The Grammys Were Different This Year: How New Changes Could Mark a New Era for the Recording Academy
When an ad break during the Grammys announced a surprise performance, it was unimaginable who it could be. In November 2020, the Recording Academy announced the nominations for the 2021 Grammys. However, notably missing from every category was a nomination for The Weeknd’s fourth studio album, After Hours. Undoubtedly, the album was one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums of the pandemic. It was expected the album would sweep in nominations. In response to the major snub, he tweeted “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency.” If people hadn’t known about Grammy scandals before, this would be one of the most glaring incidents that cemented the Recording Academy’s place in a negative light in cultural discourse at the beginnings of the 2020s.
The Recording Academy was barely recovering from a scandal earlier in the year. In March 2020, the Academy’s first female president and CEO, Deborah Dugan, was fired after being placed on administrative leave in January 2020. Dugan filed a complaint against the Recording Academy with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In her complaint, she alleged that her firing and time leading the Academy included “gender discrimination, unlawful retaliation and unequal pay.” The firing of Dugan would reveal an environment of harassment and misogyny at the Academy, and something critical about the Grammy voting process that artists had called out for years: conflict of interest between voters and nominees and other voting irregularities. All coming on the heels of former Recording Academy CEO and President, Neil Portnow, saying that women needed “to step up” to receive more Grammy recognition, which had led to a task force headed by Tina Tchen–Michelle Obama’s chief of staff–to recommend how the Academy could be diversified.
The years of criticizing the Grammys for their lack of representation of various artists and cultures came to a head in the 2020s. Traditionally, the Grammys is a predominantly white institution that upholds music values that prioritizes music closer to traditional styles of music, which has excluded non-white artists or music artists who don’t embody those values. In March 2021, Zayn Malik called out how the Recording Academy’s anonymous voting bodies created a “lack of transparency in the nomination process,” cultivated an environment of racism and music politics that allowed industry favorites and well-connected people to be nominated and win. By May 2021, the Academy announced they were removing the anonymous voting committees.
In his speech introducing The Weeknd at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, CEO of the Recording Academy, Harvey Mason Jr., made a point to discuss how they have been making changes over the past few years and how these changes have impacted the way they vote and how artists are nominated. Mason explained how the Recording Academy has added 3,000 female members, created an electorate that’s younger than any Grammy voting body has been and a more diverse body that’s now 40% people of color. The statement demonstrated the work taken over the last year to improve the voting process and the show, which included making critical changes to Grammy eligibility criteria and renaming categories. These changes went into effect immediately at the 2025 Grammys. The success and generally positive reviews of this year’s ceremony, awardees and nominees reflect a possible new era for the Grammys.
Recognizing Cultural Impact
The wins prioritized cultural impact over commercial success or traditional styles of music that have excluded artists of color. Traditional styles of music may include conservatory-esque music or classical styles that more often than not are coded as “white.” Rather than awarding progression and innovation, ideas that traditional styles of music are the pinnacle of “good music” punish boundary-pushing creativity and exclude artists of color that do not adhere to traditional music styles.
Not awarding artists based on the impact of their song or album has led to the rightful questioning of the authenticity of the voting and nomination process. It also brought into question the relationship between quality of work and success. While many people turn to streams and sales to determine how successful a body of work is, that is not always representative of its impact. Now with more artists, like The Weeknd, having called out the Grammys, it has forced the Academy to adopt changes that actively recognize deserving artists of color and the impact of their music.
An example of this recognition was Kendrick Lamar winning Song and Record of the Year with a hip-hop song. He became the second hip-hop artist to ever win in either of the categories. Hip-hop has had a tumultuous history with the Grammys. Since being introduced to the award show in 1989, the genre faced periods of not being televised–most recently in 2024–and only two hip-hop albums have won Album of the Year despite several culturally-impactful albums like The Score, The College Dropout and To Pimp a Butterfly being nominated (all of Lamar’s albums have received Album of the Year nominations). For hip-hop to win two general field categories is a significant step for the genre’s recognition at the Grammys. “Not Like Us” details hip-hop history, calls out its appropriation and is deeply rooted in a West Coast hip-hop tradition. For a song speaking to the Black community and reinstating hip-hop’s roots to win reflects the cultural significance hip-hop has brought to music and society since its inception.
Grammy Darlings Not Awarded
Going hand-in-hand with prioritizing cultural impact over commercial success and traditional styles, not awarding the Grammy darlings showed a changing of the guard in regards to a hierarchy of favoritism. Favoritism has given some artists more opportunities to be nominated and win merely because portions of the Grammy voters like them rather than on the merits of their work. The prevalence of favoritism has been long recognized–though not seen favorably–as many critics include a musician’s status as a Grammy darling in their evaluations of a nominee’s potential to win. However, this year’s awardees displayed otherwise.
Taylor Swift has won Album of the Year four times, including for Midnights, an album that received mixed reviews from critics. But, it’s release as Swift geared up for her Eras tour coincided with a monumental tour and year for music and Swift. Ultimately, this would aid in her win. This year, Swift was nominated for Album of the Year again and in all the song categories for the general field for The Tortured Poets Department, an album that received mostly negative reviews from critics. However, Swift’s status as a Grammy Darling, who does get awarded when she’s nominated, and her commercial success still made her a viable option for winning–even though people didn’t think she deserved to win. Worries about her winning were ultimately quelled when she left the award show empty-handed.
Another Grammy Darling, Billie Eilish, was a major frontrunner for Song of the Year for “Birds of a Feather” and Album of the Year for her most recent album, Hit Me Hard and Soft. With her debut album, Eilish swept the general field becoming the youngest Album of the Year winner and won Song of the Year again in 2024 for “What Was I Made For?” Though Eilish wasn’t in the same position as Swift, Eilish had received critical acclaim for her recent album and “Birds of a Feather” was a summer anthem. Critics believed one of the reasons why she could win Song of the Year and Album of the Year was because the Recording Academy liked Eilish’s music style. Eilish evokes a traditional pop vocal performance with her soft airy soprano voice. However, despite having support from critics, Eilish also left the award ceremony empty-handed.
Making History, Breaking Boundaries: Black Women
Doechii became the second solo female artist to win Best Rap Album since the introduction of the category in 1996. In a significant moment, it was Cardi B–the first female solo artist to win the category–who presented the award to Doechii. Doechii had a breakout year and a unique approach to hip-hop lyricism and performance that allowed her to stand out.
This year, Beyoncé won Album of the Year and it speaks to the award being about more than just streams and sales. She highlighted the rightful Black roots of country music and re-asserted Black voices into the genre, platforming Black country musicians. Her win was historic not just for her own career, but her win made her the first Black woman to win Album of the Year in the 21st century since Lauryn Hill’s win in 1999.
Engaging Performances
Beyond changes in awardees, the Grammys changed in the creativity of their performances. In 2019, Ariana Grande pulled out of performing at that year’s Grammys due to creative differences. Ken Ehrlich, who was the executive producer of the Grammys at the time, unfairly claimed that Grande was struggling to put together a performance for the award show. This prompted a response from Grande who said, “it was when my creativity and self expression was stifled by you, that I decided not to attend.” She also expressed that the Grammys ruled against the three songs she proposed to perform and felt that there was lack of support for her art and a lack of honesty.
This year, performances from Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Doechii allowed the artists to show up on stage as authentically as they wanted to. Roan’s performance of “Pink Pony Club” was an ode to the LGBTQ+ community. Her song choice was viewed by many as a powerful choice given the heavy political climate of the country. She specifically had her dancers dressed as clowns, a pushback on a homophobic comment she heard growing up in Missouri. Her colorful performance left everyone in high spirits as she rocked out to her song on stage. Carpenter incorporated comedy into her performance as she playfully descended down a set of stairs and then disappeared. Her staged mishaps really brought the audience together as they enjoyed her performances of “Espresso” and “Please Please Please” from her Short n’ Sweet album. Doechii’s performance came with high praise when she performed “Catfish” and “Denial is a River” off of her Alligator Bites Never Heal album. Doechii’s performance incorporated her desire to bring broadway, theater and art to the stage. It was evident through each movement, the outfits that her and the dancers wore, stage lighting and more.
The changes to the 2025 Grammys are a display of a potential new chapter for the music industry. It appears that long-desired changes are slowly being implemented to recognize the works of people of color and judge music on its contents rather than connections and favoritism. In the coming years, let’s hope that the Recording Academy moves forward with a mindset that sees music in its contexts rather than futile monetary value.