The 67th Annual Grammy Awards aired on CBS and Paramount Plus on Sunday, and pop stars like Sabrina Carpenter and Chapell Roan earned some of the night’s most sought-after awards, partially thanks to their explosive social media presence.
The show, hosted at the Downtown L.A. Crypto.com arena, opened with a brief speech from comedian and host Trevor Noah acknowledging the destructive wildfires that burned through entire neighborhoods of L.A. in January. Soon came the performances, and Carpenter performed two of her most iconic songs: “Espresso” and “Please Please Please.” Chappell Roan did the same, performing her hit “Pink Pony Club” while riding a massive pink pony, accompanied by dancers dressed like clowns.
Both female artists came out with awards. Carpenter won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album soon after her songs, jokingly starting her speech with “I’m still out of breath from the performance!” Chappell Roan earned an impressive six nominations and took home the award for Best New Artist. During her speech she read from a journal, demanding that labels provide healthcare and liveable wages to their artists.
All three songs performed by Carpenter and Roan were trending audios on TikTok throughout the year. USC students said social media has impacted both artists’ rise to fame.
“I definitely think [social media] helped them out,” Anika Nambisan, a freshman studying arts, technology and the business of innovation, said. “On Tiktok, so many people use their sounds which make it a lot more viral… they just have such a strong fan base, especially over on TikTok.”
Jonathan Rangel, a sophomore studying health promotion and disease prevention, also said the two breakout artists owe some of their success to TikTok.
“Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan were able to just put their songs on TikTok, and people ended up liking them, and they would share it with other friends, making it more known at a quicker rate than how songs used to be heard before social media was this prominent in our society,” Rangel said.
Rangel said opening for other stars also helped these female artists build fanbases.
“I’m pretty sure Sabrina was an opener for Taylor Swift, who had one of the biggest tours in this past year. And then I’m pretty sure Chappell Roan was an opener for Olivia Rodrigo, who’s also very big,” Rangel said.
Despite its ability to increase new artists’ popularity, Charlie Hardy, a sophomore studying neuroscience, believes TikTok reduces originality in music.
“I think it helped them by making them famous, but ruined them, in that the globalization that TikTok [facilitated] has led to an immense homogenization of music and a lessening of diversity,” Hardy said.
As the halted TikTok ban looms overhead, artists may need to consider alternate ways to promote themselves and circulate their work. In the meantime, their viral sounds may contribute to more award show wins.