An excellent piece in The Wall Street Journal today about the rise of Black stylists inadvertently clinched another bit of news for music fans: confirmation that Beyonce will be attending the 2020 Grammys. Given the singer didn’t release a traditional album last year, though she did contribute plenty of new songs via her soundtrack, The Lion King: The Gift, it was unclear whether she and Jay-Z would attend.
Another reason why she might want to skip? Bey has been nominated for Album Of The Year three separate times — for Sasha Fierce, Beyonce and Lemonade respectively — and been snubbed for the award each time. When Lemonade lost out to Adele in 2017, something snapped in all of us, including her, and she and Jay opted to skip out in 2019.
But, according to WSJ, Black stylists have also confirmed to be dressing Ariana Grande, and host Alicia Keys will be styled by creative director Jason Bolden. The piece goes on to note all the issues that stylists of color have faced in the industry, not just getting work but also the different kinds of clothes or resources that would be offered based on the race of who they were styling.
It’s a compelling behind-the-scenes look at the pervasive ways discrimination has impacted every level of culture, and how that is finally beginning to shift. Read the whole piece here, and tune in Sunday to see what Beyonce, Ariana and more wear to what is often called music’s biggest night.
