As award season rolls around each year, there is no other award show that gets me more excited than the Grammys. From watching my favorite stars line the red carpet in gorgeous attire to the live performances, I never seem to get bored watching it each year.
Yet as the years drag on, my love for watching these awards has begun to dwindle. This is due to the awards themselves. Each year the winners make less and less sense. I believe that this year’s show had the biggest upsets yet.
On social media, I’ve seen numerous people complaining about the winners, and I’d agree with most of the opinions out there. One large debate was how Travis Scott’s “Utopia” should have won Rap Album of the Year vs Killer Mike’s album “MICHAEL.” Many other viewers were surprised to see artist Miley Cyrus take home two Grammys for her song “Flowers.”
Although the biggest upset for me most definitely was Album of the Year. Artist Taylor Swift took that award home this year for her album “Midnights.”As I watched her get applauded on my kitchen TV, my eyes were on Lana Del Rey sitting right next to her. Del Rey was also nominated for Album of the Year for her album “Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard.” Now don’t get me wrong, I’m also a Taylor Swift fan. I listened to her over the years and I enjoyed her new album although it wasn’t her best work. And if I’m really honest I wouldn’t have even voted for Taylor Swift as my second choice for Album of the Year. I believe SZA’s album “SOS” was incredible. I had it on repeat all month when it first came out. Yet the bottom line is this definitely should have been Del Rey’s year.
When it comes to Del Rey’s album “Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard,” I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a new album’s first listen as much as this one. I remember waking up the day it came out and listening to it when I was getting ready for school that morning. I have the distinct memory of listening to the track “Fishtail” on my way to school and I almost had tears in my eyes. From upbeat tracks such as “A&W” and “Peppers,” to more somber songs such as “Candy Necklace” and “Margaret,” the album was gorgeous and everything I could have wanted out of a new Del Rey album.
Yet once again, this incredible artist was snubbed of a Grammy she most definitely deserved. In 2019 the artist was nominated for her album “Norman F***ing Rockwell!” for Album of the Year. Although the artist lost to Billie Eilish’s “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?” This was another year where I was shocked. The “Normal F***ing Rockwell!” album was so beautiful. It’s one of my favorite albums of hers and it remains one of her most popular albums of all time. To this day I still don’t know how she lost.
Now one may be thinking, she’s been snubbed for Album of the Year twice, but she must have won some other Grammys over the years since her music career started in 2010. Well, that’s where you’d be wrong. Del Rey has never won a Grammy. Over the years she has been able to rank in 11 nominations yet she has never gotten to hold that golden trophy. This is shocking considering how influential she has been within the music industry.
The largest example of her influence comes in the form of her first album “Born To Die.” The album came out in 2010, at a time when artists such as Kesha and Justin Bieber topped the charts. The vibe for music at the time was so drastically different from Del Rey’s music that it was astounding when first released. Not only was the album shocking when it first came out but it has continued to influence artists over the years. According to Grammy Awards, “The truth that Del Rey unveiled has pervaded throughout pop in the decade since. It’s hard to imagine something like Lorde‘s intimately vulnerable “Melodrama” or the divorce-inspired tales of Kacey Musgraves‘ “star-crossed” or “Adele‘s 30” resonating quite as deeply without “Born To Die” coming first.” What’s funny is that I found the quote from the Grammys website and she still hasn’t won a Grammy. Anyway, “Born To Die” remains on Billboard’s 200 Debut list and is the longest-running major label debut album by a female artist in history. Del Rey has continued to be in the spotlight for years, yet has never gotten the recognition she deserves.
Now, I’ve spent a lot of time trashing this year’s Grammys, but I was happy to see some of the winners. SZA’s track, “Ghost in the Machine (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)” winning Best Pop Duo/Group Performance made me excited as that was my most listened-to song from 2023. I also liked seeing Zach Bryan win for his track, “I Remember Everything (feat. Kacey Musgraves)” for Best Country Duo/Group Performance as I’m a huge fan of Musgraves. Needless to say though, the Grammys have been on a downward slope. And Del Rey is a key example, as she has been snubbed one too many times.
