How Is Lizzo’s 2017 Single "Truth Hurts" Eligible for the 2020 Grammys?

That song is old as hell.

The Recording Academy has announced the nominees for the 2020 Grammy Awards, and as always, we have questions.

Though no living human could be upset with Lizzo leading the field with eight nominations (this should help her with her career, just a little), or young guns Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X following close behind with six, there are always some eyebrow raising nods that reinforce the fact that the Grammys, umm, just don’t get it.

In previous years they've shown a stubborn refusal to acknowledge hip-hop in its Album of the Year category (Tyler the Creator’s IGOR was snubbed btw), and has maintained a bizarre campaign against female artists, as when Academy president Neil Portnow told women they need to "step up", and never forget the time Ariana Grande dragged producer Ken Ehrlich for reportedly stifling her creativity and self-expression.

With Portnow gone, there’s definitely more female representation in the major categories.

But one thing continues to make the Grammys a baffling endeavour: its eligibility period.

To have your song or album considered for the 2020 Grammys, you had to release your music between 1 October 2018 and 31 August 2019. That means a full four months’ worth of 2019 music won’t be considered eligible at the next Grammys, and an entire quarter of 2018 will be.

Putting aside my personal belief that eligibility periods for all awards ceremonies under the sun should be 1 January to 29 December (with nominations announced 30 December and winners on New Year’s Eve, don’t argue logistics with me), there’s an even stranger issue with the 2020 Grammy nominations: the case of Lizzo’s Record of the Year and Song of the Year nominee "Truth Hurts".

That’s because "Truth Hurts" was released on 19 September 2017. It’s so old, it seemingly shouldn’t have even classified for the last Grammy awards.

As we wrote earlier this year, there’s no denying that 2019 has been a dominant one for the delightful Lizzo, and we’re hardly complaining her 2017 song "Truth Hurts" finally got the g-d respect it deserves, thanks to a prime placement in the Netflix film Someone Great.

It climbed to the top of the charts in the United States, becoming the longest-reigning rap #1 by a female artist. It was followed by the chart success of an even older track of Lizzo’s, "Good as Hell", which was first dropped in March of 2016. It has done particularly well in Australia, while also reaching #4 in the US. Although, this makes her presence in the Best New Artist category pretty funny too.

(Here at Student Edge, we personally believe "Juice"—actually released in 2019—is the best of all her tunes and should be getting the love instead, but we’ll rest that argument for today and today only.)

While we can admit that "Truth Hurts" is a defining song of 2019, how in the world was it eligible for the 2020 Grammys?

Let’s break it down.

For an organisation with some weirdly specific nitty-gritty in its fine print, the Song of the Year category is pretty loose when it comes to eligibility. To be eligible for Song of the Year—which specifically rewards songwriters—a song must be "first released… or first [achieve] prominence during the Eligibility Year". Given that "Truth Hurts" only hit the Billboard Hot 100 in April of 2019, it’s technically eligible.

Separately, it was apparently never submitted for Grammys contention in 2017 when it was a stand-alone single. And since it appears on an album released during the Grammys eligibility period—Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)—the Academy saw fit to let it slide. (However, those accusing Lizzo of having plagiarised the song probably won’t be as lackadaisical as the Grammys.)

The Academy does not explain on its website why "Truth Hurts" is also eligible for 2020’s Record of the Year, which recognises the producers and performers. It’s likely that it has similar criteria as Song of the Year.

As for Best New Artist, Lizzo earned her nod this year (and not 2016) because it was in this eligibility period her "release/s achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape."

So, there you have it. "Truth Hurts", which will be 28 months old at the time of the Grammys ceremony on 27 January 2020, is definitely eligible. And it didn’t even need to take a DNA test.

Header Image: YouTube (Lizzo Music)