March 14 is associated with a multitude of occasions: National Pi Day, National Potato Chip Day, the day prior to the Ides of March, but most pertinently, the recent iHeartRadio Awards, one of several music awards shows that occur throughout the year. Award shows serve as an opportunity to highlight well-produced, relevant music along with other art forms, but they may unintentionally value popularity over quality and discourage artistic individuality.
First of all, award shows highlight quality music and the amount of effort that everyone involved in the process—the artist, songwriters, producers—put into creating an auditory masterpiece. They provide well-deserved publicity and validation for both the work and the artist.
Award shows promote artists using physical awards and performances. Shows with high viewership allow singers, especially debut performers, to demonstrate their vocal prowess through fun, iconic performances. They also expose viewers to live renditions of their favorite songs for free.
The latest fashion trends and makeup styles are also showcased at award shows. By having a red carpet or pre-show runaway, celebrities are allowed to showcase the hard-working fashion designers and makeup artists behind their looks. This provides exposure to other types of artists and expands the audience to those who are interested in fashion as well as music
In addition, award shoes offer a special break from monotonous daily routines. These events allow fans to gather around with their family and friends, predict winners, root for their favorite artists and songs, and have a fun time overall. “They’re fun to watch,” Richard Montgomery High School senior Rithik Sebastian said. Music award shows entertain millions of people around the world.
However, music award shows are not all fun and games. There is a lot of subjectivity behind selecting the awards, which leaves some people dissatisfied with the results. “I didn’t agree with some of the [Grammy’s] choices,” Richard Montgomery junior Kisha Yan said.
Award shows can easily morph into a competition of popularity rather than skill. Year after year, award shows tend to favor overplayed, melodically-simple pop songs, neglecting the well-crafted, underrated non-pop songs that need exposure the most. Some prestigious award shows, like the Grammys, worsen this disparity by requiring songs to be submitted by a record label distributor, inherently leaving small indie artists at a significant disadvantage.
Unfortunately, this may cause artists to sacrifice of their unique, original style in favor of styles more favored by award selectors. We hear fans complain about their favorite artist becoming too “mainstream” or “sell-outs”, and there is some truth in their complaints. Many a time, we have seen musicians alter their music to incorporate more of the generic, popular sound that permeates the consistent style of award-winning songs. You cannot blame them though. In the harsh, subjective world of an artist, awards are one of the only sources of validation of artistic achievement and quality.
Recently, there has been controversy surrounding the Grammy’s for attempting to control what music Ariana Grande could perform at their awards ceremony, which resulted in her withdrawing from the performance and attending the show altogether. A similar incident happened with Lorde the year prior, when the ceremony producer refused to grant her a solo performance, showing that award shows may not be as about celebrating artist integrity as they claim to be.
Despite the flaws and controversy, the purpose of award shows is to honor the recipients and entertain the audience, both of which they achieve effectively. The next time a music award show comes up, gather your family and friends to celebrate your favorite artists’ wins or rage at their losses.
Article by MoCo Student staff writer Ashley Ye of Richard Montgomery High School