Dear Gossips,

“We come in peace. But we mean business,” is what Janelle Monae said just before introducing Kesha’s performance last night, calling for Time’s Up on the music industry’s abuse of power. She also tweeted this…

…which turned out to be prophetic because there were very few female winners during the broadcast portion of the show last night, including one category where Ed Sheeran took out four women (Pink, Kesha, Lady Gaga, and Kelly Clarkson) to win. Back in November, when the Grammy nominations were announced, after the Recording Academy changed the voting process, resulting in a more diverse range of nominees, I wrote that while there was indeed an improvement in the selection, maybe let’s not get too optimistic just yet. This was my prediction:  

 

“…if we’re going by how the recording academy historically swings, it’s probably going to be Bruno Mars. Nominations are one thing. What will win is another. Nothing against Bruno Mars but it’s about what’s digestible. Even though more of the 13,000 recording academy members were able to put forward their selections this year, that doesn’t mean the part of the membership that made the choices from previous years, the ones who chose Adele over Beyoncé, are gone. They’re still around. They’re the MiniVan Majority of the recording academy. And for them, Bruno is the safest choice, especially since they don’t have Ed Sheeran to vote for.”  

Well. They found a way to vote for Ed Sheeran. 

Kesha and the women who supported her on stage – including Andra Day, Cyndi Lauper, Camila Cabello, Julia Michaels, and Bebe Rexha – delivered one of the most powerful and moving, if not the most powerful and moving, moments of the night. It was raw and vulnerable and generous. They came in peace. But they mean business. Will the business change in response? 

More thoughts on the Grammys to follow through the day. And also please check the LifeStyle page for fashion photos. 

Yours in gossip,

Lainey