Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale Comments on Vinnie Paul’s Omission From Grammys In Memoriam Tribute

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Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale has spoken out on social media about the Grammys’ conspicuous exclusion of Pantera’s Vinnie Paul and other metal musicians from the award show’s televised “In Memoriam” tribute this Sunday (February 10th), which has had fans in an outrage. Hale won a Grammy in 2013 and, this year, served as a presenter at the Grammys’ pre-show livestreamed ceremony to which the rock and metal awards were relegated. Also absent from the awards’ In Memoriam reel were All That Remains guitarist Oli Herbert and We Came as Romans singer-keyboardist Kyle Pavone, who passed away in October and August 2018, respectively. Hale expressed disappointment at the apparent snubs and went on to explain some of the machinations by which the exclusions took place, before vowing to keep fighting to get rock and metal a better seat at the table. Read her full comments below.

“It was a whirlwind of a Grammy Week. It was so wonderful to be nominated, and I’m honored to have lost that Grammy to one of my influences, Chris Cornell. His children got up on stage and filled my heart with such love as they paid tribute to their father.

But I am disappointed and disheartened that Vinnie Paul of Pantera/ Hell Yeah,All That Remains guitarist Oli Herbert and Kyle Pavone of We Came As Romans were not acknowledged in the Annual Memoriam list this year.

There’s a committee at The Recording Academy and, in December, they put together a list that goes into the hundreds, 300 to 400 people. They go through that list and this committee votes. And from that, they cut it down to a reasonable number for television. I get it. But that is not an excuse for not including my friend Vinnie Paul of Pantera/ Hell Yeah, who has in fact…been nominated for 4 Grammy awards.

I am very much aware that our genre is still not given the respect that it deserves.

This is why I’m involved.
That’s why I was there, in my leather jacket and horns raised, representing my genre Presenting Awards at the Pre Televised ceremony.
That is why I was present at the televised show, sitting next to the cool kids.
Like anything in this world, if you want change, you must take action.
If I threw in the towel the first or hundredth time someone didn’t take me seriously or told me I couldn’t make it cuz I was a girl… then all the hard work and passion I bear for my love of music would be wasted.
So, with the same passion, I will not waste my time in the light.
I will continue to be an ambassador for Rock and to fight for the respect that it deserves.

–Lzzy Hale

 

 

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