Despite over 60 Grammy award shows, music fans are still wondering about the difference between two major awards: song vs record of the year.
Music history was rewritten at the Grammys 2023 as Beyonce become the most decorated artist ever with her four wins, while Kim Petras became the first trans singer to win a Grammy for Unholy with Sam Smith.
2023 marks the 65th annual show, but the age-old question still stands: what is the difference between record and song of the year?
This year’s winners were Lizzo and Bonnie Raitt, respectively, so let’s take a look into the details.
Song of the year vs record of the year: What’s the difference at the Grammys?
According to the official award website, record of the year honors the artist, producers, and sound engineers behind the record.
Song of the year, on the other hand, recognizes the songwriters of the track only.
For example, Adele’s Hello won both record of the year and song of the year at the 2017 Grammys.
For the former, Adele, the eight engineers, and the producer, Greg Kurstin, were all awarded a Grammy. For song of the year, only Adele and Kurstin, who also served as co-writer, received the honor.
Lizzo graciously accepted the record the year award at the 65th annual event with an inspiring speech, thanking her About Damn Time team, and Beyonce – her inspiration.
As the sole songwriter on Just Like That, blues singer Bonnie Raitt accepted the honor alone, making it her 14th Grammy win.
The track also took home best American Roots song and Make Up My Mind was selected as best Americana performance at the annual event last night.
Harry Styles’ Grammy win divides Twitter
While Harry fans are ecstatic to hear the singer’s major music achievements since his X Factor beginnings. many were astounded he beat out Beyonce, who had over 400,000 fans queuing for her tour presale last week.
Styles’ Harry’s House record won album of the year against the likes of Beyonce, Adele, Coldplay, and Kendrick Lamar.
Despite being one of the most celebrated artists in the last two decades with 32 Grammy wins, Queen B has never landed album of the year. She has been nominated four times for I Am… Sasha Fierce (2010); Beyonce (2015); Lemonade (2017); and Renaissance (2023).
“It’s not so much about Harry winning, it’s about Beyonce NOT winning,” a Bey Hive member said. “How is she your most decorated artist of all time but the academy won’t give her the most coveted award? They should never expect she’ll grace them with her presence again.”
A second added: “There is literally no valid reason why Harry deserved that AOTY award over Beyonce.”
That being said, Harry’s House was reportedly the biggest album of 2022 in the UK, so a win is no surprise either.
“He deserved this grammy more than anything so respectfully, get over yourselves,” a fan defended.
Lizzo and Beyonce kept things graceful despite their loss:
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