It's Grammy nite, 2009, and I'm back again with a few predictions. Even though some of the "early" awards have already been announced, I swear I've been ignoring the news reports. So if this post "predicts" awards that have already been announced, I swear I'm not cheating.
Let's make a few wild-ass-guess predictions, after the jump...
For Grammy 2008, I made 22 predictions, and based on my scoring method, I racked up only 12.5 points. Ugh. Let's do better this year, even though this year is much more challenging.
(I'll score myself this way: 1 point for a correct prediction; 0.5 points for a "should win" or "dark horse" prediction that hits)
(For the full list of nominees see this)
(Also, if you're looking for a cool liveblog of tonite's events, try the only other music blog that matters, Idolator)
* * * * *
1) Record Of The Year
(Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s), if other than the artist.)
* Chasing Pavements, Adele
* Viva La Vida, Coldplay
* Bleeding Love, Leona Lewis (Simon Cowell, Clive Davis & Ryan "Alias" Tedder, producers; Craig Durrance, Phil Tan & Ryan "Alias" Tedder, engineers/mixers)
* Paper Planes, M.I.A
* Please Read The Letter, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
As far as I can tell, this is American Idol judge Simon Cowell's first year of Grammy nomination. And, in case you're wondering, Clive Davis has won only three Grammys, which is actually a surprise to me.
This is a very tough category. Plant/Krauss will take home lots of hardware tonite, but probably not in this category. I think better bets are Coldplay (who will also take home lots of hardware) or Leona Lewis.
Prediction: "Bleeding Love"
Dark Horse: "Viva La Vida"
2) Album Of The Year
(Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s)/Mixer(s) & Mastering Engineer(s), if other than the artist.)
* Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, Coldplay
* Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne
* Year Of The Gentleman, Ne-Yo
* Raising Sand, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
* In Rainbows, Radiohead
All of these albums are worthy of this award. I had Lil Wayne as my "number one album of 2008", and Ne-Yo was my "number four". Plant/Krauss made my 2007 Top 10, but it's eligible here because it was released three weeks into the eligibility year.
Regardless of each of these albums' worthiness, Plant/Krauss are a solid-platinum lock here.
Prediction: "Raising Sand"
Dark Horse: "Viva La Vida"
3) Song Of The Year
(A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)
* American Boy
William Adams, Keith Harris, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, John Stephens, Estelle Swaray & Kanye West, songwriters (Estelle Featuring Kanye West)
Track from: Shine
[Atlantic/Homeschool; Publishers: Will.I.Am Music/Cherry River Music/Chrysalis Publishing/John Legend Publishing/Cherry River Music/Please Gimme My Publishing/EMI Blackwood Music/Larry Leron Music/Speir Music/Broke, Spoke and Gone Publishing]
* Chasing Pavements
Adele Adkins & Eg White, songwriters (Adele)
Track from: 19
[XL Recordings/Columbia; Publishers: Universal-Songs of Polygram Int.]
* I'm Yours
Jason Mraz, songwriter (Jason Mraz)
Track from: We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
[Atlantic; Publisher: Goo Eyed Music]
* Love Song
Sara Bareilles, songwriter (Sara Bareilles)
Track from: Little Voice
[Epic; Publisher: Tiny Bear Music]
* Viva La Vida
Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin, songwriters (Coldplay)
Track from: Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
[Capitol Records; Publishers: Universal Music-MGB Songs]
I have no clue. None of these "songs" are far and away better than the others.
Prediction: "Chasing Pavements"
Dark Horse: "Viva La Vida"
4) Best New Artist
(For a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist.)
* Adele
* Duffy
* Jonas Brothers
* Lady Antebellum
* Jazmine Sullivan
Another very tough category. All are worthy, but none are head-and-shoulders above the others.
Adele and Duffy -- aren't they the same person? The Jonas Brothers -- my niece likes them. Lady Antebellum -- aren't they a country group?; must be why I've never heard their music. Jazmine Sullivan -- sorry, her R&B does nothing for me.
Prediction: Adele
Dark Horse: The Jonas Brothers
LOW-HANGING FRUIT
This category includes predictions I am guaranteed* to get right, mostly because the nominees made it to the Big Four.
(*guarantee not valid in any state -- Eds.)
5) Best Rock Album
Prediction: "Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends"
You don't need to know who the other nominees are. Only Coldplay made it to the AOTY category.
6) Best Alternative Music Album
Prediction: "In Rainbows"
See above, and this is the last time I'll write this.
7) Best Contemporary R&B Album
Prediction: "Year Of The Gentleman"
8) Best Rap Album
Prediction: "Tha Carter III"
9) Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album
Prediction: "Raising Sand"
10) Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
"Viva La Vida"
NOT QUITE LOW-HANGING FRUIT
This category includes predictions that are contested, but make it to the Big Four.
11) Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Prediction: "Bleeding Love"
Dark Horse: "Chasing Pavements"
12) Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
Prediction: "Viva La Vida"
13) Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Prediction: "American Boy"
RANDOM PICKS
14) Best Short Form Music Video
Prediction: "Pork And Beans"
15) Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
Prediction: will.i.am
Dark Horse: Rick Rubin
16) Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical
Prediction: "Closer"
Dark Horse: "4 Minutes"
17) Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Prediction: "Bleeding Love"
Dark Horse: "Chasing Pavements"
18) Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
Prediction: "Closer"
Dark Horse: "I'm Yours"
* * * * *
Okay, it's 7PM EST, and some of the early winners have already been announced. I can't really go any further without looking like I'm cheating, so I'll stop with these predictions. I'll be back later to score myself.
-- DHMBIB
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Grammy 2009: Some Predictions
Sunday, February 24, 2008
2008 Grammy Awards: Wrapup
[image courtesy AP; H/T Idolator -- Ed.]
So, I haven't posted a post-Grammy writeup because I'm still in shock-and-awe about a particular Academy choice. Can you guess what that choice is???
Longtime readers -- all three of them -- know that I had called an Amy Winehouse sweep on Grammy nite. Many scoffed at me -- how could "Umbrella" lose for Record Of The Year??? -- but I called it because I felt it.
The evening sure seemed to be shaping up to support my prediction.
Which is why Herbie Hancock's win for Album Of The Year was so shocking to me.
Think about it like this...
There are about 180K members of the National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences (NARAS). AOTY is one of the categories in which all members can vote. To win AOTY -- or any category -- a nominee must have more than 20% of the total vote, and usually has [we suspect; we obviously don't know -- Ed.] between 25-30% of the vote.
Amy Winehouse won ROTY, SOTY and "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" for the song "Rehab", taking down "Umbrella" in the 2 "big" categories, "Best Pop Vocal Album" for Back To Black, and BNA. Amy also helped Mark Ronson win for "Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical", mostly for his work on Back To Black.
Herbie Hancock won, of course, the award for "Best Contemporary Jazz Album", although he lost in his only other non-AOTY nominated category, "Best Jazz Instrumental Solo", where Michael Brecker's "Anagram" took the award over Herbie's "Both Sides Now".
After giving Amy all those awards -- and "slighting" "Umbrella" in the process -- after going 1000 extra miles to ensure that Amy would be able to "be a part of" the ceremony even though visa problems kept her out of the US, and after putting Amy in a position to do something -- sweep "The Big Four" -- that had only been done once, and had not been done in 27 years -- more than "half" of "Grammy's life" ago -- the Academy spurned the best record of the decade in favor of awarding a "lifetime achievement award" to an artist three decades past his prime for his career-capping album of Starbucks background music???
Seriously???
Herbie's album had sold only 40,000 copies going in to the ceremony. Amy's record had sold nearly 40 times that number.
Do the math on this one. Somewhere between 25-30% of the Academy members voted for River even though, obviously, not all of them had heard it.
And that's assuming there were no shenanigans involved.
But, kudos to Herbie Hancock! You have joined such legendary music biz luminaries as Ray Charles (2005), Steely Dan (2001), Carlos Santana (2000), Bob Dylan (1998), and Tony Bennett (1995) in the category of "legends who recently have won AOTY when they shouldn't have because the Academy wanted to honor a lifetime of work".
And congratulations to Amy Winehouse, who became the sixth female artist to take home five Grammys in one night. Amy joins The Dixie Chicks (2007), Beyonce (2004), Norah Jones (2003), Alicia Keys (2002), and Lauryn Hill (1998) in this prestigious category.
* * * * *
I made some predictions, pre-Grammy. How did I do?
I'll score myself this way: 1 point for a correct prediction for "will win" or in the comments; 0.5 points for picking the winner as a "should win"; and 0.25 points for picking the winner as a "darkhorse".
[category -- winner -- score]
1) Record Of The Year -- Amy Winehouse, "Rehab" -- 1 point
2) Album Of The Year -- Herbie Hancock, River: The Joni Letters -- 0 points [don't even get us started -- Ed.]
3) Song Of The Year -- Amy Winehouse, "Rehab" -- 1 point
4) Best New Artist -- Amy Winehouse -- 1 point
5) Best Female Pop Vocal Performance -- Amy Winehouse, "Rehab" -- 1 point
6) Best Male Pop Vocal Performance -- Justin Timberlake, "What Goes Around, Comes Around" -- 0 points
7) Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals -- Maroon 5, "Makes Me Wonder -- 0.25 points ("For a possible upset, I'd look at Maroon 5, who famously got the Best New Artist nod over Kanye West 3 years ago. Grammy might like the chance to say, 'Hey, see that wasn't THAT bad a call!'")
8) Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals -- Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" -- 1 point
9) Best Pop Vocal Album -- Amy Winehouse, Back To Black -- 1 point
10) Best Dance Recording -- Justin Timberlake, "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows" -- 0 points
11) Best Electronic/Dance Album -- The Chemical Brothers, We Are The Night -- 0 points
12) Best Rock Album -- Foo Fighters, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace -- 1 point
13) Best Alternative Music Album -- The White Stripes, Icky Thump -- 0 points (although I did think The Stripes could take this)
14) Best R&B Song -- Alicia Keys, "No One" -- 0 points
15) Best Rap Solo Performance -- Kanye West, "Stronger" -- 1 point
16) Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group -- Common Featuring Kanye West, "Southside" -- 0 points
17) Best Rap/Sung Collaboration -- Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z, "Umbrella" -- 1 point
18) Best Rap Song -- Kanye West, "Good Life" -- 0 points
19) Best Rap Album -- Kanye West, Graduation -- 1 point
20) Best Female Country Vocal Performance -- Carrie Underwood, "Before He Cheats" -- 1 point
21) Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media -- The Beatles, Love -- 0 points
22) Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical -- Mark Ronson -- 1 point
I count 12.25 points, which is terrible. But in my defense, for timing reasons, I left some low-hanging-fruit on the table (e.g., Best Country Song -- "Before He Cheats"), and I also forgot to pick a winner in the "Best Short Form Music Video" category, and I woulda picked Johnny Cash for sure.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The 2008 Grammys: Some Predictions
Some time ago, faithful reader KG took me to task for not having written anything about the Grammys, set to air tonite at 8PM Eastern. I got busy with some other stuff over the winter, but I did want to throw out a few predictions for the record, and I'm getting in just under the line...
Meta prediction: Amy Winehouse will sweep. History will be made.
Amy Winehouse is nominated for six Grammys tonite, including for all four of "The Big Four". No female artist has ever won more than 5 Grammys on a single nite, although that's happened 4 times in the last 6 years. And only once has someone swept "The Big Four" categories, and it's been 27 years since that happened.
I'm predicting that Grammy wants to make a statement tonite in support of the artistry of Amy Winehouse, like they made a statement last year in support of the free speech rights of the Dixie Chicks. I'm predicting Amy will sweep tonite. That means there will be "upsets", and some pretty big ones, too.
[nominee info courtesy grammy.com -- Ed.]
1) Record Of The Year
(Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s), if other than the artist.)
* Irreplaceable
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Knowles, S. Smith & Stargate, producers; Jim Caruana, Jason Goldstein & Geoff Rice, engineers/mixers
Track from: B'Day
[Sony Urban Music/Columbia/Music World Productions]
* The Pretender
Foo Fighters
Gil Norton, producer; Adrian Bushby & Rich Costey, engineers/mixers
[Roswell/RCA Records]
* Umbrella
Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z
Kuk Harrell, Terius "The Dream" Nash & C. "Tricky" Stewart, producers; Kuk Harrell & Manny Marroquin, engineers/mixers
Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad
[Def Jam]
* What Goes Around…Comes Around
Justin Timberlake
Nate (Danja) Hills, Timbaland & Justin Timberlake, producers; Jimmy Douglass & Timbaland, engineers/mixers
[Jive/Zomba]
* Rehab
Amy Winehouse
Mark Ronson, producer; Tom Elmhirst, Vaughan Merrick, Dom Morley, Mark Ronson & Gabriel Roth, engineers/mixers
Track from: Back To Black
[Universal Republic Records]
Will win: "Rehab", Amy Winehouse
Should win: "Umbrella", Rihanna feat. Jay-Z
Seriously, "Umbrella" was the biggest record of the year. We all know that. But "Crazy" was the biggest record of 2006, and it lost to "Not Ready To Make Nice". I'm just sayin'...
2) Album Of The Year
(Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s)/Mixer(s) & Mastering Engineer(s), if other than the artist.)
* Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Foo Fighters
Gil Norton, producer; Adrian Bushby & Rich Costey, engineers/mixers; Brian Gardner, mastering engineer
[Roswell/RCA Records]
* These Days
Vince Gill
John Anderson, Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Diana Krall & The Del McCoury Band, featured artists; Vince Gill, John Hobbs & Justin Niebank, producers; Neal Cappellino & Justin Niebank, engineers/mixers; Adam Ayan, mastering engineer
[MCA Nashville]
* River: The Joni Letters
Herbie Hancock
Leonard Cohen, Norah Jones, Joni Mitchell, Corinne Bailey Rae, Luciana Souza & Tina Turner, featured artists; Herbie Hancock & Larry Klein, producers; Helik Hadar, engineer/mixer; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer
[Verve]
* Graduation
Kanye West
Dwele, Lil Wayne, Mos Def & T-Pain, featured artists; Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell, Mike Dean, Eric Hudson, Brian "Allday" Miller, Nottz, Patrick "Plain Pat" Reynolds, Gee Roberson, Toomp & Kanye West, producers; Craig Bauer, Bruce Buechner, Andrew Dawson, Mike Dean, Anthony Kilhoffer, Greg Koller, Manny Marroquin, Nottz Raw, Tony Rey, Seiji Sekine, Paul Sheehy & D. Sloan, engineers/mixers; Vlado Meller, mastering engineer
[Roc-A-Fella Records]
* Back To Black
Amy Winehouse
Mark Ronson & Salaam Remi, producers; Tom Elmhirst, Vaughan Merrick, Dom Morley, Gary Noble, Derek Pacuk, Matt Paul, Mark Ronson, Gabriel Roth & Franklin Socorro, engineers/mixers; Stuart Hawkes, mastering engineer
[Universal Republic Records]
Will win: Back To Black, Amy Winehouse
I think Amy's a lock here, but if you're looking for a possible "upset", I'd go with Kanye West's Graduation.
3) Song Of The Year
(A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)
* Before He Cheats
Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins, songwriters (Carrie Underwood)
Track from: Some Hearts
[19 Recordings/Arista Nashville; Publishers: Big Loud Shirt Industries, Mighty Underdog Music/Sony/ATV Cross Keys]
* Hey There Delilah
Tom Higgenson, songwriter (Plain White T's)
Track from: Every Second Counts
[Hollywood Records/Fearless Records; Publisher: So Happy Publishing]
* Like A Star
Corinne Bailey Rae, songwriter (Corinne Bailey Rae)
Track from: Corinne Bailey Rae
[Capitol Records; Publisher: Global Talent Publishing]
* Rehab
Amy Winehouse, songwriter (Amy Winehouse)
Track from: Back To Black
[Universal Republic Records; Publisher: EMI Music Publishing]
* Umbrella
Shawn Carter, Kuk Harrell, Terius "Dream" Nash & Christopher Stewart,
songwriters (Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z)
Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad
[Def Jam; Publisher: Peer Music]
Will win: "Rehab", Amy Winehouse
Should win: "Umbrella", Shawn Carter, Kuk Harrell, Terius "Dream" Nash & Christopher Stewart
Don't make me repeat myself...
4) Best New Artist
(For a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist.)
* Feist
* Ledisi
* Paramore
* Taylor Swift
* Amy Winehouse
Will win: Amy Winehouse
I think Amy's a lock here, but if you're looking for a possible "upset", I'd go with Feist.
5) Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)
* Candyman
Christina Aguilera
[RCA Records]
* 1234
Feist
Track from: The Reminder
[Cherry Tree / Interscope Records]
* Big Girls Don't Cry
Fergie
Track from: The Dutchess
[A&M Records]
* Say It Right
Nelly Furtado
Track from: Loose
[Geffen]
* Rehab
Amy Winehouse
Track from: Back To Black
[Universal Republic Records]
Will win: Amy Winehouse
I think Amy's a lock here, but if you're looking for a possible "upset", I'd go with Feist or Xtina as a dark horse.
6) Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)
* Everything
Michael Bublé
Track from: Call Me Irresponsible
[143 Records/Reprise]
* Belief
John Mayer
Track from: The Village Sessions
[Columbia/Aware]
* Dance Tonight
Paul McCartney
Track from: Memory Almost Full
[MPL/Hear Music]
* Amazing
Seal
[Warner Bros.]
* What Goes Around...Comes Around
Justin Timberlake
[Jive]
Will win: I have no clue, honestly. For my prediction, I think I'll guess Michael Buble.
7) Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
(For established duos or groups, with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.)
* (You Want To) Make A Memory
Bon Jovi
Track from: Lost Highway
[Island/Mercury]
* Home
Daughtry
[RCA Records/19 Recordings]
* Makes Me Wonder
Maroon 5
Track from: It Won't Be Soon Before Long
[Octone/A&M Records]
* Hey There Delilah
Plain White T's
Track from: Every Second Counts
[Hollywood Records]
* Window In The Skies
U2
Track from: U218 - Singles
[Interscope Records]
Will win: I think Daughtry is the favorite here in a tough category. For a possible upset, I'd look at Maroon 5, who famously got the Best New Artist nod over Kanye West 3 years ago. Grammy might like the chance to say, "Hey, see that wasn't THAT bad a call!"
8) Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
(For a collaborative performance, with vocals, by artists who do not normally perform together. Singles or Tracks only.)
* Steppin' Out
Tony Bennett & Christina Aguilera
Track from: Duets: An American Classic
[Columbia]
* Beautiful Liar
Beyoncé & Shakira
Track from: B'Day (Deluxe Edition)
[Columbia/Sony Urban]
* Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
[Rounder Records]
* The Sweet Escape
Gwen Stefani & Akon
Track from: The Sweet Escape
[Interscope Records]
* Give It To Me
Timbaland Featuring Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake
Track from: Timbaland Presents: Shock Value
[Mosley/Blackground/Interscope Records]
Will win: "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)", Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
This is another extremely competitive category. Picking a winner here is hard. I'm going with Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, for a couple of reasons. This was a collaboration that didn't sound so good in theory but produced one of the year's best and most acclaimed albums. Also, Alison Krauss has more Grammys than any female artist in history, so they obviously like her. A good pick also would be Tony Bennett & Xtina (two more Grammy favorites).
9) Best Pop Vocal Album
(For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks.)
* Lost Highway
Bon Jovi
[Island/Mercury]
* The Reminder
Feist
[Cherry Tree/Interscope Records]
* It Won't Be Soon Before Long
Maroon 5
[Octone/A&M Records]
* Memory Almost Full
Paul McCartney
[MPL/Hear Music]
* Back To Black
Amy Winehouse
[Universal Republic Records]
Will win: Back To Black, Amy Winehouse
I think Amy's a lock here. A good pick for an upset is Feist or Paul McCartney
10) Best Dance Recording
(For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances. Vocal or Instrumental. Singles or tracks only.)
* Do It Again
The Chemical Brothers
Tom Rowlands & Ed Simons, producers
Track from: We Are The Night
[Astralwerks]
* D.A.N.C.E.
Justice
Gaspard Auge & Xavier de Rosnay, producers; Gaspard Auge & Xavier de Rosnay, mixers
Track from: †
[Downtown/Vice/Ed Banger]
* Love Today
Mika
Jodi Marr, John Merchant, Mika & Greg Wells, producers; Greg Wells, mixer
Track from: Life In Cartoon Motion
[Casablanca/Universal Republic Records]
* Don't Stop The Music
Rihanna
Stargate, producer; Phil Tan, mixer
Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad
[Def Jam]
* LoveStoned/I Think She Knows
Justin Timberlake
Nate (Danja) Hills, Timbaland & Justin Timberlake, producers; Jimmy Douglass & Timbaland, mixers
Track from: FutureSex/LoveSounds
[Jive/Zomba]
Will win: "D.A.N.C.E.", Justice
"D.A.N.C.E." is the one song from this genre that people who don't listen to "dance" music knew this year. But I'll give Rihanna close to even odds for an upset. "Don't Stop The Music" was big in clubs over the summer but fizzled then at radio. It's being pushed now again, and it has recently exploded on radio. A lot of that boost came after the ballots were filled out, but she may have converted enough voters at the end for the upset.
11) Best Electronic/Dance Album
(For vocal or instrumental albums. Albums only.)
* We Are The Night
The Chemical Brothers
[Astralwerks]
* †
Justice
[Downtown/Vice/Ed Banger]
* Sound Of Silver
LCD Soundsystem
[Capitol Records/DFA]
* We Are Pilots
Shiny Toy Guns
[Universal Motown]
* Elements Of Life
Tiësto
[Ultra Records]
Will win: Sound Of Silver, LCD Soundsystem
Sound Of Silver was not just a good record, it was on every pop critic's "Best Of '07" list, taking more than a few 3d-or-highers.
12) Best Rock Album
(Vocal or Instrumental. Includes Hard Rock and Metal.)
* Daughtry
Daughtry
[RCA Records]
* Revival
John Fogerty
[Fantasy]
* Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Foo Fighters
[Roswell/RCA Records]
* Magic
Bruce Springsteen
[Columbia]
* Sky Blue Sky
Wilco
[Nonesuch Records]
Will win: Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, Foo Fighters
The Foos pretty much have to win this one. This was the only "Rock" album that made the cut for AOTY.
13) Best Alternative Music Album
(Vocal or Instrumental.)
* Alright, Still...
Lily Allen
[Capitol Records]
* Neon Bible
Arcade Fire
[Merge Records]
* Volta
Bjork
[Elektra/Atlantic]
* Wincing The Night Away
The Shins
[Sub Pop]
* Icky Thump
The White Stripes
[Third Man/Warner Bros.]
Will win: Neon Bible, Arcade Fire
Should win: Alright, Still, Lily Allen
This is the category that always infuriates me, because this is where Grammy dumps all the albums that they can't figure out where else to put them. Lily Allen, Arcade Fire and the White Stripes should not be in the same category.
But, there they are. So my pick is based on the fact that Neon Bible was the most critically-acclaimed album of the spring, and although its stock fell by the end of the year -- it really is overrated folks, it's okay to say that -- I think it will hold on FTW. I don't think I would call Lily Allen a "good" pick if you're looking for an upset, because I think she'll still be behind the White Stripes. But I want Lily Allen to win, so that's why I picked her.
14) Best R&B Song
(A Songwriter(s) Award. For Song Eligibility Guidelines see Category #3. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)
* Beautiful Flower
India.Arie & Joyce Simpson, songwriters (India.Arie)
[Universal Republic Records; Publishers: Gold & Iron Music Publishing, WB Music Corp.]
* Hate That I Love You
Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen & Shaffer Smith, songwriters (Rihanna Featuring Ne-Yo)
Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad
[Def Jam Recordings; Publishers: EMI April Music, Sony/ATV Tunes]
* No One
Dirty Harry, Kerry Brothers & Alicia Keys, songwriters (Alicia Keys)
[J Records/MBK Entertainment; Publishers: Lellow Productions/EMI April Music, Book Of Daniel Music/EMI Music Publishing, D. Harry Productions]
* Teachme
Ivan Barias, Adam W. Blackstone, Randall C. Bowland, Carvin Haggins, Johnnie Smith II & Corey Latif Williams, songwriters (Musiq Soulchild)
Track from: Luvanmusiq
[Atlantic; Publishers: Nivrac Tyke/Universal Publishing, Latif Music/Universal Publishing, Tetra Grammaton/Universal Music Publishing, Melodic Piano Productions, HC 1030 Publishing]
* When I See U
Louis Biancaniello, Waynne Nugent, Erika Nuri, Kevin Risto, Janet Sewel & Sam Watters, songwriters (Fantasia)
Track from: Fantasia
[J Records/19 Records/S Records; Publishers: Breakthrough Creations/EMI April Music, S.M.Y. Publishing/Sony/ATV Tunes, Break North Music/Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Wayne Writers/Sony/ATV Tunes, J. Sewell Publishing, Golden The Super Kid Music]
Will win: I have no idea
Should win: "Hate That I Love You"
At first glance, this looks like a way for Grammy to compensate for snubbing "Umbrella". But Rihanna didn't get a songwriting credit on either song, so she's not "up" for a Grammy here or for "Umbrella"-the-song. So, I have no idea what that means.
15) Best Rap Solo Performance
(For a solo Rap performance. Singles or Tracks only.)
* The People
Common
Track from: Finding Forever
[Geffen]
* I Get Money
50 Cent
Track from: Curtis
[Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records]
* Show Me What You Got
Jay-Z
Track from: Kingdom Come
[Roc-A-Fella Records]
* Big Things Poppin' (Do It)
T.I.
[Grand Hustle/Atlantic]
* Stronger
Kanye West
Track from: Graduation
[Roc-A-Fella Records]
Will win: "Stronger", Kanye West
I think Kanye's a lock here.
16) Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group
(For duo, group or collaborative performances of Rap only. Singles or Tracks only.)
* Southside
Common Featuring Kanye West
Track from: Finding Forever
[Geffen]
* Make It Rain
Fat Joe Featuring Lil Wayne
Track from: Me, Myself & I
[Terror Squad Entertainment]
* Party Like A Rockstar
Shop Boyz
Track from: Rockstar Mentality
[OnDeck/Universal Republic Records]
* Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)
UGK Featuring OutKast
[Jive]
* Better Than I've Ever Been
Kanye West, Nas & KRS-One
[Nike]
Will win: "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)", UGK feat. Outkast
Kanye squaring off against himself is not good for his chances. Also, the death of UGK's Pimp C in December was somewhat shocking to the biz. I'm sure they got lots of sympathy votes for that.
17) Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
(For a Rap/Sung collaborative performance by artists who do not normally perform together. Singles or Tracks only.)
* I Wanna Love You
Akon Featuring Snoop Dogg
Track from: Konvicted
[SRC/Universal Motown]
* Kiss, Kiss
Chris Brown & T-Pain
[Jive]
* Let It Go
Keyshia Cole Featuring Missy Elliott & Lil' Kim
Track from: Just Like You
[Confidential Records/Geffen]
* Umbrella
Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z
Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad
[Def Jam Recordings]
* Good Life
Kanye West Featuring T-Pain
Track from: Graduation
[Roc-A-Fella]
Will win: SERIOUSLY???
Okay, so you're Grammy. And you want to give 6 awards to Amy Winehouse. But the hardest part of that is you have to snub "Umbrella" for ROTY and SOTY. What to do?
Oh, look -- here's a category where we can get awards to Rihanna & Jay-Z without foiling our master plan!!!
Rihanna & Jay-Z FTW!
18) Best Rap Song
(A Songwriter(s) Award. For Song Eligibility Guidelines see Category #3. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)
* Ayo Technology
Nate (Danja) Hills, Curtis Jackson, Timothy Mosley & Justin Timberlake,
songwriters (50 Cent Featuring Justin Timberlake & Timbaland)
Track from: Curtis
[Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records; Publishers: 50 Cent Music Publishing/Virginia Beach Music/Danjahandz Music/WB Music Corp./Tenman Tunes]
* Big Things Poppin' (Do It)
Clifford Harris & Byron Thomas, songwriters (T.I.)
[Grand Hustle/Atlantic; Publishers: Crown Club Publishing/Warner Chappell Music, Fresh Is The Word]
* Can't Tell Me Nothing
Aldrin Davis & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West)
Track from: Graduation
[Roc-A-Fella; Publishers: Very Good Beats/Hip Hop Since 1978]
* Crank That (Soulja Boy)
Soulja Boy Tell'Em, songwriter (Soulja Boy Tell'Em)
[Collipark/Interscope Records; Publisher: Element 9 Recordings]
* Good Life
Aldrin Davis, Mike Dean, Faheem Najm & Kanye West, songwriters (J. Ingram & Q. Jones, songwriters)(Kanye West Featuring T-Pain)
Track from: Graduation
[Roc-A-Fella; Publishers: Yellow Brick Road Music/Eiseman Music/EMI Blackwood Music/Please Gimme My Publishing/Careers BMG Music Publishing, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing]
Will win: I have no idea.
Should win: "Can't Tell Me Nothing", Aldrin Davis & Kanye West
Here's the second time Kanye is nominated against himself, meaning that he can only take home 6 awards tonite, unless there's some "tie" shenanigans going on. I like "Can't Tell Me Nothing" better than the also-good "Good Life", so I cast my vote there. As for the other nominees, "Ayo Technology" is an awful song, even though it's got some big names attached to it. And I can't see Grammy giving the nod to a teenage one-hit-MySpace-wonder, so "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" should be outta luck. Maybe T.I. would have a chance at an upset over Kanye if it weren't for those pesky weapons charges that threaten to put him away for a long time.
19) Best Rap Album
(For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks.)
* Finding Forever
Common
[Geffen]
* Kingdom Come
Jay-Z
[Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam Recordings]
* Hip Hop Is Dead
Nas
[Def Jam/Columbia/The Jones Experience]
* T.I. vs T.I.P.
T.I.
[Grand Hustle/Atlantic]
* Graduation
Kanye West
[Roc-A-Fella Records]
Will win: Graduation, Kanye West
Here's another chance for Grammy to hand out a "consolation" prize for its "award-up Amy and screw everyone else" plan.
And also, how often do you see five rap albums on a list of nominations and the weakest comes from Jay-Z???
20) Best Female Country Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)
* Simple Love
Alison Krauss
Track from: A Hundred Miles Or More: A Collection
[Rounder]
* Famous In A Small Town
Miranda Lambert
Track from: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
[Columbia Nashville]
* Nothin' Better To Do
LeAnn Rimes
[Curb Records]
* Before He Cheats
Carrie Underwood
Track from: Some Hearts
[19 Recordings/Arista Nashville]
* Heaven, Heartache And The Power Of Love
Trisha Yearwood
[Big Machine Records]
Will win: "Before He Cheats", Carrie Underwood
Should win: "Famous In A Small Town", Miranda Lambert
Back in December, "Before He Cheats" moved into 3d place on Billboard's most-weeks-on-the-Hot-100-all-time list. This is incredibly difficult to accomplish, but it also means that it was on the radio for over a year. It's the one song that every voter in this category will have heard about 10,000 times. And it's certainly not bad.
I gave Miranda Lambert my "should win" vote because I like her and I want her to win. Plus, this is actually her "biggest" radio hit to date, which I was surprised to learn today.
21) Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
(Award to the Artist(s) and/or Producer(s) of a majority of the tracks on the album, or to the individual(s) actively responsible for the concept and musical direction and for the selection of artists, songs and producers, as applicable.)
* Across The Universe
(Various Artists)
T Bone Burnett, Elliot Goldenthal & Teese Gohl, producers
[Interscope Records]
* Dreamgirls
(Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson & Anika Noni Rose)
Harvey Mason, Jr., Randy Spendlove, Matt Sullivan & Damon Thomas, producers
[Music World Music/Sony Urban Music/Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax]
* Hairspray
(Various Artists)
Marc Shaiman, producer
[New Line Records]
* Love
(The Beatles)
George Martin & Giles Martin, producers
[Apple Records/Capitol Records]
* Once
Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
Glen Hansard, producer
[Canvasback/Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax]
Will win: I have no idea
Good luck handicapping this one! I'll throw my vote out there for Across The Universe.
22) Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
(A Producer's Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses.))
* Howard Benson
• Daughtry (Daughtry) (A)
• Devils & Angels (Mêlée) (A)
• Direction (The Starting Line) (A)
• Five Score And Seven Years Ago (Relient K) (A)
• Stay Inside (Sound The Alarm) (A)
* Joe Chiccarelli
• Mercy (Burden Brothers) (A)
• The Narcotic Story (Oxbow) (A)
• Nightmoves (Kurt Elling) (A)
• Wincing The Night Away (The Shins) (A)
* Mike Elizondo
• It Won't Be Soon Before Long (Maroon 5) (A)
• Under The Blacklight (Rilo Kiley) (A)
* Mark Ronson
• Back To Black (Amy Winehouse) (T)
• Littlest Things (Lily Allen) (T)
• Rehab (Amy Winehouse) (T)
• Version (Mark Ronson) (A)
• You Know I'm No Good (Amy Winehouse) (T)
* Timbaland
• Come Around (M.I.A. Featuring Timbaland) (T)
• Give It To Me (Timbaland Featuring Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake) (T)
• Make Me Better (Fabolous Featuring Ne-Yo) (S)
• Timbaland Presents: Shock Value (Timbaland) (A)
• The Way I Are (Timbaland Featuring Keri Hilson & D.O.E.) (S)
Will win: Mark Ronson
This category -- way down at #93 on Grammy's official list -- is actually a Leading Indicator tonite for my "Grammy wants to award-up Amy" theory. If Mark Ronson wins this award, look for a big nite for Amy Winehouse. If Timbaland or possibly Howard Benson win this award, look for big nites for Kanye West and Rihanna.
* * * * *
I probably won't be "liveblogging" this year's telecast -- or maybe I'll change my mind, who knows??? Anyway, Idolator's Maura Johnston will be liveblogging, so if you're looking for that kind of thing, I suggest you head over there -- you might even see me there, too!!!
Friday, February 23, 2007
This Week In Christina Aguilera: 23 February Edition
[Rob, didn't you already do a "This Week In Christina Aguilera" post, like, earlier this week???]
Okay, it's no secret that we here at DHMBIB <3-with-a-capital-"3" Xtina.
But seriously, is there anyone in music who has had a better two weeks?
Here are some of the things that Xtina has done in the last couple of weeks:
* Appeared as Ellen Degeneres's featured guest and musical performer on her 600th show:
[Holy flurking shnit!!! Check out those big-ass roses!!! -- Ed.]
[Try not to get turned on when Xtina talks about "Naked Sunday". Is it getting hot in here??? -- Ed.]
[Xtina can dress appropriately for daytime TV meant for stay-at-home Moms, retirees, and bloggers? Who knew??? -- Ed.]
* Brought the Grammy house down with a performance of James Brown's "It's A Man's Man's Man's World":
[Oh, yeah -- and she actually WON a Grammy. Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Ain't No Other Man" -- Ed.]
* Brought the NBA All-Star Game house down with performances of her own "Ain't No Other Man" and "Candy Man":
[Let's see how long it takes the NBA to C&D YouTube over this version -- Ed.]
* And yesterday, she premiered her new video for "Candy Man" on TRL:
Four points to discuss about this last item:
1) I'm sure you're grumbling a little bit right now about how you're supposedly already "sick" of hearing this song. It's been so ubiquitous in 3 different national ad campaigns that you're probably saying to yourself, "You mean, there wasn't a 'video' already??? And what qualifies as a 'music video' nowadays, anyway???"
Whatevs. Stop fake-hating and enjoy.
[P.S. Our iPods have been rocking out to "Candy Man" since September, when our wise-beyond-her-years friend gave us Back To Basics as a birthday present.]
2) Vanessa Minnillo apparently has morphed into Katharine McPhee. Hey, Nick Lachey -- that might just qualify as an UPGRADE!!!
3) [Item #3 was supposed to be about how long this clip would last on Google Video given that MTV Networks parent Viacom has been C&D'ing Google recently because Google refused to pay them gobs of money over copyrighted Viacom material. But the internets reminded me that MTVN reached a separate agreement with Google last year that presumably makes this clip kosher. Move along. Nothing to see here.] And...
4) TRL is still on the air???
Sure, Xtina has had a few good things happen in her life the last couple of weeks. But, alas, she hasn't quite "done it all". Here are some of the things Xtina has NOT done in the last couple of weeks.
* Enter rehab and leave in less than 24 hours...
* Twice...
* Enter rehab for a third time...
* Shave off her hair to reassert control over her life to spite her mother to foil a threat to have her hair drug-tested...
* Assault an SUV with an umbrella...and,
* Make anyone think that KEVIN FUCKING FEDERLINE would be a better custodial parent than she is.
In 2000, Christina Aguilera defeated Britney Spears for the Best New Artist award. Xtina has since won 4 career Grammys and 1 Latin Grammy. Britney Spears has exactly 0 career Grammys on her resume.
In 2000, did Grammy make the right call???
Thursday, February 15, 2007
This Week In American Idol: Post-Hollywood Meta Edition
I suffered some unfortunate problem with my internets last week, and then some other business got in the way of posting about American Idol's last audition show from 7 February. Although I did take some notes about that show, it would seem a tad outdated to post them now, what with Hollywood Week already over and everything. 'Tis a shame really, because I actually found a whole bunch of people out there in the MySpace and such.
I took some notes about Hollywood Week, nite 1 [Tuesday 13 February], but my efforts at noting last nite's show were thwarted by Idol's let's-hurry-up-and-get-this-over-already attitude.
So instead of partial notes about old shows, I've decided to do a meta post wrapping up some of the recent developments in the AI-verse.
* Breaking: Maybe J.Hud really was a good choice for that whole "My Grammy Moment" thing after all:
In my recent Grammy wrap-up [scroll down], I commented that it seemed odd that the Grammy producers had AI3 seventh-place finisher [oh, yeah, and Oscar-nominee] Jennifer Hudson present the winner of Grammy's AI-style "My Grammy Moment" contest [wherein the winner got to perform onstage with Justin Timberlake], especially considering that there was an actual AI [and Grammy] winner in the house in the person of Carrie Underwood. [N.B.: I should also note the real possibility that CBS had leaned on the Grammy producers to select Jennifer Hudson for this duty as a way to pimp the upcoming CBS telecast of the Oscars.] I might not have been bugged so much by this if Jennifer Hudson's stumbling intro had not been anti-climacticized by her talk of "second chances" for the non-winners [Jennifer, why don't you brush that chip off your shoulder???].
[N.B.: I should also note here -- keep reading -- that this entire contest, except for the "final" voting done via AI-style text message, was conducted online at Yahoo! Music. Oh, yeah -- also, the winner of the contest, in addition to getting to sing with Justin Timberlake, was to win a Chevy vehicle. Unlike, say, on Idol, where the winner gets a Ford vehicle.]
Here's the video of J.Hud's poorly-executed introduction and winner Robyn Troup's excellent good performance.
But maybe J.Hud was the "right" choice for this after all. As her words were more prescient than the viewers realized.
Undisclosed to the voters viewers -- apparently for NDA reasons -- was the fact that contestant Robyn Troup had auditioned for American Idol this season and was one of only 172 contestants who made it to the Hollywood round. Robyn was shown performing on Tuesday nite's AI during the "group performances" stage in a group that included eventual semi-finalist Sundance Head. As far as I can tell, this was the first time Idol had identified Robyn Troup in the contest this season. She was cut in this stage, as the field was being winnowed to the top 136.
Here's Robyn's group performance from Tuesday:
The Hollywood round of AI had been filmed, and the cuts had been made, prior to Sunday's Grammy telecast. Or, in other words, at least Robyn already knew that she had been booted from Idol before she won the "My Grammy Moment" contest.
Sorry to get all Jack Shafer up in everyone's grill and shit, but I have a few questions here:
1) As far as I'm aware, Robyn could not be NDA'd from discussing anything that had already aired on American Idol -- though she had not personally been identified on any of the Idol episodes that had aired by Sunday, she was free to tell people she had made it to Hollywood [N.B.: after her victory, she would only confirm to MSNBC.com that she had auditioned for Idol]. There are lots of competing big media [and car] companies potentially involved in something not-completely-transparent here. What, if anything, did the Grammy producers and/or CBS and/or Yahoo! and/or GM/Chevy know about Robyn's involvement in Idol [on News Corp.-owned Fox]?
2) If Grammy et al. knew that Robyn had made it to Hollywood -- or had even auditioned for Idol -- why wasn't this disclosed to the viewers?
3) If Grammy et al. knew about this, did they also know Robyn had already been booted from AI?
4) How can we be confident Grammy et al. didn't engage in a little vote-tally manipulation hanky-panky -- and News Corp./Fox & Ford nose-tweaking -- to ensure the AI castoff would win this "contest"?
Do you think this is all a little too inside-baseball??? Am I being a little too tin-foil-hat about all this???
And yes, I can GUARAN-DAMN-TEE you that Fox saw this and went back and re-edited Tuesday's episode of AI to highlight Robyn Troup's performance. This could have been either to say, "hey, we had her first, and she wasn't good enough for us", or just to subtly raise these questions in the minds of people like me. AND I HAVE ABSOULTELY NO PROBLEM WITH THAT, as Robyn had already been booted -- that result did not change.
Regardless of all of this, "congratulations" to Robyn Troup for "winning" the "My Grammy Moment" "contest". Robyn also has "won" the right to say to all of the other Idol contestants -- except for the 6-or-so who will get contracts and release actual CDs -- "Bitches, I got my contract and my car, and I got to sing with Justin Timberlake. So suck it!!!"
* Breaking: Nigel Lythgoe <3's Baylie Brown too:
In the same recent media relations teleconference in which Idol Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe all-but-spilled the beans about an upcoming "Michael Jackson event episode" of Idol, he made cryptic statements about a contestant that had been booted:
" During a recent media conference call, Nigel Lythgoe revealed that his favorite had been cut from the competition. Lythgoe said “There is one young lady in Hollywood who I would have said would have been in the top five this year that got cut purely and simply because she couldn’t remember her lyrics in a group. She just “Ma, Ma, Ma,” for the whole of the song. It broke my heart. But they have to have reasons to cut you, and that was the reason that this young lady will disappear off the show.”
" When asked to reveal who his favorite was, Lythgoe replied “I can’t name my favorite. It is a girl; I’ve got to be honest with you. Hopefully, she’ll come back next year. I certainly don’t want to compromise her with anybody else if she comes back in further years. ‘Wasn’t that Nigel’s favorite? If she gets through It’ll be she gets through because she’s Nigel’s favorite.’ So I wouldn’t do that.”
" When Baylie Brown was mentioned and Lythgoe was asked if his favorite contestant was from Texas, Lythgoe said “Hmm. I really hope that -– please trust me when I say that I don’t want to say anything regarding an individual, or name somebody, because it could affect them in the competition should they return.” "
[source]
These comments went unreported at the time, as most AI watchers viewed the Jackson story as the big takeaway from the presser. But after Baylie Brown was booted from Hollywood in the Tuesday 13 February episode, everyone returned to these comments and read them in a whole new light.
I also really liked Baylie Brown -- she was easily one of the "top five" [thanks, Nigel -- Ed.] in the audition rounds, and she absolutely nailed Faith Hill's "Stronger", a favorite of mine. As I wrote in my last episode update:
" Simon commented that Baylie was exactly what the record labels were looking for in new talent, by which I think he meant that she's a great singer, she's very attractive, and she has a nice personality [Simon also told Baylie she was "'commercial' with a capital 'c'" -- Ed.]. Baylie Brown will go far in this competition. Write that down. [*cough* Carrie Underwood *cough*] "
I didn't say she would go far this season [ahem].
In any event, there seems to have sprung up a "Bring Back Baylie" movement on the internets. Most people seem to want her back either because she's very talented or cute-as-a-baby-kitten-playing-with-rainbow-colored-yarn, or possibly both. Plus, there's that whole "she got screwed by being grouped up with the mean girls" thing. But there is a substantial minority of people who point out, well, she flubbed the lyrics.
Got an opinion???
* Breaking: Long-haired no-good-niks ain't got no chance on no American Idol no-how:
Sean Michel, the "Fidel Castro of American Idol 6", was sent home in the Tuesday episode of Idol. There was a rumor floating on the internets ahead of Tuesday that Sean had been cut because he refused to cut his hair and beard. Do you believe that?
* Odds & Sods -- AI Meta Edition:
* Here are the top 24.
* Idolator has already made its predictions on the final 12.
* What song will Idol use this year when it whacks contestants [last year, it was Daniel Powter's "Bad Day"]? Leave a note in the comments if you have a good idea.
* Just because...
This has nothing to do with Idol, but....Here's the super-awesome Cat Power [Chan Marshall] doing an excellent cover of Grammy Record Of The Year winner nominee "Crazy" in Berlin in late 2006. Enjoy!
Cat Power - Crazy [mp3, via YSI]
Cat Power - Crazy [mp3, via zShare]
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
49th Grammys Wrap-Up, Part 2
[I had so much to say about the Grammys that I decided to split my wrap-up into two parts. Part 1, which focuses on the historic nite the Dixie Chicks celebrated on Sunday nite, is here.]
* Breaking: DHMBIB gets a few predictions right, most wrong: Okay, so I let me revisit my predictions to see how I did.
* RECORD OF THE YEAR. My prediction: Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy"...The winner? Dixie Chicks, "Not Ready To Make Nice".
In my "predictions" post, I wrote: "'Crazy' is the most kryptonite-solid lock in this category since 'Hey Ya!' won in 2004. If 'Crazy' is not the 'Record Of The Year', then I know nothing about the Grammy's and should just give this up for good."
Feh.
No one predicted the Dixie Chicks "landslide" on Sunday nite, and I tip my hat to the Chicks on their historic achievement and the respect the academy gave them. Nevertheless, the academy got this one wrong. I feel bad for Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo for not getting the statuette they deserved, but they're laughing all the way to the bank.
* ALBUM OF THE YEAR. My prediction: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stadium Arcadium...The winner? Dixie Chicks, Taking The Long Way.
My prediction was based on the assumption that the academy would disappoint me and give the honor to a safe choice like RHCP instead of the best album nominated, which was Justin Timberlake's FutureSex / LoveSounds. Again, I think the academy got this one wrong, and I understand why. But at least they didn't get it wrong the wrong way. I'll take one for the team for that.
* SONG OF THE YEAR. My prediction: Dixie Chicks, "Not Ready To Make Nice"...The winner? Dixie Chicks.
I called this one a lock the moment I heard the nominations back in the first week of December. Even before the rumors about a Chicks breakup first appeared. The breakup rumors only made this more likely, in my mind.
Patting myself on the back now.
* BEST NEW ARTIST. My prediction: Carrie Underwood...The winner? Carrie Underwood.
Carrie Underwood was so head-and-shoulders above these other nominees that I considered this a virtual lock as well. My only concern was whether the academy would exhibit any pro-Starbucks, anti-country / anti-Idol bias and give this award to Corrine Bailey Rae or James Blunt. Thankfully, I think the academy did the right thing here.
* BEST FEMALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE. My prediction: Christina Aguilera, "Ain't No Other Man"...The winner? Christina Aguilera.
Another one I the academy got right.
* BEST MALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE. My prediction: John Legend, "Save Room"...The winner? John Mayer, "Waiting On The World To Change".
Possibly the worst collection of nominees in the "Big" and "Pop" categories [irrefutable proof -- PAUL FUCKING McCARTNEY was nominated in this category!!!]. John Legend, John Mayer...Who really gives a shit???
* BEST POP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCAL. My prediction: Keane, "Is It Any Wonder"...The winner? The Black Eyed Peas, "My Humps".
I demand a recount. Academy, are you sure The Pussycat Dolls didn't get more votes???
As penitence for getting this one-wrong, I think I'll need to write "the Grammy-winning" whenever I write "Fergie" for the next two weeks.
* BEST POP COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS. My prediction: Mary J. Blige & U2, "One"...The winner? Tony Bennett & Stevie Wonder, "For Once In My Life".
I knew that neither of the two actual "Best" nominees -- "Promiscuous" and "Hips Don't Lie" -- in this category would win. So I predicted the "unique vocal event" produced by Grammy-beloved Mary J. and U2 would take the award. I wrote: "The academy will play it safe and go for Mary J. Blige-and-U2's 'One' [they performed it on last year's Grammy's, fercrissakes!!!]". In retrospect, I'm wondering if Mary J. didn't lose this Grammy by ham-handedly pushing Elliot Yamin out of the "duet" when they performed this song during the American Idol final last May. Or maybe the academy voters just said to themselves, "Ooh, look! It's Tony Bennett & Stevie Wonder!!!"
META: I want someone to explain to me the exact differences between this category -- "Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals" -- and "Best Rap / Sung Collaboration" [N.B.: The BRSC award, deservedly, went to Justin Timberlake feat. T.I. for "My Love"]. Why was "Promiscuous" nominated in this category and not BRSC??? Why was "My Love" nominated for BRSC but not BPCWV??? Has anyone in the academy actually listened to pop radio in the last, oh, 5 years or so???
* BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM. My prediction: Justin Timberlake, FutureSex / LoveSounds...The winner? John Mayer, Continuum.
Shoot me. Now. PLEASE!!!
When I wrote up my predictions post, I ran out of time to make a few other predictions I wanted to record. However, I did write numerous times that the Chicks would win 3 awards, so I will give myself credit for getting Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal ["Not Ready To Make Nice"] and Best Country Album [Taking The Long Way] right. But to sorta even things out -- and to penalize myself for taking a couple of easy points -- I will also note that I made another prediction that didn't pan out. I predicted to myself that will.i.am would win the award for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical [will.i.am not being the "Best", but maybe the "best nominated" -- hello? academy? where was Timbaland???]. Instead, the Chicks' halo helped Rick Rubin get this award.
Academy -- Wha, will.i.am's production on Busta's "I Love My B****" [that's the way it's listed on the Grammys site -- Ed.] wasn't good enough for you???
Okay, so by my count that's a record of 5-7. Ugh.
* Breaking: Long, boring Grammy telecast has few higlights:
The Grammys always have an auditorium full of marquee musical names. And usually, a nominee-roster full of most of the most popular and/or critically-acclaimed artists of the last year. So it's always disappointing when the performances aren't spectacular. Or at least fail to keep you awake.
Sadly, for the second year in a row, the musical performances mostly disappointed. Memo to the academy: figure out a way to nominate Kanye West for something EVERY YEAR.
For me, only three performances really stood out as memorable. The good kind of memorable, that is...
CHRISTINA AGUILERA
It should come as no surprise to anyone that Xtina absolutely brought the house down with her breathtaking performance of James Brown's "It's A Man's Man's Man's World". You could practically hear a pin drop in that auditorium during her performance -- which is not unusual, for when Xtina walks onto the stage to sing, the audience knows to shut up and listen.
Xtina's performance was the part of a James Brown tribute that immediately followed a series of performances that was supposed to honor R&B music throughout Grammy's history [Grammy producers: "we'll put all the Black people on around 10PM or so, work for you???"], so her performance looks even better when placed in the context of Smokey Robinson's and Lionel Richie's dreadful performances. But she also faced the challenge of following Chris Brown, who really raised the bar himself [see below].
There was some grumbling after the Grammys that Xtina was a poor choice to keynote the tribute to James Brown. But I think those sour grapes were more about the pathetic thinness of Grammy's tribute to the Godfather Of Soul [the Eagles get three songs and James Brown only gets one??? SHUT UP THE FUCK!!!] than about Xtina's resume -- what, you think it would've been better to have Mary J. over-ham this tribute??? -- or performance, which was stunning. Check out the footage, and keep an eye out for Jamie Foxx's reaction at the end. That said it all.
SHAKIRA & WYCLEF JEAN
Shakira & Wyclef gave the first electrifying performance of the nite. [Hey, if you were excited by THE FUCKING POLICE opening the show with ROX-FUCKING-ANNE, you are beyond any hope I can offer.]
Karla was deathly afraid Shakira would suffer a "wardrobe malfunction". Me, I wasn't afraid, but I was disappointed when no such malfunction ensued.
I'm just sayin'...
CHRIS BROWN
Best New Artist nominee Chris Brown was the last performer in the Grammy's tribute-to-R&B piece, and unlike Carrie Underwood a few minutes earlier, he actually got to perform his own song. Which was a good call by the producers. Brown's Stomp The Yard-style set re-injected some life into a moribund Grammys that had gone limp -- yes, "limp", pun intended -- since Shakira's non-lying hips shimmied off the stage an hour earlier.
Best part of Brown's performance for me: knowing that thousands of academy members were watching and saying to themselves, "WTF was that???"
And, sadly, that's about it for the real highlights...
* Breaking: Long, boring Grammy telecast has many lowlights, head-scratchers, "WTF was that???"'s:
Here are some of the more memorable lowlights, headscratchers, and WTF's of Sunday's ceremony, presented in order of show appearance...
* The Police, who are not nominated for anything, and who are booked by the producers to goose ratings, and who appear to goose attendance at their upcoming cash-in-on-Gen-X-nostalgia [the sequel to cash-in-on-Boomer-nostalgia] reunion tour, open the show with the 30-year-old song "Roxanne". Way to reach out to the target young demographic, Grammy producers!!!
* The academy, still not gettin' that whole "appeal to the young demo" thing, award the Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals Grammy to hip young artists Tony Bennett & Stevie Wonder. Tony Bennett thanks his sponsor Target in his acceptance speech. I swear I am not making this up.
* 2007 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model Beyonce makes one last pitch for the Oscar she so desperately wants by performing the down-tempo "Listen" from Dreamgirls instead of, oh, maybe, the GRAMMY-NOMINATED "Deja Vu" or, oh, maybe, "Irresistible", which has only been #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for THE LAST THREE FUCKING MONTHS!!! [N.B.: Yes, it was a pitch for votes. Oscar voting was still open on Sunday night. Sorry if that bursts your bubble or anything.]
* Mary J. Blige wins the award for Best R&B Album and proceeds to thank over 50 people by name. I swear I am not making this up.
* While performing "What Goes Around, Comes Around", Justin Timberlake picks up a handheld camera and films himself up close for the last couple of minutes of the song. Clearly, the producers have just heard of this YouTube thing and think this stunt will appeal to "the kids" or something.
* The academy finally gets around to honoring the work of Maria Callas with a Lifetime Achievement honor. Callas is not in attendance to accept the honor.
* The academy presents a tribute to two "sons of Texas", Bob Wills and Don Henley. Bob Wills, whose music is a key ingredient in Elvis Presley's rock-n-roll gumbo, gets a one-song tribute. Don Henley and the Eagles get three songs.
* Special Head-Scratcher -- "My Grammy Moment" Edition:
For bizarre and unknown reasons, the academy decided this year to tip its hat to You with an American-Idol-style "vote for an unknown to sing on stage" gimmick contest, called "My Grammy Moment". The [female] winner would perform on stage with Justin Timberlake [and T.I.].
Running the whole contest online was sort of "edgy", but they completely blew it during the "finals" by giving the teevee viewers only few-second snippets of the "finalists" along with the requisite "text your vote to ..." info. They should have at least given the three finalists a group performance that we could use as a reference for voting. You know, sorta like that one show on Fox.
The academy further blew this whole gimmick by having Jennifer Hudson announce the winner. Jennifer's presentation was terrible -- she stumbled badly over her lines and babbled on about second chances and such -- wait, wasn't she there to announce the winner of this contest??? By the time she finally announced the winner's name, the contestants, the audience in the auditorium, and the viewers at home had no idea what was going on. The whole thing came off very awkwardly. Sadly, Jennifer Hudson's stumbling, rambling presentation may end up costing her some Oscar votes [see, Beyonce, above].
And, Jennifer Hudson? Didn't she come in seventh in AI3? What, the Grammy producers didn't have any AI winners around who could handle these duties?
* Special Head-Scratcher -- Vice Presidential Edition:
This one really has me scratching my noodle. So, the producers have a real celebrity on hand, and they completely blow it. AL FUCKING GORE is on hand, and the producers have him present [with QUEEN FUCKING LATIFAH] the award for...wait for it...Best Rock Album. This is the second-to-last-award presented. The last award presented -- the "Big" "Album Of The Year" -- is presented by Don Henley and Scarlett Johansson.
Now, think about this for a moment. If you have the former Vice President on hand to present an award, why don't you give him the high-profile last award of the nite. And doesn't it make more sense to have Don Henley present the Best Rock Album award than, say, AL FUCKING GORE???
The only thing that makes sense to me is this: Al gore was scheduled to present the award for Album Of The Year...until the producers learned the Dixie Chicks would win this award, at which point he was swapped into the second-to-last spot. Either the producers did not want to "politicize" the award by having Al Gore present it to the Chicks...and/or, due to such politicization concerns, the producers did not want to hurt Al Gore in the minds of some voters by having him present the award to the Chicks.
Take your pick.
* Time to go Home:
Earlier in this post, I made a joke about the Chicks' "landslide" on Sunday. Consequently, because it makes so much sense, I leave you with the Chicks' "Landslide" from 2003's Home. This cover of the classic Fleetwood Mac track was the last Chicks song that received widespread country radio love.
Dixie Chicks - Landslide [mp3, via YSI]
Dixie Chicks - Landslide [mp3, via zShare]
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
49th Grammys Wrap-Up, Part 1
The big story from this year's Grammys is the historic and stunning sweep by the Dixie Chicks.
The Chicks were 5-time nominees for Sunday's festivities. Due to the rumors [still-unconfirmed, of course] that they were likely to split up after the Grammys, [precipitated apparently by the professional hell they went through after Natalie Maines's comments in London in 2003], and their distinguished body of excellent art, many Grammy observers predicted they would win at least a few awards on Sunday night. I predicted they would win 3 awards: Best Country Album [Taking The Long Way], Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal ["Not Ready To Make Nice"], and -- one of the "Big Three", or "Big Four" for "new artists" -- Song Of The Year ["Not Ready To Make Nice"], for which I considered them a lock. Alas, I didn't give the Chicks much of a chance to win in the other two "Big Three" categories -- Record Of The Year [for which I considered Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" to be the lock] and Album Of The Year -- in which they were also nominated.
Going in to Sunday's awards, the smart money was on Mary J. Blige, the Red Hot Chili Peppers [Grammy favorites both] and Gnarls Barkley topping the Monday morning headlines. Perhaps if the academy wanted to show "hip-itutde", they might throw a big Grammy at Justin Timberlake.
But no one predicted what would happen on Sunday night.
The Chicks swept all five categories in which they were nominated. I had suggested that a vote for the Chicks would be an easy way for the academy members to honor the Chicks, make a statement about free speech, and make a political anti-war statement all at the same time, but I totally underestimated the vigor with which the academy members would agree with me. The New York Times tracked down a whole bunch of music industry insiders and confirmed it: the academy was expressing its anger at country music's blackballing of the Chicks after the 2003 kerfluffle.
[Start here if you need a refresher on what this is all about.]
[In 2005, the American Society of Magazine Editors named this 2 May 2003 cover of Entertainment Weekly one of the "40 greatest magazine covers of the last 40 years". The cover depicts the Chicks defiantly -- and nudely and, alas, quite photoshopped-ly -- standing up for their right to freely express their opinions.]
I have stated previously that "Not Ready To Make Nice" is an excellent song and was very deserving of the SOTY award -- I choke up a little every time I hear these lines:
I made by bed, and I sleep like a baby,
with no regrets and I don't mind saying,
it's a sad, sad story
that a mother will teach her daughter
that she ought to hate a perfect stranger
and how in the world
can the words that I said
send somebody so over the edge
that they'd write me a letter
saying that I better
shut up and sing
or my life will be over
But it was not the Record Of The Year. "Crazy" was the Record Of The Year. Also, while I agree that Taking The Long Way is the Chicks' best album to date, it was not better than "FutureSex / Lovesounds".
Nevertheless, the academy wanted to make a statement, and they made it very loud and clear.
There have been worse upsets in Grammy history, of course. And I heartily congratulate the Chicks on their well-deserved honors on this historic nite.
Wait, what was that about "history"?
Lost in the well-deserved praise the Chicks have received -- and the stories about whether country radio is ready to take them back -- is the historic feat the Chicks achieved on Sunday nite.
1) In the previous 48 Grammy ceremonies, a "female artist" had won 5 Grammys on the same nite only 4 times. These artists are: Lauryn Hill, 1998; Alicia Keys, 2002; Norah Jones, 2003; and Beyonce, 2004. No "all-female group" had ever won 5 Grammys on the same nite. Until Sunday. [N.B.: "Country / Bluegrass" artist Alison Krauss is the all-time Grammy "winningest" female artist, with 20 lifetime Grammys. She has never won more than 3 on the same nite.]
2) The Chicks swept the "Big Three" awards -- Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year. This has not happened since 1993, when Eric Clapton took these awards for Unplugged and "Tears In Heaven". [N.B.: Among Norah Jones's 5 Grammys in 2003 were three "Big" ones -- Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year and Best New Artist.]
I hope the rumors about the Chicks planning on splitting up turn out to be untrue, or if they were true, that the Chicks will reconsider in light of their triumph on Sunday. They don't need country radio. As Martie noted on Sunday nite, they have become genre-less. Rick Rubin, whose excellent production on Taking The Long Way and "Ready To Make Nice" earned him two Grammys [as Producer on the Album Of The Year and the Record Of The Year] and played a part in winning another as well [as Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical], has helped the Chicks complete their transition out of "country" music the same way he helped Johnny Cash do the same thing a few years earlier. The Chicks can sell millions of CDs in Starbucks / digital downloads / [maybe even] ringtones without the help of the country radio programmers who dropped them 4 years ago.
Emily, Martie & Natalie -- are you ready to take the long way???
Dixie Chicks - Not Ready To Make Nice [mp3, via YSI]
Dixie Chicks - Not Ready To Make Nice [mp3, via zShare]
Dixie Chicks - Taking The Long Way [mp3, via YSI]
Dixie Chicks - Taking The Long Way [mp3, via zShare]
Monday, February 12, 2007
49th Grammys Liveblogging Experiment
Hi!
I had lots of fun liveblogging the 49th Grammys last nite. If you were following along, you may have noticed that my updates stopped shortly after 11 PM. Blogger.com was giving me some problems and not accepting my updates. Blogger seems to have fixed its problems, and I have added the last half hour of my updates [why do the Grammys always run 30 minutes over??? -- Ed.].
Later, I'll go back and compare the the academy's choices [THE DIXIE CHICKS!!!] to mine, and I'll add links and other fun stuff.
Thanks for reading!
ciaobaby
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Liveblogging The 2007 Grammys
[Updated [Monday 2.12]: I have gone back and re-edited the live-blog to clean up some spelling errors and fill in some information I couldn't get my fingers on in the heat of the battle. Also, I've added purdy pictures, and it's all linkified!!! I have not marked the updated or changed information. Yes, I have changed history. If you care deeply about such things, screw you!!! get a life!!! try Google cache.]
Posts appear oldest-at-the-top...
8:00 PM: The Police reform, and to no one's surprise, they're performing "Roxanne". Feh.
8:05 PM: Jamie Foxx underwhelms the audience, who just want to hear some music.
8:06 PM: The award for "Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals" goes to...Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder for "For Once In My Life".... To absolutely no one's surprise. Stevie dedicates the award to his late mother. Tony thanks "the best sponsor [he's] ever worked for in [his] life", TARGET. TAR-fucking-GET!!!
I'm liveblogging this at my friend KG's place. KG is not a music person, but she was very happy that they won.
8:10 PM: Joan Baez introduces The Dixie Chicks. Hmmm, politics. Just wondering.... Anyways, The Chicks, looking absolutely fabulous, perform for the last time ever, probably. Look for The Chicks to take home 3 trophies.
8:18 PM: Prince receives the biggest ovation of the night [still young, yeah] when he introduces Beyonce. Wonder what that was about? Oh, maybe it has something to do with that Super Bowl thing. Beyonce sings "Listen" from Dreamgirls. Haven't seen it, sorry. KG, who is a movie person, hasn't seen it either. What does that tell you???
8:21 PM: The Black Eyed Peas announce that Booker T & MG's have received a lifetime achievement award. KG thinks that Fergie's dress is atrocious and tacky.
The BEPs then announce Mary J. Blige as the winner in the "Best R&B Album" category for the The Breakthrough. She then proceeds to thank everyone she has ever met. Except for Chevrolet. And Snickers.
8:33 PM: Justin Timberlake performs the excellent "What Goes Around, Comes Around". KG wants to know why he's still longing for Britney if he's bringing sexyback with Jessica Biel and Scarlett Johansson. Best performance of the young nite.
8:37 PM: The Grammys enter the YouTube age. Justin films himself finishing the track. How 2006.
8:39 PM: Pink and T.I. announce that The Doors have received a lifetime achievement award. KG: "But their lifetimes ended a long time ago!!!" Pink looks just as bored as KG.
Pink and T.I. also announce Mary J. Blige as the winner in the "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" category. Mary J. wins another Grammy. Shaping up to be Mary J.'s nite.
8:47 PM: Stevie Wonder introduces three great singer-songwriters, Corrine Bailey Rae, John Legend & John Mayer. KG is very bored. John Mayer, what is up with that hair???
8:57 PM: Nelly Furtado, Natasha Beddingfield & Nicole Scherzinger [wait, who is Nicole Scherzinger again??? -- Ed.] -- get it? all of their names begin with the letter "N"...get it??? -- present the award for "Best Pop Vocal Album". Nelly says, "How can we follow that?" Could she possibly be referring to the singer-songrwiterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. What? The Grammys are on? Please, do better than that Corinne-John-John snoozefest. The award goes to...John Mayer. JOHN MAYER??? ARRRRRRRRGHHHHHHH!!!! PLEASE SHOOT ME NOW!!!!
9:04 PM: Shakira & Wyclef Jean perform "Hips Don't Lie". Shakira and her non-lying hips inject a much-needed jolt of energy into the moribund proceedings.
9:09 PM: The first of "The Big Four"...Burt Bacharach and Seal announce the winner of the award for "Song Of The Year"...THE DIXIE CHICKS..."Not Ready To Make Nice"...Natalie Maines gets the first big laugh of the nite: "For the first time in my life, I'm speechless"...
9:17 PM CBS says, "Hey, watch our other shows!!!" Alyson Hannigan and Robin Sparkles Cobie Smulders, stars of "How I Met Your Mother" [the best sitcom on the teevee networks -- Ed.], announce that The Grateful Dead are lifetime achievement winners. KG refuses to make the same "lifetime" joke she made earlier. Then they introduce Gnarls Barkley.
WTF was that??? It most certainly was not "crazy", unless "crazy" is now a synonym for "lame". The Record Of The Year cannot be this boring!!!
9:25 PM: Kanye West and Common announce Ludacris as the winner in the "Best Rap Album" category. KG and I both agree that the rapper-turned-actor has done the best acting job of the night, making the audience and the cameras think he's looking at them instead of at his notes.
9:32 PM: Terrence Howard tells the academy it's hard out here for a pimp. He also announces that Maria Callas is a lifetime achievement honoree. KG: "Since when does opera have anything to do with the Grammy's???"
TH also introduces Mary J., who performs "Be Without You". Mary J. obvs got the memo -- keep it boring. Okay, nice finish, not that boring.
9:40 PM: Mandy Moore, Luke Wilson and Leann Rimes appear on the stage. KG is stunned to see how tall Mandy Moore is -- with her heels, she's even taller than Luke Wilson. Leann Rimes appears to be standing in a different zip code. They present the award for "Best Country Album" to...THE DIXIE CHICKS. Another non-surprise of which I heartily approve. Natalie relishes the opportunity to tweak country radio and country fans. Martie Maguire notes that the Chicks are "genre-less".
9:48 PM: Reba McEntire introduces Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts. They are to perform some kind of tribute to two sons of Texas, Bob Wills [yay!] and...wait for it...Don Henley [Don Henley??? - Ed.]. Carrie performs "Rose Of San Antone" as a tribute to Bob Wills. Rascal Flatts perform "Hotel California" as a tribute to Don Henley. This is about "Texas", which is why "Hotel California" makes SO MUCH FUCKING SENSE. Then Carrie returns to perform "Desperado". Because, yaknow, DON FUCKING HENLEY!!! Then Rascal Flatts & Carrie return to perform "Life In the Fast Lane". Damn, Bob Wills' estate must be pretty fucking pissed off right about now.
Three fucking Don Henley songs. Those are the five most depressing words I've written all nite.
KG: "WTF is Carrie Underwood wearing???"
10:00 PM Natalie Cole and Ornette Coleman announce another lifetime achievement honoree...it's Ornette Coleman!!! Carrie Underwood was still backstage, and she can be seen being hustled across the stage to her seat for the requisite nominees crowd shot. That must mean that Cole & Cole are ready to present the second of "The Big Four". Best New Artist. And the award goes to...CARRIE UNDERWOOD. Another well-deserved non-surprise.
10:08 PM Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci [of course!!! makes so much sense!!!] come on stage. KG reminds me that they are both in the movie "Black Snake Moan" with Justin. Of course. This segment has something to do with Motown and R&B. They introduce Smokey Robinson, who performs "Tracks Of My Tears". KG notes that we really don't want to "take a good look at his face". We both note that the intensive botox treatment makes it unlikely that he could even actually cry. Then Nicole Lionel Richie appears to perform the most awesome song in the history of R-and-fucking-B music, "Hello". Then, "Best New Artist" loser nominee Chris Brown appears and performs his hit "Run It". It's the best performance of the evening, which says more about the other performances than about Chris Brown.
10:17 PM Scratch that. Two words -- Christina. Aguilera. Xtina -- who obvs didn't get the memo -- brought the house down with a performance of "It's A Man World". Best. Performance. Of. The. Night.
10:25 PM: NARAS President Neil Portnow makes a pitch for music programs in schools and for kids. Thankfully, the words "file sharing" do not come up in his presentation.
10:30 PM: The people-we've-lost-this-year tribute ends with a bang-up tribute to James Brown. Was that Jamie Foxx dancing on-stage? Props to the academy for recognizing Ed Bradley as well.
10:38 PM: Rihanna and David Spade [isn't he another new CBS show, "Rules Of Engagement"? -- Ed.] introduce Mary J. [again??? -Ed.] and Ludacris, who perform "Runaway Love" from his record. Mary J. and Luda obvs got the memo -- keep it boring.
10:42 PM: James Blunt appears to perform "You're Beautiful", to let the three people who didn't hear this song this year know just how much he sucks. Strangely, Mary J. is nowhere to be seen.
10:52 PM: Jennifer Hudson announces Robyn Troup as the winner of the "My Grammy Moment" contest, which was some kind of lame reality-TV contest promising the chance to perform with JT. JT and Robyn then perform a medley of "Ain't No Sunshine" and "My Love". Robyn looks very nervous but acquits herself well. T.I. joins them for the performance of "My Love".
11:00 PM: Quentin Tarrantino and Tony Bennett award the third of "The Big Four", the "Record Of The Year" award. I've already said that if "Crazy" doesn't win this award, I'll have to give this up, because I obviously have no idea what I'm talking about. And the winner is...THE DIXIE CHICKS?!?!?!?!? The first big upset of the night. "Not Ready To Make Nice" is a great record, but it was not the ROTY. Sorry. Nevertheless, if any song other than "Crazy" is to win this award, it should be "Not Ready To Make Nice".
11:05 PM: THEY STILL HAVE TWO MORE AWARDS TO GIVE OUT??? AND ANOTHER PERFORMANCE??? DEAR GOD, WHEN WILL THIS SNOOZEFEST END???
11:08 PM: Chris Rock makes a "dick in a box" joke -- foreshadowing?? -- while introducing the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The RHCP then perform "Dani California" in the same "yeah, we got the memo" snooze-inducing manner as practically every other performance of the nite [but see: Xtina].
11:16 PM: AL FUCKING GORE and Queen Latifah present the award for "Best Rock Album". Why is this minor award still on the table? My hope -- the academy already scheduled the RHCP and then realized they would not win the AOTY award, and wanted to give them an award after they performed. Does this mean JT has a shot to win AOTY??? Stay tuned.
11:23 PM: Scarlett Johansson and Don Henley present the last of "The Big Four" -- "Album Of The Year". KG says, "I guess we know who was Justin's date to the Grammy's." I blogged previously that I hoped that the weird timing of the presentation of the "Best Rock Album" award indicated that the academy would give this award to JT. KG: "Wouldn't that be interesting to see ScarJo present the award to JT?" Yes, it would. And the winner is...THE DIXIE CHICKS?!?!?!? SHUT UP THE FUCK!!! The second big upset of the night. Natalie makes the best funny of the nite, in her 4th trip to the stage: "I'm ready to make nice".
Major props to The Dixie Chicks!!! Most people predicted ahead of time that it would be Mary J.'s nite, and for the first hour-and-a-half, it sure looked that way. But it was The Dixie Chicks who were the big winners tonite.
I'll have more post-mortem on the 49th Annual Grammys later.
ciaobaby
[pictures courtesy grammy.com, except Fergie Ferg (IDontLikeYouInThatWay)]
