Your guide to this year’s Grammys

With the 63rd Annual Grammys coming up, people across the globe are excited to see if their favorite artist or song will win one of these prestigious awards.

The nominees for the 63rd Annual Grammys were announced back in November 2020. Though the show itself was previously scheduled for January 31, it has been delayed until Sunday. Not much has been revealed about how the award show is going to work amidst the pandemic, but it will likely look a lot different than it has in the past. Performers include artists like Black Pumas, Taylor Swift, Bats, Cardi B, and Harry Styles; however, none of the presenters have been announced. Comedian and actor Trevor Noah will be hosting the event.

Much like other award ceremonies, such as The Oscars, The Grammys have what is referred to as ‘top categories.’ In the Grammys, there are four main categories, more popularly referred to as ‘the big four’: “Album Of The Year,” “Record Of The Year,” “Song Of The Year,” and “Best New Artist.”

The nominees for the categories are Jhené Aiko (album), Black Pumas (album and record), Coldplay (album), Jacob Collier (album), HAIM (album), Dua Lipa (album, record, and song), Post Malone (album, record, and song), Taylor Swift (album and song), Beyoncé (record and song), DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch (Record), Billie Eilish (record and song), Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé (record), Roddy Ricch (song), H.E.R (song), JP Saxe ft. Julia Micheals (song), Ingrid Andres (new artist), Phoebe Bridgers (new artist), Chika (new artist), Noah Cyrus (new artist), D Smoke (new artist), Doja Cat (new artist), Kaytranada (new artist), and Megan Thee Stallion (new artist).

Looking at that list, you might see some popular names missing like The Weeknd, Harry Styles, BTS, Selena Gomez, Black Pink, Justin Bieber, Halsey, Pop Smoke, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, etc. Now, some of these artists did get nominated for other awards. Some didn’t receive any nominations. Some people reacted strongly after hearing that none of these top artists listed received nominations in the top categories.

Fans are particularly upset about the fact that The Weeknd received no nominations. Because The Weeknd’s fourth studio album “After Hours” was one of the top-selling albums of 2020, not to mention the fact that his song “Blinding Lights” was one of if not the song of 2020, him receiving zero nominations shocked almost everyone. And he is not the only artist who didn’t get the nominations he deserved. Harry Styles had 3 hit songs this summer, “Watermelon Sugar,” “Adore You,” and “Golden,” and many fans thought that although he was nominated for a few awards in other categories, those songs deserved at least one nomination in ‘The Big Four.’ Artists like Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, and BTS are in similar situations.

As so many artists got ‘snubbed’ by the Grammys this year, a lot of people were left thinking that there was perhaps some sort of corruption going on. Not many artists have spoken up about this although The Weeknd did express his frustration by tweeting, “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans, and the industry transparency.” Pillowtalk singer, Zayn Malik recently tweeted that he believed the Grammys are in fact corrupt and racist and said that networking politics affect the voting process. He also said that “unless you shake hands and send gifts there are no nomination considerations.” Justin Bieber didn’t speak out about them being corrupt, but he did talk about how he didn’t like the fact that his album ‘Changes’ was not taken as an R&B album but as a Pop album. He said, “Changes was and is an R&B album. It is not being acknowledged as an R&B album which is very strange to me.” Other artists, however, simply expressed their gratitude for the nominations they received or chose not to speak on the Grammys.

Harry Styles has taken ‘staying silent’ to a whole new level. The “Adore You” singer has said absolutely nothing about the Grammys at all. Not a single thank you, nothing. He has said in a previous interview that he doesn’t care much for awards. There are some fans that think that he is choosing to stay silent as a form of protest against not being nominated for the categories he deserves.

It’s fair to say that the Grammys will be interesting this year no matter who wins. People all over the world are excited and curious to see how the show will play out due to COVID-19 restrictions and to see who will present each award, perform during the ceremony, and, of course, win these prestigious awards.