Alessia Cara claps back at social media response to best new artist Grammy win
History was made Sunday evening when Alessia Cara won Best New Artist at the 60th Grammy Awards.
It was not only the Brampton, ON native’s first Grammy win, but it was also the first time a Canadian artist has ever won the prestigious award.
this is so weird and I’ll never quite process it but thank u so much for ur continuous love and support and belief in me and wow and yeah
— ac (@alessiacara) January 29, 2018
And what should have been an incredible moment in the 21-year-old’s career, quickly became riddled with backlash as the internet ended up feeling less than enthusiastic about her win.
Following her big win, online critics complained that Cara shouldn’t have received the award because she wasn’t “new” enough.
Which in retrospect, sure, Cara first made it big with her debut single “Here” in April 2015, which was quickly followed by debut album Know-It-All later that same year.
But there’s no reason to say she doesn’t deserve the award. Her music not only picked up major momentum in the past year, but she is positively redefining what it means to be a successful star, which makes Best New Artist a fitting accomplishment.
Some disgruntled fans quickly took to social media claiming that the award should have gone to R&B singer SZA, who was also nominated in the category alongside Julia Michaels, Khalid, and Lil Uzi Vert.
Me trying to figure out how Alessia Cara won Best New Artist over SZA when her debut album came out in 2015. #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/WWZeisz3sM
— NUFF (@nuffsaidNY) January 29, 2018
Alessia Cara’s first album came out in 2015 with a top 5 billboard single, how is she a new artist?
— Vanson Wyck (@thisisrory) January 29, 2018
alessia cara hasnt dropped an album since 2015. uzi has dropped 6 projects since 2015. talk about snubbery
— fbg mike (@trapyeezus) January 29, 2018
Of course, Cara’s loyal fan base backed her up, even going as far as pointing out exactly when the other nominees first dropped their own music.
for all of you saying alessia didn’t deserve that grammy bc she isn’t a “new artist”
•sza first ep released 2012
•khalid first single released 2016
•julia michaels first ep released 2010
•lil uzi vert first ep released 2014
•alessia cara first ep released 2015— dani (@lovebringsflwrs) January 29, 2018
Soon after, Cara addressed the controversy with her trademark honesty and genuineness on Instagram:
To address the apparent backlash regarding winning something I had no control over: I didn’t log onto grammy.com and submit myself. that’s not how it works. I didn’t ask to be submitted either because there are other artists that deserve the acknowledgment. but I was nominated and won and I am not going to be upset about something I’ve wanted since I was a kid, not to mention have worked really hard for,” Cara wrote on the social media platform.
Accompanying a black and white photo of Cara on her phone in a room full of balloons, she added:
I’m aware that my music wasn’t released yesterday, I’m aware that, yes, my music has become fairly popular in the last year. But I’m trying very hard to use the platform I’ve been given to talk about these things and bring light to issues that aren’t fair, all while trying to make the most of the weird, amazing success I’ve been lucky enough to have. I will not let everything I’ve worked for be diminished by people taking offense to my accomplishments and feeling the need to tell me how much I suck.
In the post, she also addressed the many insecurities she’s dealt with being in the music industry and expressed how much the award meant to her.
Cara was also nominated for song of the year and best music video for her feature on Logic’s “1-800-273-8255,” as well as best pop duo/group performance for “Stay” with Zedd. She was the only female winner in a major category at this year’s Grammys.