Female Artists Dominate Best Rock Performance Category, Make Grammys History

Fiona Apple, Haim, Brittany Howard, Phoebe Bridgers, Grace Potter, and Big Thief were all nominated in the category at the upcoming 63rd annual Grammy Awards.

Who run the world the Best Rock Performance category at the upcoming Grammys? Girls.

The nominations for next year’s awards were announced on Tuesday, with some artists making history with their sheer volume of nominations (Beyoncé racked up a whopping nine) and others by dominating a category.

For the first time in the awards show’s history, all of the artists nominated in the Best Rock Performance category are either women or a woman-led group.

The nominees this year include Fiona Apple for Shameika, Haim for The Steps, Brittany Howard for Stay High, Phoebe Bridgers for Kyoto, Grace Potter for Daylight, and Big Thief – led by Adrianne Lenker – for Not.

The category — which is an amalgam of previous categories such as Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and Best Rock Instrumental Performance — has only been around since 2012, and has so far never been won by a solo female artist.

Brittany Howard’s previous band, Alabama Shakes, won the award for Don’t Wanna Fight in 2016. She’s now been nominated for her solo debut.

The 2021 Grammys are scheduled to take place on 31 January 2021.