By Yinka Akanbi
Disappointments trailed the outcome of this year’s Grammy Awards which held on February 5, 2024 in Los Angeles, United States as Nigerian music exports – Burna Boy, Davido, Asake, Olamide, and Ayra Starr – lost all 10 nominations between them.
The aftermath of the awards generated massive interest among Nigerian music enthusiasts, who were looking forward to the Nigerian contingent winning in the categories they were nominated.
Davido’s ‘Unavailable’, Asake & Olamide’s ‘Amapiano’, Ayra Starr’s ‘Rush’, and Burna Boy’s ‘City Boy’ lost the Best African Music Performance category to Tyla’s ‘Water’.
Davido’s ‘Feel’ and Burna Boy’s ‘Alone’ lost the Best Global Music Performance to ‘Pashto’ by Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer & Zakir Hussain Featuring Rakesh Chaurasia. Burna Boy’s ‘I Told Them’ and Davido’s ‘Timeless’ were also edged by Shakti’s ‘The Moment’ for the Best Global Album.
However, President of the Recording Academy Board of Trustees, Harvey Mason Jr., said the Academy rates each song on its quality and it’s solely the opinions of the Academy members each year that determine the winners.
While fielding questions from journalists on the process that goes on behind the scenes to determine a Grammy winner, Mason said that the Academy only considers the quality of each submitted song and that alone informs the choice of the winner.
The members of the Academy are made up of professionals working in music in the United States and it’s their votes that determine the winner of every category.
“It’s not the streams, not how many fans, not how many followers, but purely on the opinion of the membership in that particular year, that is how you win a Grammy,” Mason Jr. explained.
He added that there are no committees, no journalists, no labels but just music professionals voting for their peers.
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