Statute of RyAnne

ABC will air the Billboard Music Awards show this Sunday, and I will probably not tune in.  For those of you who know me well, you are probably shocked by this statement.  I love awards shows and knowing who the best is.  I blame this on spending too many childhood Sunday afternoons listening to Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 countdown on my hot pink boombox. 

I am the girl who starts, by way of snarky comments to friends, her own “coverage” around 10:00 a.m. to watch the Red Carpet coverage of the Oscars® … several days before the actual date the awards are given out.  I am the girl who stays glued to GRAMMY® coverage even before the nominees are announced.  I can usually tell you what designers will dress which celebrities, who are most likely to take home the awards along with the long shots and dark horses.  But, this year – I’m over awards shows.

My lack of interest has nothing to do with the Billboard Music Awards. I really love Billboard Magazine, The Hot 100 and how Billboard represents my many afternoons spent with Casey Kasem finding out who is Number 1.  It is still THE industry resource for all things music, and one I reference regularly.  I think my disinterest represents my general questioning of whether by celebrating everything; the entertainment industry now simultaneously celebrates everything and nothing.  Before frequent televised awards shows, Billboard was how people received their music information.  It was one of the most trusted sources that people read or tuned into.  Getting on the Billboard Hot 100 represented something larger than just the chart; much like winning an award on a televised award show meant something. 

In a brief search, I found that there are nearly 83 scheduled televised awards shows for 2013.  Let me say that again – 83!  That is nearly two per week.  The bulk of the programs center around the entertainment industry with the next largest group being sports.  Between the months of January 2013 through May 2013, the bulk of these shows take place with 25% airing during that time frame.  These shows range from my favorites – the GRAMMYs® and the Oscars® – to the more obscure like the mtvU Woodie Awards and the Honda Sports Awards.  I am pretty certain I would not ever want to tell anyone that I won a Woodie Award.  Admittedly, I have no idea what this is, nor have I taken the time to look into it.  Readers, please enlighten me.        

I think society should definitely celebrate accomplishments and achievements, especially in the arts.  However, I cannot help but to wonder whether this constant broadcasting of awards shows feed into the “everyone deserves a trophy” mentality. I also wonder that for those cornerstone achievements, like the GRAMMYs®, Emmys® and the Oscars®, does this over-televised saturation take away from those that have really gone over and above. 

Who am I kidding? I may question what this all means, but I am going to watch.  I will be cheering right along with everyone else because I enjoy awards shows and have to know who Billboard deems the best in the industry. I may be over awards shows, but I love celebrating those, as Casey always said, “that keep their feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”

What do you think? Are there too many? Take part in the comments and stay tuned into the discussion.