Happy Saturday, friends!
Now that I've successfully given my first keynote speech, I'm gearing up for the weekend that music enthusiasts like myself have been waiting for! Tomorrow at 8 PM EST, the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards will premiere on CBS, and this year's nominations have been quite the topic of discussion. To bring you up to speed for Sunday's festivities, I've recruited my homeboys Terron Moore and Gerald Obah to share their predictions on who will walk away with the big awards of the night!
And here we go!
Record of the Year (Nominees): 'Chandelier' - Sia; 'Fancy' - Iggy Azelea; 'Stay With Me' - Sam Smith; 'All About That Bass' - Megan Trainor; 'Shake It Off' - Taylor Swift
TM: This is so loathingly typical. It’s not that these songs aren’t all deserving, but they’re all so safe—specifically “All About that Bass,” “Fancy” and “Shake if Off.” The bolder, more adventurous tracks left are Sia’s “Chandelier” and Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me,” which should be battling it out for the year’s title. It’s a tough toss-up, but given the Grammy’s love of underdog Lorde last year, I’ve got a feeling that Sam Smith takes this. Still, would have liked to see “Drunk in Love” or even “Happy” in the fight here.
GO: First thought? All About that Bass can go. Sia started our year off with 'Chandelier', and who can say they don’t BELT that chorus everytime it comes on? 'Stay With Me' was a great record about something we don’t hear singers singing about too too much. 'Fancy' dominated the summer without question and is my pick to win this category. 'Shake It Off' is cute & definitely, but if we are talking about the title of the award being the record of the YEAR? Iggy and Charli XCX will be first time Grammy winners here. No record was bigger and the Clueless themed music video only amplified the success.
Song of the Year (Nominees): 'Take Me To Church' - Andrew Hozier; 'Chandelier' - Sia; 'Stay With Me' - Sam Smith; 'All About That Bass' - Megan Trainor; 'Shake It Off' - Taylor Swift
TM: Two key differences between Record and Song. 1) The award is given specifically to the songwriter, and 2) Other than switching out “Fancy” for Hozier’s “Take Me To Church,” the nominees are exactly the same. I still think it comes down to Sam Smith and Sia, two songs that weren’t just sonically resonant, but powerfully written. It’ll be extremely close, but word-for-word, I think Sia wrote the better song. (Yes, as far as the two big ones go, I’m calling shut-outs for Meghan Trainor and Taylor Swift. Cute noms, but I think the passing on Trainor in the Best New Artist category is a bad sign, and there is nothing noteworthy about “Shake It Off” in comparison to Swift’s previous, much better work.)
GO: I must remind you all that this is a songwriter’s award. In the case of all nominees, all are songwriters on their nominated songs. However, if Sia does not win this award something is wrong with NARAS. Shake It Off is a great song however the chorus is incredibly basic. Catchy? Yes – but it’s also basic. Sia has been writing for all of our faves for years and has not received a Golden Grammophone. It would be AH-MAY-ZING if her first award was for her own song as it’s incredibly well written while simultaneously having an earworm of a hook.
Album of the Year (Nominees) : Morning Phase — Beck; Beyoncé — Beyoncé; X — Ed Sheeran; In The Lonely Hour — Sam Smith; Girl — Pharrell Williams
TM: I’m so happy that Beyonce is in this category—not because of the way in which it dropped, but because it’s sonically her best album yet and the best-sounding album in recent memory. She has the longest list of producers, writers, engineers, etc. when it comes to her competition, and that roster is proof of the way she stretched her skills to make really innovative, forward-thinking music. For that, it deserves to win. But it won’t, because Sam Smith is in this category. It’s a little bold to predict a Smith sweep, but it’s just too obvious he’s this year’s Grammy darling.
GO: This category is all about one person here: Pharrell Williams. As anyone who listens to popular music can notice, Pharrell has producing credits on 'BEYONCE' as well as 'X', making him a 3 time nominee along with G I R L. He really cannot lose here. As far as what album should win, BEYONCE is the only answer here. 4 was wrongfully snubbed out of this category in 2012 so YAAASSSS for redemption. No album was more polarizing or had a bigger impact than BEYONCE, which dropped in the dead of the night this time last year. Spectacle aside, a lot of listeners deem this as her best body of work meaning it should win. If for some ridiculous reason BEYONCE doesn’t win, GIRL is an excellent body of work with strong singles as well as deep album cuts (See: Lost Queen for my fave.)
Best New Artist (Nominees): Iggy Azalea; Bastille; Brandy Clark; Haim; Sam Smith
TM: I hope Iggy Azalea doesn’t think she has a chance in this category, because she will not be winning it. This will either go to Bastille or Sam Smith. Who is Brandy Clark?
GO: This category is interesting because for starters, Brandy Clark is not new. She’s been writing for our country faves like Miranda Lambert for some time now. This is just like when Shelby Lynne won over Jill Scott, Sisqo, Brad Paisley & Papa Roach at the 2001 Grammys. Like she been doing this. Assuming that similar results don’t take place, I think this will go to Sam Smith. Bastille dominated top 40 radio and Haim is a solid up and comer, but this is Sam Smith’s award.
Best Pop Solo Performance (Nominees): 'All Of Me' (Live) - John Legend; 'Chandelier' - Sia; 'Stay With Me' (Darkchild Version - Sam Smith; 'Shake It Off' - Taylor Swift; 'Happy' (Live) - Pharrell Williams
TM: “Chandelier.” There, that was easy.
GO: I didn’t know that John Legend was a Pop Star? I get that this was serviced to Top 40 and SMANGED it pero no. However, John Legend SLAYS live please believe. If Taylor Swift were to win her 8th Grammy award in 2015, this is the category. Her transformation (years in the making) into a bonafide Pop SUPERSTAR was met with such warm reception and that is thanks to this earworm of a song with a hidden message to shake them haters off! This is pure pop gold.