Compared to other ceremonies during this year’s awards season, we couldn’t help not notice that the Grammys was rather lacking in impassioned political statements.
Thank goodness for Janelle Monae, then, who explicitly showed her support for the ‘Time’s Up’ movement when she took to the stage to introduce Kesha on Sunday (28 January).
Addressing the audience at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the majority of whom will have been prominent music industry figures, Janelle said: “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.
“We are also daughters, wives, mothers and human beings. We come in peace, but we mean business.”
Addressing the movement head-on, she continued: “To those who would dare try to silence us, we offer you two words: ‘Time’s Up’.
“[This problem is] not just in Hollywood or in Washington. It’s right here in our industry as well.
“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, with equal pay and access for all women.”
Janelle then welcomed Kesha to the stage, who went on to give what was probably the performance of the night, with her stirring and powerful rendition of her single, ‘Praying’.
The song’s lyrics, which centre around overcoming darkness and turbulent times, felt particularly poignant after Janelle’s ‘Time’s Up’-centric speech, ending in an empowering group embrace between Kesha and several other female artists who joined her on stage.
Check out all the snaps from this year’s Grammys red carpet in the gallery below...
