Remember in elementary school when wining an award was one of the best things that could happen to you? Whether it was perfect attendance or improvement awards, it always felt good when they called your name to the stage. Now imagine that feeling multiplied by one hundred accepting an award in front of millions of people instead of just your school. That's how artist feel when they win a Grammy. A Grammy is an award used to recognize outstanding achievements in the music industry. These awards are annual and the more important categories are presented in a widely viewed televised ceremony. The Grammy Awards are the most anticipated shows in a musicians career. But yet they are the most unfair and confusing awards ever which don't really mean anything.
In the past year I've noticed that when it comes to these award shows all that the media cares about is what the artists wear on the red carpet. They don't really focus on the music which this ceremony is “supposedly” based on. When on the red carpet the musicians are mostly asked about their outfit and what designer they're wearing. Unlike other award shows where the winners are voted by the fans the nomination process is very difficult and long. Record companies may submit recordings to be nominated the records are then reviewed and copied and sent to the NARAS(National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences). In order for one to win, the record only needs a few dozen votes. Which is unfair because not many people have a say in who made the best record and deserves to win. Certain artists have voiced personal issues with the Grammys. In 1996, when receiving an award, singer Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam commented “I don't know what this means. I don't think it means anything.” Also Maynard James Kennan of the band Tool did not attend the Grammy ceremony to receive on of their awards and he explain his reasons by saying “I think the Grammys are nothing more than some gigantic promotional machine for the music industry. They cater to a low intellect and they feed the masses. They don't honor the arts or the artist for what he created. It's the music business celebrating itself. That's basically what it's all about.” Even the artists believe that these awards are not focused on this art which is music. On the other hand these awards are very important for many artists and are very anticipated because they can help define their careers.
Winning a Grammy can be a very important thing for a musician because it means their music was voted best out of a lot of other artists. Some artist have won up to five awards or more. There is many categories they could win and the most important are Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, and Record of the Year. To win one of these can be a very valuable thing because it means the artist was outstanding compared to the others. Winning can also get the musician more publicity because now everyone is going to want to a listen to an award winner's music. Interviews and press conferences are going to be offered to the artist to discuss the award and how it felt to win. But yet once asked about the feeling of winning the question “Who are you wearing?” always comes up. And the music which is the main topic is now forgotten.
No comments:
Post a Comment