Sorry Boys, Women Won Big at the Grammys

Women absolutely swept the 2019 Grammys, taking home wins in every “best album” category that the general public pays attention to, along with about a zillion other wins (a rough estimate, of course).

Cardi B became the first solo woman to win a Grammy for the Best Rap Album last night, scoring with Invasion of Privacy. She also took the stage to perform her song “Money,” including a salute to Wakanda that can’t be missed.

Lady Gaga, of course, wound up winning several awards, including Best Pop Solo Performance for “Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Going?” and two wins for “Shallow” that she shares with Bradly Cooper, for Best Song Written for Visual Media and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Dua Lipa not only took home Grammys for Best New Artist and Best Dance Recording, but also snagged a moment to shade Recording Academy president Neil Portnow for his misogynist comments after last year’s ceremony. Portnow previously responded to criticism that so few women were nominated for awards by saying they needed to “step up.”

“I guess where I want to begin is by saying how honored I am to be nominated alongside so many incredible female artists this year,” she said, “because I guess this year we really stepped up.”

Our girl Ariana Grande took home the win for Best Pop Vocal Album for Sweetener, though she wasn’t there to accept the award. After being snubbed for more nominations and getting into a tiff with one of the producers of the show who Ari claimed lied about why she wasn’t performing, Grande opted to just not show up at all. And honestly, can’t really blame her.

And though Janelle Monáe didn’t end up winning in either of her two nominated categories, we did get an energetic performance of her hit “Make Me Feel” that was still totally worth it.

Lesbian folk singer Brandi Carlile, who snagged six nominations this year, managed to bring home a solid three of them, for Best Americana Album (By the Way, I Forgive You), Best Roots Song, and Best Roots Performance. She also had the opportunity to deliver an amazing performance of her award-winning song “The Joke.”

Kacey Musgraves also won big last night, grabbing the awards for Best Country Album, Best Country Song, Best Country Solo Performance, and, best of all, Album of the Year. She performed her song “Rainbow” for the audience.

Other notable female winner from the night include H.E.R. for Best Rap Album, Greta Van Fleet for Best Rock Album, St. Vincent for Best Rock Song, and Beyoncé for her half of The Carters’ win for Best Urban Contemporary Album.

So yeah, I think Dua Lipa is more than safe with her assertion that women stepped it up this year. Hmm, or wait, no, sorry, women have always been stepping up, and it’s nice that for a moment, people are paying attention.

(Despite all the obvious snubs this year.)