The 2024 Grammy Awards were handed out this past weekend in Los Angeles. While there were many interesting and noteworthy moments from the show itself, the bigger story that was happening had to do with the weather. California was experiencing record levels of rain while this show was being broadcast. There were floods, landslides and even one death. Mother Nature was sure flexing her muscles. So it was with some amusement that I read story after story that seemed bent on focussing on efforts “to keep the stars dry”. I’m sorry, but as much as I like music and respect those who make it, real people were suffering during this unprecedented storm. That thousands of dollars and the efforts of hundreds of people were trained on sheltering celebrities from the rain just says to me that, perhaps, we are not as far removed from being like the Capitol in The Hunger Games than we may wish ourselves to be. That having been said, I am glad that everyone made it safely inside because there were many moments worth discussing. Here is a rundown of what went down at the 2024 Grammy Awards.
Taylor Swift
The juggernaut that is Taylor Swift won two Grammy Awards. She won for sub-category Pop Vocal Album of the Year, as well as for the overall Album of the Year, both for her album Midnights. It was not unexpected that Swift would win. She has enjoyed one of the most dominant years that any performer has ever had in any genre during any era. It would have been a snub of Barbie-esque proportions had she not been nominated for Album of the Year, and it would have been a tremendous upset had she not ended up winning it all as she did.
As many of you may know, the Album of the Year was presented by none other than Celine Dion. Dion has been ill for a while now and has stayed away from the spotlight until the night of the Grammys. Many felt as though her appearance at the show to hand out that specific award was predetermined to act as a coronation of sorts, with the undisputed diva of one generation passing the crown on to the undisputed diva of this generation. So, when it all unfolded according to plan, but then Swift forgot to acknowledge Dion in all of the excitement of the moment, much was made of “the snub” by the music press and those following along on social media. That Taylor Swift realized her error, apologized to Celine Dion backstage and posed with her in a warm embrace didn’t seem to diffuse the thirst for controversy that erupted. At the end of the day, what I take from all of it is that we, as regular human beings, have to be careful consumers of the information we receive online and from traditional media sources. Taylor Swift has emerged in 2023 and 2024 as a powerful female voice in our world. Her influence extends beyond the world of music. She generates billions of dollars for the music industry and wields financial influence on a scale that we are not used to seeing from a woman in a man’s world. Swift is unafraid to speak out on issues of importance to herself as a singer and as a woman. Consequently, just by being as successful as she is, Taylor Swift finds herself as being threatening to the Old Boys Club that runs so much of our world. It is not surprising that those from Fox News and other right wing media organizations are eager to place Swift in their crosshairs so as to knock her off of the pedestal she is so clearly on. Thus, I find the overblown reaction to “the snub” to be more revealing of those allied against her and what she stands for than I do of the incident itself. Taylor Swift had the biggest year in music history and was the deserving winner of Album of the Year. That’s the only story that matters to me.
The link to the video for the songs “Anti Hero”, “Karma” and “Lavender Haze” can all be found here, here and here. ***The lyric versions are here, here and here.
The link to Taylor Swift’s official website can be found here.
Miley Cyrus
At one point during the show, my daughter Leah and I tuned in just in time to watch the high energy Tina Turner tribute by Fantasia Barrino. “Proud Mary” has always been a song that gets you moving. However, Leah instantly noted how staid and lifeless the audience was. We are not a family who has had cable television for years, so neither of our daughters has grown up watching network programming, including awards shows. Thus, Leah was not used to seeing how reserved most celebrity audiences actually are during these performances. I have always thought that it must be off putting to be giving it your all on stage and getting almost no response from the audience directly in front of you. So anyway, Leah noted that. One other person who noted that was Miley Cyrus. I don’t know Miley Cyrus personally but she seems to be like someone who says and does what she wants and doesn’t seem to care what you or I think about it. Thus, it was not surprising that during her performance of the Grammy Award winning song, “Flowers”, that she admonished the crowd for being non-responsive and tried to get them going by ad-libbing the lyrics at certain points by gleefully shouting out that she had just won her first Grammy!!!! In fact, Miley Cyrus would win two Grammys before the night was through. She won for Best Pop Vocal Performance and for Record of the Year. I have always been a fan of her voice. She has one of the deepest, lustiest, most powerful singing voices out there today. I also admire her spunk. The world needs more public performers who seem as real and authentic as Miley Cyrus does. For someone who has been involved in the industry her whole life, she comes off as taking it less seriously than almost everyone else. She was a breath of fresh air throughout the broadcast. I congratulate her on her deserving wins. I am looking forward to seeing and hearing what she does next.
The link to the video for the song “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus can be found here. ***The lyrics video can be found here.
The link to her official website can be found here.
Boygenius
If you are not familiar with Boygenius, then you should get to know them as a band or as the separate recording artists that they were before the group formed. Boygenius is a band made up of singer/guitarists Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus. Prior to coming together to work as one group, each member of Boygenius had their own successful solo career going. All three women arrived on the music scene around the same time a decade or so ago. They kept appearing on festival bills together and got to know each other due to their paths so constantly crossing. As admirers of each other’s talent, the three friends decided to team up. They share singing duties, songwriting responsibilities, as well as guitar playing. At the Grammy Awards, all three members of Boygenius appeared wearing white suits and sporting pink carnations in their lapels. This was a tribute to singer/songwriter Elliott Smith, whom they all admire. *(I wrote about Elliott Smith here and here. If you read these posts, it will give you a good sense of the depth of storytelling Boygenius is striving for). In any case, the band won three Grammys this past weekend. They won for Best Alternative Album, Best Rock Performance, and Phoebe Bridgers shared a Grammy with singer SZA for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group.
The link to the video for their song “Not Strong Enough” can be found here. ***The lyrics version is here.
The link to their official website can be found here.
Joni Mitchell
A few years ago Joni Mitchell suffered a brain aneurysm. As someone who was already in her seventies when it happened, no one would have been surprised if she had declined and had died in the years that followed. However, the surprise has been on all of us who doubted her ability to not only recover but to thrive. While Joni Mitchell doesn’t move that freely on stage anymore, she still has that beautiful voice that has always been her calling card. Thus, easily one of the most talked about moments during this year’s Grammy Awards show was the appearance of Joni Mitchell on a Grammy stage for the very first time in her illustrious career. Not only did she show up and take a bow, she won a Grammy award for Best Folk Album of the Year. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, she sat down and gave a lovely performance of her classic hit “Both Sides Now”. *(You can read about the background of that song here). As has always been the case in recent years, Mitchell was accompanied on stage by constant musical and personal companion, singer Brandi Carlile. We are all fortunate that she is still able to captivate us with her spirit and her talent. We are losing our heroes as we all age, so let’s celebrate those moments when one of them weaves a bit of magic again for us all to enjoy. All hail Joni Mitchell!
The link to her Grammy performance can be found here. ***The lyrics version of “Both Sides Now” can be found here.
The link to the official website for Joni Mitchell can be found here.
Jay-Z
Jay-Z is a billionaire. He made millions as a Hip Hop star in his younger days. Then he developed and eventually sold the streaming service known as Tidal for hundreds of millions of dollars more. Along with his wife, Beyoncé, Jay-Z is a proud promoter of the work of other black artists. As such, he recognizes many of the institutional barriers that exist in our society that are preventing racial equality from being realized. One of those institutions that Jay-Z believes is in need of a shake up is the very Grammy organization that was presenting him with an award this past weekend. What the Grammy Awards show ended up doing was not only presenting Jay-Z with an award but also a platform to air his grievances. And so it was that Jay-Z strode to the microphone, holding his daughter Blue Ivy’s hand throughout much of his speech, while he proceeded to tear a strip off of an organization that has had to be pushed with great force to honour black artists with anything even remotely close to the same energy as it does white artists. Truth be told, while some black artists won awards during the primetime telecast, many others were awarded Grammys during the untelevised pre-show. Jay-Z didn’t pull “ a Kayne” and mention Taylor Swift by name, but he did set aside a portion of his speech time to present the case again for his wife and how Beyoncé is the most honoured Grammy artist ever and yet has never won for Album of the Year and, in fact, has rarely even been nominated. It was not by fluke that Jay-Z and those at his table left the auditorium before the Album of the Year category was announced. In the past, many artists of colour have actively boycotted the Grammy Awards because of how they are represented and promoted on the show. Some of the biggest names of today such as Drake refuse to even allow their music to be considered for nomination in the first place. Regardless of how you feel about the topic of systemic racism and even if you have grown tired of talking about it, racism remains a fact of life for far too many people. I know that I am privileged beyond measure to not have to deal with the fallout from it in my daily life. I am a white male. Privilege is my middle name. That a billionaire such as Jay-Z does not enjoy the same consideration as a thousandaire like me tells you that we all still have a way to go before racism ceases to be an issue worthy of discussion. For now, I do not begrudge Jay-Z his Grammy platform. He does not need their approval to speak his mind. Hopefully, by using the platform provided to him during the telecast, he can cause further change to happen within the boardrooms of those who plot the Grammys’ course. I guess only time will tell.
The link to the official website for Jay-Z can be found here.
Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs.
In an industry rife with people who draw attention to themselves, Tracy Chapman has always been the epitome of grace and class. (I wrote previously about Chapman and her song “Fast Car” here). Because she has lived such a quiet, understated personal and professional life, the steely resolve of her most famous song, “Fast Car”, has always stood out for me among the thousands of other louder and flashier songs that are released each year. “Fast Car” is everything I admire about the craft of songwriting. It paints such a full and complete human portrait of a life that many of us can recognize and even associate with. As songs go, I view “Fast Car” the same way I do songs by such gifted scribes as Bruce Springsteen, John Prine, Steve Earle or Tom Waits. It is simply one of my most favourite songs of all time.
So, you can probably imagine that I wasn’t completely thrilled to hear “Fast Car” returning to a radio station near me this past summer, but being sung by someone other than Tracy Chapman. In fact, when I first heard that it was a male singing Chapman’s part, I thought that something sacrilegious was taking place. However, having said that and while still not being a fan of the new version, I have long since learned of the story behind how Luke Combs came to earn Tracy Chapman’s blessing. This story makes things better. As it turns out, Luke Combs, who already had multiple number one Country hits to his name, approached Tracy Chapman seeking her permission to simply record a cover version for his latest album. The two met in person. Chapman apparently found Combs to be someone who possessed good values, and in due time, she came to feel comfortable entrusting her song into his care. It was never Luke Combs’ intention to release the song as a single. However, fans noticed the song and their reaction to it caused it to take on an energy of its own. Luke Combs’ cover version started appearing on various listings of buzzworthy and/or trending new tunes. Just before the song started roaring up the charts, Combs went back to Chapman and informed her of what was transpiring with the cover. He says that if she had been uncomfortable in any way, he would have pulled the song back and kept it as an unreleased cover. But Chapman gave him her blessing. Luke Combs released the song and soon it was appearing on a radio station near me.
For many people, the duet between Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs was the highlight of this year’s Grammy telecast. Luke Combs appeared to be quite humbled to be on the same stage actually singing “Fast Car” with her. The respect that each shared for the other was quite obvious. For a song that speaks of inclusion and of self worth and of belonging, having a black member of the LGTBQ+ community singing in harmony with a white straight male Country singer on a stage in front of an audience of millions was a moment that brought the meaning of the song to life in a way that many will not soon forget. Music can build bridges and it can heal. It remains important even if some felt that keeping the stars dry or “the snub” was the thing that mattered most. Much thanks to Tracy Chapman and to Luke Combs for being the class acts that you both are. Our world needs more of that.
The link to the video for the Grammy performance of “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs can be found here. ***The lyrics version of “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman can be found here. The lyrics version for Luke Combs can be found here.
The links to the official websites for Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs can be found here and here.
There were many more Grammys given out in many other categories. If you wish to know more about who else came away with a Grammy on the weekend, the link to a complete list of all categories, nominees and eventual “winners” can be found here.
Thanks to you all for reading this post and my words. If you have any thoughts on this year’s Grammy Awards, feel free to let me know in the comment box below.
***As always, all original content contained within this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2024 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com
I typically don’t watch awards shows and this year was no different for the Grammys. I did however enjoy reading your review on the night. I appreciate your ability to recount a live show in such detail, for someone who does a bit of writing it’s much harder than it looks. Which is why I can’t do it I suppose! You’ve inspired me to track down a few of the appearances on YouTube , appearing minutes after the show no doubt.
Thanks, Randy. I appreciate your kind words. I don’t actually put a lot of stock in shows like this but I know that there are people who look to me for a reaction, hence the post. I would have tuned in just to watch Tracy Chapman again. She is one of my all time favs for sure.
She’s a tremendous talent I agree.