By Shannon Nichols, Staff Writer
Every year when the Grammys roll around, some of the most famous artists in the world come together for a spectacular event celebrating the year in music. All of these celebrities come dressed in extravagant clothing, posing for thousands of cameras before enjoying the party. However, although it is a lighthearted affair, people are very passionate about who they think should win certain awards.
This past Sunday, the 60th Annual Grammy Awards took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Without a doubt, every year there are always viewers mad that certain artists didn’t win. I had the award show on my television, but I only glanced up a few times, not giving much notice to the winners and losers.
However, the next day, as I scrolled through the endless tweets on my timeline, I noticed there was a large trend of angry tweets directed towards the ceremony, including why Justin Bieber’s summer hit “Despacito” did not win any of the three Grammys it was nominated for.
When Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” beat out Kesha’s “Praying” for best pop solo performance, many online were upset.
Now, after watching it on my own, I didn’t think twice about it. “Shape of You” broke the record for most weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. It became the most-streamed song on Spotify of all-time, approaching 1.6 billion streams. With its catchy beat and huge popularity, it wasn’t surprising to me that Sheeran’s song won.
However, when I heard of the reasoning that Kesha should have won, it made me question the decision. Beginning in 2013, Kesha filed a sexual assault case against her producer, whom she was stuck in a contract with. After a dragging legal battle, she ended up winning against her producer, Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald, better known as Dr. Luke, and was released from her contract. She then wrote and produced the album Rainbow, which included the nominated song.
After hearing about all of this, I definitely understood why people were upset. However, Grammy nominees are judged upon quality alone, not on sales, chart performances, loyalties, etc. Kesha’s backstory, although extremely inspiring, is not a factor when choosing whether her song was better than the most-streamed song ever. Since I was curious at this point, I decided to look at both of their lyrics. In my opinion, I thought that “Shape of You” was more well written.
The winners received their awards, but people continue to disagree with the decisions made. Should the quality of music or the inspiration behind it receive more attention? I agree that Kesha’s long legal battle is very deserving of recognition, it shouldn’t take away from “Shape of You.”
