The 2023 Grammys were a huge hit. Leaving fans watching at home excited, relieved, and also confused. Since there were big awards with even bigger nominees, the outcome of the Grammys was destined to upset some people. Before the Grammys, people were speculating that either Adele or Beyonce was going to be the star of the awards. Beyonce was set to break the record for most Grammys won. And she did. With winning 3 of her nominations, Beyonce broke the record of most Grammy wins with 32 wins and 79 nominations. Queen Bey made history, literally. Having the most Grammys out of every other huge star is an amazing accomplishment that every singer one day dreams of achieving. Beyonce isn’t the only one who had a historic night though…

Harry Styles performed on the Grammy stage getting a standing ovation from Taylor Swift, his ex-girlfriend. Not only did he bring the house down with his amazing performance, but his album, Harry’s House, won Album of the Year. Now him winning this award did cause some controversy from Bey fans. Some of them even voiced their opinions during his speech. One fan yelled, “Beyonce should’ve won!” This exact thing happened during the 2009 VMA’s to Taylor Swift when she won an award over Beyonce. Except Kanye West interrupted her speech to voice his distaste and the fact that he thought Beyonce should’ve won. I call it the Beyonce Cycle. Harry’s speech did not soothe the hearts of these fans either. He stated, “This doesn’t happen to people like me very often.” Which sparked annoyance in people because he is a white man rather than a minority. Now Styles did not comment on this part of the speech directly but during the Brits when he won 4 awards he said, “I am very aware of my privilege up here tonight.” This totally contradicts what he said at the Grammys, and fans have pretty much let go of what he said before. 

Now let’s talk about Song of the Year…this award was highly anticipated by fans of many different artists. The nominees included: Taylor Swift, Adele, GAYLE, DJ Khaled, Steve Lacy, Lizzo, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Harry Styles, and Bonnie Raitt. Very big name artists for an even bigger award. Fans of all the artists were excited to see who would win. It was thought that Beyoncé or Adele would win since they’re the biggest out of them all. But people would’ve been pleased with Taylor, Harry, Kendrick, or Lizzo since they are all well-known and their songs were more than exceptional for the year. The artist who won, however, was a shock… Bonnie Raitt snatched the Song of the Year award for her song, “Just Like That.” Everyone was shocked to their core at the ceremony including Raitt herself. “Who even is she?” Tommy Lund, a Grammy enthusiast, said during his class talk about the award show. Older music listeners are backing Raitt saying that she was a big celebrity back in the day so she deserves the award. Many haven’t heard the song, but maybe with this new publicity, younger music listeners will turn on Bonnie Raitt, but who knows. 

Lastly, the first transgender woman won a Grammy this year. Kim Petras was awarded Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for her song, “Unholy,” that she has with artist Sam Smith. Some were happy with the winner, but others were thinking that they should not have won. Unholy is a song that, in my opinion, got popular for all the wrong reasons. While the tune is catchy, it is a very unusual song. For popularity purposes, it definitely is a strong contender and honestly somewhat deserved the win. Whether people listened to the song because they loved it or hated it, they still listened. So clearly it took the internet by storm in some way. 

In conclusion, people will always be upset at who won awards no matter what. Whether it be die-hard Taylor fans that wanted the star to win because she would’ve revealed her new re-recorded album, or just because people genuinely have no idea who the winner was. The results of the winners will never be 100% accepted by music listeners. “I am still upset that Positions by Ariana Grande was robbed of Pop Album of the Year in 2020,” Said Tommy Lund. So even though years have passed people still are upset at the outcomes. The important thing we all need to remember when watching the Grammys, especially if you get picked to be a seat filler, is to always be respectful of the winner when they are receiving their award. Even if you think your favorite artist was snubbed of the win, it is not the winner’s fault. Now go listen to some music!