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American musician Kesha has taken the #MeToo cause to the Grammys with a powerful performance of Praying, a song many believe was written about the singer's alleged abuser.
Kesha's music career was stalled for years owing to a protracted legal dispute with her former producer, Dr Luke, who she has accused of physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
The song she performed, Praying — written with Ryan Lewis and Australian musician Ben Abraham — has been her comeback hit.
Many have noted it appears to be addressed to an abuser:
'Cause you brought the flames and you put me through hell
I had to learn how to fight for myself
And we both know all the truth I could tell
I'll just say this: I wish you farewell
Introducing Kesha, singer and actress Janelle Monae said the performance came at an important moment in the history of the music industry.
"We come in peace but we mean business," she said of the industry's female members.
"To those who would dare try to silence us, we offer two words: time's up."
Dr Luke has denied all the allegations against him.
Bruno Mars claims top gongs
Meanwhile, Bruno Mars has taken out Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Album of the Year, three of the four big awards.
The singer's That's What I Like was named best song, beating out JAY-Z, Logic's collaboration with Alessia Cara and Khalid, Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee and Julia Michaels.
His album 24K Magic beat works by Kendrick Lamar, JAY-Z, Lorde, and Childish Gambino in the Album of the Year category.
Lamar, whose song HUMBLE. topped the triple j Hottest 100 on Saturday, scored four awards: Best Rap Song, Best Rap Album, Best Rap Performance and Best Rap/Sung Performance.
Best New Artist was Alessia Cara, the 21-year-old who guested on mega-hits Stay, by Zedd, and Logic's 1-800-273-8255.
She beat out Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert, Julia Michaels and SZA. (Side note: Stay was co-written by Australian Sarah Aarons.)
The late Leonard Cohen won Best Rock Performance for his final album, You Want It Darker, produced by his son, Adam, and released shortly before the Canadian singer's death in 2016 at 82.
It wasn't a great night for Australians.
Sydney band Mansionair missed out on the Grammy for Best Dance Recording. They were nominated for their collaboration with Odesza, Line of Sight. The award went to LCD Soundsystem.
Sia was nominated for Best Song for Film or TV, for Never Give Up, from the movie Lion, but lost out to Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, while Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and director Andrew Dominik lost the Best Music Film award. They were nominated for One More Time With Feeling.
Grammys moves to stay relevant
The winners and the nominee lists this year suggest The Recording Academy, the organisation that oversees the awards, has been listening to criticism that it has historically overlooked artists of colour and hip-hop, which last year became the dominant genre in the US for the first time.
The nominee list for Album of the Year was significant in itself. It was hip hop heavy, and for the first time in 20 years did not include a white man.
This year, the Recording Academy introduced online voting for its members, the 13,000 industry types who pick the winners, to encourage younger and more active members to vote.
It has also introduced a review committee for the rap categories, a move designed to make sure awards in that genre go to the most musically deserving artists, not necessarily the most popular.
"The Recording Academy's offenses against hip hop, and lack of recognition for the genre of music that is the most popular and powerful in the industry today, were not going to be able to stand for much longer," wrote Courtney E. Smith in a piece for Refinery 29 last week.
Controversy remains, though.
A study released late last week by the University of Southern California's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative found more than 90 per cent of Grammy winners over the past six years had been male.
The report showed that, in the industry generally, about 12 per cent of songwriters are female, while the ratio of male to female producers measured across hundreds of popular songs was 49 to one.
A report from Variety overnight suggested Kiwi musician Lorde declined to participate in a group performance at the Grammy Awards night alongside high-profile male nominees because she, unlike them, was not also offered a chance to perform solo.
The winners:
Album of the Year - Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
Song of the Year - Bruno Mars, That's What I Like
Record of the Year - Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
Best New Artist - Alessia Cara
Best Solo Pop Performance - Ed Sheeran, The Shape Of You
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance - Portugal. The Man, Feel It Still
Best Pop Vocal Album - Ed Sheeran, (divide)
Best Dance Recording - LCD Soundsystem, Tonite
Best Rock Performance - Leonard Cohen, You Want It Darker
Best Metal Performance - Mastodon, Sultan's Curse
Best Rap Song - Kendrick Lamar, HUMBLE.
Best Rock Song - Foo Fighters, Run
Best Rock Album - The War On Drugs, A Deeper Understanding
Best Rap Album - Kendrick Lamar, DAMN.
Best Alternative Music Album - The National, Sleep Well Beast
Best Urban Contemporary Album - The Weeknd, Starboy
Best R&B Album - Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
Best Rap Performance - Kenrick Lamar, HUMBLE.
Best Rap/Sung Performance - Kendrick Lamar, LOYALTY. (ft Rihanna)
Topics: music, arts-and-entertainment, music-awards, united-states
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