This year the Grammys were held on Feb 5. The Grammys have been an annual award show tradition for 65 years. However, viewers have been slowly declining throughout the years. According to The New York Times, viewers dropped significantly from last year’s 18.7 million to 8.8 million this year, which is a 53% decrease.
The Grammy’s are not the only live televised award show that is experiencing a decrease in views. Viewership is plummeting for Golden Globes, the Emmys and the Oscars. If views continue to decrease it will raise more of a concern for the broadcasters.
“The Grammys are kind of rigged,” junior Sam Keeler said. “[The winners] are whoever the Grammy committee wants, it’s not fan-voted and it’s not really based on popularity. It’s whoever they feel like.”
On top of viewers decreasing, some fans were outraged by the Recording Academy’s members’ decisions. Instead of going off top charts or fan votes, the winners of the Grammys are chosen by the Academy’s members. Despite this, the Grammy’s continue to remain a respected award and a major achievement for artists.
The substantial winner of the night was Record of the Year by Lizzo, “About Damn Time”, and shocking the internet was Bonnie Raitt’s song “Just Like That,” which won song of the year. Sparking controversy was Album of the Year, Harry Styles “Harry’s House” which won over Beyoncés “Renaissance”.
According to Insider, Beyoncé has been nominated four times for album of the year but has lost every time. Beyoncé’s most notable award show loss was in 2009 when Taylor Swift won the MTV award for best female video. Kanye West infamously interrupted Swift’s speech to shout that Beyoncé deserved the award instead. At this year’s Grammys, when Styles got on stage to accept his award, Beyoncé fans booed. Styles fans, including Keeler, are ecstatic about his achievements.
“The past few years I have watched is because of Harry,” Keeler said. “When Harry won I was sobbing. I was very excited.”
Beyoncé fans are very disappointed with Styles’ win. Despite the loss, Beyoncé still remains the most decorated artist in Grammy history with 32 awards. Despite losing album of the year, Beyoncé walked away with four Grammys that night.
Winning the Best Pop Solo Performance was Adele with her song “Easy on me.” Additionally, Sam Smith and Kim Petras won the best duo or group performance. They performed their song “Unholy” at the Grammys along with Styles, Luke Combs, Lizzo, Steve Lacy, Bad Bunny, Brandie Carlile and Mary J. Blige.
