The Grammys came and went, and as seems to be the case with any award show over recent years, there is controversy over those who won.

The Oscars have received criticism for being whitewashed, with white actors and actresses receiving far more nominations and awards than their Black or Latino counterparts.

Sean “Diddy” Combs said Saturday the Grammy awards diss rap and R&B stars in its major categories, like artist of the year and album of the year, for example.

When it comes to these award shows, remember that everything comes down to perception and preference.

There are professionals who decide who is nominated and who wins, and while they use certain criteria and precedents in their decisions, it is only human for them to have certain preferences.

Unfortunately, there is no concrete way to decide what movie or song or actor/actress is better than every other one. Maybe a computer could be given criteria and use mathematical calculations to make the decision, but people would still complain.

Maybe the computer made a glitch, or maybe the criteria and equations given to the computer were wrong or biased in some way.

So, first off, just realize that opinions are a part of all of this, so stop complaining that your favorite artist or actor did not win.

Second of all, there may be some validity to what Combs said.

When it comes to these award shows, even though these professionals are supposed to use criteria and whatever to make very knowledgeable decisions, there is still a popularity factor that may influence the picks.

Pop songs are so widely-known and generally liked, how could you vote against a song that garners so much attention?

Generally speaking, pop songs are the ones that are played on the radio more than rap or R&B songs, so it makes sense that when considering the scope of songs, pop songs may get some favoritism.

The same goes for movies sometimes: If a big-name actor stars in a movie with great music, settings and everything else, or if a no-name actor is in the same type of movie, which generates more buzz?

See, it is easier to go with the popular pick.

There is definitely some great rap music out there, but rap music also has a bad reputation for cursing or for talking about drug use or whatever else, which turns some people off.

The simple fact is that pop is like the default music people go to, while rap is more of a niche genre.

So, although Combs is correct to an extent, there does not seem to be a clear solution to his problem.

Dillan Schorfheide is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 

or dtschorfheide@eiu.edu.