Monthly Archives: January 2017

Grammys

Best New Artist 2017

With this year’s nominations for Best New Artist I was pleasantly surprised with Kelsea Ballerini’s nomination and the Chainsmokers, but was rather disappointed that Cam didn’t get nominated.  I find the Chainsmoker’s nomination rather intriguing because they never actually released a full-length album…

Anyway, the nominees are:

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

Who Should Win: The Chainsmokers

The Chainsmokers have come a long way since “#Selfie” with hit songs “Don’t Let Me Down (feat. Daya)” and “Closer (feat. Halsey).”  Their work has been rather refreshing and 2016 was really their year, so I’d say they deserve the Grammy.

Who Will Win: I have no idea

I really don’t know who could win, they seem so even.  If I had to choose, I’d guess the Chainsmokers, but for some reason I have a gut feeling Anderson .Paak may win…I’m not really good at guessing this category.

Grammys

Record of the Year 2017

The nominees for Record of the Year are:

  • “Hello” by Adele
  • “Formation” by Beyoncé
  • “7 Years” by Lukas Graham
  • “Work” by Rihanna feat. Drake
  • “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots

Who Should Win: “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots

I would be totally fine with Beyoncé, Adele, or Twenty One Pilots winning Record of the Year, but as a fake Grammy voter I cast my ballot for “Stressed Out” because find the instrumentation of it great – the synthesis string work is a real ear-grabber, and the rapped verses and sung chorus really work.

Who Will Win: “Hello” by Adele

Again, I predict Adele will win all her nominations simply because she doesn’t typically lose.  But, hey, “Hello” is an incredible record.

Grammys

Album of the Year 2017

2016 was a great year for albums – we got new Adele music (finally!), Beyoncé brought us the glorious Lemonade, and so much more.

The nominees for Album of the Year:

  • 25 – Adele
  • Lemonade – Beyoncé
  • Purpose – Justin Bieber
  • View – Drake
  • A Sailor’s Guide to Earth  – Sturgill Simpson

Who Should Win: Lemonade by Beyoncé

It feels like every time Beyoncé drops an album, it becomes a critically acclaimed masterpiece, and she gets nominated for Album of the Year.  This certainly was the case fore I Am…Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé, and now for Lemonade.  And yet, she has never won.  Indeed, after her loss in 2015 to Beck’s Morning Phase, a lot of people  were upset (granted, Beck has been around in the indie rock scene for a while, so his win isn’t totally random).  However, with Lemonade, Beyoncé steps up her game and provides a whole visual experience.

Who Will Win: Probably 25 by Adele

I would not be surprised if Beyonce did win, but I feel like the Grammy’s tend to favor Adele, which technically isn’t wrong – 25 did break records (it sold over 3 million copies in one week, has sold over 10 million copies to date, etc.), and it is a solid album that discusses Adele’s next chapter in her life.

Grammys, Music

Song of the Year Prediction

Song of the Year is perhaps one of my favorite categories at the Grammys because they honor the songwriter.  Far too often, songwriters are not credited fairly for their work, which doesn’t make sense as there would be no song if it weren’t for the songwriter.

This year, the nominees are:

  • Khalif Brown, Asheton Hogan, Beyoncé Knowles, and Michael L. Williams II for “Formation” by Beyoncé.
  • Adele Adkins and Greg Kurstin for “Hello” by Adele
  • Mike Posner for “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” by Mike Posner
  • Justin Bieber, Benjamin Levin, and Ed Sheeran for “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber
  • Lukas Forchhammer, Stefan Forrest, Morten Pilegaard, and Morten Ristorp for “7 Years” by Lukas Graham

Who Should Win: Mike Posner for “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” by Mike Posner

The original version of “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” is incredibly beautiful.  It has the timeless sound to it, grabs at your heart, and you truly feel Posner’s pain.  Out of all the nominees, Posner crafted a world that his listeners travel into, and leave feeling feeling his emptiness and loneliness.  Yes, it’s not a fun experience, but it’s one that leaves me with goosebumps every time.

Who Will Win: Adele Adkins and Greg Kurstin for “Hello” by Adele

It’s not that I think Adele doesn’t deserve to win the Grammy – “Hello” is indeed a gorgeous song – I simply think “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” captured Posner’s pain a bit better.  However, out of these songs nominated, I believe “Hello” was the biggest of 2016.  Adele dominated the charts, and she is indeed incredibly talented.  She has a Grammy-winning streak – she’s won every Grammy she has won since she released 21 in 2011.  So, it seems inevitable that she will win again.

Grammys

Grammy Predictions 2017

It’s that time of year – we’re one month-ish away from the Grammys, so as usual, I thought I’d share my predictions of who should and who will win throughout the month.  I like to pretend I’m a Grammy voter – which, I’ve been repeatedly told I don’t “qualify” for – and select who I would vote for.  Obviously I can’t go through each category – there are eighty-four categories – so I’ll probably just hit the bigger categories.  Grammy voters don’t vote for every category – they vote for the top four, and then I think they vote within their specified genre.  Anyway…

Music

I Don’t Wanna Live Forever

Recently, Taylor Swift released “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” with Zayn (originally from One Direction) for the new Fifty Shades movie, and while I’m excited for the prospect of new T. Swift music, I find Zayn’s feature…intriguing (to put it nicely).  This is because I dislike when male singers go into their falsetto voice.  It’s not necessary and it’s rather irritating.  Right from the beginning, Zayn sings in a high register – if it was going to be that high, why wouldn’t Swift just sing it.  To me, singing in a lower register and hitting lower notes can be more authentic and natural – using falsetto sounds almost fake (which, depending on who you talk to, is).

Now, I’m not suggesting Zayn’s performance is bad or anything – he does have a nice voice, singing that high for a guy is a gift – I would have just arranged the song different if I were the producer. I would have probably had Zayn sing in a lower register and have Swift sing the major part of the chorus.

If you don’t listen too closely to the song, it’s not bad, but I think overall it could’ve been a bit better.