Music fans have a love/hate relationship with the Grammys.
Though it’s the most celebrated award show in the business, deserving entertainers are often overlooked in many of the major categories – or shut out altogether.
Artists like Bob Marley, Nas, Diana Ross, and Chuck Berry have never won a Grammy, and Beyoncé’s 2017 Album of the Year loss has prompted many to wonder the show is racist..
In a recent interview with V Magazine, pop diva Mariah Carey kept it all the way real about how she feels about music’s top honor.
“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” the singer said about jumping through hoops so that her music would be eligible for the award.
“I mean, I have five Grammys. That’s cute. There’s people that have been doing this half the time that have twice as many [Grammys],” Carey continued. “I won two Grammys the first year I started, but after that, [the Grammys] are like, ‘We don’t go with the people that are selling a lot of records and are popular; we’re gonna go the opposite way.’ So I got screwed out of certain years.”
Though she’s been nominated 34 times, Carey has yet to win one of the coveted Album of the Year, Record of the Year, or Song of the Year awards, despite selling more than 200 million records worldwide. Still, she isn’t upset that she’s been overlooked.
“I wasn’t bitter about it,” she added. “I was just like, okay, well, I guess I’m not standing here barefoot on stage singing and trying to go a certain way. I’m just me.”
While she isn’t hung up on honors, Carey does love making music for her fans. After splitting with her longtime manager last year, Carey signed on to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and is in the studio working on a new album.
“I’ve already been in the studio last year and the year before that, just playing around and doing some music, some other things,” she said. “I don’t want to give away too many people that I’m working with, but there’s a different approach that I’m taking as an artist. I think it’s like a fresh start.”