grammys or scammys?

By Fiona Byers, 2022

Published 3/19/21

Returning during the pandemic season, the Grammys are as controversial as ever. Presenting many so-called snubs and undeserving wins according to fans, the show creates endless buzz. The most buzz-worthy moments are shown in the recap below.

One of the night’s biggest winners was Beyoncé, making history by becoming the female artist with the most Grammys. With 28 awards, she accomplished this achievement during the show after winning four Grammys, which host Trevor Noah announced. In addition, her daughter Blue Ivy received an award for the music video of “Brown Skin Girl.”

Billie Eilish received the record of the year award -- undeserved according to her, as she said that Megan Thee Stallion should’ve won instead. Eilish’s award is actually much deserved in this writer’s opinion, considering her success is based solely on her and her brother’s writing and production skills. Her emotional performance was beautiful as well, showing off her stunning vocals.

Taylor Swift, after losing many singular awards, won album of the year for “Folklore,” her quarantine album that made a big impact, as its release was a complete surprise to fans. This is her third win for album of the year; her previous ones were for “1989” and “Fearless.”

Another notable winner was the extraordinary Megan Thee Stallion, who received best new artist, in addition to best rap performance and best rap song for “Savage” featuring Beyonce. Her individual stage and her collaboration performance with Cardi B were heavily praised, especially considering Megan is a newer artist compared to others.

Notable snubs were acknowledged too. BTS, the rising stars with a global fanbase, lost to Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande for best duo/group. Doja Cat, the new TikTok sensation, performed at the show, and yet won no awards, which caused #scammys to trend on twitter.

Music’s biggest night always has interesting results. Is this fair distribution or bias of the Recording Academy? Everyone has a different guess but the show remains as prestigious as ever.