With winter coming to a close, it’s the time of year for the Grammys. The event needs no introduction, famous for causing controversy by pitting artists against each other for categories regarding their songs and albums.
This year specifically has had wave after wave of people upset with the results of the 66th Annual Grammys.
First of the bunch, one that stirred just the tiniest bit of controversy’s was Miley Cyrus’s “Flowers” winning record of the year.
While many agree that Miley Cyrus was long overdue for a Grammy, people disagree with “Flowers” being the song that deserved it. The song broke records such as being the first song to reach 100 million streams on Spotify in a week, earning one trillion streams overall in three months, and being in the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks.
However, the controversy comes from “Flowers” winning over SZA’s “Kill Bill” and Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” which starred in the hit movie Barbie. While many older fans of Cyrus have expressed their happiness for Cyrus, young adults and teens have taken to social media to complain and express their disappointment.
“It just doesn’t make much sense since while the song is big, it never screamed ‘record of the year’ material,” claims Reddit user thatssonotodd. “That song was up against SZA’s “Kill Bill”. Now am I saying “Kill Bill” deserved it instead? Yes! Because it did. I don’t hate “Flowers,” I’ve been bopping it since it came out last year on January 13th. And Miley Cyrus’s album afterwards had bops too, but I think it’s only really good for radio. But meanwhile, “Kill Bill” is a masterpiece.”
However, that category pales in comparison to the fights and debates caused over the Album of the Year award. Even before the winner of the award was announced, singer and rapper Jay-Z made a point in his speech regarding his wife, Beyonce. He remarked how despite how she has the most Grammys out of anyone, she has never once won Album of the Year.
Upon this being pointed out, many of her fans felt she was snubbed in the award and said that the Grammys were biased and racist. People were quick to claim that it was not Jay-Z’s place to point that out in such a manner, and that if Beyonce had an issue, she could speak up.
Others defended Jay-Z. “I don’t read Jay-Z as speaking up just for Beyoncé,” says Adriane Lentz-Smith, an associate professor of history, and African and African American studies at Duke University. “But again, calling the Grammys out for a pattern or a repeated practice of underplaying what Black artists have done… in the same way that rarely is advocating for any one person about solely them and getting them what they should have.”
Onto the actual Grammys, Taylor Swift’s album “Midnights” won. While this alone made fans of the respective artists that lost upset, people were quick to jump on her for her behavior afterward, where she invited Lana Del Rey to come up with her on stage, as she was also featured on the album, and announced her new album “The Tortured Poet’s Department” which is set to release April 19th this year. People claimed that it wasn’t the right place and time for Taylor Swift to announce her new album, and it was cruel of her to “drag Lana Del Rey on stage when she just lost.”
People were angry, and dragging Taylor Swift for winning over Lana Del Rey’s “Did You Know that There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd?” Despite Lana Del Rey being featured on the “Midnights” album in “Snow on the Beach,” her fans bashed the album, saying that it did not deserve Album of the Year.
Despite her fans’ behavior, Lana Del Rey has come to Taylor Swift’s defense. An Instagram post from Rey regarding the Grammys reads: “I literally just loved being there. I love to see everyone, get the tea, and hang out, get dressed up. I literally did not feel 1 ounce of negative emotion at any point in that award ceremony. It was pure funniness and laughter.”
Many of Swift’s own fans have snapped back, saying that hate always rises whenever Taylor Swift accomplishes something big, comparing it to the swarm of hate Swift received in 2016.
“I honestly really understand why Taylor Swift disappeared for an entire year,” said TikToker bravelittlelizard, “She can’t live. She can’t go to NFL games. She can’t go to award shows. She can’t do anything without people picking her apart. And regardless of what you think of her music, leave the girl alone. If you want to be a critic, that’s fine, that’s not what I’m talking about. Other people are just like tearing her to shreds for no reason.”
Overall, this year’s award seem to be controversial to the point where the discourse has flooded the media, forcing anyone and everyone online to take a stance, whether public or not.
The McNicholas Milestone 