The Grammy Awards are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States. According to the Academy, “The mission of the Recording Academy is to recognize excellence in the recording arts and sciences, cultivate the well-being of the music community, and ensure that music remains an indelible part of our culture.” The 2024 Grammy Awards were held on February 4 in Los Angeles, hosted by comedian Trevor Noah.
There were 900 Grammy nominees and 85 awards categories this year. The 2024 Grammys especially highlighted female artists. Women won major awards this year, such as Taylor Swift being awarded the Album of the Year for “Midnights”, Billie Eilish awarded Song of the Year for “What Was I Made For”, Victoria Monet awarded Best New Artist, and Miley Cyrus awarded Record of the Year for “Flowers”.
The Grammys featured outstanding performances. Travis Scott and Playboi Carti performed “F!EN”, Olivia Rodrigo stunned while performing her hit song “Vampire”, Dua Lipa preformed a mashup of her songs, Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs preformed “Fast Car”, SZA with an amazing interpretation of “Kill Bill”, and Billie Eilish with her hit song from Barbie “What Was I Made For”.
There were some controversies at the Grammys this year. Rapper and producer Jay-Z called out the Academy for snubbing Beyoncé. “I don’t want to embarrass this young lady but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year, so even by your own metrics that doesn’t work,” he stated.
But what do non-celebrities and non Academy members think of the Grammy results? Sophomore Fernando Rojas-Quijada said, “Lana Del Rey was robbed for album of the year. When I heard those songs it was like heaven in my ears bro, Taylor Swift did not deserve it.”
There are many controversial opinions about Swift. “Taylor has built up her career through many ups and downs, she is extremely talented and hardworking. She deserves all the awards she has gotten throughout the years,” said Lauren Capone.
There was also some debate regarding the category of Best Rap Song. Drake & 21 Savage, Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice, Lil Uzi Vert, Doja Cat and Killer Mike were all nominated with the winner being Killer Mike for “Scientists and Engineers”. Many students at Hampton Bays High School stated they had never even heard of Killer Mike before this. Killer Mike won a total of 3 Grammys that night, including Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance. He has a lot of popular artists on his winning album, “Michael”. His album features Andre 3000, Future, Young Nudy, Young Thug, and more.
Killer Mike’s elation however was cut short when he was arrested after the Grammys due to an altercation with a security guard according to AP News.
Ultimately, there is always a disagreement and conflict when it comes to who wins at a major awards show, but the 2024 Grammys were great overall and had featured outstanding artists.
