The 61st annual Grammys will be held this coming Sunday, but the news just broke that one of the year’s biggest artists will no longer be performing, let alone attending the awards show. This year is set to have an Ariana Grande- shaped hole right in the middle and it’s not a good look for them.
Ariana Grande is nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance (for ‘God Is a Woman’) and Best Pop Vocal Album (for Sweetener). The iconic ponytailed pop star has been included in promotions for the Grammy Awards on billboards and buses around LA in recent weeks, and she was scheduled to perform at the show.
But according to Variety, a source shared that “Grande felt “insulted” after producers initially refused to allow her to perform “7 Rings,” the latest single from her forthcoming album ‘Thank U, Next’.”
Apparently Ariana and the Grammy producers reached a compromise which would have seen her perform ‘7 Rings’ as part of a medley, but they insisted that they would have the power over choosing her second song. The source added that these kinds of stipulations were not being imposed on other performers at the show.
It seems that the drama has cost the Grammys the support of one of the biggest stars of the last year (two years even), so it’s their loss really.
thank u next
The Grammys has been on a downhill path towards irrelevancy for a while, criticised for both racism and sexism in the awards and production of the show. so to be clear, Ari doesn’t need the Grammys, but the Grammys can’t afford to be brushed off by more and more big names.
Drake hasn’t attended the Grammys since 2013, Kanye has emphatically criticised the award show, Taylor Swift gave last year a miss in spite of nominations in minor categories, Frank Ocean boycotted the Grammys, Justin Bieber called it irrelevant, Jay-Z has previously boycotted and he and Beyoncé are likely to give this year a miss after their joint album was snubbed, the list goes on.
So while the Grammys is set to have performances from Camila Cabello, Cardi B, Janelle Monáe, Post Malone, Dan + Shay, Kacey Musgraves and Shawn Mendes, the loss of Ariana Grande is yet another injury to an already punctured reputation.
The Grammys either need to make some major changes or they risk continuing to lose support and relevancy each year.