By: Ariana Ceballos
Hosted by the Recording Academy, the Grammys are known as “Music’s Biggest Night,” a night dedicated to awarding and recognizing musicians for their achievements. Album of the Year is undoubtedly the biggest award of the night, with this year’s nominees including diverse artists like Beyoncé, Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, ABBA, Lizzo, and many more. The winner was Harry Styles.
Because of her album Renaissance, Beyoncé was an anticipated winner, hence causing the controversy which followed. Beyoncé is a well-renowned artist and, despite her loss, became the artist with the most Grammys in the awards show’s history. Yet, the Grammy’s have passed her up for Album of the Year on multiple occasions—most recently back in 2017, calling into question artistic values versus the Recording Academy values.
While Beyoncé will remain an icon despite this loss, her talent is repeatedly overlooked by the Recording Academy, as Ineye Komonibo for Refinery29 states on the snub. “They feel intentional and malicious…she is the gold standard of music and entertainment and has been for decades now.” In arguing that an organization like the Grammy’s is willing to use a name like Beyoncé knowing she will draw attention to the ceremony while dismissing many of her artistic attributes to the music industry. An individual can give these award shows as much meaning as they want, but unknowingly, take these accolades to mind. Therefore, how much do the Grammys matter? Moreover, what exactly matters to the Grammys?
Beyoncé is talented and deserves the status she has today. Renaissance particularly is an embodiment of her remarkable strength as an artist. In the album, she highlights the sound of house music, a genre in which the LGBTQ community was immersed after “it was invented by DJs and producers from Chicago’s underground club scene in the 1970s,” as stated by Barnaby Lane for INSIDER. In her speech accepting the award for best dance/electronic album, Beyoncé highlighted the inspirations for her album: “I’d like to thank the queer community for your love and for inventing this genre.” In what can be considered one of her best albums, Beyoncé pays tribute to a groundbreaking genre that was popularized by marginalized communities and artists, making it unique and authentic to her desires.
Bad Bunny was another artist snubbed for the award as his album Un Verano Sin Ti. Singles from the album became summer hits, and as Marjua Estevez for Refinery29 highlights, it “broke multiple records, was No. 1 across the world, and made history by becoming the first Spanish-language LP to even be nominated in the ever-so-coveted Album of the Year category.”
From all the artists nominated, we have all heard their music everywhere and with such huge names in a category, one cannot understand how much an award like a Grammy defines their status.
Anastasia Tsioulcas for NPR states there is an importance in having a Grammy to the artists especially those “artists and industry workers who are not quite in that stratosphere…winning a Grammy can still matter both in terms of enhancing reputations and lining bank accounts.” In terms of workers within the music industry that are not in the public eye, this award provides many opportunities for them in the industry. As Tsioulcas notes, “It can attract new audiences and generate future gigs; streaming and sales go up… Artists sign new recording deals or partnerships with more influential managers…’Grammy bump’ is real.”
To use Tsioulcas’s term, for artists in the “fame stratosphere,” those we see in the ceremony, their wins and losses, shine a light onto issues within the organization. Justin Curto for VULTURE notes that Beyoncé’s loss to Harry Styles shows that the “academy doesn’t understand Black genius.”
More specifically, however, this “black genius” came in a form the Grammys never valued: sampling.
Curto notes that many Black musicians have been limited in their recognition under the lens of the Recording Academy. This is highlighted by Beyoncé’s loss, because the approach of sampling in her work was overlooked, despite serving an important purpose in the album.
He continues that reclaiming Black musical history is a vital approach to her piece, “but it’s pointed when the predominantly white Academy opts to keep Black musicians in the past rather than honoring present innovators like SZA, who won her first Grammy only last year.” Highlighting that in sampling artists “turn backward for inspiration rather than forward…in the case of Beyoncé, turning backward to say something new.”
The academy needs to work on accepting musicians’ stylistic approaches. These unique stylistic choices made by the musicians and their collaborators are what resonate with an audience the most. No matter if the sound is new or old, or whether these artists are creating new musical techniques or paying homage, and bring back to focus the many works that define music.
The Grammys’ nominations and awards are voted on by members of the Recording Academy composed of people from different backgrounds, listed as “musicians, engineers, lyricists, producers, and liner note writers.” A criterion exists for individuals involved in the voting process such as having developed and sold “tracks” in terms of music in the past five years, past recipient of a Grammy, or having the approval of a present participator to the voting board. As voters have an insight into the makings of music, they should consider the creative process more deeply, as they are expected to remain in touch with the music industry.
The Grammys have more value in their industry, yet they impact the artists represented and heard in the public sphere. They shape the music industry. Over the years the Grammys have been filled with diverse artists, while some creative uses of music get overlooked and custom musical approaches are favored. As music changes, these award shows should move toward integrating new musical influences into their voting as they are dismissing a variety of different sounds and people in the industry.
