The 66th annual Grammy Awards was hosted on Sunday, Feb. 4. To no surprise, people had something to say. From iconic performances like Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs, to Miley Cyrus winning her first Grammy, the night was full of surprises. 

The host was comedian Trevor Noah, and based on the lack of any social media eruption, he did not say any outlandish jokes, which is good, considering the fact that the public still have not been able to get over the monstrosity that was the Golden Globes. 

Although little was said about Trevor Noah, people still had their complaints. Whether it was about Lana Del Rey not winning any of her nominations that night, or Taylor Swift winning far too much for the people’s liking, the audience is never going to be pleased when watching the night unfold live. 

That being said, society should stop treating award shows as gospel, and instead, we should make our own opinions on the nominees without being so impacted by the Academy’s decision. It is understandably discouraging to watch our favorite artist lose an award they were nominated for, but that does not mean that their work is bad. 

With that in mind, it is important to not outwardly hate on the people that do win these awards. There was an absurd amount of hate online regarding the winners at this year’s Grammys. 

One of the awards to point out specifically is the one that was granted for “Best New Artist.” Up and coming R&B artist, Victoria Monét, graciously won the award. After this was announced, the internet completely blew up in flames over it. This was completely unnecessary. We should not discredit the work she has done to get to this point in her career. 

It goes without saying that Taylor Swift also received a disproportionate amount of hate online, with many saying that other artists deserved to win more. Although it is understandable to feel this way, no one should be blaming or sending hate towards the artists.

While this may seem obvious to most people, it is important to remember that for many artists, even being nominated was a struggle and an accomplishment. Chances are, if they received the nomination, their work is likely deserving of one.

The original point still stands though, which is that we should not take these award shows so seriously. Yes, it is fun to tune into the show itself, watch the performances and judge the different outfits that you see on the red carpet, but, at the end of the day, these award shows are not always earnest or of the highest authority to assess music.

Award shows are just different marketing strategies for the entertainment industry to cling onto to make money, attract viewership and create buzz. There are also countless controversies of Academies snubbing artists who are women or minorities, which was brought up at the Grammys in Jay-Z’s speech.

Although being awarded a Grammy is an achievement, there are countless amazing artists who never received one. We should not allow award shows to influence our music opinions, and the results should not result in hate towards the artists.