Early last November, I woke up way before my classes to watch the Grammy nomination announcement live. Lana Del Rey was named five times. With each announcement, I’d scream louder and louder. I thought it was finally the year she’d win her first Grammy.
After a handful of aliases such as Sparkle Jump Rope Queen and Lizzy Grant, Del Rey gained recognition in 2011 after her hit debut single, “Video Games.” She followed shortly after with her debut album, “Born to Die.”
To me, this album changed the industry and has become a huge inspiration for many alternative artists. I mean, 12 years later and it’s still charting.
Since then, Del Rey has released eight studio albums that have all been successful, so it was no surprise when her newest album, “Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd,” became a big hit and was nominated for five Grammys.
She secured nominations for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Alternative Music Album, Best Alternative Music Performance, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance alongside Jon Batiste for their song, “Candy Necklace” (also my fav from the album!).
These aren’t Del Rey’s first nominations, either. She has been nominated for six different categories in past Grammy seasons, making her total nominations 11.
As someone who has been listening to her music for close to 10 years, I have watched her lose out on Grammy wins time and time again.
Most notably for me, and probably any other fan, was in 2020. She was nominated for Album of The Year and Song of The Year for “Norman F***ing Rockwell,” both the album and the title track. This album was another huge success and is considered to be Lana’s magnum opus by many fans and critics. She was ultimately beaten by Billie Eilish in both categories.
I, like many others, were heartbroken by this loss. How could an album that was crafted so perfectly not win? It honestly took me a while to get over (I didn’t), so you can imagine the deja vu I felt when it happened again this year.
I tuned in to the Grammys pre-show where they announced Best Alternative Music Album, Best Alternative Music Performance, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. As I watched names that were not hers being announced, I did not feel good.
Of course, she had two other nominations for Album of the Year and Song of the Year, but they were both up against high-stakes contenders. I had some other favs in these categories, like Taylor Swift and SZA, but we know who I wanted to win.
Before the show, I had seen posts about some of The Recording Academy Voting Members not being in favor of Del Rey. It has been alluded to that she’s “blacklisted,” possibly due to her Saturday Night Live performance in 2012.
One voter even said he hasn’t taken her seriously since then and never will. This is just the opinion of one person, so it shouldn’t matter that much. This is also totally unfair, considering the performance was so early on in her career and she was still figuring out her stage presence.
I saw her in concert last year and I can attest that she is an amazing performer; I cried the entire time. Needless to say, I don’t think we should be letting decade-old performances get in the way of awarding deserving artists.
This makes me wonder what criteria really goes into being a voter. Of course, music is subjective, but I feel like even if you aren’t a fan of Del Rey’s, it should be evident that “Ocean Blvd” is a phenomenally vulnerable album.
As I mentioned, Del Rey has changed the industry. It’s upsetting to watch the same artists inspired by her win all of the awards she’s never gotten over and over again.
It almost feels like they invite her to taunt her. Especially this year, as it felt as though they were intentionally putting the camera on her when she didn’t receive awards.
One moment that stood out the most to me was when Swift won Album of the Year. This was the final award of the night, and also Del Rey’s last nomination. The camera was more focused on Del Rey than Swift, who were sitting together, and it felt…weird.
It has been a 50/50 argument, but I did find it bittersweet for Swift to bring Del Rey on stage when she accepted the award. Del Rey was a part of Swift’s album with her collaboration on “Snow on The Beach,” but also I think Swift was trying to be a good friend.
I just wish it would’ve been Del Rey.
Following Del Rey’s losses, it was clear many people were unhappy. The posts on my feed were sad edits, choice words for the academy, and #JUSTICEFORLANA.
But, I think we can expect more nominations for Del Rey in the future. She announced her new album “Lasso” at a Billboard event on Saturday, Jan. 31, where she said, “We’re going country.” So we may be getting a Best Country Album nomination from her.
Until next year, Scammys.