For decades, the Grammy Award Show has been regarded as the most honorable and prestigious award show for artists in the music industry. The 2024 Grammys, hosted by comedian Trevor Noah on Feb. 4, were no different and entailed many incredible performances and credited several deserving artists. However, as usual, there was much drama and controversy throughout the night.
One unexpected event that took place was Jay-Z’s acceptance speech when he was awarded the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. During his speech, he called out the Recording Academy’s snubs against his wife, Beyonce, saying, “I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than anyone and never won Album of the Year.” Many fans agreed that the Grammys do not adequately represent black artists, and hopefully, this speech will encourage change in the decision of these awards.
Throughout the award show, many talented women stole the spotlight, such as R&B artists Victoria Monet and SZA, who won multiple awards, as well as the all-female group Boygenius. But Taylor Swift truly awed viewers everywhere as she announced her new album The Tortured Poets Department while accepting her 13th Grammy. Later that night, she also won Album of the Year for Midnights, making her the first person to ever win Album of the Year four times.
Singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, who was also nominated for Album of the Year, was yet again snubbed from winning any awards this year. A ballot from one of the Grammy voters quickly began circulating online, stating they “haven’t taken Lana Del Rey seriously as an artist since her infamous SNL performance and never will,” meaning Del Rey is virtually blacklisted from ever winning a Grammy. This caused much discourse online as fans were outraged by the bias behind the award decisions.
Although the 2024 Grammys included the usual controversial takes and infuriated fans, it served its purpose: to entertain and spark popularity online. Ultimately, many hard-working artists were given the necessary credit for their work, which is truly what the Grammys are supposed to represent.
