A month from tomorrow will be “Music’s Biggest Night”, in other words the 2016 Grammy Awards. The award show will be taking place in its usual location, The Staples Center in Los Angeles, with its usual host of the festivities, rap legend LL Cool J, to hold it down for over three hours of music, madness, pandemonium, winners and Kanye acting a fool. Question is though, who is going to win, and who should win in the four main categories of the night? (Record, Album, Song, New Artist). We here at Manhattan Digest break down the will and the should come Grammy night. Who do you think will take home Grammy gold?
[Read more…] about Grammy Nominations 2016- Who Will Win & Who Should Win?
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2016 Grammy Predictions: Who Will Make The Cut?
Although creatively Manhattan Digest is about Manhattan culture, something I still happen to love to write about and cover is the music industry. The music industry itself was what I started writing about in my journalism career nearly six years ago, and something I still have a penchant for jotting down every couple of months. Something that we here at Manhattan Digest have done since the site’s inception nearly three years ago is cover the Grammy Awards before, during and after. The before part starts with who we think will be nominated in the big categories this year, seeing as the deadline for nominations just passed and the nominees will be announced in early December.
Whereas I don’t think this was really a banner year for music in general, there were some shining exceptions that proved that point to be an epic fail. New artists emerged and conquered the charts, legends released some very well received albums (Madonna, Janet) and legends in the making continued their domination of the industry both on and off the Billboard Hot 100. But there have been so many instances where the charts and sales don’t matter when it comes to winning a Grammy, that it merely is just pure talent. Take last year’ winner for Album of the Year, Beck. A true shocker of the night but when you think about it, the album itself really was incredible, highly rated and proof that Beck still has it going on more than 20 years into his illustrious career. So what does really matter when it comes to a nomination?
Based on a bunch of different factors, here is who I think will be nominated in December for the three major awards- Record, Album & Best New Artist. Record is up first.
Record Of The Year-
Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars- “Uptown Funk”
Taylor Swift- “Blank Space”
The Weeknd- “The Hills”
Ed Sheeran- “Thinking Out Loud”
Walk The Moon- “Shut Up And Dance”
Honorable Mentions/Possible Nominees:
Rachel Platten- “Fight Song”
Little Big Town- “Girl Crush”
Rihanna Featuring Kanye West & Paul McCartney- “4 5 Seconds”
Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth- “See You Again”
So the ones for ROTY (Record of the Year) that I think are on lock are Taylor, Mark/Bruno and Ed Sheeran. All three were monster hits that charted at the top. All three are Grammy darlings as well, with Taylor, Bruno and Mark winning several times before. People forget that Mark produced Amy Winehouse’s epic “Back To Black” album that won him Producer Of The Year, non classical as well as two other awards. Needless to say, they are an easy lock. The Weeknd had an amazing year and is no doubt a shoo in to be nominated for multiple Grammy’s, the only thing I question is if he gets a ROTY nominee what song will it be? I was never the biggest fan of “Earned It” and think that “The Hills” is a much better song both lyrically and in its delivery. Rounding out is “Shut Up And Dance” by Walk The Moon. There always seems to be a quirky, rock/alternative nominee in these categories and they would be the ones to fill it. Should it win? No, but a nomination doesn’t hurt.
Album Of The Year-
Taylor Swift- “1989”
The Weeknd- “Beauty Behind The Madness”
Kendrick Lamar- “To Pimp A Butterfly”
J. Cole- “2014 Forest Hills Drive”
Mumford & Sons- “Wilder Mind”
Honorable Mentions/Possible Nominees-
Luke Bryan- “Kill The Lights”
James Taylor- “Before This World”
Drake- “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late”
I really have been dreaming of a day when an authentic hip-hop album wins AOTY (Album of the Year) again. The last time that happened was over a decade ago when Outkast won for “Speakerboxx/The Love Below”. Three uber-strong contenders that I hope will be in contention for AOTY are Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and The Weeknd. I don’t think J. Cole is a lock however he should be as his latest effort is his best to date. Kendrick was robbed of this two years ago by Daft Punk, but was also robbed in the rap categories by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. So I hope there is some form of redemption in a nomination, if not a win. Mumford & Sons won in this category a couple of years ago for “Babel” so i wouldn’t be shocked if their latest effort got a nod as well. Taylor will of course be nominated again as “1989” was groundbreaking in the past year. Will she win like she did for “Fearless”? Not sure, but my money is regrettably on her. If they need a country nominee then Luke would be good to throw into that pile. James would be an old favorite and Drake had an outstanding year especially with “If You’re Reading This”. Should be interesting to see how this plays out.
Best New Artist-
Fetty Wap
Meghan Trainor
Hozier
Rachel Platten
Sam Hunt
Honorable Mentions/Possible Nominees:
Kelsea Ballerini
Shawn Mendes
Walk The Moon
Already nominees at last year’s awards for their single efforts, Hozier and Meghan Trainor will no doubt get nominations for Best New Artist as their debut albums were released after the deadline. Rachel Platten kind of came from out of nowhere with her power anthem “Fight Song” and could easily be a nominee. There is always a hip hop and country nominee in these categories, and you couldn’t get any bigger than Fetty Wap for the former and Sam Hunt for the latter to fill this category. My money is actually on Hozier to win this, but you never know.
For more information on all things Grammy awards, check out their official site.
z100’s Jingle Ball 2014- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Last night z100’s, New York’s #1 hit music station, held their 2014 Jingle Ball right in the heart of New York City at the famed Madison Square Garden. In conjunction with I Heart Radio, the concert was broadcast all over the internet with an air date on the CW to happen later on this month. Naturally the show was sold out as it was packed with some of today’s biggest and brightest stars, all huddled under one roof to give everyone a great show and for us to have an awesome night. Whereas there were a ton of great moments that happened throughout the night, there were some things that happened that made me puzzled, confused and wondering if it was really ok putting them there in the first place. Take a look at what went right, and what went wrong at Jingle Ball.
The Standouts-
Taylor Swift-
Of course, Taylor was the headliner at Jingle Ballso she was the last to come out which happened around 11:45 PM, nearly four hours into the show itself. It also happened to be Tay tay’s birthday today, so all of us got to celebrate with her on her 25th which was pretty awesome. Honestly, Taylor is at the stage in her career where being at the top isn’t even the top, she’s further than that. So the mini concert itself was really just a spectacle to watch and the audience craved every minute of it. She has such great stage presence and really enjoys the interaction she has with her audience. Only thing I was a bit confused by was why she performed two songs off of “Red” and not all five of her songs from “1989”. I get you wanna perform the hits, but you have enough adoring fans that know “1989” already that they would’ve been excited to hear something new as opposed to something we’ve heard for years (I was hoping she would’ve performed, “Style”. Nope). Otherwise, great set to end the night.
Shawn Mendes-
Maybe this is just my age as I am transitioning from the top 40 phase of my life to the WALK 97.5 stage, but Shawn Mendes was the only person on the Jingle Ball lineup that I had no clue who he actually was. He apparently has some big song out right now that he performed last night called “Life Of The Party”, which for a guy just playing with a guitar and nothing else did a pretty good job. The highlight was his own version of the first verse of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” which he did in a very stripped down way, and that to me was awesome. It is good to know that someone of his tender age of 16 can research music from a different time period and take a song which is so deep and heavy and turn it into something much more light and in a way refreshing. Hope he has a very successful career ahead.
Sam Smith-
Love him and I think he is the best thing that happened in 2014 by far. Such a simple guy with this amazing voice that commands such a presence. He is such a unique throwback to the yesteryears of Elton John and Billy Joel, and did such a fantastic performance of his hits “I’m Not The Only One” and “Stay With Me”. Just like Shawn, I see a bright future for him and hope his success continues beyond this amazing year he had.
Pharrell-
Surprisingly Pharrell was the one who kicked off the night, which in past years is usually reserved for some of the smaller acts. Pharrell spent most of his set performing hits that he was featured on such as “Blurred Lines” and “Get Lucky” but the latter two songs were his best. Why? The surprise announcement of his fellow “Voice” judge Gwen Stefani coming out to perform their new song “Spark The Fire”, which was freaking awesome. Growing up Gwen was a huge music influence for me and seeing her and him perform together again was amazing. Of course, he finished his set with “Happy” and invited a bunch of PSL’s on the stage to dance/take selfies with him. Honestly, if I was on stage with Pharrell I would put my phone in my pocket and enjoy the experience and not do what these stupid girls did, but it’s a generational thing, so whatever.
5 Seconds of Summer/Maroon 5-
The only two “Rock” acts at Jingle Ball, and both did a pretty decent job. Maroon 5 was great, maybe phoned it in a bit with “Animal” and “One More Night”, but I felt like they were super rushed because Jingle Ball itself had such a large lineup that many of the acts only had 10-15 minutes. Nevertheless they were great. 5 Seconds of Summer, or 5SOS, were quite fantastic and did a great rendition of “What I Like About You”. My hope is that they can get past the screaming girl phase and really be seen as a great band as opposed to a flash in the pan that pop seems to take in and spit out every year.
The Lowlights-
Jessie J/Meghan Trainor/Rita Ora/Nick Jonas/Charli XCX/Rixton-
I honestly felt bad for all of them, they legit got 2.5 seconds on stage and then went bye bye. Nick and Rita I’m not shocked at. Rita doesn’t even have a huge song here in our country, and Nick only has one song “Jealous” which he did pretty decently. Jessie did one song “Burning Up” but came back later on in the night to perform “Bang Bang” with Ariana Grande, and Charli XCX came back after her set to do “Fancy” of course. I just felt that all six of these artists are quite talented and had a good amount of buzz about them that they could’ve given them a little bit more stage time. Especially Meghan Trainor, who legit rushed through quite possibly the biggest song of this year, “All About That Base”. I get that they have to stay on schedule but I just thought it was a bit unfair to give them that little amount of time when they are all talented in their own right.
Calvin Harris-
You have had massive hits over the years with some of the biggest names in the business, and you even sing on some of your own songs. So you got paid last night to stand on stage, press play, and yell at the audience and you weren’t even mixing. Seriously? Bye.
Ariana Grande-
Oh lord, where to begin. First off, I’m begging this girl to stop wearing that stupid ponytail as she consistently looks like a 6th grader. Want to be taken seriously? Dress a little bit older than you have been. Her shout out to her awful brother Frankie was another thing. Zero connection with her audience, she giggled about tripping during her one part, and just seems very unprofessional. Also, it seemed as if The Weeknd was supposed to perform with her on “Love Me Harder” but conspicuously wasn’t there. I attest it to the fact that she wanted all the stage time, which further proves her diva like behavior that she has been accused of over the past year. There is a huge difference between what she and Taylor is putting out there. Just saying.
Iggy Azalea-
Sort of surprised that she was the second to last to perform over people I deem to be bigger and more talented than her. Ugh. What kills me is that she needs to figure out if she wants to be a pop artist or stay strictly rap, because her performance last night lingered both ways. She was super bubbly and pop on “Fancy” then went the other direction on one of her better songs “Work”. I can’t believe she didn’t censor the “Blow Job” line in that song, but to each his own. I just read novelty all over her and hope that she figures out a game plan because the amount of respect she has in the industry as a whole is quite low for someone who had such highs this year.
Go to z100’s site for more information.
Grammy Predictions 2015- Album Of The Year
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.