For years, critics have said that some of the more commercially successful artists are too superficial to be critically acclaimed. To what degree are these claims valid?
In order to first answer whether or not the quality of one’s music correlates with the number of records they sell, the focus must be put on two artists who represent this dilemma the best. Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) is tied with Jay-Z as being the number one most decorated Hip-Hop/R&B Grammy award winner ever, and the 10th highest Grammy award winner overall with 24 wins and 75 nominations. The Weeknd currently holds the title for the highest selling artist in the world and has dominated the R&B genre for years. Despite The Weeknd’s popularity, he has still struggled in the Grammys, only being nominated 13 times and winning just four.
One potentially accurate measurement is to compare the two artists by their Grammys to sales ratio. With Ye selling 139 million records throughout his career and being nominated for 75 Grammys, his Grammy-sales ratio is one Grammy nomination for every 1,853,333 sales. With The Weeknd selling 108 million records in total and being nominated for a Grammy 13 times, his Grammy-sales ratio is one Grammy nomination for every 8,307,692 records sold. The difference between the two is substantial and clearly shows Ye to be the successor.
The Rolling Stones Magazine is one of the biggest, most reliable music and entertainment magazines in the world and their “Top 500 Albums of All Time” list (RS500) is one of the most in-depth and analytical lists ever composed on the music scene. It was originally published in 2003 and has been updated occasionally ever since, being most recently updated on September 22, 2020. This list consists of multiple Ye albums including Yeezus at #269, 808s & Heartbreaks at #244, Graduation at #204, Late Registration at #117, The College Dropout at #74 and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy at #17, making him the artist with the most albums on the RS500. The Weeknd, on the other hand, only has one album in the RS500 with Beauty Behind the Madness at #442.
Many claim that “good” music is becoming more and more difficult to find. “You gotta really seek it out, the radio isn’t playing what is the best out there right now,” said Eric Perry, a Physics teacher at Hollis-Brookline High School (HBHS) as well as a musician outside of school. A lot of what is being put out right now is what Mr. Perry describes as “cookie cutter,” in the sense that artists are too heavily influenced by another and do not innovate. “Current music doesn’t really resonate with me,” said Camille Carson, a science teacher at HBHS. These teachers are not exposed to the more introspective and innovative part of music, and instead only listen to the more popular artists such as The Weeknd or Taylor Swift.
One’s opinion on the current state of music ultimately comes down to personal preference. Although one artist may have more streams or awards, all that matters at the end of the day is whether or not you enjoy the music. No music is objectively better than the other; if a certain piece of music resonates with you, then you are fully entitled to listen to that music and share it with others. However, for some people, they are exclusively exposed to artists who do not immediately resonate with them and therefore are turned away from the beauty that is hiding within all commercially mainstream music. Nevertheless, the debate on whether or not one artist is better than the other will never be resolved as everyone feels something unique to themselves that can’t be articulated through words.
