Adele’s controversial awards sweep at the 2017 Grammy this Sunday has sparked rumors that the awards’ voters selected the British singer because of racism.
Spencer Kornhaber wrote in a piece for The Atlantic that the Adele versus Beyonce conversation needs to happen. He said, “With only three black women ever winning Album of the Year (Lauryn Hill, Natalie Cole, Whitney Houston), little in Grammys history suggests a non-white Adele would have the success of this white one. Beyonce’s one televised win last night was for Best Urban Contemporary Album—founded in 2013 surely to include more artists of color, but with the effect of highlighting how they are sidelined in the general categories.”
Steve Knopper agrees in his Rollingstone article, and noted that although Adele is an immensely talented singer, her popularity to an older generation of voters (and possibly more male voters), could have been a significant factor. He also argued that another significant one is that the pop and urban hiphop voters may have been split between Beyonce, and Justin Bieber (for “Purpose) and Drake (for “Views”), leaving Adele to own much of the voter demographic against an extreme dark horse, Sturgill Simpson and his country album “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth.”
Adele may have faced more backlash when she bumbled about thanking Beyonce for empowering her “black friends,” Daily Mail reported. But looking back at the singers’ mutual admiration for each other, it is fair to say that they’ve got each other’s back in an industry that keeps on pitting them against each other.
Adele said onstage, addressing her equally emotional idol, "I can't possibly accept this award. I'm very humbled and very grateful and gracious but my life is Beyonce."
Beyonce shares a similar sentiment in a Vanity Fair cover story for the “Hello” singer, “When Adele sings you can hear that it’s coming from an unfiltered honesty and purity. She creates songs that go deep and expose pain and vulnerability with her soulful voice. She takes you places other artists don’t go to anymore—the way they did in the ‘70s.”
