GrammyAwards

2019 Grammy Nominations: Predictions

Posted on by nwadeblogs_

Regardless of how frustrating a show like this can be, the Grammys are the most exciting night of the year for artists, music journalists and fans like myself. I’ll be going through the major four categories in-depth 🙂

Record Of The Year 

  • I Like It- Cardi B ft. Bad Bunny and J. Balvin
  • The Joke- Brandi Carlile
  • This Is America- Childish Gambino
  • God’s Plan- Drake
  • Shallow- Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper
  • All The Stars- Kendrick Lamar and SZA
  • Rockstar- Post Malone ft. 21 Savage
  • The Middle- Zedd ft. Maren Morris and Grey

Cardi B was EVERYWHERE for the last half of 2017 and all of 2018. That’s why it’s not surprising to see her here or in any of the other categories she nabbed. “I Like It” is a monumental song, one that crossed over into multiple markets, and is very, very likeable. Cardi is doing what Nicki Minaj thought she didn’t have to do anymore, and that is appeal to both her general audience, urban hip-hop fans, as well as a wider, more general audience. After the success of “Despacito” last year, the songs success is not surprising and neither would a win here be. It would be a very safe choice, and would catapult Cardi to a place that I don’t think she’s ready to go to yet, but it’s all there in front of her.

Seeing “The Middle” here, and in any of these categories, is not surprising but also very frustrating. I enjoyed the crap out of the song for the first few weeks, but soon grew to detest it, as I realized just how much it sounds like it was just spit out of a computer with all of the components of most modern pop right now. It was first used in a Target commercial that aired during last years Grammy ceremony, which says it all right there. I’m thrilled that Maren Morris got her huge mainstream push, but saddened that it had to be on a song that probably had record executives masturbating in their office chairs, dollar bills the subject of their pleasure. This ALSO has a very good chance of winning, but it would be a damn shame if it does.

“God’s Plan” by Drake and “Rockstar” by Post Malone are both ideal candidates for the “it was a huge hit, but it’s not the artists best song” conversation. I know that argument doesn’t often matter when it comes to the Grammys, and there was no way it ever would when it came to “God’s Plan” with as big of a hit as that was, but the critic in me would have much preferred to see “Nice For What” and “Psycho” in this category instead of the former pair. “Rockstar” does a really good job of removing Posty from the rap-exclusive conversation, and “God’s Plan” is one of those records you’ll remember for decades, but they both don’t do it for me.

“This Is America” could be the sleeper pick here. It was nowhere as big on the radio as most of the other songs here, but culturally, it probably made the biggest impact. Is a lot of its appeal based off of a music video? Sure! The same could be said for “Shallow”, which is best used in the context of “A Star Is Born” itself, but I think I’d be ok with either of those songs winning, even if “Shallow” is typically a bit too singer/songwriter-ish for the Grammys.

That leaves “The Joke”, an incredible song by an underrated artist who is sure to have a lengthy second leg of her already-accomplished career, and “All The Stars”, a once-in-a-lifetime song that is such a, and I hate using this word knowing that so many others have, moment in pop culture and music in general. The latter is easily my pick….a victory lap for Kendrick after a monstrous album cycle with “DAMN.”, as well as a true welcome for SZA into the high waters of mainstream music. Unfortunately, her lack of live performance skills (no offense) will keep her from attaining the levels of success she should have, but this song will always be a notch in her belt.

My personal pick and the route I think the Grammys will go is the same, and that is “All The Stars”.

Album Of The Year

  • Invasion Of Privacy- Cardi B
  • Beerbongs and Bentleys- Post Malone
  • Dirty Computer- Janelle Monae
  • Golden Hour- Kacey Musgraves
  • By The Way, I Forgive You- Brandi Carlile
  • H.E.R- H.E.R
  • Black Panther: The Album, Music From and Inspired By…- Various Artists
  • Scorpion- Drake

This is probably my favorite category of the major four. The obvious choices are here, as you’d expect them to be, but so are some of the albums that were discussed right from the get-go, most of which could have either been completely ignored or held on the pedestal they should be on.

Drake’s “Scorpion” has it’s moments….”Emotionless”, with it’s incredibly resonant Mariah Carey sample, “In My Feelings”, easily Drake’s most accessible hit ever, “Mob Ties”, “Jaded”, “Talk Up” with Jay-Z and “After Dark” with the late Static Major and Ty Dolla $ign. But is it album of the year? No. It’s bloated, already worn with time and comes nowhere close to measuring up to what is, in my opinion, his best work, “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late”.

Cardi B’s “Invasion Of Privacy” is the panhandle record of the year. Which is CRAZY considering “Beerbongs and Bentley’s” is here too. Cardi has worked her ass off and has improved dramatically over the years, but the record just isn’t good enough to be labeled the best of the year, as much as the hip-hop community wants it to be. As good as “Bartier Cardi”, “Be Careful” and “I Do” are, you also have the atrocious “She Bad” with YG, “Ring”, Kehlani’s second collaboration in the last year or so to somehow sneak it’s way to being a hit (the first being “Nowhere Fast” with Eminem) despite being terribly mediocre and “Money Bag” which is just incredibly basic. At least for my taste. Sorry.

“H.E.R” is a stellar effort by H.E.R, and with songs like “Focus”, “Hard Place”, “Best Part”, her cover of Drake’s “Jungle”, “Free” and “Gone Away” under her belt so early in her career, she is sure to be around for a long, long time. But with records like “Dirty Computer” and the Black Panther soundtrack to compete with, the project just gets swallowed up. Janelle sounds so seasoned on her project, so effortlessly creating the blueprint for what it means to be evocative, creative and other-worldly, both musically and thematically, while Black Panther is easily the biggest and most influential movie soundtrack since “Avatar”, far surpassing it.

Perhaps the Grammys will choose this category as the surprise pick, and I believe both Kacey Musgraves’ and Brandi Carlile’s records are the ones to beat. “Golden Hour”, a classic country record in an era that has resulted in the loss of the heart and soul of the genre, and “By The Way, I Forgive You”, a record that, like Sturgill Simpson and Beck’s projects before her, will be largely ignored by the majority outside of Carlile’s core audience, despite its depth and endless creativity.

My pick: “Golden Hour”

Prediction of the Grammy’s pick: “Invasion Of Privacy”

Song Of The Year

  • All The Stars (Kendrick Lamar and SZA)
  • Boo’d Up (Ella Mai)
  • God’s Plan (Drake)
  • In My Blood (Shawn Mendes)
  • The Joke (Brandi Carlile)
  • The Middle (Zedd ft. Maren Morris and Grey)
  • Shallow (Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper)
  • This Is America (Childish Gambino

I’d like to quickly erase “The Middle” from the conversation for being the biggest industry pet project I’ve ever heard. Oops. “God’s Plan” should also be removed, if for no other reason then the absolute crime of “Hotline Bling” being nominated at the 2017 ceremony, it’s relevance expired LONG beforehand.

I’ll give Shawn Mendes credit….”In My Blood” is the best song of his career. It doesn’t quite reach the kind of Kings Of Leon-style glory he often talked about wanting to have, but it’s as big of a bonafide arena anthem as we’re gonna get from anyone in the teen/young-adult pop landscape.

The story of “Boo’d Up” never ceases to amaze me. It had been out for well over a year before it really started to blow up around the country, and yet it still sounded so freshly crafted. Just a near-perfect crossover that, like Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” last year, had everyone, guys and girls, singing along with it.

This particular category goes to the songwriter(s) of a track, which makes me think that “This Is America” and “All The Stars” are out of the equation. Both are well-written, but again, are best used in the context of visual media. “Shallow”, on the other hand, I believe crosses that line between character and artist, mostly because I didn’t think Gaga’s character in “A Star Is Born” was all that different from her. Then again, it’s the same type of singer-songwriter type deal that I thought for sure would snag Justin Bieber a win a few years ago for “Love Yourself” only to be ousted by Adele’s “Hello”, so anything can happen.

That leaves “The Joke”, a spellbinding Americana/rock anthem with a crucial message for anyone who feels misrepresented or lost. Carlile’s voice is mesmerizing and assuming she performs it live at the ceremony, it could very well be the performance of the night.

My pick: “The Joke”

Prediction of the Grammy’s pick: “Boo’d Up”

 

Best New Artist 

  • Chloe x Halle
  • Luke Combs
  • Greta Van Fleet
  • H.E.R
  • Dua Lipa
  • Margo Price
  • Bebe Rexha
  • Jorja Smith

Bebe Rexha has worked incredibly hard over her career thus far, but will probably not be remembered as anything but an artist who was put on as a feature with more popular acts (Martin Garrix, Florida Georgia Line). Troye Sivan could have easily taken her slot and it would have made all the sense in the world.

Chloe x Halle and Jorja Smith are both viable choices, but are likely just a little TOO new and niche specific to score the win. Luke Combs has a giant voice, but is lost in the shuffle here, as is Margo Price, who is excellent, but hasn’t had nearly enough exposure. Greta Van Fleet is a decent enough nostalgia act, but personally, we had Led Zeppelin decades ago and no one, absolutely no one, is going to come along and be the current incarnation. So sorry boys.

It’s very easily down to H.E.R and Dua Lipa for me. Dua is the safest choice imaginable out of all the contenders, but her success has far surpassed what I ever imagined her achieving seeing her live so early in her career. She is the farthest from a polished live performer or even what you would consider an interesting vocalist, but with hits like “New Rules”, “IDGAF” and “One Kiss” under her belt already, she is a guaranteed hitmaker. H.E.R is still finding her pocket, her lane, her artistry, but what she’s done so far is remarkable. I’d love for the Grammys to realize that Dua doesn’t exactly need this, and give it to H.E.R. She could very easily follow in SZA’s path and possibly even exceed it.

My pick, which is very left field: Margo Price

Prediction of Grammys pick: Dua Lipa

grammys2019

2018 Grammy Nominations: Thoughts on The Big Four

Posted on by nwadeblogs_

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Last years Grammys were dominated by Adele’s MASSIVE return to the industry with 25, and even though it was, for the most part, well-deserved, the show was a bit of a downer. This year seems like it will be different. BeyoncĂ©, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake and many of pop’s A-listers are nowhere to be seen, and with Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” released WAY after the cutoff date, we really got a fresh crop. Let’s go through the major categories.

Record Of The Year

  • “Redbone”- Childish Gambino
  • “Despacito”- Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber
  • “The Story of O.J”- Jay-Z
  • “Humble”- Kendrick Lamar
  • “24K Magic”- Bruno Mars

If this category is any indication, we as music fans don’t know everything. There had been rumors for months that “Million Reasons” by Lady Gaga would be the one to beat, I had stated outright that I thought “Something Just Like This” by The Chainsmokers and Coldplay was an obvious nominee, and of course, as there was no escape from “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran over the last 10 months, that seemed to be a frustrating yet obvious pick. Of course, there are only five songs in the category at the end of the day so not everyone can be right about everything, but these choices really set the tone for the overall direction that the music industry has tried to veer towards over the last year or two and quite frankly, I have no complaints.

“Despacito” absolutely dominated the late spring and entire summer, spending a staggering 16 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It seems as though that anything Justin Bieber touches turns to gold, proven by his presence in multiple categories two whole years after his last full-length release. The track was a bubbling hit on its own without Justin, but the addition of the superstar catapulted Luis Fonsi, and the song itself, to new heights. It was inescapable, and say what you want about Justin and his lack of ethnic qualities, he helped create a new boom for world music in the mainstream.

“24K Magic” and “Humble” are obvious picks. “24K Magic” isn’t exactly new territory for Bruno, but after the massive success of “Uptown Funk”, a ROTY winner in its own right, he went back to the well for the incredibly infectious and swag-infused lead single off his latest album of the same name. “Humble” isn’t as culturally groundbreaking as “Alright”, but the track is FAR better, in terms of popular music itself, then anything Drake has put out in a good long while. The song was Kendrick’s first #1 hit, but did not stay there for as long as I’d hoped. Either way, it’s an anthem.

The wildcard here is of course “Redbone”. The song took on a life of it’s own in popular culture and on social media since the albums release late last year, but is still absolutely deserving of the recognition. It’s a funky, stomach-churning smash that, like Lil Uzi Vert’s “XO Tour Llif3” and others, will likely be remembered and years to come. However, even after a year, it still feels a bit like a puzzle with a missing piece….there’s just this sense of complexity to it that I think people gravitate towards, and I think the fact that it’s nominated for this award to begin with speaks volumes.

Jay-Z’s “The Story Of O.J”, which features an incredible Nina Simone sample, is my pick to take it. I think that with the current political climate and the conversations about race being had because of the current administration, this song is important and it sends it’s message loud and clear. Jay talked about it in his New York Times interview with Dean Baquet in such an intelligent and composed way, and it really struck with me. “24K Magic” and “Despacito” are fun pop songs we can all get down to, but now isn’t the time for a fun pop song to be given the recognition. A Tribe Called Quest went up on the Grammy stage at the start of this year and laid it down for us, and now Jay has the chance to further the conversation and further the movement with this song.

Prediction: “The Story Of O.J”

Album Of The Year

  • Awaken, My Love!- Childish Gambino
  • 4:44- Jay-Z
  • DAMN- Kendrick Lamar
  • Melodrama- Lorde
  • 24K Magic- Bruno Mars

This easily the hardest category for me to pick from because I truly love all of these albums. These are albums I will be listening to 20 years from now with such pride, knowing that I was at an age where I was able to hear these projects and really understand the gravity of them all. Where do I even begin?

I think Bruno’s is the weakest overall album here….4 years in between this and “Unorthodox Jukebox” and we only get a nine track album. After reading his Rolling Stone interview and hearing him talk about his process, I can understand why, but it was just a bit of a letdown to see it be shorter then both of his previous projects after such a long absence. Tracks like “Chunky” and “Perm” are sort of forgettable, but “Versace On The Floor” and the incredibly underrated one-two punch of “Calling All My Lovelies” and ESPECIALLY “Too Good To Say Goodbye” are my favorite Bruno cuts to date. Just masterful pieces of work vocally, and just the icing on the cake of why no one can touch him when he’s at his best.

“Awaken, My Love” was my first exposure to Gambino where I listened to a project of his in the exact moment it was put out. I was really thrown by the vocal prowess he seems to have, for a guy I, and many others, thought was primarily a rapper, and also, his musical instincts. We don’t get a lot of psychedelic rock/funk music anymore, so it stands out from pretty much everything else put out this year, especially because so much of it feels authentic. I commend him for doing his homework and really making sure it wasn’t just a sour attempt at a genre he may or may not have listened to his whole life. I can’t see this winning at all really, but again, its a testament to Donald Glover as an artist that he’s in there with such huge names.

4:44 and DAMN are without a doubt the two most important albums released this year, in any genre, in my opinion. Kendrick had huge shoes to fill after the meteoric rise of  “To Pimp A Butterfly” while Jay-Z had to compete with BeyoncĂ©’s incredibly vulnerable yet cataclysmic effort with “Lemonade”. Both men, one of the old school and one of the new, left no doubt that they are two of the best of their genre, exploring themselves and the world around them in a way that no one else has been able to accomplish through music in recent years.

Lorde’s “Melodrama” is a firestorm of a record. Again, another one with big shoes to fill after expectations were set so high with “Pure Heroine” but holy crap did she come back with a fire you wish you could see in every artist. Assisted mainly by Bleachers frontman/hitmaker Jack Antonoff, the pair perfectly captures the dark, moody essence of late-teen heartbreak and the overwhelming crash that comes with it. Her writing, vocal delivery and sometimes bombastic, other times minimalistic production are just stunning.

“Melodrama” would be my pick, but after Kendrick was unjustly robbed in favor of Taylor Swift’s “1989” at the 2015 ceremony, I would give it to DAMN. I don’t think it’s smart to deny him, as he can easily slip down into the shadows and not be the competition to Drake that we all want and need him to be.

Prediction: DAMN

Song Of The Year

  • Despacito- Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber
  • 4:44- Jay-Z
  • Issues- Julia Michaels
  • 1-800-273-8255- Logic feat. Alessia Cara and Khalid
  • That’s What I Like- Bruno Mars

Just looking at this category, my instinct is that because “4:44” is clearly the best song of the bunch, that should be the one to beat. However, if I’m right and they do give ROTY to “The Story Of O.J”, then I don’t think “4:44” will take it.

“That’s What I Like” dominated radio throughout the summer and had a consistent rise till it finally hit #1 on the Hot 100. “24K Magic” was the indisputable first single from that record, but “TWIL” just has this groove that cannot be denied. Tempo wise, it’s a bit slower. It wraps around you and gives you time to process what you’re listening to, unlike some of his previous hits which are full throttle. I don’t think it makes realistic sense for this to get the win, but I’m still freakin obsessed with it and so are you.

“Issues” is a song that I didn’t like out of the gate, and I disliked it even more after I got home from college in May and started hearing it on the radio every 20 minutes. It was just a smash on radio and I understand the appeal, but I can’t justify this winning. It would certainly be a feel-good moment for her, but if they wanna give her a songwriters award for it at another show instead I’d be cool with that.

Logic did something really great with 1-800. Of course the “Who can relate? WOOOO” leaves just a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, but I don’t doubt he had good intentions and there’s no denying that he is passionate about everything he dives into on this song. Alessia and Khalid are just kind of “there” for me, but having them both on it as late-teen/early 20-somethings with their fanbase being the prime age to need to hear songs like this can’t be argued. I think this has a really good shot.

Andddddd “Despacito”. I love this song, I really do. Even after hearing it almost as nonstop as I heard “Issues” I still freak out a little bit when I hear it. I appreciate that Justin supposedly heard the original in a club and thought “I want to do something with that”, and I think it’s been really great for the World Music genre as a whole. “Mi Gente” and others have done well since, and I don’t see the interest going down anytime soon. 16 weeks at #1??? You can’t ignore that. They gave it to “Hello” last year as it was basically the biggest single of the year, and there’s no denying that that’s what “Despacito” was this year.

I think it’s a real toss up between 1-800 and Despacito. Because of the material and topics involved, I’ll say that 1-800 should take it. I think it’d mean a lot to a lot of people.

Prediction: 1-800-273-8255

Best New Artist 

  • Khalid
  • Alessia Cara
  • Julia Michaels
  • Lil Uzi Vert
  • SZA

I haven’t seen a lot of backlash over this, but where in the HELL is Dua Lipa!? That girl has been all over the damn world so many times over this year and while “New Rules” may not have been a huge “hit”, it was easily one of the most popular songs by any artist in mainstream music. The window is closed now, which is a shame because you would think the Grammys would want to highlight someone who is the total package and really, everything the industry wants as a poster child.

Other then that, these are all obvious picks. Julia Michaels is finally getting her time in the spotlight after years of sitting back and writing hits for pretty much EVERYONE else….”Issues” clearly defines her but “I Miss You” with Clean Bandit and “Uh Huh” are simply masterful. Alessia Cara isn’t exactly a new artist considering her real breakout success was last year with both “Here” and “Scars To Your Beautiful”, two songs I personally feel define her more then that of “Stay” and “1-800-273-8255”, but she’s an industry sweetheart right now so I guess they’ll do anything they can to elevate her. Lil Uzi Vert singlehandedly changed the way we look at music consumption so he’s certainly a worthy contender, and someone I REALLY hope knocks Post Malone down a peg in his efforts to stray from hip-hop and try to crossover into rock. Uzi respects the genre, and is more then capable of going in a rock direction without alienating his pre-existing fanbase.

Khalid is still a mystery to me. He is definitely a talented kid but I have not for one second seen the appeal of both “Location” and “Young, Dumb and Broke”, the latter of which irks me to no end. The bottom half of his record had some stellar tracks, but they have remained mere album cuts. I think he needed at least 3-4 more years before he broke out, but it is what it is I guess.

SZA is absolutely fantastic and it’s a real tight race for me between her and Julia Michaels. Her album “CTRL” could have easily taken Childish Gambino’s AOTY spot and it would have had a damn good shot of winning. She has always been ready for primetime, but “CTRL” is easily the best R&B record of the year. It was her first; I’ll repeat that….FIRST studio attempt but she has already shed her image of “that girl from ‘Consideration'” and morphed into a versatile player in any genre (“What Lovers Do”) who will help lead the new pack of female artists into the future. She is absolutely a 2017 version of Erykah Badu and that is an exciting prospect.

Overall I think Julia Michaels has her hand so deep in the pockets of everyone in the industry that she might just get it, but I would LOVE to see SZA take it. Both are absolute superstars, I just really think this is SZA’s year.

Prediction: SZA

 

 

2017 Grammy Nominations: Thoughts on Rock, R&B, Rap, Country and Mu

Posted on by nwadeblogs_

Part 2..

Best Alternative Rock Album

  • 22, A Million- Bon Iver
  • Blackstar- David Bowie
  • The Hope Six Demolition Project- PJ Harvey
  • Post Pop Depression- Iggy Pop
  • A Moon Shaped Pool- Radiohead

I listened to a bit of Post Pop Depression, and as my first real exposure to Iggy Pop besides that one time I saw him on American Idol, I kind of liked it. He’s not as much of a novelty act as I thought. However, “22, A Million” and “A Moon Shaped Pool” are albums I have listened to multiple times since their release and I think they’re both fantastic. Radiohead is as alluring as ever here, producing a stunning record that I was pissed did not reach #1. Bon Iver delivered in a huge way as well, producing what was probably the best received album of the year critically.

As good as these albums are, they’re up next to Blackstar and that is not a good thing. When an artist can frame their own death as poignantly as Bowie did and wrap it up like a package before handing it over to us to let us digest it, you can’t not celebrate it. I’d love to see Radio head win but this is industry people voting so expect a Bowie win.

Prediction: Blackstar- David Bowie

Simplified thoughts on R&B (at least the stuff I’m familiar with, which is not a lot)

Best R&B performance is an interesting category. I saw Ro James perform “Permission” live in early November, and it’s a great song, but you can’t put it in the same category as Cranes in the Sky or Needed Me. The latter is an absolute banger of a track from “Anti” and the former is the standout track from what was by far the most surprising album of the year for me, in Solange’s “A Seat At The Table”. I would love to see Solange get the win, but I think Rihanna is just too respected of an artist to lose in this particular category. I think she takes it.

Prediction for Best R&B Performance: Needed Me- Rihanna

The only song I know from the Best R&B song category is Kiss It Better. I like that song, but it’s not even in my top 5 favorites on Anti and I genuinely don’t know what’s so special about it. It’s become a song I keep on and dance to in the shower but skip anywhere else.

The Best Urban Contemporary Album category is going to be an interesting one. Anderson .Paak’s “Malibu” was a really fantastic album, but it has no chance against Lemonade AND Anti. It’ll be interesting to see how that one plays out….the two queens of the music industry competing without Adele lurking for once. The category is Urban Contemporary, so for that reason I’m going to say that Rihanna takes this one. Anti is still, in my opinion, Rihanna’s best album and I’d love for it to get some recognition as a whole.

Prediction for Best Urban Contemporary Album: ANTI- Rihanna

Rap

Best Rap Performance

  • No Problem- Chance The Rapper ft. Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz
  • Panda- Desiigner
  • Pop Style- Drake ft. The Throne
  • All The Way Up- Fat Joe and Remy Ma ft. French Montana and Infared
  • That Part- ScHoolboy Q ft. Kanye West

I’m going to take Panda out of this right away. I know the song did really well commercially but the fact that this mediocre Future wannabe got nominated for a Grammy blows my mind. Next

I’m taking Pop Style out of this as well. Drake released both Pop Style and One Dance at the same time before Views came out and I was really excited to hear The Throne on there but Jay-Z literally has two lines on it. I’m all for putting a name on something to get it to sell more but two lines?? Really?? You could have had an uncredited vocal and people would have known exactly who it was.

No Problem is by far the best song here and should easily take the win. It’s got this incredible energy about it that the rest of these songs lack….like all of Coloring Book, it’s a rap song with that jam-band feel to it and I can’t get enough of it. Also, again, the Grammys are industry voted awards and Chance is REALLY popular among everyone right now so expect him to walk away with a few.

Prediction: No Problem

Best Rap/Sung Performance

  • Freedom- BeyoncĂ© ft. Kendrick Lamar
  • Hotline Bling- Drake
  • Broccoli- D.R.A.M ft. Lil Yachty
  • Ultralight Beam- Kanye West ft. Chance, Kelly Price, Kirk Franklin and The Dream
  • Famous- Kanye West ft. Rihanna

Hotline Bling came out wayyyyy before the cutoff date for last years Grammy, but I guess they wanted to wait until his album was out so he could rack up a huge number of nominations. For that reason, I’m taking it out of consideration. Broccoli is shit, so I’m taking that out as well.

It would be interesting to see Famous win, just because of all the controversy surrounding it this year. I don’t think it should though, because Freedom and Ultralight Beam are significantly better. Freedom, one of the most electric songs of BeyoncĂ©’s career, is the standout from Lemonade assisted of course by Kendrick Lamar, who never fails to perform at the highest level. Ultralight Beam is the standout from Life of Pablo (along with No More Parties in LA) and is my pick to win

Prediction: Ultralight Beam (it’s totally not gonna win but let me dream)

Best Rap Song:

  • “All The Way Up”
  • “Famous”
  • “Ultralight Beam”
  • “No Problem”
  • “Hotline Bling”

As much as I hate to admit it, part of me feels like “Hotline Bling” is going to win this. There would not point in putting a song that’s been out for over a year and a half into these categories if it’s not going to win at least one of them. If the song was any good I really would not care but it’s really just shit, so I’m just gonna have to let it roll of my shoulders. They could, of course, give it to Chance again as well, which would make me very happy, but who knows really. Kanye isn’t going to the ceremony this year so “Famous” has even less of a chance then it did before.

Prediction: “Hotline Bling”

Best Rap Album

  • “Coloring Book” – Chance
  • “and the Anonymous Nobody” – De La Soul
  • “Major Key” – DJ Khaled
  • “Views” – Drake
  • “Blank Face LP” – Schoolboy Q
  • “The Life of Pablo” – Kanye

This is a really strong category, except for the fact that Travis Scott’s “Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight” isn’t included. That was one of my favorite records of the year and I would have gladly traded that for De La Soul’s record, mostly because I didn’t listen to it so I have no clue what it sounds like therefore don’t have an opinion.

“Views” to me is just one song repeated over and over 18 times and I’m still so underwhelmed whenever I go back to it. I know it’s Drake and he can put out whatever the f*ck he wants and everyone will find a way to relate to it for 5 minutes, but I do not think it’s deserving. “Major Key” is good, but Khaled loaded it up with features like he usually does and didn’t even produce some of the tracks himself on there, so I’m taking that out of contention. I enjoyed “Blank Face LP” but not as much as I did “Life of Pablo, but even that didn’t live up to my expectations growing up in the era of 808’s and Heartbreak and MBDTF….those albums are just stellar.

I really think that the Grammys making the change to the rules so that artists like Chance could is good enough reason as to why “Coloring Book” should win, not to mention the fact that the replay factor is still high after almost a year. That being said though, I would not be surprised if they gave it to Drake. One of the most highly anticipated and biggest albums of the year commercially, “Views”, like “25”, blows it competition away sales wise. Again, does that play a huge factor? I think it should. There’s a lot to be said these days when an album actually sells. So yeah, it hurts me to take the award away from Chance, but….

Prediction: “Views” – Drake

Country

Best Country Solo Performance

  • “Love Can Go To Hell” – Brandy Clark
  • “Vice” Miranda Lambert
  • “My Church” – Maren Morris
  • “Church Bells” – Carrie Underwood
  • “Blue Ain’t Your Color” – Keith Urban

This is an interesting category, but I’d say it’s really between Maren and Miranda, although “Love Can Go To Hell” is great as well. “Church Bells” is Carrie barely on autopilot, and I prefer other songs off of Ripcord for Keith. Maren is so young and so talented and she has truly established herself as one of country’s brightest stars over the last year, but “Vice” is Miranda at her best in my opinion. “The Weight of These Wings” is her best album by far, and “Vice” as a lead single was such a pleasant surprise after the mess that was “Something Bad”. So I’ll give this one to Miranda, and Maren can take the next one.

Prediction: “Vice” – Miranda Lambert

Best Country Duo/Group Performance

  • “Different For Girls” – Dierks Bentley ft. Elle King
  • “21 Summer” – Brothers Osborne
  • “Setting The World On Fire” – Kenny Chesney ft. Pink
  • “Jolene” Pentatonix ft. Dolly Parton
  • “Think of You” – Chris Young ft. Cassadee Pope

“Think of You” blows the rest of these songs out of the water. Both Chris Young and Cassadee Pope are fantastic talents, and their voices mesh so well together. “Different For Girls” and “21 Summer” don’t do much for me, and as much as I love Pentatonix their cover of “Jolene” with Dolly was nothing too special. I liked “Setting The World On Fire” much more then I thought I would, but I’d really love to see the award go to Chris and Cassadee

Prediction: “Think of You” – Chris Young and Cassadee Pope

Best Country Song

  • “Blue Ain’t Your Color” – Keith Urban
  • “Die A Happy Man” – Thomas Rhett
  • “Humble and Kind” – Tim McGraw
  • “My Church” – Maren Morris
  • “Vice” – Miranda Lambert

“Die A Happy Man” and “Humble and Kind” are very average. Good, but average. The lack of Chris Stapleton is really showing with those. “Blue Ain’t Your Color” is just another single, and if Miranda wins in the other category, this could definitely be Maren’s for the taking. I mean, it’s gonna win SOMETHING, so it might as well be this.

Prediction: “My Church” – Maren Morris

Best Country Album

  • “Big Day In A Small Town”- Brandy Clark
  • “Full Circle”- Loretta Lynn
  • “Hero”- Maren Morris
  • “A Sailors Guide to Earth”- Sturgill Simpson
  • “Ripcord”- Keith Urban

For some, seeing Loretta Lynn in this category might be a surprise even with her legendary status. “Full Circle” was a great record, highlighted by a beautiful cover of Willie Nelson’s “Always On My Mind”. “Ripcord” is an excellent rebound for Keith after “Fuse” which was, with the exception of Cop Car, absolutely terrible. I don’t see either of those winning, but they’re good additions to the category.

I’d say it’s really between Sturgill and Maren. Sturgill probably isn’t going to win Album of the Year with the stiff competition its up against, and because it’s a really frigin great album, I’d love to see it win here and propel Sturgill to the mainstream. Maren could easily win this too, but it’s really 50/50.

Prediction: “A Sailors Guide to Earth” – Sturgill Simpson

Musical Theatre

Best Musical Theatre Album

  • Bright Star
  • The Color Purple
  • Fiddler On The Roof
  • Kinky Boots
  • Waitress

Congratulations!! The year of Hamilton is over!! Someone else finally gets a chance!! Haha, no honestly, I love Hamilton, but it’s a buzzkill when it comes to awards cause YOU KNOW it was winning everything.

So I wasn’t aware that West End cast recordings were eligible for Grammys. Am I just a dumbass? Like I honestly didn’t know that. I haven’t heard that or the Fiddler album but I’ve heard very good things from those who have seen the show and listened to the album.

I was really bummed I didn’t get to see “Bright Star” when it was on Broadway….I read on it in a playbill and fell in love with it when I checked it out. I think it’s a bit too indie-ish to score the win here, but still, I highly recommend. So it’s down to Waitress and Color Purple, which is very hard for me as it’s my favorite new musical (besides Hamilton) and my favorite revival of the year. I think that because Sara Bareillis is attached to it, Waitress will walk away with it, but you can’t take anything away from Cynthia Erivo and the Color Purple crew….just incredible.

Prediction: Waitress

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2017 Grammy Nominations: Thoughts on Pop, Electronic/Dance and Rock

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As a passionate fan of a lot of artists and genres of music, Grammy season always gives me anxiety. I’m never particularly shocked by who or what ends up getting the most nominations based off what was really huge that year, I just wanna see my favorites at the top of the list. I thought there were some really strong releases this year that got recognized, and there were also a few nice surprises thrown in there as well. Lets go through all the major categories and some sub-categories.

Record Of The Year

  • “Hello” – Adele
  • “Formation” – BeyoncĂ©
  • “7 Years” – Lukas Graham
  • “Work” – Rihanna ft. Drake
  • “Stressed Out” – Twenty One Pilots

I’d first like to address the elephant in the room and say where the hell is Sorry!? Easily the biggest song of Justin Bieber’s career and one that got a lot of people who had detested him previously to really give him a chance. It’s not the best song off of “Purpose” but it’s a fantastic pop song that was absolutely everywhere over the past year and absolutely deserved the nomination.

“Formation” is the odd one out of all these songs, in every category its in. While “Lemonade” is fantastic as a whole, “Formation” was by far the weakest song off of that album and quite frankly, it did not make that much of an impact on the charts. Every other song nominated for ROTY charted at either #1 or #2 on Billboard, while “Formation” did not get anywhere close to that.

“Stressed Out” and “Work” are fantastic choices. People can say whatever they want about “Work” but it remains to be one of my favorite songs of the year, and of Rihanna’s career. “7 Years” is the one I would have traded for “Sorry”. It’s a great song, but I’m convinced it was more overexposed on radio then “Hello” was and it just wore on me after a while. Lukas Graham’s follow up singles were nowhere near in the same league.

Prediction: Hell0- Adele

Album Of The Year

  • 25- Adele
  • Lemonade- BeyoncĂ©
  • Purpose- Justin Bieber
  • Views- Drake
  • A Sailors Guide to Earth- Sturgill Simpson

With the exception of A Sailors Guide to Earth, all predictable choices. I have to take a listen to that one, but I am very familiar with the rest of them. I don’t think there’s even a question that 25 should win….Lemonade and Purpose are fantastic but neither of them came close to selling as many copies. To me, that matters. It also helps that 25 is a generally solid album as well.

Views , while also a success in terms of sales and streaming and all that, is just not a strong enough album for me to get the win. Drake has done better….his 2015 mixtape “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late”, in my opinion, trounces “Views” in terms of quality.

A Sailors Guide to Earth is the one surprise they like to throw in either the ROTY or AOTY categories. Last year it was D’Angelo’s stellar “Really Love”, this year it’s “Sailors Guide…” Purpose is the dark horse here….I’m partial to it because of how huge of a Justin Bieber fan I am, but with the exception of 2013’s “Journals” it is by far Justin’s best and most commercial album. The singles were great, but songs like “No Sense”, “No Pressure” and “Trust” are just a few that solidify Purpose as a stellar pop album.

Lemonade needs no introduction. Beyoncé delivers with every album she puts out, so for critics to overwhelmingly say Lemonade is her best one yet says a lot.

Prediction: 25

Song of the Year

  • Formation- BeyoncĂ©
  • Hello- Adele
  • I Took A Pill In Ibiza- Mike Posner
  • Love Yourself- Justin Bieber
  • 7 Years- Lukas Graham

I think we can put aside the stats conversation for this category, so I’m taking Hello out of this right now. I’m glad the original version of “….Ibiza” is nominated and not the Seeb remix, which may have been what catapulted it to success, took away from the honesty and integrity of the song. It’s really a gorgeous track.

Love Yourself is not the dark horse, I think it’s the favorite. For good reason too. The song is fantastic and it blew up this year, giving radio a nice stripped back pop  song to play and luckily no horrid remixes came out of it.

Prediction: Love Yourself

Best New Artist

  • Kelsea Ballerini
  • The Chainsmokers
  • Maren Morris
  • Chance The Rapper
  • Anderson .Paak

This is truly a tough category. I don’t think there is any doubt Chance will take this one, even though him and the Chainsmokers and even .Paak aren’t new artists (.Paak worked on and was featured a lot on Dre’s “Compton” album a few years ago). Ballerini and Morris are two standout country artists, Morris a bit more recently though. I recently gave her album “Hero” a listen and it absolutely deserves the recognition.

Chance’s “Coloring Book” album (mixtape?) is absolutely one of the best of this year and the guy is an absolute star, not only creating that piece of art but also playing a pivotal role in “The Life of Pablo”. Expect him to take this one easy.

Prediction: Chance The Rapper

Simplified thoughts: Pop categories

Purpose/Love Yourself and 25/Hello are of course nominated in their respective categories, but I was VERY happy with Ariana Grande’s “Dangerous Woman” album and song getting some recognition. The album is one of my favorites of the year and I really really wanted it in the AOTY category, but this is good. Demi’s “Confident” album was very good, but not Grammy worthy in my opinion. I know it’s a vocal category and Demi is an insane vocalist, but I’m not huge on that getting the nod. Apparently when you whine about how one of your songs deserves a Grammy (I love Stone Cold but I was not a fan of her putting that out there…kind of selfish) you’ll get recognized. Yay. Sia’s “This Is Acting” album was quite good as well….I thought “Alive” should have been nominated on its own.

“Hold Up” while a standout, was nowhere near the best or even the most vocally demanding song on Lemonade. Good to see something other then “Formation” nominated though. LOVE the addition of Piece By Piece…Kelly Clarkson is the definition of an amazing pop vocalist and I love the idol version of the track.

I really do like “Closer” because I haven’t been home for much of its radio run and when i’m away at college I really don’t listen to radio, but if that gets the win over Work or Stressed Out just because it almost beat the Mariah record I’m gonna go riot in the streets of LA.

Prediction for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: 7 Years

The Traditional Pop vocal album category is HARD to pick. I really love all those albums but I have no doubt Streisand will take it, even though I listen to some of the stuff from Josh Groban’s almost daily.

Dance/Electronic

If one song should define The Chainsmokers for the rest of their careers, it’s Don’t Let Me Down. Daya’s debut album may have been weak but I REALLY enjoy that song and I hope to God it wins. Would love for Flume’s album to take Best Dance/Electronic Album…another one of my recent listens that I really enjoyed.

Rock

As much as I love Don’t Hurt Yourself, David Bowie’s “Blackstar” is without question getting the win for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song. Listening to it after he died was a whole different experience…him and Leonard Cohen both wrote their last projects as a goodbye and if that doesn’t make you choke up just thinking about it, I don’t know what will. Heathens doesn’t even deserve to be in that category, I don’t care how good of a song it is. That’s another song I’ve avoided the radio overkill, so I still really like it, I just would not put it up there. It sucks that Radiohead got shoved in there with Bowie because I absolutely love “Burn The Witch” and

Not too familiar with a lot of the nominees for Best Rock Album, although I did listen to Weezer’s self-titled album and I enjoyed that quite a bit.

 

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