The Grammys are a time to celebrate and acknowledge all the work put out by various artists throughout the year. Each year’s chosen artists tend to be more interesting from the last, from who even qualified for a nomination to who actually won a coveted gramophone. The 2024 Grammys was definitely a weird mix of great victories and snubs for many artists, and it caused a media frenzy. As someone who is heavily invested in the music scene (and a self-proclaimed music connoisseur) I’m here to share my thoughts on the awards presented this year.
Dubs
Many celebrate the moment when their favorite artist is awarded for their hard work in the music industry, and it was incredible to witness firsthand the variety of artists who were awarded with their first ever Grammy. It’s equally joyful to see artists who have won in the past continue to get awards for their more recent work to prove they can pass the test of time. Here are some of my favorite dubs from 2024 Grammys Season:
- Victoria Monet
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Victoria Monet began releasing music in 2014, dropping both a single and EP within the year. Most recently, she released an album titled Jaguar II and multiple singles in 2023, which were nominated for multiple awards both in the General and R&B categories. She also received a nomination as Best New Artist. With a total of seven nominations, Monet had the second most nominations that night. Even her daughter, Hazel Monet, was nominated with her for being featured in Monet’s single “Hollywood”, making her the youngest person ever to be nominated at just two years old. Through the night she won three out of her seven nominations—Jaguar II won Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical and Best R&B Album, and Monet herself won Best New Artist. After a tough journey, Victoria Monet is finally receiving the praise she deserves.
- Miley cyrus
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I, like many people from Gen Z, grew up alongside Miley Cyrus’ music career, from getting her start in music through Disney, to breaking out on her own. Cyrus started singing at the young age of nine years old and began releasing music at 14. Since then, she has released eight studio albums, four EPs, 39 singles and has been featured on multiple tracks by other artists. Cyrus has only received eight Grammy nominations throughout her career, six coming from this year and two back in 2015. Finally, Cyrus was awarded with two Grammys during this year’s ceremony for Best Pop Solo Performance and Record of the Year for her song “Flowers.” With all the different albums and her growth throughout her career, it’s safe to say these two Grammys were earned and it’s truly surprising to me that she’s never received one sooner.
- Paramore
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Back in 2008, Paramore was nominated for their first ever Grammy for Best New Artist but lost to Amy Winehouse (it was a fair win for Winehouse but still upsetting for Paramore fans). The members, Hayley Williams (Lead Singer) and Taylor York (Guitarist), received a few more nominations throughout 2010, 2011, and in 2014 won their first Grammy for Best Rock Song for “Ain’t It Fun.” Finally in 2024, Paramore as a group received not only their first two nominations but also their first two Grammys in over a decade. They won Best Alternative Music Performance for their single “This Is Why” and Best Rock Album for the album This Is Why. Along with their first wins in over 10 years, they also made history as being the first female led band to win Best Rock Album. Unfortunately, Paramore was unable to attend the ceremony but they still went on Instagram to celebrate their wins, and fans (including myself) congratulated them on Twitter.
Snubs
With all the wins we got during the 2024 Grammys there were still some upsetting losses for many artists. Year after year there seems to be a trend of the same artist winning a Grammy every ceremony or even random artists that few people actually know manage to get these prestigious awards. Sometimes, artists not only get overlooked for awards but even nominations. This year was no exception as there were definitely some massive snubs that cannot be overlooked:
- Taylor’s win
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Taylor Swift is a household name who is loved by many generations and has released multiple albums throughout her career. Starting as a small country pop singer she has evolved into a world famous pop star. Most recently, Swift released her tenth studio album titled Midnights, which was nominated for and won Album of the Year. Although the album was well written, it did not compare to the other albums nominated for the Album of the Year. This year many artists took the chance to experiment with new genres and matured in their writing styles, like SZA with her album SOS and Olivia Rodrigo with her album Guts. Midnights on the other hand was very similar to past work made by Swift, making it one of the most disappointing wins of the night.
- Lana Del Ray and Olivia Rodrigo
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Besides the Album of the Year, Lana Del Ray and Olivia Rodrigo were each nominated for several other categories that night. Surprisingly, neither artist received a single award the entire ceremony. This was absolutely infuriating as this past year the artists released some of their best work to date, but were tragically overlooked. Recently, a TikTok went viral for releasing a reason why Lana Del Ray was not fairly considered for an award in any of her categories. The TikTok had a photograph of a quote made by one of the voters, stating that Lana Del Ray would no longer be considered a serious artist in their eyes ever since her performance on SNL. It’s infuriating to think that this one incident prevented her from winning an award she’s deserved for years, all because she doesn’t fit the mold the Grammys want in a candidate. Just as shocking, Olivia Rodrigo, who is considered to be a more ideal musical figure, didn’t even get an explanation as to why she didn’t get a Grammy.
- Forgotten artists
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Unfortunately, many artists submitted their work into several categories and did not even receive the honor of nominations. Artists such as Kali Uchis, Renee Rapp and Bad Bunny have had massive successes this year in new singles, albums, and performances. Sadly, none of them received even a nomination at the 2024 Grammys despite having record sales. They are just a few of several artists who were unfairly judged, as most of the nominations throughout the night were for the same select artists or works. The Grammys are known for having a strict and outdated voting system that needs to be reinvented to be less biased when choosing artists for categories. It’s disappointing that with 66 years of the Grammys, many artists are not given the proper chance to be recognized for awards they very much deserve.
The 2024 Grammays were overall a historical night, primarily dominated by female artists in the music industry. Almost all the artists nominated for the general categories were female for the first time in history, with Jon Batiste as the only male. Phoebe Bridgers won the most awards of the night: three group awards with Boy Genius and one duo award with SZA. Taylor Swift made history being the first and only artist to win Album of the Year four times. Laufey won an award during her first time attending the Grammys for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Tyla Seethal was the first winner ever under the new category Best African Music Performance.
With all the commotion this year’s Grammys stirred up in the media and all the new singles and albums being released soon, I’m both anxious and curious for next year’s ceremony. The Grammys has a strong history of being biased to certain artists and overlooking amazing work made by POC artists. Hopefully, with all the commotion in the media, the Grammys update their ancient voting systems to make the 67th Grammys one of the best to date.