LAUREN SOVISKY
staff writer

Dozens of awards were handed out, white roses worn and thank you speeches given Sunday at the 60th annual Grammy awards show.
This Grammys sported the Time’s Up movement with many of the stars donning white roses during the red carpet, as well as a quick shout out to #MeToo, but the women winners were sparse this year, causing slight controversy throughout media.
In a recent study released a few days before Sunday night’s telecast, the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative detailed a report stating in the past six years, almost 90 percent of Grammy nominees have been men.
As Sunday carried on, the hashtag #GrammysSoMale even began trending on Twitter.
While female winners were scarce, women performers were not.
Lady Gaga, Patti LuPone and P!nk all gave great performances, but Kesha stuck out among many for the night.
Kesha provided the main highlight with her raw and powerful performance of “Praying” that ultimately became the #MeToo anthem of the evening.
She was assisted by Cyndi Lauper, Camila Cabello and Andra Day, and backed by the Resistance Revival Chorus.
The song, inspired by Kesha’s personal and legal battles over her sexual abuse allegations, ended with her out of breath and weeping to her nearby supporters.
Kesha’s performance came just after Janelle Monae delivered a riveting speech describing how women “come in peace but we mean business” in terms of harassment, pay inequality, abuse of power and discrimination.
Additional performances included a throwback with Sting as he performed “An Englishman in New York,” U2, Elton John and Miley Cyrus, SZA and Kendrick Lamar.
The big winner of the evening was Bruno Mars, with seven trophies in hand, including the two biggest awards, album of the year and record of the year for his “24K Magic” album.
Ed Sheeran took home the Grammy for best pop solo performance for “Shape of You,” as well as best pop vocal album.
Portugal. The Man won best pop duo/group performance with “Feel It Still,” against the much- anticipated win of “Despacito.”
Lamar was awarded best rap performance and best rap album, as well as best rap/sung performance for “Loyalty” featuring Rihanna.
For a full list of winners for the 60th Annual Grammy Awards visit www.grammy.com.

LAUREN SOVISKY
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