Beyoncé Accepting Album of the Year (Courtesy of Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Rhett Kaya: From TikTok trends to the latest Taylor Swift album, there is always something CU Boulder students are obsessing over, opinionated about or adding to their vernacular. The Culture Critic will keep you up to date with the latest in entertainment and popular culture through content reviews, analysis and my self-proclaimed professional opinion.
The often contentious Grammy Awards left many content after distributing its major awards to a variety of artists including Beyoncé, Chappell Roan, Kendrick Lamar and Sabrina Carpenter. While Grammy darlings Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish left empty-handed, the Grammy’s succeeded in choosing winners that represented the monumental year of music.
Sabrina Carpenter took home two of the pop-specific awards, Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album, fitting considering the dominance of Carpenter’s indulgent sixth album, “Short n’ Sweet.” Last year, Miley Cyrus’ groovy but banal “Flowers” snagged Record of the Year, a feat the superior “Espresso” failed to meet at the hands of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” Carpenter and Lamar’s respective singles catered to different crowds, working as equally piercing hits to their respective audiences. Ideally, Carpenter would have taken either Song of the Year or Record of the Year, but Lamar’s stinging Drake diss was a worthy winner if not her.
With so many pop records released this year, it became hard for a single artist to retain complete control of the pop zeitgeist, but Lamar did so effortlessly in the rap world. “Not Like Us” became impossible to ignore, even from non-rap fans. Mixing cultural conversation, heavy lyrics and a crackling beat, “Not Like Us” is a precise and expertly executed hit on the charts…and Drake. Post-Superbowl halftime show, it’s clear Lamar’s “Not Like Us” is a representative winner of both Song and Record of the Year.
This year’s Best New Artist category was stacked with exciting ingénues, including the eccentric Doechii and Chappell Roan’s pop peer, Sabrina Carpenter. While both were deserving, Roan’s ability to draw in gargantuan crowd sizes at festivals like Lollapalooza and Coachella provides a physical example of her surging fame. Considering the Grammy’s commitment to innovation, it’s only fitting that an artist committed to representing the queer community and changing the music industry for the better won the accolade.
In true Chappell fashion, she utilized her speech as a call to action. Roan’s request that labels provide basic health insurance to its artists has caused controversy amongst industry professionals, namely music executive Jeff Rabhan, who complained about Roan’s speech through The Hollywood Reporter. Whether it’s Rabhan’s rather privileged outlook on Roan’s speech or fans’ refusal to respect artist boundaries, Roan’s consistent honesty and tenacity only reveal the ignorance of her opposers.
Following the ceremony, fans of Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift took to their internet echo chambers to issue their complaints about the outcomes. While Eilish delivered her sharpest record yet, she got lost between the rise of new stars and the weight of legends like Swift and Beyoncé. Her hit, “Birds of a Feather” would have been a shoo-in for Song of the Year any other year, but if there’s one thing the Grammy’s love more than consistency, it’s ingenuity. For Swift, the real win was a chance to enhance her public image by supporting other artists and excitedly presenting Beyoncé with Best Country Album.
Yes, Beyoncé took home three Grammys including Best Country Album, Best Country Duo/Group Performance and the esteemed Album of the Year. After years of getting snubbed by the institution, Beyoncé finally struck gold in her attempt to rewrite red, white and blue. “COWBOY CARTER” is a reclamation of genre and thus a destruction of it at Beyoncé’s will. As she said, “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.” Following the ceremony, many lauded Beyoncé’s expansive career, while others began to blast aimless conspiracy theories about foul play.
In a year of glitz and glam at the hands of artists like Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX, Beyoncé’s polarizing album stood out as a statement. “COWBOY CARTER’s” obsolete showing at the Country Music Awards along with a politically charged response to her performance of “Daddy Lessons” back in 2008 highlight a continuous trend of gatekeeping within the music industry. If Beyoncé isn’t country, by certain people and institution’s standards, then what is country? Music made by a specific group that Beyoncé isn’t a part of?
This issue isn’t unique to the music industry. With political leaders obsessed with perpetuating walls and building new ones, Beyoncè’s win comes as a sign of hope. Had our country chosen a different leader in November, a win acknowledging ‘brat summer’ would feel apt, but now more than ever, we need proof that our nation, its symbols and its history can withstand its persisting tarnishers.
Many take the mindset that music should usurp cultural significance. “COWBOY CARTER” may be bloated, excessive and at times too overt in its messaging, but as evidenced by Beyoncé’s previous snubs, the Grammy’s seldom focus solely on the music. When Beyoncé wins, the argument of music versus conversation comes up. When Beyoncé wins, the idea of purchasing an award becomes believable. When Beyoncé wins, the stigmas she quite literally calls out on her album, come out in full force. The reaction to this win, coupled with our nation’s political state, only proves how relevant and necessary the “COWBOY CARTER” win is.
Alongside the major categories, Doechii became only the third woman to win Best Rap Album, a testament to her comprehensive knowledge of hip-hop, rap and her predecessors. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their formulaic “Die With a Smile” over the more experimental “Guess Remix” by Charli XCX and Billie Eilish. And while XCX didn’t win any of the big four, she did take home three Grammys in the electronic/dance categories. Compared to Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan’s grandiose performances, XCX’s underwear and niche cameo-filled performance of “Von Dutch” and “Guess” flailed as an example of her limited appeal.
The Grammys often miss the mark, but this year’s representative outcomes are a reminder that the viewer’s taste might be biased too.
Contact CU Independent Opinion Editor Rhett Kaya at Rhett.Kaya@colorado.edu.
