For all the discussions about both racial and gender inequality at the Grammys this year, the lack of female representation at this year's awards ceremony was hard to ignore. This is something that wasn't lost on singer Lorde as she took to the pages of the New Zealand Herald with a full-page advertisement to not only thank her fans for embracing her last album Melodrama but also thank them for "believing in female musicians."
In the published handwritten note, the singer said she "saw a lot of crazy & wonderful things” and dedicated her nomination to the fans who supported her. She also added shutouts to 5-time nominee SZA and one of the night's biggest winners, Kendrick Lamar, also mentioning that Jay Z's hands were "really soft."
Lorde was notably the sole woman nominated for the night's biggest award, Album Of The Year, which she lost to Bruno Mars' 24k Magic. Additionally, just 11 out of 84 of the coveted statues went to any other women, with Alessia Cara's Best New Artist win being the only one to make the telecast. It's likely that Lorde felt she, and other women in the industry, were being snubbed by the Recording Academy as she was one of the very few women up for the most important accolades and also the only Album Of The Year nominee not invited to perform her own material at the show. The producers did, however, ask her to be a part of a group Tom Petty tribute, which she eventually declined.
Recording Academy President Neil Portnow went on record with Variety and implied that women needed to "step up" to win more awards, effectively blaming them for their own lack of representation. He would later apologize for the comments.
Maybe next year will see a much more balanced awards outcome, but 60 years in, it's not looking too good.
