Best New Artist, Alessia Cara Replies Grammy Haters: ‘I’m Aware That My Music Wasn’t Released Yesterday’

Alessia Cara arrives at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 28, 2018 in New York City.

Alessia Cara won best new artist Sunday night at the 60th annual Grammy Awards, but her win was met with a lot of criticism, with viewers tweeting their disapproval of Cara’s win because she wasn’t a “new artist.”

The “Stay” singer took to Instagram to fire back at those who said she didn’t deserve the win, writing, “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.”

Cara added that she won something she had been wanting since she was a little kid and didn’t want to apologize for it.

“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,” Cara adds. “But I’m trying very hard to use the platform I’ve been given 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.”

Here is her Instagram post:

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 Jan 29, 2018 at 10:21am PST

Source: Billboard.com