Following her big night at the Grammys, Brittany Howard debuted a soulful performance of her powerful song “Short And Sweet” on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
“Short And Sweet” is off of her new solo album Jaime which earned her five Grammy nominations this year.
Read more: Musicians show support for Asian community after Atlanta-area shootings
Over the course of her career, Howard has received a staggering 16 Grammy nominations and five wins for both her solo music and work in Alabama Shakes. This year, her song “Short And Sweet” was nominated for Best American Roots Performance.
Although the award was given to the late John Prine and his song “I Remember Everything,” Howard still gave a mesmerizing performance of the track on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week. For her appearance, she took over The Sanctuary, a former church turned recording studio, in Nashville. With just a guitar and a microphone, Howard gave “Short And Sweet” a stripped-back acoustic vibe for both Jimmy Kimmel and the show’s other guest Michelle Obama.
Read more: Architects announce 2022 ‘For Those That Wish To Exist’ UK arena tour
This rendition allowed Howard’s deeply personal lyrics to really shine through. As well, the occasional smile on her face throughout the performance conveyed the true passion Howard has for her music.
Ultimately, this “Short And Sweet” performance is anything but that. In fact, it proves the versatility Howard brings to all of her work. Whether it’s a soulful ballad or guitar-heavy rock tune, Howard can effortlessly cross through different genres in everything she creates.
Howard’s “Short And Sweet” performance is available to stream below.
More on Brittany Howard
Along with Best American Roots Performance, Howard was also up for awards in four other categories at the 2021 Grammys. Howard and her song “Stay High” were among a historic group of nominees in the Best Rock Performance category. For the first time in history, the nominees in this particular category were all women. In the end, the Best Rock Performance award went to Fiona Apple for “Shameika.”
However, Howard’s “Stay High” did win Best Rock Song at the Grammys. In her acceptance speech, Howard thanked her managers, her family and her sister Jaime.
Read more: Elliot Page discusses filming ‘Umbrella Academy’ after coming out as trans
“I want to thank my sister who the album is named after, it’s called Jaime,” she says. “Thanks for being my guide and teaching me about music.”
Howard’s acceptance speech for Best Rock Song is available to watch below.
For the Best Rock Song award, Howard beat out Apple, Phoebe Bridgers, Tame Impala and Big Thief. Last year, Howard was also nominated in this category for “History Repeats,” off of Jaime.” However, Gary Clark Jr.’s “This Land” went on to win the award.
Back in 2016, Alabama Shakes won the Best Rock Song award for “Don’t Wanna Fight,” off of Sound & Color. Now, Howard is only the second female to ever win Best Rock Song twice at the Grammys. Previously, Alanis Morissette won in 1996 for the iconic “You Oughta Know” and in 1999 for “Uninvited.”
Additionally, Howard’s album Jaime was up for Best Alternative Music Album. However, the award was given to Apple’s Fetch The Bolt Cutters. Her song “Goat Head” was also nominated for Best R&B Performance which went to Beyoncé’s “BLACK PARADE.” After winning this award, Beyoncé officially broke the record for the most Grammy Awards won by any artist in history.
Collectively, Howard’s 2021 Grammy nominations spanned four different genre categories. Back in December, she revealed to Entertainment Weekly that it’s incredibly gratifying to have one album nominated in multiple genre categories.
Read more: Metallica turn the US national anthem into the ultimate guitar shred—watch
“The thing I was most excited about, honestly, is one album being nominated for so many different genres,” Howard told Entertainment Weekly. “That’s really unusual. That’s exactly how I wanted it to go, because I like all kinds of music and I create my music just with whatever I’ve heard before.”
Along with her nominations, Howard also performed at the Grammys this year. With the help of Coldplay’s Chris Martin on piano, Howard gave a moving rendition of Gerry And The Pacemakers’ “You’ll Never Walk Alone” during the In Memorium segment. The song choice was in tribute to Gerry Marsden of Gerry And The Pacemakers who died at the age of 78 in January.
Spencer Davis of the Spencer Davis Group, producer Jeffrey Greenberg, audio recording icon Rupert Neve, Bunny Wailers of the Wailers and producer Hal Willner were also among those honored during the performance.
Howard and Martin’s performance is available to watch below.
Read more: New Black Lives In Music initiative launches to amplify Black artists
Of course, Howard was among a slew of other performers this year. Harry Styles opened the show with “Watermelon Sugar” which eventually won Best Pop Solo Performance. As well, Post Malone gave a gothic rendition of “Hollywood’s Bleeding” while Billie Eilish and FINNEAS performed “everything i wanted” which won Record Of The Year.
Jack Antonoff and the National’s Aaron Dessner also joined Taylor Swift for a folklore medley before taking home the Album Of The Year award. Swift is now the only female artist to ever win the coveted award three times. She previously took home Album Of The Year in 2016 for 1989 and in 2010 for Fearless.
Now that the Grammys are over, Howard is preparing to perform songs off Jaime of later this year. She is set to appear at Life Is Beautiful in Las Vegas on Sept. 17. Green Day, HAIM, Tame Impala, Eilish and Modest Mouse are among the headliners this year. More information on the festival is available here.
What are your reactions to Brittany Howard’s performance of “Short And Sweet” on Jimmy Kimmel Live!? Let us know in the comments below.