Do the Grammys Really Reflect the Art of Music?

“Grammy Statuettes” by Thank You (25 Millions ) views, CC BY 2.0

The Grammys are one of music's biggest nights, celebrating a year of art and music. Millions tune in to see which artist will win a Grammy, hoping for their favorites to take home the golden record player.

Each year, different works of art released throughout the year are nominated for various categories, ranging from best new artist to album of the year. The decision comes from the National Academy of Recording Arts, highlighting what they think are the standouts from the selected work. 

To be nominated for a Grammy in the first place, artists/producers must submit their work for specific categories, as well as specific songs/albums they consider to be “worthy of recognition” when submitting their work. From there, the Recording Academy takes and reviews all the art submitted, picking out what they feel best encapsulates the category. 

Over the past few years, certain artists and albums have been sweeping all the categories, leaving others feeling like their work isn't cut out for a Grammy. But does a Grammy define music? Do we listen to albums or songs or artists and think, “This music is so good because it won a Grammy,” or “I’m not listening to that because it didn't win a Grammy”?

With any award show comes disappointment and opinions. Whether someone won or lost, thoughts are going to be shared on social media.

Some artists like Ariana Grande are nominated most years but never win, making fans question if the Grammys are actually an award that rewards artists based on their musical talent and body of work, or if they are just giving awards to the people who are favored among the industry.

As someone who watches the Grammys every year and is a huge music lover, I truly do think that it depends. Obviously, some Grammys are given to favorite artists, and some Grammys are given on pure talent; it really just depends on the artists or music.

In 2022, the anticipation was high for the album of the year. Between Olivia Rodrigo (SOUR), Taylor Swift (evermore) and Justin Bieber (Justice), among others, fans were on the edge of their seats, wondering who would win. In the end, it went to Jon Batiste for his moving album We Are. It was well deserved as his album encourages listeners, “to be happy with our lives and to be true to ourselves,” stated Ian Evensen in a review of the album. Many were confused as they had never heard of Batiste before, but after receiving the Grammy, listeners were quick to agree on the win.

Other years, such as the previous Grammys in 2024, raised many different opinions on the award show. This was a huge year for the pop girls such as Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Charlie xcx, Chappel Roan and Beyoncé. With names like those and fanbases as they have, all hell broke loose when certain artists lost. But were they really overreacting?

Many of the artists left with Grammys, but one artist in particular swept the night, and that's Beyoncé. We all know that Beyoncé has been in the industry for a while and has been making hit after hit since her Destiny's Child days. 

My question, though, is can anyone name more than five songs on Cowboy Carter? The Album won both Album of the Year on top of Country Album of the Year, making many feel that the Recording Academy was just throwing all the Grammys in her direction. Especially now that Jay-Z is associated with the Recording Academy.

Since that night, fans were left upset, especially fans of Billie Eilish. Hit Me Hard and Soft arguably should've won more Grammys than it did, which was zero. So many of my friends and people online have come out to say not only how beautiful and touching that album is, but also how much Eilish's songs have helped people with viewing themselves, getting through a breakup or even fighting mental battles that so many of us are struggling with. Within my friend group alone, Eilish's album has been huge in their lives and has made their problems feel seen.

With music being all around us and filling so much of our lives, we all have different opinions and views on what encapsulates us in the art of it all, and what is good just because a certain name is slapped onto the song.

Regardless, award ceremonies are going to stir some sort of controversy in the world, but we always end up putting our headphones on and escaping into our own musical worlds, no matter the status.