The prestigious Grammy Awards are a staple in most households during the annual March Sunday. Viewers get to see their fave singers perform, get nominated for awards and sometimes even win! Underneath all of the flashy performances and red carpet-worthy outfits, it still needs a lot of work in order to become more inclusive and not fall into racial prejudices. There have been many instances of celebrities having to boycott or call out the Grammys due to the unfair treatment they received based on their race. This issue is not exclusive to race but also gender.
On Sunday, March 14, 2021, K-Pop sensation BTS was nominated for ‘best pop/duo group performance’ for their hit song Dynomite. This nomination was a moment in history because it was the first K-Pop nomination the Grammys have ever had. Unfortunately, BTS lost to Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga’s ‘Rain on me’. Although ‘Rain on me’ has undeniably been a hit song for 2020, it did not have the same impact or numbers as Dynamite. This left BTS fans, who call themselves Armys, hurt and confused because by looking at the numbers, BTS should have won. A lot of the Army felt that BTS was used as a token to make the Grammys seem woke for nominating a foreign group. They also found it strange that Dynamite, a song in English, was nominated and not one of their many successful Korean songs like Black Swan. Regardless of BTS not winning, I hope their nomination opens the doors for more international artists to be acknowledged by the Grammys and hopefully tackle the American-centric views these award shows have.
In 2018 when the topic of women being underrepresented in the Grammys, president/CEO Neil Portnow responded that women need to “step up”. This stirred a lot of controversy and opened a lot of people’s eyes on the expectation of women artists. Women don’t need to “step up”, they have been stepping up for centuries and have contributed tremendously to the music industry. Beyonce and Taylor Swift, both owners of several Grammys, have influenced the music industry just as much as their male counterparts. Fortunately, in recent years, the Grammys have become more aware of their gender bias and have opened the stage up for more talented women to perform and accept the awards they deserve.
In January 2020, Tyler the Creator received an award for his infamous album IGOR. This was his first-ever Grammy but he felt like accepting it was a bittersweet moment. While accepting his award he called out the award show for putting people who look like him, black artists, into categories such as “urban”. He even compared the term “urban” to be a politically correct n-word. He called out the hypocrisy of white and people not being put into racially stereotypical categories and that they have the freedom to be nominated for any category, not just be limited to urban, rap, soul and hip hop. Tyler’s album IGOR won under the “rap” category despite IGOR not even being a rap album. Although some people may have seen this as him being ungrateful, it was actually very iconic and powerful that he opened up this long-overdue conversation on live TV.
Watching the Grammys is a fun time to experience with your friends and family. You get to discover new artists and see your own favorites perform and get acknowledgment for all their hard work. But it is also important to remember that you should be critical of the media that you consume. The Grammys need to address their racial and gender bias. This will make it much more enjoyable for its nominees and the viewers. Fortunately, some progress is being made, but there is still lots of work left to be done.