Fantasia Boycotts Grammys After Feeling Snubbed in Aretha Franklin Tribute
Fantasia boycotts Grammys because she wasn’t asked to be a part of Aretha Franklin tribute
Talkin’ about a bad case of diva-itis.
R&B singer Fantasia wasn’t in attendance to receive her first Grammy award during Sunday’s pre-award show for Best Female R&B Performance (for “Bittersweet”) because she felt she was snubbed by the show’s producers to participate in the opening Aretha Franklin tribute.
Fantasia called in to BET’s “106 & Park” explaining her absence at the Grammys:
“Last night they were honoring someone who is my idol, and there is no way I could have sat there and not got the happy feet and wanting to jump on the mic because she is my favorite so I felt like, you know, at the end of the day I should have been on that stage so, I kind of did my own little thing last night.
Plus, after being nominated eleven times and not winning, the former American Idol winner decided to watch the show from home, while pouting over the missed opportunity to perform for her idol.
“I watched Cee Lo’s performance, I love Cee Lo…watched Gaga, and I love[d] Rihanna’s performance, but I kind of cooked and did my own think last night. I have this feeling, like every year I go, I feel like they always look over some of the good singers that are still around…that’s just the way I felt.”
The Queen of Soul tribute, featuring New Artist of the Year nominee Florence Welch, country star Martina McBride, pop diva Christina Aguilera, American Idol finalist/actress Jennifer Hudson and gospel singer Yolanda Adams, opened up the evening’s televised portion of the awards.
Even with big performances from Lady Gaga, Cee Lo Green, Arcade Fire and even a rousing guest appearance from Mick Jagger during a Solomon Burke tribute, MTV News reported that more viewers voted the Aretha tribute as their most anticipated performance of the night. Once the show was over, MTV polls suggested the Franklin tribute was the evening’s speciality – picking up 39 percent of the total vote to take first place.
So what do you think?
Did you think Fantasia went over her head?
Do you think she went overboard on the “diva” tude?
Did you feel she was snubbed for the tribute?
With Jennifer Hudson part of the tribute, did you think one past Idol contestant was enough?
FURTHER READING >>
Fantasia Boycotted Grammys Over Aretha Franklin Tribute Snub – Hollywood Reporter
Dis-R-E-S-P-E-C-T? Fantasia Boycotts Grammys After Aretha Franklin Tribute Snub – E! Online
Aretha Franklin Tribute Declared Best Grammy Performance By Readers – MTV.com
Yes, Fantasia overstepped her bounds and comes off looking like a spoiled brat. Aretha influenced a ton of people, across genres – hence the line up. They wanted to show ReRe has influence, in pop, country, rock, gospel and, of course, R&B. Plus, Fantasia’s life the last year has been nothing short of tumultuous, whereas JHud’s has actually been kinda fabulous, a much better choice as the R&B rep for the tribute.