THE GRAMMY’S ARE TODAY! If you don’t know by now I am a huge award show fan. Why you ask? Well other than the fact that I love entertainment, I think its great to be able to recognize not only artists success but also various achievements in the music industry. Instead of posting my predictions for the Grammy’s (the list would be way too long, 109 categories in 29 fields) I decided I would post who I would like to see win in the four main categories of the show. These four awards are great not only because the represent the best of the year but they also are not restricted by genre.
Album of the Year
I Am… Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé
The E.N.D., The Black Eyed Peas
The Fame, Lady Gaga
Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux Kings, Dave Matthews Band
Fearless, Taylor Swift
Lets face it, love her or not Lady Gaga was everywhere in 2009. The Fame has been on the Billboard 200 charts for 65 weeks now and still holds the number 3 position! On top of that the album has gone 2x platinum and has sold over 8 million copies. Lastly the album produced 4 hit singles, with “Poker Face” and “Just Dance” ranking 2nd and 3rd on Billboard’s Hot 100 year end chart. Taylor Swift may have sold the most albums in 2009 but my vote goes to Gaga.
Record of the Year
“Halo,” Beyoncé
“I Gotta Feeling,” The Black Eyed Peas
“Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon
“Poker Face,” Lady Gaga
“You Belong With Me,” Taylor Swift
When I was younger I always got confused as to the difference between Record and Song of the Year. Record of the Year goes to the artist and producer of a particular song. It is the recording of the song and not the song itself. This award usually goes to the most successful song of the year. In terms of the charts “Poker Face” was the most successful song based on radio airplay. However the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” spent and impressive 14 weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Based on my dislike for the Peas, I am also rooting for Gaga to win Record of the Year. Plus this past year no one could escape the infectious robotic hook of “Poker Face.”
Song of the Year
“Poker Face,” Lady Gaga
“Pretty Wings,” Maxwell
“Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It),” Beyoncé
“Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon
“You Belong With Me,” Taylor Swift
Song of the Year is awarded to the songwriter who actually created the song. This award has nothing to do with the recording but instead for the individual song written. With past winners such as Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” and U2′s “Beautiful Day” I feel like “Use Somebody” would be a good fit. The other nominees, excluding Maxwell, songs sure are catchy but not very substantial lyrically. While many critics predict a “Single Ladies” win, I am pulling for Kings of Leon.
Best New Artist
Zac Brown Band
Keri Hilson
MGMT
Silversun Pickups
The Ting Tings
While I am not expecting a win for MGMT, I truly believe they deserve it. Their album, Oracular Spectacular, was one of my favorites this year. The album was ranked by Rolling Stone as the 18th Best Album of the Decade. Additionally the albums two big hits “Time to Pretend” and “Kids” were ranked 11th and 46th respectively as the Best Songs of the Decade.
