“What the f*** does [Beyoncé] have to do to win album of the year?”
Spoken by British singer/songwriter Adele following the 2017 Grammys, these words (unfortunately) ring even more true in the year of our Lord 2023 when Beyoncé’s record-breaking and culture shifting “Renaissance” was snubbed for Album of the Year, making Knowles-Carter's fourth loss in this category. As to be expected, this year’s loss for Beyoncé has provoked discourse and conversations about the Recording Academy’s rampant racism and inability to reward art from minority artists. But first, a little bit of context.
As many of you may know, Beyoncé made headlines last Sunday by becoming the most winningest Grammy artist of all time—with a total of thirty-two wins. While extremely deserving, this record only shows half of the story. Despite this grand total, Billboard points out that only “one of those 32 awards has come in a Big Four category (album, record and song of the year plus best new artist)” despite being “nominated in Big Four categories 18 times.” Additionally, the vast majority of Beyoncé’s wins were achieved within RnB or RnB-adjacent categories—which historically contain music from Black and other artists of color—while only eight of those wins have been from broader, pop categories. I say this not to invalidate Beyoncé’s wins in these categories or to belittle their prominence, but rather to tease out a pattern that I, other Beyoncé fans, and music critics have begun to see with how the Grammys gives out their awards. Combining this with the Grammys historically shutting out or refusing to award artists of color in major categories, the results only become more troubling.
During her twenty-six year career in the music industry as a singer/songwriter, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has been nominated for Album of the Year just four times: the first being 2010 for “I Am. . .Sasha Fierce,” followed by “BEYONCÉ” in 2014, “Lemonade” in 2017, and now for “Renaissance” in 2023. Each loss in this category was more infamous and discourse-generating than the last. “I Am. . .Sasha Fierce” contained her smash hit “Single Ladies” and is to this date her highest-selling album. “BEYONCÉ” re-shaped the way that artists release music by popularizing the now commonplace surprise drop; additionally, this album also changed the day of the week new music is released from Tuesdays to Fridays. Her second surprise drop, “Lemonade,” considers the impact of enslavement on Black love and poignantly speaks to on-going conversations about Black Lives Matter and police brutality. Finally, her most recent album, “Renaissance,” reclaims the modern genres of dance and electronic pop and celebrates the Black and queer originators of these genres. However, each of these more than deserving albums lost to a white artist: Taylor Swift for “Fearless” in 2010, Beck for “Morning Phase” in 2014, Adele for “25” in 2017, and Harry Styles for “Harry’s House” in 2023. Each of Beyoncé’s nominated albums not only cemented her as one of, if not the, greatest musical artists of all time, but also affirmed her ability to shift both pop culture and the music industry. Every reason used to justify her loss—whether chart and sales, cultural relevance, or industry impact—was fulfilled by one or more of these albums, yet still Beyoncé lacks the Grammy’s biggest award. The Grammys are still unwilling to give Beyoncé her flowers.
However, as I alluded to earlier, Beyoncé’s snubs fall within a pattern of denying Black creatives, and more specifically Black women, access to major categories. According to Time Magazine, “Only three Black women have won Album of the Year in the ceremony’s 65-year history, the last time being when Lauryn Hill won for ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ in 1999. Before Hill, Natalie Cole won for ‘Unforgettable…with Love’ in 1992 and Whitney Houston won for the soundtrack to ‘The Bodyguard’ in 1994.” Adding to these three wins, Black men or male groups have won Album of the Year seven times, bringing the grand total to eleven awards in the Grammys’ sixty-five year history.
With this context, you can understand how many (myself included) were enraged when Harry Styles accepted Album of the Year for “Harry’s House.” Don’t get me wrong, like many of my peers, “Harry’s House” was a staple in my Apple Music collection last year. And while many have nitpicked his tone deaf acceptance speech that evening, I would echo my peers in saying that, by focusing on Harry Styles instead of the broader, racist systems that refuse to celebrate minority creatives, art, and culture, we allow these institutions to remain complacent and complicit in their bigotry. In an article for Teen Vogue written before “Renaissance” lost, Rolling Stone writer Larisha Paul contended that “If ‘Renaissance’ doesn’t win, I think it will be a massive blow to what little credibility the Recording Academy still has as an institution that engages with Black music on any meaningful level.” More broadly, if the Grammy Awards, “the supposed champion of recorded music,” and other ceremonies that celebrate and reward art like them, are unwilling to celebrate the work of minority creatives, “what purpose [do they] serve?”
Stepping away from Beyoncé and the Grammys for a second, and taking Paul’s query seriously, what might it mean for both viewers and artists if award shows continue to shut out work that shines a spotlight on minority experiences and culture? Having received pushback from both creatives within and fans outside of these institutions, what if they continue to do nothing? Many have already spoken about the “death of the award show” as they continue to fall out of prominence and increasingly out of touch with general audiences, but what if creatives simply refuse to submit their work—like The Weeknd, Drake, and Jay Z have done in the past? Would it be such a bad thing if we allowed these institutions to die if it meant the potential for minority creatives and stories to achieve the recognition they deserve? Because ultimately, these institutions are not really saying that Harry Styles is better than Beyoncé; instead, they suggest that the Black and queer voices, histories, and identities represented within “Renaissance” are not worth celebrating or uplifting.
In conclusion, again returning to Kaitlyn McNab’s article for Teen Vogue, “The 2023 Album of the Year decision [holds] less significance for Beyoncé and more for the Grammys. The choice will undoubtedly signal a shift for the Recording Academy, either towards change…or obsoletion.” Now a week after the 2023 Grammys, the Recording Academy finds itself at the edge of a precipice. Will this be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and forces them to finally reconsider their racist and misogynistic practices, or is this the year that the Grammys become obsolete? The ball’s in your court, Recording Academy.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.