Alessia Cara addresses controversial GRAMMY win: ‘I didn’t ask to be submitted’

By: Meaghan Wray

Alessia Cara has something to say about her GRAMMYs win. On Jan. 28, the singer took home the award for best new artist , beating big-name musicians like Khalid, rapper Lil Uzi Vert, Julia Michaels and SZA. She quickly came under fire, with many people claiming she didn’t deserve her award – but she’s not going down without a fight.

On Jan. 29, a day after the awards show took place in Madison Square Garden, the Toronto native posted a black-and-white photo of herself to Instagram with a lengthy caption addressing the controversy. Alessia started her message off with a poignant remark, “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.”

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. I meant everything I said about everyone deserving the same shot. there is a big issue in the industry that perpetuates the idea that an artist’s talent and hard work should take a back seat to popularity and numbers. and 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 offence to my accomplishments and feeling the need to tell me how much I suck. here’s something fun! I’ve been thinking I suck since I was old enough to know what sucking meant. I’ve beat u to it. And that’s why this means a lot to me. despite my 183625 insecurities, I’ve been shown that what I’ve created is worth something and that people actually give a shit. 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. 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. I’ll stop talking now.

A post shared by ALESSIA CARA (@alessiasmusic) on

The 21-year-old singer also touched on her own struggles with self-confidence: “I’ve been thinking I suck since I was old enough to know what sucking meant. And that’s why this means a lot to me. despite my 183625 insecurities, I’ve been shown that what I’ve created is worth something and that people actually give a shit. 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.”

Alessia has been proving herself in the music industry for many years, having released her first and only studio album Know-It-All back in 2015 at the tender age of 18. Since then, she’s been nominated at the Juno Awards, BET Awards, Canadian Radio Music Awards and more, winning a total of 13 times in the past three years. While all the artists in her category are talented, Alessia was a worthy contender who is likely to also receive nominations at this year’s iHeartRadio Music Awards.

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