After being postponed from January due to pandemic concerns, the 2021 Grammy Awards are finally set to drop this Sunday, March 14th at 8PM ET, and the women are in charge. For those of us in the music world who have dearly missed live concerts and festivals, it will be a small salve to allow us to dream of better times to come. The show itself will be a new adventure for all of us, as it will not be hosted at the usual Staples Center venue, but will be a hybrid of outdoor performances at the L.A. Convention Center mixed with remote sets from other artists in various locations.
But one thing is for sure – the female fierceness will be potent this year. A staggering amount of artists nominated across all categories are women, with big names like Beyonce, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion and Taylor Swift scooping up many of the nominations. However, in a year of strange broadcasting formats and inventive virtual performances, there’s another weird and wonderful thing that has occurred: this year, for the first time ever, all the nominees in the Best Rock Performance category are women (or a band led by a woman).
This female badassery has got us all riled up, and speaks volumes about women being poised to save the future of rock (women like Grace Potter, pictured above, who is nominated for Best Rock Album & Best Rock Performance). It’s no secret that rock radio stations, mainstream rock bands and hit rock songs have been on the decline for years, so we’re glad to see women looking to rejuvenate the genre. We’re so psyched for these ladies that we decided to break down each rock song nominated in the category, and give you our pick for a winner.
Here are the songs nominated for Best Rock Performance at the 2021 Grammy awards:
“Shameika” by Fiona Apple - With its roller coaster of a piano riff, this song takes you for a ride. Almost in Broadway fashion, you can imagine the main character walking along the busy street she describes. It’s a story of coming of age, with themes of private Christian school, bullies, and counting the minutes until class is over. It is classic Fiona Apple, with a twist of something that wouldn’t sound out of place in a production like “Rent,” as she tells us her friends would describe her as “pissed off, funny and warm,” which in fact sounds like something a classmate might have actually written in Apple’s high school yearbook. It’s a fine tune, but we’re not convinced it’s a contender to win.
“Not” by Big Thief - One of the better nominees in this category, this tune serves us with Adrianne Lenker’s gritty guitar and warbly yodel, with themes of sadness and winter and brooding, and all the pessimism and existentialism that 2020 instilled in our hearts. As Lenker continually enumerates all the things that are “not” in her life, we feel the ache of the past year in our bones when she mentions it’s “not what you really wanted.” She taps into the desperation and death felt over the last year, as the song brings you down a dark hole, making you want to know what it IS, if this is all it’s not. The best part is that this song ends with Lenker’s lengthy discordant guitar solo (and feedback), bringing you deeper into your thoughts the way indie rock tends to do. Accurately reflecting the anger and messiness and frustration felt in a pandemic year, this song is definitely a front-runner to win the award.
“Kyoto” by Phoebe Bridgers - Bridgers is definitely having a moment, coming off her guitar-smashing performance on SNL and numerous other appearances. She seems to be everywhere you look these days, clad in her skeleton onesie. This song, “Kyoto,” definitely brings us back to the grunge-era rock of the 90s. But when injected with her sweet voice and the synth trumpet sounds, it also brings us the nostalgia of 90s-style bands like Fountains of Wayne, Weezer or The Ataris. A sweet dip back into alt-rock, for sure, but a mostly uninventive song on its own. However, Bridger’s current ascent in popularity may work in her favor to snatch up the Grammy.
“The Steps” by Haim - A generally breezy song with a country twang and poppy feel, this song has the typical good harmonies you expect from the three-sister act, with a catchy yet unimaginative hook. It acts as a pleasurable distraction, lending out road trip vibes, but it is wholly average, and feels more apt as a background tune for a dive bar than worthy of a Grammy.
“Stay High” by Brittany Howard - Brimming with the soulful sounds of the 60s and Howard’s masterful voice, this song is light and sweet, and with its twinkly xylophone, lends itself easily to any summer barbecue playlist. With vocals ranging from deep and grainy to an airy falsetto, it reminds us of why we were in rapture of the singer when she was with Alabama Shakes in the era of “Don’t Wanna Fight.” However, this song doesn’t really showcase the sharp vocal talent exhibited in those earlier years, and almost walks the line as being apt as the backdrop for something as generic as a car commercial. It’s not quite the caliber we’ve come to expect from her, and in our opinion not enough to earn her a Grammy, but a pleasurable song nonetheless.
“Daylight” by Grace Potter - Starting with a jarring bang that pulls you in immediately, followed by powerful vocals that give you chills, you are at once dragged into Grace’s pain, and wanting to hear more. As she laments that “love is a sharp sharp dagger,” she takes you on a journey of grief (“I didn’t mean to hurt nobody, but intentions are different from action”) and makes you feel her agony. Her torment comes to a head early on in the song, as she screams over staccato drums: “I NEED THE… I NEED THE… I NEED THE DAYLIGHT!” It dances between epic operatic rock and 70s radio anthem, alternating between banging vocals and then back to soulful poetry. As it ends, you are left with unfulfilled emotions, as if your heart was just pulled out of your chest and you don’t know what to do next. It is dirty, gravelly, soulful, and bluesy, and a masterpiece of a song. We believe this song should be the winner for Best Rock Performance.
Check out the Grammy Awards this Sunday at 8PM ET on CBS, to find out which badass females will be going home with trophies this year. And please support all these women in music by following them on their social media pages and purchasing their albums and merch to show them some love.