Diversity at the Grammys

Mickey Guyton

The nominee list is out for the Grammys bringing both hope and disappointment to artists and fans across the nation, but most don’t recognize the diversity or lack thereof among the nominees over the years. Of course it’s important that we recognize the top performers of the industry, but it would be nice to see less of the white male gender up on the awards stage. Luckily this year we can already see a change in diversity. Of the 27 categories represented 53 of the nominations this year went to the women. Much more than the numbers from the previous year where only 41 of the nominations went to women. This may not seem that bad, but there is still a problem of diversity here at the Grammys. The total nominees each year is around 135 artists and seeing the number of women nominees knowing that fact seems astonishing, for women don’t even quite make half of the total nominees.

This trend is also found among people of color. Last year only 4 out of 25 people were of color, mostly made up of pop and rap singers such as Beyonce, Pitbull, and Pharrell, this year the number has increased to 11 out of 25, which seems even better than the ratio of men to women. But let’s think about just country music for a second. Picture anyone of color? Probably not and if you do I bet you’ve only thought of a few. Country music has been stuck in their own little world embracing country as a white male genre, but we’re already seeing a change with the women aren’t we? So why can’t country music accept more people of color into the genre? Mickey Guyton is the only women of color in all of country music, something I have recently noticed and want to make apparent throughout the country music industry.  

Yes naming the best is what’s right, but why not introduce more diversity into the music industry. It’s not like there’s a lack of diverse individuals with a desire to sing and be heard, we just have to let them in. So let’s hope for even more change next year at the Grammys and every awards show in between, for it’s about time women and people of color get recognized for over half of America’s population which they represent.

2016 Grammy Nominees (Country):

Album of the Year

Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color

Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly

Chris Stapleton, Traveller

Taylor Swift, 1989

The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness

Song of the Year (Awarded to Songwriters)

Kendrick Lamar, “Alright”

Taylor Swift, “Blank Space”

Little Big Town, “Girl Crush”

Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth, “See You Again”

Ed Sheeran, “Thinking Out Loud”

Best New Artist

Courtney Barnett

James Bay

Sam Hunt

Tori Kelly

Meghan Trainor

Best Country Album

Sam Hunt, Montevallo

Little Big Town, Pain Killer

Ashley Monroe, The Blade

Kacey Musgraves, Pageant Material

Chris Stapleton, Traveller

Best Country Song (Awarded to Songwriters)

Lee Ann Womack, “Chances Are”

Tim McGraw feat. Catherine Dunn, “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools”

Little Big Town, “Girl Crush”

Brandy Clark, “Hold My Hand”

Chris Stapleton, “Traveller”

Best Country Solo Performance

Cam, “Burning House”

Chris Stapleton, “Traveller”

Carrie Underwood, “Little Toy Guns”

Keith Urban, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16”

Lee Ann Womack, “Chances Are”

Best Country Duo / Group Performance

Brothers Osborne, “Stay a Little Longer”

Joey + Rory, “If I Needed You”

Charles Kelley, Dierks Bentley and Eric Paslay, “The Driver”

Little Big Town, “Girl Crush”

Blake Shelton feat. Ashley Monroe, “Lonely Tonight”

Best Americana Album

Brandi Carlile, The Firewatcher’s Daughter

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, The Traveling Kind

Jason Isbell, Something More Than Free

The Mavericks, Mono

Punch Brothers, The Phosphorescent Blues

Best American Roots Song (Awarded to Songwriters)

The Mavericks, “All Night Long”

Don Henley and Merle Haggard, “The Cost of Living”

Punch Brothers, “Julep”

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, “The Traveling Kind”

Jason Isbell, “24 Frames”

Best American Roots Performance

Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, “And Am I Born to Die”

Buddy Guy, “Born to Play Guitar”

The Milk Carton Kids, “City of Our Lady”

Punch Brothers, “Julep”

Mavis Staples, “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean”

Best Bluegrass Album

Dale Ann Bradley, Pocket Full of Keys

Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, Before the Sun Goes Down

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, In Session

Ralph Stanley & Friends, Man of Constant Sorrow

The SteelDrivers, The Muscle Shoals Recordings

Best Folk Album

Norman Blake, Wood, Wire & Words

Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn

Rhiannon Giddens, Tomorrow Is My Turn

Patty Griffin, Servant of Love

Glen Hansard, Didn’t He Ramble

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media

Empire: Season 1

Fifty Shades of Grey

Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me

Pitch Perfect 2

Selma

Best Recording Package

Alagoas, Alagoas

Snoop Dogg, Bush

Florence + the Machine, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

Elvis Presley, My Happiness

Still the King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, Asleep at the Wheel