I know what you’re thinking: Bruno Mars is the best musician around. He deserved “Album of the Year.” Well, I’m here to tell you why you couldn’t be more wrong.

Before we even get into the other candidates and their submissions of art, let’s dissect (briefly) Bruno’s “greatest piece of music ever.”

The album plain and simple lacks originality. It is a carbon copy of his previous two albums and seems to drag on to the end. His Grammy-winning song “That’s What I Like” was the clear inferior nomination, competing with a song about suicide prevention and another about self-perseverance. This sex-crazed song represents the lackluster album as a whole: it’s all shallow, surface-level music that panders to the lowest common denominator.

The committee choosing both the album and the song as Grammy winners represents the issue with the coveted awards show: it panders.

With three other rap albums being nominated (Kendrick Lamar’s
Damn, Awaken, My Love by Childish Gambino, and Jay-Z’s 4:44) it was clear Mars was going to win from the get-go.

Rap and hip-hop is still viewed as a lesser instrument compared to the other genres. That topped with Lorde’s sophomore album appealing to an alternative and edgy crowd all but clinched the fact that Mars would win before the awards show even started.

The issue with the Grammys is simple: it caters to the lowest common denominator, trying desperately not to offend anyone with their nominations.

Bruno Mars should get out of New York as fast as he can before everyone realized he robbed them clean.