With Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, Metro Boomin, Future, Doechii, and Chappel Roan all nominated for general field titles, several fandoms put high stakes on the outcome of the 2025 Grammys. Most controversially, Beyoncé won both Album of the Year and Country Album of the Year with Cowboy Carter, beating out a star-studded list of nominees in both categories. Unsurprisingly, Beyoncé has been met not just with backlash and hatred, but conspiracy theories: a popular one claims that Jay Z bought her the awards. This widespread denial is most concentrated in Billie Eilish’s fandom, who naturally wanted her to win. How do these strong feelings towards the awards manifest at Flint Hill? I spoke with seniors in the Upper School to gauge the varying opinions on the topic.
Senior Jasmine Coates, a certified member of Beyonce’s BeyHive, says, “I firmly believe that Beyonce’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ was the Album of the Year lyrically, sonically, but also production wise.” To the haters, Coates retorts, “Beyonce creates her music for herself. That is why she has been able to do what she does, at the level she does it, for as long she’s been doing it.” But who are Beyoncé’s haters? Why? Senior Rajit Chegu, who has not listened to the album in full, says she simply did not deserve Album of the Year and that Cowboy Carter was, “just not country.” This begs the question, do Beyonce’s haters even have a reason or just a resentment? Senior Lauren Pao, a long time Billie Eilish fan, assumes a different perspective: “While I do think ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ was album of the year, I respect Beyoncé’s win and see no reason why she shouldn’t have won Country Album of the Year.” As usual, the widely varying opinions on the topic can be chalked up to fandom loyalty, personal preference, and the increasingly hostile facets of fandom culture.
Chegu also raised concerns over Doechii’s Best Rap Album win, saying, “She was up against J Cole, Future and Metro Boomin, and Eminem and somehow won even though she only sold 11,000 units in her first week. Who even is she?” Billboard corroborates that Doechii’s Alligator Bites Never Heal only made 11,000 sales, however the Grammys do not consider popularity, only artistic and technical excellence. Additionally, the album did reach Billboard’s top 10 in December, months after the August release. Doechi has made music for a decade, achieving two TikTok hits with “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake” and “What it Is.” She also gained popularity from two performances on Jimmy Fallon’s and NPR’s Tiny Desk shows. Ultimately, Chegu’s unfamiliarity with the artist constitutes an exciting part of the Grammys: discovering new music.
In concluding my chats with Flint Hill Seniors, I saw what we see every year after the Grammys: tons of differing opinions with many having personal stakes over the music meaningful to them. At its core, it is a beautiful thing that we all possess our own tastes and values. However, each win or loss creates an explosion of undue reactionary hate for artists who care just as much about their crafts. When seeing your favorite getting hate for half-truths, ask yourself: do I do that to others? At the end of the day, the ability to accept a simple difference of opinion can stop us from completely writing other artists off. For the future, consider receiving the Grammy’s results not as deserving or undeserving, but a personal preference. In the long run, our culture will best be served by an open-minded, thoughtful audience.
