Reactions to the 2024 Grammy Awards
William Burgess The 2024 edition of the Grammy Awards was held this past weekend, on the 4th of February, 2024. This being the 66th edition of the popular award show, there have been several reactions to the winners list. Following the inability of any nominated Nigerian artistes to win any Grammy award in their respective categories there has been a roller coaster of reactions on social media and other media outlets especially from Nigerian music industry giants and music lovers. Although Burna Boy gave a riveting performance of “City Boys”, “On Form”, and “Sittin On Top of the World”, at the award ceremony, the artiste didn’t clinch any win in the categories he was nominated in. At the same time, Asake, Olamide, Tems, Ayra Starr, and Davido, left the award ceremony empty-handed.
If there is one thing award shows are good for besides recognising excellence in different industries, it’s drumming up controversies and generating public reactions and opinions. This has been the case of award shows like The BETs, the Headies, the Oscars, the Golden Globes, the AMVCAs, and the Grammy Awards have been no stranger to this phenomenon. This year, reactions from Nigerians are topping the charts. Here are some of the reactions:
– Media personality, Adeshope, popularly known as Shopsydoo took to social media to express his opinion about the winner of the Best African Performance. He questioned the credibility of the Grammy Awards and also criticised the Recording Academy’s decision to award South African singer, Tyla, as the winner of the category. He also claimed the Grammys lack an understanding of Afrobeats and advised Nigerian artistes to reconsider sending their songs for consideration to the academy. The media personality further pointed out the moment when Fela Kuti’s “Water No Get Enemy” was played when Tyla was ushered to the stage to accept her award.
– Nigerian music journalist and podcaster, Joey Akan, shared his opinion about the award show. He expressed his disappointment over the fact that no Nigerian artiste won in any category. He also commented that the organisers of the award ceremony should give Afrobeats more recognition.
– Nigerian singer, Madrina (formerly known as Cynthia Morgan), expressed her sympathy for Davido. She said, “Not a fan of you but I feel say them for just give you one make we get peace for this country. Better luck next time”.
– Davido’s hypeman, Special Spesh took to his Instagram account to voice out his displeasure over Davido’s loss. Spesh accused the organisers of the Grammy Awards of attempting to control Afrobeats. He also stated the Afrobeats would grow strong and vowed not to allow the award show to determine the prowess of African music. Davido’s logistics manager, Israel DMW, also reiterated that the artiste remains one of the best artistes in the world regardless of the Grammy loss.
– Nigerian singer and songwriter, Teni the Entertainer, also shared a video expressing her disappointment over the Grammy Awards. She called on the Super Eagles to quench her disappointment by securing a win against South Africa in the upcoming AFCON football match.
– Nigerian skit maker, OGB Recent also voiced out his displeasure over the winners list. He described the Grammy Award ceremony as corrupt and established the Nigerian award ceremony, the Headies, as a better award show. He also questioned why Tyla’s “Water” won the Best African Performance category over Davido, Asake, Burna Boy, and Ayra Starr.
– Nigerian dancer, Poco Lee also shared his reaction on Instagram after Tyla’s “Water” was announced as the winner of the Best African Performance category.
– Nollywood actor, Ikechukwu Onunaku, also admonished Nigerian Artistes to stop submitting their songs to the Grammys and focus on building their careers without attaching the Grammy Awards accolades to their success. He also accused the award ceremony of taking advantage of Nigerian artistes.
– Nigerian artiste, Timaya, also commented on the Grammy award stating, “This Grammys no sweet”.
– Nigerian music journalist, Adeayo Adebiyi, took a stance in a different position. He advised Nigerian artistes to put the energy used in attending the Grammy Awards ceremony to attend Nigerian-based music awards.
He stated that building the Nigerian music industry starts with respecting Nigerian music award shows and also appointing qualified people in certain positions to ensure that the music ecosystem develops.
