The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards

[emi♡]

I expect the next Ayu pop song to sound like Express yourself.

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

I WOULD KILL FOR THAT

[jbrat2219]

I should probably ask this in another thread but... doesn't Ayu already kind of have an anthem song...? What would you guys consider it to be? For some reason for me, it's BOLD & DELICIOUS xD;

[ストロボ・EdGE]

Originally Posted by jbrat2219

I should probably ask this in another thread but... doesn't Ayu already kind of have an anthem song...? What would you guys consider it to be? For some reason for me, it's BOLD & DELICIOUS xD;

Born to be... for sure.

[hsienko]

Originally Posted by ストロボ・EdGE

Born to be... for sure.

If it was any song it would be that.

[primavera♥]

i enjoyed the grammys...

esperanza spalding is cool and all...great artist...but like...i think i shared the same opinion as Kanye West on that one (he tweeted throughout the whole show...quite entertaining)

like i wouldnt even have minded bieber winning...and my preference would have been Drake...was Mumford and Sons nominated for that too?
really. its just, knowing other artists whove gotten that award, esperanza doesnt fit. but at least i like her.

yeah i think some of the awards just killed me but hey...music taste is too subjective for any of them to be "right" imo...

still i enjoyed the show. good performances. great great great ..i just cant wait til the Killers get back and release something awesome so they can win something

[DA1SUK1DAY01691]

I just looked it up:

-Record Of The Year goes to everyone who participated in a particular song—artist, producer, record engineer, and arranger. In this case, the artist can say they actually won the statue.

-Song Of The Year goes to the songwriters themselves—for example, if Morning Musume were to win Song Of The Year for almost any of their songs, the award would go to Tsunku and whoever else helped him compose/arrange it. In this case, the artist technically can't say the won the statue.

-----

I'll leave what I wrote on my Tumblr regarding the Esperanza Spalding win in this spoiler (be cautioned, it's quite lengthy):

Spoiler:

I don’t think I need to introduce Esperanza Spalding anymore—a high-ranking trend on Google search and Twitter, plus the defacing of her Wikipedia profile, tells me people know her enough for me not to do a whole profile on her. But basically, she’s a very successful jazz musician at the ripe age of 26, has released three albums, and has been embraced by Prince and President Obama.

But the majority of the American public, including me, didn’t know who she was until her name was not only announced as a Grammy nominee two months ago, and announced as the winner of the Best New Artist award last night. Even the overwhelmed Spalding didn’t think she had a chance against favorites Justin Bieber and Drake, along with British favorites Florence and the Machine and Mumford and Sons.

Since then, there have been comments—ranging from the not-so-nice to the downright nasty—made about her win. For example, “no one heard of her before, so why should she win?” or “JUSTIN BIEBER DESERVED IT GO DIE IN A HOLE” (I’m not too sure what was exactly written and there are many other sources on the internet, as well as Wikipedia itself, where you can go find out what was written verbatim), as well as some critics’ belief that Justin Bieber had a phenomenal year sales and popularity-wise, and that’s what the award should merit.

I’m not putting Bieber down, because I get what he has to offer and the fact he took not only the US but the world by storm, and I’m certainly not saying anyone is wrong for having the viewpoints they have. They’re valid points: Justin Bieber has had a phenomenal year, and had they judged based on sales and popularity, there’s no doubt in my mind that statuette would have gone to him.

However, I don’t think the Academy wanted to bestow its award on a phenomenon—anyone remember the Milli Vanilli fiasco? I’m not saying Justin Bieber doesn’t sing his own music, but I think the Academy knows better than to award huge phenomenons now.

Taking a look at this list, it’s a pretty prestigious award to receive, and although many on the left are totally deserving of it, there’s also a lot of artists/groups on the right which have equally deserved it as well—people like Duffy, Shania Twain, Seal, Elton John, Led Zepplin, Chicago, all of them didn’t receive the award their years. I don’t know if Justin Bieber is really up at this level, as only time will tell, but let’s remember other artists like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, The Jonas Brothers, and Chris Brown have been nominated and have either dipped or is dipping in popularity (Britney is on the rise, but there were times where her career almost hit the floor).

But this year, I think the Academy made the right choice with their pick of Esperanza Spalding. I know, and like, the other four nominees, but after exposing myself to Esperanza’s works and taking in what she has to offer, as well as reading up on her, there wasn’t a better choice than her.

Albeit slightly unconventional in her choices (she received her GED at 16, while most parents tend to have their children finish high school for heir diploma), Esperanza is an inspiration to many aspiring to be musicians because of how normal she seems to be—her primary contact and catalyst to learn music was from watching Yo Yo Ma on Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood. She was self-disciplined and was able to learn a plethora of musical instruments, and is also well-cultured, shown by her appreciation for Brazilian music and her ability to sing not only in English but in Spanish and Portuguese as well. The prodigy and specialness only comes through after her high school years—she became the youngest bassist in Portland State’s history, and also became the youngest instructor at Berklee College, being hired after her graduation at 20 years of age.

I think she has the whole package: she’s attractive; she’s well-rounded with her ability to sing, compose, and play a variety of instruments; and has what seems to be an amazingly humble, respectable personality. Of course I’m not saying I liked her straightaway—I had trouble with her music at first because it was that different from the mainstream. But after giving her a couple songs, she totally won me over with her relaxing instrumentals and phenomenal voice; if I were to compare her voice, it has an Adele-like soulfulness, but is a pitch or so higher. She has a unique voice, and it’s absolutely amazing, especially in one of my favorites lyrically and musically, Precious (live from Letterman in 2009). Can I just say not only does it sound just like the studio version, but it sounds better?

Of course, having her play in a genre not many people are exposed to will be a huge obstacle to overcome for her, but there’s no way she’s undeserving of the title of Best New Artist. Justin Bieber may have the popularity and phenomenon, but Esperanza Spalding definitely has the talent; the comments at the end of the Precious performance say it all.

I dig her, and I hope you do, too.

In regards to Gaga's performance, I kind of enjoyed it, but now that I'm listening to Express Yourself by Madonna, Born This Way does sound eerily like it...

And can I just say, Katy Perry deserved some kind of award if her performance on Sunday were the ruler to measure her worth by—she smashed it with her beginning song Not Like The Movies, as well as using the footage from her marriage to Russell Brand. I think whatever doubt anyone had in regards to her vocal ability should have been utterly shattered based on that performance.

[Andrenekoi]

^I watched it and still think she needs tons of vocal lessons if she will keep calling herself a singer...

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

Katy Perry is great, but she's one of those singers who sound better in their recorded songs than live

[JackieRos]

I hate Perry
Aww the Bieber wanted to win

[hsienko]

Originally Posted by SURREAL__RAINBOW

Katy Perry is great, but she's one of those singers who sound better in their recorded songs than live

Yeah I like her and I listen to her music but the girl should definitely invest in some singing lessons. She has a good voice she just doesn't know how to use it.

[AyUta]

I've never even heard of esperalda spalding...I was so surprised when she beat beiber. beiber looked all O_O in the short shot they showed of him.

[JackieRos]

he was like YES I'M GOING TO WIN!
and then he was like WTF!
Usher was like YOU GONNA WIN BRO
and then he was like O.o