Taylor Swift’s Win Shows the Grammys Playing the Same Old Tune
Voters still seem remarkably and sadly uneasy about awarding rap and hip-hop in the top categories
Steve Pond | February 15, 2016 @ 8:59 PM
Last Updated: February 16, 2016 @ 11:12 AM
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It’s hardly Taylor Swift‘s fault, but her win for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards might have deserved another one of those “Imma let you finish” onstage interruptions.
Swift’s “1989,” after all, was a fine album and a huge hit, an impressive work by a 26-year-old who is now the first woman to win the Album of the Year Grammy twice. But in a year marked by cries for more diversity in the entertainment industry — and specifically in entertainment awards — it happened to beat Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly,” a landmark recording by any measure.
And so, just as she was at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, when Kayne West interrupted her acceptance speech after her “You Belong With Me” video beat Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” video, Swift is once again the safe white artist who beat the more challenging, more celebrated black artist.
She’s been here before at the Grammys, particularly in 2010 when her first Album of the Year win came at the expense of Beyonce, among others.
And that difference was displayed starkly in their Grammy-show performances — Swift’s skilled but fairly routine, Lamar’s bold and incendiary.
Judging by the beeline Swift made for Lamar after she won, it’s easy to imagine that she felt a little bad about the win, too, though the message of female empowerment she delivered in her acceptance speech made the best of her moment.
She doesn’t deserve scorn for making a strong album that connected with the voters, just as she didn’t deserve the crude Kayne West lyrics that she may have indirectly mentioned in her speech. But those voters do deserve some skeptical questions about why they keep playing the same old song in the Grammys’ marquee category, whose only hip-hop winner ever was OutKast’s “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” in 2004.
This being the Grammys, though, diversity is a given. So even though the voters still seem remarkably and sadly uneasy about awarding rap and hip-hop in the top categories, they did give the Record of the Year award to “Uptown Funk,” Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ slice of multi-racial, hip-hop inflected R&B that proved too irresistible to ignore.
The “Uptown Funk” win was another loss for Lamar, who had to settle for sweeping all four rap categories and delivering what was clearly the performance of the night.
Overall, it was a Grammy show that offered few if any surprises. “Hamilton” won for musical show, Alabama Shakes won in the rock and alternative categories, Swift and “Uptown Funk” won in the pop categories, D’Angelo and the Weeknd won in R&B, Chris Stapleton and “Girl Crush” won in country, and so on – including, in the kind of juxtaposition you can only find at the Grammys, former President Jimmy Carter defeating punk icon Patti Smith in the Best Spoken Word Album category.
Ed Sheeran’s Song of the Year victory for “Thinking Out Loud” may have been a slight surprise in a field that also included Swift’s “Blank Space” and Lamar’s “Alright,” but it demonstrated that voters still go for traditional songcraft in the category.
And in the Best New Artist category, Meghan Trainor wasn’t the odds-on favorite to win – but that category is always a confusing one, and Trainor is the best-known of the nominees to Grammy voters, who nominated her song “All About the Bass” for Record of the Year and Song of the Year last year.
(How exactly that leaves her qualified for the Best New Artist category this year is best left to the often quirky Grammy rules-keepers.)
But maybe griping about or charting wins and losses is beside the point at the Grammys, because it’s certainly beside the point to the Grammy show. With 75 of the 83 categories handed out before the telecast even began, viewers who weren’t streaming the pre-show all afternoon missed Sheeran and Justin Bieber winning their first Grammys, John Legend winning his 10th and Tony Bennett winning his 18th.
And the show itself, as it has been for years, was a big concert briefly interrupted by awards. (An average of one every 26 minutes, if you were keeping track.)
The Grammys’ water-cooler moments are always the performances, not the acceptance speeches; when it comes to the telecast, those envelopes are little but a distraction from the true business of staging elaborate production numbers, reaching for dazzling moments and, oh yeah, promoting new music.
The bottom line is that on Monday the Grammys found room to celebrate African diva Angelique Kidjo, banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck, bluesmaster Buddy Guy, ace songwriter Jason Isbell, Latin icon Ruben Blades, legendary gospel group the Fairfield Four, jazz bassist Christian McBride, arranger Maria Schneider, “Birdman” composer Antonio Sanchez, contemporary classical composer Stephen Paulus, Bob Dylan‘s deluxe “Basement Tapes” box set, a monumental collection from the jazz and blues Paramount Records label, and lots more that were eminently deserving.
And then, when the cameras were on, the voters once again grew more timid and conservative than they should be. And even Taylor Swift probably knows that.
Grammys Musical Performances, Ranked: From Kendrick Lamar to Taylor Swift (Photos)
1. Kendrick Lamar After LL Cool J promised his performance would be "very controversial" Kendrick Lamar walked out as part of a chain gang to perform "The Blacker The Berry," surrounded by flames, dancers, and prison cells. It was the most political and powerful moment of the night.
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2. Lionel Richie tribute: John Legend had the audience swooning as he kicked off the star-studded tribute to Lionel Richie with "Easy" by Richie's group The Commodores. Demi Lovato then took the stage with a fantastic rendition of Richie's "Hello;" next was Luke Bryan's turn with "Penny Lover." Meghan Trainor shined with "You Are the Sun," Tyrese Gibson rocked "Brick House" like nobody's business, and finally, a visibly touched Richie took the stage to sing "All Night Long" and bring down the house.
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3. Little Big Town: Little Big Town reminds us that country music is all about talent and class. Surrounded by string instruments on stage, the group sang their hit "Girl Crush" and there was nothing little about this performance.
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4. Lady Gaga: The singer delivered a show-stopping tribute to music legend David Bowie, ripping through a string of songs by the legend, who died in January at age 69. The performance began with the image of Gaga’s face painted with Bowie’s iconic Ziggy Stardust makeup .
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5. Andra Day and Ellie Goulding: The pair complimented each other perfectly in a mashup of Day's "Rise Up and Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do." The vocals soared way above the formidable theatrics.
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6. The Weeknd: It was a big night for The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye. The singer, who is known for extreme stage fright, managed to pull off a strong performance with a mashup of his songs "In the Night" and "Can't Feel My Face."
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7. Chris Stapleton and Gary Clark Jr. These two brought a raw blues sound to the Grammys stage with a tribute to the late great BB King. The duo was joined onstage by Bonnie Raitt, who introduced the tribute to the legendary guitarist who passed away on May 14, 2015.
8. Miguel: Miguel paid tribute to the late Michael Jackson, performing one of the King of Pop's most popular tunes, "She's Out Of My Life."
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9. "Hamilton": The cast of "Hamilton" performed “Alexander Hamilton." The performance took place at the Richards Rodgers Theatre in New York City, and broadcast in the Staples Center via satellite. The performance rocked but it was Lin-Manuel Miranda's rap-themed acceptance speech for winning for Best Musical Theater Album that had everyone talking.
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10. Glenn Frey tribute: The Eagles' Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, guitarist Joe Walsh, bassist Tim Schmit and Jackson Browne had the house cheering with their performance of "Take It Easy" in honor of Glenn Frey, who died last month.
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11. Taylor Swift: We expected more from Taylor Swift. The pop singer kicked off the 58th Grammy Awards with a performance of "Out of the Woods." She pulled off the glittering jumpsuit, but as any "Swiftie" will tell you, she can do more ... a lot more.
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12. Adele: We adore Adele. She can do no wrong by us, but this wasn't her best night. There seemed to be too much reverb during her "All I Ask" performance. Still, if you like big powerful ballads, this performance was for you.
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13. Pitbull Pitbull closed out the awards ceremony with an upbeat, rhythm-happy performance. Of course, he had ample assistance in the form of "Blurred Lines" singer Robin Thicke, drummer Travis Barker ... and "Modern Family" star Sofia Vergara, dressed as a taxi. Hail, yeah.
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14. Justin Bieber: Beliebers aren't going to like this but Justin Bieber, Skrillex and Diplo turned in a suitable but ultimately forgettable performance of their Grammy-winning song "Where Are U Now?" The group also performed the new Bieber song "Love Yourself" off of his album "Purpose."
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15. Alabama Shakes: Lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard put on a powerfully aching performance of the group's “Don’t Wanna Fight.” The band had another good moment when it took home its first Grammy ever for best rock song and best rock performance.
16. James Bay and Tori Kelly: The singers got to show their stuff as they performed a medley which included Bay's "Let It Go" and Kelly's "Hollow."
17. Carrie Underwood and Sam Hunt: This pair's performance had the looks, but the sound wasn't there. Underwood and Hunt sang a duet of his "Take Your Time" and her "Heartbeat," but even though people seemed to like their performance, there were some serious sound issues.
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18. Stevie Wonder and Pentatonix: They performed a touching tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire's Maurice White, who died earlier this month. Wonder and the a cappella group performed "That's the Way of the World." We have any complaints, but they didn't blow our minds.
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19. Joey Alexander: The 12-year-old pianist protege showed off his mad skills in a short but uber sweet performance. Alexander, who got a standing ovation, is the sixth youngest person to get a Grammy nod.
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20. Hollywood Vampires: A supergroup featuring Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp and Duff McKagan, tore through a powerful if somewhat ramshackle tribute to Motorhead bassist Lemmy Kilmister, who died Dec. 28 at age 70. The group's tribute included Kilmister's signature song "Ace of Spades."
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Top performers include Lionel Richie, Little Big Town, Lady Gaga, Andra Day, Ellie Goulding, The Weeknd and the cast of “Hamilton”
1. Kendrick Lamar After LL Cool J promised his performance would be "very controversial" Kendrick Lamar walked out as part of a chain gang to perform "The Blacker The Berry," surrounded by flames, dancers, and prison cells. It was the most political and powerful moment of the night.