The nominees for the 60th annual Grammy Awards are out, and people are talking. The 2018 Grammy nominees for Record of the Year and Album of the Year include all minority artists. This has not happened since 1999, when there were no white males nominated. This year’s nominees are Childish Gambino, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, JAY-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Lorde and Bruno Mars. Junior Maddie Young was not surprised by the nominations this year; she feels that society has changed in the past years to better appreciate the music that minorities produce.

“I feel like today in pop culture, it’s more socially acceptable to listen to or support minority groups,” Young said. “Lots of African American hip-hop artists are very popular, and I feel like it makes you seem more cultured and open-minded if you do support minorities.”

Young also believes that this change may be due to the shift in the morals and principles of society.

“I just think it represents the shift in what society values and who we look up to,” Young said.
In past years, there has not been as much diversity and racial representation in the awards show as some would like to see. Junior Leah Flores-Cabrera believes that the Grammys are not always fair in deciding who is nominated.

“I think that the movie and music industries are definitely biased towards the white male artists,” Flores-Cabrera said.

Others, like junior Luke Kozlowski, believe there are many more artists that should have been nominated but were not because they aren’t as well known.

“The Grammys are definitely a popularity contest,” Kozlowski said. “There are many good artists in the underground that get no recognition because only the artists in the spotlight get nominated.”

Freshman Ammar Ahmad disagrees with Flores-Cabrera and Kozlowski. He does not think the Grammys are biased in any way and agrees with this year’s nominations.

“I think race shouldn’t be a factor when listening to music,” Ahmad said. “I do agree with the nominees, for example, Kendrick Lamar. His album was a hit this year, so therefore he deserves to be nominated.”

Young believes that if minorities make good music that people like and enjoy, then they will be recognized for what they have done.

“I honestly think we shouldn’t really consider races when we are listening to music,” Young said. “I feel like whatever you like to listen to, whatever speaks to you, you should listen to.”