Grammy's Vs. Groundswell (Round 53)

(Photo by: ICEDOTCOM)

This weekend millions of people (including myself) tuned into the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. The night was full of fun and surprises. Lady Gaga rocked the hard-boiled egg, Christina Aguilera remembered the lyrics, and Justin Bieber (with flawless hair) went home empty-handed.



Who is Esperanza Spalding? I kept seeing on my Facebook and Twitter feeds. Esperanza Spalding is a Jazz artist who won a grammy for Best New Artist on Sunday night. Teenage music fans, as well as some adults, seemed shocked and confused over this decision. The grammy's seemed to have caused a social media earthquake and the people of the groundswell felt the repercussions. 


Social media monitoring firm Meltwater conducted an info-graphic on who would take home the gold on Sunday night. Unfortunately, the people of the groundswell got it ALL wrong.

(Info-graph by: Meltwater group)

(Click here to check out the official winners of the 2011 grammy awards.)

Although, the people of the groundswell predicted wrong, there has to be an understanding that the grammy's do not take into consideration the overwhelming media buzz to determine the winners. The Recording Academy, which is made up of men and women involved in the world of music are responsible for (breaking hearts) these decisions.


(Click here if you are interested in the grammy awards voting process.)


Year after year the grammy's have surprised the people of the groundswell when it comes to the top winners. Although, social media buzz is hard to ignore, The Recording Academy has stayed clear of the contagious and spreading (Bieber) fever.


Now, you can spend your time upset with The Recording Academy for not choosing your favorite artist to win on Sunday night, or you could thank them for opening your eyes and ears to music beyond the popular top 40. If you still don't know who Esperanza Spalding is, take a listen to the YouTube video below and decide if she is grammy worthy for yourself.






The Recording Academy understands that social media buzz is important because it belongs to music fans around the world. Last year, the grammy's created a "We Are All Fans" page, allowing people to share opinions of their favorite music artists. Even though, The Recording Academy gets the final say, embracing the groundswell is a smart decision.

The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards had approximately 26.6 million viewers on Sunday night. Listening and understanding the groundswell may have reason behind the substantial numbers this year.

Will we ever see the day when The Recording Academy (over 50 years old) looks to the groundswell to decide the winners of musics biggest night? After seeing Lady Gaga hatch from an egg, I am a believer that anything can happen. 


Social media buzz is growing faster than ever before and people want to be heard. The groundswell will continue to force opinion but will The Recording Academy eventually cave? What do you think? 


In the words of Justin Bieber, "Never say never."


~ Heidi