爱华网Oh goodness I don't evenknow where to start!
I woke up forty minutes before theGrammy Awards began, and spent the whole morning watching it. Ihaven't done anything like this before, so the whole process is newto me. Of course I'm not the only one. As the commercials wereairing, I found many others watching the Grammy Awards and wishingthe best of luck for their favorites. But I didn't have anyexpectations, at least not very strong and accurateones.
The 56th Grammy Awards cannot becommented as perfect or astonishing, but it deserves to be calledthe most shocking one, at least the most shocking in these fewyears. Some artists were deeply let down, and were called bad namesby haters, and "running-buddies" by others; others tasted success,with one or more Grammys to take home. I don't have too muchpersonal feelings toward the winners and nominees (which is becauseI don't have an extreme attitude towards anyone), but I would loveto express my opinions, whichare strictlypersonal.
Kendrick Lamar (7 nominations, 0 won)
New artists on Grammy always start off with a good year, nomatter if it's lots of nominations or a lot of Grammys. And eventhough he didn't win any of them, it's almost set in stone thathe'll receive many requests for collaborations and performances,which eventually will bring him more awards and attention.
He's in good hands, with Dr.Dre as hismentor. Great things are waiting for Kendrick Lamar.
Taylor Swift (4 nominations,0 won)
One of the most let-downattending artists this year. She and the circle of people sittingaround her almost jumped up when hearing the beginningRRRRwhen Album of the Yearwas announced. But it turnsout that the winner wasn't Red,it was RandomAccess Memories by Daft Punk.
But her performance of All TooWell was beautiful. I loved the song when it came outin Red.Her performing technique has improved, and she's shown a new sideof herself this year, the sensitive side that most people overlook.As for the hair flipping (I'm not even sure flip is the accurateword, it seemed like... a swing??) in the middle of the song... Idon't know what happened.
To be truly honest, her nomination forBest Country Album was not to be counted on, reason? Because she'sin the middle of a genre-shift, that's why! She's reaching towardsPop, so at the moment she's Pop Country (believe it or not, thisgenre really exists). Why name Pop Country the winner when there'sa wonderful pure Country album that deserves equally theGrammy?
Katy Perry (2 nominations,0 won)
Officially the most let-down attendant.Some statistics say that she has been nominated 11 times, andhasn't won a single Grammy. Of course, she is a very talentedartist that is definitely worth our attention. And even though shehasn't won any Grammys so far, she has influenced the musicindustry and inspired many new artists.
Her new album Prism is mediocre for herability, but the singles are broadly accepted and praised. One ofthem is DarkHorse,collaboration with Juicy J, andwas also performed on the Grammy stage this year. Fans say it was aperfect performance, and it has reached a high peaking spot on theiTunes Hot chart, so that's sort of a comfort for beingGrammy-less.
I genuinely think Katy Perry should trysomething new, because her genre is packed with countless newstars, and she's getting old. But I'm sure that even if shecontinues her music the way she is doing now, she'll finally getGrammys someday.
Eminem (1 nomination, 0won)
I feel awful that one of my favorite male artists Eminemdidn't win anything.I still remember his epiccollaboration on the Grammy stage with Rihanna, Skyler GreyandDr.Dre a few years back.Thisyear was OK. For one thing he released his new album The MarshallMathers LP 2, and he also had many collaborations, some of whichreached the top of the charts. But for somereasonhe wasn't as big of a hit as he was manyyears ago. He's growing old. But I hope he'll do better nextyear.
Daft Punk (5nominations,5 won)
Biggest winner of all this year, didn'treally see it coming. They won the most Grammy Awards thisyear.Daft Punkstarted in 1993,and this year seems to be their best year. Thanks to their hit songGetLucky, more and more people are getting to know thisFrench duo. They have collaborated with Grammy-winning producerPharrell Williams.
Their album RandomAccess Memories wins them Album of theYear,Best Dance/Electronica AlbumandBest Engineered Album, Non-Classical.Thelead single GetLucky wins for Record of the Year and BestPop Duo/Group Performance. That's five Grammys in onenight!!!!
This is THE duo to watch.
Lorde (4nominations, 2 won)
Pretty big winner this year, with fournominations andtwo awards: Song of theYear & Best Pop Solo Performance. Her liveperformanceof Royalswas a littledull for my taste, and it seemed tobe the exact same as her performance in the Nominations Concert.Other than that, she's OK.
It's well known that she's the new starin music, and many experienced producers and artists see a greatfuture for her; and also that she's quite critical, so many fansdiscriminate her as a way of defense for their own favorites. ButGrammy knows no drama and non-music-related-influence, so she getstwo Grammys for talent and beautiful music, that's fair.
I myself don't see her as a threattowards other artists. Her style may be unique, but it faceschallenges trying to seem appealing to the majority of musicfans.Yet the industry needs a voice like this, adifferent style that is refreshing, in a weird way.
Macklemore & RyanLewis (7 nominations, 4 won)
Macklemore is actually an artist himself, and RyanLewis is his producer. Since they don't have a record label, theyproduce albums and singles independently, and were the first since1994 to reach the top spot of Billboard without the help of a majorrecord label.
Though already active since 2000,Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were still named Best NewArtist, and their album TheHeist won Best RapAlbum, single ThriftShop won them Best RapPerformance. I personally like them very much, not onlyfor their talent and perseverance, but also the way they change theatmosphere when they're performing.
Their performance withMaryLambert, Madonna, Queen Latifah and TromboneShorty & Orleans Avenue of SameLove and OpenYour Heart was unbelievably touching andextraordinary.
The list is endless, but the main pointof this all, the main point of even having awards at all is tocreate better music. Every music award is for encouragement to allartists. Losing and winning pushes everyone to work harder tocreate music that will last forever. So it really doesn't matterwho wins and who doesn't, there shouldn't be cat-fights betweenfans and artists, there should be love, because everyone's herebecause they've chosen to dedicate their whole life tomusic.
