By KAYLINA CALZADO
Contributing Writer
Music is a universal pleasure that, for one night, becomes the focus for all audiences to revel in.
The Grammys aired for its 62nd year on Jan. 26, 2020, with the attendance of a wide range of artists who all came together to celebrate their passion for music. Some notable moments stood out on the night of this award show, the spotlight keying in on multiple female artists who got their moment to shine once and for all.
Lizzo opened the night with her infectious energy, singing her top hits “Cuz I Love You” and “Truth Hurts.” Her confidence shook up the stage, bringing everyone together to dance, especially so with her impressive performance with the flute in “Truth Hurts.” The singer couldn’t have opened up the Grammys any better, especially with her closing statement: “Welcome to the Grammys, b****!” which set the stage for the rest of the night. It makes her performance shine just as well with her wins later on in the show for Best Pop Solo Performance in “Truth Hurts”, Best Traditional R&B Performance in “Jerome”, and Best Urban Contemporary Album for “Cuz I Love You (Deluxe).”
Performing for the first time in two years, Demi Lovato stepped up to sing a powerful rendition of her song, “Anyone.” This song was the first time to have ever been released, written and recorded by Lovato herself shortly before her hospitalization for an overdose in July 2018, according to the singer in a Beats 1 interview with Zane Lowe on Jan. 24. The song’s special impact comes from Lovato’s journey in the past few years, introducing herself to everyone to see her as she is now and who she wants to be on the night where music is the sole focus.
Performances lit up the night but as an awards show, there comes the announcements of who gets to take home a Grammy, and possibly more. Rosalía Vila Tobella, a 26-year-old female artist from Spain, was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Latin Rock, Urban Or Alternative Album, winning the latter for “El Mal Querer” against big male artists such as Bad Bunny and J Balvin, who were also nominated for the award. This was not Rosalía’s first time winning an award, her Album of the Year win with “El Mal Querer” preceding her at the Latin Grammys in 2019. Despite not winning Best New Artist, Rosalía’s nomination in of itself plays a huge deal having been the only Spanish-language artist to be nominated in a Big Four category.
Billie Eilish, 18 years old, came to the awards show with six nominations under her belt and left with a whopping five wins, one of them granting her as the youngest Album Of The Year winner in Grammy history since Taylor Swift a decade ago, according to Billboard. Her five wins is a big accomplishment being the first female artist to get such an honor, but its reception wasn’t completely positive according to various negative comments on social media. Twitter user “f***ab****bella” said this in response to Eilish’s win on Jan. 27, 2020, a day after the award show: “so you’re telling me, Lana Del Rey, a woman who has paved the way for so many different genres of alternative music for years while being able to actually sing, still hasn’t won a grammy? But instead Billie Eilish, a cop out indie singer with little vocal talent won? I smell cap.” Running against Eilish for Album Of The Year were big female artists such as Ariana Grande for “thank u, next” and Lana Del Ray for “Norman F***ing Rockwell!,” the latter’s being her sixth nomination over the years since 2013. Rey was also nominated for Song Of The Year with “Norman F***ing Rockwell!,” part of her album of the same name that released in summer 2019. The Twitter user’s hostility against Eilish’s win is only one of the many, also bringing up the continuing negativity against the Grammys that has built up, especially so with president and CEO of the Recording Academy, Deborah Dugan, having been suspended. Dugan recently filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that entailed the Grammys voting being rigged, according to the National Public Radio in an article published on Jan. 24, two days before the 62nd Grammy Awards aired. Quoted from the article, “In the complaint, Dugan also repeated and elaborated upon her accusations from the HR memo related to […] rigged Grammy voting and self-dealing at the public, non-profit organization.”
Eilish’s win creates more of a buzz due to this controversy, but her speech when accepting the Album Of The Year award notes on her own thoughts of receiving the award: “Um, can I just say that I think Ariana deserves this. “thank u, next” got me through some [stuff], and I think it deserves like. . . more than anything in the world. I love you so much.” The camera pans to Ariana Grande sitting in the audience, who waves away Eilish’s comment, leaving people to assume that the two share a supportive relationship. Eilish acknowledging the impact of her fellow colleague’s work emphasizes the solidarity between female artists and just how important music means for everyone, which makes clear of one thing.
The importance behind award shows is to acknowledge the influence of artists and their music, crafted to spread a message to not just to the world but to themselves. On a night that showcases music above all else, what happened during and after the 62nd Grammys is a clear example of why the music industry exists and what lies valuable among artists. Prominent female artists got to showcase their voice while artists like Rosalía embraced their heritage, notably through her own performance of her new single “Juro Que” and “MALAMENTE (Cap 1: Augurio).”
It’s clear that music is universal and for everyone, but it’s how people react in the face of their favorite artist’s successes and failures that leave room for discussion on how award shows really work. On what happens behind the scenes and what it means for the music industry. How do artists like Eilish accept awards for their music that made an impact, when other nominated artists’ did just the same? When they have the same heartfelt message behind their albums, songs, and performances? The same intention that keys in on what makes music so important?
Eilish’s older brother, Finneas O’Connell, co-writer and producer of “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” said this after accepting the Album Of The Year award, along Eilish: “We didn’t write a speech for this ‘cause we didn’t make this album to win a Grammy, we didn’t think it would win, ever. We wrote an album about depression and suicidal thoughts, and climate change, and being the bad guy, whatever that means. And we stand up here confused and grateful.”
