The Grammy nominations were announced last week, which always ramps up the controversy surrounding the fairly daft awards ceremony. And the latest big cause célèbre is that The 1975 are not up for any prizes. For frontman Matty Healy, anyway. It is, he says, “a fucking outrage”.
Healy’s outburst came during a performance at New York’s Madison Square Garden last night, where he told the audience: “The fact we didn’t get nominated for a Grammy is a fucking outrage. And the reason people don’t say that is cos it’s not a very tasteful thing to say. But I’m way past tasteful”.
Well, he’s got that right. And it’s not just this year’s snub he takes issue with, it’s that the band have received no Grammy Awards whatsoever in their career. Just two measly nominations in 2017 and 2020. And the first one of those was in the Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package, which isn’t exactly for the music.
“Are they fucking mental?” he went on, noting that 2018 album ‘A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships’ got no recognition from the Grammys at all. “Nothing. Fuck off! Dickheads. What the fuck are they on about? I mean, [2022 song] ‘About You’ just on its own merits deserves a fucking Grammy. I mean, I don’t really care that much but it just winds me up”.
Sure, yes, he doesn’t care in the slightest, as you can definitely tell from everything he’s just said. But I suppose he has a point. The 1975 are quite popular and have barely ever featured in the Grammy nominations in any year. Their best nod was ‘Give Yourself A Try’ going up for Best Rock Song in 2020.
So it is odd. I mean, Coldplay have been nominated loads of times, and even won a few, so you can’t really argue that it's the discerning tastes of Grammy voters that have put The 1975 at a disadvantage.
Anyway, I’m sure that Healy will take consolation in the fact that the producer of The 1975’s latest album ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language’ - Jack Antonoff - is up for Producer Of The Year. And maybe that’s almost an award for them if he wins. Although he’s possibly more being recognised for his work on multiple Taylor Swift albums.
