Mackenzie Pagels ‘21, Student Life Editor
January 2020 applauded the biggest upcoming artists over the past few years at the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards, hosted by Alicia Keys in Los Angeles, California. The GRAMMY Awards are presented by The Recording Academy to recognize achievements in the music industry. The GRAMMYs invited many artists who were nominated for an award relating to their music. Many dedicated singers and songwriters had the opportunity to perform live at the event like Lizzo, The Jonas Brothers, and many more before the awards were announced. Although many of them received some type of award or recognition, there were some that were more deserved than others.
The alternative singer/songwriter Billie Eilish was nominated for six GRAMMYs and won five out of the six. Her endowments included Best Album, Best Song, Best New Artist, Best Record, and Best Pop Vocal Album. Eilish started her music career in 2015 at the young age of 14 years old. Her much deserved awards make up for all of her hard work and progress throughout her growing career. Junior Rhiannon Pies said, “Billie Eilish is one of the biggest and youngest artists to win such a big amount of awards and acknowledgements, and she definitely deserves them.” Not long after her honors at the GRAMMYs, Eilish was presented with the opportunity to be on the cover of Vogue magazine for her many accomplishments at such a young age, and she is still only 18.
The winner for best rap album of 2019 was given to Tyler, The Creator for his album, IGOR. His album represented the ups and downs in his life while trying to maintain a relationship, as well as a positive atmosphere for himself. His songs discussed the pain and grief he had felt along the path in his journey that was this album. Tyler much deserved his acknowledgements due to his amazing songwriting and presentation of his 2019 album. Other nominees for the best rap album included Championships by Meek Mill and I am > I was by 21 Savage.
Although Anderson. Paak’s song, “Come Home” featuring Andre 300 won best R&B performance, there were others that may have deserved more spotlight. Anderson. Paak is a very talented artist; however, the R&B song did not meet the criteria of an award-winning piece. One artist’s song who may have deserved this GRAMMY is Bryson Tiller’s song “Could’ve Been”, featuring H.E.R. The song showcases a soft tone with dynamic juxtaposition between a male and female voice.
The 2020 GRAMMY awards showcased many talented artists, in which some earned the spotlight of awards and performances. These are only a few of many awards given at the GRAMMYs that may have been worth the recognition or not. Although some awards were highly deserved more than others, each and every artist at the awards highlight great talent as a successful singer or songwriter.
Photo courtesy of grammy.com
Lyon Life 