Alessia Cara Fights Back Against Outrage Over Her 2018 Grammy Win

What’s normally one of the happiest moments of an artist’s career, Alessia Cara’s best new artist win at the Grammys on Sunday, was slightly tainted by some backlash on social media from music lovers. There were complaints about how Cara shouldn’t have won because she’s not that new anymore, and she’s already done quite a bit in the industry.

The Canadian singer released her debut album in 2015 whereas the other nominees — Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert, Julia Michaels and Sza — all released projects in 2017, but the Recording Academy’s requirements for the category still allowed Cara to be included. She won, pushing many to Twitter to share their thoughts. The quality of her music wasn’t what some took issue with; it was more her ability to win that specific category over artists who are newer.

After hearing about all of this, Cara took to Instagram on Monday to share her own comments on the situation, which has been both such an amazing moment for her and one that’s a bit upsetting.

“To address the apparent backlash regarding winning something I had no control over: I didn’t log onto grammy.com and submit myself,” she began in the caption of her post. “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 kid, not to mention have worked really hard for.”

She continued: “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 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.”

Cara goes on to make it clear that she’s not going to let mean comments by others bring her down during this milestone of hers, especially since she’s been saying mean things about herself to herself for a long time now, and “that’s why this [award] means a lot to me.” She explains that despite all of her insecurities, she’s been able to put herself out there and create something that both she and many others love, which is something she’s proud to celebrate.

“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,” she wrote. “I know it sounds cheesy and dumb but it’s the honest truth.”

She concluded her caption by thanking those who have showed her with “kindness and support along the way.”