Los Angeles Los Angeles — Adele and the late David Bowie were the big winners at the 59th annual Grammy Awards Sunday night, with five victories each. But the biggest star of the night — in a manner — was thousands of miles away.
Or as host James Corden put it — in rap form — as he opened the three-hour-and-40-minute telecast: With President Trump, we don’t know what comes next / We can survive by sticking together.
Later in the show, the usually apolitical Jennifer Lopez told the audience at the Staples Center (and TV viewers in a record 200 countries and territories): “At this particular point in history, your voices are needed more than ever. As Toni Morrison once said, this is precisely the time when artists go to work.”
Lopez then referenced “No Place for Self-Pity, No Room for Fear,” a 2015 essay by Morrison, saying: “There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence and no room for fear. We do language. That is how civilizations heal. So tonight, we celebrate our most universal language, music, as we honor the voices of the past and the present.”
Then there was Katy Perry, who ardently ed Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential bid. She performed her new song, “Chained to the Rhythm,” with reggae legend Bob Marley’s grandson, Skip Marley.
Its most pointed verse goes: Break down the walls to connect, inspire, ay / Up in your high place, liars / Time is ticking for the empire / The truth they feed is feeble / As so many times before / They greed over the people / They stumbling and fumbling / And we about to riot.
Behind them was a large projected image of the United States Constitution, with the words “We the People” in jumbo size. For good measure, Perry wore an armband with the word “PERSIST,” which appeared to be inspired by Elizabeth Warren being cut off on the Senate floor when she recently gave a speech objecting to Jeff Sessions’ Attorney General nomination. Just before the song concluded, Perry yelled: “No hate!”
In such a setting, those expressing more conservative viewpoints appeared few and far between. A notable exception was Orange County-bred singer Joy Villa, who wore a red-white-and-blue gown with President Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.” The train of the dress was emblazoned with the word “TRUMP.”
Other artists Sunday used their speeches, rather than their performances or attire, to speak out.
When Beyoncé accepted her award for Best Urban Contemporary album for “Lemonade,” which includes a video for each of its songs, she offered some social commentary of her own.
“We all experience pain and loss, and often we become inaudible,” she told the audience. “My intention for the film and album was to create a body of work that would give a voice to our pain, our struggles, our darkness and our history. To confront issues that make us uncomfortable.
“It’s important to me to show images to my children that reflect their beauty, so they can grow up in a world where they look in the mirror, first through their own families — as well as (on) the news, the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the White House and the Grammys — and see themselves, and have no doubt that they’re beautiful, intelligent and capable. This is something I want for every child of every race. And I feel it’s vital that we learn from the past and recognize our tendencies to repeat our mistakes …”
There was more, including a speech by Grammy honcho Neil Portnow that began: “We are constantly reminded about the things that divide us. Race, region and religion. Gender, sexual orientation, political party. But what we need so desperately are more reminders of all that binds us together — our shared history, our common values and our dedication to build for ourselves a more perfect union …”
Prior to introducing a duet by The Weeknd and Daft Punk, Michael Jackson’s 18-year-old daughter, Paris, said: “We can really use this excitement at a pipeline protest, guys. No DAPL!”
But it was the incendiary Grammy performance by a Tribe Called Quest that seemed most likely to fuel the wrath of our new president. That’s assuming he’s ever heard of this pioneering New York hip-hop trio, which last year lost one of its co-founders, Phife Dawg, to diabetes-related causes.
“We’d like to say to all those people around the world, all those people who are pushing people in power to represent them: Tonight, we represent you,” Quest’s chief rapper, Q-Tip, said. A short while later, during ”We The People,” he rapped such hard-hitting lines as: All the black folks, you must go / All the Mexicans, you must go / All the poor folks, you must go / Muslims and gays, we hate your ways, as actors dressed as refugees kicked down a small faux wall.
Their Grammys performance came on the same weekend that tens of thousands of people in Mexico staged protests against President Trump’s immigration policies and plan for a border wall.
The words “NO WALL / NO BAN” appeared on a stage backdrop for A Tribe Called Quest, which was ed by several guests, most notably Busta Rhymes and Anderson .Paak.
Rhymes didn’t pull any punches, shouting out: “I just want to thank President Agent Orange for perpetuating all of the evil you’ve been perpetuating in the United States. I want to thank President Agent Orange for your unsuccessful attempt of the Muslim ban. When we come together, we the people, we the people, we the people, we the people …”
A moment later, Q-Tip repeated a one-word musical manifesto: “Resist. Resist. Resist.”
Of course, the Grammys have showcased social issues in the past.
In 2013, during Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ performance, Queen Latifah presided over the simultaneous marriages of 68 people — many of them same-sex couples — to protest discrimination against the LGBTQ community.
In 2015, the Grammy telecast included a salute to the Civil Rights movement, pegged to the movie “Selma,” while Katy Perry’s performance that year of “By the Grace of God” was paired with a segment that spoke out against sexual abuse.
But Sunday’s show seemed designed not so much to court potential controversy as to embrace it.
A cynic might wonder if this was done to boost ratings of the telecast, which last year drew about 25 million people. But given the polarized times in which we live, it’s possible the record amount of political commentary Sunday could have cost the show viewers, especially those who contend musicians should simply entertain, not speak out on current events.
Speaking backstage after the telecast concluded, Grammy honcho Portnow made it clear that neither he nor the Recording Academy — under whose auspices the annual awards show is presented — had any problems with artists speaking their minds, no matter how vehemently.
“When you’re a public figure and president of the United States, there are some that will be very happy with you and sing your praises, and some who are not, and that’s what democracy is about,” Portnow said, responding to a question from the Union-Tribune.
“We just had a major election that has us divided, in many ways. So I don’t think it should be unexpected that the Recording Academy is the staunchest protector of the ability of artists to speak their mind through their art. So we didn’t weigh in on the pros and cons of what we like, or don’t like.
“We give the stage to artist to express their views.”
And speak out they did Sunday.
While introducing Lady Gaga and Metallica’s fiery performance, transgender actress Laverne Cox urged viewers to “Google Gavin Grimm. He’s going to the Supreme Court in March.”
Gavin, a 17-year-old Virginia high school student, was born female but identifies as male. He filed suit two years ago to be able to use the boys’ bathroom at his school. Next month, his case will be held by the highest court in the land.
Surely, there were some conservatives in the audience and among the nominees and winners. But one of the few to win a Grammy Sunday who then came backstage — Megadeth leader and La Mesa native Dave Mustaine — declined to answer a question about the current political turbulence.
“I’m not answering any political questions,” he said, in response to a question. “Because, whenever I do, I get in trouble.”
Twitter @georgevarga
