Drake Couldn’t Save the Grammys
Credit to Author: Myles Tanzer| Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2019 15:01:24 +0000
There can be 100 people in the room and if Drake is one of them, we’re all going to be talking about Drake. That was proven at Sunday night’s Grammy Awards when the Toronto artist made a surprise appearance—one of the night’s few actually shocking moments—to accept his award for Best Rap Song.
Drake came out from behind the stage and approached the mic saying drolly, “[This is] the first time in Grammy history where I actually am who I thought I was for a second.” He proceeded to make an unconventional speech that centered around the concept that a Grammy was a nice recognition but ultimately meaningless of what it means to be a successful artist.
“You’ve already won if you have people who are singing your songs word for word, if you are a hero in your hometown,” he continued. “If there are people who have regular jobs who are coming out in the rain, in the snow, spending their hard-earned money to buy tickets to come to your shows, you don’t need this right here, I promise you. You’ve already won.” Shortly after that, he was awkwardly cut off for a commercial break. (In a statement to the media, The Grammys contend that they thought his speech was over after a “natural pause.”)
The speech was Drake’s first ever on a Grammy’s stage—he’d previously won three awards which were all part of the pre-telecast ceremony. It shows how much The Grammys have struggled with adapting to the times that Drake, arguably the most influential artist of this decade, is a mere footnote in Grammys history.
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