Alessia Cara Draws Backlash Over Grammy Win, Explains Why It Doesn't Bother Her

Alessia Cara is having the time of her life and no hater can bring her down. The 21-year-old defends her win at the 2018 Grammys.

On Sunday, Jan. 28, the singer-songwriter collected her Best New Artist trophy in Madison Square Garden. She bested fellow newcomers Julia Michaels, Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert, and SZA in the category.

However, not everyone was happy for her win.

Backlash

Some believe that Cara should not have been nominated for Best New Artist in the first place. Her first album, Know-It-All, came out way back in 2015. Others believe that SZA, the sole female artist who received most nominations, should have taken home the trophy. The "Love Galore" singer lost in all five categories she was nominated to.

Rapper Ja Rule thinks that SZA should have won Best New Artist on Sunday's show.

Cara was the only female winner presented with a trophy in any of the major categories at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.

Haters Gonna Hate

However, the young artist is unfazed by the anger that her win has elicited over her Best New Artist win. On a post on Instagram, the "How Far I'll Go" singer showed her haters how she is celebrating her first Grammys.

She also wrote a lengthy message addressing all the hate directed at her for winning.

"[T]o address the apparent backlash regarding winning something I had no control over: I didn't log onto grammy.com and submit myself. [T]hat's not how it works," she stated. "[B]ut 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. [T]here 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."

She also added that while she is aware that her music was not released recently, she still thinks that she deserved her award. Like everyone nominated at the Grammys, she also worked hard to get to where she is now.

What she promises to do with her fame is to use it as a platform to highlight and tackle issues in the music industry.

"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," she added.

Support System

Beyond the backlash, many were happy that Cara won her first Grammys this year. Her fans and fellow artists have tweeted their support and congratulations for the young singer.

On Twitter, Cara posted a message for all her fans and everyone who was happy to see her finally achieve her dreams.

"This is so weird," she tweeted, "and I'll never quite process it but thank [you] so much for [your] continuous love and support and belief in me and wow and year."

Tags

Alessia Cara, 2018 Grammys, SZA