The 66th annual Grammy Awards Ceremony took place on February 4, 2024, where nominated music artists and albums were recognized for their great, exceptional accomplishments in the music industry. These achievement awards are presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to artists in multiple genres such as pop, rap, rock, R&B, country, reggae, classical, gospel, and jazz. Although there were many famous and notable artists who attended the annual Grammy Awards, Taylor Swift and Lana del Rey had caught many viewers attention after Taylor Swift took home the “Album of the Year” over Lana del Rey.
Both artists have accomplished very much in regards to music/album awards, however, only one nominee was selected for the well-known and celebrated golden-gramophone trophy. Taylor Swift and Lana del Rey were nominated and placed in the Album Of The Year category at the 2024 Grammys. They were up and running against other well-known and high achieving albums from artists such as Jon Batiste, boygenius, Miley Cyrus, Janelle Monáe, Olivia Rodrigo, and SZA. Lana del Rey was also nominated in five different categories, but had unfortunately left the event with no Grammys. Ultimately, Taylor Swift had brought home the win for her Midnights album, marking her the first and only person to ever win the Album of the Year four times ( Fearless, 1989, Folklore were the previous wins).
Many true and die-hard fans of Lana del Rey were upset by this outcome and had proceeded to criticize the award selection methods. As Taylor Swift was announced as the winner, she abruptly began to pull Lana del Rey onto stage with her to receive the award. Fans had criticized this move and spoke out on how it seemed as if Lana del Rey was “forced” to the stage by Taylor Swift and “clearly” did not want to go. Furthermore, many viewers had declared that this action was “humiliating” Lana del Rey after losing to Taylor Swift, and spoke how upset and uncomfortable Lana del Rey had looked during this moment. However, a few days following after the Grammys award, Lana del Rey had spoke out against these claims and stated ” I literally did not feel 1 ounce of negative emotion at any point in that award ceremony. It was pure funniness and laughter.” This defending of Taylor Swift’s behavior at the Grammys had calmed a few angry fans, but it had overall pinned her as acting “ungrateful” and “rude” at this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony. Was the reaction of Taylor Swift justified or simply over exaggerated by the criticism and opinions of viewers? It may seem so, but at the end of the day, all music artists or simply anyone involved in that industry will always be frowned upon for even the smallest action.
