With strict quarantine conditions largely over for most people, the time might have seemed right to get out of the house and go dancing in the streets.
This is a crop that encompasses some of this year’s most exciting Grammy up-and-comers, too, from triple-nominee Allison Russell telling her harrowing but inspirational story to best new artist contenders like Arlo Parks, or the great Brooklyn-Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab, who makes us feel sure we understand every last Urdu-language verse.