Why the Beyonce Grammy Win isn’t a Big Deal (even if it is kind of weird)

Originally written February 9, 2023; unpublished until June 2023

Nobody doubts that Beyonce deserves a Grammy or two. Given her newfound status as the most-decorated musician in the history of the ceremony, this should hardly be controversial. That’s probably why no one was surprised that she took home even more hardware this year. But what did turn heads were some of the categories: Best Dance/Electronic Recording and Album. You don’t have to spend very long looking to find someone who disagrees with these awards. Despite being the social media equivalent of mortal enemies, Reddit and Twitter were united with flaming indignation and proclaimed that although Beyonce is good, she does not fit.

I’m just going to say it: Beyonce is absolutely dance music. Although her style falls closer to R&B than to modern dance music, the Grammy-winning song in question, “Break my Soul”, is still charged with an uptempo four-on-the-floor beat under pulsating synths and syncopated stabs. If this production came from a Skrillex or Tiesto side project, no one would have batted an eye. To argue that this song or the album it came from are not electronic or dance music is to admit that you haven’t actually listened to it.

One of the main arguments with Beyonce’s win seems to be the fact that she isn’t an electronic artist like the other nominees. But what even counts as “electronic music” or as an “electronic artist” nowadays? If we’re going to count her out, what sub-genres should or shouldn’t count for the Grammy? There are constant fights over the line between DnB and breaks, whether ambient should be counted as electronic or something else entirely (another Grammy controversy), if brostep is ‘real’ dubstep and even whether or not house counts as EDM. The Wikipedia page on electronic music lists nearly 400 genres and subgenres and still warns that it may be incomplete. For a genre so notoriously fickle and vague when it comes to genre identity, is it any wonder that fans take issue when something rocks the boat?

Looking at the past winners of these awards, the Grammys are as unpredictable as they are varied. Britney Spears, The Baha Men, and Justin Timberlake have all won Grammys in the Dance/Electronic category, and lest we forget, a total outsider ended up as a nominee in 2013 through questionable methods. If “Who Let the Dogs Out” is good enough for a trophy, then there’s plenty of space for the likes of Beyonce, especially because she actually seems to get what this genre means to so many people.

Electronic and dance music have historically been genres of welcoming those who find themselves pushed out of every other space. From the gay and black communities who founded many of the clubs in the early days of the sound, to the trend of DJs wearing masks to hide their identity or boost their confidence, the electronic/dance scene has always been rooted in acceptance and safety. RENAISSANCE, the album in question, is partially a love letter to those who built such spaces. It might not sound like modern house or dance, but Beyonce made a point to thank those who pioneered these sounds in her acceptance speech.

And this is what makes this scene so weird. One minute it’s ‘PLUR’ and the next is pitchforks and torches. You’d be hard-pressed to find another community that embraces the oxymoronic concept of open-armed gatekeeping like electronic music. Who knows, perhaps the reason for the pushback is a fear that the mainstream is coming for this safe space, and Beyonce is just the latest scapegoat for that anxiety.

In the end, most of us can agree that the Grammys are kind of silly. Do I think she should have won or even been nominated for this category? Personally, no, but I also don’t see this as the catastrophic oversight most of the internet seems to think it is. After all, dance music is supposed to be a fun thing.

Note: This was an assignment in my Writing About Music class. We were instructed to write a blog-style opinion piece on something in current news relating to music. Target 500-750 words.