Grammys Need Fixing — It’s Music, Not Popularity, That Matters

The 57th annual Grammy Awards were held on Sunday. Here is an overview of the big night in music.

Big Winners

Sam Smith – 4 Grammys (best new artist, song of the year, record of the year, best pop vocal album)

Sam Smith’s wins were no surprise as he has become a very respected musician in many people’s eyes as he tries to redefine what pop star is. Controversy surrounded Smith when Tom Petty won a lawsuit to receive partial royalties for songwriting credit of the song because of its similarity to his song “I Won’t Back Down”.

Beck – 3 Grammys (album of the year, best rock album, best engineered album)

Beck’s surprise album of the year win had many stunned, including Kanye West, who made his way to the stage to state his opinion of how the award should have gone to Beyonce. This isn’t the first time Kanye has been ridiculous and it sure is getting old for most people. It has been supposedly reported that Kanye could be banned from award shows in the future. Beck is a true musician who wrote all the songs on his album himself and played a total of fourteen instruments on it as well, while Beyonce only sang on her album and had a total of twenty two songwriters work with her. The award was well deserved for Beck. Kanye’s immaturity shines through as he put himself in the public spotlight and overshadowed Beck’s Grammy win.

Performances

This year’s Grammys was almost as much about the performances during the show as the actual awards. AC/DC brought the rock to open the beginning of the show and everyone in the audience showed a mutual respect for the legendary band. The highlight of the night was Annie Lenox’s incredible take on “Take Me To Church” with Hozier. There were many surprising combos throughout the night including: Sam Smith & Mary J. Blige, Rhianna & Kanye West with Paul McCartney, and Tony Bennett with Lady Gaga. I would expect some even crazier matches next year.

Hosting

I can’t be the only one that feels like LL Cool J is the permanent Grammys host after being on for four straight years. Some change would be very welcome and maybe an actual musician could host the “music” awards show. There’s nothing wrong with appreciating all the music genres, but it seems like the music that takes the least human effort with the use of autotune and computers has become dominant.

Wrap-Up

I had a very hard time trying to justify watching the Grammys this year. The reputation of the award has become almost a joke as its widely criticized in all aspects of the music world. Some major changes are needed before it becomes even a slightly credible show. The music industry today is constantly changing and evolving with the introduction of new technology, but we can’t forget the main purpose of what musicians set out to do with music in the first place. The effect of music on people’s lives can not be underestimated and most of the “artists” at the Grammys are taking music for granted. Here’s to hoping next year’s Grammys can improve on the true appreciation of music.

Photos from: http://www.billboard.com/files/styles/promo_650/public/media/beck-grammys-2015-album-of-the-year-billboard-650.jpg

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