Grammys 2021 Review

Much has been made, of course, about how awards ceremonies like the Grammys have had to adapt to the unusual circumstances that we find ourselves in this year, and it would be somewhat asinine at this point to stress the unusual nature of musicmaking in this strange era, but, at the risk of beating a long dead horse, I’m going to go ahead and do it anyway. Musicians, like everyone else, have had to readjust their process to accommodate for the restrictive and constantly changing conditions of the pandemic and this has, excitedly and perhaps unexpectedly, produced some shifts in the cultural zeitgeist. We have seen some artists, bereft of their ability to tour and to collaborate in person, withdraw into the shadows, while others have become extremely prolific during the period of enforced isolation, with much of their output reflecting the times by being more introspective in terms of its tone and minimalistic in terms of its production. With this spirit of experimentation and renaissance lingering in the air, it really felt like the Grammys, often critiqued for their reticence and stuffiness, had too emerged from the pandemic with a bit more subversion and innovation than before. With the shortlist, the Academy members behind the scenes seemed to have made a concession to include some lesser-known artists and some more avant-garde music for consideration. This was a shortlist that, perhaps for the first time, could truly boast diversity, both in its selection of artists, and in the nature of the music it was representing. Perhaps, though, this was not such a reflection on the Academy as on the changing trends within musicmaking over the past twelve months: the vast majority of the notable albums from the past year, it is impossible to overlook, have been made by women; and with the big political story of the year being the Black Lives Matter movement and the wider context of institutional racism, black identity and defiant politics became dominant themes in music. Something that immediately stood out when the nominations were announced was the fact that all of the nominees for Best Rock Performance were women, with Fiona Apple, the sister trio HAIM, Brittany Howard, Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Grace Potter vying for the gong, reflecting a trend in the music world towards female-led indie rock. There were early indications, then, that this year’s Grammys had the potential to upset the apple cart to an extent.

So was this potential realised? Not at all. It would have easily been possible to predict the winners in each category based purely on sales numbers, with the Academy making the safest choice at pretty much every turn. Was there ever any doubt, for example, that the extremely lucrative Taylor Swift would win Album of the Year for Folklore? Just different enough from Swift’s usual output for the Academy to praise her experimentation, it would have been considered radical to hand the award to the exceptional Women in Music Pt. III from HAIM, or the truly experimental Everyday Life from Coldplay. Folklore ultimately beat out even the (admittedly brilliant) Future Nostalgia from rising star Dua Lipa, which somehow lost in this category but beat Folklore in the Best Pop Vocal Album category, in which the two albums were also both nominated (I’m not entirely convinced of the logic behind that). Elsewhere, the winners list reads like a Spotify “Bestsellers of 2020” playlist, with Rain on Me winning Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, and Harry Styles’ Watermelon Sugar taking Best Solo Performance. Much of the list unfolds in this vein, with perhaps the most notable takeaway from the night being Megan Thee Stallion’s continued ascendancy, taking Best New Artist amongst strong competition, and Best Rap Performance, in yet another coup for womankind in a traditionally male-dominated genre, for the single Savage. She may have benefitted here from the track’s inclusion of Grammy favourite Beyoncé, who has now broken the records for most Grammy wins by a female artist and most Grammy wins for a singer. On the topic of ascendant musicians, I was happy, but not surprised, to see Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas take Record of the Year for Everything I Wanted - let’s hope Eilish can continue to build on her successes with a strong sophomore album.

The Academy made an astute assent to the political climate by naming H.E.R.’s I Can’t Breathe Song of the Year in a category of perhaps more likely winners but nothing else stands out for me as particularly controversial, although I was surprised to see The Strokes take Best Rock Album with The New Abnormal up against the much-lauded Kiwanuka from Michael Kiwanuka (and indeed a competent entry from up-and-comers Fontaines D.C.). Some genre categorisations, as usual, tend to be confusing at best - I’m not sure how “folk” is defined anymore, but I’m not sure Laura Marling’s Song For Our Daughter qualifies, despite ultimately losing out to Gillian Welch and David Rawlings in the Best Folk Album category. Up in the nosebleeds, recently-deceased heavyweights Chick Corea (Best Jazz Instrumental Album and Best Improvised Jazz Solo) and Toots Hibbert of Maytals fame (Best Reggae Album) both - rather predictably - received posthumous awards, and Kanye West won his twenty-first Grammy award for the rather dubious distinction of Best Contemporary Christian Music Album.

This year has certainly been an unusual period, a fact which has manifested itself in a massive way in the sphere of the arts in particular. Nevertheless, musicians have demonstrated their ability to adapt and music lovers have still been treated to some exceptional music this year. Momentum shifts which have been subtle over the past few years have also been accelerated and emphasised by the pandemic: particularly the barnstorming rise of female musicians, the influence of politics on music and vice versa, and the trend toward experimentation and independent means of production. Awards ceremonies will always continue to play it safe and choose the path of least resistance, but the importance of music and the increasing democratisation of the process of musicmaking and of the consumption of art have never been so stark.