By: Audrey Cable

The Grammys added the category Best Song For Social Change for 2023. The Grammy awards committee stated that their Recording Academy members proposed this idea. It will be “one of the highest honors a socially conscious song can receive.” They added the category to highlight the musicians who try to make a change in the world through music. 

Bellbrook students chimed in on the new category, commenting it’s a great idea. “A lot of songs deal with what is happening in the world right now,” sophomore Riley Smith said. “The category would encourage artists to make music that makes a change in the world,” senior Monica Hodges said. 

Freshman Laney Bottemiller said that if she could nominate a song, she would nominate “Keep ya head up” by Tupac Shakur. “It talks about how women are able to have control over their bodies and the mistreatment of women mostly by men,” Bottemiller said.

The Grammys has been around since 1958 to recognize incredible work in the music industry. According to Grammy awards, the first person ever to receive a Grammy is Domenico Modugno for Record of the Year and Song of the Year both for “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare).” 

Bellbrook students also suggested other new categories, including one for powerful vocal performance. “So many singers have really powerful voices,” Smith said. “I don’t think some of them are as recognized in the Grammys as other singers.”