Could winning at the Grammys register as a loss for Taylor Swift?
Last summer the pop superstar suffered a rare defeat when she got into it with Nicki Minaj on Twitter.
You remember this. After not being nominated for video of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards, Minaj plainly described what she viewed as a kind of institutional bias. “If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies,” she tweeted, “you will be nominated for vid of the year.”
That’s when Swift, whose “Bad Blood” video features many such bodies (and earned just such a nomination), sensed bait in the water and told Minaj she’s “done nothing but love & support you” and that maybe “one of the men took your slot.” Minaj responded by saying she hadn’t been aiming for Swift -- her target was an industry that consistently rewards one group over another.
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Click through the gallery to see some of the top Grammys 2016 winners and nominees including Taylor Swift, the Weeknd and Ed Sheeran. Make sure to check out The Times’ complete Grammys coverage.
(From left: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times; Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times; Matt Sayles / Invision / AP)
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WINNER: Album of the year, pop vocal album and music video; NOMINATED: Record of the year, song of the year, pop solo performance, pop duo/group performance.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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WINNER: Record of the year and Pop duo/group performance; NOMINATIONS: Pop vocal album
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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WINNER: Best New Artist
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
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WINNER: Rock song, rock performance and alternative music album; NOMINATIONS: Album of the year.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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WINNER: Song of the year and pop solo performance. NOMINATIONS: Record of the year, album of the year.
(Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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WINNER: rap album, rap performance, rap song, rap/sung collaboration, and music video; NOMINATED: album of the year, song of the year.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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WINNER: R&B performance, urban contemporary album; NOMINATIONS: Record of the year, album of the year, pop solo performance, R&B song, and song written for visual media.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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WINNER: R&B song and R&B album; NOMINATIONS: Record of the year.
(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
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WINNER: Country solo performance, country album; NOMINATIONS: Album of the year, country song.
(Jenna Schoenefeld / For The Times)
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NOMINATIONS: Rap performance, rap/sung collaboration, rap song and rap album
(Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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NOMINATIONS: Pop duo/group performance, pop vocal album, rock performance and rock song
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Nominations: Rap performance, rap/sung collaboration and rap album
(Christopher Polk / Getty Images for A+E Networks)
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WINNER: Country duo/group performance; NOMINATIONS: Country album.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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NOMINATIONS: New artist and country album
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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NOMINATIONS: R&B performance and R&B album
(Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
It got worse, with Swift eventually encouraging Minaj to join her at the podium if she won. “You’re invited to any stage I’m ever on,” Swift wrote.
Now Swift is poised to revive the issue at Monday’s Grammy Awards, where she’s nominated for seven prizes, including the prestigious album of the year for “1989.”
A true-blue blockbuster that’s sold more than 5 million copies and spawned a string of radio hits, “1989” is widely tipped as the favorite in that category, which also includes the Weeknd’s “Beauty Behind the Madness,” Chris Stapleton’s “Traveller,” the Alabama Shakes’ “Sound & Color” and most significantly, “To Pimp a Butterfly,” the searing, proudly African American masterpiece by the Los Angeles rapper Kendrick Lamar.
But a not-so-funny thing happened on the way to Swift’s fait accompli: The nominations for the Academy Awards were announced, and for the second year in a row, not a single person of color made it into the four acting categories. The outcome led to a quick resurgence of 2015’s #OscarsSoWhite protest online and to widespread hand-wringing over how the entertainment industry is stifling diversity in its ranks.
As a result, Taylor Swift finds herself in a tough spot, at least as far as the optics are concerned. If she wins Monday -- which is to say, if she beats Lamar -- she risks being seen as a happy beneficiary (or perhaps even an agent) of show-biz prejudice, a critique that likely still haunts her after the episode with Nicki Minaj.
The situation invokes what we might call the Kanye corollary after the rapper’s infamous outburst at the 2009 VMAs, in which he interrupted an acceptance speech by Swift to announce that Beyoncé had been robbed. (The conflict between the two artists resurfaced again online Friday in the wake of Kanye’s reference to Swift in a less-than-flattering lyric on his upcoming album.)
Because awards tell us which works of art matter in a given year, Kanye West’s thinking goes, they should recognize the works of art that are important. “I just would like for the statistics to be more accurate,” he told the New York Times in 2013.
That belief is presumably what led West to another awards-show interruption at last year’s Grammys, when he leaped onstage during Beck’s acceptance of his album of the year award (for “Morning Phase,” which beat Beyoncé’s self-titled album.)
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Taylor Swfit has risen from country singer/songwriter to pop princess. Here’s a look at her in concert.
(Jun Sato / Getty Images)
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Taylor Swift took over the Staples Center before a sold-out crowd, performing hit after hit, with special guests who included L.A. Laker Kobe Bryant and “Orange Is the New Black’s” Uzo Aduba.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Taylor Swift adds sparkle to the stage as she performs at Louisiana State’s Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., on May 22. She’s making the rounds with her 1989 World Tour.
(Christopher Polk / Getty Images for TAS)
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Taylor Swift lifts her hand in the air at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, on June 2015.
(Ross Gilmore / Getty Images for TAS)
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Upon her arrival to Tokyo in May 2015, Taylor Swift literally stopped air traffic. Here, she busts a move onstage as part of her “1989” world tour at the Tokyo Dome.
(Jun Sato / Getty Images for TS)
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At the iHeartRadio Music Awards in March 2015, Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance when she joined Madonna onstage for a performance of “Rebel Heart.” It was quite the collaboration.
(Kevin Winter / Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
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Taylor Swift strikes a pose amid a confetti rush during the Brit Awards in London in February 2015. (Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images)
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Taylor Swift joined Kenney Chesney onstage during his Big Revival tour kick-off for a 55-show run. It was at this concert that Swift was spotted in the arms of musician Calvin Harris, sparking rumors the two were dating.
(Rick Diamond / Getty Images for Kenny Chesney)
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Taylor Swift gets cute for the screaming fans in a stylish two-piece tartan plaid outfit for the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball in December 2014 in New York. (Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
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Taylor Swift takes a moment to breathe during KIIS-FM’s Jingle Ball concert at Staples Center in Los Angeles in December 2014. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Taylor Swift hits a high note at the 2014 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in London. It was Swift’s second time performing at the lingerie extravaganza. (Joel Ryan / Invision / Associated Press)
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For her second performance of the night at the 2014 Victoria’s Secret Fashion show, Taylor Swift changed into a black lace number. She jammed with the models, including Brazilian model Alessandra Ambrosio, pictured. (Leon Neal / AFP/Getty Images)
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Taylor Swift performs “Blank Space” at the American Music Awards at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles in November 2014. Swift took home the Dick Clark Award for Excellence. (Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
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Taylor Swift belts out a tune onstage during the We Can Survive event at the Hollywood Bowl in October 2014. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images for CBS Radio Inc.)
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Taylor Swift hits all the right notes onstage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in September 2014. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
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Taylor Swift performs a rendition of her hit single “Shake It Off” at the MTV Video Music Awards in August 2014. (Matt Sayles / Invision / AP )
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Taylor Swift delivers her song “All Too Well” while playing the piano at the Grammy Awards in January 2014. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Taylor Swift strikes a pose during the first of four sold-out shows at the Staples Center in August 2013. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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Taylor Swift dons an outfit splattered with the British flag during the 2013 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show at the Lexington Armory. (Jason Szenes / EPA)
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Taylor Swift puts on a performance replete with circus-like shenanigans at the Grammy Awards in February 2013. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Taylor Swift lifts her arms mid-performance at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, in December 2013. (Scott Barbour / Getty Images)
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Joined by a bluegrass band, Taylor Swift sings her single “Mean” at the Grammy Awards in February 2012. She took home the awards for country song and country performance that year. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Taylor Swift engages the camera-holding audience during the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in September 2012. (Kevin Mazur / WireImage / Getty Images)
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Taylor Swift at KIIS’ Jingle Ball in December 2012. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Taylor Swift shimmies in her frock at Staples Center in August 2011. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Taylor Swift at Staples Center in April 2010. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Taylor Swift at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s “All for the Hall” concert benefit in September 2010. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Beck’s victory was less a product of any structural racism within the Recording Academy than of the organization’s commitment to old-fashioned craftsmanship.
“Morning Phase” won for the same reasons that Herbie Hancock’s “River: The Joni Letters” and Steely Dan’s “Two Against Nature” did in previous Grammy Awards: for finely wrought arrangements, exceptional playing and the kind of careful engineering that promotes further employment of recording professionals.
But there’s really no way to argue that Beck’s very thoughtful, very beautiful album made a more significant impact on pop culture than Beyoncé’s, the latter of which reset long-held ideas about what black pop sounds like and -- thanks to the album’s surprise release -- how music should enter the marketplace in the digital age.
You could tell that Beck kind of knew it too from the way he half-apologized for being called onstage; at one point, he even encouraged West to come forward.
Swift, in contrast, needn’t say she’s sorry if “1989” is named album of the year. As impressive creatively as it was commercially, Swift’s record moved the cultural needle in lots of different ways, from its canny recycling of various ’80s-pop textures to its shrewd observations on modern celebrity. The album mattered, even by Kanye West’s standards.
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Yet its coronation at the expense of “To Pimp a Butterfly” raises the question of whether the Grammys -- whether all awards shows -- are adequately equipped to recognize artistic achievement that falls outside a narrowly defined lane.
Not unlike “Straight Outta Compton,” Lamar’s album documents the complexity of black life on its own terms. It’s not attempting to translate an experience for the understanding of a disinterested audience.
And, sure, “To Pimp a Butterfly” was recognized as a contender for album of the year, which reflects its esteem among Recording Academy members. Lamar leads this year’s Grammy field with 11 nominations -- one short of tying Michael Jackson’s record. But to the extent that a trophy has any meaning, it’s actually winning the thing that indicates what a given body of voters deem worthy of the historical record.
Two years ago, hip-hop fans weren’t outraged by the fact that Macklemore, a white rapper known for sidestepping many of the genre’s current traditions, was nominated in the rap categories. The sticking point came when he won those honors, beating out a range of nominees, including the heavily favored Lamar, who did more to shape the form that year.
In that instance, the Recording Academy was essentially saying: Rap is at its best at its least rap-like. Macklemore clearly wasn’t the greatest. With his throwback sound, his earnest humanism -- and, yes, the pale features that doubtless reminded voters of the multiple Grammy-winning Eminem -- he simply came closest to fulfilling an established way of thinking about greatness.
Swift, for all her talent, stands only to gain from that self-reinforcing value system. And that’s a crown that should make any head uneasy.
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