LOS ANGELES – Most casual Grammy followers remember the audacious remark, but it took Phoebe Bridgers to bury it.
In the press room at the 2018 Grammy Awards, then-Recording Academy President Neil Portnow uttered his infamous statement that women needed to “step up” if they wanted to be major players in the music industry.
In the press room Sunday night, following the 66th annual ceremony, Bridgers and bandmates in the thrice-Grammy-winning band boygenius, were lobbed an innocuous query seeking their thoughts about women in rock music.
Bridgers pounced.
“I have something to say about women and rock music. The ex-president of the Recording Academy (Portnow) said that if a woman wanted to be nominated they should ‘step up’ … I’d like to say to him, I know you’re not dead yet, but when you are, rot in piss.”
Bridgers’ brash statement sounded not so much like a middle finger to Portnow – who was recently sued for sexual assault stemming from a 2018 alleged incident – but a defiant retort to a taunting bully.
Because for all that the Grammys get wrong – just ask Jay-Z and he’ll give you the list – they got a lot right Sunday.
Aside from participation trophies for Finneas O’Connell and Jack Antonoff – with Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift, respectively – all of the nine televised awards were won by women.
The victors in the top four categories: Swift, album of the year (a record-breaking fourth win there for “Midnights”); Eilish, song of the year (“What Was I Made For?”); Miley Cyrus, record of the year (“Flowers”); Victoria Monét, best new artist and best R&B album (“Jaguar II).”
They were the first Grammy wins for two of those artists despite their decade-plus careers (Monét’s primarily as a songwriter).
Cyrus, a pop presence for 17 years, finally earned her inaugural trophy (best pop solo performance for “Flowers”) and was so elated that she threw the line, “I just won my first Grammy!” into her performance of the winning song. Later in the show, while accepting her prestigious record of the year win, Cyrus commented that, “everyone in this world is spectacular … please don’t think (winning a Grammy) is important.”
That could be easily misconstrued as Cyrus joining Drake and The Weeknd on Petulance Island, but her point wasn’t about the value of the hardware.
“I really hope this doesn’t change anything because my life was beautiful yesterday,” Cyrus said, merely highlighting that while she doesn’t need awards as an endorsement of her career, it doesn’t mean she’ll reject the industry validation.
But these Grammys didn’t only acknowledge a heartening number of women directly – more than 40 of the 94 categories by our hazy math – they rewarded persistence and spotlighted artists with massive influence appeal.
Karol G became the first woman to win for best música urbana album (“Mañana Será Bonito,” her fourth release since 2017).
“I want to show girls we are made for big and great things,” she said backstage.
Guatemalan star Gaby Moreno told reporters, “I’ve been doing music for a very, very long time and I never in a million years thought I would receive recognition like this.” Her win came for best Latin pop album came for “X Mi (Vol. 1),” the eighth release of her career.
Leading nominee SZA – who entered the contest with nine – might have only triumphed in a third of her categories (including best R&B song for “Snooze”), but in her tearful acceptance speech, she too reminded viewers she’s been in the game a minute.
“You don’t understand,” she said, slammed with emotion. “I came really, really far and I can’t believe this is happening.”
The performances at this year’s Grammys swung through genres and genders – as they should – with plenty of veterans to goose interest from the AARP crowd.
Billy Joel (so good to see you!), U2 (sleek, but not even the coolest drone footage could properly showcase the magic of the Sphere), Stevie Wonder (a legend saluting a legend, Tony Bennett, during the extensive in memoriam segment).
But while Joni Mitchell leveled the room with her sage reading of “Both Sides, Now” and Annie Lennox captured the lilting ache of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” performed Sinead O’Connor-style also during the in memoriam, a stack of younger females dominated the stage.
Sure, Travis Scott, Jon Batiste, Burna Boy and Luke Combs were allowed into this year’s seeming girls-club (though Combs was joined by original “Fast Car” maven Tracy Chapman, so does that count?).
But the throughline from Dua Lipa’s seductive romp on metal scaffolding to Eilish’s 1960s-era headscarf Barbie tribute to Olivia Rodrigo’s scarlet snarl of vindication is, happily, hope.
These are the artists we’ll be seeing every couple of album cycle years just as we did when Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Alison Krauss, Norah Jones and Alicia Keys once reigned. Though now, as exemplified Sunday, the voting members of the Recording Academy – much amplified in scope and diversity in recent years – are seemingly pursuing a range of styles to acknowledge.
Those years of armfuls of trophies and headline-blasting sweeps will, like much in the music industry, morph or eventually fade.
Even the more recent years of Adele, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé – the most awarded artist in Grammy history – needing a wheelbarrow to carry their gramophone gold out of the arena are dwindling.
But the women who earned their Grammys Sunday have already staked their spots.
And no one will ever dare tell them to step up.