Although some are celebrating the awards show for its diversity, others are saying the Grammys still have far to come to demonstrate that music is, in fact, at the center of the night’s programming, rather than the drama-worthy stunts that have marked recent years.
The Grammys have been fighting against declining ratings, introducing gimmick after gimmick to try and boost the show back to its past numbers. A writer for the Guardian summed up the show’s dependence on “wacky combinations of artists” for boosts in yearly declining ratings: “For example, let’s predict that in 2017, the Grammys will pay tribute to the Beach Boys by having Brian Wilson perform Surfin Safari with Ne-Yo and Imagine Dragons singing a cappella while riding surfboards in a wading pool.” Since these combinations don’t seem to be working, the writer concludes that “there’s nothing left but to turn these shows into Thunderdome for celebrities.”
