Politics in the Grammys?

On the night of February 12th, viewers across the globe tuned into CBS to watch the 59th annual Grammy Awards hosted by James Corden, host of CBS’ The Late Late Show. What is considered to be the music industry’s most important and defining night resulted in some controversy amongst celebrities.

The awards entailed breathtaking performances by astounding artists from all musical genres and generations. The artists who performed are: Chance the Rapper, Beyoncé, The Weeknd and Daft Punk, A Tribe Called Quest, Anderson .Paak, Busta Rhymes, John Legend and Cynthia Ervio, Alicia Keys and Maren Morris, Bruno Mars, and The Time. With over 19 performances, the Grammy awards garnered great critical acclaim from viewers.

Chance the Rapper delivered very sincere and soulful performances with great liveliness, he won 3 Grammys in what is his first year of being nominated. Among his wins was the award for “Best New Artist” which received much support from the rap industry and his fans.

To honor the great artists who died last year, Bruno Mars impersonated Prince while performing an exalting tribute to the late artist and Adele sang a heart warming tribute to the late George Michael.

Beyoncé’s performance joined with stunning visuals and her majestic voice, created an unparalleled dynamic atmosphere. Queen Bey’s performance was for many, the highlight of the show- those same individuals were upset with the outcome of the award show due to the fact that she didn’t win “Album of the Year.”

List of all nominees and winners of the 59th Grammy Awards

Adele received 5 Grammy awards including “Album of the Year.” Despite being nominated for 6 awards, Rihanna did not win any awards which has also been criticized by fans and celebrities. However, Adele looked to Beyoncé when she accepted her grammy for Record of the Year and said, “You move my soul every single day,” while thanking her for her influence on her music career. The Grammy Awards are no stranger to this criticism. In this year alone, artists like Kanye West, Frank Ocean, and Justin Bieber spoke out against the academy. Ocean criticized the academy for awarding Taylor Swift’s 1989 the “Album of the Year” over Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly. Ocean, West and Bieber decided to boycott the show this year for a lack of diversity.

Despite the criticism, the awards were met with praise by the many viewers around the globe.