Carly Explains it All: Awards Shows

One of the most important moments in pop culture in the past five years was Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAs. It was a small moment in time, but one that I think should be the norm.

Following this year’s Grammys, long-time record exec Steve Stoute took out a full-page $40,000 ad in The New York Times to criticize the Grammys for being completely out of touch with contemporary pop culture and urged artists to “Demand that they change this system and truly reflect and truly acknowledge your art.”

Whether or not you thought Kanye was a complete asshole for what he did to Taylor Swift that night, you’ve got to admit one thing: he was right. How did MTV expect us to take their “awards ceremony” seriously after they picked a teenage soap opera that looked like everything that came before it over the fierce choreography of “Single Ladies?”  We have the right to publicly oppose weddings and politicians; why not award show results?

Unfortunately for the American public, Kanye spent his Grammy night this year at New York Fashion Week and wasn’t in L.A. to act as pop culture referee. He should have sent a representative to stand up and say, “Lady Antebellum, Imma let you finish, but Jay-Z had one of best songs of all time!”

Drunk dialing is meant to be forgotten; New York is forever.

I thought something interesting might happen when Eminem got up to accept his award for best rap album. But not even the man famous for the question, “You think I give a damn about a Grammy?” had the guts to speak up that night.

Some people really do need to be told what’s good and what’s not and, in a perfect world, that would be the function of award shows. This is why the Grammys, the Oscars, and even shows as vile as the VMAs need to get back in touch with their audiences.

There’s no clear explanation as to why these award shows aren’t siding with the American public, but what is sure is that they need to realize the consequences of their decisions. They need to be the trusted referees so Kanye doesn’t have to.

Because whether we like it or not, there are little girls in this world who will grow up thinking Taylor Swift had the Best Female Music Video of 2009, and that scares the hell out of me.