Ellie Goulding slams Grammy Awards: The music industry 'saddens me'
Ellie Goulding is the latest artist weighing in on the controversy surrounding the 2021 Grammy nominations.
However, the "Lights" singer took her criticism a step further by penning a fiery Medium essay Wednesday about the issues she believes are plaguing the music industry.
Goulding said the current state of the music world "saddens" her, because "the industry stopped reflecting the impulses that drive us as musicians."
"I sit and wonder when factors such as industry relationships, internal politics, and magazine covers started being rewarded before the music itself," the 33-year-old British singer expressed.
Explaining that awarding medals to athletes or scientists is a "fairly black or white" process, she said the "waters muddy" when it comes to music awards -- especially when "the most globally popular artists and most critically revered artists" are shut out.
"People are being awarded -- in the form of both nominations and category wins -- for reasons that are hard to decipher," Goulding insisted. "Would a runner start a race if they knew crossing the finish line first wouldn’t necessarily win them a gold medal?"
"So, my question to you, the music industry, is -- and I ask this humbly to open a discussion -- what constitutes the worthiness of an award," the "Burn" singer asked. "Who is it that decides this worthiness?"
Goulding ended her essay by making a call for more transparency in "our industries process of award nominations and voting" and for more effort to nominate artists based on their merit and not "social media presence."
"It is time to have a bigger discussion about where we are going and how we acknowledge and reward those who are, frankly, the reason this industry exists in the first place," she concluded.
Previously, The Weeknd, who was not nominated for any Grammys this year despite having a record-breaking song, called the Grammy Awards "corrupt."
Harvey Mason Jr., the head of the Recording Academy, said in response, "Unfortunately, every year, there are fewer nominations than the number of deserving artists."
In 2016, Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do" was up for a Grammy for best pop solo performance, but lost to Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud."
