On the highest stage of the music industry, the Grammys were an event that so many were hopeful to view. We all had such high expectations, especially now that people had pushed for diversity, acceptance, but above all, to recognize all genres of music for the quality they presented. This was supposed to be the night to praise all artists for the hard work that the world had told them time and time again was truly visionary.
Spoiler alert, that did not happen.
Alessia Cara took home the award for Best New Artist, yet many would argue she is not new in the music industry. That award should have been meant for either Khalid, Julia Michaels, or SZA. Yet Alessia Cara was the only female winner of the night for this award.
Lorde did not perform at all at the Grammys. Why? The Grammys didn’t offer her the chance to perform any of her songs from her album. She was the only female artist nominated for Album of the Year with “Melodrama.” The only artist who did not perform their own original album was Jay-Z ,and he also did not win anything but was nominated eight times.
“Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, is the most streamed song of all time. It lost to Portugal the Man’s “Feel It Still” in the best Pop Duo/Group Performance. It lost Song of the Year to “That’s What I Like” by Bruno Mars. It lost Record of the Year to “24K Magic,” again to Bruno Mars. It should have been the first Spanish song to win all of those categories.
Logic performed his famous song 1-800-273-8255 with Alessia Cara and Khalid. It was one of its most powerful songs of the night due to its simplicity, message and Logic’s epic speech. The song did not win one award. However, it did triple the amounts of calls into the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and that speaks volumes more than any award ever could.
Who could forget Ke$ha? Her awe-inspiring, star-studded performance that brought Madison Square Garden to it’s knees. There was no dry eye in the room. Yet it lost to the pop Goliath “Shape of You” to singer Ed Sheeran, who wasn’t even present. Might as well loop Lady Gaga into this, because she also sang a touching song with an overwhelming performance and didn’t win anything either.
Let’s not forget that the most nominated female artist of the night, breakout sensation SZA, did not win anything.
Kendrick Lamar opened the Grammys with a fire performance with assistance from U2 and Dave Chappelle. He was clear about his messages from album “DAMN.” His dancers and their choreography were extremely sharp and matched the tone of his performance perfectly. He would go on to win all of the Rap categories: Best Rap Performance, Best Rap/Sung Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap Album. He deserved those because he didn’t win the main accolades. Spoiler alert: Bruno Mars did. Yet if the Academy moved away from mainstream pop and accepted rap for the true genius it has always been ,things could have been very different.
Had Kendrick been recognized for all the awards Bruno Mars had won, literally all artists nominated could have deserved those awards. For example, Cardi B for “Bodak Yellow,” the only female rap artist to top a #1 for such an extended period of time. On top of that, she took that spot from the all time pop queen, Taylor Swift.
In the baby boomers generation, rock music was the thing that annoyed the parents. Nowadays it’s rap. Parents and society are responding the exact same way as their parents did in their own times. How long is it going to take someone to realize that the original rebels were the Beatles, who are now so often recognized as the best rock band to ever play? Which artist is going to be the next Beatles and how long will it take for everyone else to catch up?