Every year I have a specific issue arise during the Grammy award season. While I want my favorite musicians to get recognition and receive praise for their work, I also hate the Grammys. I am disappointed year after year and yet I still have the need to watch intensely, fingers crossed my picks win.
I lost respect for the Grammys a while ago but recently I have truly given up. The Grammys used to be considered one of the most sought after awards for musicians and yet it seems like less and less people are caring about receiving the coveted golden Gramophone.
Several artists over the years have called out the Grammys, including Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, Tyler The Creator, Charli XCX and more.
As much as I want to believe that the Grammys are fair and truly recognizes the best of the best with the way I have watched the Grammys since I was a child, I just don’t have any faith in them.
The Grammys have a history of snubbing work from people of color since they were originally started. Since 1957 only 11 Black artists have won Album of the Year. Some examples include Prince’s “1999” never getting nominated, Frank Ocean’s “Channel Orange” losing to Mumford and Sons or Kendrick Lamar losing Album of the Year and Best Hip Hop album.
The Grammys also tend to put artists in a box when it comes to category nominations. Tyler The Creator criticized the Recording Academy and said, “It sucks that whenever we, and I mean guys that look like me, do anything that’s genre-bending or that’s anything, they always put it in a rap or urban category and I don’t like that urban word. Half of me feels like the rap nomination was a backhanded compliment.”
The Weeknd even decided to boycott the Grammys after 2021. “I have three Grammys, which mean nothing to me now.” The Weeknd said.
As of 2021, more than 81% of Billboard’s Top 10 best-selling albums are made by non-white artists. However, people of color only made up 26.7% of nominations from 2012 to 2020.
BTS have consistently broken several records in the states, calling for their deserved nominations. Despite this, for two years now they have not won in any of their categories they have been nominated for. A lot of fans trended #Scammys after being snubbed the first time. A livestream of BTS post-Grammy had nearly as many viewers as the award show which speaks to their success and the appreciation many have for them as artists. Within a few hours of uploading their livestream, it accumulated over 11 million views, surpassing the Grammy award viewership.
Award shows have continuously lost viewership and respect over the years. I’ll say rightfully so. So many award shows have turned into a popularity contest and a way for rich people’s ego to bloom.
I’m beyond disappointed in the lack of diversity and care for the music industry the Grammys have and I will not be tuning in for a while.
Categories: Opinion
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