People are angry that Ed Sheeran's 'basic' pop song won the Grammy over Kesha's emotional ballad 'Praying'

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• Ed Sheeran won the Grammy for best pop solo performance for "Shape of You."
• People thought the award should have gone to one of his four fellow women nominees.
• Kesha's single, "Praying," felt particularly snubbed.
• "Praying" is a powerful song that exemplifies the Time's Up and #MeToo initiatives. 
• Kesha was allegedly abused by her former collaborator Dr. Luke.
• Many fans see "Praying" as a message about surviving assault and abuse.

Ed Sheeran's smash hit "Shape of You" was named best pop solo performance at the 2018 Grammys, sparking outrage among music fans who were hoping to see the honor go to one of the four women nominees. 

Sheeran's "Shape of You" was up against four singles by powerhouse women artists: "Praying" by Kesha, "Million Reasons" by Lady Gaga, "Love So Soft" by Kelly Clarkson, and "What About Us" by Pink.

When Sheeran won the award (though he wasn't there to accept the Grammy onstage), people immediately took to outlets like Twitter to express their dismay. 

Many of the negative reactions to Sheeran's win came from a place of disappointment. Much of the conversation was focused on the snub of Kesha's "Praying," which is seen as an emotional and culturally relevant expression of the Time's Up and #MeToo initiatives.

Sheeran's "Shape of You" was a certified smash hit of 2017. The song was Spotify's most-streamed single of the year, with a reported 1.32 billion listens. The song topped many charts, including the Billboard Hot 100.

But despite the undeniable popularity of "Shape of You," people clearly think the Grammy should have gone to Kesha. 

Others simply thought Sheeran's "Shape of You" was a mediocre pop song, and would have rather seen any of the women take home the Grammy.

Throughout the first half of the evening, Grammy announcements teased "a special performance by Kesha that speaks to our times."

When Kesha finally took to the stage to perform "Praying," she was introduced by Janelle Monae with a powerful speech about the Time's Up movement. Kesha was joined onstage by Cyndi Lauper, Andra Day, Bebe Rexha, Camila Cabello, Julia Michaels, and the Resistance Revival Chorus.

Everyone wore white — the color that represents the Women's Suffrage movement and the same color as the roses people wore on the Grammys red carpet.  

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Kesha's performance was staggeringly raw, and ended with the singer crying while embracing other women on stage. As Grammys host James Corden pointed out afterwards, the song felt like the perfect accompanyment to the #MeToo and "Time's Up" movement.

When "Praying" was first released, Kesha explained the inspiration for the single on Lenny Letter.

"This song is about coming to feel empathy for someone else even if they hurt you or scare you,"Kesha wrote. "It's a song about learning to be proud of the person you are even during low moments when you feel alone."

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"Praying" was a comeback single for Kesha. She was unable to release music for several years when she had been trying to free herself from a contractual agreement with Dr. Luke, her former producer and mentor whom she alleges drugged, and sexually and verbally assaulted her during her time recording with him at Sony.

You can watch Kesha's full performance of "Praying" at the Grammys here. For all of INSIDER's Grammys 2018 coverage, follow along here.

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