For most, the Grammys are more than just an Award Show. The Grammys can be seen as a reflection of our culture. However, culture is a vast blend, and with that comes differing opinions. How do our Raiders feel about this year’s Grammys awards?
There is no doubt about it, one of the most well-received and arguably well-deserved grammy winners this year was Doechii’s breakout album of 2024 “Alligator Bites Never Heal” for best rap album. This win was very well reaccepted by the Raiders: “I thought that was probably the most valid Grammy win to be honest” said junior Ella Fialdini.. “I think it’s well deserved,” added junior Kai Schrepfer.
As far as junior Raider Caleb Mercier is concerned, the only competition that would come close was ‘We Don’t Trust You’ by Future and Metro Boomin- “The other contenders were not really that great.”said Mercier,“Have no doubt it must be a good album but I’m kind of surprised “We Don’t Trust You” didn’t win”. This take is not controversial at all – it seems to follow a similar consensus seen on social media stating, ‘We Don’t Trust You’ by Future and Metro Boomin and ‘Might Delete Later’ by J Cole as the only worthy competition.
A mildly controversial Grammy award winner this year was Beyonce’s debut country album ‘Cowboy Carter’ for best album. Although there is no doubt the album was great and well received, there were some questions when compared to other nominees in the category.
The comparison comes in, specifically with ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ by Billie Eilish after Eilish’s album broke the record for most streams globally within a week of release. After being asked his opinion on the controversy of whether Eilish was snubbed, Mercier said “Even if she didn’t win one of the big awards, like best album, I still think she should’ve won one”. Senior Sylvia Larose states “I think that one of her other albums in previous years should’ve won a Grammy, not Cowboy Carter, but I am also super biased cause I love Billie.” It seems the controversy has much less to do with ‘Cowboy Carter’ as an album itself and much more to do with the overwhelming public reception of ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft.’
Lastly the most controversial multi-grammy winner was ‘Not Like Us’ by Kendrick Lamar, sweeping Best Record, Best Song, Best Music Video, and Best Rap Performance. The main controversy behind the “Not Like Us” Grammy success was firstly, being diss track on Drake’s odd behaviors, and secondly being overhyped. While some argue a diss track shouldn’t win a Grammy and the success was blown out of proportion, others argue that a diss can result in some of the most creative song writing and it’s popular for a reason.It seems that the Raiders disagree with the Grammy success of “Not Like Us”. “There’s so many songs out there with a ton of effort put into it and “Not Like Us” was made really quickly” says Mercier “very good but it’s just calling Drake a weirdo for 4 minutes” Others share this sentiment, with Fialdini stating “Overhyped… I’ve never used the Grammys as a way to see who had good songs or is a good artist”.
“I feel like that makes sense for the most part… I think the music video and song sound fair.” says Schrepfer, when asked his opinion on the success of this song. As far as the Raiders are generally concerned “Not Like Us” is overhyped.
Either way, the undeniable success of ‘Not Like Us’ has some tremendous influence to display, whether it is deemed controversial or not. This is very apparent in its popularity and Grammy This inside scoop hopefully provides some valuable insight on Hale culture in relation to music, media, and the Grammys. The Raider opinions on this year’s awards are a demonstration of the values held by many students, and the dedication, effort, and the hard work put in by numerous artists this year.