From Kanye’s West antics on the carpet to the controversial Beyonce’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ Album of the Year win, the 67th Annual Grammy Awards have given viewers interesting discussions that have made their rounds all over social media.
The Annual Grammy Awards is one of the biggest music nights and has always had a reputation for iconic fashion, rowdy behaviours from artists, controversial wins and speeches. This year became no different from the previous years as when Kanye West and his recently ex-wife Bianca Censori made their entrance to the red carpet, the couple showcased a bizarre fashion statement leaving audiences in shock.
Kanye instructed his wife to take off her oversized black fur coat to reveal a sheer see through dress leaving nothing to the imagination. This sparked outrage from viewers and critics alike who felt that such display is not meant for public events. Yet, such behavior from this ex-couple is not surprising as they have pulled similar stunts where questionable fashion choices were criticized for being too on the nose of copying Kim Kardashian wardrobe style.
It was rumored that the couple were kicked out of the event after their public indecency, but it was later discovered that they chose to leave early despite Kanye’s nomination for Best Rap Song.
However, Kanye’s stunt did not ruin the grand music night and the show continued.Performances from Doechii, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga with a surprise The Weeknd appearance who previously boycotted the Grammys set the mood in the Crypto.com Arena.
The anticipated winners rolled out through the night with both surprising and unsurprising wins and sweeps. World Famous rock band The Beatles won an award for Best Rock Performance for their last Beatles song “Now and Then”. Although there were talks and certain uncertainty about the use of artificial intelligence being used for extracting late John Lenon’s voice from a demo cassette, it didn’t deter the last celebratory win for one of the most iconic bands ever.
“Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar was one of the records that did not surprise audiences for winning five awards that night in the categories Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Music Video. Pulitzer Prize Winner Kendrick took over the music industry during his feud with fellow artist Drake and trended for months leaving Hip-Hop fans hyped for each song release. The impact Kendrick had in the summer was received well by fans and non-fans, believing that these awards were fairly given.
Same satisfactory win can’t be said for Beyonce’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ Album of The Year – winning her first ever Album of the Year award and becoming the fourth black woman to win this award, joining Natalie Cole, Whitney Houston and Lauryn Hill. Despite this historic achievement for Beyonce, fans of other artists were not content with the decision and were outraged in social media as to why Beyonce won.
This led to a discussion about award robbery that occurred as the majority ruled that Billie Eilish, previous grammy award winner setting her own record of youngest person to win Album of the Year, should’ve won instead of Beyonce. Her nominated album ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ received critical acclaim and was recognized as her most daring work yet.
Audiences were left shocked when the multiple award grammy winner left that night empty handed. It sparked backlash and majority of that went towards Beyonce despite Billie Eilish being nominated in other categories such as Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album etc. People also felt that the Grammy’s were too on the nose with knowing that Billie was expected to win something as the camera would pan to her directly to get her reaction.
Although many were disappointed with the outcome of Billie, that audience were in glee with Chappell Roan’s win as Best New Artist where Chappell spoke up about mental health issues and the predatory music industry.
Roan spoke about the lack of help the industry gives to struggling artists and she talks about artists not being given a livable wage or being able to find a job when dropped from their label.
“Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection.” Roan said during her speech.
Many supported her statement as it is no secret that the music industry for years has been known for not having a good track record with how they treat their artists. Her speech marks further public consciousness for acknowledging and speaking out against these unfair practices.
Despite everything, the Annual Grammy Awards will forever continue to be one of the biggest nights for controversies, debates and celebrations for these hardworking individuals. There’s no saying who would win or lose nor a correct answer of who deserves what, but what people do know is that no matter what, music will live on and iconic moments will continue to flourish in this spectacular night.
Written by Emily Leyva, staff writer