Grammys Eclipsed by Controversy

Whatever happened to the idea of someone being innocent until proven guilty? Though the case appears pretty clear-cut with the Chris Brown/Rihanna chaos, we still don’t have a clear, official record of what actually happened. All that Brown has been charged with, at this point, is felony criminal threats – nobody is actually claiming he laid a hand on anyone. This reminds us how powerful the media is and just how fast news circulates nowadays, especially in the music world. An artist falling at a concert, taking questionable pictures (Miley Cyrus, Kayne or even Phelps), or making off-color remarks is sure to make its way across the Internet in a matter of hours, if not minutes. Often times these little blunders will hog the spotlight for days, overshadowing anything else in the news. I’m sure Michael Phelps is jumping up and down as the harsh media spotlight has shifted to Chris Brown. While people were screaming “woman beater!” everyone seemed to forget about the actual Grammy Awards. Who the hell are Robert Plant and Allison Krauss who won Album of the Year?! So what if Blink-182 announced their reunion, Green Day revealed the release date of their highly anticipated album or M.I.A. nearly gave birth on stage while getting her “Swagga” on? I wanna know what the eff happened with Rihanna and Chris Brown, down to every last gritty detail!

It’s a sad yet true case in today’s news environment that people are quick to flock to scandal. Tabloid Web sites, like Perezhilton.com or TMZ.com, now have enormous clout as they feed the public’s appetite. As much as they won’t admit it, people tend to love drama – especially when it’s real life. Maybe it gives us something interesting to talk about during what otherwise might be a boring day. And hey, I’m definitely not claiming innocence. I’ve probably been keeping as close an eye on the story as anyone else. What I don’t know is what makes us enjoy, closely follow or laugh at other people’s misfortune or problems? Yeah, they’re celebrities and, to a certain extent, place themselves under the hot lamps, but shouldn’t we also be keeping up on news with real substance? What about celebrating people’s success? Maybe that’s just asking too much…

Words Rene Perez