The 65th annual Grammy awards left everyone, including me, with mixed feelings. On one hand, it was an amazing night for the LGBTQ+ community because it proved that queer artists are no longer watching from the sidelines. On the other hand, some moments left me wondering why I was even watching.
One of those moments was Harry Styles’ speech. I’m not saying he didn’t deserve the win — because I’m sure he did — but it’s the fact that he made it seem like it was rare for this to happen to “people like him” that bothered me.
People who are allegedly straight, cisgender and white? I don’t understand.
There are too many people of color, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people and more who are getting denied opportunities because of their identity or disability. They have fewer chances of winning awards like a Grammy, so for him to include that in his speech is insensitive.
I know he worked hard to get to where he is but so many others need to work a million times harder than him to earn even half of his fame, making the comment seem tone deaf, especially considering Kim Petras’ speech before him.
“I grew up next to a highway in nowhere Germany, and my mother believed me that I was a girl. I wouldn’t be here without her and her support,” she said. That was really inspiring especially because I grew up trans in a homophobic country.
Another moment is when the Song of The Year award winner was announced. I was sitting on the edge of my seat, begging for it to be “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift. When it wasn’t, I was devastated. That was my top song of 2022 and I truly think it’s a masterpiece and deserved to win.
Considering the influence that social media and Gen Z as a whole have on the music industry, it was surprising to see someone I had never heard of win Song of The Year over a music icon like Taylor Swift, an artist who has been and continues to be one of the most popular artists of my generation.
However, there were a lot of things I did enjoy from this year’s Grammys, one of them being Kim Petras becoming the first trans person to win a Grammy. She won Best Pop Duo/Groupwith Sam Smith, a non-binary artist. It brought me a lot of joy knowing that people in my community are finally being recognized and are no longer outsiders.
Accompanying Kim Petras in a record-breaking win was Viola Davis, who won Best Audiobook, Narration & Storytelling Recording for her memoir, “Finding Me.” With this win, she has become one of just 18 people and the fourth Black woman to achieve EGOT status.
The night was truly made for me by the two victories, which outweighed the moments that left me with conflicted emotions.
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