On Feb. 4, the sixty-sixth annual Grammy Awards were held in Los Angeles, awarding many female artists the recognition they had deserved. While these awards were long deserved, they were also long overlooked.
Women dominated the 2024 Grammys with Miley Cyrus winning her first ever Grammy for Best Pop Solo performance “Flowers”, Taylor Swift becoming the artist with the most Grammy wins with 4 wins including her Album of the Year “Midnights” and Billie Eilish winning Song of the Year for her “What was I Made For” from the Motion Picture “Barbie.”
Along with groundbreaking wins for women, historic wins for LGBTQ artists were present at the 2024 Grammys. Boygenius with queer band members Julin Baker, Phoebe Briders and Lucy Dacus won three trophies for Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song and Best Music Album.
Phoebe Briders was also highly awarded, raising a sense of hope and positivity in both the LGBTQ community and female community.
Bridgers used her awards and platform during the Grammys to not only inspire her community, but to respond to some comments made by the ex-president of the Recording Academy, Neil Portnow. Portnow has served as chairman and CEO of The Recording Academy from 2002 to 2019. In 2018 during a conference at the awards show, Portnow said, “Women who have the creativity in their hearts and souls… [need] to step up.” This comment angered many artists and fans alike. Bridgers responded in her own creative manner in the Grammys’ press room, after Boygenius won three awards.
“To him, I’d like to say, ‘I know you’re not dead yet, but when you are, rot in piss’,” Bridgers said.
While this was a positive night for many, some music fans felt snubbed at the Grammys. Many fans of the superstar Lana del Ray believe she was “snubbed” at the Grammys and deserved to win.
“I was very disappointed but not surprised. The Grammys have a history of snubbing lana, album of the year in 2019, and they usually don’t deviate from their previous decisions; they like to give Grammys to people that have Grammys. In general, Lana has faced a lot of criticism within the industry since the start of career-especially since her SNL performance which is really hard to see as a fan. She has influenced and inspired so many newer successful artists and shaped the pop genre so much it really hurts to not see her get the recognition she deserves,” junior Audrey Inglese said.
While Del Ray did not win, she responded to the night in a positive manner, cheering her friend, and fellow artist, Taylor Swift on. Taylor Swift also referenced Del Ray during her acceptance speech for album of the year. “I think so many female artists would not be where they are and would not have the inspiration they have if it weren’t for the work that [Lana has] done,” Swift said. “I think she’s a legacy artist, a legend in her prime right now. I’m so lucky to know you and to be your friend.”
While some fans thought it was odd and uncomfortable that Swift brought Del Ray with her on stage to receive album of the year, but Del Ray responded she did not feel an “ounce of negative emotion.”
There were other disappointments at the Grammys, including unfair recognition for Black artists, especially female black artists. Since the first Grammys awards were held in 1959, only 11 black artists have won artist of the year. The most recent black woman to win was Lauryn Hill for “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” in 1999. This is alarming. During Black history month, we need to acknowledge the diverse talent we have. And be sure to recognize this inside and outside of the Grammys.
“There needs to be recognition of diverse perspectives in the Grammys,” junior and vice president of the Black Student Union, Mara Porter said.
While the Grammys were a turning point for women awards, it’s important that as a society we keep moving in a direction of recognizing the diverse talent there is. It is simply impossible to believe that in the past 23 years there hasn’t been a black arista deserving of the Artist of the Year. Voting is subjective at the Grammys, but we need to acknowledge that this demographic seems to be continuously overlooked.
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