Grammy Awards' complex voting system explained - and it's caused controversy
It's finally time for the Grammy Awards 2023 - but how exactly do they decide who scoops the gongs?
Beyonce became the first female artist in history to score 80 Grammy nominations, while Taylor Swift and Harry Styles also in the running to take home a number of award.
Five new categories have been introduced this year, as well as a special award for the Best Song for Social Change, meaning there are now a total of 91 categories in 27 fields.
The annual award ceremony, now in the 65th year, recognises the best music released between a very specific eligibility period.
Weirdly, it actually ended a long time ago, as it only includes music that was released between October 1 2021 and September 30 2022.
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Adele cries as she accepts her Grammy for Album of the Year in 2012 (AFP via Getty Images)
Justin Bieber attends the Grammys in 2022 (Getty Images for The Recording Academy)The process begins with Recording Academy members and record companies submitting entries which they deem worthy of consideration for the Grammy Awards.
The Academy's members are either classified as voting, professional or student members.
Voting members are artists, producers, musicians who are involved first hand with the creation of music.
Professional members are music industry professionals, while student members are those studying to be involved in the music industry.
The nominees don't have to be Recording Academy members themselves, but their work does need to be submitted by one or a registered media company.
More than 350 experts in various fields take part in reviewing sessions to make sure the submissions meet specific qualifications and have been placed in appropriate categories.
The purpose of screenings is not to make artistic or technical judgments about the recordings, but rather to make sure that each entry is eligible and placed in its proper category.
The Grammy Awards is an annual ceremony (AFP via Getty Images)After the screening it's time for the nominations, with first-round ballets sent to voting members and tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Deloitte.
They may vote in up to ten categories across up to three genre fields, plus the four categories of the General Field (Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best New Artist.)
However, members are told to vote only in their areas of expertise to ensure the quality of the voting.
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In craft categories, final nominations are determined by committees comprised of voting members from all of The Academy's Chapter cities.
After nominations have been determined and announced, it's time for the final voting.
Just like the noms, Academy voting members vote in up to ten categories across up to three fields in the genre fields plus the four categories of the General Field to determine the winners.
Obviously, those with the most votes in a category win, and in the case of a tie there are two winners.
The Weeknd holds his trophies for Best R&B Performance and Best Urban Contemporary Album in the press room during the 58th Annual Grammy Music Awards (Getty)Then the votes are checked by Deloitte, who deliver each winner's name in a sealed envelope that is not opened until the ceremony.
The results are not known until the Grammy Award winners are announced at the televised awards ceremony.
So what's wrong with any of that?
Well, the awards honour "artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".
However, it has been argued that the "album sales or chart position" seems to help a lot more.
There are a lot of hurdles you need to jump to be considered - and it takes considerable effort to fill in the paperwork.
For those on a major label, they might be held back for someone else who has a better shot, or smaller labels might not have a clue how to submit.
Sam Smith holds his four awards in the press room at the 57th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles (Getty)Your work needs to have been released and sold in the US to be eligible, but it's unclear how this now works in an age when anyone can upload their music to YouTube and streaming sites.
There are also issues with individual awards, such as Best New Artist, because it's for someone who "first establishes the public identity of that artist or established group".
This means you could have been in the music industry for years, but would qualify if it was your first solo album.
When it comes to voting, some genres are voted on less than others in the nominations round, and then many people without expertise vote to pick genre winners.
And your album only needs to be 51% of a genre to get into that category, so mainstream music gets favoured because it has a better chance of fitting multiple genres.
There are a lot of awards on the line - with huge names in the music industry competing for a limited number of trophies.
In the Album of the Year category is ABBA's Voyage, Adele's 3, Bad Bunny's Un Verano Sin Ti, Beyonce's Renaissance, Mary J. Blige's Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe), Brandi Carlile's In These Silent Days, Coldplay's Music of the Spheres, Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, Lizzo's Special and Harry Styles' Harry’s House.
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The Song of the Year nominations include abcdefu by Gayle, About Damn Time by Lizzo, All Too Well by Taylor Swift, As It Was by Harry Styles, Bad Habit by Steve Lacy, Break My Soul by Beyonce, Easy On Me by Adele, The Heart Part 5 by Kendrick Lamar and Just Like That by Bonnie Raitt
While the Record of the Year nominations are Don't Shut Me Down by ABBA, Easy on Me by Adele, Break My Soul by Beyonce, Good Morning Gorgeous by Mary J. Blige and You and Me on the Rock by Brandi Carlile feat. Lucius.
Also up for that category are Woman by Doja Cat, Bad Habit by Steve Lacy, The Heart Part 5 by Kendrick Lamar, About Damn Time by Lizzo and As It Was by Harry Styles are also up for this category.
Nominees for Best Pop Solo Performance are Easy On Me by Adele, Moscow Mule by Bad Bunny, Woman by Doja Cat, Bad Habit by Steve Lacy, About Damn Time by Lizzo and As It Was by Harry Styles.
And nominations for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance are Don't Shut Me Down by Abba, Bam Bam by Camila Cabello featuring Ed Sheeran, My Universe by Coldplay and BTS, I Like You (A Happier Song) by Post Malone and Doja Cat and Unholy by Sam Smith and Kim Petras.
Five new categories have also been introduced this year, meaning winners could be awarded Songwriter of the Year (Non-Classical), Best Alternative Music Performance, Best Americana Performance, Best Score Soundtrack For Video Games And Other Interactive Media, or Best Spoken Word Poetry Album.
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