The Grammys are considered to be the biggest night in music. Monday night, they fell short in honoring some of music’s most memorable and prolific stars to ever grace its stage. The most disrespectful of them all was their tribute to Natalie Cole, a legend who died on the eve of 2016. And it was surprising given Cole’s historic run with the Grammy Awards.
She’s been awarded 21 Grammy nominations and 9 Grammy wins, including Best New Artist in 1976 (the first black female artist to win) and the coveted Album of the Year award in 1992 for Unforgettable…with Love which featured her father, the late, great Nat King Cole. Natalie was no stranger to the Grammys, yet the academy chose to disregard her career accomplishments and instead settled on just flashing her photo for just five seconds longer in the “In Memoriam” section of the program.
Their disrespect didn’t just apply to Natalie Cole. Earth, Wind & Fire founder and front man Maurice White was also treated to an after-thought tribute, and he was a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement award that night!
This is in no way to discredit the amazing contributions that David Bowie made to music, as his impact on popular music and culture is prevalent today. However, outside of the Lifetime Achievement Award, David Bowie only received one Grammy in his lifetime. One.
So, the question that needs an answer is: what’s the REAL reason that the Grammys decided not to include a rightful musical tribute to Natalie Cole? The Cole family has expressed its distaste with the Grammys for their decision not to honor Cole during the ceremony and rightfully so. It’s also telling that this year’s ceremony noticeably lacked a presence from black female artists on its main stage.
Natalie’s tribute snub from the Grammys just made it easier for the BET Awards to put together an amazing tribute to the life and legacy of Natalie Cole at their awards ceremony this year. A tribute featuring Janelle Monaé, Ledisi, Jennifer Hudson and Andra Day would be the most epic display of #BlackGirlMagic that will have Natalie singing in the heavens above!
What artists would you like to see take part in a tribute to Natalie Cole? Let us know and share this post on Twitter or Facebook!
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