The Video Music Awards (VMAs) aired last night and crowned some of the biggest names in the music industry. Ariana Grande won artist of the year and “Old Town Road (Remix)” by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus won song of the year. Panic! At The Disco’s “High Hopes” won for best rock.
Wait, what?
“High Hopes” has been on mainstream pop stations for months. It has an upbeat rhythm, utilizes high brass instruments, and includes electronic sound effects and beats. There is no breakdown. There is no prominent guitar riff or drum solo. What about this song made it rock?
Sidenote: I am in no way trying to bash Panic! here. I’m happy Brendon Urie took home an award, but there is not a single element of rock in this song. The other nominees put the genre to shame:
The 1975 – “Love It If We Made It”
Fall Out Boy – “Bishops Knife Trick”
Imagine Dragons – “Natural”
Lenny Kravitz – “Low”
twenty one pilots – “My Blood”
The nominees may have been proposed based on their associations with the rock community. Unfortunately, the specific songs chosen are closer to the pop side of the genre spectrum.
So how did one of the biggest music awards fail to properly represent an entire genre?
Although the VMA awards are decided by the public’s online vote, the nominees are decided by MTV producers and executives. This list did not give potential voters in the rock community anyone to give an honest vote to.
There is a prominent bias towards artists for their past works rather than the specific songs nominated. In the future, producers of MTV should listen to the songs of a genre and nominate accordingly.
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