LOS ANGELES – When the late, great Ruth Bader Ginsburg was asked when there will be enough women on the Supreme Court, her answer was simple: nine. She stated: “I say when there are nine, people are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that.” RBG did not attend the Grammy’s last night, but her spirit sure did. Women, at long last, dominated, ruled, and killed the night.

Cher, in song a decade ago, declred that “this is a woman’s world,” but there was little evidence that was true, Grammy, and entertainment awards, speaking. In 2018, the Grammys were heavily criticized for lack of female representation across all categories and organizers’ response was for women to “step up.”

Be careful what you wish for boys.

The biggest star of the 2024 Grammys was the collective power of women. They made history, they claimed legacy, and they danced and lipsang to each other’s work. Standing victorious was Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, SZA (the most nominated person of the year), Lainey Wilson, Karol G, boygenius, Kylie Minogue, and Victoria Monet. Oh, yes, and powerhouse Taylor Swift, the superstar from whom Fox News cowers in fear, made history to become the first performer of any gender to win four Best Album of the Year trophies.

In the throng of these powerful women stand a number of both LGBTQ advocates, and queer identifying artists. Cyrus has identified as pansexual, SZA has said lesbian rumors “ain’t wrong”, Phoebe Bridgers (winner of 4 trophies during the night, most of any artist) is lesbian, Victoria Monet is bi and Billie Eilish likes women but doesn’t want to talk about it. Plus, ask any queer person about Taylor Swift or Kylie Minogue and you are likely to get a love-gush.

Women power was not just owned by the lady award winners. There were the ladies and then there were the Legends. The first Legend to appear was a surprise. Country singer Luke Combs has a cross-generational hit this year with a cover of Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car. When originally released, the song was embraced as a lesbian anthem. When performing Fast Car, surprise, there was Tracy Chapman herself, singing the duet with Combs. The rendition was stunning, sentimental and historic.

Chapman, like many of the night’s female dignitaries, has not been public with her sexuality. Author Alice Walker has spoken of the two of them being lovers, however.

The legend among legends of the night, however, was the one and only Joni Mitchell. Not gay herself, she embodies the concept of an LGBTQ icon, and was accompanied by the very out Brandi Carlile on stage. On her website, Mitchell’s statement to the LGBTQ community reads, “The trick is if you listen to that music and you see me, you’re not getting anything out of it. If you listen to that music and you see yourself, it will probably make you cry and you’ll learn something about yourself and now you’re getting something out of it.”

Mitchell performed her longtime classic Both Sides Now. The emotion, insight and delivery from the now eighty-year old artist, survivor of an aneurism, was nothing short of profound. (To fully appreciate the nuance time can bring, check out the Your Tube video of a Taylor Swift lookalike Mitchell singing the same song to Mama Cass and Mary Travers in 1969). In this latest rendition, Mitchell clearly had an impact on Meryl Streep who was sitting in the audience. Talk about the arc of female talent and power.

That arc extended from a today’s lady, Miley Cyrus, to legend Celine Dion as well. Cyrus declared Dion as one of her icons and inspirations early in the evening. Dion appeared, graceful and looking healthy, to present the final, and historic, award of the night at the end of the show.

Legends did not even need to be living to have had an effect on the night. Tributes to Tina Turner and Sinead O’Conner by Oprah, Fantasia Barrino-Taylor and Annie Lennox respectively, proved that not even death could stop these women. As Lennox has musically and famously put it, “Sisters are doing it for themselves.”

Even the content of performances by today’s legends-in-the-making spoke to feminine power. Billie Eilish was honored for, and performed What Was I Made For?, a haunting and searching song that speaks to the soul of womanhood and redefinition in today’s fight for gender rights and expression. While Dua Lipa laid down the gauntlet for mind blowing performance with her rendition of Houdini at the top of the show, Miley Cyrus asserted the power of her anthem Flowers, and pretty much stole the show.

Cyrus had not performed the song on television before, and only three times publicly. She declared in her intro that she was thrilled over the business numbers the song garnered, but she refused to let them define her. As she sang the hit, she scolded the audience, “you guys act like you don’t know the words to this song.” Soon the woman power of the room was singing along with her, from Taylor Swift to Oprah.

They can buy themselves flowers from now on. They don’t need anyone else. Cyrus made that point with the mic drop to cap all mic drops, “And I just won my first Grammy!” she declared as she danced off stage.

Even the squirmiest moment of the night still did not diminish the light of women power, and in fact, underscored it. During his acceptance of the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, Jay-Z had a bone to pick with the Grammy voters. He called out the irony that his wife Beyonce had won more Grammys than any other human, but had never won the Best Album of the Year. Yeah, what’s with that?

But then, it brought additional context ultimately to the fact that the winner of the most Grammys individually… is a woman. And to the fact that the winner of the most Best Album of the Year awards… is a woman.

Hopefully this was the night that the Grammys “got it.” Women are the epicenter of The Creative Force.

Will the other entertainment awards get it soon as well? We can hope.

Most importantly, in a political world where women’s healthcare is under siege. Will the American voters get it?

A little known band named Little Mix put it this way in their 2019 song “A Woman’s World”

“if you can’t see that it’s gotta change
Only want the body but not the brains
If you really think that’s the way it works
You ain’t lived in a woman’s world

Just look at how far that we’ve got
And don’t think that we’ll ever stop…”

From Grammy’s mouth to the world’s ear.

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Rob Watson is the host of the popular Hollywood-based radio/podcast show RATED LGBT RADIO.

He is an established LGBTQ columnist and blogger having written for many top online publications including The Los Angeles Blade, The Washington Blade, Parents Magazine, the Huffington Post, LGBTQ Nation, Gay Star News, the New Civil Rights Movement, and more.

He served as Executive Editor for The Good Man Project, has appeared on MSNBC and been quoted in Business Week and Forbes Magazine.

He is CEO of Watson Writes, a marketing communications agency, and can be reached at [email protected] 

HOLLYWOOD – Usually, as the nominees are announced, queer media pubs search over the list to tell you who is LGBTQ. This year, it would be easier to tell you who isn’t. Look at the list of people with the most nominations.

In the Grammy announcement, SZA leads the way over the list with nine nominations. Next, all tied with eight each, are Phoebe Bridges, Victoria Monet and mixer Serban Gehenes. With the exception of Gehenes (as far as we know), all are LGBTQ.

Those with six nominations each include LTGBQ favorites like Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish. Two LGBTQ artists also have six each, Miley Cyrus and Brandy Clark.

Rodrigo did leave a sour taste in some LGBTQ mouths over her nominated song ballad of a homeschooled girl. In it she whines in a semi-homophobic trope about how all her prospects for boyfriends turned out to be gay.

Even in the country categories, a terrain that historically has not been an LGBTQ stronghold, there is significant representation. LGBTQ artists got at least one nomination in each of the country categories.

Showing the behind the scenes power of queer contributions, LGBTQ nominees Victoria Monet and Justin Tranter are more than single project contributors, each are giant song writers in the industry. Of his nomination this year, Tranter told American Songwriter, “I’m beyond honored and beyond surprised. It wasn’t my biggest year as a writer but I do feel it was one of my best. Big shout out to the Grammy voters for respecting the craft.”

Several of the LGBTQ nominated are first timers to the Grammy honor. It is the first time for Boygenius band members Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus. The same is true for xx frontwoman Romy.

While pop sensation Troye Sivan was pulverized in a vile and homophobic tirade by Azealia Banks earlier this week, he can soothe his pain with his first two Grammy nominations ever. She concluded her flip-out, a response to Sivan praising her decade-old song 212, with “Give it up, puberty hit that ass and made you a doofy looking young man.”

That would be a twice grammy nominated looking young man, Bitch.

The 66th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on February 4, 2024, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The ceremony will recognize the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year (from October 1, 2022 to September 15, 2023) as determined by the Recording Academy.  

The significant nominations include:

Record of the year

“Worship,” Jon Batiste

“Not Strong Enough,” boygenius 

“Flowers,” Miley Cyrus

“What Was I Made For? [From The Motion Picture Barbie],” Billie Eilish

 “On My Mama,” Victoria Monét

“Vampire,” Olivia Rodrigo

“Anti-Hero,” Taylor Swift

“Kill Bill,” SZA

Album of the year

World Music Radio, Jon Batiste

the record, boygenius 

Endless Summer Vacation, Miley Cyrus 

Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, Lana Del Rey 

The Age of Pleasure, Janelle Monáe 

GUTS, Olivia Rodrigo 

Midnights, Taylor Swift 

SOS, SZA 

Best song

“A&W,” Jack Antonoff, Lana Del Rey & Sam Dew, songwriters (Lana Del Rey) 

“Anti-Hero,” Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift) 

“Butterfly,” Jon Batiste & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Jon Batiste) 

“Dance the Night (From Barbie The Album),” Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Dua Lipa) 

“Flowers,” Miley Cyrus, Gregory Aldae Hein & Michael Pollack, songwriters (Miley Cyrus) 

“Kill Bill,” Rob Bisel, Carter Lang & Solána Rowe, songwriters (SZA) 

“Vampire,” Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters (Olivia Rodrigo) 

“What Was I Made For? [From The Motion Picture Barbie],” Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)

Whoever wins or loses in February, one thing is certain. Queer folk are there and will be seen. The Grammy noms are kind of reminiscent of a lyric from Victoria Monet’s nominated song Smoke: “To the left or the right, ‘long as it rotate, It’s a bisexual blunt, it can go both ways, yeah.”

Related:

2024 Grammy Nominations full list:

Album of the Year:
Jon Batiste – World Music Radio
boygenius – the record
Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation
Lana Del Rey – Did you know there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
Janelle Monáe – The Age of Pleasure
Olivia Rodrigo – GUTS
Taylor Swift – Midnights
SZA – SOS

Song of the Year:
Lana Del Rey – “A&W”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Jon Batiste – “Butterfly”
Dua Lipa – “Dance the Night”
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
SZA – “Kill Bill”
Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire”
Billie Eilish – “What Was I Made For?”

Record of the Year:
Jon Batiste – “Worship”
boygenius – “Not Strong Enough”
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
Billie Eilish – “What Was I Made For?”
Victoria Monet – “On My Mama”
Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
SZA – “Kill Bill”

Best New Artist:
Gracie Abrams
Fred Again..
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Coco Jones
Noah Kahan
Victoria Monét
The War and Treaty

Best Alternative Music Album:
Arctic Monkeys – The Car
boygenius – The Record
Lana Del Rey – Did you know there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
Gorillaz – Cracker Island
PJ Harvey – I Inside the Old Year Dying

Best Alternative Music Performance:
Alvvays – “Belinda Says”
Arctic Monkeys – “Body Paint”
boygenius – “Cool About It”
Lana Del Rey – “A&W”
Paramore – “This Is Why”

Best Rock Performance:
Arctic Monkeys – “Sculptures of Anything Goes”
Black Pumas – “More Than a Love Song”
boygenius – “Not Strong Enough”
Foo Fighters – “Rescued”
Metallica – “Lux Æterna”

Best Rock Song:
The Rolling Stones – “Angry”
Olivia Rodrigo – “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl”
Queens of the Stone Age – “Emotion Sickness”
boygenius – “Not Strong Enough”
Foo Fighters – “Rescued”

Best Rock Album:
Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
Greta Van Fleet – Starcatcher
Metallica – 72 Seasons
Paramore – This Is Why
Queens of the Stone Age – …In Times New Roman

Best Metal Performance:
Disturbed – “Bad Man”
Ghost – “Phantom of the Opera”
Metallica – “72 Seasons”
Slipknot – “Hive Mind”
Spiritbox – “Jaded”

Best Solo Pop Performance:
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
Doja Cat – “Paint the Town Red”
Billie Eilish – “What Was I Made For?”
Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
Miley Cyrus ft. Brandi Carlile – “Thousand Miles”
Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste – “Candy Necklace”
Labrinth ft. Billie Eilish – “Never Felt So Alone”
Taylor Swift ft. Ice Spice – “Karma”
SZA ft. Phoebe Bridgers – “Ghost in the Machine”

Best Pop Vocal Album:
Kelly Clarkson – Chemistry
Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation
Olivia Rodrigo – GUTS
Ed Sheeran – – (Subtract)
Taylor Swift – Midnights

Best Dance/Electronic Recording:
Aphex Twin – “Blackbox Life Recorder 21F”
James Blake – “Loading”
Disclosure – “Higher Than Ever Before”
Romy & Fred again.. – “Strong”
Skrillex, Fred again.. & Flowdan – “Rumble”

Best Dance/Electronic Album:
James Blake – Playing Robots Into Heaven
The Chemical Brothers – For That Beautiful Feeling
Fred again.. – Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022)
Kx5 – Kx5
Skrillex – Quest for Fire

Best Rap Album:
Drake & 21 Savage – Her Loss
Killer Mike – Michael
Metro Boomin – Heroes & Villains
Nas – King’s Disease III
Travis Scott – Utopia

Best Rap Song:
Doja Cat – “Attention”
Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice ft. Aqua – “Barbie World”
Lil Uzi Vert – “Just Wanna Rock”
Drake & 21 Savage – “Rich Flex”
Killer Mike ft. André 3000, Future, and Eryn Allen Kane – “Scientists & Engineers”

Best Rap Performance:
Baby Keem ft. Kendrick Lamar – “The Hillbillies”
Black Thought – “Love Letter”
Coi Leray – “Players”
Drake & 21 Savage – “Rich Flex”
Killer Mike ft. André 3000, Future, and Eryn Allen Kane – “Scientists & Engineers”

Best Melodic Rap Performance:
Burna Boy ft. 21 Savage – “Sittin’ on Top of the World”
Doja Cat – “Attention”
Drake & 21 Savage – “Spin Bout U”
Lil Durk ft. J. Cole – “All My Life”
SZA – “LOW”

Best Country Album:
Kelsea Ballerini – Rolling Up the Welcome Mat
Brothers Osborne – Brothers Osborne
Zach Bryan – Zach Bryan
Tyler Childers – Rustin’ In the Rain
Lainey Wilson – Bell Bottom Country

Best Country Solo Pop Performance:
Tyler Childers – “In Your Love”
Brandy Clark – “Buried”
Luke Combs – “Fast Car”
Dolly Parton – “The Last Thing On My Mind”
Chris Stapleton – “White Horse”

Best Música Urbana Album:
Rauw Alejandro – Saturno
Karol G – Mañana Será Bonito
Tainy – Data

Best Americana Album:
Brandy Clark – Brandy Clark 
Rodney Crowell – The Chicago Sessions
Rhiannon Giddens – The Chicago Sessions
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – The Chicago Sessions
Allison Russell – The Returner

Best Folk Album:
Dom Flemons – Traveling Wildfire
The Milk Carton Kids – I Only See the Moon
Joni Mitchell – Joni Mitchell at Newport [Live]
Nickel Creek – Celebrants
Old Crow Medicine Show – Jubilee
Paul Simon – Psalms
Rufus Wainwright – Folkocracy

Best Comedy Album:
Trevor Noah – I Wish You Would
Wanda Sykes – I’m an Entertainer
Chris Rock – Selective Outrage
Sarah Silverman – Someone You Love
Dave Chappelle – What’s in a Name?

Best Music Video:
The Beatles – “I’m Only Sleeping”
Tyler Childers – “In Your Love”
Billie Eilish – “What Was I Made For?”
Kendrick Lamar – “Count Me Out”
Troye Sivan – “Rush”

Best Music Film:
David Bowie – Moonage Daydream
Lewis Capaldi – How I’m Feeling Now
Kendrick Lamar – Live From Paris, The Big Steppers Tour
Little Richard – I Am Everything
Tupac Shakur – Dear Mama

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media:
Barbie
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The Fabelmans
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Oppenheimer

Producer of the Year:
Jack Antonoff
Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II
Hit-Boy
Metro Boomin
Daniel Nigro

Songwriter of the Year:
Edgar Barrera
Jessie Jo Dillon
Shane McAnal
Theron Thomas

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Rob Watson is the host of the popular Hollywood-based radio/podcast show RATED LGBT RADIO.

He is an established LGBTQ columnist and blogger having written for many top online publications including The Los Angeles Blade, The Washington Blade, Parents Magazine, the Huffington Post, LGBTQ Nation, Gay Star News, the New Civil Rights Movement, and more.

He served as Executive Editor for The Good Man Project, has appeared on MSNBC and been quoted in Business Week and Forbes Magazine.

He is CEO of Watson Writes, a marketing communications agency, and can be reached at [email protected]