It’s no secret that my enthusiasm for the Grammys and other award shows has waned over the last few years. Nominees have been either very predictable or very unworthy, and instead of trying to make sense of it all I try to just ignore them. This Friday, the nominees for the 56th Annual Grammy’s were announced and it seems like the academy is trying to turn things around. I have to admit that while scrolling through the list, I caught myself smiling and very proud of the nominees (even some of the snubs). This year seems to be a really great mix of artists with actual talent who deserve the extra Grammy shine, instead of the Academy favoring the biggest selling artists of the year just because they’re popular. Mainly, and selfishly I’m sure, what made me smile the most was that I was seeing some of my favorite music of the year up for big awards, which normally doesn’t happen.
So instead of going through the full list of nominees, let’s start with the ones that genuinely made me smile.
Kendrick Lamar is up for 7 Grammy’s including Album of the Year and New Artist
Daft Punk and Kendrick Lamar for Album of the Year.
“Random Access Memories” was easily one of my favorite albums of the year. I expected Daft Punk’s huge hit single “Get Lucky” to get lots of Grammy love, but didn’t expect the album to be in the Top category. Even though it is truly deserving, Grammy’s tend to relegate Electronic music to their own specific category, so I was pleased to see the album being appreciated among the rest of the great artists.
I was happy to see Kendrick Lamar up for Album of the Year category simply because I think he’s awesome. There hasn’t been a Hip Hop Album from a new, fresh, young artist like Kendrick up for this Top award in a long time, so it was nice to see and he’s definitely the one who deserves to break that pattern.
(Kendrick Lamar photo by Ben Miller, http://www.benmillerphoto.com)
James Blake, Kendrick Lamar and Ed Sheeran for New Artist.
Grammy’s never seem to get this category right. James Blake and Ed Sheeran are nowhere near NEW artists as Blake released his second full length album this year, and Sheeran’s “+” album has been available since 2011, and he was nominated for Song of the Year last year. The weird criteria for this category is confusing, but they are both great artists and very deserving of their nominations. And again, I just like Kendrick and he has a great shot at actually winning this prize.
The Snubbing of Justin Timberlake.
It was expected that Justin Timberlake would lead the list of nominees this year, he had the best selling album through most of the year, and is a Grammy darling. He racked up 7 total, which is great, but he didn’t find himself in any of the Top categories. His first album not to be nominated for Album of the Year. While it’s surprising, I personally feel like the snubbing is “Justified” so to speak. “The 20/20 Experience” album was hardly anything groundbreaking, and even though plenty of undeserving Albums have been nominated in this category, I’m glad at least this one didn’t get through. I feel this is the Grammy’s trending away from giving nominations to the popular, top-selling hits and being more critical about the actual material.
“The Next Day“, David Bowie’s first album in 10 years, was great in that it was current but also paid tribute to the amazing career he has had. Many are complaining that the Rock categories are filled up with too many “older” acts, but I feel that both of Bowie’s nominations for Rock Album and Rock Performance are well deserved, even if he’s probably not going to win.
Tame Impala grab their first Grammy nomination for Alternative Album
Tame Impala and Vampire Weekend for Alternative Album
“Lonerism” is an amazing album, but Tame Impala are one of those groups that I think may be TOO underground to get the attention of Grammy voters. Luckily that’s not the case this year as the group get their very first Grammy nomination for Alternative Album. When I saw their name I actually did a double take before I smiled, they probably have little chance of winning but I’m happy to see them being recognized for a great piece of work.
I was also happy to see Vampire Weekend in this category, specifically because I felt “Modern Vampires of the City” should have been up for Album of the Year and I thought they might have been ignored altogether. This one nomination is fine, and knowing they have a good chance of winning it is ever better, but I feel they got snubbed in some of the bigger categories. If not Album of the Year, than “Diane Young”, one of the most fun and clever songs of the year, should have gotten Record of Song of the year.
Tamar Braxton, one of my favorite albums of 2013 earned 3 Grammy nominations
Tamar Braxton‘s Triple nominations.
It’s no secret that I’m a bit of a #Tamartian, and I’ve been loving Tamar’s “Love and War” album since it came out. I was hoping she would be a sure thing for Contemporary R&B Album, but you can never be too sure. When I saw that she grabbed three nominations in the R&B categories I was ecstatic. Braxton is up for R&B Performance and R&B Song for “Love and War” and Contemporary R&B Album (which I personally think she should win, but who knows how that will play out).
Fantasia, Kelly Rowland & Missy Elliott for R&B Song
“Without Me“, the track from Fantasia’s nominated album “Side Effects of You“, was such a banger when I first heard it, I thought it was destined to be a massive urban hit. Months later with a peak of only #26 on the R&B chart I feared the song was totally ignored, so I was glad to see this collaboration with Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliott up for an award.
(Side Note: How did “Pusher Lover Girl” by Justin Timberlake get into this race?)
Kanye West‘s “Yeezus” for Rap Album
Scrolling through the nominee list I was surprised when I didn’t see Kanye West listed much, so I was happy to see him get at least Rap Album (he’s also up for Rap Performance for “New Slaves”). He’s been nominated and won in this category for every single album he’s put out. He might not win, but it’s nice to see his most daring and risky album wasn’t ignored or under-appreciated because of his other antics.
Pharrell, a front runner for Producer of the Year
Pharrell Williams for Producer of the Year.
This nomination was a bit of a no-brainer, Pharrell was responsible for two of the biggest hits this year and regained a lot of relevancy as an in-demand producer. We just have to think back to the early 2000’s when The Neptunes were making hit after hit and were continually ignored by the Grammys. Those past snubs worried me about his chances this year, but sure enough he was there and set to win this trophy.
Capital Cities “Safe and Sound” for best Music Video.
I just recently saw the “Safe and Sound” video a few weeks ago at a bar, and it sort of blew my mind. The video is a time traveling, upbeat, fun, visually engaging video with lots of dancing that makes you laugh and makes your jaw drop. I’m very happy to see it in it’s deserved place as one of the best videos of the year.
Overall, I don’t have that many complaints which is a refreshing feeling around Grammy time. I would have loved to see Alt-J, Solange, Beach House or K Michelle among others nominated, but I wasn’t really expecting it. I was surprised that Janelle Monae and Phoenix didn’t get any nominations at all. I also thought very highly of The Strokes‘ latest album, but it, like all of their previous work, was ignored.
In the end, this years’ nominees have somewhat restored my faith in the Grammy system, and I may even do a Prediction blog post as the awards come closer. I’m most happy that my musical favorites are being recognized this year, so maybe I DO know what I’m talking about.
In the effort of continuing this Best Music of 2013 trend, what we have now are my favorite Album cuts from this years releases. Album cuts meaning those songs on the album that haven’t been officially released as singles, and often times these album cuts are the best the artist or group has to offer.
So here goes.
10. The-Dream featuring Beyonce and 2Chainz “Turnt” (from “IV Play”)
I am OFFICIALLY OVER the term “Turnt Up”, but I’m not quite over this song because there’s so many funny moments. Beyonce mentioning Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie’s infamous Red Carpet Arrival, Dream shouting out Kelly and Michelle when talking about “jelly”, and I must say 2Chainz verse is pretty killer. Fun song.
9. Kanye West “Blood on the Leaves” (from “Yeezus”)
Mainly for the Swizz Beatz sample, I used to love Swizzy’s productions when he first started, so to hear the DMX sample given so much love takes me back down memory lane every time.
8. Local Natives “Black Spot” (from “Hummingbird”)
I just love when something starts off so simple, and builds to an epic finale. You’ll get that with this gem.
7. The Strokes “80’s Comedown Machine” (from “Comedown Machine”)
6. Vampire Weekend “Everlasting Arms” (tie) “Finger Back” (from “Modern Vampires of the City”)
I gotta make this one a TIE, I love BOTH of these songs so much.
5. Jay-Z featuring Rick Ross “Fuckwithmeyouknowigotit” (from “Magna Carta… Holy Grail”)
This song is just straight up Niggotry, but I can’t NOT listen to it multiple times a day. #smh
4. Justin Timberlake “Strawberry Bubblegum” (from “The 20/20 Experience”)
3. The Strokes “One Way Trigger” (from “Comedown Machine”)
2. Kelly Rowland “Red Wine” (from “Talk a Good Game”)
This song is incredibly sexy, unique, soulful, it’s the kind of thing I want more of from Kelly. A song that sounds like nothing else in R&B, and vocally she compliments the track perfectly.
1. Daft Punk featuring Panda Bear “Doin It Right” (from “Random Access Memories”)
2013 has definitely been an INTERESTING year so far for music. Let’s not even talk about what’s going on at Radio, but the album releases this year have displayed a wide range of talents, older and younger stars, and Indie stars hitting it big. There was a big lack of Superstar releases, so it was easy to escape the Top 40 Mainstream grid and dive into a very diverse pool of music.
Here is my take on the year thus far, and instead of doing the traditional Top 10 lists, I’m gonna break down my favorite and least favorite albums in Three groups. The Disappointing, The Decent and The Best. I have to admit though, I haven’t been keeping up with ALL the 2013 releases. There was a time this year (like three weeks ago lol) when I was obsessed with George Michael and especially his Grammy winning “Faith” album. And even currently I’m on a Mariah Carey kick, so this list might be a little scant. Rhye, J Cole, A$AP Rocky and Chrisette Michelle are just a few of the artists I NEED to check out. And I will, but for now here’s my 6 months report.
The Disappointing
Timberlake “The 20/20 Experience”
At the top of this list, for me, is Justin Timberlake‘s “The 20/20 Experience” (1 of 2, because of course he has to bleed his fans dry of all their money), and simply because I had the highest expectations for it. If you go back to my “First Impression” review you’ll see I rated the album way too high with a 8.5. Ever since that first listen, I find myself really bored with the album which has him lyrically talking about the same old things (love, dancing, love and dancing again), his vocals are solid but not really impressive or surprising. And the overall production just feels dated, add the fact that the extended length of the songs in general are worthless. “Mirrors” and “Don’t Hold the Wall” are the two songs whose second halves are amazing and save the dullness of the first halves. For the most part though, these long songs just slow the album down. Still digging that “Strawberry Bubblegum” though.
“Out of My League” is one of my favorite recent radio singles, it’s so fun and catchy but it set my expectations for Fitz and the Tantrums‘ “More Than Just a Dream” way too high. The album doesn’t live up to that single for a variety of reasons. For one, “Dream” feels a little bit like a failed attempt at ripping off Human League, with it’s male/female vocals and 80’s feel. The most disappointing thing is the fact that the album rarely ever matches the Fun, Pep, and POP of “League”, you have the duo taking themselves way too seriously vocally and lyrically on a majority of the album. If they had lightened up it could have been pretty good, unfortunately it is what it is.
Toro Y Moi released “Anything in Return”, and while I wasn’t expecting much from the album, it didn’t leave any impression on me at all. Unlike his previous album ” Underneath The Pine” which I enjoyed despite the thin-ness of Toro’s singing voice. This one was just a little TOO laid back, and while it was pleasant, it was totally forgettable.
Kelly Rowland “Talk a Good Game”
The problem with Kelly Rowland‘s 4th album “Talk a Good Game” is that it sounds like a regular Contemporary R&B Album. There are some excellent stand outs including “Red Wine” (possibly her best song ever), “I Remember” and “Kisses Down Low”, but the overall feeling of the album is that it’s a Producers album and not a album that shines a light on the talents and uniqueness of the artist.
The Decent
Unlike Kelly Rowland (who guests on stand out track “Without Me“),Fantasiawas able to make an R&B album and not lose who she is as an artist. “Side Effects of Me” is diverse, in that it goes from Contemporary R&B to Traditional R&B to Pop and Funk, and a lot of the material is top notch. Great writing, amazing vocals, perfect production, this album has it all. Unfortunately it’s not all that consistent, as I generally skip maybe every other track when listening. Still, there is enough here to at least make it one of the better R&B albums of the year.
Yes, I’m sure everybody shared a joke or two about Snoop Dogg changing his name to Snoop Lion for his Reggae/Dancehall inspired album “Reincarnated”. I personally thought the transition made sense, and I was actually surprised that I enjoyed the album as much as I did. And HELLA surprised that his track with Miley Cyrus, “Ashtrays and Heartbreaks“, was my ultimate favorite. The problem, Snoop doesn’t have a voice that’s ready for Reggae. He’s a little too laid back vocally on some tracks where he needs to channel the hype-ness of Beenie Man. And he doesn’t have that natural patois to smoothen out other tracks. The great thing, he has lots of collaborators who take the focus off of him. And at the end of the day, with the help of Diplo, there are some undeniable grooves that make you forget about the corniness that sometimes encounters the album.
Even though I’m a huge Diplo fan, and even though Major Lazer‘s last full length album “Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazer’s Do” gave me so much life, I have to say their second album “Free the Universe” was disappointing. What makes it decent is the fact that you are gonna get exactly what you got on “Guns”, which is fun and infectious Dancehall/Reggae grooves. This album definitely makes a person wanna get up and dance, but there are some cons about the album. The mixing of very Electronic vibes doesn’t always mesh well, and just overall it feels like a continuation of “Guns” instead of it’s own thing. “Get Free” is still one of the best songs I’ve heard, and tracks like “Jet Blue Jet” “Mashup The Dance” and “You’re No Good” are definitely worthy of the price of the album.
James Blake “Overgrown”
James Blake had my #1 album of 2011, and I can’t lie “Overgrown” is a very nice album. While it’s very much true to the same vibe of his debut, this album actually does take Blake into new terrain. It’s even more moody, and some of the production techniques like the sampling and the guest rappers add something new. He’s still got that soul in his voice, and the tracks are very exciting and engrossing. Good album, just not the Greatness I know Blake is capable of. Maybe next time.
I have to be completely honest with you guys when talking about Baths‘ album “Obsidian”, I actually JUST listened to it this week. However, just from one or two listens I really have to say the album totally got my attention and managed to be a break out album from all of the stuff I’ve listened to this year. Like James Blake, Baths seems to be a very unique artist as the album has this weird electronic/pop/ambient/organic mix up that is hard to compare to any other artist (okay, MAYBE Alt-J). It’s in The Decent group now, but I can imagine after several listens I’ll fall in love.
I LOVED (x20) Local Natives‘ debut album “Gorilla Manor“, and was so excited for the follow up “Hummingbird” . My initial impression was that the album was too similar to the debut, but that debut was so strong, with it’s beautifully orchestrated instrumentation, compelling melodies and great writing, that being similar wasn’t as much of a bad thing. And honestly, as the year progresses I do find myself coming back to certain tracks and I CAN play the album all the way through without much skipping. I just wish it was more of an elevated sound for them, wishing they’d pushed themselves further artistically.
In regards to the Cold War Kids, I LOVE their song “Miracle Mile” and was excited to hear what their album “Dear Miss Lonelyhearts” would sound like. The album is definitely decent (hence, why it’s in the Decent group) with some nice, drum-heavy, tracks and a handful of really good songs. The problem, for me, is the lead singers voice which at times is very grating. His strain-y falsetto just turns me off on a lot of the tracks and detracts from the potential of the album, however I’d still recommend it because some of you have a higher tolerance for screechy/whiney vocals.
Another radio single I fell in love with recently was “Sweater Weather” from The Neighbourhood. There’s something about the laid back vibe and the cadence of the lead vocalist that just felt so great together, and had me anticipating a potentially great album from the group. “I Love You.” is a good album, but you are basically going to get what you got from “Sweater Weather”. It does have some really good songs on there, but the only problem is that altogether the songs seem to muddle together. I think the fact that most of the songs share that same sort of Dark, laid back vibe makes it hard to differentiate. Still worth checking out though.
Phoenix “Bankrupt!”
It’s hard to say what my problem is with Phoenix‘s “Bankrupt!“. It’s a far cry from their previous album “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” which I found to be a bit of a masterpiece, but this new album isn’t bad. It’s just slightly dull in comparison to their last effort. And the lukewarm response I had when I heard this albums first single “Entertainment” is the way I feel about the album on the whole, It’s very much a decent album but it just lacks something that is hard to put my finger on. Maybe I just need to listen to it more, but overall the album was one of my most anticipated and quickly became one I rarely listen to.
“The Next Day” by David Bowie, his first album in nearly Ten years. Yes, as I said in my review earlier in the year, the album is really good. It’s good in the fact that it feels like a throwback to his entire Discography. It really is a good album with some really great, fun, emotional songs. I just have to admit that over the year I haven’t felt the need to go back to it often.
The Best
Only slightly disappointed with Kanye West‘s 6th solo album “Yeezus”, which overall I do think is great and another perfect addition to his catalog. The thing that disappointed me was that it is similar to his older stuff. Not so much production wise because on “Yeezus” Kanye goes a lot darker, a lot more punk-ish, and a lot more experimental. Lyrically though, he’s not talking about anything we haven’t heard him talk about before. The race problem in America, problems with the black community, problems with women, and so on and so on. West is more aggressive in his delivery, but it doesn’t change the fact that we’ve been there with him. Overall though, it’s another great risk taking album.
Atlas Genius “When It Was Now”
I became an Atlas Genius fan the very first time I heard their hit “Trojans“. It’s an amazingly catchy alterna-song that deserves (imo) to be a much bigger hit, and I was very happy when I listened to “When It Was Now”, their debut album, because my expectations were basically met. The album is very diverse, it has it’s fun moments, it has it’s moments of great artistry. Let’s be real though, the duo isn’t afraid to do something light, as this album isn’t really all that Hard-Rocking and a lot more Pop leaning. It’s just a great album whose songs attach themselves to your brain. I was happy not to be let down, and hope they continue to grow as their career continues.
It has to be hard for Jay-Z at this point, on his 12th solo album “Magna Carta… Holy Grail”, you would imagine it’s starting to get difficult for the Hip Hop Legend to come up with new and interesting things to rap about. So, maybe on this album he just didn’t worry about it, but cultivated some of the best tracks he could get his hands on. The beauty of this album is the throwback feel of it, the tone of the tracks takes you back to 1998 when Jay was releasing his “In My Lifetime” trilogy. Working with Swizz Beatz and Timbaland recalls that soundscape of late-90’s Hip Hop and the production overall is Excellent here. He’s still ONE OF the Greatest Rappers Alive, and he manages to hold his own, but the overall “old school” feel of the entire album makes it a winner.
After “Angles“, The Strokes‘ previous album, I was a little put off by the group. That album had it’s gems, but they were far and few between as they were definitely trying to escape the Garage Rock Band sound they are so good at. “Comedown Machine” really surprised me, because for the most part, every song is a winner here. The Strokes keep the experimentation going on this album, but they also manage to balance new sounds with what makes them a great Rock band. The album shows diversity, and a willingness to try new things (like Casablanca’s falsetto) and there’s hardly any complaints I have about the album, which I listen to quite frequently.
The most surprising album for me this year came from Vampire Weekend, a group that I enjoy, but a group that I really wasn’t expecting much from. “Diane Young” hit radio and I instantly loved it, and I was really pleased to find that their 3rd album “Modern Vampires of the City” matched that song and beyond. The song is upbeat, catchy, glitchy and fun and there are several cuts on this album that have a similar quality. The greatest thing about this outing is it seems the band stepped out of their comfort zone a bit, playing with electronic effects and amping their style up with intensity and humor. It’s always great to me when a group can grow without growing out of their original sound. Bravo Vampires, Bravo! Great Album.
Daft Punk “Random Access Memories”
And that leaves Daft Punk‘s “Random Access Memories“. This isn’t a list that ordered from worst to best, BUT I will say that this album is the one I was most impressed with on first listen, and the album that I keep going back to, discovering new favorite songs every time I do. The album is familiar to the Daft Punk sound, but with all the features from Pharrell, to Paul Williams to Julian Casablanca and with the insane live instrumentation and the soulful sexy Disco vibe permeating through the album, it’s just a very cohesive, very enjoyable album with lots of diversity. In a career that’s well over 10 years, it’s great to find a duo that steps their game up and making what might be one of their best albums yet.
So there you have it. Let’s see what these next few months bring.
Britney is currently murdering the radio with Will.I.Am, while Christina Aguilera’s “Lotus” album is growing on me more everyday. Now with recent single releases from Destiny’s Child and Justin Timberlake it feels like the 1999 MTV “TRL” Era artists are all coming back. How do they fair? Let’s get into it.
Destiny’s Child “Nuclear”.
We know now that Kelly and Michelle will be joining Beyonce during her Superbowl Halftime Performance February 4th. And earlier last week the internet was abuzz about a reunion Destiny’s Child single dropping. The song, “Nuclear”, came out this past Friday and I’m unimpressed. First of all, it feels and sounds just like a “Destiny Fulfilled” leftover from 2004. Definitely not a NEW song as the reports led us to believe(Hell, the artwork for the single are from the “Destiny Fulfilled” Promo Shots for peets sake!). It’s a very breezy, chill R&B song with a really nice track and nice vocal layering. However it’s just… blah! My thought (and this is based on a few things I heard online) is that Matthew Knowles put this unreleased song and the “Love Songs” compilation album out to fulfill a contract. It just surprises me that Beyonce would take to social media to promote it like it was a big deal when it’s clearly just filler material. The song is okay, but it’s nothing to get worked up over, and like Makael and Skorpion said on their recent upload “DO NOT” sing this at the Superbowl. “DO NOT!”
Grade: C
Justin Timberlake “Suit and Tie” (Featuring Jay-Z).
You guys know how I feel about Timberlake. Last week there was a hint that new music would be coming from the former N Sync’er and I was totally not excited. It’s great that he’s coming out with new music FINALLY after almost 7 years, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he turned his back on his music fans and is only now coming back after all his other outings failed. Like the boyfriend (Scrappy) who leaves a girl (Erika) who really loves him for another girl (Diamond), and when that girl dumps him he goes back to the first girl. I feel like Erika and I don’t want to take him back, but I have to say “Suit and Tie” is really good. Above all, the production on the track is great. It’s very soulful old school R&B type feel, but it has some uniqueness about it. Love the sort of ‘chopped and screwed’ beginning part and how it bleeds into the actual song, and I just love the laid back approach to the song. I don’t really like what Timberlake is doing to his voice, he always uses that forced falsetto but this time it gives me Robin Thicke-Tee’s more than anything and it’s not a great look. But the song is catchy, fun and just overall really decent.
Grade: B +
You can bet that Beyonce’s upcoming single will be FIRE to compensate for the lackluster-ness of “Nuclear”, and I recently heard her album will be out in April. Timberlake is giving the expectation of a Spring release for his upcoming Third album as well. Britney Spears is also supposed to be coming out with new music of her own this year, so the Gang is all back. Ofcourse all of these artists are a bit “vintage” to the younger generation… but if the music is on point that shouldn’t be a problem for them.
Honestly, 2011 was a pretty horrible year for Mainstream and Top 40 music. The bar is terribly low for a Pop hit these days, and even performance wise there’s nothing really exciting about the goings on of this year. So it’s a little difficult to try and make it seem exciting when it really was just BASIC on the whole. Adele slayed pretty much all year, and she was one of the only exciting things to happen to the industry this year. The under performing of Britney Spears and Beyoncé signaled a change in the winds, where formerly unstoppable Pop stars were being out peaked and out sold by the likes of LMFAO and Pitbull. Speaking of, Beyoncé may or may not be pregnant (*laugh). Katy Perry and Rihanna got closer to breaking chart records of Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey. Nicki Minaj got her biggest hit from her Pop-iest song and Foo Fighters put in a bid as the last great rock band of the 90’s. Other than all of that, and a few hot-mess feuds and shady comments, not much else happened this year that’s really worth reporting.
So here’s my take on the year, try to enjoy! And let’s hope 2012 kicks 2011’s Basic Ass!!
>
Artists Of The Year,
5. Kanye West
Coming off the critical praise of 2010’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”, West took a seat instead of his usual loud-mouthed antics. He took a seat in the studio though with Jay-Z, and towards the end of the Summer released the Epic collaboration album “Watch The Throne”. So let’s raise our glass to Kanye shutting up long enough to keep the focus on his talent, which ended in him leading the Grammy nominations and co-headlining a sold out tour.
4. Lady GaGa
While the media excitement for GaGa trailed off towards the end of the year, Mother Monster still had a triumphant year overall. She clocked over a million sales of her third (or second) album “Born This Way” after record breaking sales of the first single of the same name. She was ever present on television, including an HBO concert and a network Holiday special that got healthy ratings. Most importantly, she made some risky single choices that worked in exposing a different and versatile side to her as an artist.
3. Pitbull
This might be a surprising choice, but Pitbull was every where this year. He’s been very consistent ever since his debut in the early 2000’s, but this year he almost became a household name. He had a Huge #1 hit with “Give Me Everything” and his feature work with Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and Shakira further helped his exposure. He ended up being invited to perform at nearly every big Award ceremony of the year, and translated his new found mainstream fame into endorsement deals. He may just be the flavor of the moment, but he definitely crossed over to a new level of fame in 2011. And as hard of a worker he has shown he is, he could potentially get bigger down the line.
2. Katy Perry
Miss “I Kissed a Girl” didn’t necessarily break out as the “It” girl of this year, but she made a lot of accomplishments and set herself up to possibly be a force in the industry. Still continuing a hit streak from her 2010 album “Teenage Dream” she collected two more #1 singles this year, tying Michael Jackson for the most #1’s from one album. She ended the year with a hosting spot on “Saturday Night Live” and a 7th Top 5 Hit. Hopefully she’s in the studio working on a follow-up, and we’ll see how long her star will shine.
1. Adele
No surprises here, for whatever reason the beginning of the year all the way till the end Adele was on everybody’s lips and on top of every chart. And she did this without compromising her sound. In the field of sexed up Pop chicks talking about nothing on their songs with auto-tuned vocals, Adele really was a shocking success being the polar opposite of all that. Her “21” album, steeped in R&B Jazz and Balladry, became the #1 selling album of the year and her two hits “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You” used proper instrumentation and strong vocals to become huge hits as well. So proud of her, and if she can just get her nerves together for a tour she’ll be a Legend in no time.
>
Albums of the Year,
10. Chris Brown “F.A.M.E.”
Say what you will about Breezy, but “F.A.M.E.” showed off how truly talented he is. Not only does it cross genres from Pop to R&B to Hip Hop to Dance, but it’s all catchy and well-sung with some surprisingly great lyricism. A great step in the right direction, and a true testament to why he’s on top of the R&B heap these days.
9. tUnE-yArDs “w h o k i l l”
Crazy album, going from Folk sounds to Tribe Called Quest-like Hip Hop sounds and everything in between. This is something new and different and ultra experimental, but it works. It shows off the talents of Merrill Garbus, vocally and lyrically, and it gives listeners something totally fresh to counter-act all the same-sounding stuff released this year.
8. Beyoncé “4”
Like I said in my review of this album, it’s truly one from an artist that is so comfortable in her talents she can just do what she feels and not worry about fitting in. “4” is laid back R&B in a time when tempos must be high and lyrics must be repetitive, so in a way Bey took a risk but she really stayed in her zone and delivered a very solid and classic sounding album.
7. Adele “21”
Do I even need to go into detail about the album probably EVERYBODY has heard by now. Adele really goes back, with lots of early blues and soul inspired material, matched with a few funk tracks. The entire album is made to showcase the amazing voice of hers and why she’s one of the best singers in the game right now, and mission accomplished.
6. Frank Ocean “Nostalgia, Ultra”
This is a Mixtape, and I started not to include it. I couldn’t leave it off though because it was one of the most exciting and fresh pieces of music I’ve heard this year. From the out of the box concepts of the songs, to the pretty amazing and random samples he sings over, his knack for great lyricism and his love of singing. If you need to watch anybody that has major potential to blow up in 2012, than Frank is the one. “Nostalgia, Ultra” can be enjoyed by so many, even if it’s not what the masses are typically used to hearing.
5. Fleet Foxes “Helplessness Blues”
The mainstream-friendly Folk/Pop group delivered another set of very soothing, relaxing chill tracks that’s really true to the roots of the genre. A very natural continuation from their debut album, just elevated and with a much bigger sound. The stories clouded in very intelligent lyricism make it an album that can be enjoyed for decades, but it still somehow feels very now. And the harmonies and cascades of instrumentation is perfectly beautiful on every track. It truly deserves all the praise and hype it got, it’s definitely a go-to album if you need to relax.
4. Lady GaGa “Born This Way”
Unlike the rest of her Pop contemporaries, GaGa really tried hard on her third album to stand out from the pack. And she did in so many different ways with “Born This Way”, still catering to her Top 40 audience she manages to make little changes and explore different sounds. From Country, Industrial, House and Rock the album is clearly one of the most diverse of the year, yet the overall album works. And it’s not just the tracks, her attacking different vocal styles and writing some pretty impressive lyrics this go round “Born This Way” shows the artist behind the crazy outfits.
3. Jay Z & Kanye West “Watch the Throne”
The event album of the year, I almost didn’t believe it would ever come out but luckily it did. The album is Anthem after Anthem, it definitely caters to Kanye’s more energetic and humorous side. However mixed with Jay’s more serious verses, they both end up rubbing off on each other with Jay sounding like he’s having more fun and Kanye even waxing philosophical on some tracks. A great collaboration by two utter geniuses, how could it go wrong really?
2. Drake “Take Care”
Drake really is a surprising character in the industry. As much as you want to, you really can’t hate on what he brings to the table and it’s almost always unexpected and to the left of what you might have assumed. “Take Care” is a surprisingly deep and personal album at times, that transitions seamlessly from an Indie/R&B feel to a harder Hip Hop feel, and you don’t really notice because you are just captivated overall. His sophomore is just as good if not better than his very impressive debut, and this does show he has the chops to stay in the game for a long while.
1. James Blake “James Blake”
An album that takes a few listens to really appreciate, Indie self-produced “Dubstep Prince” (still don’t know why his music is classified as dub step but whatever) James Blake delivers a very minimalist album that even without many lyrics has such emotion and heart in the soundscapes he provides. It’s an album that plays well altogether and really stands out above anything else released this year, because it’s so non-conformist in almost every way. Tonally and emotionally it’s really an amazing album that shouldn’t be missed.
>
Singles of the Year,
15. Jessie J “Who You Are” You would think the “love yourself” inspirational ballads died with Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful”, but UK star Jessie J makes a great bid for bringing them back. The lyrics match so well with the emotion and rawness of her vocals, it doesn’t feel like sap it feels much more personal.
14. Yuck “Rubber”
An eery, forever building ode to 90’s Alternative. With it’s strange and creepy instrumentation and slowly changing tempos, and the vocal delivery of Daniel Blumberg. It’s almost like a scary movie you can’t stop listening to until you get to the end.
13. Britney Spears “Til the World Ends”
Easily one of the best songs of Britney’s career, and apparently she owes it all to Ke$ha who wrote this incredibly addictive call to the dancefloor. It’s perfection in it’s intentional stupid-ness, and a perfect song to suit Britney’s (*cough) limitations. (And the remix is even better than the original)
12. Lady Antebellum “We Owned the Night”
A beautiful yet underrated single from the power trio of 2010. The song works on many levels with a cute storyline, beautiful harmonies and a relaxed track that gets some real country energy in parts.
11. Maroon 5 “Moves Like Jagger”
Surprisingly great Pop track, not very deep but do you really expect that from a Top 40 song? No! What you expect, and what you get here, is a nice dance tempo and an insanely catchy hook. Add Christina Aguilera’s power notes and you have one of the best Pop offerings of the year.
10. Jason Aldean “Dirt Road Anthem”
Aldean has had a great run in the country world, and this rap/country hybrid (later remixed with a verse from Ludacris) does a lot to gain unlikely fans. He goes from his southern rap to belting it out towards the end over a very simple backing sample.
9. Rihanna “S&M”
The MOST Fun Dance song released this year, there are several portions that are crazy addictive and Rihanna’s sexy but coy vocal delivery takes it to another level. Another reason why no one can touch Rihanna in the Dance/Pop field, she consistently delivers the most dance-ready (and most true to the classic House sound) tracks of all her contemporaries. (And for the record, I’m pretending that Britney remix never existed! *awful)
8. Cage the Elephant “Aberdeen”
A great rock track, with clear homages to a more alternative 90’s rock sound but adding the groups standard weird effects and instrumentation to make the song totally fresh. Addictive and creative, what more do you want.
7. Chris Brown “Look at Me Now”
This is a Chris Brown song, but most of the praise for this weird electro/Hip Hop winner goes to producer Diplo and featured rapper Busta Rhymes whose flawless and breathless flow made this The urban track of the year, and once again showed he’s still a relevant player.
6. Lady GaGa “Yoü and I”
Mother Monster delivered a Pop Anthem, an Industrial Dance track, and a ballad-like House-r this year but her Country/Pop/Rock rump “You and I” is clearly the most memorable and the one that shows what a great artist she is. A great storyline, a confident vocal and a track so hype and powerful you’ll be singing and clapping along in no time.
5. James Blake “The Wilhelm Scream”
This is the genius of James Blake, at first the song is really unassuming. A simple repetitive vocal over scant electronic backing, but if you listen you start to feel and appreciate the layers and how the song builds to a beautiful climax. His songs just creep up on you and force you to feel something.
4. Miguel “Sure Thing”
In case anyone thought R&B was dead Miguel came through with a beautiful and loving R&B track that Urban Radio has been lacking for years. The writing is exceptional, a love song without any contradictions or stipulations like the “I love you but I’m probably gonna cheat on you” type songs we’ve been forced to accept in the past few years. A great return to form for R&B.
3. Jay Z & Kanye West “Otis”
Like I said in my review of “Watch The Throne”, this hit single has a very complicated and technical use of the Otis Redding “Try a Little Tenderness” sample. Everything else about the song feels so laid back and breezy in comparison, with two of the biggest Hip Hop Icons of the day genuinely having fun and not being try-hards with their second single. Epic song that’s downplayed to just being a fun record.
2. Adele Rolling in the Deep
Incredible vocals. Amazing (and LIVE) instrumentation. Killer lyrics. End.
1. Kanye West “All of the Lights”
One of Kanye’s most simple songs, in both production and verses. However the more you listen, the deeper it gets when you realize the story he’s trying to tell about the inner cities. And though the calvacade of featured artists are nice, they aren’t necessary. It’s a strong, powerful, energetic, catchy and flawless song.
>
Disappointments of the Year,
3. Rihanna “Talk That Talk”
I LOVE Rihanna, this won’t change anytime soon. And because of my love, I was really excited for her 6th album even if it was clear it would be a bit rushed with the busy year she had. Now, over a month after it’s been in stores, I tend to listen to her previous album “Loud” over this one. Too many un-done songs, which gives the bare minimum in song structure, almost like her label said “whatever you have now is fine we’ll just release it”. I feel like her label jipped us fans and gave us a half-ass outing for Holiday sales, when with just a month or three more it could have been a pretty great album.
2. The Strokes “Angles”
After waiting 5 years for a new album from the once great Garage Rock band, when it album finally came it was a bit of a dud. “Angles” was way too all over the place and not making any real statement of their growth as a band. Not a terrible album by any means, but definitely not worth the long wait. Hopefully there is a quick follow up to redeem themselves.
1. Britney Spears “Femme Fatale”
I don’t know why (maybe because her team kept Tweeting about it), but I expected this album to be a sign of growth for Miss Spears who has been stuck in Robot-Mode for almost 5 years now. Unfortunately, the album was yet another Dance/Pop heavy, heavily vocally altered singles album with virtually no real effort coming from the star. And even with hype about insane choreography and performance lessons, Spears continued to disappoint by doing the bare minimum performance wise this year. Signaling the fact that Britney will probably never get any better as an artist, thus the potential demise of her career. (Her fans are the most faithful of any stan base though, as long as they are easily impressed she’ll be fine)
>
Guilty Pleasures of the Year,
5. Big Sean “My Last”
This, for any other rapper, would have been pure filler. There’s nothing truly stand out about anything in the track, and the whole”we do it big out in public” concept is so annoying. Than the “a-a-a-all, a-a-a-all” hook pulls you in and you spontaneously start singing along.
4. Jennifer Lopez “On the Floor”
Could the lyrics get anymore elementary, or the track be anymore basic? I doubt it, but somehow the “La la la la”‘s and the overly repetitive “On the Floor”‘s were too catchy to deny.
3. LMFAO “Party Rock Anthem”
Overproduced, Pointless, Stupid, Basic… yet after a few times being forced to hear it on the radio you kinda get used to it. I know for me, the first time I heard it “Noisy Garbage” came to mind, after about 4 listens I was actually anticipating hearing it. Shameful, but that’s the beauty of a Guilty Pleasure.
2. Rihanna “We Found Love”
I called this when I first reviewed the single, the song is basic in every sense of the word. Random lyrics, and a hook that seems to never end. Not even the production is anything all that noteworthy, as Rihanna has had much better Dance singles. However that hook, after about the millionth time, engraves itself in your brain and you go a little crazy for 3 minutes.
1. Pitbull “Give Me Everything”
Pitbull’s verses are rather weak, Nayer is like a non-factor, the track is almost a “paint-by-numbers” dance track… but who can deny Ne-Yo’s infectious and addictive hook. Overall, everything comes together pretty nicely and you just get in a zone when the track comes on.
>
Flops of the Year,
3. Kelly Rowland
Kelly’s solo problems have always been that she’s choked at the wrong opportunities. Her BET Award performance was all everybody could talk about, that was the time to hit us with a new single and video capitalizing on that exposure. But she waited until after her very decent album “Here I Am” had already flopped. And the supposedly “dance heavy” UK edition fared even worse, and that’s after all her “X-Factor” exposure. She seems to be stepping her performance game up, so there may be a chance next year.
2. (tie) Beyoncé, Britney Spears
How the mighty have fallen! Even though both divas posted respectable numbers in either album or single sales, 2011 showed that their time as relevant artists might be up.
Britney had major success on the singles charts, but her album sales took a steep dive given her track record. She truly became a singles artist this year, in the same realm as Ke$ha and LMFAO. And most of that is due to her consistently lazy performances, and refusal to do any interviews or press.
With Beyoncé, her album “4” posted good numbers but her single choices were disasters and … well, plain stupid. Her mistakes were clear, and she didn’t seem to take the hint (or maybe she didn’t care because of her pregnancy). She saves face with a few great live performances including the now iconic pregnancy reveal at the VMA’s, but now that she’s ditched her father as manager she’s totally accountable for this flop.
1. Joe Jonas
Poor Kid. He’s cute, he’s at least minimally talented, and you’d think with the success of The Jonas Brothers his solo career would make some kind of sales dent. Unfortunately, after hyping his first single for what felt like months it only peaked at #92 and the album “Fast Life” only managed to stay on the Billboard 200 for 2 weeks. I guess with Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber there was no spot left on the charts for another “teen heart throb”.
>
Music Videos of the Year,
5. Beyoncé “Run the World (Girls)”
Beyonce went as big as she could to try to salvage the poor first single choice of “Run the World (Girls)”. Hyenas, Lions, Task Forces, Exploding Cars, a Few Hundred Backing Dancers. She threw the kitchen sink in there too, but luckily it’s saving grace is the dancing. She incorporates different styles and attacks, the type of big dance video Janet or Michael Jackson would do.
4. Jason Aldean “Tatoos On This Town”
They could have went a totally different way with this song, but they gave us the tear-jerker storyline. And it actually really works in a beautiful way with the lyrics of the song.
3. Lady GaGa “Born This Way”
Enter the crazy world of Mother Monster, where there’s no judgement and… blah blah blah. GaGa is known for being a bit pretentious, but overall this video came off visually very different from most Pop videos. And it’s always nice to see GaGa drop the seriousness and have fun, which she does towards the end.
2. P!nk “Fuckin Perfect”
Speaking of GaGa, P!nk this year proved you don’t have to make an 11 minute video to tell a compelling and emotional story that unfolds in surprising and beautiful ways. Really one of the most heart wrenching and inspiring videos of the year.
1. Rihanna “We Found Love”
This video is one that didn’t try too hard, but did an amazing job of bringing alot of depth and rawness to the basic song and it’s lyrics. In very quick glimpses yo almost see the entire length of a destructive relationship, the highs and lows, and with the flawless editing job it really does get surprisingly real, but still a beautifully shot video.
>
Award Show Performances of the Year,
3. Bruno Mars “Valerie”
Bruno finally showed he has the chops to deserve his spot at the top right now. His 2010 Grammy performance showed a performer who truly loved music, but his vocals were a bit off. At this VMA tribute to Amy Winehouse, he really makes the song his own and is almost perfect vocally. His energy, and clear love for performance and singing really shined.
2. Beyoncé “Love on Top”
(this clip is mirrored, so it looks a little weird. sorry)
Bey pulled out all the stops for her Billboard Award performance, but this simple VMA routine was the one that got everybody talking. She’s known as a great performer, so she doesn’t have to do much to impress. And her flawless vocals before her reveal already clinched this as another great one in her long list of live performances. It’s the pregnancy reveal, and the reaction of the crowds, that made this what it is though.
1. Mumford and Sons “The Cave”
This is the kind of performance I love to see, where the group is ecstastic to be performing and you get a true sense that they really love what they are doing. Mumford and Sons delivered an un-jaded, energetic, and technically perfect Grammy performance this year. It helped “The Cave” become a major player on the charts as well as their debut album “Sigh No More”.
>
So, what have we learned this year. It’s actually a little hard to say because it was so crazy and unpredictable. You never really knew what song would hit, what promotional opportunity would help sales. Random circumstances like YouTube videos ended up helping singles more than “American Idol” appearances (case in point Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” aided by Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift videos). The industry continued to get majorly shaky, but it seemed whatever Radio was backing would determine who would shine.
Which brings up a weird issue with Adele being so huge, it was kind of funny to hear one of her songs (like the piano ballad “Someone Like You”) on pop radio than right after hearing Cobra Starship or LMFAO dance trash single. You’d think radio might take the hint that people are ready for talented vocalists and great song structure. Obviously they didn’t, but they need to realize that a little diversity never killed anybody.
And I have a few remarks for two of Radio’s biggest stars Katy Perry and Bruno Mars. They both get the Step Your Game Up Award, because both are talented in their own ways. Bruno is a great performer and a good writer when he wants to be. It’s just the songs he’s been putting out are very below the bar and elementary, when he’s capable of putting out some classic and creative stuff. And Katy really needs to take her exposure and step out of the “Pop Top 40” realm a bit and get a little deeper. “Teenage Dream” actually does offer some depth and artistry (“Circle the Drain” “Pearl”), so she needs to let the world hear a different edge to her.
My I Don’t Get It Award goes to Foster the People and Florence and the Machine. “Pumped Up Kicks” was a huge single this year, but to me it just sounds like a horribly distorted MGMT rip-off with a forced catchy hook. It’s not just that they took their sound and tried to process it through a Mainstream filter, but it doesn’t even sound good and it’s surprising that it fit into the Mainstream machine at all. With Florence, I just can’t get into her voice long enough to hear an entire song, but she’s hyped as this amazing vocalist somehow. I just don’t get it.
The Have a Seat Award goes to Rihanna, and we know I love her by now. She is just over-working herself, and I need for her to be healthy and ready because she’s clearly being run to the ground. I already talked about her latest album, but her performances went from a major high earlier this year to a drastic and saddening low at the Jingle Ball in December. Six months of not working wouldn’t kill her, but Three more months of her pace might actually do it.
I WAS gonna Go In on Nicki Minaj. With touring with Britney, the success of “Super Bass”, and her recent David Guetta collaboration has become more of a Pop sensation than a Hip Hop Star. I won’t though because I’m hoping “Roman’s Reloaded” will make me love her again. And that’s pretty much all I have for this year, which like I said was pretty boring but some good things came out of it I guess.
Kelly Rowland has had a stable solo career thus far, she’s managed to release two average R&B/Pop albums over the past 8 years and had some moderate single success. She’s never really emerged as a music industry force though, that is until her recently released third album “Here I Am” which should help her get there. The album is a mostly uptempo slice of contemporary R&B with modern, upbeat and catchy tracks dominating the album. Track after track will have listeners out their seats dancing, or in their cars singing along to the addictive hooks, making it easily her best album to date.
Where before, on her debut “Simply Deep” and more R&B heavy follow up “Miss Kelly”, Rowland sounded unsure of what she was supposed to do vocally on her own. The albums were solid enough, but there was a tentativeness with her that ultimately affected the vibe of each album. On “Here I Am” she’s pulled together material that she feels truly confident with and attacks it appropriately. Maybe she can relate to the material a little more, but there’s definitely something about her attitude and presence on this album that makes it truly stand out.
Much of the success of this album has to be attributed to the producers and writers though. Including Jim Jonsin, Rodney Jerkins, Stargate, Souldiggaz and Tricky Stewart with writers Rico Love and Ester Dean on board, they provide Kelly with some very up to date tracks with pretty clever and thoughtful lyricism. The concepts here deal with love and the club but in very subtle ways the writers switch things up like on the stand out track “Feelin’ Me Right Now”, she’s singing about picking up herself from the club (“I wanna take her home cause I know I’ll treat her right”). “Turn it Up” has Kelly drowning her sorrows of a being the other woman with alcohol, “Work It Man” has her not settling for any dude that won’t “go hard in the paint” pleasing his woman, even first single “Motivation” is different than the norm with the woman taking the lead in a bedroom escapade.
Overall “Here I Am” is a very pleasing album, with almost no filler and every song offering something. Kelly’s last two albums came off a little dated, and ultimately forgettable, but this album is so fresh and fun it will be hard to not come running back time and time again.
>Now, you may not know that I posted my Grammy PredictionBlog literally 45 minutes before the nominations were announced. I was on Twitter and Grammy.com’s Live blog getting the announcements of who was nominated and who was snubbed. The reaction I had when the full list of nominations was finally available on the Grammy website was WTF!? Literally.
I’m not mad, not even all that surprised, just a little confused. Like last year, when GaGa, Beyoncé, Black Eyed Peas and Taylor Swift were up for Album of the Year it just felt like the Grammy voters were choosing the most popular and best selling artists. This year with the Big 4 including a diverse group of artists like Cee-Lo Green, Ray Lamontagne, Katy Perry and Bruno Mars it’s not clear what the Grammy voters were thinking. I’ll pick the nominees apart in another post, but let’s first talk about how I was pretty spot on predicting which artists would be nominated, just not too spot on with the actual categories they’d be nominated for.
Of course Eminem was the King of nominations scoring 11. He got the Album, Single and Record of the Year nods I predicted and 6 of his nominations are in the Hip Hop category (competing against himself in two of those categories) which I also predicted. The remaining two nods are for Short Form Music Video for “Love the Way You Lie” (really???) and for his feature work in “Airplanes Part II” by B.o.B. Unfortunately he is really the only Hip Hop artist to dominate the Big 4 categories this year, so that goes against my earlier prediction that Drake, Jay-Z and the aforementioned B.o.B. would be big contenders. Jay-Z only nabbed a Record of the Year nomination for his “Empire State of Mind” with Alicia Keys, same story for B.o.B. who finds himself in the same category with “Nothing On You” with Bruno Mars. And Drake’s only Big 4 nomination comes in the form of Best New Artist, in fact, despite having one of the best albums of the year Drake is only up for 4 total awards.
Lady GaGa ended up being a nominations leader again this year, and given the artists that were snubbed for Album of the Year (Jay-Z, Drake, Robyn, Sade, Rihanna, Janelle Monáe) it’s really upsetting that her 8 track EP “The Fame Monster” is actually up for that category. That undeserved nomination brings this years total to 6 nominations, though she missed out on Song and Record of the Year “Bad Romance”, “Telephone” and oddly enough “Dance in the Dark” are up for multiple nominations. Katy Perry also ended up doing better than I thought, as she did grab a nomination for Album of the Year even when I said it probably wouldn’t happen. Her “Teenage Dream” album helped to score her 4 nominations, not in the Song of the Year or Record of the Year category, but I was correct about the title track nabbing Pop Vocal Performance and “California Gurls” up for Pop Collaboration.
Country group Lady Antebellum also did well for themselves as I predicted. They pulled 6 total nominations, 3 coming from the Big 4 categories Album of the Year, Record and Song of the Year for “Need You Now”, all of which I accurately predicted. Of the most nominated acts this year, the only one who surprised me was Bruno Mars who is also competing in 6 categories. His debut album “Doo-Wops and Hooligans” missed the cut-off for this year, but his singles feature work and writing made him a leading competitor. Another big surprise, the song he wrote for Cee-Lo Green “F**k You” (or “Forget You” the censored, radio friendly version) is up for both Song and Record of the Year.
And since I’m giving my honest reactions, maybe that song didn’t deserve it’s nods. It’s a fun song, but it didn’t make too many waves on the charts so I’m really surprised it’s up for such high honors.
Arcade Fire did score a nod for Album of the Year as I predicted for “The Suburbs”, but weren’t nominee leaders this year with only two other nominations. Another big surprise is the virtual snubbing of Sade, who only scored two nominations Pop Vocal, Group (“Babyfather”) and R&B Vocal, Group (“Soldier of Love”). Maybe it’s because their album was released so early in the year, voters forgot about them, but it was really a shock to see them only in two categories (however, looking back, they’ve never been nominee leaders, generally only getting one nomination per album).
Most of the other acts I mentioned as shoe-in’s in my Nominee Prediction post were named. Vampire Weekend, The Black Keys, Ludacris, Gorillaz, Young Jeezy, Nicki Minaj, Train and Janelle Monae are all up for at least one award.
And even some picks from my “For Your Consideration” portion are up. Very pleased by the nominations for Broken Bells, Robyn, Maroon 5, Big Boi, and Adam Lambert. And I was very pleased to see John Legend and The Roots‘ collaboration album “Wake Up” nominated in 5 categories, but the homage to the old school of R&B isn’t really a surprising choice.
Which leads to what I think are the biggest snubs. Actually, most of the artists I wanted to be nominated got at least one. However I feel a lot of them were shortchanged in categories they were more deserving of. For instance, Jay-Z and Drake should have definitely been up for Album of the Year. Katy Perry, who maybe got more than she deserves as far as nominations, should have gotten more love for her excellent pop Single “Teenage Dream”. And even though I personally like “Nothin on You” more than “Airplanes” by B.O.B., I feel like the latter is way more Grammy friendly and a great convergence of Hip Hop meets Rock with Hayley Williams on board.
Rihanna scored 4 nominations, 3 coming from Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie” (the other for Dance Single “Only Girl (In the World)”) but to see zero nominations for her superior “Rated R” album, and none for her deliciously pop single “Rude Boy” is surprising. Another great Pop single that was snubbed was Neon Trees‘ “Animal”, which should have at least been up for Pop Vocal, Group if not more.
I also feel that Christina Aguilera should have been up for something, if only Pop Vocal, Female for her second single “You Lost Me” over Beyoncé‘s live rendition of “Halo” (which she won Pop Vocal, Female for last year).
Two terrible omissions came in the R&B category where Fantasia and Monica‘s subpar albums are nominated instead of Erykah Badu‘s “New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)” and Toni Braxton‘s “Pulse”. And while Janelle Monáe scored two nominations, she was probably the biggest snub in the New Artist category (Justin Bieber got nominated over her). I’m also really surprised that Trey Songz is not up for anything this year, and especially not for his addictive single with Nicki Minaj (who also I was surprised only scored one nomination after more than a dozen collaborations the past year) “Bottoms Up”.
And finally in the Dance categories, which is relegated to two categories (Dance Recording and Electronic/Dance Album) and only 10 spots, Kelly Rowland should have definitely knocked one of them out for Dance Recording with probably the best true Dance single of 2010 “Commander”, while Kelis switched up her whole style on the stellar Dance album “Flesh Tone”. Also it was very strange to not see one of the most critically acclaimed Electronic albums LCD Soundsystem‘s “This is Happening” not up for anything.
So those are my very overdue reactions, and sometime next week (before my Birthday on Thursday) I’ll post my Predictions for Winners as the Grammy’s are just 9 days away.
Honestly, 2010 wasn’t such a horrible year in Music.Of course alot of the best stuff went under the radar, but even some of the more successful Pop stuff was surprisingly good and inventive. Here is my fairly positive assessment of the Year in Music for 2010, and hopes for 2011.
> > ARTIST OF THE YEAR
1. Young Money — Drake, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne knew he was going to be gone (till November as he said on Drake’s “Miss Me”), but in order to keep getting his money he formed the Young Money mafia and groomed two of the biggest Hip Hop stars of the Year. Even before Drake and Nicki Minaj took off with impressive numbers for their debut albums, the Young Money clique had the biggest Hip Hop hit of the year with “Bed Rock” (because let’s be real “Love the Way You Lie” is a POP song) and a solid selling and actually surprisingly good self titled album. Drake, who was buzzed about all last year, started things off with two huge summer singles and over 500k in first week sales of his debut “Thank Me Later”. All the while Nicki Minaj was making a big name for herself being featured on most of the bigger releases of the year (Usher, Christina Aguilera, Ludacris). She’s ending the year with her debut album “Pink Friday” selling nearly a million copies in a little over a month and quickly becoming a household name. Once Wayne himself got out of prison, he was already sitting with another #1 by releasing an EP “I Am Not a Human Being”. Proof that when his next full length album comes out he’s going to be a force to reckoned with. Now if only anybody could remember the names of the other Young Money crew members, we’ll see how things works out for them next year, if at all.
2. Katy Perry
3. Eminem
4. Lady GaGa
5. Kanye West
> > Artists who Deserves More Shine
1. Robyn
The swedish Electro Queen delivers both radio accessible Dance hits, as well as authentic and original Electronic music. There’s no reason why “Hang with Me” or “Stars 4 Ever” couldn’t be huge stateside, but it’s possible that her sound and lyrics are watered down and simple enough, sad really.
2. Janelle Monáe
Her full length debut album “TheArchAndroid” shows an artist who loves music and it’s history and doesn’t so much care for what’s popular, but incorporating different sounds and making interesting music. Of course radio would shun her, but critics (namely those who vote for the Grammys) should be fawning all over her. There’s still a shot she will emerge and be more widely respected for her talents.
3. Mr Hudson
His 2009 UK release “Straight No Chaser” is still one of my favorite albums in recent years, and I was hoping his guest appearance on Jay-Z’s hit single “Young Forever” would amp up his promotion in the US. Somehow he’s been forgotten again, maybe he’ll just have to settle for moderate success though he should be huge.
> > FAIL of the Year Award
Lil Kim
When Rihanna first came out it was clear her label was molding her to be the new Beyonce in style, but Beyonce had only glowing things to say about her because obviously she was an inspiration to the than new artist. When Drake came out his style of the non-posing Hip Hop rapper was similar to Kanye’s early work, and Kanye never publicly demanded Drake pay his respects to him, he actually worked with him. Simply because both those artists are established and aren’t threatened by any newbies. Unfortunately Lil Kim obviously felt threatened by up and coming Hip Hop star Nicki Minaj which brings us to the biggest FAIL of the year.
Kim’s first initial argument about Nicki was a FAIL because when she asked her to “pay homage”, Nicki had already done so in interviews and photo shoots. When Nicki said nothing against the Queen Bee, Kim just kept at it doing various radio interviews carrying on the beef in the media but never putting her thoughts on wax, which is how these Rap Beefs usually work. So when Nicki finally responded on “Roman’s Revenge” which was released shortly before her “Pink Friday” album dropped, and a radio interview with Angie Martinez showed Nicki being logical, intelligent and even still paying respects to Kim. Than Kim desperately put together a lackluster response “Black Friday” which showed exactly why Nicki has taken her spot, her flow and delivery were boring and the lyrics weren’t very clever at all. And even worse, most of the things Kim uses to call Nicki out apply to her and her early career (the “buffoon” remarks, and the idea that Nicki slept her way to the top when we all know that’s Kim’s story) or were flat out delusional (“still running the game” — REALLY????). In the end “Pink Friday” is doing better than any Kim album already, and Nicki’s more mature approach to this “beef” will make her the winner in the long run.
> > Nicki Minaj Feature Verse of the Year
1. Kanye West “Monster”
2. Diddy Dirty Money “Hello Good Morning Remix”
3. Trey Songz “Bottoms Up”
4. Gyptian “Hold Yuh Remix”
5. Ludacris “My Chick Bad”
6. Lil Wayne “Knockout”
7. Young Money “Roger That”
8. DJ Khaled “All I Do Is Win Remix”
9. Jason Derulo “In My Head
10. Sean Garrett “Get It All”
> > New Artist of the Year
1. Nicki Minaj
2. Surfer Blood
3. Justin Bieber
4. J Cole
5. Bruno Mars
> > Biggest Disappointments of the Year
While none of these three albums are complete garbage, given the caliber of artists behind the releases most have high expectations, and all of these albums just fell short.
1. M.I.A. “/\/\/\Y/\”
2. Daft Punk “Tron”
3. Christina Aguilera“Bionic”
> > ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Picking the #1 album was difficult for me this year, and even as this is posted I’ll probably still have second thoughts about it. It’s definitely between two Hip Hop albums Drake’s “Thank Me Later” and Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”.
Drake “Thank Me Later”
Why it deserves the #1 spot: Drake’s album is perfectly cohesive, the tone and the style of each song blends effortlessly into the next. Even in concept the album tells the story of a man with dreams and watching his dreams come true. The ease at which he transitions from rapping to singing is also new and different and feels totally natural. And it also feels a little more relate-able to the listeners, and another genius thing each and every song has a verse for hardcore Hip Hop fans and one for his female listeners. A clever, complex, carefree album.
Why it should be #2:The drawback to giving this the #1 spot is, even though it takes a few risks with extended verses and the overall ambient feel of the album, it’s still very much a mainstream accessible album (thus the pandering to different sets of fans mentioned above).
Kanye West “My Beautiful Dark and Twisted Fantasy”
Why it deserves the #1 spot: “My Beautiful Dark and Twisted Fantasy” is definitely Kanye’s peak thus far, and he’s been a genius his whole career. The albums strength is that it embodies the different styles Kanye has mastered on his previous four albums, but elevates them and mixes them with classic instrumentation and sounds of rock, alternative, hip hop and R&B. Because of all the mixing the album could have gone terribly wrong, but it manages to never sound forced or overproduced. It just all feels perfect, and is truly a Hip Hop masterpiece because of all the elements working perfectly together.
Why it should be #2:There’s honestly a lot of clever word play here and he tackles some really deep and important issues. However the main selling point of Drake’s album is that it was cohesive in theme, it felt like a story. Kanye’s “Dark and Twisted Fantasy” while very cohesive as far as the musical arrangements and feel, is not so much cohesive in theme, there’s really no story there just random thoughts.Which I suppose is what a “Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” would feel like.
I’m going to give the #1 , pretty predictably since it’s the best reviewed album of the year, to Kanye. Both albums feel really classic, and though I instantly fell in love with “Thank Me Later” and still love it to this day, Kanye feels more like a piece of art, like his short video for “Power”, so much thought and work and creativity went into it feels more like a Masterpiece.
1. Kanye West “My Beautiful Dark and Twisted Fantasy”
2. Drake “Thank Me Later”
3. Broken Bells “Broken Bells”
4. John Legend & The Roots “Wake Up!”
5. Robyn“Body Talk”
6. Surfer Blood “Astro Coast”
7. Rihanna “Loud”
8. Janelle Monáe “TheArchAndroid
9. Erykah Badu“New Amerykah”
10. Toni Braxton“Pulse”
> > SINGLE OF THE YEAR
1. Katy Perry “Teenage Dream”
2. Kanye West featuring Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross and Bon Iver “Monster”
3. Rihanna featuring Drake “Whats My Name?”
4. Drake “Find Your Love”
5. B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars “Nothin on You”
6. Toni Braxton “Hands Tied”
7. Robyn “Dancing on my Own”
8. Sade “Soldier of Love”
8. Black Eyed Peas “Imma Be”
9. Neon Trees“Animal”
10. Kelly Rowland “Commander”
> >Guilty Pleasures of the Year
1. Ke$ha
She also gets my > > I Was Wrong Award because last year, when I hadn’t even heard “Tik Tok” in it’s entirety, I predicted the minimal talents of Ke$ha would wear thin once that song had faded out. Dam I was wrong, not that she became a real force to be reckoned with in the industry (her album releases and re-releases continue to flop — and her live performances are sub par to put it nicely), but she was able to get a few more hits using her auto-tuned, generic yet catchy songs. She became my #1 Guilty Pleasure late in the year, even though most of her songs sound the same and talk about the same stuff, who can deny her singles “Take it Off” “Your Love is My Drug” or “We R Who We R”. You hear her songs once and somehow they are stuck in your head. Still, other than catchy hooks and Whiskey references, Ke$ha doesn’t offer much else so we’ll have to see how things turn for her in 2011.
1. “Bed Intruder”
I don’t think anybody can watch this clip without having “Hide Ya Kids, Hide Ya Wife” or “run and tell dat Homeboy” stuck in their head afterwards. A shameful news clip is remixed into one of the most viewed videos, you wanna say SMH, but than you find yourself singing along and clapping to “We Gon Find You!”
2. Jay-Z and Beyonce performing “Young Forever”
Just too cute for words
3. Nicki Minaj’s Angie Martinez Interview
Listening to Nicki Minaj logically talk about whole Lil Kim situation, while still showing respect to one of her inspirations, shows just how immature and petty the older Kim is acting.
> > MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
1. M.I.A. “Born Free”
2. Jay-Z “On to the Next One” (tie) Rihanna “Rock Star 101”
1. Kanye West
By now, we all know that Kanye West is the most outspoken celebrity of late. And sometimes his outbursts were justified and Needed, but this year coming off his hiatus after the VMA controversy it seems that he didn’t learn a thing. He opened up a Twitter account and spouted random thoughts about clothing, traveling and Justin Bieber all leading up to the release of the best reviewed album of the year. And than things just got out of hand, firstly him feeling sorry for his 2005 comments about President Bush (the commander in chiefs apathy during a crisis and a controversy on a cable Awards show are NOT the same thing at all), than the Matt Lauer bust up. He now just comes off as a man who can never be happy about anything unless things are going 100% his way.
Kanye PLEASE STFU!!!! better yet, just put out music and don’t do any publicity. Let us appreciate the genius of your music without having your dickhead soundbytes to remind us what you’re really like.
> > Most OVERRATED Artist and Album of the Year
1. Eminem “Recovery”
Look, there’s no denying that Eminem can literally give us his worst and it’ll be better than most other rappers. He’s naturally gifted with a great flow and clever lyricism with his music, my only problem is he’s always the SAME Eminem. It never feels like he tries to do anything different, and really why should he when every time he drops an album he gets massive sales. This year, with the help of Rihanna and probably his biggest Pop hit “Love the Way You Lie”, he’s being hailed for an album that is really lackluster and very undeserving.
2. Bruno Mars “Doo Wops and Hooligans”
3. Monica “Still Standing”
> > Most OVERRATED Single of the Year
1. Bruno Mars “Just the Way You Are”
2. Eminem featuring Rihanna “Love the Way You Lie”
3. Far East Movement “Like a G6”
> > Most UNDERRATED Single of the Year
1. Kelly Rowland“Commander”
2. Maroon 5 “Misery”
3. Miguel “All I Want Is You”
> > Most UNDERRATED Album of the Year
1. Big Boi“Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty”
2. Toni Braxton“Pulse”
3. Kelis “Flesh Tone”
> > Best Career Move
Jennifer Lopez becoming a judge on “American Idol”
The new judging line up of “American Idol” was a pretty big deal this year, and Jennifer Lopez (who I called out last year) jumped on it. Securing a spot as one of the “esteemed” judging panel for 2011’s “American Idol” should prove well for her, she’s still a big star and much more so than Paula Abdul when she joined the first season of the show. If she plays her cards right, this could help any future film or music projects for her. The jury is still out on if people will watch without Simon, but I’m sure most are at least intrigued by the new judging
> > Worst Career Move
Chris Brown having a Twitter account
Chris has been hustling this year, trying to get his career back on track. Working on mixtapes and releasing singles and videos left and right even though he has no new album to promote. It’s been working, but it seems everytime anybody mentions his “incident” two years ago, he turns into a little child instead of doing the mature thing and not responding. His fans don’t seem to mind, but it’s not doing him any good in the mainstream eye which is who he needs to get back on his team the most.
> > COLOSSAL Flop of the Year
1. Christina Aguilera“Bionic”
Wow! From every angle you look at it, Christina Aguilera’s “Bionic” has to be the biggest flop the pop world has seen in years. And really who is to blame, well let’s start with the label RCA. The album feels like one half what Christina actually wanted the sound to be (experimental Indie/Electro on “Elastic Love” and the title track among a few others) and what the label wanted it to be for chart dominance (the dated sounding single “Not Myself Tonight” and annoying pop fodder “I Hate Boys” for example). Those two different directions made the album uneven, but there are a lot of successful albums that are even worse. A lot of her fans blame Perez Hilton for constantly saying her new look was similar to Lady GaGa’s, which in a lot of aspects (especially the “Not Myself Tonight” music video) was true — but acts like Beyonce, Usher and Nicki Minaj get called out for copying other artists and it didn’t hurt their sales. Who’s next to blame, well the artist herself. From her icy and impersonal interviews, to her classless, over-sung (and partially lipped) MTV Movie Award performance she just didn’t seem to make any smart decisions in the promotion. The final result was an album that fell out of the Billboard 200 within months, and a first single that couldn’t even pass the Top 20 mark with her follow up singles lingering in the bottom half of the Hot 100 (if at all).
Christina did end the year on a bit of a high note. Her acting debut “Burlesque” wasn’t a box office smash, but wasn’t a complete Flop and it ended up getting a few Golden Globe nominations, including one for a song she wrote for the soundtrack. Here’s hoping Christina follows up quickly and makes some new and unique decisions
about her music and promotion.
2. Ciara
Ciara also gets the > >You Poor Thing Award because she was the Flop of the Year last year. When she released her new “promo single” “You Got Me (Basic Instincts)” it seemed like she was on the right track because she was singing about what she did wrong in the previous era. Trying to be someone she’s not, and she promised to go back to her roots with the next album. Her single and video “Ride” were a step in the right direction, but than things started taking a down turn. BET banned her video (more on that later), and her album was pushed back several times while her songs were being leaked left and right (just like with the Fantasy Ride album). By the time her album did come out of nowhere in December with no promotion, it debuted at #43 with only around 30, 000 copies sold. OUCH!!!!
Her problem is the people behind her, to me it feels like somebody at her label is really out to ruin her career and are sabotaging her at every point. She needs to get away from those people and keep on grinding because she’s really capable of being a long lasting R&B artist, but after a while she might just stop trying. Poor Thing.
> > Trends that need to END!
1. The Dance Pop trend.
Please, it’s been the popular sound for too many years and now it’s just allowing people to be lazy. In both Production, and Lyrics. Compared to true dance music, the tracks are normally a diluted and repetitive generic version of Dance. And lyrically we’ve gotten to a place where we accept a song titled “Blah Blah Blah”. We need something new, and I have a feeling a more Island style is set to take over.
2. Re-Releases.
What used to be a clever marketing tool, is now clearly the proof that we are in a Singles oriented industry and the label heads don’t really care about whole albums. Artists might as well just follow Robyn’s idea of putting out short EP’s every few months, because aside from a few exceptions a Re-Release sort of cheapens the idea of putting together a cohesive full album, when in a few months your just going to scrap together some filler for a Re-Release only intended to promote 1 or 2 new songs.
3. Product Placement in Music Videos.
I understand artists nowadays have to get their money in unique ways, but too many Pop stars this year took the fun out of their videos by making them look too much like commercials. Ke$ha’s “We R Wo We R”, Lady GaGa’s “Telephone” and “Bad Romance” videos, and Christina Aguilera’s “Not Myself Tonight” stand out as big abusers of this crime. Hopefully in 2011 artists can at least find more clever ways of incorporating the products in their videos.