Did you watch the Grammy’s last night? I went to a friends house and caught a bit of it, and of course, the part that’s still in my bones was Kesha’s performance. She sang her single “Praying” standing beside powerhouses like Cindy Lauper, Andrea Day, Camila Cabello, and Julia Michaels. The ladies were joined by the Resistance Revival Chorus.
It was so painful and beautiful to watch. I think it’s important to remember that while this movement is amazing, it is very real ad triggering for women. What I saw in Kesha’s performance and heard in her voice, was the struggle to experience something that almost took her life.
Here’s Janelle Monáe’s opening speech if you didn’t get a chance to watch:
“Tonight, I am proud to stand in solidarity as not just an artist but a young woman with my fellow sisters in this room who make up the music industry. Artists, writers, assistants, publicists, CEOs, producers, engineers, and women from all sectors of the business. We are also daughters, wives, mothers, sisters, and human beings. We come in peace, but we mean business. And to those who would dare try and silence us, we offer you two words: Time’s up. We say time’s up for pay inequality, time’s up for discrimination, time’s up for harassment of any kind, and time’s up for the abuse of power. Because, you see, it’s not just going on in Hollywood, it’s not just going on in Washington — it’s right here in our industry as well. And just as we have the power to shake culture, we also have the power to undo the culture that does not serve us well. So let’s work together, women and men, as a united music industry, committed to creating more safe work environments, equal pay and access for all women.”
