As a 13-year-old avid Harry Styles fan during the 2021 Grammys, I was ecstatic. I had been ready for weeks to watch my favorite artist hopefully win all three of his nominations. I stayed up late to watch the Grammys the night before we would finally return to Pierce Middle School after being trapped at home because of Covid. The Grammys were my Super Bowl, and I thought the utmost of the prestigious award. Four years later, I recognize that what once held so much weight in my mind has diminished to something hardly as respectable as the Oscars. I am not the only music and film lover that has come to this conclusion, so has the internet.
The Oscars came and went, airing on March 2, and it was blatantly obvious that the attendees and the internet have more respect for the award than what is supposed to be the music equivalent: The Grammys. From my perspective, this is largely because it is easier to judge what a great film is than what makes a great song. For a film to be great, it needs to check certain boxes, but while both “Songbird” by Fleetwood Mac and “Von Dutch” by Charli XCX are both great, they are extremely different songs.
It may be due to the fact that the Grammys have given out over 2,000 awards in their 65 years while the Oscars have given out nearly 1,200 awards in their 95 year history. More Awards, less competitive? Maybe it’s the nature of film and music. While they are siblings, music makers are stereotypically less serious to the public eye while actors and directors are seemingly the philosophers of the arts. Stereotypically, not always.
The Grammys have lost credibility due to the notable artists that they have snubbed over the years. Lana Del Rey emerged in the music scene in 2008 and has since achieved over six number one albums with dozens of singles making it onto the charts. Del Rey has worked with music legends like Stevie Nicks and Cat Power, with Nicks saying in a 2017 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, “You [Del Rey] have a beautiful voice and I’ve already learned things to add to how I sing from you.” In 2021, Variety named Del Rey the artist of the decade. Despite all of these achievements, Del Rey has yet to win a Grammy award.
This is just one example of how the Grammys have lost credibility amongst the American people. As someone a part of Gen Z who has seen how influential The Beatles have been to modern music, it is unbelievable that while the band was together, they only won three Grammys for the over 200 songs they put out between 1962 and1970. Meanwhile, influential one hit wonder group The Chainsmokers has won the same amount of awards The Beatles did in their eight year success. It is clear that the Grammys have been out of touch with who will be a long-lasting musician.
Year after year, the Grammys seem to be more of a high school popularity contest than a display of the most talented. Has Taylor Swift won Grammys for nearly all of her albums because she is the best in the industry, or is it because she is the most mainstream, widely consumed artist in the world topping the charts? While the Grammys seem to be awarding based on popularity, the Oscars have continued to award films that attempt to speak to a new perspective.
Surprising to many during this year’s Oscars, Director Sean Baker’s “Anora” swept the Oscars with the film winning five awards, most notably Best Picture. This film tells the story of a Brooklyn sex worker that meets and marries a Russian oligarch. Provoking films like Anora and its biggest rival The Brutalist force viewers to question the world around them. This has been the type of favoritism the Oscars lean towards.
In future years, I would like to see a fair judging process brought back to the Grammys, the one the Oscars have maintained for nearly 100 years.
