A few weeks ago, the Grammys handed out awards to their winners. Our controversial but seemingly always right music reviewer gave his (or her?) take on the show.

THIS year’s Grammy Awards were highly anticipated because of how much new musical talent has burst upon the scene since last year’s show. Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X, and Lizzo were the hot new artists up for the major categories, the new artists that kept the audience on the edge of their seats.

Though all three went home with various Grammy awards, Eilish took home the top four: album, song, record of the year, and best new artist. Though it may seem slightly biased for one person to win all four of these categories, it seems that Eilish’s unique voice, style of singing and phrasing, along with her song craftsmanship, had such an impact in 2019, that it was only right for her to take all four Grammys home. Eilish gave a moving performance with her brother, Phineas, from their album, When You Fall Asleep, Where Do You Go?

Lil Nas X performed the first ever remix of his hit single, Old Town Road with Billy Ray Cyrus and featured BTS, Diplo and Mason Ramsay.

Lizzo took the stage to show off some of the highlights of her latest album, Cuz I Love You. Camila Cabello and Demi Lovato each sang a solo, soulful enough to melt hearts. This performance was in stark contrast to the exciting ones given by Ariana Grande and Rosalía, combining for a total of eight nominations this year. Tyler the Creator gave a very strange performance of one of his songs off the album Igor, which won best rap album. Aerosmith rocked the stage shortly after Usher performed a Prince tribute. Both of these artists invigorated the crowd. Crowd pleasing pop/country duo Dan + Shay took home a Grammy for their beautiful song, Speechless.

Though the show was amazing, many still question the validity of the awards due to a statement by former CEO, Deborah Dugan, who claimed the Grammy Awards were rigged. It is understood that because she was trying to spark a change from within the company, she was placed on administrative leave. After this incident, she came out and claimed that the process is not legitimate and that an artist’s ability does not always correspond to a nomination or a win. If artists or producers have an “in” with the judges, they may be able to sway the votes to increase sales for their particular song or album. Personally, I believe that Eilish, Lil Nas X and Lizzo all had enormous success with their music before they were nominated for any Grammys, and at least this year, there seems to be little corruption in terms of the major categories. Everyone who won deserved to be recognized for their accomplishments. I do not rule out the possibility that there are corrupt briberies and politics underfoot at the Academy – because this is show biz after all, but the major categories this year are solid.