Does a Grammy Even Matter?

Bryce Sexson

Music Journalist 

Music’s “biggest” night first took place on May 4, 1959, to recognize the musical achievements of the year prior. There were 22 categories, and the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra took home awards for jazz performance and album cover photography, respectively. Fast forward today, the award show has been overhauled, featuring 94 categories. Even with this large number of categories, many artists still go unnoticed when the awards are handed out, and due to the new age of streaming, there are too many artists to recognize in a single show. If every artist isn’t seriously considered, is it even a notable feat to win the award, or are the Grammys simply a popularity contest? This year we saw the likes of Charli XCX and Kendrick Lamar sweep their categories, taking home three and five awards respectively. We also saw Beyoncé win the Album of the Year award for her country album, Cowboy Carter, which left many viewers in discourse. Other artists to take home the award included SZA, Sabrina Carpenter, and Sierra Ferrel.

We tend to see a few things that might qualify an artist for a Grammy award. The first one is, obviously, popularity. At the end of the day, the Grammys rely on these big artists to bring them views, with the award show garnering 15.4 million viewers this year. The second quality is whether the artist has made any impact, be socially or musically. Many artists use their music to speak out on current social issues, while also giving their audiences a voice. Beyoncé does this very well, defining the last decade of her career to advocacy and being a voice for her minority audience, so it’s unsurprising that she continues to win year after year. Given these stipulations, it’s easy to understand why certain artists win over others. But when most of your efforts are defined by public image and pushing an agenda the music can be overshadowed. The Grammys have had a history of undermining artists that have a more controversial image. Lana Del Rey defined the early 2010s with her striking image and her success within the genre of Americana music (given its broader, less restrictive confines of the genre). Lana Del Rey’s success in 2013 was a shoo-in for a Grammy award for the following year. However, an SNL performance of the singles from her album “Paradise”, left one member of the voting academy completely diminish Lana’s credibility, stating that he would never take her seriously as an artist. Lana Del Rey hasn’t won a single Grammy in her career.

Other artists like Doja Cat and Ariana Grande have proved their ability to perform while releasing several albums that impacted the music industry. They both have undeniable talent, cater a lot to their public image, and are some of the most popular artists of our time. Why is it, with careers like theirs, that they have won only one and two Grammys respectively. Both women have been held under a microscope, with every move they make being reported on, leading to a fair share of controversies for both. Controversies tend to outshine an artist, and in a world where nobody is safe from cancel culture, the Grammys risk losing their credibility when they give a scrutinized artist recognition. This constant lack of appreciation saw Ariana Grande’s absence at this year’s award show, despite being nominated in three categories. With the age of streaming, it can’t be expected for an award show to recognize every artist who has had a successful year. There are over 53,000 artists on Spotify who have more than 100,000 monthly listeners so it is very unlikely for the academy to have listened and considered every album that came out in 2024. Alternative artists hardly get considered, and if they do, they are usually confined to a single category, making it impossible for them to compete with the heavy hitters. Many categories aren’t televised either, usually only showing the categories for the genres of pop and rap, with an occasional country category. Winning a Grammy is an achievement that many artists strive for, and just because the award show is calculated to garner more views and attention it doesn’t reduce an artist’s accomplishment in winning one. All artists aren’t recognized equally, with the academy having their obvious favorites, Beyoncé being the most celebrated artist in the show’s history, having 35 wins. Despite all of this, this year still recognized many artists who hadn’t won a Grammy, like Doechii and Chappell Roan. They also celebrated Charli XCX, an artist who had been absent from Grammy consideration for most of their career.

This year, the Grammys recognized their faults and strived to grant many artists awards, with only a few well-known musicians walking away without any. The Grammys is, and will probably continue to be, an award show for the most popular artists. These artists with large fanbases can count on being nominated for one if not many, awards despite whether the album necessarily deserves it. It is still an exciting night for musicians and their fans everywhere, but it shouldn’t be seen as the only proof of a successful career. Many artists will go their whole careers without ever even being recognized by the academy, but it doesn’t diminish their talent and success as musicians.