62ND GRAMMY AWARDS: THE GOOD, THE BAD (GUY) & THE UGLY

Let’s be real, does anyone care about The Grammys anymore? While I definitely think it’s fun to participate in the discussion, I think it’s pretty much universally understood that the prestige behind The Grammys has gone downhill in the past few years. It definitely doesn’t help that the academy is facing a lot of controversy this year after the CEO, Deborah Dugan, was fired. She has been claiming since that she was fired after trying to make a lot of changes, and ultimately resulted in her “filing a discrimination complaint against the academy Tuesday alleging unlawful gender discrimination, sexual harassment, unlawful retaliation and unequal pay,” according to USA Today.

Of course, the show is going to continue on with no mention of these issues, and that’s not surprising. It definitely helps that the tragic news of Kobe Bryant’s death happened just a few hours before and is a huge piece for the producers to work into the show to avoid other distractions (not saying this is a good tactic, just the truth).

Regardless of these issues at hand, I am a music person, so of course, I tuned into “the biggest night in music.” Check out my full thoughts on the THREE AND A HALF HOUR SHOW (dear god) including the 10 nominations I made predictions for. All in all, I was pretty accurate: I predicted Billie would win nearly everything she was nominated for (and she won 5 of those 6).

The Good: 

• Lizzo opening the show was a blast. Though I’ve been a fan of hers for a while, I was always a bit unsure of her live vocals. Last year, I watched the live stream of her set at Coachella and wasn’t too enthralled. I saw her live in August and enjoyed it, but wasn’t entirely blown away.  However, I definitely think she has gotten better at controlling her vocals and figuring out the right breathing routine for her live set since she has so much dancing—and flute-playing—involved. I can’t even imagine how sick she is of singing “Truth Hurts.”
• It’s interesting to see that the Jonas Brothers are finally getting recognition for their music when they were never apart of the Grammys narrative for the majority of their career (only nominated for Best New Artist in 2009). Does this mean that we appreciate their relaunched their career or we are running out of people to nominate? (We really aren’t “running out” when you look at the scene in its entirety, but maybe not what is considered to be successful in the mainstream).
• I absolutely LOVED Tyler The Creator’s performance and as I type this about halfway through the show, I wonder if anyone’s going to top that.
• Lil Nas X and BTS were so much fun!
• Y’all, I have so many mixed feelings about Demi Lovato but I really admire her perseverance through her struggles and to see her come back and perform an incredibly personal song was really inspiring to see. Plus homegirl has PIPES.
• I love H.E.R. so much and think she is so unbelievably talented.

The Bad:

• I saw Ariana Grande at Lollapalooza and had mix feelings about it (and her) overall I just didn’t care for her Grammys performance. The beginning was fine but 7 Rings – not a fan. She doesn’t seem remotely interested whenever she’s performing so why should I be?
• I feel like this year’s show had far more performances than usual and way fewer awards being given out during the actual show. And A LOT of the performances were irrelevant IMO.
• As I type this, Song of The Year has not been awarded yet. Regardless, I leave this tweet here.
• Camila Cabello. I just can’t with her anymore. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
• I wish Brittany Howard had her own moment to shine instead of a short appearance with Alicia Keys. Did we really need a performance from her?

The Ugly:

• That Prince tribute…woof. FKA Twigs is arguably one of the most talented musicians in the game right now and though I LOVED that she really got on a pole at the FREAKING GRAMMYS, they really wasted her talent by not letting her sing.  There has been three Grammy award shows since Prince died – thanks to Joe Coscarelli from the New York Times for mentioning. Is this an attempt to hold onto the past and keep it at the forefront of the Grammys?
• Aerosmith. Who is watching this awards show this that wants to see Aerosmith? Weird combo w/ Run DMC.
• Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton. Looks like Gwen stopped appropriating Asian culture and is now onto country music. **MIC DROP**
• I didn’t expect Taylor to take anything home for Lover, but held a sliver of hope.

Check out the list of winners of the major awards below. The noms in blue are the winners.

RECORD OF THE YEAR

Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s), if other than the artist.

• “Hey, Ma” Bon Iver / BJ Burton, Brad Cook, Chris Messina & Justin Vernon, producers; BJ Burton, Zach Hanson & Chris Messina, engineers/mixers; Greg Calbi, mastering engineer
• “Bad Guy” / Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell, producer; Rob Kinelski & Finneas O’Connell, engineers/mixers; John Greenham, mastering engineer
• “7 Rings” / Ariana Grande, Charles Anderson, Tommy Brown, Michael Foster & Victoria Monet, producers; Serban Ghenea, John Hanes, Billy Hickey & Brendan Morawski, engineers/mixers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
• “Hard Place” / H.E.R., Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, producer; Joseph Hurtado, Jaycen Joshua, Derek Keota & Miki Tsutsumi, engineers/mixers; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer
• “Talk” / Khalid, Disclosure & Denis Kosiak, producers; Ingmar Carlson, Jon Castelli, Josh Deguzman, John Kercy, Denis Kosiak, Guy Lawrence & Michael Romero, engineers/mixers; Dale Becker, mastering engineer
• “Old Town Road” / Lil Nas X Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, Andrew “VoxGod” Bolooki,  Jocelyn “Jozzy” Donald & YoungKio, producers; Andrew “VoxGod” Bolooki, Cinco & Joe Grasso, engineers/mixers; Eric Lagg, mastering engineer
• “Truth Hurts” / Lizzo, Ricky Reed & Tele, producers; Chris Galland, Manny Marroquin & Ethan Shumaker, engineers/mixers; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
• “Sunflower” / Post Malone & Swae Lee, Louis Bell & Carter Lang, producers; Louis Bell & Manny Marroquin, engineers/mixers; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer

My guess: “Bad Guy”

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Award to Artist(s) and to Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), Mixer(s) and Mastering Engineer(s) credited with at least 33% playing time of the album, if other than Artist.

• I, I / Bon Iver, Brad Cook, Chris Messina & Justin Vernon, producers; Zach Hanson & Chris Messina, engineers/mixers; BJ Burton, Brad Cook & Justin Vernon, songwriters; Greg Calbi, mastering engineer
• Norman F****** Rockwell! / Lana Del Rey, Jack Antonoff & Lana Del Rey, producers; Jack Antonoff & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Jack Antonoff & Lana Del Rey, songwriters; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
• When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? / Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell, producer; Rob Kinelski & Finneas O’Connell, engineers/mixers; Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters; John Greenham, mastering engineer
• Thank U, Next / Ariana Grande, Tommy Brown, Ilya, Max Martin & Victoria Monet, producers; Serban Ghenea, Sam Holland & Brendan Morawski, engineers/mixers; Tommy Brown, Ariana Grande, Savan Kotecha, Max Martin, Victoria Monet, Tayla Parx & Ilya Salmanzadeh, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
• I Used To Know Her / H.E.R., David “Swagg R’Celious” Harris, H.E.R., Walter Jones & Jeff Robinson, producers; Miki Tsutsumi, engineer/mixer; Sam Ashworth, Jeff “Gitty” Gitelman, David “Swagg R’Celious” Harris & H.E.R., songwriters; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer
• 7 / Lil Nas X, Joe Grasso, engineer/mixer; Montero Lamar Hill, songwriter; Eric Lagg, mastering engineer
• Cuz I Love You (Deluxe) / Lizzo, Ricky Reed, producer; Manny Marroquin & Ethan Shumaker, engineers/mixers; Eric Frederic & Melissa Jefferson, songwriters; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
• Father Of The Bride / Vampire Weekend, Ezra Koenig & Ariel Rechtshaid, producers; John DeBold, Chris Kasych, Takemasa Kosaka, Ariel Rechtshaid & Hiroya Takayama, engineers/mixers; Ezra Koenig, songwriter; Emily Lazar, mastering engineer

My guess: WWAFAWDWG? or NFR

SONG OF THE YEAR

A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

• “Always Remember Us This Way” / Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey & Lori McKenna, songwriters (Lady Gaga)
• “Bad Guy” / Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
• “Bring My Flowers Now” / Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth & Tanya Tucker, songwriters (Tanya Tucker)
• “Hard Place” / Ruby Amanfu, Sam Ashworth, D. Arcelious Harris, H.E.R. & Rodney Jerkins, songwriters (H.E.R.)
• “Lover” / Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)
• “Norman Fucking Rockwell” / Jack Antonoff & Lana Del Rey, songwriters (Lana Del Rey)

My guess: “Bad Guy”

BEST NEW ARTIST

An artist will be considered for Best New Artist if their eligibility year release/s achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape.

• Black Pumas
• Billie Eilish
• Lil Nas X
• Lizzo
• Maggie Rogers
• Rosalía
• Tank And The Bangas
• Yola

My guess: Billie Eilish

BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE

For new vocal or instrumental pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.

• “Spirit” / Beyoncé
• “Bad Guy” / Billie Eilish
• “7 Rings” / Ariana Grande
• “Truth Hurts” / Lizzo
• “You Need To Calm Down” / Taylor Swift

My guess: “Truth Hurts”

BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE

For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.

• “Boyfriend” / Ariana Grande & Social House
• “Sucker” / Jonas Brothers
• “Old Town Road” / Lil Nas X Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
• “Sunflower” / Post Malone & Swae Lee
• “Señorita” / Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello

My guess: “Sunflower” or “Señorita”

BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM

For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new vocal pop recordings.

• The Lion King: The Gift / Beyoncé
• When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? / Billie Eilish
• Thank U, Next / Ariana Grande
• No. 6 Collaborations Project / Ed Sheeran
• Lover / Taylor Swift

My guess: When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?

BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE

For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative rock recordings.

• “Pretty Waste” / Bones UK
• “This Land” / Gary Clark Jr.
• “History Repeats” / Brittany Howard
• “Woman” / Karen O & Danger Mouse
• “Too Bad” / Rival Sons

My guess: “History Repeats”

BEST ROCK SONG

A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Rock, Hard Rock and Metal songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

• “Fear Inoculum” / Danny Carey, Justin Chancellor, Adam Jones & Maynard James Keenan, songwriters (Tool)
• “Give Yourself A Try” / George Daniel, Adam Hann, Matthew Healy & Ross MacDonald, songwriters (The 1975)
• “Harmony Hall” / Ezra Koenig, songwriter (Vampire Weekend)
• “History Repeats” / Brittany Howard, songwriter (Brittany Howard)
• “This Land” / Gary Clark Jr., songwriter (Gary Clark Jr.)

My guess: “History Repeats”

BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM

Vocal or Instrumental.

• U.F.O.F. / Big Thief
• Assume Form / James Blake
• I, I / Bon Iver
• Father Of The Bride / Vampire Weekend
• Anima / Thom Yorke

My guess: Father Of The Bride

Amount of guesses I got correct – 7/10