The Grammys for the white

“Grammy Awards regressed again!” “What is it different from MTV Video Music Awards and American Music Awards?”

Music fans are enraged because of the winners of the 58th Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon (local time).

Four major awards were given to white pop artists. The “heaviest trophies” were presented to Taylor Swift’s “1989” (Album of The Year), Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” (The Song of The Year), DJ Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” (Record of The Year), and Meghan Trainer (Best New Artist).

Though rapper Kendrick Lamar who received overwhelming support from critics with his album “To Pimp a Butterfly” led the field with 11 nominations, he was excluded from major awards. He had to be satisfied with five trophies in the rap and music video categories. Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd won only two, but not in the major award categories.

Some music fans criticized that this award ceremony was a total disaster discriminating races and genres and all about record sales. “Grammy Awards, excluding Lamar and The Weeknd, gave even the best new artist award to Trainer who did not show something new," said Lee Dae-hwa, a pop music critic in Seoul. "The Grammy’s, which used to respect originality and artistry by presenting the awards to Beck and Arcade Fire recently, seemed to regress at one swallow.” The Grammys have been criticized for not giving many awards to black artists and the rock and hip-hop categories.

Tribute performances were worth watching, however. Lady Gaga paid tribute to David Bowie with a medley and her chameleon-like fashion, and Stevie Wonder and Pentatonix honored the legacy of Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White with an acapella performance of “That’s the Way of the World.” Other musicians led a touching tribute to Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey, Motorhead’s singer Lemmy Kilmister, and B.B. King.

While Lamar excited the stage with his explosive raps, Adele disappointed the audiences with her unstable tunes and poor high-pitched tones.

임희윤기자 imi@donga.com