Picking teams: The Grammy edition

#TeamAdele reveled in the glorious aftermath of their big win at the Grammys. At least, they would've been able to, but given the current emotional, cultural, political, all-of-our-morals-are-teetering-on-the-balance-beam state The States find themselves in, the outcome wasn't, well, black and white. Pardon the reference, but there were all kinds of grey shades to this competition. 

#TeamBey was vanquished to a level that seemed to mirror the incredulity that was, The Election. How could this happen? Again!? I'll tell you how this could conceivably happen, and some of you won't like it. That's a warning. I had to illegally stream Lemonade. Before you wag your judgy finger at me - a lot of people did. We were forced to; what other choice did we have? Subscribe to Tidal? No thank you. So you see, that creates exclusivity (a shrewd business move), and (here's the part you're going to hate) less shared experience, therefore, less total impact. 

That was Beyonces choice. Exclusivity does not win the popular vote. These awards are different from their cousin industries of Film and TV. In those industries, exclusive art often gets put on a pedestal (think Birdman, Life is Beautiful, The Artist) because of its controversial, or even anti-popular status. 

But I think we're missing the biggest conversation piece of the night. We completely buried the lead with all this #TeamA #TeamB nonsense. It's a classic misdirect, and we should be ashamed of ourselves.

All night, in the biggest and most prestigious award categories, two women (solo artists) were the best of the best in music this year. The Grammys doesn't separate the males from the females, the solo acts from the bands, the country from the R&B in these top categories (Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Album of the Year). Based on the merit of your art, the sales of your product and the popular vote, anyone can win the highest honours in the industry, every year. Sit back and think about that for a second, because it's an ideal that people are marching for, fighting for, begging for in 2017. No matter your age, gender identity, race, religion, even personal style...you will be judged on equal planes. 

Seeing two women at the height of their artistry and career, at the top of the charts all year, being honoured side by side with men at the height of their artistry and career, at the top of the charts all year...should be the topic of conversation, no?

Yes, I would've been upset if my #Team hadn't come out on top, but that's certainly not exclusive to THIS race, to THIS competition, or to THIS year in particular. But Adele won, and she was #TeamBey. She made it about the success of the art, and the impact of the product, not the politics (the grey) behind the "show". By including Beyonce in her speech, she broke down the walls between the teams and gracefully addressed the grey matters: "best" is subjective, personal connection never is. That's the rare beauty of art.

Remember this Bey fans: awards are given out for volume of sales and the popular critical vote. These are not expressly subjective parametres. But hey, your connection to the art is what most artists truly care about. If Beyonce was sharing her story with such intentional exclusivity, then perhaps the very fact that you connected with it was the point. I'll let that linger.

Ladies, our team friggin' won. Two females dominated the music industry this year, and that's something we're still waiting for in other industries. It was Girls' Night at the Grammys, and if we've learned anything from Taylor Swift during her 1989 run, squads are better (and far more powerful in their inclusiveness) than teams.

Popworm | Pop Culture + Celebrity Blog RSS