The entertainment industry, unfortunately, has committed a lot of injustices when it comes to award shows. Such unfairness reflects the society we live in, where so many people have been silenced on account of their race, gender, ethnicity… Let’s take a look at some examples of artists who have suffered from these matters.
- The Weeknd
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The Canadian singer Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, known as The Weeknd, claims to have been snubbed this year by the Academy Grammy Awards.
Not only did he release “After Hours”, one of the best-selling albums of 2020 and pleased the critics, but also performed his breakout hit “Blinding Lights” (the single that broke the record for most weeks in the
Hot 100’s Top 10) at the top of the Empire State Building at the VMAs and had the biggest streaming week for an R&B album ever. However, the singer’s name was not on the list for any nomination. Understandably frustrated, he stated on Twitter: “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…”.
- Fernanda Montenegro
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In 1999 a Brazilian actress, Fernanda Montenegro, called the spotlight due to her impressive acting in a Brazilian production, “Central do Brasil” (Central Station), directed by the Brazilian director Walter Salles. For the first time, a film produced entirely in Portuguese was nominated for an Oscar, under the “Best Actress” category. Unfortunately, she lost to Gwyneth Paltrow, an actress starring in “Shakespeare in Love”.
The subject had been brought up again recently, in November, when the actress Glenn Close said in an interview for ABC News that Fernanda deserved that award better than anyone. When asked by the journalist Pedro Bial for a reply, Fernanda says that it depends on the point of view: “I think it’s her evaluation. I, for example, would have given the Oscar to Blanchett. She played two extraordinary Elizabeth’s that year. I thank Close for speaking about me. It’s been 21 years, no kidding.”
Since then, no Brazilian productions have been nominated.
- BTS
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The Korean boy band named Bangtan Boys formed by 7 members, also known as BTS, has been under the spotlight lately. Especially in the year 2020, when their album “Map Of The Soul: 7” was the best-selling album of the entire year, beating even Taylor Swift. Even though they’re so huge, the band only made it to the Grammy’s nominations under the category of “Best Group Performance”, due to their performance of their song “Dynamite” on the VMA’s. “Map Of The Soul: 7” could be running for Best Album, since it was the best-seller of the year, and the fans claim that it only happened due to the fact that there’s no other songs entirely written in English on the album.
Namjoon, the only member who speaks English fluently, said: “Since we’re aliens to the music industry in America, we don’t know if there’s a place for us or not.”
- BLACKPINK
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The South Korean girl band BLACKPINK, formed by 4 members (Lisa, Jisoo, Rosé and Jennie) has blossomed since 2016. In 2020, they also got into Billboard’s Top 10 with their album called “The Album”, which is also in the “2020 top best-selling albums in the world”.
They are on the same level of success as BTS, even though the girls only got one nomination outside of Asia, which was on MTV, where they won at the K-Pop categories.
- Zayn Malik
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Shortly after quitting the band One Direction in 2016, the British singer and songwriter Zayn Malik released his debut single “PillowTalk”, reaching number 1 in 60 countries, making the artist the first British solo singer to reach number 1 outside the UK on his very first release. Yet, zero nominations to the Grammys. He also made it to 1 billion views on his single, featuring the singer Sia, “Dusk Till Dawn”.
It’s important to point out that Zayn Malik suffered attacks through his years on 1D due to his religion, Muslim. Besides, he’s developed severe anxiety and is not comfortable anymore with performing and touring all around the world in huge arenas. He manages to be as private as possible with his personal life lately.
This Tuesday (March 9th, 2021), the Bradford singer called out the Grammy Academy Award on his Twitter: “F*ck the Grammys and everyone associated. Unless you shake hands and send gifts, there’s no nomination considerations. Next year I’ll send you a basket of confectionery”.
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This article was edited by Anna Bastos.
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