FEATURE:
The Grammy Awards Nominations:
IN THIS PHOTO: Kendrick Lamar/PHOTO CREDIT: Paola Kudacki/GQ
Are Music Award Ceremonies Still Relevant?
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THE never-ending parade of music awards and…
ALL PHOTO CREDITS (unless stated otherwise): Getty Images
polls mean barely a month goes by where we are immune to the latest ‘big event’. In the next few weeks; we will get the nominations and shortlisted albums of 2017: earlier in the year, we had the Mercury Music Prize; various award ceremonies and festival announcements. It has been a busy and frenetic year for music but one that has sparked debate and controversy. We have, now, the nominations for the Grammy Awards. One of the biggest bugbears over recent years has been the ethnic breakdown and eclecticism of award shows.
There is always accusation these ceremonies are reserved for white, mainstream artists: it is not helped by the lack of fervency and change among the committees. Those charged with ordering nominations and selecting the panel are failing to notice how few black artists are being recognised. The issue not only limits itself to race. I find there has always been that dependence on Pop and Rock; recognising those who make waves in the charts – the YouTube/Spotify darlings who hold huge commercial sway. This is a problem that goes beyond award ceremonies and the like – we can see it crop up in every crevice and corner of the music industry. Call it racism or homogenisation: changes have to be made in order to create parity and a less discriminatory industry.
It is back to the Grammys and a breath of change in the wind. I shall provide my views, but here is how BBC summed up the nominations for the Grammys.
“Jay Z and Kendrick Lamar are the main contenders for the 60th annual Grammy Awards, leading a crop of nominations that is heavy on hip-hop and R&B but has left mainstream pop stars like Ed Sheeran and Lady Gaga out of the running for the major prizes.
IN THIS PHOTO: Lady Gaga/PHOTO CREDIT: Tiffany & Co
The awards will be announced at New York's Madison Square Garden on 28 January 2018, and will be screened on 4 Music the following evening”.
I will come and look at other standouts from the nominations but, in the question I posed at the top of this feature, are award ceremonies like the Grammys relevant and all-inclusive? This year’s greater incorporation of black artists has been a welcomed relief – should this have happened decades ago?! It should, of course, but at least there has been an understanding of a big issue that was going unaddressed. In the past twenty years, only two black artists have won the Grammys’ main prize, Album of the Year. Beck nabbed it from Beyoncé two years back (her superior, self-titled record was robbed) whereas Adele did the same earlier this year – few would argue she has a stronger record than Beyoncé. (Although her record, 25, was released in 2015: it went on to win the Grammy in 2017!).
IN THIS PHOTO: Beyoncé/PHOTO CREDIT: Paola Kudacki (TIME)
The illogical and narrow-minded viewpoint has had to expand and alter. Artists like Frank Ocean and Drake have withdrawn their albums from potential nomination – fearing cultural bias would count against them. Race is an issue that is making award ceremonies somewhat redundant and reductive. The indigenous whites-and-Pop-only sphere of the Grammys has been challenged and confronted. You cannot deliberately impose amendments and codification that mandates a percentage of the music included (in the nominations) has to be from black musicians – that would be pandering and less to do with positive discrimination.
IN THIS PHOTO: Adele
The problem is this: the facts speak for themselves in this matter. In 2016; Beyoncé’s Lemonade was the darling of the critical world; scoring universal acclaim and lauded as a career-high for the R&B inspiration – even Adele, in her Grammy acceptance speech, recognised the power and potency of Lemonade. Frank Ocean, Drake and Kendrick Lamar have featured high – from 2016/2017 – in the upper reaches of public/critical celebration. I know the Grammys are not the byword for popularity and common sense – they have always carried a certain sense of predictability and discrimination. It is good to see Rap and Hip-Hop being recognised – at last! – by an awards ceremony that has relied too heavily on white artists and commercial genres. The fact it has taken so many years for change (slight as it is) to come about means we need to look at the award ceremonies around the world and ask if they are muddying the waters.
IN THIS PHOTO: Taylor Swift
Awards are there to recognise the best from that year in music: critical nominations and reviews should, you’d think, mirror those selections. If critics are raving about Hip-Hop, Beyoncé and black artists then why would a major award ceremony turn its nose and ignore that?! Artists like Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran – I will come to them soon – have always formed the basis of events like the Grammys. It seems like there is that need to bow to the big record labels and bosses. Maybe, if their prestigious and high-paid artists are not given the gong, then that would be a snub and tragic oversight. I can only imagine what happens behind-the-scenes when it comes to nominations and decisions – one feels there is a degree of chicanery and corruption. Looking at the British award shows (we have our share) and there is no less discrimination and controversy.
I looked at the Mercury Music Prize list and, although I am glad a talented black artist won the award, it seemed like this shift has, like the Grammys, come about after public pressure and a sobering wake-up call. Sampha, J Hus and Loyle Carner were among the talented, black artists who put their stamp on R&B, Soul and Hip-Hop. I will address genre, soon, but I was aggrieved there were few female nominees; some odd, left-field selections (Ed Sheeran being nominated) were in there. I know award shows need to keep fresh and reflect the tastes of the general public.
IN THIS PHOTO: Jay-Z
If they do not evolve and remain fresh then they can be accused of being labelled ‘dinosaurs’ and stubborn. I agree with that point but change and development need to be aware of the nature of racism, sexism and rigidity. I am humbled and pleased the top-nine most-nominated artists of 2018’s Grammys are non-white performers. Lorde is the only Pop artist to be included on the list. Melodrama is a phenomenal record and one that is caught in a quandary: if it loses, many will scratch their heads (as it gained huge applause); if it wins then it will make a mockery of the more-inclusive breakdown of this year’s nominations. Neil Portnow, the Chief Executive of the National Academy of Arts & Science – which runs the Grammys – provided his take on the shift towards recognising black artists: "…a really terrific reflection of the voting membership of the Academy".
IN THIS IMAGE: The album cover for Lorde's Melodrama
Striking the balance between racial equality and logic is hard to achieve, I admit. You cannot nominate artists because of the colour of their skin: you can definitely not exclude them for that same reason. This year sees Bruno Mars nominated for 24K Magic; Jay-Z for 4:44 and Kendrick’s DAMN. get a nod in the Album of the Year category – Lorde’s Melodrama is in the minority in terms of race and genre! There is no excuse for the baffling minority of black artists in previous years: the fact 2018’s main categories are much more pragmatic proves quality and depth is being favoured over commercialism and the Pop charts.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kendrick Lamar
In the past; I would say the bigger award ceremonies have been irrelevant and a waste of time – if they are not going to synchronise with critical reviews then it shows there is a split and lack of common sense in the industry. We have specialist music awards in the U.K. but there is still work to be done. Q’s annual award ceremony is still too focused on Pop and white artists; NME are a little stiff and unwavering when it comes to genres; the Mercury Music Prize is too London-centric. There are always going to be people disappointed and speaking out. It is a lack of consistency that troubles me most. All music awards should reflect quality and nothing else – regardless of genre, gender and race.
So many ceremonies have raised questions around exclusion and homogenisation; whether that be a lack of female faces or an overly-white outlook. The Grammy Awards have a long way to go until they regain a semblance of authority and balance but the nominations for next year’s hand-outs looks far brighter. Another of the notable discussion points – when looking at this year’s Grammy nominations – is the diminished role of Pop and Rock. Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran are names one would normally see dominating award shows elsewhere. They have missed out on all the major categories and, with it, given the focus to other genres...
IN THIS PHOTO: Ed Sheeran
Despite the fact there are plenty of categories on offer – a musical Oscars, it seems – there is a shift is tastes, it appears. I have mooted whether music awards are true to the tastes of the public and what importance they hold. Whilst I argue having a Grammy, Brit or MOBO (less so with this one) does not make you better than anyone else out there – and can often be the result of record labels and corporations ensuring their best-paid acts are happy – I think the step forward for the Grammys should be the start of things to come. In the past, I would have argued that such a high-profile award show, in the way it limits its scope and promotes those acts with a greater commercial appeal, are worthless.
This year (2018, in terms of the prize-giving), where they are going for quality, it seems the penny has dropped. Not only are the best and most celebrated records given their due; there are more black artists nominated. With a positive shift towards Hip-Hop/Rap and black artists sees other issues arise. Some have commented how Rock has been ignored, to an extent. Big players like Queens of the Stone Age have not featured heavily but that is more to do with the lack of big Rock bands this year – not really producing albums to challenge the best out there. There are sub-categories that cater to most genres - so it is not as though people will miss out.
IN THIS PHOTO: Lorde/PHOTO CREDIT: Andrew Whitton
At least one Country performer is recognised in their best album of the year sector: for 2018’s Grammy, there is no Country album in the main categories. Again, one must make way for other genres to take their place. There has to be a cut-off but I think other award shows should take guidance from the Grammys. Pitchfork raised an issue about the lack of women nominated this year:
“The Big Four are the guts and glory of the Grammys, and everyone knows it. But only a fifth of the nominations across those categories this year go to female artists: Lorde, Julia Michaels, SZA, and Alessia Cara. It is true that 2017 has been a truly rough one for women on the charts, and it’s hard to expect more from the Grammys than glorified chart watching. But couldn’t y’all have at least slipped “Bodak Yellow,” the year’s record smasher of a hit, into the Big Four? SZA’s spectacular debut CTRL for the album nod?
That said, it seems like Lorde has a real chance for the AOTY win, just in terms of voting politics. The Grammys love a wunderkind. Four of the last 10 AOTY winners have been young, white pop singer-songwriters mining matters of the heart and the self. And the two strongest competitors—Kendrick and JAY-Z—could split votes that sway hip-hop. (Plus, you know, Melodrama is a good album.)”.
They noted a few discrepancies in categories where The War on Drugs was in the Rock album section – strange for a band not renowned for their grittiness and strings – whereas The National are scrapping it out in the Alternative list. Popular chart acts are being relegated whilst there are some notable omissions in terms of Rock albums – some lesser-known artists, who released minor L.P.s, given the nod instead.
IN THIS PHOTO: Cardi B
Rolling Stone highlighted the rise of R&B and how it is replacing the hegemony of Pop:
“This summer, Nielsen published a report demonstrating that hip-hop and R&B had passed rock as the most-consumed music in America for the first time, largely due to streaming. That appears to have gotten Grammy voters' attention, as least for now: The most prestigious Grammy categories (Song/Record/Album of the Year) were dominated by streaming success stories, whether it was Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito" (over 4 billion views on YouTube) or Childish Gambino's "Redbone" (338 million streams on Spotify). The only exception to the rule in the major cross-genre categories was Lorde's Melodrama, which was not a massive streaming success”.
IN THIS PHOTO: The War on Drugs
There are still cracks to address when it comes to the categories and demographics of the Grammy nominations. If the sudden decline of Pop and Rock means the predicted artists are without kudos and spotlight; that might be a reaction to the need for more black artists having their music featured. Even if Taylor Swift, and Reputation, gathered big reviews; it seems there is that desire to move from the mainstream Popstars, who have always dominated, and towards artists usually ignored. One can question the worth and value of an award like a Grammy but a lot of reservation and dubious tutting has arrived from the underwhelming artists featured and the lack of certain genres/races featured – and the endless categories, I guess! I feel the Grammys, as the biggest award ceremony in music, needs to set an example. One of the reasons many other awards lack substance is because of the quality/balance issue – putting charts and Popstars above the genuinely great and acclaimed.
The Grammys have shown favour to artists who have accrued huge streaming figures (on Spotify) but I look at albums by Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z and they address the state of modern America. In a time of ‘fake news’ and President Trump’s endless reign of idiocy: it seems the importance of truth-telling artists from Hip-Hop are being given a platform. That need for a truthful, straight-talking musical presidency is one that reflects the public and critics’ desires. There is a lot more to pore over with regards the Grammys and whether enough is being done - but one of the best ways for them to salvage a semblance of respect and standing was to turn away from the white Pop market and towards Hip-Hop. It is a long time coming but I feel, if this is a sign of what is to come; it is a hugely important step towards…
IN THIS PHOTO: The most-nominated woman in this year's Grammys rundown, SZA/PHOTO CREDIT: Mambu Bayoh
MAKING music award shows inspiring and vital.