By Lily Jones | Arts and Entertainment Editor
The 57th annual Grammy Awards aired last weekend, bringing a wide variety of talented stars out onto the red carpet for Hollywood’s yearly “biggest night in music.” As usual, there were some moving performances, surprises, upsets, and even an almost-interruption, inducing some 2009 MTV Music Awards nostalgia.
The last, and arguably most sought after award of Grammy night is always “Album of the Year.” This award is open to music of all genres. This year’s recipient was Beck, an alternative artist, for his 2014 album Morning Phase. His winning the award, although undoubtedly deserved, was a major upset of the night. Many, including another nominee Sam Smith, were thinking that Beyoncé would take this accolade home for her late 2013 self-titled album. You know the one – dropped on iTunes by complete surprise, 14 songs, 17 music videos, sold 80,000 copies within three hours of its posting?
As a Beyoncé fan, this was an outrage to me, personally. However, on a much more mainstream scale was that it was an outrage to Kanye West, a longtime friend of the Knowles-Carter family. Kanye jokingly got up on stage as Beck received his award, looking as if he were going to repeat his infamous interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Music Awards. Although Kanye opted to let Beck finish, he afterwards made comments that suggested Beyoncé indeed deserved the award over Beck, and that artistry had to be respected. I do not share all of Kanye West’s opinions, and while his words were harsh, I had to agree with his point.
Prior to this year’s Grammys, I must confess that I had no idea who Beck was, and I recognize that because his genre is so different from Beyoncé’s (alternative/indie vs. pop/R&B), that comparing the two is completely unnecessary and nearly impossible. However, the Grammys is an award ceremony to celebrate the best of music – a medium that resonates with so many people, and brings them together as a result.
In my opinion, Beyonce’s self-titled album was groundbreaking. It converted an auditory album into a film, filled with all sorts of emotions, social messages, and an overall artistry that made it transcend the pop genre into something bigger. Her audience, which was a good portion of the world’s population, received so much more than just songs from that album. It conveyed themes like feminism, self-love, the joy of motherhood, loss, sexuality, and the trials and tribulations of serious relationships, all told through stunning images and a powerful soundtrack. We learned so much about Beyoncé through this album. It made someone so high profile and famous relatable to her listeners/viewers.
Like most major events in society today, Beck trumping Beyoncé was a hot topic on social media. Of course, diehard Beyoncé fans came to her defense, while others emphasized the fact that Beck deserved to win over her, given the fact that he plays twelve instruments and plays an active role in writing all of his songs. Honestly, I do not believe that these skills make one artist superior to another. Beck did not accomplish his winning album completely by himself – ask the bunch of producers who came and stood behind him during his speech. Beyoncé is not the only artist who utilizes the talents of other writers in her work. This industry is not something that one does alone – there are so many people who work on an album, especially if that album is considered “Album of the Year” quality.
While I strongly believe that Beyoncé was robbed of this award, as well as many others regarding this revolutionary album, that is not to deny Beck of his talent and hard work – but no one works harder than Beyoncé. Keeping an entire album and nearly twenty music videos under wraps for over a year, swearing her team to secrecy, not releasing it until it was absolutely perfect, all while raising a two-year-old and touring the world, playing shows almost every night – there is no one else in this business who could accomplish that. For the Grammys to snub Beyoncé’s work, a true piece of art that will never be replicated, is saddening to me. Beyoncé may not have won “Album of the Year” in the eyes of the Grammy academy, it has won album of the decade in mine.
