So the 2018 Grammy nominations came out today, and the internet is NOT having it with some of these nominations...and more importantly the OBVIOUS snubs from the list.
The most vocal vitriol has come at the hands of Directioners, who point out that Niall, Harry, Zayn, and Liam all have had successful solo projects and NONE of them are nominated for a GRAMMY.
Okay, I'm not an avid Directioner and I also understand how the industry works, so obviously it's unrealistic for all 5 former members of 1D to bring home a nod. But...and this is sheerly an opinion....HOW THE F DOES NIALL HORAN NOT GET NOMINATED FOR BEST NEW ARTIST!?!?!
Let's look at the simple facts here:
Niall has two Billboard Top 100 hits ("This Town" and "Slow Hands"), the latter of which reached #1 in radio airplay nationally and stayed there for several weeks. His third single "Too Much To Ask" is currently rising on both charts. His "Flicker Sessions" tour sold out almost immediately and he has a second headlining tour that's already mostly sold out in 2018.
And he's not nominated for Best New Artist?
And this no knock on the artists that WERE nominated. Alessia Cara is a superstar, Julia Michaels had a fantastic year, and we love Khalid, SZA, and Lil Uzi Vert too....but Niall needs to be in that list somewhere.
And that's not all. Ed Sheeran didn't get nominated for Album of the Year for Divide!?!? You HAVE to be kidding me.
It's sold more albums than any non-Taylor Swift album in 2017. "Shape of You" is arguably one of the biggest singles of the last DECADE, and "Castle on the Hill" and "Perfect" are both huge hits as well. As a body of work, I think most people would agree that it's an amazing piece of art, and yet....
Childish Gambino, Jay-Z, Lorde, Kendrick Lamar, and Bruno Mars all got nominated for the award, and honestly I can't be mad at those or say that any of them are undeserving, but this almost feels like an attempt for the GRAMMYs to be the guy that doesn't listen to his favorite band ever since they "sold out".
The purpose of the GRAMMYs is to celebrate art, and I totally get that it's not a popularity contest. But it almost feels like the voting academy is going out of their way to punish artists for being too popular or too mainstream.
So, I'm sorry GRAMMYs, but I think our relationship might have to be on a break. I respect your difference of opinion, but I'm not sure it comes from the best place.