A new kind of Grammy

 

It’s been a tough year, anyone will tell you that. Between the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the catastrophic end of the Trump presidency and, of course, the still on-going Coronavirus pandemic, many turn to entertainment to help alleviate some pain. Music does that — in droves. Last night, the Grammy awards were quite successful in acknowledging the situation as well as celebrating what was to be celebrated: messages of resilience, signals for hope and a female empowerment thread that came when no one was expecting it anymore…

On fighting the tragic consequences of racial bias and social division in the United States, the Recording academy did its best to promote the right kind of message this year: Lil Baby’s performance of “The Bigger Picture” featuring rapper/activist Killer Mike beautifully hit the spot. Then came the song of the year, H.E.R.’s “I can’t breathe“, a haunting anthem for our troubled times. Incidentally, that song was performed by a female vocalist, and two of its three composers were women (more on that later). That was not even the only song of the year nominee to tackle these issues: Beyoncé‘s “Black Parade” also famously did that…

On promoting hope, there were multiple performances and/or speeches that conveyed in no uncertain terms the idea that the US and the world are in mourning for last year’s tragic moments — but also looking ahead towards a better future. From the upbeat performances of Harry Styles and momentous Bruno Mars / Anderson .Paak collaboration Silk Sonic — not to mention the always on point K-Pop superstars from BTS — to the wonderfully explosive “WAP” performance featuring both Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion (again, more on that later) to that sweet moment when Billie Eilish confessed she thought the aforementioned Megan should have won record of the year instead of her… This affair was resolutely not all doom and gloom.

Finally, on promoting female empowerment in the most spectacular way possible, this year’s Grammys resulted in the most awards given to female artists — ever. In effect, the evening’s top winners were almost exclusively female: the aforementioned H.E.R. and Billie Eilish, as well as Megan Thee Stallion (who did win 3 awards, despite losing one to Eilish), Taylor Swift (because… of course) and the queen herself, Beyoncé, whose 4 wins yesterday (including R&B performance for “Black Parade”) put her at a career total of 28. That’s more than any other female artist ever, and more than anyone except British classical conductor Georg Solti. The message is clear.

Cherry on the cake: Queen Bey’s win for the “Brown Skin Girl” video was shared with her 9-year old daughter Blue Ivy. Making it clear that this is just the beginning…