The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), which awards the Grammy Awards annually, was not created for you and me. In the late 1950s a group of male music moguls, threatened by the rise of rock ‘n’ roll, Rhythm & Blues (R&B), and even Country & Western (C & W) music, created the Grammys to distinguish between “quality” music (e.g., the swing influenced pop music popular in the 1930s-mid-1950s) and the presumed inferior commercial music largely reflecting more youthful and “ethnic” tastes. The mainstream music industry was so threatened by independent record labels and genres beyond the Broadway and Hollywood industry bubbles that they did not recognize certain genres for decades.

“These “nevers” are more a reflection of blind spots and biases within the industry than the final word on what music matters. ”

— Vincent Stephens

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For example, a perfunctory nod to Rock ‘n’ Roll music called “Performance by a Top 40 artist” was awarded to Nat “King” Cole for “Midnight Flyer” in 1959. Though Cole is one of the most important and influential artists in popular music history he was not a rock ‘n’ roll singer nor was “Midnight” a rock ‘n’ roll song. Even when they renamed it “Rock and Roll Recording” the winners made no sense. Though most historians and critics saw 1964 onward as the “Rock” era an actual “Rock Performance” category didn’t emerge until 1979 and modern rock, which developed from post-punk and college radio, was not a category until 1990.

This is relevant because the Grammys typically reward formally conservative, middle of the road, commercial pop music as opposed to music that is daring, challenging, and innovative. As an industry award the nominees in the top Album and Record of the Year category have usually been hits with a modicum of critical respect. For example, the Album of the Year trophies awarded to 1980s staples like Thriller (Michael Jackson), Can’t Slow Down (Lionel Richie), No Jacket Required (Phil Collins), Graceland (Paul Simon), The Joshua Tree (U2), and Faith (George Michael), reflect their predilection for acknowledging popular works by well-established acts.

They maintained this pattern for decades until the music industry experienced such a rapid downturn that the notion of “mainstream” pop was undefinable. In an era defined by multiple niche tastes they had to get hip, hence the 2019 Awards (honoring recordings released between fall 2017-fall 2018) where eight rather than five recordings were up for Record (single) and Album of the Year. The Album winner, Golden Hour, was a pop and dance influenced album by a contemporary country artist, Kacey Musgraves. Her competition included Cardi B, Brandi Carlile, Drake, H.E.R., Post Malone, Janelle Monae, and the Black Panther Soundtrack. Though Musgrave is a critically respected artist her album is probably the poppiest and least edgy (whatever that means) of the nominees. This seems like the inevitable outcome of such an eclectic but incoherent list.

The 64th annual awards (which honored recordings released between fall 2020-fall 2021) expanded the list to 10. Jazz populist Jon Batiste triumphed over Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, H.E.R, Lil Nas X, Oliva Rodrigo, Taylor Swift and Kanye West. Though many of these artists are highly accomplished the list feels like an attempt to pander to every taste culture possible. While that seems inclusive it rings hollow. Batiste’s victory seems inevitable. Alongside his clear talent and musicianship, he is likable, non-controversial, and musically very pleasant to listen to. In other words, in an industry struggling to understand what pop is his eclectic album offers a highly palatable buffet of genres.

Which bring us to the presumed high stakes of the nominees of the 65th Awards most notably the presumed rematch between Adele and Beyoncé, as well as the question of whether the NARAS would award its highest prize to a Spanish-language crossover contender (Bad Bunny), a former boy band icon (Harry Styles), an oft-nominated hip-hop icon (Kendrick Lamar), a promising Americana artists (Brandi Carlile), hip R&B (Lizzo), or veterans largely associated with previous decades (ABBA, Mary J. Blige, Coldplay). For many awards show fans, the win for Beyoncé’s widely hailed dance pop album Renaissance was an inevitability given her talent, iconicity, sales, and respect. Having been nominated and lost three times for I Am…Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé, and Lemonade many music critics, cultural critics, fellow musicians, and fans presumed she would triumph or the Awards would risk losing their credibility and continue to be perceived as racially discriminatory.

As many writers noted Whitney Houston, Natalie Cole, and Lauryn Hill were the only black women to win the Album award previously. Further, aside from Hill and OutKast, hip-hop, a Black form that transformed the industry, has rarely been honored in the top categories. It’s worth noting that jazz primarily originated from African-American musical communities and Herbie Hancock and Batiste’s Album victories represent this aspect of Black music though their albums have pop elements.

As we know, the winners in top categories were spread out widely including Lizzo’s win for Record of the Year, jazz vocalist Samara Joy’s win for Best New Artist, Bonnie Raitt’s win of Song of the Year, and…Harry Styles’s win for Album of the Year. Though Beyoncé won four awards, making her the most honored artist in the history of the Grammys (32 total), the top prize remained elusive. What to make of this surprising (?) turn of events?

2022 was not an innovative year for pop music. I listened to some of the presumed front runners for the Album award and found them listenable but familiar. Though something must be inevitably nominated it doesn’t mean every year’s nominees are of equal weight. A simple example: 1984’s nominees included career best albums from Cyndi Lauper, Prince & the Revolution, Lionel Richie, Bruce Springsteen, and Tina Turner. Though Richie’s album is probably the least interesting of these it’s still represents a high-water mark of melodic pop-soul for the era and has aged well. Comparatively, the verdict is out on how some of the more recent Album of the Year nominees will age over time. A list comprised of pop phenoms, whose presence will drive internet traffic and TV ratings for the televised awards show, can look incredibly dated in a short amount of time.

On a more literal level the winning album presumably garnered the most votes. This is inevitably subjective. Styles attracted a massive audience during his stint with One Direction, his second album was well-reviewed, and generated numerous big hits including the single “As it Was.” It’s possible the final vote tally was close among the top contenders rather than a clean sweep; we will never know. What is relevant is that on such an eclectic list the Grammy’s own history tells us that for its voters, who are music industry professionals, the acts perceived as niche (e.g., Americana, Latin pop) usually lose to more pop-oriented fare. In this year’s line-up Beyoncé, Adele, Lizzo, and Styles are the most obvious examples of pop albums, as all were popular and nominated in pop-oriented categories including the Dance categories. Based on the Awards’ history Styles’s album had the broadest appeal. Many who disagreed with this choice pointed to the tastes of music critics as aggregated by sites like Metacritic to illustrate differing perceptions of the nominees. The Awards, however, are voted on by music industry professionals not music critics or fans so their tastes and interests are at play. Their perceptions of quality, sense of who has the opportunity to contribute to the future of pop, political biases, and other such factors, all subjective elements not easily quantified.

Finally, the contemporary obsession with celebrity can distort how we understand social justice. While I do not need to be convinced that popular culture matters symbolically, in terms of representation, and materially, in terms of who has access to the means to create, multimillionaires not winning industry awards must be placed into context. In a world where vulnerable populations lack access to healthcare, housing, food, and other essentials music industry shenanigans are trivial. The test of an album’s endurance is not its Metacritic score or awards profile. The meaning of music transcends these narrow metrics. Our cultural memory and the ways albums inspire future listeners and musicians is far more telling.

We must remember James Brown never had a #1 pop hit; Eric B & Rakim, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Diana Ross, Nina Simone have never won a Grammy; Aretha Franklin was never nominated in any of the top Grammy categories; and albums as important as Highway 61 Revisited (Bob Dylan), Blue (Joni Mitchell), Talking Book (Stevie Wonder), What’s Going On (Marvin Gaye), Spinners (The Spinners), Off the Wall (Michael Jackson), Never Too Much (Luther Vandross), Rapture (Anita Baker), My Life (Mary J. Blige) were never nominated for Album of the Year.

These “nevers” are more a reflection of blind spots and biases within the industry than the final word on what music matters. I imagine that fans of Beyoncé know this and are looking forward to her next album as they continue enjoying her current ones. She is a forward-thinking artist who doesn’t seem to look back and worry about the past, or such slights, and neither should they.

Robbed, rewarded, and remembered: Reflecting on the 2023 Grammy Awards

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