The Grammys this year has been full of surprises. Ariana Grande came up empty-handed while Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas combined for a total of 6 awards. The problem with the Grammys is the lack of diversity when it comes to the genre of music and the winners of these albums.

I’m one hundred percent Korean and obviously have a bias when it comes to music, but that doesn’t mean good music doesn’t deserve to be properly recognized. The rise of K-pop has clearly seen a sharp incline this past year, but to this day, the Grammys fail to properly recognize good music.

For as long as I can remember, people have always had complaints about the Grammys and the people they nominate for these prestigious awards. The problem with the Grammys seems to be the fact that they are based on method voting. Members who are “experts” are advised to be responsible and vote and nominate in genres they are knowledgeable in. This is not always true creating a situation where misinformed people vote on genres they know little to nothing about. This wouldn’t be as much of a problem if we knew who these people were, but the anonymity of the whole process allows bias to play a huge factor for these nominations.

Kendrick Lamar lost to Macklemore in 2014 for best Rap Album of the year, Beyonce loses to Adele in 2017 for Album of the year, and just last year Cardi B came out ahead over both Travis Scott’s Astroworld and Mac Miller’s Swimming. All which were considered huge upsets and sparked massive controversy in the music industry.

Any artist who is nominated for the Grammys is clearly talented, but time and time again, it seems like the winner of the albums are based solely on their commercial success instead of the musical genius and production behind each song.

Tyler the Creator’s Igor won this year’s Best Rap Album of the Year beating out 21 Savage, Meek Mill, Dreamville, and YBN Cordae. Soon after winning the award, he voiced his frustrations with the categorization of black culture and his music being categorized as only “rap”.

The Grammys is primarily just rap and pop, instead integrating different genres into the awards such as R&B, soul, and many more, categorizing all those types of music under one genre is disrespectful. Each genre shines in a different way and those songs should be awarded for standing out against the norm. The producers and directors don’t get enough fame for the amount of genius they put behind each lyric, each sound of the song, and deserve more respect for the work they do.

“So I say this with love to the Grammys, because you really need to know this, every year y’all be killing us man. Man, I’m talking about the pain. I’m speaking for all these artists here, the producers, the executives,” said Sean “Diddy” Combs during his speech at the pre-Grammys gala. “The amount of time it takes to make these records, to pour your heart into it, and you just want an even playing field.”

Many influential black artists such as Drake, Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and many more no longer attend the Grammys due to the amount of times they have been snubbed and disrespected by the people who run the Grammys.

To be frank, the Grammy’s don’t really show off the best of the best, it’s all a marketing ploy to bring in more revenue. Fans show loyalty, compassion, and the hits that make a song popular, so why don’t they choose who wins what?After years of constant criticism and backlash you would think that they would finally learn from their past mistakes, but they haven’t. Get it together.