The Grammys are one of the biggest music awards in the country, and winning a Grammy is a huge honor for artists. Every year fans watch the Grammys in hopes for their favorite nominees to win. This year was no different; excited fans tuned in from all over the country to watch the top artists of 2020 perform and win awards. Dynamic performances from Meghan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Taylor Swift, BTS, Harry Styles, and more—aided by Trevor Noah’s commentary—kept the fans excited throughout the show. Though the Grammys have continued to be a major event that attracts great attention, the award show has faced serious backlash for racial bias over the years. 

The strong sentiment against the Grammys award shows is shared by many prominent figures and their fans. Artists such as Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Kendrick Lamar began to boycott the award show after they didn’t get the recognition they deserved. In fact, after not getting nominated a single time this year for his album “After Hours,” which was one of the most streamed albums of 2020, The Weeknd decided to join the boycott. This anger is similarly shared by the Carters—Beyoncé and Jay-Z—who were snubbed by the Grammys many times. Beyoncé specifically, has been underrepresented by the award show over the years. Though she has been the most awarded artist at the Grammys, a closer look reveals that she has only won one major title (“Song of the Year,” but not “Record of the Year” or “Album of the Year”), and has otherwise only won smaller categories, such as “Best Urban Contemporary Album.” This lack of recognition has caused the couple to stop attending the award show in protest. It’s never a good sign when some of the biggest artists of color have denounced the show repeatedly, but aren’t able to achieve a satisfactory result.

The backlash against the Grammys this year was mainly due to BTS losing “Pop Duo/Group Performance” for “Dynamite” to Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga’s “Rain on Me.” “Dynamite” outdid all other nominated songs statistically in all areas—from most views to most overall awards. Dynamite sat on the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 3 weeks and remains on charts globally. The music video also set a world record with the most views for a YouTube premier. It is now also nearing 945 million views on YouTube. The K-Pop community took to Twitter with their anger as they believed the Grammys had once again tokenized and snubbed an artist of color. BTS lost the nomination at the beginning of the show in a non-televised moment, their performance was scheduled for the end. This led many fans to speculate that the Grammys were just using the boy band just to boost ratings. Major artists of color don’t get the credit they deserve at the award show and many have had enough of it.

Despite the overall lack of representation at the Grammys, it’s still important to recognize the artists of color that received awards and nominations this year. Singer and songwriter Gabrielle Wilson (better known as H.E.R.) won “Song of the Year” for her protest song “I Can’t Breathe”  and “Best R&B song” for her work on “Better than I Imagined.” American rapper Megan Thee Stallion also had a big night; she was the first female rapper to win “Best New Artist” in more than twenty years. The awards and nominations mentioned here indicate that the Grammys are taking steps to recognize the diversity in the music industry, but it’s not enough. Despite the incredible talent that many artists of color showcased in their songs and the tremendous support from their fans, most individuals only receive awards in the minor categories. It’s also possible—in the case of BTS—that talented artists could receive no awards at all. The Grammys have taken steps to acknowledge a more diverse group of artists, but there still is progress to be made.

The Grammys is one of the most important events in music. It represents the accomplishments of the entire industry and brings recognition to talented figures within the community. The event is supposed to bring fans from different groups and backgrounds together to show their love for music and musicians, but the backlash from the lack of diverse representation in the awards ceremony has created division and strife within the community. Even though more artists of color are getting the recognition that they deserve, the anger over last week’s show is a clear sign that there’s more work to be done. If the Grammys wants to continue to represent the entire music industry, the awards ceremony has to reflect the accomplishments of all artists, regardless of their ethnicity or race.