Students excited as music awards start: VMAs, Latin Grammys spearhead season

As 2021 heads into its final quarter, music aficionados get excited for the beginning of the music awards season.

The awards season kicked off earlier this month during the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). This year’s edition gained attention because many artists had breakthrough achievements.

One of the biggest stars of the night, Lil Nas X, was the first LGBTQ+ artist to win Video of The Year. He was also the first LGBTQ+ artist to win Best Director, and only the second artist to win both simultaneously. During his speech, he jokingly thanked the gay agenda for getting him to where he got.

“I think it is really nice to finally see a Black LGBTQ+ artist going as far as straight artists go,” Darius Flewellen (sophomore, English education) said. “For many years, it was hard to see people that looked like me reaching stardom, but now I can have some hope.”

The VMAs was also a breakthrough event for the Asian American and Pacific Island (AAPI) community. Both Olivia Rodrigo, a Filipino American singer known for her number one hits “Driver’s License” and “Good 4 U,” and BTS, the iconic Korean pop boyband known for number one hits “Butter” and “Permission to Dance,” tied for the most wins of the night.

While the VMAs is an important event on its own, many music aficionados like to analyze the results of the awards show as a way to predict possible nominations and wins of the Recoding Academy Awards like the Grammy Awards (Grammys).

Often dubbed as “the music’s biggest night,” the Grammys are considered the most prestigious award in the music industry, and, for many artists, even getting just a nomination is already a big honor.

“[Getting nominated last year] still feels surreal,” Park Jimin, lead vocalist of BTS, said. “We do know that it is a big honor, and we are deeply thankful.”

This year, Billboard predicts that BTS will garner a nomination for Song of the Year with the smash hit “Butter.” This year’s VMAs point in that direction as well, given that “Butter” won Song of the Summer.

The Song of the Year award, however, was granted to Rodrigo for her smash hit debut “Driver’s License.” Billboard predicts that “Driver’s License” will most likely notch a nomination for both Record of the Year as well as Song of the Year at the Grammys.

Students believe Rodrigo might have a better shot at the nomination with her massive hit “Good 4 U.”

“I know that ‘Driver’s License’ was a big hit, but, to me, ‘Good 4 U’ was much more popular,” Flewellen said. “I think she has a bigger chance with ‘Good 4 U’ because people of all different ages jammed to it.”

While nominations for the main Grammys will only be revealed in late November, the nominees for the Latin Grammy Awards were released Wednesday.

Popular Record of the Year nominees include Rauw Alejandro for his massive crossover hit “Todo de ti,” which was certified 6x Platinum in the United States despite being released just a few months ago, and Caetano Veloso, known for winning two Grammys for “Best World Music.”

Bad Bunny, who skyrocketed his career to a new level after his 24x Platinum and Billboard Hot 100 top-5 hit “Dakiti” performance at last year’s Grammys, garnered a nomination for Album of the Year for his album “El Último Tour del Mundo.”

“I am so excited to see Bad Bunny win,” Tatiana Cleffi (sophomore, nursing) said. “I am confident that he will win; he is really good.”

Overall, the awards season is a great way to honor the world’s most beloved and popular artists.