Even Adele was shocked when she beat Beyonce in the best album category at the Grammys.
“I can’t possibly accept this award,” she said as she (accidentally) broke it in two.
Of course, she did accept it in the end; despite protesting that Beyonce was the more deserving winner.
But the issue reignited claims the Grammys are racist – consistently overlooking black artists in favour of the white singers they inspire.
In the last 10 years, only one black musician has won the coveted album of the year award: Herbie Hancock, whose 2008 album, River, was a collection of covers of songs by the white folk singer, Joni Mitchell.
Things looked better the decade before that, when Outkast, Lauryn Hill and Indian-American artist Norah Jones all took home the trophy.
So does the Grammys have an issue with race? Not according to their president, Neil Portnow.
“I don’t think there’s a race problem at all,” he told Pitchfork, following Sunday’s ceremony.
“Remember, this is a peer-voted award. So when we say the Grammys, it’s not a corporate entity – it’s the 14,000 members of the Academy.
“We stand 100% behind the process: It’s a democratic vote by majority. So somebody could either receive or not receive a Grammy based on one vote. It could be that tight.”
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