Fiona Apple was one of the big winners at the Grammys’ Premiere Ceremony on Sunday, taking home two Grammy Awards.
Apple’s latest opus Fetch the Bolt Cutters was awarded Best Alternative Music Album, besting formidable contenders including Beck’s Hyperspace, Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher, Brittany Howard’s Jamie, and Tame Impala’s The Slow Rush.
She also won Best Rock Performance for “Shameika”. Other nominees in the category included Big Thief’s “Not”, Phoebe Bridgers’ “Kyoto”, HAIM’s “The Steps”, Brittany Howard’s “Stay High”, and Grace Potter’s “Daylight”.
Today’s victories mark the second and third Grammys of Apple’s career, and first in 23 years. She previously won in 1998, earning Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for “Criminal”.
Apple did not attend the Premiere Ceremony, nor will she be in attendance for tonight’s televised gala. In a video uploaded to Instagram early Sunday, Apple explained her decision to skip the Grammys, saying: “It’s really because I don’t want to be on national television — I’m just not made for that kind of stuff anymore. I want to stay sober and I can’t do that sober — it doesn’t feel safe to me to be under exposure, scrutiny, comparison to people. I can’t.”
Apple continued by noting that “there’s been lots of questions about the transparency of the Grammys, and I feel like that’s important, but it’s not important.”
“What really really is undeniably important,” she added, “is the transparency in actual court rooms.” Apple then asked her fans to sign a petition to keep court rooms virtual, especially in Prince George’s County Maryland, where Apple herself is a court watcher.
Fetch the Bolt Cutters was also Consequence of Sound‘s favorite album of 2021, while “Shameika” was among our favorite songs.
