Music’s biggest night was in full swing January 28. The 60th Grammy Annual Award Show highlighted the talents of varying musical acts in 2017. Well, sort of. In a not-so-shocking turn of events, many of those performing were men and the genres preformed centered mainly around pop.
Although formerly heralded for the diversity among nominees and the diverse genres in the major categories (Song of the Year and Record of the Year) the actual winner, sorry Bruno, was met with some disappointment. Apparently, some of the other nominees did not fit the usual “type” of past winners; thus, the stereotype prevailed and Bruno Mars took home all of the night’s most coveted awards with his R&B-infused pop music that appeals to the masses.
Not only did more mainstream artists win, there was also a surprising lack of gender equality among the winners. The only female solo artist that won a major category was Alessia Cara for Best New Artist.
Although underrepresented both by nominations and awards, the performances by female artists stole the show. In particular, one of the most moving and authentic performances of the night was “Praying,” performed mainly by Kesha but backed up by Cyndi Lauper, Camila Cabello, Bebe Rexha, Andra Day, and Julia Michaels.
Many often forget the rollercoaster that Kesha has endured in the past few years. In 2014, Kesha sued Sony producer Dr. Luke in order to void all contracts made with him. She stated in the suit that Dr. Luke “sexually, physically, verbally, and emotionally abused [her] to the point where [she] nearly lost her life.” Then, in 2016, she was denied an injunction that would have allowed her to record new music outside of Sony and Dr. Luke.
All of this led to one of the most empowering and emotional performances of the night.
The show itself even hyped up this performance by announcing “Coming up: a powerful Grammys moment from Kesha that speaks to our times!” However, never made explicit was why this performance would speak to our times. Kesha’s unique space in this movement was never once mentioned, no matter how much it was alluded to. When Janelle Monáe introduced Kesha’s performance, she tried to make it clear why the message of “Praying” is relevant to today, while the Grammys themselves never made it explicit why Kesha was such a pointed choice.
Before the show even started, many stars showed up wearing a white rose. After the success of the black dress code at the Golden Globes, all in attendance were invited to incorporate a white rose into their outfit to support the Time’s Up movement. Although the outfits made a statement, the lack of comments during the actual award show proves that the music industry isn’t ready to take the bullet for all those they’ve failed.
In the end, it seems as though the Grammys made a big show of supporting women and diversity without actually supporting either.