Last year, white rock singer Beck took home the Grammy for Album of the Year over Pharrell Williams, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, and, most notably, Beyoncé. The lowest-selling Album of the Year in history, Beck’s Morning Phase was chosen as the winner based on what the recording academy describes as “artistic merit.” While the multi-instrumentalist certainly deserved recognition for his work on Morning Phase, his album doesn’t quite fit the bill of what an Album of the Year is meant to be. The Album of the Year category is meant to recognize innovation, artistry, the ability to change people’s perspectives with the power of music. While Beck indisputedly showcased his ability for innovation and artistry, his album did nothing to start national conversation. No changes in popular or political culture were made as a result of Morning Phase. Despite her unprecedented, groundbreaking album rollout and sonically ambitious output, Beyoncé’s self-titled LP was not regarded highly enough by the academy to get the win. The strong influence Beyoncé’s surprise album had on not only the music industry, but also on America’s relationship with feminism and racism, went unrecognized. Beyoncé’s album undoubtedly sold more copies than Morning Phase and had a much greater social influence, but its popularity and trend-setting tendencies evidently weren’t enough to attain the coveted Album of the Year title.
Fast-forward to the 2016 Grammy Awards, where Taylor Swift’s 1989 beat out Kendrick Lamar’s critically acclaimed masterpiece To Pimp a Butterfly. To say that Taylor Swift won against Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd, Alabama Shakes, and Chris Stapleton on the basis of “artistic merit” would be absolutely ludicrous. Unlike Beck’s Morning Phase, 1989 was an incredibly successful album commercially. The only avenue in which Swift’s album outshines those of her competitors is in commercial appeal; lyrically, sonically, and conceptually, 1989 is far less innovative than the other nominated albums. To compare To Pimp a Butterfly and 1989 is essentially to compare a thoughtfully-constructed thesis paper about American racial tensions to a privileged teenage girl’s diary. While Kendrick Lamar’s album sparked national conversation about racism, classism, and injustice, Taylor’s only incited gossip about which ex-boyfriends she was writing about on any given track. Kendrick’s powerful poetry poked nerves, brought up important issues and provided a voice to the voiceless. His album was also incredibly progressive in its musicality, popularizing jazz in hip hop and moving the focus away from the generic, Bay Area-inspired soundscapes that dominated hip hop radio in 2014. In terms of artistry, innovation, and the ability to change people’s perspectives, To Pimp a Butterfly fits the bill far more closely than 1989.
If commercial success wasn’t a significant factor for Beyoncé in 2015, why was it the deciding one for Taylor Swift in 2016? To the Recording Academy, it’s not the quality or social impact of the music that is of concern, but rather the artist who delivers the music.
