Last night’s Grammy awards shaped up to be a legendary evening of music history, filled with a myriad of queer winners.
Bisexual artist Miley Cyrus took home her first two Grammys ever, for her single “Flowers” in Best Pop Solo Performance and Record of the Year. During her acceptance speech, Cyrus said,
“So there was a little boy that all he wanted for his birthday was a butterfly, and so his parents gave him a butterfly net, and he was so excited he just went outside out in the sun and started swinging. But with no luck, he sat down on the ground he finally let go, and he surrendered, and he was okay that he wasn’t going to capture this beautiful butterfly,” she said.
“And right when he did is when the butterfly came and landed right on the tip of his nose, and this song ‘Flowers’ is my butterfly. Thank you.”
Bicon Victoria Monét also won her first Grammys last night, winning Best R&B Album, Best Engineered Album and the coveted Best New Artist categories. When accepting the Best New Artist Grammy, a teary-eyed Monét said,
“I moved to LA in 2009, and I like to liken myself to a plant who was planted, and you can look at the music industry as soil. And you can look at it as dirty or it can be looked at as a source of nutrients and water. And my roots have been growing underneath the ground unseen for so long. And I feel like today I’m sprouting finally above ground.”
Queer songstress Billie Eilish won Song Of The Year and Best Song Written For Visual Media Grammys for “What Was I Made For.”
boygenius (queer trio Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus) won the Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance Grammy for their track “Not Strong Enough,” and Best Alternative Music Album for The Record.
Earth angel SZA, who has alluded to her queerness, won best R&B song with “Snooze,” best Pop Duo/Group Performance with her Phoebe Bridgers collab “Ghost in the Machine,” and best Urban Contemporary Album for her album SOS.
“Sorry I’m out of breath because I was changing then I took a shot and I ran here,” she said as she ran on stage to accept her best R&B song Grammy. Lizzo, another icon who has hinted at queerness, presented the award to SZA.
“Lizzo and I have been friends since 2013 when we were both on a tiny RedBull tour together opening up in small rooms for like 100 people. And to be on the stage with her is so amazing, I’m so grateful,” SZA said.
Queer singer-songwriter Allison Russel won American Roots Performance for “Eve Was Black.”
Queen of the gay dance song Kylie Minogue won Best Pop Dance Recording for her earth-shattering Pride anthem “Padam Padam.”
“I would say thank you for being with me for such a long time now, through thick and thin,” she said to her fans when speaking to People.
“We ride the highs, the lows and the in-betweens, and to know that we’ve got each other’s backs, and this feels like the start of the next era.”
The Grammy performances were as queer as the wins thanks to Cyrus, SZA, Eilish, Brandi Carlile who joined the indelible Joni Mitchel on stage for a breathtaking performance of “Both Sides Now,” and TRACY CHAPMAN (!!!) who performed the gayest song of all time “Fast Car” with Luke Combs.
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