The Sound of Resistance. Two Women and the Pulse of Social Change at the Grammys
When the Recording Academy announced the results for the Harry Belafonte Best Song for Social Change, one theme emerged with unmistakable clarity. This year, two artists on opposite sides of the world delivered works that pointed in the same direction, carried the same urgency, and spoke a shared emotional truth.
RAYE’s “Ice Cream Man” received the award.
VERONICA VITALE’s “I Am a Woman” emerged with a powerful “FYC For Your Consideration” in the same field of urgency, standing firmly within the cultural moment the award sought to honor.
Two different visions, two different creative languages, one central message. The Academy was looking for work that confronts injustice, sparks conversation, and gives voice to those who have been silenced. Both songs opened this conversation with striking precision.
A Convergence of Testimony and Truth
“Ice Cream Man” and “I Am a Woman” were born from separate paths, yet their thematic parallels are impossible to overlook. Both compositions confront the realities that too often remain unspoken. Sexual violence, discrimination, psychological manipulation, shame, the weight of gender bias, and the emotional trauma that follows. Each song does so through a personal lens that becomes universal once placed in the hands of listeners seeking understanding and strength.
RAYE turns personal history into purpose. “Ice Cream Man,” created with BloodPop and Sabath for her album My 21st Century Blues, carries the weight of trauma and reshapes it into truth telling.
“I Am a Woman” rises from a different path yet with equal urgency. Veronica Vitale composed it in 2022 in Agerola on the Path of the Gods along the Amalfi Coast, during a period of emotional exile from her hometown of Boscoreale, Italy. Her work reflects years of advocacy, cross cultural experience, and a commitment to speaking for women and survivors whose stories are often silenced and erased.
Although Italian is her mother language, she crafted an English spoken word piece with striking precision and clarity. The song carries the weight of activism, displacement, and resilience.
Where one song recounts a deeply personal moment, the other elevates the collective voice of women across generations. In different ways, both brought the same truth to the table. That convergence is precisely what the Harry Belafonte category honors.
This is the award that measures impact, not metrics. Change, not charts. The ethical weight of a message, not its commercial footprint. For an independent Italian-born artist who built her career without the traditional machinery, arriving in this space was a significant milestone and an unmistakable signal. That alignment of truth is what gave this year’s FYC campaigns their impact and generated real curiosity throughout the industry. It also raises a compelling question: could these two remarkable women ever share a song together?
An Independent Artist at the Center of the Conversation
For Veronica Vitale, entering the Grammy Conversation is more than visibility. It represents the validation of a path defined by artistic authorship, global thinking, and social advocacy. As a migrant voice in an
American institution, she demonstrated that the language of justice and empowerment transcends birthplace, accent, and national boundaries.
“I Am a Woman” was composed in Italy in 2022, first registered with SIAE, the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers, and later transferred to ASCAP in 2023 as the artist recognized the need for a broader international rights framework. The track was released shortly before the August 25, 2025 submission deadline. Despite its independent launch, it carried a level of precision and intention that placed it in meaningful dialogue with the winning entry. The Academy’s acknowledgement confirms that Vitale’s work occupies the same space of urgency, artistic integrity, and social purpose that the Harry Belafonte category was created to honor.
This marks the ideal prelude to her upcoming album, a body of work that positions women’s rights, human dignity, mental health, and a fight against social hate as central pillars. For Vitale and her team, this moment is not an ending but the beginning of a larger movement.
Craft, Mastery, and the Sound of Commitment
The sonic architecture of “I Am a Woman” carries the touch of John Greenham, which is one of the most respected mastering engineers working today, with four Grammy wins and multiple additional nominations to his name, including recognition for his work on When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? with Billie Eilish. Over more than two decades he has mastered projects across genres and artists, helping shape records that resonate on a global scale. His deep technical knowledge, refined ear, and commitment to preserving the artist’s intent have made him a trusted figure among top performers and producers worldwide.
Mixing duties were led by Patrick J. Hamilton, whose foundation was built at the Atlanta Institute of Music and Media under President Nite Driscoll, where he graduated with honors and developed the technical rigor that defines his work. His career combines film craftsmanship with studio discipline, shaped by time in the creative world of Penny Marshall and the mentorship of Chico Brown at Cinema Libre Studio in North Hollywood. Encounters with Eddie Van Halen broadened his artistic perspective and strengthened his instinct for authenticity. That full lineage can be heard in “I Am a Woman”.
Shared Purpose. Shared Light.
This year’s outcome reveals something important about the direction of music and culture. Women who speak with courage are not merely participating in the conversation. They are shaping it. They are defining the expectations of categories created to honor impact and advocacy.
RAYE earned the award.
IVEE (Veronica Vitale) earned the recognition of creating a work that stands within the same sphere of cultural urgency.
Both artists delivered music that reflects the moral and emotional core of the Harry Belafonte category. Both carried truth into difficult places. Both amplified stories the world can no longer ignore.
As the new Grammy year begins, these voices mark a pivotal moment. One victory, two visions, and a reminder that when women rise with purpose, the conversation of a generation rises with them.
Sisters in art, aligned in mission.
