By Carla Rubio

No matter the surplus of achievements made last night—Beyonce’s record breaking amount of wins and Billie Eilish’s seven awards at 19—they were not enough to garner the attention of the masses. 

In recent years, the Grammys has been highly scrutinized for its lack of diversity, politics, and suspected rigging of the awards. Many viewers, fanbases, and even the artists themselves have begun boycotting the show.

The day the nominations were released, Super Bowl Half-Time performer, The Weeknd, tweeted, “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…” after not receiving a nomination despite being one of 2020’s biggest pop stars. 

And he is not alone. 

Chart topping artists including Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Drake, and Eminem have publicly stated their dislike for the show and refusal to attend. The movement earned its own hashtag on twitter: #F**ktheGrammys. 

Nicki Minaj made it clear that this is not the first time an artist has been snubbed, tweeting “Never forget the Grammys didn’t give me my best new artist award when I had 7 songs simultaneously charting on billboard & bigger first week than any female rapper in the last decade—went on to inspire a generation. They gave it to the white man Bon Iver.”

Earlier on in the year, this seemed irrelevant—so what if a few artists don’t attend? But, either way, it has created a huge dent in the viewership of the award ceremony as well as the respect the industry has for it. 

Last night, views reached an all time low at 7.89 million views, which pales in comparison to the 2020 awards which accumulated 18.7 million or the previous all time low 2006 show with 17 million. The ratings weren’t any better.

The “biggest night in the music industry” is slowly fading away. Yesterday’s star studded lineup was nowhere near enough to forgive the mistakes that have been made in the past— such as placing artists in categories that do not correspond with their work due to racial bias or past albums.

After receiving the award for Best Rap Album in the 2020 awards, Tyler the Creator said, “It sucks that whenever we — and I mean guys that look like me — do anything that’s genre-bending or that’s anything they always put it in a rap or urban category. I don’t like that ‘urban’ word — it’s just a politically correct way to say the n-word to me.” 

The show no longer represents the music industry and it’s modern culture, meaning that they will have to undergo some major changes if they are going to get their viewership and status back.