Every year, the best in music gather to celebrate the industry's success. On February 5th, 2023, the 65th annual Grammy Awards show took place in Los Angeles, California, leaving many joyful and emotional, but others not so much.
This event highlights the world’s most talented artists in various genres of music competing to be the best in multiple categories. Some possible awards were Best Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Instrumental Composition, and more. The nominees range in the music genre, nationality, gender, and more. Out of the 91 winners, some well-known ones are Harry Styles, Adele, and Beyonce.
Beyonce broke a record by being the artist with the most Grammys of all time, 32, winning four of those that night. That was not the only broken record of the night, “Kim Petras became the first transgender person to win a Grammy for best pop duo/group performance,” according to Reem Abdalazem, a writer for AS.com. With broken records and teary-eyed rockstars, the 65th Annual Grammys was another successful and drama-packed night.
Some drama of the night includes the numerous comments and backlash concerning Harry Styles's acceptance speech for winning album of the year. Regardless, his night was a success, winning not one but two Grammys. During one of his speeches, he was emotional and showed gratitude to his fellow nominees. Lizzo, another artist, did not hide back her emotions either. Pictures were circling social media showing her happiness for her fellow friend.
When it comes down to Harry Styles and whether he did something right or wrong, it depends on how one feels about his choice of words in his speech. He said, “This is really really kind … this doesn’t happen to people like me very often, and this is so nice, thank you very much,” as written on Billboard.com. The dilemma for some people is his choice of words for “people like me.” People have expressed their dislike for Style utilizing these words. On Twitter, individuals have said, “'This doesn’t happen to people like me' is the most white privilege-iest thing to ever be uttered at an awards show ever for all time….” These were the words of NPR journalist Sam Sanders.
Many were angered because, if you look at history, the majority of winners for this specific award were white males. Other tweets say, “Saying ‘this doesn’t happen to people like me very often’ when a Black woman hasn't won that award since 1999 is crazy, lol.”
Styles has still not given a response to this issue; however, others have tried to answer for him by saying what they think the artist meant by it. Individuals posted things like “poor choice of words, but his fans know he meant ‘people like me’ as in just a random kid from a small town in England who auditioned for the x factor b/c his mom told him he's a good singer,” the user Januhhlee wrote. BuzzFeed also explained that it could be Styles’ way of saying he is not the boy who once was a part of One Direction. He has grown from that and out of the stereotype of music from boy bands and their mediocre success.
The night did not end there for Styles. There appeared to be some confusion during his performance as well. Dancer Brandon Mathis said, “our turntable started spinning in reverse. Backward. Freaking all of us out on live television, and there was nothing we could do to stop it.” Another dancer expressed his anger since they practiced for hours, and it was all thrown away because of a turntable. The dancer, Dexter, said it also ruined some formations in the original choreography.
Furthermore, returning to the backlash Harry Styles received for his choice of words, it is not the first time this type of negative reaction has appeared. In 2018, a hashtag, #GrammysSoMale, stemmed because “Canadian singer Alessia Cara was the only woman to be presented a solo award on the televised ceremony,” Lexie Cartwright, a writer for News.com.au, explained.
It did not stop there; another issue occurred when recording academy president, Neil Portnow, said, “it has to begin with women…[They need] to step up,” when asked about the hashtag, creating yet another uproar in disagreement.
This year’s Grammys was just as great as the past ones, full of excitement and drama as others. Some experienced more than others, but in the end, it is a celebration that unites people with music regardless of where you come from or what you look like. Harry Styles had an eventful night, nevertheless. From crying to winning and a little bit of everything in between, he will never forget this night.
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