Beyonce has won the most Grammys overall, and her album releases have sparked cultural revolutions and altered industry standards.
The Recording Academy has snubbed many artists in such a shocking way, despite Beyonce’s unmatched accomplishments and lack of prestigious awards for best album or record.
Once again on Sunday, she will head to the Grammys gala with the most chances to win, after “Cowboy Carter” — her genre-spanning, sociopolitically charged conversation piece of an album — dropped last spring to critical acclaim.
It earned her a fifth nomination for Album of the Year: in years past, she has lost to Taylor Swift, Beck, Adele and, most recently, Harry Styles.
As for Record of the Year, this is her ninth shot at a golden gramophone.
And in a glaringly consistent pattern, nearly all of Beyonce’s losses have been to white pop and rock artists.
According to Birgitta Johnson, a professor of African American studies and music history at the University of South Carolina, “If she wins the Album of the Year” award for “Cowboy Carter,” it would be a similar outcome for me personally to Barack Obama’s election as president.
To explain the parallel, Johnson said that upon Obama’s victory, “as a Black person in America… I was totally shocked”.
‘ Fault lines ‘
For Johnson, Grammy voters tend to dismiss collaborative projects, which is Beyonce’s bread and butter: the megastar showcases Black music and traditions while elevating fellow artists.
The conversation erupted into the claim that Beyonce had lost to Beck for Album of the Year in 2015. Musicologist Lauron Kehrer cited Beck’s own failure to put the album together.
Voter “values have been more aligned with white-dominated genres like rock and alternative”, said Kehrer.
“Pop, R&, B, and other genres have more collaborative approaches, but Grammy voters haven’t really valued those approaches.”
Kehrer argued that Beyonce’s career exemplifies “fault lines in how organizations think about style and genre, particularly regarding race and gender lines.”
In an effort to promote diversity, the Grammys’ increased competition for the top categories, which was previously five, was bumped to 10, and is currently eight, has actually resulted in votes being split so severely that people of color and less conventional artists still rarely win.
Johnson stated that “all those things are coming into play when it comes to Beyonce, this iconic global star, who keeps missing this particular brass ring.”
No ‘ one-trick pony ‘
Beyonce’s work is difficult to define — beyond the top categories, her 11 Grammy nominations this year span Americana, country, pop and rap.
She has previously won prizes for electronic music and dance.
“She refuses to be a one-trick pony”, Kehrer said.
“It does feel like ‘ Cowboy Carter ‘ especially was a project to show, among other things, that she’s a versatile artist who can’t be pigeon-holed, and to kind of force institutions in the industry to pay attention to that”.
Beyonce has thus challenged the Recording Academy to stay current with her by improving how categorizing music to better reflect industry trends, which the Grammy organizers have in fact attempted to accomplish.
In the end, the Grammys need Beyonce a whole lot more than she needs the Grammys, Johnson says.
She told AFP that her presence is crucial for the gala “so they can seem as inclusive as they claim to be” and that this is because of this.
‘ Litmus test ‘
As for winning prizes, if that were Beyonce’s primary concern, she would write music tailored for that, Johnson notes.
Instead, “she’s trying to do more work around narratives and identity”, the professor said.
“She’s one of those rare artists who are free creatively, but also has the wealth to propel her vision”.
Johnson cited Billie Eilish as an example of how younger generations take inspiration from Beyonce to work across genres, noting that artists who regularly win the big prizes do so.
Ultimately, even if Queen Bey doesn’t need institutional approval, wins matter for fans — and, in turn, representation.
Source: Channels TV
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