The Grammys VS. The Academy Awards

Ah February, my old friend.. Not only are you the shortest, littlest and cutest month of the year, but you are also known as Black History Month. But also, February is when award season begins! Not only does February feature the Grammys which celebrate "excellence" in music, but also the Academy Awards which celebrate those that persevere and achieve excellence on the silver screen.



However, after watching both of these award ceremonies, the question that I constantly ask myself is, "Which one is more of a popularity contest?"

1. Who was the first act that performed at the Grammys? Taylor Swift who is known as one of the most (undeservedly) popular recording artists in the music industry today. And who was the first performed at the Academy Awards? Seth MacFarlane and William Shatner. Two men who by most people's standards are not as popular as Taylor Swift. The Family Guy creator and ex-captain of the starship USS Enterprise, are in no way as popular in mainstream culture as Taylor Swift.

2. The awards that were televised during the Grammys were extremely mainstream. After seeing Gotye win record of the year, Fun win song of the year, and Mumford & Sons win album of the year, it goes to show you how the Grammys are indeed a major popularity contest. All these musicians are some of the most popular artists on Earth. However, the Academy Awards differed from this mentality of acclaiming the popular. For example, When Beasts of the Southern Wild, an relatively unknown and unpopular film is nominated for Best Picture alongside immensely popular films like Life of Pi and Les Miserables, it shows the Academy Awards' true strive for acknowledging excellence.

3. (This one's personal) The Grammys have killed the rock music industry. I know what you're asking yourself, "But Mason, The Black Keys won Best Rock Performance! What are you talking about?" Seriously, ask yourself that question. I'll bring this back to the 80's..

The year is 1982, and Toto's four self-titled album, "Toto IV", wins Album of the Year, Record of the Year and four other Grammys. From this day on, rock and roll became a joke. A band like Toto, who were so undeserving of such prestige and fame were given the highest honor in music. I don't care if you think "Africa" is the best song of all time. I think it is bland nonsense from the 80's.



So without further adieu, ladies and gentlemen, the award for the award ceremony with the largest popularity bias is.......... The Grammys!

While it is evident that The Grammys are more of a popularity contest than The Academy Awards, it is very evident that they both are driven by popularity. To state that popularity does not play a role in deeming what the best film or album of the year is, I would be sorely mistaken. However, there is strong evidence against The Grammys being the true popularity contest.