Alessia Cara c;laps back at critics of her Grammys Best New Artist win, explaining why she deserved the award.
Via Variety:
Following Alessia Cara’s Grammy win for best new artist on Sunday night, the singer took to Instagram to respond to online critics who slammed her victory and the show’s rules of eligibility.
“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,” the singer said in the post on Monday.
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.”
During the Grammy ceremony, some questioned on Twitter why Cara was eligible for the best new artist category, with her debut album “Know-It-All” having been released in November 2015. She beat out Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert, SZA, and Julia Michaels for the award.
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. “All of the years feeling like I wasn’t good at anything or that I was naive for dreaming about something improbable have paid off in a way that I have yet to process,” Cara said. “I know it sounds cheesy and dumb but it’s the honest truth. Thanks to everyone who’s shown me kindness and support along the way.”