"The Grammys have always been a joke. More often than not, they award convention, not creativity. When push comes to shove, the Grammys will always award the 'safe' choice, and you can't get any safer than a cute blond girl who sings about stupid teenage things. Think about some of the other artists she was up against: an openly bisexual woman who is for gay rights (Lady Gaga), an assertive black woman comfortable with her sexuality (Beyoncé), and a racially mixed group that is openly in support of various leftist causes (Black Eyed Peas). Let's face it, with the politics of the Grammys, these artists didn't stand a chance against a skinny, non-threatening, apolitical, straight white girl."
-MTV News reader The_Cactus, who wrote in response to the backlash forming against country-pop superstar Taylor Swift over her performance and win at the Grammys last Sunday, January 31. The Internet chatter has been on overdrive this week as the public lobbed criticisms at the singer for a sub-par performance during the show and at the Grammy voters for choosing Fearless as Album of the Year. The arguments escalated as the week went on, with Swift's label boss Scott Borchetta defending her performance and blaming it on technical problems. "This is not 'American Idol,'" he told The Associated Press. "This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note. This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It's not about that technically perfect performance."
In an interesting twist, that statement drew the ire of Kelly Clarkson, the first "Idol" winner who took umbrage with the casual dismissal of the show. "We not only hit the high notes, you forgot to mention we generally hit the 'right' notes as well," Clarkson wrote on her blog. "Every artist has a bad performance or two and that is understandable, but throwing blame will not make the situation at hand any better."
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