Dear Gossips,

As I wrote on Friday, f-ckery is what we have come to expect from the Grammys so, no, it was not a surprise last night that the most nominated artist of the year, SZA, did not win in any of the major categories and the Grammys she did win were in genre categories which is often where the Recording Academy likes to often relegate Black artists. And this is even more of a disappointment because… it was a good show! A really good show with excellent performances. And if you watched the show last night one of the big takeaways last night is that music is a woman’s game – past, present, and future! I cried multiple times.

And I definitely cried, like SOBBED, when Tracy Chapman took the stage to perform her song, “Fast Car”, with Luke Combs. It was a huge surprise, she hasn’t performed live in a long time, the audience understood that they were witnessing a very, very rare occasion, she sounded sublime, and the way Luke kept looking over at her, almost in disbelief that this was happening to him… it is not hyperbolic to say this was one of the greatest moments in Grammy history.

Then, again, sobbing when Joni Mitchell came out. It is of course what Joni has been through but it’s also, like “Fast Car”, those lyrics. These are songs that put words to pain and loss and most of all, regret. A new shade of melancholy revealed every time you hear them. And there’s beauty in this too, because that is the power of music – there is comfort in hearing your sadness, your happiness, your fear, and your anxiety sung back to you in someone else’s voice. When it happens it’s a life-affirming experience. After all, we are never more alive than when we feel seen.

And the Grammys certainly delivered on that note on the Biggest Night in Music.

Yours in gossip,

Lainey

Joni Mitchell Gossip

About