Monday, February 11, 2013

2013 Grammy Awards

I get giddy and excited about the Grammy Awards the way most people do about the Superbowl. It is my favorite night of television. I love to see music being celebrated and my favorite artists being honored for their work.

The past few years have been a little disappointing- but last night was one of the best Grammy nights I can ever remember. It was full of GOOD music. And when I say good I mean real, raw music. Less gimmicks and less auto tune and more instruments and raw voices. It made me so happy to hear strong singers, singing songs that THEY wrote, without much of a spectacle. Let me break it down this way...

The Performances

Taylor Swift
Taylor kicked off the night with an Alice In Wonderland-esque performance of her hit "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together". It was fun, creative and energetic. She looked confident and sassy, especially when delivering the line "So he calls me up and he's like 'I still love you" with a British accent, clearly mocking her ex Harry Styles. Immature? Maybe. Awesome? Yes. Way to go Tay Tay.

Elton John and Ed Sheeran
When I heard that they were performing together, I was a bit skeptical. They proved me wrong. It was a perfect pairing. "A Team" is a fabulous song all by itself, but Ed proved not only can he sing the hell out of it live, but he can harmonize with Sir Elton John. Pretty impressive.

Fun.
Fun. performed my favorite song off their album, "Carry On". They are a great band- Nate did not sound his absolute best last night, but they get major props for the rain on stage and just the fact that they are real artists who write their own music and play instruments.

Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley
This was really the only performance of the night that I could have done without. Miranda is gorgeous, and that "Over You" song is flawless, but together they didn't sound too great.

Miguel and Wiz Khalifa
Kelly Clarkson said it best when she said "Miguel I don't know who you are but that was the sexiest damn thing I've ever seen". I don't know him either, but wow that boy can sing! It made me want to know who he is and go check out his music. And Wiz is Wiz.

Mumford and Sons
One of my very favorite bands, Mumford and Sons performed their banjo heavy hit "I Will Wait". I was rocking out just as hard as Taylor Swift was- how can you not? It's a catchy tune and those boys can sing. Once again, it's refreshing to have people who actually write and play their own music.  Probably my favorite performance of the night, honestly, besides Kelly. Duh.

Justin Timberlake
I can't properly dissect this performance because I'm still trying to catch my breath from giggling, fangirling, and dancing. All I have to say is #morejt , please. Now. But seriously, this was amazing, I like how he is doing the old school thing even though Bruno Mars has already beat him to it, and if there was ever a doubt, I assure you he definatley brought sexy back.

Alicia Keys and Maroon 5
Or shall I saw- Alicia Keys and Adam Levine. Seriously, does anyone else feel sorry for the rest of Maroon 5?  Anyways, "Daylight" was great, although Alicia out sang Adam on his own song. "Girl On Fire" is that one song that everyone is sick of hearing, but Alicia jamming on the drums was pretty awesome.

Rihanna and Mikky Ekko
Rihanna performed her song "Stay" which is pretty obviously about Chris Brown, right? It was a beautiful, emotional performance and Rih looked stunning. I like that song and the lyrics, but I hate her situation. It's like okay Rihanna we know you want him to stay. We get it. But the rest of us want him to leave. He's kind of a jerk. I will say I was pretty happy we got this side of Rihanna for once. Oh, and Mikky Ekko accompanied her so well. What a smooth voice.

The Black Keys
YES. They are fabulous and gritty and everything I love about a good song. Wonderful performance of "Lonely Boy". No other words here other than- they are GOOD.

Kelly Clarkson
At first I was a little sad because she wasn't performing "Stronger", which was nominated for a ton of awards last night, but her tribute to Patti Page and Carole King was FLAWLESS. She absolutely killed it. Her voice was strong. Really strong. And she always looks like she's barely even trying. Like she just opens her mouth and magic comes out. Fantastic.

Bob Marley Tribute with Bruno Mars, Sting, and Rihanna.
Except it wasn't really a Bob Marley tribute until the very end. But Bru Bru kicked things off with "Locked Out of Heaven" and sounded amazing as usual- I love his voice and the way he performs. Sting joined him on stage for "Walking on the Moon" and THEN Rihanna and Ziggy Marley come out for "Could You Be Love". The best part of this whole tribute, besides the amazing vocals and Bruno Marks shaking his hips like Shakria, were the cuts to the audience. EVERYONE was jammin- even Nicole Kidman. Such a fun performance.

The Lumineers
Is there anyone on this planet who doesn't love that sweet "Ho Hey" diddy? I love The Lumineers and was pulling for them to win Best New Artist. Cute song, cute band, good music. Enough said.

Jack White
I'm not a huge rock fan, but this was pretty amazing. That dude can sing in ways most people cannot even imagine. It got a little scary towards the end, but overall a solid performance.

Carrie Underwood
"Blown Away" is one of my favorite songs of the year. The lyrics and production of that tune are just amazing. And Carrie's voice is, obviously, amazing. She also sang "Two Black Cadillacs" while a laser light show was happening on her dress. I kept trying to guess what the shapes were. At one point I yelled "IS THAT A DRAGON?". Way to represent Idol, Carrie, and way to sing the hell out of those songs.

A Tribute to Levon Helm. Elton John, Zac Brown, T Bone Burnett, Mavis Staples, Mumford and Sons, Brittany Howard perform “The Weight” by The Band.
So Brittany Howard is a beast. That's what I learned last night. I have recently learned about her band Alabama Shakes and I very quickly become a fan. Her voice is incredible. Also, this tribute worked really well. It was pretty inspiring to see all those artists up there singing their hearts out.

Juanes
Although I don't know this dude or his stuff, I don't want to leave him out, because he performed this beautiful cover of Elton John's "Your Song"- some English, some Spanish. It was gorgeous. Props to you, Juanes!

Frank Ocean
So here's my thing with Frank Ocean. His songs are genius. Seriously. He takes metaphors and words and phrases and mashed them all together to write these beautiful, creative songs that will blow your mind if you're reading the lyrics. But as a live performer, his voice doesn't match up. Wonderful song, poor performance vocally.

The Awards (That I care About)

Best Country Album
My Pick: Zac Brown Band "Uncaged"
Winner: Zac Brown Band "Uncaged"
If you haven't jumped on the Zac Brown Band train yet, it's about time you do. These country boys have soul and talent for days.

Best Country Song
My Pick: Carrie Underwood "Blown Away"
Winner: Carrie Underwood "Blown Away"
Download. it. now.

Best Rap Album
My Pick: Drake "Take Care"
Winner: Drake "Take Care"
Okay, so maybe this was the only rap album of the ones nominated that I own, but it's darn good.

Pop Vocal Album
My Pick: Kelly Clarkson "Stronger"
Winner: Kelly Clarkson "Stronger"
I wish I could explain to you how happy I felt when she won. I screamed so loud my neighbors probably thought I was being robbed. That album is pop perfection, so it was so deserving of this award. And now we must talk about how adorable her acceptance speech was. First of all she hugged like everyone in the audience as she passed them, got stuck to Miranda Lambert, and then ran to the stage. It was clear she really didn't think she was going to win, either, but she's adorable and humble. I'm so proud.

Record Of The Year
My Pick: Kelly Clarkson "Stronger"
Winner: Gotye "Somebody I Used To Know"
I'm glad Gotye won for that song- it was everywhere, I still get excited when I hear it, and it's a terrific song. But I was pulling for my girl Kelly for producing everyone's anthem for 2012.

Song Of The Year
My Pick: Ed Sheeran "The A Team"
Winner: Fun "We Are Young"
I'm happy for Fun. and all the success they have gained with their new material, but A Team is such a beautiful, haunting song.

Best New Artist
My Pick: The Lumineers
Winner: Fun
I'm really happy for Fun (I keep saying that). But they have been around FOREVER. And by forever I mean 12 years, but still, a long time. They used to be called the Format and I have been listening to them since 2003. They made a few changes, swapped out some guys, became Fun, had their song featured on Glee and now they are EVERYWHERE and "new". I thought The Lumineers were more deserving of the "new" category. But oh well. I guess "new artist" never really means new.

Album Of The Year
My Pick: Mumford and Sons "Babel"
Winner: Mumford and Sons "Babel"
YES. YES. YES. They are so deserving of this award. Babel is a flawless album.

Sidenote....Arists who were rigged
Jason Mraz, Pink, and Alex Clare. Cmon. They had some darn good music this year. Where were their nominations?

Overall, a wonderful night for music. What were your favorite performances?

Also, here is the best acceptance speech ever...

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ericafutterman/kelly-clarkson-gives-most-adorable-grammys-acceptance-speech

1 comment:

Shari said... Add Reply

I cheered so loudly when KC won that you'd think she was a personal friend or something. So excited for her!!