Why Are These People At The Grammys And Not Me?

Mildly miffed writer-producer Lia Kim laments the many, many TikTokers who scored an invite to the Grammys over her. 

Not to be outdone by the Emmys or Golden Globes this awards season, the Grammys are coming in hot. We’ve already got word that Viola Davis earned the coveted EGOT title, the third black woman ever to do so. And social media is ablaze with Grammy red carpet looks that left us in shock, awe, or both.

But some red carpet attendees have instead left me completely puzzled. Not because of what they were wearing, but rather, why they were there in the first place. Let me preface this by saying I don’t think any of these people don’t deserve to be at the Grammys. Who am I to make that call? But I do have certain expectations around who gets to attend the biggest music award ceremony of the year — the same ceremony where JLo invented the Google image search function with that green Versace dress, and where BTS finally scored the very first Grammy nomination for a K-pop artist and subsequently broke the internet. Surely the Grammy attendee list would largely be made up of people I, a culture writer, have heard of?

Well, no dice. So instead of a best-dressed list (which would naturally be topped by Taylor Swift and her gorgeous midnight blue two-piece, let’s be real) I present to you my ‘Who are these people and why are they here’ list of the 2023 Grammys. Enjoy.

Emma Brooks McAllister

One of my totally legit methods of gauging someone’s star power online is whether they have a Wikipedia page. While Emma doesn’t have her own Wiki, she does have over 4 million subscribers on TikTok, 1.5 million on Instagram, and an entire subreddit dedicated to her. Fair enough.

Though Emma’s undeniably gorgeous and enjoys a huge online following, I’m still not entirely sure why she’s at the Grammy awards. She served on the red carpet, though.

Mikayla Geier

I’ve seen Mikayla pop up on my feed on occasion, and was instantly charmed by her adorable demeanour and honest experience as an aspiring professional ballet dancer. She’s also an indie-pop musician with a handful of moody singles on Spotify. I didn’t know about the music part until now, so her audience count has now gone up by one.

Dylan Mulvaney

Of course, we don’t tolerate Dylan slander over here. With over 10 million followers on TikTok, she’s clearly a huge content creator and has done incredible work for trans advocacy online. Still slightly confused why she’s in attendance, but who’s going to turn down an invite to the damn Grammys? Live your best life, Dyl.

Chris Olsen

There’s definitely a TikTok theme going on here. Chris is another big name on the platform, known for being friends with Meghan Trainor, comedy skits, breaking up with people and singing covers in bathtubs. Sure, he seems like a great guy, but why is he at the Grammys? Did he steal Meghan Trainor’s ticket?

Anna Sitar

Another huge TikToker with over 12 million followers. Anna makes a lot of ‘relatable’ but ‘aspirational’ content that goes down swimmingly on TikTok, especially when combined with being skinny and blonde. She doesn’t make music herself but she does, uh, curate Spotify playlists. Her dress is fire though.

Josh Brubaker

This man is the Walmart version of Shawn Mendes, and he knows it. But is a discount likeness to a three-time Grammy nominee enough to warrant an invite to the prestigious event itself? Is there a Walmart version of the Grammys that might be more suitable?

He’s also dating Anna Sitar, so maybe their combined TikTok starpower is enough to earn them a spot on the red carpet. Just.

Okay, that’s everyone. More on this important developing story soon.