Ironically, I said most of what I want to about this show last year in “The Grammys: Not Only Irrelevant but Rigged?” January 26, 2020.
Therefore, I will only add this:
The Weeknd’s boycott might seem like the “temper tantrum” of a sore loser. Except that former Grammy chief Deborah Dugan let the cat out of the bag last year. She was all over TV decrying how she was ousted for trying to reform the Grammy’s rigged voting system. So one can hardly blame Kanye West, Zayn Malik, Nicki Minaj, and others for “crying foul” for being snubbed.
Drake was right when he said it was stupid for artists to covet awards from industry suits – most of whom don’t know sh*t about their art. The music, sales, and fame – all of which are more objective measures of fan appreciation should suffice. Too bad he said that while showing that he was still as eager to get a Grammy as, well, The Weeknd.
Of course, Jay-Z famously boycotted the Grammys for years; that is, until he earned enough dough and clout to get a seat at the boardroom rigging table. And the rest is the kind of awards history his family made tonight – with Beyoncé becoming the most awarded singer (male or female) with 28, Jay-Z adding to his haul now at 23, and their nine-year-old daughter Blue Ivy beginning hers with a Grammy too.
And so I say to The Weeknd, that could be you in a few years. You just need to hook up with the right music moguls and tech entrepreneurs to help you transition from being a music businessman to being a business, man! But, as Don King says, only in America, folks!
Anyway, the Grammys’ ratings have been falling each year for good reason. No doubt this is why tonight’s telecast played out more like a professional version of American Idol than previous shows. Live performances by the Black Pumas, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak (aka Silk Sonic with their deft old-school, Temptations vibe) and a couple of others made the show. Hell, at times it was easy to forget I was watching an awards show.
Oh, and all this despite Trevor Noah’s yeoman attempts at comic relief.
So, if you tuned in only for the music, cool. But two hours were enough for me. In fact, it seemed a fitting point to tune out after that brilliant tribute to music stars who died last year, which featured the princely-talented Bruno Mars and Lionel Ritchie. Great touch!
Related commentaries:
Grammys…
* This commentary was originally published yesterday, Sunday, at 10:23 p.m.