Typically, Grammy Award season leaves me disappointed. There are a select few artists who get under my skin and for some reason these talented folks are the ones at the podium. If I am constantly taking digs at you then your chances of being rewarded by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences are more than likely. So, Taylor Swift the odds are in your favor for winning for the painfully catchy song, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”.
My Grammy Award complaints mostly surround the Academy’s annual indecisiveness about whether to choose mainstream artists as the winners or the alternative ones. In 2010, Ms. Swift won Album of the Year for “Fearless” and in 2011, Arcade Fire won for “The Suburbs”. A sugar-coated teenage country pop album and a college-geared indie rock album have just about nothing in common. Swift is the ultimate example of how success and fame go hand in hand, wile the Canadian rock band showcases how pure musical talent can outshine the glitz and glam of Hollywood. Maybe I have been sharing the sidewalks with Arcade Fire for the past year. Admittedly, I couldn’t point out one member to you.
Which way will the Academy sway this year? Your guess is as good as mine. I want the 2013 winners to be the classic and iconic artists that won decades before auto-tune music went from atypical to the norm. Singers like Barbara Streisand, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Carole King, Simon & Garfunkel, Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac and Billy Joel have persisted in this music industry without the aid of a clothing line or a fragrance. Simply put, they are legends. I would like my generation to add to this
list and not continue to compromise it with musical fads. Here’s to hoping!
Check out my predictions below for some of this year’s Grammy Awards.
Adele’s “21” is a diamond album and was the obvious winner in 2012.This year’s nominations have not achieved that same status, but it is the first time where I would be happy for any of the nominees if they won. I thoroughly enjoyed all of these albums, but I would give the Grammy Award to The Black Keys. As their 7th studio album, “El Camino” successfully hit mainstream appeal and the duo did so without tainting their garage rock core.
Already a platinum album, “Red” proved to be another hit for Swift. The album missed the deadline for the Grammys, but its lead single did not. I hate that “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” is a lyrical goldmine.
This category was a bit tough. If you asked me which artist I enjoy most, I would easily say Fun., but this outfit is not a “new artist” in my book. A fan since their 2009 debut, “Aim and Ignite”, I think Fun. is beyond the Best New Artist category. Due to this miscalculation, I am going to hand the award to Frank Ocean for his groundbreaking studio debut, “Channel Orange”.
See above for my adoration of Fun.. Nate Ruess’s positively rare vocals bring this “pop” album into theatrical territories, unlike its competitors.
Yes, I have heard “We Are Young” countless times, but that doesn’t stop me from clicking play for the millionth time. What if Fun. didn’t win? I would settle for some Kelly Clarkson. I can’t say the same if Carly Rae Jepsen walks away with the Grammy. It’s hard to sing such a childlike tune when you’re actually 27.
My brain is telling me Bruce Springsteen mostly due to the tune’s success during the Obama campaign, but I am going to go with my heart on this one and say Mumford & Sons.
The Black Keys and Jack White are battling hard for this award, but since I tossed Album Of The Year to The Black Keys, I am going to even out the playing field, and hand this one to Jack White. As an avid fan of The White Stripes, The Dead Weather and The Raconteurs, I credit White for diversifying the rock genre and making the unconventional cool again. Would I like him to unite with Meg White again? Sure, but his solo career has made his music all the more vulnerable.
Gotye’s “Making Mirrors” doesn’t belong in this category, but it’s okay because he won’t be receiving the award. Everyone loves a comeback story and Fiona Apple did that with “The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do”. I am excited to see Apple accept the award, but I am more eager to hear the presenter say her unnecessarily lengthy album title with a straight face.
This award belongs to Frank Ocean and he will get it.