Welcome back to another edition of Kenna’s Kontroversies! Today, I want to discuss a topic very close to my heart: music. I truly believe that music is one of the greatest things in the world. As a devoted music listener, I pride myself on enjoying a wide range of genres, from Fleetwood Mac to Mac Miller. I’m also what you would call a Swiftie, meaning I’m a dedicated Taylor Swift fan. Joining a fanbase as vast as Taylor’s makes you pay closer attention to events in the music industry, particularly award shows. The Grammy Awards are arguably the most prestigious honor an artist can receive. This year’s Grammy Awards were highly anticipated, especially the question of who would win the Album of the Year award. With notable contenders like Sabrina Carpenter’s record-breaking album, Short n’ Sweet, Chappell Roan’s breakout album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, and high-profile names like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift in the running, it was anyone’s game for the AOTY award. However, the most underrated album among the nominees, despite breaking numerous records, was Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft. This ten-track album was Eilish’s third studio release and her biggest yet. It was far from a flop, featuring hit singles like “Birds of a Feather,” “Lunch,” and “Chihiro.” Upon its release, it achieved Eilish’s largest streaming debut on Spotify with 72.7 million streams. In its first week, the album garnered over 500 million streams globally, making it Eilish’s biggest streaming week ever. Additionally, it reached 2 billion streams faster than any of her previous albums, accomplishing this in less than two months. Hit Me Hard and Soft debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, marking Eilish’s largest first-week sales in the U.S. As you can see, this album was immensely successful. Not only did it perform well, but every single song was extraordinary. Beyond the singles, tracks like “L’amour De Ma Vie,” “The Greatest,” “Skinny,” and “Wildflower” became popular on TikTok. At the 2025 Grammys, Hit Me Hard and Soft received six nominations in total. On the night of the Grammys, my friends and I eagerly tuned in to watch the highly anticipated and star-studded award show. Throughout the ceremony, Hit Me Hard and Soft did not win any awards presented earlier in the night, building up our anxiety for the final award: Album of the Year. Hit Me Hard and Soft was the fan favorite and, in my opinion, the deserving winner of the award. So, you can imagine my shock when the presenter announced, “The Grammy goes to… Cowboy Carter,” the eighth studio album by world-renowned star Beyoncé. The two hit songs from this album are “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.” While it’s true that Beyoncé is incredibly talented, I don’t believe this album deserved to win over the other nominees. Each of the competing albums had strong reasons to win—except, in my opinion, Cowboy Carter. Billie’s album features five songs with over 500 million streams on Spotify. For reference, “Birds of a Feather” has over 2.2 billion streams, while the highest-streamed song on Cowboy Carter is “Texas Hold ‘Em,” which has 632 million streams. From Beyoncé’s 27-track album, only two songs surpassed 100 million streams. In contrast, every single song on Hit Me Hard and Soft had over 180 million streams, and two tracks on Cowboy Carter didn’t even reach the one-million mark. It’s time to wrap up this column, but if you haven’t listened to Hit Me Hard and Soft, I highly encourage you to do so. It is a masterpiece of an album—one of the greatest of the century!