The academy, which puts on the 62nd Grammys on Sunday, says nominees are selected from contenders who are voted into the top 20 in each category. But some people view the voting process as less than transparent because the choice of finalists happens behind closed doors. That has stirred claims that members of key nominating committees promote projects they worked on or projects they favor based on personal relationships.
People have become more conscious of the idea that Grammys might be won “through all these nefarious, back-channel kinds of ways,” said Robert Thompson, a trustee professor of television and popular culture at the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
Deborah Dugan was fired only months into her job as head of the Recording Academy and recently filed an explosive complaint alleging that she was sexually harassed and that the music organization was a “boys club” that favors friends. The academy, which has accused Dugan of misconduct, said it launched an investigation.
At the 2018 Grammys, when Rapsody earned nominations for best rap album and best rap song, her producer, 9th Wonder, sat on the rap committee, and some argued that she would not have earned nominations without 9th Wonder’s influence. Q-Tip even publicly called out 9th Wonder that year since A Tribe Called Quest’s album did not earn any nominations.
This year, Lizzo was nominated in the R&B categories with album-filler songs — a move that some suspect was designed to help her become the most nominated act at the show. But it potentially took away from other R&B acts that outperformed her or had a stronger place in the genre’s culture during the voting period.
The Grammys also have a long history of keeping rap and contemporary R&B stars out of the top categories, rarely awarding them album, song or record of the year. Instead, the prizes go to a pop, rock or country act.
Meanwhile, Sharon Osbourne is set to be a presenter at the upcoming Grammy Awards, but her recent comments might make things a little awkward, reports Todd Garrin at Yahoo! Entertainment.
On Thursday, Osbourne weighed in on recent allegations of sexual harassment and voting irregularities made by the chief executive officer of the Recording Academy of Arts & Sciences, Deborah Dugan (allegations the organization has denied, according to several news outlets)
The Talk co-host backed Dugan’s accusations of voting discrepancies, saying “everybody knew it was rigged.”
Dugan was suspended from her duties, she says, after voicing her concerns.
Osbourne further critiqued the organization, telling viewers that the Grammys are “run by middle-aged, white wannabes with no creative talent at all.”
She described the makeup of the board as both “power hungry” and “money hungry.”
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