10. White artists making music influenced by black culture get treated differently
It's especially interesting to see Miley—an artist who built her whole album campaign and new sonic direction last year around the grotesque appropriation of black culture—being labelled as Pop rather than Urban Contemporary.
Meanwhile, this year Iggy Azalea became the first ever rapper to be nominated for both Best Rap Album and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for her own song (as opposed to Best Rap/Sung Collaboration). Juicy J and Nicki Minaj also rear their heads in the Pop Duo category, but as featured artists on tracks by Katy Perry and Jessie J; Iggy is the first rapper whose own song, from her own album, is being treated as "Pop," while the album itself is "Rap." Apparently, if you're a white woman, you don't have to be confined to the Urban or Rap categories; and don't forget, Iggy is also the only rapper nominated this year in the Best New Artist and Record of the Year categories. Move over Macklemore. If our discomfort with this year's nominations could be personified in one performer, Iggy Azalea would be it.