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BTS performing at the 2021 Grammy Awards
BTS performing at the 2021 Grammy Awards
Photo by Cliff Lipson / CBS
Culture > Entertainment

Artists React to the Grammys: Let’s Talk About It

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Mass Amherst chapter.

March 14, 2021 marked the annual night of the biggest award show in the music industry: The Grammys. For years in the media and on the news, people have talked about how they feel the program is rigged. A big reason why people feel that way is because the fans have no way of voting. While the winners are based on many factors, ultimately artists have felt that you have to bribe your way to the top. 

Lizzo at the 2021 Grammy Awards
Photo by Francis Specker / CBS

Twitter fell into shambles two weeks ago when Zayn Malik tweeted about how he felt that you had to send a confectionary basket to the producers to win or even be nominated. Zayn insinuated that you even have to pay money to get your foot in the door. He also expressed his feelings about it being a racist event. It was to my surprise that the reponse was very divided. Many of his fans were backing him up and comoforting him. But others were saying that it was his fault that he does not promote himself better and that his latest album was not up to any type of high standards. So how do people explain why The Weeknd was not nominated if his music has been in at the top of the charts for months? He also expressed how he felt about the Grammys. He tweeted out saying that it was corrupt and that the Grammys owed him and his fans after the big let down.

iPhone with Twitter logo
Photo by Sara Kurfeb from Unsplash

Personally, I understand why artists get so heated on the topic. Although an award does not define your success, it is frustrating when you are not being recognized after all the hard work and effort was put in. It is to no surprise that many of these programs will do anything to get the most publicity and attention from the consumer. Thus, inviting certain artists to walk the carpet and deciding whose performances are going to air. In my opinion, I do think that there might be some sort of agreements happening behind the scenes and that all of this stuff is not authentic. To me, no one really associated  with these types of things are innocent. All they are worried about it putting on a good show for the audience. I have always been indifferent to popular award shows like The Grammys, The Oscars, etc. But, because this year social media was going crazy about it, I decided to watch and see why the media was going insane. Although I was sad that many of my favorite artists were not present, I look forward to hopefully seeing them accepting the award next year. I am very curious to see who will cause an uproar on social media if they are not nominated at the 2022 Grammys.

 

 

Avani Dang

U Mass Amherst '23

Avani is a senior at the University of Massachusetts studying Business. Her hobbies include working out, art, and traveling. You can find Avani writing about life as a college student, news in the media, and more!
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