This year, the Grammys were hosted by Alicia Keys, who immediately decided to use her role to recognize iconic women who have been influenced by music. She began her monologue by inviting up Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jennifer Lopez to share stories about their connections to music. Lady Gaga spoke about her struggle to embrace her identity and how she found confidence through music. Her unique style, sound, and looks were never accepted until she started singing. Similarly, Jada Pinkett Smith expressed her gratitude toward music for giving her a platform through which to express her pain and power. To Jennifer Lopez, music is a reason to dance and a reminder of her roots. Michelle Obama’s love of music stems from its freedoms. She feels it allows her to tell her story as well as hear others’ stories. She ended her speech by connecting music to friendship in a way that was more than fitting to hear while watching this stage of incredible women. Obama shared, “For me, a big part of friendship is showing up for your girls”. This sentiment was felt throughout the night, as many women won awards and were the center of controversies at this year’s show.
Notably, one music icon was missing from this stage and from the Grammys entirely. Ariana Grande decided not to attend this year’s award show following disagreements with producers over which songs she would perform. She did not, however, miss an opportunity to get dressed up for the show. Posing in her custom Zac Posen gown, sporting her iconic high ponytail, Ariana Grande did not stay home quietly. In fact, she even tweeted an acceptance speech thanking everyone involved in her album Sweetener, for which she won her first Grammy award that night. Ariana’s presence and absence were both felt last Sunday, as she stood up for her music and beliefs and was rewarded for it. Ariana also tweeted to the Grammy’s producer the Friday before the show wishing that “the show is exactly what you want it to be and more.” While it wasn’t everything viewers were hoping without her performance, Ariana Grande did not want to be the cause of drama at the Grammys. Luckily for her, by the end of the night there was a new dramatic, scene to be watched.
The drama ensued when Cardi B won a Grammy for best rap album, becoming the first female solo rapper to do so. She was quickly criticized, however, when many fans claimed she did not deserve the award. But following Michelle Obama’s wise words from earlier that night, Lady Gaga instantly stood up for her new friend. After Cardi B had deleted her Instagram following this backlash, Gaga posted a video of the two artists meeting with a caption showing her support for Cardi B and her success Sunday night. Similar to Ariana Grande, this was Cardi B’s first Grammy award win, yet the night wasn’t anything like one would imagine. Cardi was especially brought down because last year, many of her fans felt she deserved the 2018 award. Unfortunately, all of this overshadowed Cardi B’s personal victory, winning her first Grammy and being the first solo woman to win in her category.
The 2019 Grammys began and ended on a note of female empowerment with the prevailing message of friendship; however, much of the surrounding news has focused on the controversies sparked by this year’s award show. The benefit of all of this is that each woman who was brought down has had many more woman ready to defend her and pick her right back up.