Grammy Award

On April 6, 2011, The Recording Academy announced a drastic overhaul of many Grammy Award categories for 2012.[15] The number of categories was cut from 109 to 78. The most important change was the elimination of the distinction between male and female soloists and between collaborations and duo/groups in various genre fields (pop, rock, R&B, country, and rap). Also, several categories for instrumental soloists were discontinued. Recordings in these categories now fall under the general categories for best solo performances.

In the rock field, the separate categories for hard rock and metal albums were combined and the Best Rock Instrumental Performance category was eliminated due to a waning number of entries.

In R&B, the distinction between best contemporary R&B album and other R&B albums has been eliminated. They now feature in one, general Best R&B Album category.[16]

In rap, the categories for best rap soloist and best rap duo or group have been merged into the new Best Rap Performance category.

The most eliminations occurred in the roots category. Up to and including 2011, there were separate categories for various regional American music forms, such as Hawaiian music, Native American music and Zydeco/Cajun music. Due to the consistently low number of entries for these categories, The Recording Academy decided to combine all these music variations into the new Best Regional Roots Music Album, including polka, which lost its own separate category in 2009.[17][18]

In the same genre field, the traditional and contemporary blues categories and the traditional and contemporary folk categories each were consolidated into one per genre, due to the number of entries and given the challenges in distinguishing between contemporary folk and Americana, and contemporary and traditional blues. In the world music genre field, the traditional and contemporary categories also merged.

In the classical genre field, its main category Best Classical Album was discontinued because most recipients in this category had also won in one of the other classical categories for the same album. Classical recordings are now eligible for the main Album of the Year category.

There were also a few minor name changes to better reflect the nature of the separate categories. It was determined by the Recording Academy that the word "gospel" in the gospel genre field tends to conjure up the images and sounds of traditional soul gospel and leaves out the current contemporary Christian music (CCM). Therefore, the genre field and some categories were renamed as Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music.[19]

Since 2012 there have been a small number of adjustments made to the list of categories and genre fields. The number of categories has gone up from 78 in 2012 to 84 in 2017.[20]

When Pearl Jam won a Grammy in the category Best Hard Rock Performance in 1996, the band's lead singer Eddie Vedder commented on stage: "I don't know what this means. I don't think it means anything."[30] Glen Hansard, leader of the Irish rock group The Frames, stated in 2008 that the Grammys represent something outside of the real world of music "that's fully industry based". He said he wasn't that interested in attending that year's ceremony, even though he had been nominated for two different awards.[31] Maynard James Keenan, lead singer of metal band Tool, did not attend the Grammy Awards ceremony to receive one of their awards. He explained his reasons:[32]

I think the Grammys are nothing more than some gigantic promotional machine for the music industry. They cater to a low intellect and they feed the masses. They don't honor the arts or the artist for what he created. It's the music business celebrating itself. That's basically what it's all about.

They have also been criticized for generally awarding or nominating more commercially successful albums rather than critically successful ones.[33][34] In 1991, Sinead O'Connor became the first musician to refuse a Grammy, boycotting the ceremony after being nominated for Record of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance. O'Connor would go on to win the latter category.[35] She said that her reasoning came from the Grammys' extreme commercialism.[36]

In 2011, Los Angeles Times journalist Randall Roberts criticised the exclusion of Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy from Album of the Year category nominations for the 54th Grammy Awards. He described West's album as "the most critically acclaimed album of the year, a career-defining record".[37] Roberts went on to criticize the Grammy Awards for being "mired in the past" and out of touch with "new media" and trends amongst music listeners such as music sharing, stating:[37]

The major nominations for the 54th annual awards clearly show that the recording academy has been working overtime to be all-inclusive, but more significantly, they also reveal a deep chasm between its goals and the listening habits of the general population... [T]he focus is still on the old music industry model of cash-cow hits, major label investments and commercial radio...

In an article for Time, journalist Touré also responded to the snub and expressed his general displeasure with the awards, stating "I don't pretend to understand the Grammys. I have never been able to discern a consistent logic around who gets nominated or who gets statues. I comprehend the particular logic of the Oscars, but not the big awards for music. My normal state of confusion around what drives Grammy decisions was exponentialized this week when, to the shock of many, Kanye's masterpiece My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was not nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year."[38] He went on to compare understanding the Grammy Awards to Kremlinology and commented on The Recording Academy's exclusion of more "mature" hip hop albums as Album of the Year nominees, noting that it occasionally opts to nominate "pop-friendly" hip hop albums instead.[38]

In a 2011 profile for The New York Times following the 53rd Grammy Awards, frontman Justin Vernon of indie band Bon Iver was asked his opinion of the Grammys and how he would react to a nomination for his group, to which he responded:[39]

You know I was thinking about that a couple of months ago, someone asked me that, and I was like "I would go and I would" – and I don't think the Bon Iver record is the kind of record that would get nominated for a Grammy – "I would get up there and be like, 'This is for my parents, because they supported me,' because I know they would think it would be stupid of me not to go up there. But I kinda felt like going up there and being like: "Everyone should go home, this is ridiculous. You should not be doing this. We should not be gathering in a big room and looking at each other and pretending that this is important." That's what I would say.

He reaffirmed this sentiment and commented about the Grammys, saying:[39]

[Ninety-eight] percent of the people in that room, their art is compromised by the fact that they're thinking that, and that they're hoping to get that award. And who is that award given by? It's like they think it's literally handed down by the musical-history gods. And I don't know who the voters are. Like, I have a friend who's a voter who was like, "I had to be a voter because I don't trust the other voters." And I was like, "Me either!" And it's just not important and people spend too much time thinking about it.

Bon Iver subsequently received four nominations in November for the 54th Grammy Awards.[39] After winning the award, Vernon said in his acceptance, "It's really hard to accept this award. There's so much talent out here [...] and there's a lot of talent that's not here tonight. It's also hard to accept because you know, when I started to make songs I did it for the inherent reward of making songs, so I'm a little bit uncomfortable up here."[40]

In his article "Everything Is Praised Again", Jon Caramanica of The New York Times criticized Grammy voters for being "conservative" and disregarding more "forward-looking" music, and wrote in response to the 54th Grammy Awards, "for the umpteenth time, the Grammys went with familiarity over risk, bestowing album of the year honors (and several more) on an album that reinforced the values of an older generation suspicious of change."[41] He cited the Grammy successes of Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998), Norah Jones' Come Away with Me (2003), and Adele's 21 (2011) as examples of "the Grammys dropp[ing] a boatload of awards on a young female singer-songwriter and her breakthrough album". Of Kanye West's absence from the ceremony, Caramanica stated, "He didn't even bother to show up for the broadcast, which was well enough, because hip-hop was almost completely marginalized."[41]

In an article for The Huffington Post, music executive and author Steve Stoute criticized the Recording Academy and the Grammy Awards for having "lost touch with contemporary popular culture" and noted "two key sources" for it: "(1) over-zealousness to produce a popular show that is at odds with its own system of voting and (2) fundamental disrespect of cultural shifts as being viable and artistic."[42] Stoute accused them of snubbing artists with more cultural impact, citing respective losses by the critical and commercial successes in Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) and Kanye West's Graduation (2007) in the Album of the Year category, and stated:[42]

As an institution that celebrates artistic works of musicians, singers, songwriters, producers and technical specialists, we have come to expect that the Grammys upholds all of the values that reflect the very best in music that is born from our culture. Unfortunately, the awards show has become a series of hypocrisies and contradictions, leaving me to question why any contemporary popular artist would even participate. [...] While there is no doubt in my mind of the artistic talents of Steely Dan or Herbie Hancock, we must acknowledge the massive cultural impact of Eminem and Kanye West and how their music is shaping, influencing and defining the voice of a generation. It is this same cultural impact that acknowledged the commercial and critical success of Michael Jackson's Thriller in 1984.

The Grammys' eligibility period – which runs from October 1 to September 30 each year[43] – is also a perennial source of complaints and confusion. Because records that are released in the last quarter of a given year are not eligible for that year's awards (the submissions and first round ballots are underway at that time), fans often think a favorite artist has been snubbed (e.g., Adele, whose 25 was released in November 2015 and so was not nominated that year despite massive sales[44]). Conversely, the same issue means that the Grammys often recognize work that no longer feels current by the time it wins. Taylor Swift's 1989, for example, won Album of the Year in 2016, even though the album was released in October 2014. The same was the case with Adele’s 25. It was released in November 2015 but received the award in 2017.[45]

The Grammys have also been accused of being unfavorable and racist to black recording artists. Canadian artist Drake accused the awards in a 2017 interview of seeing him only as a rapper and not as a pop-music artist due to his previous work and heritage. He criticized the snubbing of "One Dance" for the prestigious award of Record of the Year and the nomination of "Hotline Bling" for Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Performance despite it not being a rap song.[46] The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber accused the Grammys of "sidelining a black visionary work in favor of a white traditionalist one".[47] Drake did not attend the 2017 Awards Ceremony where he was nominated. He had a performance in Manchester, England on February 12, 2017, the same night as the ceremony. Frank Ocean was vocal about boycotting the same Grammy Awards and did not submit his album for awards consideration as a protest.[48]

The Grammys were also criticized after the 59th Annual Grammy Awards when Adele's 25 won Album of the Year over Beyonce's album Lemonade, which many music publications felt should have won the award. Steve Knopper of Rolling Stone magazine believed that she lost due to the Grammy voters being all white males and as well as for her pro-Black performance during the Super Bowl 50 halftime show.[49] USA Today also criticized Beyonce's loss stating that "black artists have struggled to win album of the year". They also felt 25 won only due to the album's record-breaking sales rather than having a cultural significance and a large impact that Lemonade had in 2016.[50] Singer Adele also expressed that Lemonade should have won over her for Album of the Year, stating in her acceptance speech. In her acceptance speech during the show, she stated:

I can't possibly accept this award. And I'm very humbled and I'm very grateful and gracious. But my artist of my life is Beyonce. And this album to me, the Lemonade album, is just so monumental. Beyonce, it's so monumental. And so well thought out, and so beautiful and soul-baring and we all got to see another side to you that you don't always let us see. And we appreciate that. And all us artists here adore you. You are our light.

[51]

The Grammys have also received criticism for their treatment of female artists. Notably at the 60th Grammy Awards, New Zealand singer Lorde made media headlines after turning down an offer to perform at the ceremony. She rumored that she was invited to perform alongside several other artists in a tribute to Tom Petty but was refused a solo slot, despite being nominated for the Album of the Year Award and stated that each of the male nominees were allowed solo performances. Lorde's mother also criticized the Grammys, pointing out an article which stated that only nine percent of nominees at the previous six Grammy Awards were women.[52] Following the 60th ceremony, many media outlets reported that the ceremony had failed women, specifically pointing to the most nominated female artist SZA who did not win in any of her five nominated categories and to the Best Pop Solo Performance category which was composed of four female nominees but won by Ed Sheeran.[53] In an interview, Neil Portnow, President of the Recording Academy attracted controversy by stating that female artists need to "step up" in order to win awards. Portnow's comments drew criticism from many female musicians including Pink, Katy Perry, Vanessa Carlton, Sheryl Crow, Iggy Azalea, Halsey and Charli XCX.[54] They also prompted the hashtag #GrammysSoMale on social media.[55]

The same issue that happened to singer Lorde would occur again before 61st Annual Grammy Awards where singer Ariana Grande decided to not perform and attend that years ceremony over a disagreement over the song choices for the singer's performance. It was reported that Grande felt "insulted" when producers refused to allow the singer to perform her latest single "7 Rings". They compromised by having the singer perform the song as part of a medley under the condition that the producers chose the second song, causing Grande to pull out of the show. It was also speculated that the same stipulations were not imposed on the other performers of the show.[56] A few days later, the singer broke her silence when she accused Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich for lying about why she dropped out of the show. Ehrlich stated that Grande "felt it was too late for her to pull something together". Grande responded stating:

I can pull together a performance over night and you know that, Ken, it was when my creativity & self expression was stifled by you, that I decided not to attend. I hope the show is exactly what you want it to be and more.

[57]

Despite the controversy, Grande ended up winning that night for Best Pop Vocal Album and in 2020 performed at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards where she was nominated for five awards, including Album of the Year but ended up losing every award she was nominated for.[58]

Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan was placed on leave after allegations of misconduct on January 16, 2020 just ten days before the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. Dugan would immediately file a lawsuit against the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences after she was wrongfully fired for alleging sexual harassment claims of a female worker and irregularities with the Grammy nominations.[59] On the nominations for the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Dugan stated that the voting process was an "outrageous conflict of interest" with several nominated artists sitting on the voting boards of their prospective categories. She stated that "one artist who initially ranked 18 out of 20 in the 2019 'Song of the Year' category ended up with a nomination". She also stated that few artists like Ed Sheeran and Ariana Grande had the votes to be nominated for the category, but were ultimately omitted.[60]