From major artistry snubs, to bias research against the rap industry to exhaustive plot holes in winners, The GRAMMYs are no stranger to controversy, substance and legitimacy.
Dishevelling artist integrity for a meagre popularity contest, The GRAMMYs is everything wrong with the commercialised humdrum of the music industry. Of course, you can’t be blind to musically adept artists. With Harry Styles being one of them. A strong album with many-a connection between 80s alternative and airy pop, it’s albeit deserving for its compliments. But it’s nothing marginally genre-defining or inspired to tear up the very fragments of what it means to make pop music. Is it impactful of it enough to wind Album of the Year at this year’s GRAMMYs? Do artists win the awards for all the WRONG reasons? Do they simply win it from the numbers they bring in? Or is it something more from a pay-off from the labels themselves? I don’t want to get too tinfoil hat with it, but there’s certainly a conversation to be had there.
Of course, it all harks back to the much-discussed topic of “does popularity reflect in how good the music is?” Are they the one and the same? I feel like I always dive into this melting pot of frustration whenever we come to the years’ music awards, but it always seems like many artists are being snubbed for their work, simply because their exposure is not good enough compared to the grandeur of Mr Styles or even Kendrick.
Heck, maybe I should just write off the GRAMMYs as a trivial concept and write it off as many artists do and have done in their time. Or maybe I’m a little biased towards art and how such award shows are choking it up in unwarranted drivel.
Whether you’re an advocate for the populous of poo, which side are you on?
Some notable winners:
Album of the Year
ABBA – Voyage
Adele – 30
Bad Bunny – Un Verano Sin Ti
Beyoncé – Renaissance
Brandi Carlile – In These Silent Days
Coldplay – Music of the Spheres
WINNER: Harry Styles – Harry’s House
Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
Lizzo – Special
Mary J. Blige – Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe)
Best New Artist
Anitta
Domi & JD Beck
Latto
Måneskin
Molly Tuttle
Muni Long
Omar Apollo
WINNER: Samara Joy
Tobe Nwigwe
Wet Leg
Record of the Year
ABBA – Don’t Shut Me Down
Adele – Easy on Me
Beyoncé – Break My Soul
Brandi Carlile Featuring Lucius – You and Me on the Rock
Doja Cat – Woman
Harry Styles – As It Was
Kendrick Lamar – The Heart Part 5
WINNER: Lizzo – About Damn Time
Mary J. Blige – Good Morning Gorgeous
Steve Lacy – Bad Habit
Song of the Year
Adele – Easy on Me
Beyoncé – Break My Soul
WINNER: Bonnie Raitt – Just Like That
DJ Khaled Featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy – God Did
Gayle – ABCDEFU
Harry Styles – As It Was
Kendrick Lamar – The Heart Part 5
Lizzo – About Damn Time
Steve Lacy – Bad Habit
Taylor Swift – All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film)
mvm. 
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