The recent Grammy Awards have caused an uproar in the music community, including among NMU students whose favorite artists won or lost.
Beyoncé, during this past Grammy Awards, added three more awards to her collection, bringing her total wins to 35 Grammys. She has received 99 Grammy nominations overall. With those totals, she has won more Grammys than any other artist in history, and she also has the most Grammy nominations of any artist in history. Yet, many people are upset and questioning why she won three when more popular albums and artists didn’t win any.
Beyoncé is one of the greatest musicians of all time, and her Grammys serve as evidence of that. Yet, Album of the Year went to an album that passed under the radar for most listeners and had far fewer streams than those by other musicians, like Billie Eilish, who didn’t win any awards despite her seven nominations.
Beyoncé’s album “Cowboy Carter” had a song that broke 619 million plays on Spotify and one that didn’t even reach half a million, whereas Billie Eilish’s album “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” had a song that garnered 2 billion plays, while its least-streamed song had 175 million plays.
We on the Editorial Board are no experts on the subject of who should or shouldn’t win music awards, but we are journalists and experts on spotting when something seems fishy; and this feels like one of those times.
Perhaps this is just evidence of how award shows truly operate, not based on public opinion but on the opinion of a select few or on industry influence.
As stated before, Beyoncé has been showered in accolades for her talent, and moving from hip-hip to country is bold and new. Perhaps it is revolutionary enough to deserve recognition in itself, or perhaps her influence on the industry is enough to override popularity and secure an award.
But all in all, the Recording Academy—the group in charge of the Grammys—has more on their mind than just public opinion. That said, Beyoncé has opened doors for artists of color everywhere by being the first Black woman to win Best Country Music Album. Perhaps that triumph is enough.
