The 62nd annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on Jan. 26 in Los Angeles.
The ceremony turned out to be a historic night for one artist in particular. Billie Eilish, an 18-year old pop artist, was nominated for six Grammys and won five. Eilish also became the first woman to ever sweep the “Big Four” Grammys, winning Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist.
When asked about the musically-inclined artist, many students believed her awards were well-deserved.
“I don’t really listen to her, but I know her music is different,” Cameron Kharazmi, a sophomore finance and IT major, said. “I’m sure it was well-deserved. When you put out a good product, people notice.”
“I’m not a huge Billie Eilish fan because I never really listen to her music, but I know a lot of people love her,” Christian Gardner, a sophomore visual and sound media major, said. “I’ll go on the record and say it was deserved.”
Billie Eilish won five out of six Grammys that she was nominated for.
Students also shared their thoughts on who they believed was snubbed at this year’s Grammys.
Angelique McKenzie, a sophomore visual and sound media major, said “thank u, next” by Ariana Grande was snubbed. “I’ve never heard any Billie Eilish song, but I doubt it is better than anything Ariana Grande puts out,” she said.
Gardner said that he believed Revenge of the Dreamers III, a compilation album consisting of songs by Dreamville artists, was snubbed. “I really like the story of all these great artists coming together and putting out some great work,” he said.
Kharazmi said California rapper Roddy Ricch deserved some recognition as well. Ricch’s song “The Box” has remained number one on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for eight straight weeks.
The Grammys was a very emotional ceremony because earlier in the day, former Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others lost their lives in a helicopter crash.
The Grammys were at Staples Center, where the Lakers play, and many artists dedicated tributes to the fallen Lakers star. Alicia Keys and hip-hop group Boyz II Men performed an a cappella duet of the song “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” as lights lit up Bryant’s retired jerseys hanging in the rafters.
Students shared their thoughts on the tribute.
“I think he means so much to the city of Los Angeles and pop culture as a whole. He deserved all the praise that he got,” Kharazmi said.
Fox News reported that this year’s Grammy Awards ratings dipped to an all-time low. Some students shared their thoughts on how the Grammys can combat that next year.
“The Grammys actually gives out like 50 awards, but they only televise like 10 of them,” McKenzie said. “I feel if they televised some of the other awards, they would probably get a lot more people to watch.”
There are 84 categories at the Grammys, not including special awards, and most of the time is allotted for performances.
Kharazmi said, “I think people are less engaged because they can find out the winners on social media. But booking better artists, not just the popular ones, could drive a new audience.”
Jorie Mickens can be reached at jorie.mickens@student.shu.edu.
