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grammy nominations

Grammy Predictions 2015- Album Of The Year

by Ryan Shea

Manhattan Digest, Grammy, Beyonce

 

When it comes to the music industry, the Grammy Awards still remain the Gold Medal when it comes to award achievement  for artists and musicians alike.  Last year’s saw newcomers like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Lorde take the top spots in the New Artist and Song of the Year Category, whereas perennial EDM megastars Daft Punk shocked many a music fans by winning the coveted Album Of The Year Grammy with “Random Access Memories”.  Now with another year in music about to close, and the Grammy Nominations out in less than a month, Manhattan Digest digest’s what will be nominated and who might be left in the dust in a year that was less than stellar to say the least.  With no major artists with the exception of Coldplay, Beyonce, Jason Aldean and Eminem releasing albums this year, the music industry was run by throwaway pop tracks and one hit wonders in the making (Sorry Meghan Trainor).  That being said, there were some stellar exceptions that I hope that Grammy’s notice and crown this year- some who are overdue, some who are new, and some who have been here before and deserve it again.  Today, we look at the potential noms for Album Of The Year.

Beyonce, Manhattan Digest
Credit to: HipHopDX

Album Of The Year at the Grammy’s can be tricky.  Sometimes they get it right (Mumford & Sons, Daft Punk, Adele) and sometimes we don’t know where they are coming from (Steely Dan, Herbie Hancock).  Sometimes, they miss the ball completely, like last year when Justin Timberlake didn’t even get nominated in a category that many people thought he would’ve won.  This year, the inevitable nominee and winner is simple- Beyonce.  Beyonce has been in this category before, losing a couple of years ago to Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” over her insanely good effort “I Am… Sasha Fierce”.  However, with her self titled debut this year, she really doesn’t have any competition as this album was one of the biggest music stories of the year.  With no one knowing it was coming out, she quietly released this on a cold December night and drove the album to platinum status in less than two weeks, and outselling her previous effort “4” shortly after.  The album spawned several huge singles (some will be discussed later), has insatiable duets with artists like Drake, Frank Ocean and her hubby Jay-Z and received generally positive feedback from fans and critics alike.  No doubt the winner in my mind.

Frozen Soundtrack, Frozen, Manhattan Digest
Credit to: Wikipedia

Others who could be huge contenders?  Obviously, The “Frozen” Soundtrack for many reasons.  Oscar winning, highest selling, songs parents and like minded people alike can’t get out of your head equal Grammy goodness.  This is the first soundtrack in several years though that really can be a strong contender in the main categories so be on the lookout for this to be nominated several times throughout the night.

Eminem, Manhattan Digest
Credit to: Pretty Much Amazing

Hip-Hop this year wasn’t exactly stellar whatsoever.  Last year had so many memorable people come out of the wood works with fantastic first efforts (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Kendrick Lamar) and icons who kept churning out some amazing tracks (Jay-Z, Kanye West).  The sad fact that the biggest star in hip hop this year may have been Iggy Azalea says a lot about that industry and hopefully there will be some recharge in 2015.  That being said, Eminem should no doubt be the 3rd nominee in this category with “The Marshall Mathers LP 2”.  As someone who grew up when Eminem was really at his peek in so many different ways, I find it fantastic that 15 years after we first heard “The Real Slim Shady” he is still incredibly relevant and hip with a younger crowd that is just discovering what an epic rapper and legend he is.  Whereas he had a better shot of winning this award years ago with “The Eminem Show” and the first Marshall Mathers LP” it would be a surprise if he was left out in this category.

Sam Smith, Manhattan Digest
Credit to: Wikipedia

The other two could be difficult to choose.  One new artist who has gained quite a huge following this year is Sam Smith, who broke through with his gold selling “In The Lonely Hour”.  A powerhouse on his own, Sam blasted through the charts with his first single “Stay With Me” as well as working with other fantastic artists such as Disclosure (“Latch”) and one of my favorite artists and tracks of the year, “Lalala” by Naughty Boy.  He is this year’s big British import, sort of the male Adele when it comes to the impact that he has had on the industry.  His music style is very eclectic, with tinges of pop, R&B and adult contemporary all mixed in one.  He’s a surefire lock for Best New Artist without a shadow of a doubt, however don’t be surprised if he is able to seep his way into the pivotal Album Of The Year category at the Grammy’s.

Coldplay, Manhattan Digest
Credit to: Wikipedia

Jack White’s “Lazaretto” seems poised to be the fifth and final nominee in this category.  Jack, mainly known for his epic band “The White Stripes” is no stranger to this category having being nominated two years ago for his effort “Blunderbuss”.  The 9 time Grammy Award winner’s Rock efforts paid off for him tend fold this past year, with “Lazaretto” receiving stellar reviews from the top publications and debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 Chart.  If Jack doesn’t get the lock for Album Of The Year don’t be surprised if Coldplay takes the fifth spot for “Ghost Stories“, which is one of the highest selling albums of this past year.  the 7 time Grammy Award winners lit up the charts this year with “Sky Full Of Stars” amongst other hits, and have been Grammy favorites in the past with “Clocks” winning Record Of The Year over ten years ago.  Don’t expect Coldplay to take this award but expect multiple nominations for both “Stars” and “Ghost Stories” for sure.

Who do you think will be nominated Check out the Grammy official website for more info.

Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC Tagged With: 2015 grammy nominations, adele, coldplay, daft punk, disclosure, eminem, grammy, grammy nominations, iggy azalea, Jack White, Jason Aldean, jay-z, kanye west, kendrick lamar, lazaretto, luke bryan, macklemore, meghan trainor, naughty boy, ryan lewis, sam smith

2014 Grammy Nominations- Shockers, Delights and Kendrick!

by Ryan Shea

The 2014 Grammy Nominations were announced live last night in Los Angeles at the annual “Grammy Nominations Special” they do each year, hosted by LL Cool J.  They had some pretty off the chain concerts from some of the biggest artists in the world, and it truly set the stage for a great night to come in February.  When I read the list of nominees this year, some I expected, some I was somewhat surprised on, and some I was insanely baffled that got left out.  Let’s break each category down and see what went right and what went really wrong.

Credit to: Mademonoire
Credit to: Mademonoire

Record Of They Year-

Lorde- “Royals”

Imagine Dragons- “Radioactive”

Robin Thicke Featuring TI & Pharrell Williams- “Blurred Lines”

Daft Punk Featuring Pharrell Williams- “Get Lucky”

Bruno Mars- “Locked Outta Heaven”

In my original prediction blog, I had four out of five right (Hooray for me) with Imagine Dragons as an “Honorable Mention” but definitely a contender.  Not surprised by any of these as they were all great nominees.  Justin could’ve made this category, but I will delve much further into that on the next one.  These five songs were really some of the biggest of the year, each of them representing a different genre of music in my opinion.  Lorde on that pop/alternative tip, Imagine Dragons are pure alternative, Robin Thicke as the R&B crooner, Daft Punk bringing in the EDM and Bruno Mars giving us straight soul.  This is going to be an interesting category of sorts because I don’t think there really is a clear cut winner here.  Moving along.

Credit to: Word Press
Credit to: Word Press

Album Of The Year-

Sara Bareilles- “The Blessed Unrest”

Daft Punk- “Random Access Memories”

Kendrick Lamar- “Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City”

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis- “The Heist”

Taylor Swift- “Red”

No Justin Timberlake in this category, I am beyond shocked about that.  I pegged “The 20/20 Experience” as winning this award beyond easily and I truthfully believe he was the biggest snub of the night.  Kind of sad when you have the biggest album of the year and you are left off such a crucial list.  I think Sara and Kendrick are the surprising nominees here, in a good way.  I thought Bruno Mars was a shoo in as well for “Unorthodox Jukebox” but I am somewhat glad to see him left off this list as I think Sara and Kendrick had stronger showings.  Not shocked by Macklemore, Taylor or Kendrick but for the sake of my sanity I pray that Taylor doesn’t win AOTY again because “Red” wasn’t really a strong showing.  It was a continuation of her last album, and I hope when she releases her new effort it has a bit of maturity to it.  This is a tough one to call right now, but if I had to be personal on this- KENDRICK.  Please.

Credit to: Replay The Track
Credit to: Replay The Track

Song Of The Year-

Pink & Nate Ruess- “Just Give Me A Reason”

Bruno Mars- “Locked Outta Heaven”

Katy Perry- “Roar”

Lorde- “Royals”

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Mary Lambert- “Same Love”

In my original article, I had three out of five right (Pink, Macklemore, Lorde).  Katy Perry wasn’t really on my radar, and this was the category I thought Sara Bareilles had a chance at with “Brave”, which Katy insanely ripped off for “Roar”.  I actually had Drake in this category for “Hold On We’re Going Home”,  a song he didn’t even get nominated for this year.  That to me is frustrating, as it is one of the best tracks of 2013, and its the same sentiment I felt two years ago when his song with Rihanna “Take Care” got snubbed as well.  This is a pretty standard list, so nothing too surprising.  They could’ve given Miley something in the main categories, especially for the teen voters, and “Wrecking Ball” is in fact a very well written song.  That being said, “Same Love” has got my vote.  The lyrics are incredible and if there is one award Macklemore & Ryan Lewis should win it is this one folks.

Credit to: Fansided
Credit to: Fansided

Best New Artist-

James Blake

Kacey Musgraves

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Ed Sheeran

Kendrick Lamar

Two out of five in my original predictions, with Macklemore and Kendrick easily getting nominated.  The others, I don’t really know how I feel about it.  First off, where the heck is Imagine Dragons and Lorde on this?  Ed Sheeran has been around for a while, so I don’t get why he is nominated this year and not last year.  I am beyond floored that Florida Georgia Line didn’t get ANY nominations, and I thought that they would be the perennial country nominee as well over Kacey, but I am glad to see she got in here.  The shocker here is EDM producer James Blake, who is following similar pathways with EDM being recognized in the main categories as Skrillex earned a Best New Artist nod last year.  Fun! won this last year, something that I thought was completely shit as it should’ve been Frank Ocean, but this is a pretty strong group across the board.  Best New Artist has proven to be an award that is never really cut and dry, and many artists that have won in recent years are the one you least expect (Bon Iver over Nicki Minaj, Esperanza Spalding over Justin Bieber).  So James Blake really is the odd one out in this.  Macklemore really isn’t a new artist in my opinion because he has been around a lot longer than people think, so once again I would love for Kendrick to take this one home.  Country nominees never win this award, so it really comes down to Kendrick and Macklemore in my opinion.

Check out the official Grammy website for all the nominees and keep checking on Manhattan Digest for our official prediction blogs in all the categories for months to come.  Congrats to all the nominees, especially Kendrick and my homegirl Kathy Griffin who got a sixth nomination for Best Comedy Album! 🙂

 

Filed Under: BREAKING NEWS, ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC Tagged With: 2014 grammys, bon iver, bruno mars, daft punk, esperanza spalding, Fun., grammy, grammy nominations, imagine dragons, jay-z, justin bieber, justin timberlake, kacey musgraves, Katy Perry, kendrick lamar, lorde, macklemore, miley cyrus, nate ruess, nicki minaj, pharrell williams, pink, radioactive, robin thicke, royals, ryan lewis, t.i., Taylor Swift

2014 Grammy Predictions- Song Of The Year

by Ryan Shea

Credit to: Parade
Credit to: Parade

Miley’s song could be nominated, folks. Be aware.

The announcement of the songs nominated for the 2014 Grammy Awards are only 18 days away at this point where they are set to be announced live on CBS the night of December 6th.  A tradition that they have been doing for a couple of years, the event will take place at 8/7 central, hosted by LL Cool J and featuring performers (and potential nominees) Drake, Macklemore and Keith Urban to name a few.  As exciting as the performances are themselves, millions of music fans and performers alike will be giddy with anticipation over who will be the actual nominees for next year’s biggest music event.  But who will be nominated in each category?

The award for “Song Of The Year” is different from “Record Of The Year” in that Song is awarded to its composers whereas Record can go to the performer and production team for that song.  To me, this award exemplifies the best written song of the year, the one that is different from the rest and really made you think about its lyrical content in order to win this type of award.  In recent years, this has been won by John Mayer’s “Daughters”, Adele & Paul Epworth’s “Rolling In The Deep” and the guys from Fun’s song “We Are Young” last year (Miguel’s “Adorn” should’ve won, in my opinion).  So who has the chance to win the award this year?  Take a look at who I think are some of the potential nominees.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert- “Same Love”(Written by: Ben Haggerty, Mary Lambert, Ryan Lewis & Curtis Mayfield).  I love it when an artist of this caliber comes and makes a song about marriage equality, especially when he is in an industry that is known for its overabundance of homophobia.  Written in particular about legalizing same sex marriage in Macklemore’s home state of Washington, the song does a simple yet extraordinary way of flowing lyrically why the use of the words “gay” and “faggot’ are truthfully wrong and why we should accept people as a whole no matter what their backgrounds are.  In my opinion, this has never been doing before hip-hop wise, and I give Macklemore a ton of credit for being brave enough to do this.  I also love that he has featured a ton of relatively unknowns on his album as he himself was practically one before the release of “Thrift Shop” in late 2012.  Just like he did with Thrift Shop (Wanz) and Can’t Hold Us (Ray Dalton) he features the beautifully gifted Mary Lambert on this track to add a soft yet powerful female element to the song.  Definitely the winner in my book here.

Miley Cyrus- “Wrecking Ball” (Written By: Henry Russell Walter, Sacha Skarbek, Stephan Moccio, Maureen Anne McDonald and Lukasz Gottwald).  Let’s keep it 100 here folks, this was the year of Miley.  We couldn’t escape her presence this year and say what you want about her but she does do a pretty good job at keeping us talking.  The second release off of her album “Bangerz” became known a bit more for its very controversial video than it did the actual song.  The song itself talks about the end of a relationship and the dealing of heartbreak at a young age (mainly this song is about Liam Hemsworth, whom she was engaged to until recently).  It is her best effort yet, in my opinion, and has a lot of raw energy and grit to her which is something that she hasn’t really done in the past, being all Disney and whatnot.  This song earned her her first number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and a permanent spot in our brains (for that video and other stuff) but more importantly in pop culture.  She ain’t Hannah Montana anymore that’s for sure.

Pink & Nate Ruess- “Just Give Me A Reason” (Written By: Pink, Jeff Bhasker & Nate Ruess).  It really drives me nuts that almost fifteen years into her career I still feel like Pink doesn’t get the recognition she deserves.  The third release off of her popular album “The Truth Above Love”, “Just Give Me A Reason” is another one of those amazing songs that talk about the woes of a relationship and how hard it is to hear the other person when you yourself are in a ton of pain that you can’t see your way out of.  Pink’s deep and low falsetto blends very well with Nate Ruess’ high-pitched vocals and makes this song that much more special.  Pink, who we usually see do songs from a more solo perspective, truly shines on this one and proves why even after all this time she is still one rocking chick.

Drake- “Hold On We’re Going Home” (Written By: Aubrey Graham, Noah Shebib, Majid Al Maskati and Jordan Ullman).  Something that I am still in shock about is the fact that Drake’s title track and album for “Take Care” didn’t get a single nomination in the main categories at last year’s Grammy’s, which is crap.  I am really pulling for this talented guy to be grab a nomination for this song on some type of level, because this is one of his best one’s he has put out thus far.  Blurring the lines of rapping and singing, the R&B crooner and hip-hop mainstay released this song second off of his very successful third album “Nothing Was The Same” to the delight of fans and critics.  A simple song about how he feels for his female counterpart, the song has been a hit on the charts and in the minds of many of his female fans as he continues on his path to being one of the greatest hip-hop artists today.

Lorde- “Royals” (Written by: Ella Yelich O’Connor & Joel Little).  I fucking love this song, forgive me for my language but I feel like that emphatic “FUCK” needs to be in there.  A surefire lock for a Best New Artist, this song is the anti “Bling Bling” and “Beemerz, Benz & Bentley’s”.  Meaning that she is aware of her background and upbringing and doesn’t have to sing about the jet set lifestyle in order to make it big in the industry, kind of like Sara Bareilles “Love Song” did with her tongue and cheek version of not writing a love song for her debut record.  I am really pulling for her in February and really in the future because she is definitely one to watch out for.

Honorable Mentions:

Justin Timberlake- “Mirrors”

Taylor Swift- “Red”

Bruno Mars- “Treasure”

Sara Bareilles- “Brave”

Imagine Dragons- “Radioactive”

Who do you think should and will be nominated?

 

Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC Tagged With: 2014 grammys, drake, grammy, grammy awards, grammy nominations, justin timberlake, macklemore, mary lambert, miley cyrus, nate ruess, pink, record, ryan lewis, sara bareilles, song, Taylor Swift

Grammy Predictions 2014: Best New Artist

by Ryan Shea

Manhattan, Manhattan Digest, Lorde, Grammy, Grammy Nominees

As award season has truly kicked into gear, many of us entertainment fans await with baited breath to see who is going to be nominated for each award show. The one that I particularly look forward to every year is The Grammy’s, which is set to take place in early February. This happens to be the biggest social networking event of the year, besting other award shows and even The Super Bowl.

Now with nominations expected to be announced on December 6th, I wanted to share with you my predictions on who is most likely to be nominated at next years ceremony. My first category is Best New Artist, an award that has gone to Adele, Maroon 5 and most recently Fun! (Something I truly don’t agree with). Here is who I think will be the 5 up for the big award this year.

Credit to: Wikipedia
Credit to: Wikipedia

Lorde- talk about a late in the game entry. The 16 year old New Zealand native blasted onto the scene in the late summer of 2013 with her hit “Royals” which has been at the top of the alternative charts as well as dethroning the current cockroach of pop Miley Cyrus’ song “Wrecking Ball”. Lorde has a great deep falsetto  and is reminiscent of everyone from Etta James to Amy Winehouse. A good contender in my books.

Credit to: HipHopDX
Credit to: HipHopDX

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis- The Grammys tend to nominate people who aren’t necessarily new in this category, yet if these two are eligible they are a shoo in to be nominated and I believe win. This will be their night unless JT has something to say. “The Heist” is an incredible effort by these two, churning out hits like “Same Love”, “Can’t Hold Us” and hrs pivotal “Thrift Shop”. Expect these two to take home Grammy gold that night.

Credit to MMusicMag
Credit to MMusicMag

Florida Georgia Line- the perennial country nominee but won’t win, they never do. FGL had quite the year with their platinum selling album “Here’s To The Good Times” which features their huge hit “Cruise”. The song became even bigger with the help from Grammy winning hip hop artist Nelly, whom in my opinion made the song that much better. Expect at least a win in the country portion for this song, but they are the long shot for this one. Sorry guys.

Credit to Wikipedia
Credit to Wikipedia

Imagine Dragons- Alternative is slowly making it’s way back into the mainstream thing, and this band has done a pretty great job in aiding that. Fueled by the biggest alternative song of the year “Radioactive” from the almost double platinum selling “Night Visions”, these guys plan on making a name for themselves on Grammy night. Expect “Radioactive” to be a huge contended in Record and Song of the year categories as well.

Credit to: XXLMag
Credit to: XXLMag

Kendrick Lamar- usually in the BNA category there is only one hip hop nominee, yet if they don’t nominate Kendrick they are fools. Dude is the best thing to happen to hip hop in a long freaking time and he deserves credit on Grammy night. “Good Kid M.A.A.D. City” is one of the best hip hop albums in a long time and I am really hoping that the nomination committee recognizes him in this category and many more.

Honorable Mentions-
Kacey Musgraves
Avicii
Ellie Goulding
Emeli Sande
Capital Cities

Who do you think will be nominated this year? Voice your thoughts and check out the official Grammy site for more info.

Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC, OPINION, REVIEWS Tagged With: 2014 grammy nominations, avicii, capital cities, ellie goulding, emeli sande, florida georgia line, grammy, grammy nominations, imagine dragons, kacey musgraves, kendrick lamar, lorde, macklemore, nelly, radioactive, royals, ryan lewis, same love, thrift shop

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