This past Sunday, March 14, the highly anticipated 63rd Annual Grammy Awards aired. While the monumental award ceremony looked quite different this year due to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, the usual criticism from the public regarding the Recording Academy’s decisions remained consistent.
While it is the Recording Academy that ultimately decides who takes home the prestigious awards, many people around the world, including Harrisites, have their own opinion on which nominees they believe deserved to win. A few weeks prior to the award show, The Classic conducted a poll on our Instagram page asking Harrisites to vote on which albums, songs, and artists they hoped would win in eight major categories: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Pop/Duo Group Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Rap Song. In some categories, THHS students and the Recording Academy agreed on who should take home the award, while in others, the winners chosen by THHS students differed from the actual results.
As follows, this is how the Grammy results compare to those as decided by our students.
Record of the Year
THHS Winner: “Everything I Wanted” by Billie Eilish
Grammys Winner: “Everything I Wanted” by Billie Eilish
Album of The Year
THHS Winner: Folklore by Taylor Swift
Grammys Winner: Folklore by Taylor Swift
Junior Alyssa Figueroa said, “I think Folklore by Taylor Swift should win album of the year. I feel like this album ushered us into a new era of Taylor since it has more of an alternative vibe in contrast to her pop-genre songs we’ve seen from her for years now…it’s a beautiful album that’s open to various interpretations, which makes it more appealing because almost anyone can find a way to relate to the songs.”
Junior Zarif Rahman believed Future Nostalgia deserved to hold the highly coveted honor of Album of the Year, and said, “I think Future Nostalgia has been successful from the start. Its first single, ‘Don’t Start Now,’ was already a hit before the album on places like TikTok, creating lots of anticipation for the actual album.”
Song of The Year
THHS Winner: “Circles” by Post Malone
Grammys Winner: “I Can’t Breathe”by H.E.R
Best New Artist
THHS Winner: Doja Cat
Grammys Winner: Megan Thee Stallion
“For the Best New Artist category, I would really like Phoebe Bridgers to win. Tracks like ‘Funeral’ off her album, Stranger In The Alps, have reached a wide range of people with its pure honesty and raw lyricism, and I feel that Phoebe deserves the award for her genuine talent,” said junior Nisabelle Rianom.
Best Pop Solo Performance
THHS Winner: “Say So” by Doja Cat
Grammys Winner: “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
THHS Winner(s): “Dynamite” by BTS & “Rain on Me” by Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande
Actual Winner: “Rain on Me” by Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande
Freshman Shamira Guan,believed “Dynamite” deserved to win.“I am strongly hoping for BTS to win Pop Duo/Group Performance,” Shamira said. “They’ve broken so many records and barriers during the pandemic, such as the first group to have multiple No.1 debuts on the Hot100 Billboard, and the first Korean act to top the IFPI’s Global All Format Album chart.”
Best Pop Vocal Album
THHS Winner: Fine Line by Harry Styles
Grammys Winner: Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa
Junior Nadia Santo said, “I believe Harry Styles should win for Best Pop Vocal Album…with Fine Line, his second album, there is definitely a lot of growth and progression within Harry as an artist. The instrumental for the album varies from song to song and is incredibly unique, with a variety of different sounds…for the album to still be just as dynamic and compelling by listening to the instrumental versions of all the songs alone is very telling about this album.”
Best Rap Song
THHS Winner: “Savage” by Megan Thee Stallion
Grammys Winner: “Savage” by Megan Thee Stallion
Looking at the results, it is apparent that the Recording Academy, who has recently been under fire for their lack of diversity in representing the musical opinions of the general public, does not necessarily represent Generation Z, who make up a large portion of the population who stream music today. As music consumption continues to evolve, our rising generation who will one day make up the Recording Academy may be the face of change in the outdated Grammy system.
