On Sunday night, Adele’s talent was celebrated with five Grammys — album of the year, record of the year, song of the year, best pop vocal album and best pop solo performance. Both “Hello” and her album “25” were recognized as masterpieces of artistry within the musical field. However, many were upset and offended that Beyoncé was not given the Grammy for album of the year. Her visual and audio album, “Lemonade,” was expected to sweep her nine nominations but fell extremely short of fan’s hopes. Even Adele said onstage that Beyoncé is her musical idol and deserved this title.
With every passing year, the Grammys have been digging a hole deeper and deeper into the irrelevant, according to an article from The Washington Post. The 59th Grammy Awards, celebrated relatively traditional albums created by white artists and voted on by the Recording Academy, especially received flack for not including black artists and not considering hip hop, rap and R&B in the more all-encompassing award categories.
It isn’t fair to say that Adele didn’t deserve the recognition for her album. She is an extremely talented artist and “25” is the epitome of her success. At the 2013 Grammy Awards, the British popstar also left with three of the top four Grammys. This level of success is not new for the world-renowned singer. Though Beyoncé is also an amazing artist, it is extremely unfair to say that Beyoncé should have earned it over Adele, as both nominees were qualified.
Proponents of Beyoncé have said that “Lemonade” deserved this honor because her album broke the boundaries of a traditional album and spread an inspiring message. Her album is arguably more personal and provocative than anything she has created before and more than any song or album Adele has released. Her music videos tied into the Black Lives Matter movement, into what it is like to be black woman, into pain and loss. She created an all-encompassing album to empower and give a voice to those who feel like they’ve been oppressed. Beyoncé might be a well-off celebrity but her fans aren’t, which is why they felt robbed by her loss.
Beyoncé’s innovative album challenges the tradition the Grammy Awards have set throughout their 59 years. The Recording Academy is set in their ways, the stale mindset, and won’t accept an unorthodox visual album as the winner of their prestigious award. The album might’ve been provocative, but it was extremely successful. Beyoncé left 2016 with the year’s third best-selling album. It can’t be argued that people didn’t love her album, however unconventional it was. This leads many to question – did race play a part in this decision?
Beyoncé is treated like a queen within the musical community. She’s given recognition for her accomplishments and has received awards in the past for her music. Her fans glorify her. She’s not oppressed, underappreciated or insignificant. It would be wrong to say that this decision was made with her race in mind. People start these arguments to create controversy and to wreak havoc. Adele had the best-selling album of the year and fit into the mold of the winner due to that, not because of the color of her skin. Pulling the “race card” diminishes Adele’s undeniable talent.
The fact remains that nine years have passed without a black artist winning the award for the best album of the year. There’s something to be said that a lot of the albums that lost to white artists were more provocative, but if a demographic is putting out art that speaks to their experiences and gets slighted year after year, that must be frustrating. Nine years is an incredibly long time to go without recognizing a black artist, especially when the albums they’ve released have been pinnacles of the music industry. It’s unfair to criticize those who bring race into this argument, since for some race affects every aspect of their lives and they can be held back due to the opinions of others. Adele is an amazing artist, but the fact that she admitted “Lemonade” was more deserving speaks volumes.
Does winning this award make Adele more talented than Beyoncé? Does it make her a better musician? Certainly not. An album consists of the lyricism, themes and what the artist is trying to accomplish through their music. It can’t be judged on a single plane. Just because Beyoncé did not win this award does not mean she’s not talented. She could win everything, she could win nothing — her fans will rally behind her all the same.
