On February 5, 2023, the 65th annual Grammy Awards ceremony took place at the Crypto.com Arena (previously known as the Staples Center). The Grammy Awards are a distinguished honor for those in the music industry. It is something that some musicians aspire to have in their careers. This year’s award ceremony had many performances from several well-known artists such as Bad Bunny, Harry Styles, Lizzo, Stevie Wonder, and many more. The artist Beyoncé also made history at this year’s award ceremony for having the most Grammys awarded (36 total).
While being an oh-so-prestigious award, the deciding commitee has been accused of favoring certain artists over others for years. This year, like always, many fans came onto Twitter and TikTok to give their two cents. Not only fans but also other artists have spoken up about this. One of them is Zayn Malik, a solo artist who was once a part of One Direction. In a tweet from 2021, he tweeted out: “Fuck the Grammys and everyone associated. Unless you shake hands and send gifts, there is no nomination or consideration.” In the past, Zayn has been snubbed by the Grammy committee, with his album, which is so cleverly titled, “Nobody is Listening” in 2021, along with his first solo single, “Pillowtalk” in 2016.
This was not the first and only time popular artists have been snubbed from the awards. In 2020, fans of Ariana Grande and Lana Del Ray took to Twitter in order to share their anger towards the show of their favorite artists losing to Billie Eilish for several categories.
Regarding this year, Harry Styles was awarded Album of The Year for his third studio album, Harry’s House, over many of the other artists in the category, such as Adele and Beyoncé. When this award was announced, some audience members heckled the artist on stage, and the topic immediately began trending on Twitter. Many fans of other artists’ fans believed that this award should not have gone to him because his album lacks what the albums “30” by Adele and “Renaissance” by Beyoncé had.
Here’s one thing I have to say: Of course Harry’s music isn’t like theirs. All of these artists are respectfully different and that is what makes their music so special. If Harry was making the same things as Adele or Beyoncé, the music industry would be a sad place, not because they don’t make great music (they do make some of the best music out there), but because there wouldn’t be any variety.
Harry has been receiving a lot of hate, not only due to his award, also due to his acceptance speech, as he stated: “this doesn’t happen to people like me very often.” The quote has been interpreted negatively by many, taking the stance that a rich, white man like him has a great amount of privilege and has no reason to say something like this.
One thing people might forget is that this man is not known for his speeches, being the same man who once has said he liked a movie because it “felt like a movie.” In my opinion, his words were actually referring to the fact that he came from a middle-class working family, and the fact that when solo artists emerge from bands, they don’t tend to have as successful careers. This is not to say that I am showing support for any artists in the category, but these are simply my thoughts on the argument.
Another artist that has been a part of this year’s controversy is the artist Bonnie Raitt. When it was announced that “Just Like That” had won Song of the Year, Bonnie was equally as shocked as everyone else, if not more; she didn’t think that she was going to win. Many people today are not aware of her music and do not agree that she should have won Song of the Year. “Just Like That” was awarded over Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” and Adele’s “Go Easy On Me.”
Though I have not personally heard the song, the song, according to CNN, is about a woman visited by a man who was only alive because he had received her son’s heart. Though in most recent times she is unknown, she is quite the awarded singer. Not only has she won several Grammys as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award, but her work has also been selected by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the United States National Recording Registry. Though I do agree with the fact that her song was not as popular as other nominations, to say she is completely unknown and not deserving of the award is a lie.
Despite repeated allegations, we still don’t know the Grammys are rigged or not. But every year, it brings several controversies and becomes a topic of conversation for many. Even with people’s statements about the awards, we do not know what is fact or just simply fake. In the past couple of years, it has turned into a battle between fandoms, and sometimes it seems like the fandoms care more about winning the award than the artist themselves. When a winner is announced every year for each category, someone seems to find reasons why the artist doesn’t “deserve” the award. My final thought on the topic is: if other artists can respect the winner, why can’t the fans?