Grammys 2011: No Big Shock

Clearly the Recording Academy was getting high with Miley Cyrus and Seth Rogen, because the results of this year's Grammys were less than exciting. Let's not even mention that Beliebers everywhere were ready to start an uproar akin to the likes of Egypt.
 Despite her incubated entrance to the show, Gaga's performance was somewhat normal and entertaining. Jennifer Hudson shined in a tribute to Aretha Franklin, and Usher is still lip syncing. Justin Bieber and Jaden Smith were adorable, while Rihanna and Eminem lost their superstar power during "Love the Way You Lie."
Who in creation is Arcade Fire? I guarantee "Esperanza" was the most Googled term today. It's sad that more people have heard of The King's Speech, than musicians who won music's highest honor. All in all I wouldn't have expected anything different from the Grammys. Young artists get snubbed, no names get recognized, and viewers are left hoping for a change next year.
Check out the complete list of Grammy winners here.

     

Grammy Update

Presenters were added today to the star studded list for The Grammys, airing February 13th. Fresh names, though seasoned Grammy attendees, include Paramore, Miley Cyrus, and Neil Patrick Harris.  

Below is the list of nominees with my prediction highlighted. I'm calling for it to be all about Eminem and Rihanna; Katy and Lady Antebellum will be snubbed, and if Justin Bieber beats John Mayer-there is no turning back for the music industry. I picked Drake over Justin for "Best New Artist," for the sheer reason that I believe Bieber will be around for awhile and winning best new artist is seen as a curse (Drake however is a great rapper). 

SONG OF THE YEAR
“Beg Steal Or Borrow” – Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs
“Forget You” – Cee Lo Green
“The House That Built Me”- Miranda Lambert
“Love The Way You Lie” – Eminem feat. Rihanna
“Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum

BEST NEW ARTIST
Justin Bieber
Drake
Florence + The Machine
Mumford & Sons
Esperanza Spalding

RECORD OF THE YEAR
“Nothin’ On You” – B.o.B feat. Bruno Mars
“Love The Way You Lie” – Eminem feat. Rihanna
“Forget You” (aka “Fuck You”) – Cee Lo Green
“Empire State Of Mind” – Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys
“Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The Suburbs – Arcade Fire
Recovery – Eminem
Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
The Fame Monster – Lady Gaga
Teenage Dream – Katy Perry

BEST FEMALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“King of Anything” – Sara Bareilles
“Halo (Live)” – Beyoncé
“Chasing Pirates” – Norah Jones
“Bad Romance” – Lady Gaga
“Teenage Dream” – Katy Perry

BEST MALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE“Haven’t Met You Yet” – Michael Bublé
“This Is It” – Michael Jackson
“Whataya Want From Me” – Adam Lambert
“Just The Way You Are” – Bruno Mars
“Half Of My Heart” – John Mayer

BEST POP COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS
“Airplanes II” – B.o.B, Eminem & Hayley Williams
“Imagine” – Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No. 1, Jeff Beck & Oumou Sangare
“If It Wasn’t For Bad” – Elton John & Leon Russell
“Telephone” – Lady Gaga & Beyoncé
“California Gurls” – Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg

BEST PERFORMANCE BY POP DUO OR GROUP
“Don’t Stop Believin’ (Regionals Version)” – Glee Cast
“Misery” – Maroon 5
“The Only Exception” – Paramore
“Babyfather” – Sade
“Hey, Soul Sister (Live)” – Train

BEST POP VOCAL ALBUMMy World 2.0 – Justin Bieber
I Dreamed A Dream – Susan Boyle
The Fame Monster – Lady Gaga
Battles Studies – John Mayer
Teenage Dream – Katy Perry

BEST DANCE RECORDING
“Rocket” – Goldfrapp
“In For The Kill” – La Roux
“Dance In The Dark” – Lady Gaga
“Only Girl (In The World)” – Rihanna
“Dancing On My Own” – Robyn

BEST ELECTRONIC/DANCE ALBUMThese Hopeful Machines – BT
Further – The Chemical Brothers
Head First – Goldfrapp
Black Light – Groove Armada
La Roux – La Roux

BEST ROCK SONG
“Angry World” – Neil Young, songwriter (Neil Young)
“Little Lion Man” – Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford & Country Winston, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)
“Radioactive” – Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill, songwriters (Kings Of Leon)
“Resistance” – Matthew Bellamy, songwriter (Muse)
“Tighten Up” – Dan Auerbach & Patrick Carney, songwriter (The Black Keys)

BEST ROCK ALBUMEmotion & Commotion – Jeff Beck
The Resistance – Muse
Backspacer – Pearl Jam
Mojo - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
Le Noise – Neil Young

BEST ROCK SOLO VOCAL PERFORMANCE“Run Back To Your Side” – Eric Clapton
“Crossroads” – John Mayer
“Helter Skelter” – Paul McCartney
“Silver Rider” – Robert Plant
“Angry World” – Neil Young

BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
“Ready To Start” – Arcade Fire
“I Put A Spell On You” – Jeff Beck & Joss Stone
“Tighten Up” – The Black Keys
“Radioactive” – Kings Of Leon
“Resistance” – Muse

BEST HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE
“A Looking In View” – Alice In Chains
“Let Me Hear You Scream” – Ozzy Osbourne
“Black Rain” – Soundgarden
“Between The Lines” – Stone Temple Pilots
“New Fang” – Them Crooked Vultures

BEST METAL PERFORMANCE
“El Dorado” – Iron Maiden
“Let The Guilt Go” – Korn
“In Your Words” – Lamb Of God
“Sudden Death” – Megadeth
“World Painted Blood” – Slayer

BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUMThe Suburbs – Arcade Fire
Infinite Arms – Band Of Horses
Brothers – The Black Keys
Broken Bells – Broken Bells
Contra – Vampire Weekend

BEST FEMALE R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Gone Already” – Faith Evans
“Bittersweet” – Fantasia
“Everything To Me” – Monica
“Tired” – Kelly Price
“Holding You Down (Going In Circles)” – Jazmine Sullivan

BEST MALE R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Second Chance” – El DeBarge
“Finding My Way Back” – Jaheim
“Why Would You Stay” – Kem
“We’re Still Friends” – (Kirk Whalum & Musiq Soulchild
“There Goes My Baby” – Usher

BEST R&B PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP
“Take My Time” – Chris Brown & Tank
“Love” — Chuck Brown, Jill Scott & Marcus Miller
“You’ve Got A Friend” – Ronald Isley & Aretha Franklin
“Shine” – John Legend &The Roots
“Soldier Of Love” – Sade

BEST RAP SOLO PERFORMANCE
“Over” – Drake
“Not Afraid” – Eminem
“How Low” – Ludacris
“I’m Back” – T.I.
“Power” – Kanye West

BEST RAP/SUNG COLLABORATION
“Nothin’ On You” – B.o.B Featuring Bruno Mars
“Deuces” – Chris Brown, Tyga & Kevin McCall
“Love The Way You Lie” – Eminem & Rihanna
“Empire State Of Mind” – Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
“Wake Up! Everybody” – John Legend, The Roots, Melanie Fiona & Common

BEST RAP SONG
“Empire State Of Mind” – Shawn Carter, Angela Hunte, Burt Keyes, Alicia Keys, Jane’t “Jnay” Sewell-Ulepic & Alexander Shuckburgh, songwriters (Sylvia Robinson, songwriter) (Jay-Z & Alicia Keys)
“Love The Way You Lie” – Alexander Grant, Skylar Grey & Marshall Mathers, songwriters (Eminem Rihanna)
“Not Afraid” – M. Burnett, J. Evans, Marshall Mathers, L. Resto & M. Samuels, songwriters (Eminem)
“Nothin’ On You” – Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars & Bobby Simmons Jr., songwriters (B.o.B Featuring Bruno Mars)
“On To The Next One” – Shawn Carter, J. Chaton & K. Dean, songwriters (G. Auge & X. De Rosnay, songwriters) (Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz)

BEST RAP ALBUM
The Adventures Of Bobby Ray , B.o.B
Thank Me Later , Drake
Recovery , Eminem
The Blueprint 3 , Jay-Z
How I Got Over , The Roots

BEST COUNTRY SONG
“The Breath You Take” – Casey Beathard, Dean Dillon & Jessie Jo Dillon, songwriters (George Strait)
“Free” – Zac Brown, songwriter (Zac Brown Band)
“The House That Built Me” – Tom Douglas & Allen Shamblin, songwriters (Miranda Lambert)
“I’d Love To Be Your Last” – Rivers Rutherford, Annie Tate & Sam Tate, songwriters (Gretchen Wilson)
“If I Die Young” – Kimberly Perry, songwriter (The Band Perry)
“Need You Now” – Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott, songwriters (Lady Antebellum)

BEST COUNTRY ALBUM
Up On The Ridge , Dierks Bentley
You Get What You Give , Zac Brown Band
The Guitar Song , Jamey Johnson
Need You Now , Lady Antebellum
Revolution , Miranda Lambert

BEST FEMALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Satisfied” – Jewel
“The House That Built Me” – Miranda Lambert
“Swingin’” – LeAnn Rimes
“Temporary Home” – Carrie Underwood
“I’d Love To Be Your Last” – Gretchen Wilson

BEST MALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Macon” – Jamey Johnson
“Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song)” – Toby Keith
“Turning Home” – David Nall
“’Til Summer Comes Around” – Keith Urban
“Gettin’ You Home” – Chris Young

BEST COUNTRY PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
“Free” – Zac Brown Band
“Elizabeth” – Dailey & Vincent
“Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum
“Little White Church” – Little Big Town
“Where Rainbows Never Die” – The SteelDrivers

The 2011 Grammy Nominations: Big Announcement, Bigger Flop

Below is a list of the 2010 Grammy Nominations. According to the Recording Academy, "The GRAMMYs are the only peer-presented award to honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position." I'm not sure this is entirely true. Most of these artists have had incredible sales, and were number one on at least one chart (not that this makes them less talented). Ryan Seacrest could have announced the Grammy Nominees from his AT40 radio show. All of these chart topping artists are very good, but there exists a lack of variety in style and a lack of talented songwriters. Something is wrong in the music industry when Cee Lo Green's F-U is nominated for "Song of the Year".  
There is no longer any distinction between the Kid's Choice Awards, the VMA's, the AMA's, or the Grammy's. Awards Season consists of The Oscars and "The Pop Culture Awards". It's cool that Justin Bieber is being recognized on the young Hollywood scene, and age should not be a factor in whether one could win an award. His nomination seems like one more plea to the younger generation to actually be interested in awards season.
What's your take on the Grammy nominations this year?             

THE 2010 GRAMMY NOMINATIONS
SONG OF THE YEAR
“Beg Steal Or Borrow” – Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs
“Forget You” – Cee Lo Green
“The House That Built Me”- Miranda Lambert
“Love The Way You Lie” – Eminem feat. Rihanna
“Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum
BEST NEW ARTIST
Justin Bieber
Drake
Florence + The Machine
Mumford & Sons
Esperanza Spalding
RECORD OF THE YEAR
“Nothin’ On You” – B.o.B feat. Bruno Mars
“Love The Way You Lie” – Eminem feat. Rihanna
“Forget You” (aka “Fuck You”) – Cee Lo Green
“Empire State Of Mind” – Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys
“Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The Suburbs – Arcade Fire
Recovery – Eminem
Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
The Fame Monster – Lady Gaga
Teenage Dream – Katy Perry
BEST FEMALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“King of Anything” – Sara Bareilles
“Halo (Live)” – Beyoncé
“Chasing Pirates” – Norah Jones
“Bad Romance” – Lady Gaga
“Teenage Dream” – Katy Perry
BEST MALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Haven’t Met You Yet” – Michael Bublé
“This Is It” – Michael Jackson
“Whataya Want From Me” – Adam Lambert
“Just The Way You Are” – Bruno Mars
“Half Of My Heart” – John Mayer
BEST POP COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS
“Airplanes II” – B.o.B, Eminem & Hayley Williams
“Imagine” – Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No. 1, Jeff Beck & Oumou Sangare
“If It Wasn’t For Bad” – Elton John & Leon Russell
“Telephone” – Lady Gaga & Beyoncé
“California Gurls” – Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg
BEST PERFORMANCE BY POP DUO OR GROUP
“Don’t Stop Believin’ (Regionals Version)” – Glee Cast
“Misery” – Maroon 5
“The Only Exception” – Paramore
“Babyfather” – Sade
“Hey, Soul Sister (Live)” – Train
BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM
My World 2.0 – Justin Bieber
I Dreamed A Dream – Susan Boyle
The Fame Monster – Lady Gaga
Battles Studies – John Mayer
Teenage Dream – Katy Perry
BEST DANCE RECORDING
“Rocket” – Goldfrapp
“In For The Kill” – La Roux
“Dance In The Dark” – Lady Gaga
“Only Girl (In The World)” – Rihanna
“Dancing On My Own” – Robyn
BEST ELECTRONIC/DANCE ALBUM
These Hopeful Machines – BT
Further – The Chemical Brothers
Head First – Goldfrapp
Black Light – Groove Armada
La Roux – La Roux
BEST ROCK SONG
“Angry World” – Neil Young, songwriter (Neil Young)
“Little Lion Man” – Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford & Country Winston, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)
“Radioactive” – Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill, songwriters (Kings Of Leon)
“Resistance” – Matthew Bellamy, songwriter (Muse)
“Tighten Up” – Dan Auerbach & Patrick Carney, songwriter (The Black Keys)
BEST ROCK ALBUM
Emotion & Commotion – Jeff Beck
The Resistance – Muse
Backspacer – Pearl Jam
Mojo - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
Le Noise – Neil Young
BEST ROCK SOLO VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Run Back To Your Side” – Eric Clapton
“Crossroads” – John Mayer
“Helter Skelter” – Paul McCartney
“Silver Rider” – Robert Plant
“Angry World” – Neil Young
BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
“Ready To Start” – Arcade Fire
“I Put A Spell On You” – Jeff Beck & Joss Stone
“Tighten Up” – The Black Keys
“Radioactive” – Kings Of Leon
“Resistance” – Muse
BEST HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE
“A Looking In View” – Alice In Chains
“Let Me Hear You Scream” – Ozzy Osbourne
“Black Rain” – Soundgarden
“Between The Lines” – Stone Temple Pilots
“New Fang” – Them Crooked Vultures
BEST METAL PERFORMANCE
“El Dorado” – Iron Maiden
“Let The Guilt Go” – Korn
“In Your Words” – Lamb Of God
“Sudden Death” – Megadeth
“World Painted Blood” – Slayer
BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM
The Suburbs – Arcade Fire
Infinite Arms – Band Of Horses
Brothers – The Black Keys
Broken Bells – Broken Bells
Contra – Vampire Weekend
BEST FEMALE R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Gone Already” – Faith Evans
“Bittersweet” – Fantasia
“Everything To Me” – Monica
“Tired” – Kelly Price
“Holding You Down (Going In Circles)” – Jazmine Sullivan
BEST MALE R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Second Chance” – El DeBarge
“Finding My Way Back” – Jaheim
“Why Would You Stay” – Kem
“We’re Still Friends” – (Kirk Whalum &) Musiq Soulchild
“There Goes My Baby” – Usher
BEST R&B PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP
“Take My Time” – Chris Brown & Tank
“Love” — Chuck Brown, Jill Scott & Marcus Miller
“You’ve Got A Friend” – Ronald Isley & Aretha Franklin
“Shine” – John Legend & The Roots
“Soldier Of Love” – Sade
BEST RAP SOLO PERFORMANCE
“Over” – Drake
“Not Afraid” – Eminem
“How Low” – Ludacris
“I’m Back” – T.I.
“Power” – Kanye West
BEST RAP/SUNG COLLABORATION
“Nothin’ On You” – B.o.B Featuring Bruno Mars
“Deuces” – Chris Brown, Tyga & Kevin McCall
“Love The Way You Lie” – Eminem & Rihanna
“Empire State Of Mind” – Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
“Wake Up! Everybody” – John Legend, The Roots, Melanie Fiona & Common
BEST RAP SONG
“Empire State Of Mind” – Shawn Carter, Angela Hunte, Burt Keyes, Alicia Keys, Jane’t “Jnay” Sewell-Ulepic & Alexander Shuckburgh, songwriters (Sylvia Robinson, songwriter) (Jay-Z & Alicia Keys)
“Love The Way You Lie” – Alexander Grant, Skylar Grey & Marshall Mathers, songwriters (Eminem & Rihanna)
“Not Afraid” – M. Burnett, J. Evans, Marshall Mathers, L. Resto & M. Samuels, songwriters (Eminem)
“Nothin’ On You” – Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars & Bobby Simmons Jr., songwriters (B.o.B Featuring Bruno Mars)
“On To The Next One” – Shawn Carter, J. Chaton & K. Dean, songwriters (G. Auge & X. De Rosnay, songwriters) (Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz)
BEST RAP ALBUM
The Adventures Of Bobby Ray , B.o.B
Thank Me Later , Drake
Recovery , Eminem
The Blueprint 3 , Jay-Z
How I Got Over , The Roots
BEST COUNTRY SONG
“The Breath You Take” – Casey Beathard, Dean Dillon & Jessie Jo Dillon, songwriters (George Strait)
“Free” – Zac Brown, songwriter (Zac Brown Band)
“The House That Built Me” – Tom Douglas & Allen Shamblin, songwriters (Miranda Lambert)
“I’d Love To Be Your Last” – Rivers Rutherford, Annie Tate & Sam Tate, songwriters (Gretchen Wilson)
“If I Die Young” – Kimberly Perry, songwriter (The Band Perry)
“Need You Now” – Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott, songwriters (Lady Antebellum)
BEST COUNTRY ALBUM
Up On The Ridge , Dierks Bentley
You Get What You Give , Zac Brown Band
The Guitar Song , Jamey Johnson
Need You Now , Lady Antebellum
Revolution , Miranda Lambert
BEST FEMALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Satisfied” – Jewel
“The House That Built Me” – Miranda Lambert
“Swingin’” – LeAnn Rimes
“Temporary Home” – Carrie Underwood
“I’d Love To Be Your Last” – Gretchen Wilson
BEST MALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE
“Macon” – Jamey Johnson
“Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song)” – Toby Keith
“Turning Home” – David Nall
“’Til Summer Comes Around” – Keith Urban
“Gettin’ You Home” – Chris Young
BEST COUNTRY PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
“Free” – Zac Brown Band
“Elizabeth” – Dailey & Vincent
“Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum
“Little White Church” – Little Big Town
“Where Rainbows Never Die” – The SteelDrivers

What Your Music Says About YOU!

I sat down with Nathanial Karahalis, a musician, aspiring to someday hit the Symphonies of the world, to discuss music and the entertainment industry. Nate was discussing the stereotypes surrounding music, which go hand in hand with the young stars featured on Where It All Begins. Many adults have been embarrassed to say they jammed to a little “Party in the USA,” caught the “Bieber Fever”, or “Naturally” rocked out to Selena Gomez, but all these artists, and more have reached heights on the pop charts, which comprise a variety of music and age groups. Nathanial says, “If you’re embarrassed to say you like a certain kind of music or song, you’re feeding into the stereotypes.” Nathanial relates that the kind of music you like is subjective; it’s what makes you original. Whatever kind of music you were exposed to at a young age sets the tone for what’s pleasing to your ears later on in life. Who’s to say that a guy who enjoys listening to the Jonas Brothers is less of a man than the guy listening to Eminem? Music is in the ear of the listener. Karahalis comments that no one can really define what is and isn’t “music.” Music is a universal language. It is the language of love, hate, confusion, and sadness. Music can tell a story or play out a dream. What would the world be without the personal flavor of your own musical tastes? Music is an art, and art is open to interpretation. Yes, artists have a specific meanings and messages in mind when they are writing a song, but to the artist, what matters most is that people are inspired.

It seems these days’ artists are constantly being compared to someone else- very few artists are considered original in their own right. Miley Cyrus was compared to Britney Spears by John Jay and Rich on their radio show Wednesday this past week because the opening lines of “Can’t be tamed” have the same beat as Britney’s “If you seek Amy.” The beat may be similar, but the songs both have different flavors and lyrical content. We’re not sure if these comments led Miley to record a remix of “Can’t be tamed” with Lil Jon later that evening, but this is just one example of the constant war of words in the music industry.

Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is the best selling album of all time, and while he will remain the “king of pop” forever, he didn’t live without social demise. Jackson remains to be seen as a musical genius, and has gone down as one of the most renowned artists of all time. Elvis shook his hips, Madonna has crossed the” borderline” at more than one border, and the Beatles wrote most of their songs high as kites, however, those “scandals” are miniscule compared to the prints these artists have left on the music industry. Although credibility shouldn’t matter, one has to ask if we are creating a legion of artists that will be prevented from leaving a legacy due to the wide criticism they face. Taking away the freedom to perform and interpret the language of music however one sees fit, is stripping a freedom of speech in its purest form.