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After seeing the discussion on the forum and elsewhere about Variety’s Blind Grammy Ballot, I thought that I should ask the voter I’ve been in contact with for their own blind ballot. This voter was the one who gave @babygirl and I the submission tea a couple months ago, so I can assure you they are legitimate.
As a preface, I want to remind you that a pool of 1 or 5 voters will never be representative of the Grammy membership of +13,000 voters. With that being said, I think it is still fun to get a sneak peak at some voters thought process!
Context about this voter:
In their mid 20s, a craftsperson.Their thoughts:
ReplyAOTY – I have no idea how some of these records made it with little to no noise in the year. I enjoy Harry’s House and 30 a lot, I think Special, Mr. Morale, and In These Silent Days are good even though I wouldn’t like either to win. To me this was between the two culturally impactful ones: Bad Bunny and Beyoncé. Ultimately went with Renaissance because I think the album is stronger and I would love to see Beyoncé finally win AOTY, especially with such an important album for the times.
ROTY – “As It Was” has my vote here. Not only was it a smash, but Harry Styles has been solidifying himself as one of the most interesting pop acts working right now. The song manages to be fun and energetic while still being haunting. Brandi Carlile and Lucius would’ve been my alternative, I adore that song and I think Carlile is truly a force to be reckoned with when she picks the right songs. The Lacy and Beyoncé joints are great too.
SOTY – 6 out of the 10 nominees are not even nomination-worthy to me here. I think “As It Was” is amazing. but its lyricism doesn’t feel like the best here. I appreciate the intricacies of “All Too Well” but Swift is not getting my vote for an extended cover. I actually like “Easy On Me” but I would rather give someone else a chance and it’s a rather generic cut from Adele. “Bad Habit” was the song that truly struck me the most here, being playful and so, so unique.
BNA – Kind of a weak year for this category, but some of my faves made it in. I don’t really understand how Anitta and Muni Long were allowed to compete here. Latto has yet to prove herself to me outside of a catchy song. I enjoy some of the Måneskin songs, but they’ve always struck me as appearance-based; most of their songs are not special whatsoever. DOMi & JD Beck are just purely in due to industry connections and have not made any impact in my eyes, and Joy, Nwigwe, and Tuttle I’d never thought of prior to the nominations. To me it was between Wet Leg and Omar Apollo, but ultimately leaned towards the latter. He’s truly the only nominee that feels like a star, and he’s been charming everywhere I see him! Really loved his Tiny Desk too.
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance – I really hope that annoying Sam Smith song doesn’t win. I fully support fellow queer artists, but that song is clearly aging soon and I don’t support Dr-Luke-condoner Kim Petras. The ABBA song actually grew on me but I don’t think it made much of an impact anyways. “Bam Bam” is a great song and I surely wouldn’t be mad at a win, but Ed Sheeran’s parts made it drag for me. Ultimately was torn between the Malone/Doja and Coldplay/BTS songs, but went with the latter. Really love that track and I think it would be nice to see BTS up on the Grammy stage. Saw Coldplay live last year as well and that song was truly something else then!
This was an interesting read and looks like a well informed voter. But I also feel that other article with the infamous voters, tho not per se a lie, was written specifically to clickbait with controversial opinions. Most voters probably dont even give this much thought when filling a ballot and just go with something they’re more familiar or passionate. But it’s still fun reading those.
ReplyCopy URLHonestly, this is no different than the other Secret ballots. We have to remember that the voters are people just like us and their opinions are always going to be criticized. This voter said 6 out of 10 songs had no business being nominated in Song of the Year (OUCH) another voter said they HATE the Taylor Swift song (fair). What I’m gathering from these blind ballots is that they tell us absolutely nothing.But I like that Harry and Steve Lacy are getting a lot of mentions at least.
ReplyCopy URLIt’s the first sensible ballot I’ve seen that, of course, would never be published by Variety because it isn’t trolling with the commentary. I only pay attention to ballots when there’s a pattern and just last year, a lot of us got fooled by that with Oscar ballots all voting for Penelope Cruz. There’s no pattern with these ballots so virtually no help whatsoever.
ReplyCopy URLIt’s the first sensible ballot I’ve seen that, of course, would never be published by Variety because it isn’t trolling with the commentary. I only pay attention to ballots when there’s a pattern and just last year, a lot of us got fooled by that with Oscar ballots all voting for Penelope Cruz. There’s no pattern with these ballots so virtually no help whatsoever.
I’d argue there are two patterns, a lack of Adele passion (either no mention of her or saying she’s been rewarded already/EOM isn’t the same as her other hits) and a fair amount of respect for Lizzo as a musician in the industry (even if voters said they didn’t vote for ADT)
ReplyCopy URLThe lack of Adele in the ballots is definitely noticeable. But secret ballots are so unreliable and out of pocket sometimes that it might not mean a thing. Variety is the kind of publication that would put out clickbait pieces to spur discussion so they might have left the ones that voted for Adele or were too simplistic. Will just have to see.
ReplyCopy URLthis and the “alphabetical advantage” on the ballots are just myths, I can’t believe I see people considering this here
I do believe some artists and songs benefit from being high up on the ballots. There are hundreds and thousands of entries and I don’t think people really prioritize the Grammys in real life.
ReplyCopy URLI do believe some artists and songs benefit from being high up on the ballots. There are hundreds and thousands of entries and I don’t think people really prioritize the Grammys in real life.
This is what happens. Plus, apparently voters have a limited time to cast their votes and obviously people naturally tend to choose recognizable names in a list as soon as they click on it. This is not just about the Grammys.
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