Did you watch the Grammys this year? Were you surprised by the winners? Did you think that someone else should’ve won in their place? With this article, we take a deep dive into some of the most controversial wins.

                 Album of the Year

      At the 67th annual Grammys the winner of ‘Album of the Year’ was ‘Cowboy Carter’ by Beyonce. People were not only unhappy by this picking but they were outraged. Many people, such as fellow Canadian citizen, Kavanroop Nizar, expressed their concern for the picking, “Beyonce did NOT deserve that Grammy.”

      But the Recording Academy thinks otherwise. “The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is an award presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to ‘honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales, chart position, or critical reception.” Though the award is not based on streams and sales, I think that the popularity of the album should be taken into consideration. 

      Due to this fact, many believed that Billie Eilish’s album ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ was the true winner of the award. Fellow Tahoma student, River Viaene agrees, “Billie deserved some sort of award and Beyonce only won because last time the Grammys were on, Jay Z stood up and said something like ‘this lovely woman has won so many Grammys but my wife has never’… so I think that the album of the year was rigged.” I for one agree with this statement, ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ not only had more streams than ‘Cowboy Carter’ it also had more hit songs. Can you name and recite one song from Cowboy Carter? (Other than Texas Hold’em)

                  Best New Artist

      I was surprised at the controversy in the picking of ‘Best New Artist’. At this year’s Grammys show, the winner of ‘Best New Artist’ was Chappell Roan. This picking was loved by most, but it also had mixed opinions. Many people believed that all the nominees were deserving of the award. Nominees included Khruangbin, Sabrina Carpenter, Shaboozey, Doechii, Teddy Swims, Benson Boone, Raye, and Chappell Roan. I believe that all these artists deserved the award, many of them had best-selling albums and singles that did very well this year. 

      Tahoma students, Eliana Rickard and Lianna Sednev both wholeheartedly think that the true winner of ‘Best New Artist’ shouldn’t have been Chappell, “Benson Boone got robbed for the best new artist!” (Lianna) “Benson Boone is so much better than Chappel Roan” (Eliana) I do not agree with this statement at all. I don’t think that there is any person on that nominee list that is ‘better’ than the other. They all worked hard for what they got this year. Chappell Roan was a good pick for the winner, considering that her songs were trending much more than Benson Boone’s. 

                   Actual Winners

      If you didn’t watch the Grammys this year but are still reading this article, here is a treat for you. These are the winners for each of the categories at the main show.

• Album of the Year- “Cowboy Carter” Beyonce
• Record of the Year- “Not Like Us” Kendrick Lamar
• Song of the Year- “Not Like Us” Kendrick Lamar
• Best New Artist- Chappel Roan
• Best Rap Album- “Alligator Bites Never Heal” Doechii
• Best Pop Vocal Album- “Short n’ Sweet” Sabrina Carpenter
• Best Country Album- “Cowboy Carter” Beyonce
• Best Latin Pop Album- “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran” Shakira
• Best Pop Duo/ Group Performance- “Die with a Smile” Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars

      Overall, this year’s Grammys show was a hit-and-miss. It was enjoyable for some, but not worth it for many.