Imagine an award show that leaves all viewers on the edge of their seats out of anticipation for the winner. Sweat drips, tears are shed, and fans curse in disappointment as singer Lana Del Rey is not appointed a Grammy for the 11th time.

Lana Del Rey is an indie-pop singer-songwriter ranking up to 57,530,323 monthly listeners a month on Spotify. In March 2023, Del Rey released an album titled “Did you know there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.” Since then, she has gained listeners and supporters, many of whom were upset that she did not win a Grammy for Album of the Year two weeks ago, especially because she has been nominated almost a dozen times, and lost to an album that many deemed overrated (despite Del Rey having a featured song on said album). 

“Last week, the Grammy’s made it evident how they value popularity over true art,” WCCHS senior Dinah Humphrey said of Del Rey’s snub. 

The Grammy for Album Of the Year was awarded to “Midnights” by Taylor Swift. Outraged fans have come out of the woodwork since then, leaving strings of hateful comments and over-analyzations when it comes to Swift’s achievement. Due to the circumstances, Lana fans have begun to berate Swift and justify their harsh remarks by posting out-of-context behind-the-scenes videos of her.

Del Rey and Swift are good friends and have collaborated in the past. Pinning them against each other does not make any sense, and is not fair to either artist.

Many viewers were upset about Swift bringing Del Rey on the stage when she won the Grammy because they believed she looked “awkward.” However, she was brought up to be acknowledged and praised for her work on “Midnights,” not for Swift to gloat. Despite the good intentions, the moment was uncomfortable for everyone involved, including viewers.

Despite the Album of the Year feeling like big news to Del Rey fans, some users are unaware of the drama.

“I haven’t really heard about anyone losing their minds over that, I’ve only heard about Killer Mike,” junior Antwan Angeles said.

Lana Del Rey was underrepresented at the Grammy’s, and deserved better; however, spreading hate toward other artists is not the right way to bring awareness to the unfair judging practices at award shows. Taylor Swift is incredibly talented, and the rage should be directed at the judges for claiming they don’t “take Lana seriously,” rather than at the other nominees. 

Event coordinators should reevaluate how they distribute awards to make future award shows fairer, and should even take in listeners’ votes to determine who deserves to win a Grammy; additionally, viewers need to put an end to creating rumors about Del Rey and Swift’s friendship.