Grammys boycott: Honor just to get nomination

Cory Thaxton, Freestyle Editor

The Grammys were last night, and four big artists said they weren’t going to be there.

Drake, Kanye West, Justin Bieber and Frank Ocean all said they would not be attending the Grammys this year for different reasons.

West, Bieber and Ocean are boycotting the Awards, while Drake will just be on tour in Europe.

It all started with Ocean. Many people thought his newest album, “Blonde,” would be nominated for Album of the Year. I don’t personally think it should have been, but he thinks the Grammys are a “dinosaur” that doesn’t represent black artists.

A part of me feels like the only reason he feels this way is because he wasn’t nominated for anything at all this year. But he’s wrong for saying that, since he won Best Urban Contemporary Album and was nominated for Album of the Year for “Channel Orange” back in 2013. He also won for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration that same year with the song “No Church in the Wild” from “The Great Gatsby” soundtrack.

West practically said if Ocean doesn’t get nominated for Best Album, he isn’t going, so I guess he’s out this year. We don’t need him pulling another Taylor Swift moment on stage.

This brings me to Bieber. He kind of piggy backs off what Ocean said. He thinks “the Grammys aren’t relevant or representative, especially when it comes to young singers.” But, Bieber has also won a Grammy. He won Best Dance Recording for “Where Are U Now” just last year.

West and Bieber both are nominated this year, so I just think it is very disrespectful, not just to the academy, but to the other nominated artists.

Bieber is nominated for four Grammys this year and West is nominated for eight.

It is an honor just to be nominated whether you win or not.

I understand it may seem a little unfair sometimes. I mean, I was outraged when Meghan Trainor beat out Tori Kelly for Best New Artist last year when Trainor released “All About That Bass.” She was nominated for that in 2015, so technically she wasn’t a new artist anymore.

It’s great that West is standing up for other artists but there’s nothing he can do about it. West has received 21 Grammys to date, but I kind of wish the academy could just take them all back since he wants to boycott the awards.

I also think Bieber needs to grow up. Just because you don’t have as many Grammys as West or Beyoncé, doesn’t mean they don’t represent young artists.

In fact, there are three young artists nominated this year: Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande and Bieber. The only young artists I think they missed were Selena Gomez and Alessia Cara, who, in my opinion, should have been nominated for Best New Artist for her songs “Here” and “Scars to Your Beautiful,” which are both genius.

My point is, getting a Grammy doesn’t make you any more or less successful. Just look at Katy Perry.

She is the only female artist in history to ever have five number one singles on one album. In fact, no other artist has done that since Michael Jackson, and Perry has never won a Grammy. She is still considered the pop princess.

I think these guys need to just grow a pair and get over it. I’m sure this is something the academy will remember when it comes to future nominations.