This year, the Grammys occurred on February 4th and were hosted by South African comedian and writer, Trevor Noah. Following the controversial and problematic host of the Golden Globes, Jo Koy, Noah received much praise for his skillful comedy and educated comments and jokes.
The big categories of the night consisted of Record of the Year, Best New Artist, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year. These categories are highly anticipated and often cause much debate and speculation. This year, the winners in top 4 categories were: Miley Cyrus's “Flowers” for Record of the Year, Victoria Monet for Best New Artist, “What Was I Made For” by Billie Eilish for Song of the Year, and finally, Taylor Swift's Midnights for Album of the Year.
Arguably, the most debated category this year was Album of the Year. People had a lot to say about Taylor Swift winning this category. Many music enthusiasts believe that Taylor Swift only won because of factors that shouldn't have contributed to this decision, such as her wildly successful “Era’s Tour" or her record-breaking sales. Many argue that Swift’s music is held to a lower standard than others in the same realm as her.
Junior Fiebe Standaert said, "I enjoyed watching the Grammys this year; however, I think some artists only won due to their fame, such as Taylor Swift. There were many more deserving artists who didn’t win or weren’t even nominated.” This opinion is shared by many. A lot of people also complained that her bringing Lana Del Rey (another nominee in her category) up on stage with her was disrespectful. Additionally, she was criticized for announcing an album at an event like the Grammy’s.
Other notable moments include Joni Mitchell's surprise performance. Mitchell, now 80 years old, performed a song she wrote at 21. Her performance was described as magical, and even just by sitting in an armchair, she was able to completely captivate the audience. Jay-Z caused much controversy when accepting the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. He threw shade at the recording academy by saying, “some of you will feel like you were robbed. Some of you will get robbed. Some of you don’t belong in the category.” Many also criticized Cyrus’s performance of “Flowers” and described it as “inappropriate” and “distasteful.” However, she did win her first Grammy since her start in the music industry in 2001.
Following this year's Grammy ceremony, many have described it as a joke, and backlash of the ceremony being rigged and biased have only increased. Junior Esther Feldsher said, “as I’ve watched the Grammys over the past several years, I feel like they’ve gotten increasingly less and less serious. The Grammys used to seem like a very elegant and reputable event, but following the pandemic and the boycott of certain award shows in recent years, people, myself included, have lost interest.”
Although the Grammys has drawn criticism, it continues to be the biggest music event of the year and will likely continue to be so for many years to come. Whether you agree with the winners or not, no one can deny that the show provides entertainment and insight into the lives of our favorite music artists.