartbreaking. Tonight gives me hope as a mother of two young daughters,” said Carlile, who won three honours in the Americana category and was the most nominated woman with six.
Cardi B also made history as the first solo female to win best rap album (Lauryn Hill won as a member of the Fugees at the 1997 Grammys). She was shaking onstage as she tried to give a thank-you speech with her rapper-husband Offset holding her arm.
The arrival of Michelle Obama was hugely popular and sort of put the seal on women dominating the show this year. Lady Gaga was among the winners too with three Gramys, including for the best pop duo/group along with Bradley Cooper for the song “shallow” from “A Star is Born”. Diana Ross, just short of her 75thbirthday, rocked the show with a couple of numbers.
Childish Gambino (not seen at the Grammys) was also among the night’s top winners, taking home four awards. “This Is America” also won best music video and best rap/sung performance. Ludwig Goransson, who co-wrote and produced Gambino’s song, said he was surprised a rap song had never won in the past.
“If you listen to the radio or if just you watch our culture or look at the most downloaded and streamed artists and bought albums, you see what’s at the top and what people listen to and you see what people get inspired by. It’s about time something like this happened,” he said backstage.
Gambino’s historic win comes years after rappers have struggled to win in the top categories, including Jay-Z, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar. Drake, who has lost in the big four categories over the years, told the room of musicians that winning awards isn’t necessary if you have real fans attending your concerts and singing your songs.
In all, the 2019 Grammys were a satisfying show in not only putting the focus on female performers but also in recognising their merit and popularity as well as the popular trends among pop and rap music fans.
(With agency inputs)
