Music’s biggest night? More like music’s biggest gripe.
The 60th Grammy Awards were supposed to be a glittering display of the pop world’s finest acts. But some celebs still found reasons to take issue. Here’s a list of complainants and what apparently irked them.
Lorde
Despite being nominated for Album of the Year, the New Zealander was a notable omission from the performers list at the Grammy ceremony. Reports suggested that the 21-year-old wasn’t offered a solo slot, and turned down offers to sing as part of a Tom Petty tribute.
As the discussion about her omission continued on Monday, Lorde tweeted in caps, “If you’re debating whether or not I can murder a stage . . . come see it for urself” before adding a link to upcoming tour dates. Shady.
Alessia Cara
The Canadian took home the Best New Artist award over the more critically adored Khalid and SZA. But what’s more surprising is the timing, given that her first music emerged in 2015 — as many haven’t hesitated to point out.
The normally mild-mannered singer appeared irritated when she took to Instagram on Monday: “I will not let everything I’ve worked for be diminished by people taking offence to my accomplishments and feeling the need to tell me how much I suck.”
Women in the music industry
The pre-Grammy talk was that the music industry was due for a Time’s Up moment — and it happened, with Kesha’s emotive performance of “Praying.” But it didn’t make up for the noticeable lack of female winners: Alessia Cara was the only woman to win in the main categories.
When asked about this by a reporter after the show, Recording Academy president Neil Portnow flubbed his lines and seemed perilously close to blaming women for this shortfall, arguing they needed to “step up” for recognition.
His comments drew angry responses from Pink, Sheryl Crow and more, forcing Portnow into a sheepish apology, in which he expressed regret for not being “as articulate as I should have been.” Yep, got that right.
Bon Iver
A winner of Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album in 2012, Justin Vernon (a k a Bon Iver) tweeted his displeasure at the Grammys, calling out Portnow’s comment and siding with Lorde over her decision to keep away from the stage.
Vernon even took Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich to task for his apparent arrogance. “I have to say Ken Ehlrich [sic] is a d–k producer,” he tweeted. “Ken told us Holocene [Bon Iver’s 2012 single] . . . was ‘too long and slow and that we’d lose 4-6 million viewers cause of that’ and that he’s broken a lot of careers on the show, so I should listen.”
Nikki Haley
A skit that featured Snoop Dogg, John Legend, Cardi B and Hillary Clinton, all reading from Michael Wolff’s highly controversial White House tome “Fire and Fury,” apparently enraged the US ambassador to the UN.
“Don’t ruin great music with trash,” Haley tweeted during the show. “Some of us love music without the politics thrown in it.”
Grammy viewers
Audience figures published Monday by Nielsen revealed that just 19.8 million viewers tuned in to watch Sunday’s show — down 24 percent from 2017, and the lowest overall figure since 2009. Taylor Swift! Adele! Beyoncé! Kanye West! Assemble! The Grammys need you for 2019.