#Fiona Apple Wins Best Alternative Music Album at 2021 Grammys

Fiona Apple has won the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. Apple’s 2020 LP Fetch the Bolt Cutters beat out records by Phoebe Bridgers (Punisher), Tame Impala (The Slow Rush), Brittany Howard (Jaime), and Beck (Hyperspace).

Earlier today, Apple explained in a video that she would not attend the Grammys, primarily because: “I don’t wanna be on national television. I’m just not made for that stuff anymore. I wanna stay sober and I can’t do that sober. It doesn’t feel safe to me to be in that exposure/scrutiny/comparison to people.” She urged fans to sign a petition regarding courtroom transparency in PG County. Apple previously criticized the Grammys for nominating Dr. Luke and said she wanted to smash the Grammy onstage and share the pieces. 

Fiona Apple is nominated in two other categories at this year’s Grammys ceremony; her Fetch the Bolt Cutters track “Shameika” is up for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance trophies. Apple’s first and only previous Grammy victory came in 1998 when she took home the Best Female Rock Performance award for her hit single “Criminal.”

Read Pitchfork’s Cover Story “Fiona Apple on How She Broke Free and Made the Album of the Year.” Follow all of Pitchfork’s coverage of the 2021 Grammys.