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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

Is Macklemore’s Agenda Pro-Macklemore or Pro-Gay?

by Ryan Shea

Macklemore, Manhattan, Manhattan Digest
Macklemore, Manhattan, Manhattan Digest
Credit to: Esquire Magazine

Macklemore- Gay Crusader or Selfish Poser?

Tonight will be a big night for rapper Macklemore and his sidekick Ryan Lewis.  They are at the top of the leader board in Grammy nominations with 7, including the illustrious Best New Artist and Album of the Year, something that they are both heavily favored to win.  As if that isn’t big enough, he is now doing something on tonight’s show that has never been done before.

According to NewNowNext, 34 gay and straight couples will be wed during Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ performance of “Same Love”, which is up for Song of the Year.  Further than that, Queen Latifah, a devout supporter of the gay community will be officiating this group wedding.  Crazy right?  As awesome as this has sounded to some, it doesn’t sound that great to many others.  Funny part is that the ones that aren’t down for this quote unquote “prop” are gays themselves.  Here is why.

There have been people who think that what he is doing, on top of the song “Same Love” is just an agenda for him to further push his career into being the next big “pop hop” superstar (their words not mine).  They believe that it doesn’t come from an authentic place, even having someone write- “Straight pop-rappers are ruining the sanctity of homosexuality”.  There needs to be a bit more depth in that very honest quote, but I get where they are coming from because in a sense there isn’t a gay one out there that can speak their mind freely the way that they do without the words “fag” or “homo” being put into it.  Why is this?  Because hip-hop remains a very homophobic industry, and even with the support from huge stars like Macklemore, it shouldn’t be him that is speaking the message- it should be us.

At the same time, the song and what he is doing is groundbreaking in so many different ways.  He is publicly said that the reason why he did this was to further help the state of Washington legalize same-sex marriage, which has now completely come to fruition.  So in a way I don’t think what tonight is going to be is a prop.  Now, if we look back 12 years ago when Elton John joined Eminem on stage for their performance of the controversial “Stan”, that to me is different.  That was Eminem’s way of saving his ass because so many organizations like GLAAD were after him for his spewing hatred of gays in his songs on top of his misogynistic lyrics.  Suffice to say, it was a well received performance, but it is like apples and oranges in comparing the both of them when it comes to pushing someone’s agenda.

So there is two very different sides to how people view Macklemore, how would you view him?  Pro-gay, or pro-himself?

 

Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT Tagged With: Elton John, eminem, gay marriage, Grammys, macklemore, mary lambert, queen latifah, ryan lewis, same love

Z100’s Jingle Ball 2013- Great and Not So Great

by Ryan Shea

Miley Cyrus, Miley, Manhattan Digest, Manhattan

Mlley Twerked? Shocker z100, shocker.

As a lifelong New Yorker, I have consistently found myself zooming through each radio station to find the perfect song to jam out in the car with.  Just like an American classic like Peanut Butter and Jelly, I always know that no matter what, Z100 radio station will always find the right song for me to shake my groove thing to.  Yes my groove thing.  If you want to make fun of me or judge me, do it.  I’m awesome.  As long as I have listened to z100 I have also wanted to partake in their biggest event of the year, Jingle Ball.  This station always pulls in some of the biggest names in the industry jam packed with a ton of celebrities introducing them and this year was no exception.  Now partnered with the “iHeartRadio” with this event and more, the festivities took place last night at none other than the legendary Madison Square Garden.  The place itself was of course sold out, and as a 27 year old grown ass man I felt like I could’ve been some of these kids teen fathers, but nevertheless I had an awesome time and the whole show had a really nice vibe throughout the night.  There were some definite highlights and lowlights though, so lets take a look at who did best, and who mmmmmmmmmmmm not so much.

Lowlights-

Random, random, random celebrities.  Most of the acts got really awesome people to introduce them, such as my homegirl Jordin Sparks and the star of my new favorite movie “Pitch Perfect”, Anna Kendrick.  Then… there were others.  First the z100 crew were great, and I am a huge Elvis Duran fan as I have been since I was about 10 or 11.  But… Katie Holmes?  Really, girl?  The snarky side of me was hoping she was going to introduce a Tom Cruise lookalike and beat him up or something, but that would’ve been too much fun for even me to handle.  They introduced Travie McCoy who was somewhere in the crowd but it became more like “Where’s Waldo” in which I couldn’t find him.  Not that he was that important anyways.  Finally, and this was both a highlight and a lowlight- R. Kelly.  I don’t get what he is trying to do lately, honestly.  Is he trying to find a younger audience with doing shows like this, where most people don’t even know what his last hit record is because they weren’t born yet?  At the same time, I did find it pretty amazing that a decent portion of the crowd was jamming along to his 2000 hit “Ignition”, so that is where the odd lowlight became a highlight.  I still didn’t understand why he was there though.  Oh, and let’s not forget to mention Lindsay Lohan, who is back in trouble with the court for ordering a hit on Paris Hilton’s douchey brother.  One word- GIRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.

Fifth Harmony & Austin Mahone.  Note that I didn’t include all the big teen acts in here, as the other ones were pretty much incredible.  These two, not so much.  Fifth Harmony is the girl equivalent to One Direction, in that Simon Cowell himself chose five random girls and placed them in a group.  These five made it to the final 3 on “X Factor”, a show that is crumbling in the ratings and that pretty much no one really watched last season (only for the Britney factor of course).  I felt kind of bad for them as they were legitimately on for 3 minutes.  They did their hit “Miss Moving On” and then some random song and it legit felt like they were doing “Night at the Apollo” and being rushed off the stage due to being booed.  Terrible.  Girl groups are way hard to market, and that formula really hasn’t worked in ages since the days of Destiny’s Child and Spice Girls.  Fifth Harmony really just looks like five random girls plopped together in a group and sing.  That’s pretty much it.

As for Austin Mahone, he’s got a great voice but my hope for him is that he is kind of like the Lorde to Miley, in that he’s the anti Bieber.  HE LOOKED AND SOUNDED AND DANCED EXACTLY LIKE HIM.  Great singer and all, but I think his marketing team should try to distance himself from the Bieber image so that there aren’t that many comparisons. Just saying.

Jason DeRulo- Nothing about his performance was a lowlight, Jason has a great look and voice to him.  He didn’t deserve to have the first opening slot, which in my opinion is the forgettable one.  He has been around for a long time now, and I was truly confused over who got to perform later than earlier.  Fifth Harmony should’ve been first, maybe even Enrique.  But not Jason.  z100 for the loss here, great performance.

Miley (Kind Of).  I have a love/hate type thing with Miley.  I get it, but there are times where oversaturation can come into play, and last night she continued to do so.  More twerking, more of the same.  You have a great voice, you don’t need to pull all these ridiculous shenanigans to get people to pay attention.  Just sing.  Take tips from Gaga on that.  She needs it.  Other than that, great job :).

Highlights-

Selena Gomez & Arianna Grande- These are two girls that are on their way to true superstardom, and are doing it in a way that isn’t forced and just the great reliability of their voices and looks (cough cough Miley).  Selena looked amazing in this form fitting red dress, and she performed a medley of her hits including “Love You Like A Long Song” and “Come and Get It”.  On top of that, she did some bomb ass choreography which really made her set a very flourished show.  As for Arianna, she just has that voice that really resonates of a younger Mariah Carey.  She did her own version of the popular WHAM song “Last Christmas”, and of course closed her set with her top 10 hit “The Way”.  Mac Miller sadly wasn’t there, but she made up for it by putting a simple performance and making it really great.  Good job girls!

Fall Out Boy & Paramore- Proving that alternative still has a place on top 40, these two in my opinion were the stand out bunches of the night.  Fall Out Boy, who should’ve never dismembered in the first place, put on a rousing rendition of several of their hits, my personal favorite being the closing one with “My Song Knows What You Did In the Dark”.  Really a superb performance.  I’m a big Hayley fan, and her and Paramore really did a great job with their set as well.

Pitbull- Pitbull proved last night why he is “Mr. International” because he put on the most electrifying performance of the night.  Fueled by his current chart topper “Timber” with Ke dollar sign Ha, he really got the crowd’s energy going.  Smart move by z100 by placing him somewhat in the middle of this because he really kept the crowd going for what was coming next.  His closing out song, “Give Me Everything”, was truly a spectacle to watch.  I give this dude credit for making it this long in the industry.  Well done.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis- This was their year, and this was their night.  I love these guys so much, and it was great to finally see them perform live.  My favorite is of course “Same Love” which is such a great message to many people that goes beyond homophobia.  Best of the night in my opinion.

Overall, I would give the concert at 7 out of 10.  Apparently One Direction was there last year, which makes me happy I didn’t go as I would probably need a hearing aid at this point from all the screaming that occurred.  The show was good, but nothing really spectacular that I felt left me hanging for more and more.  Some of the acts should’ve gotten more stage time, and some shouldn’t have.  What did you think?  Sound off here and check out more articles like this on Manhattan Digest!

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC Tagged With: anna kendrick, austin mahone, concert, enrique iglesias, fall out boy, fifth harmony, Fun., jason derulo, jingle ball, jingle ball 2013, lindsay lohan, macklemore, Manhattan, manhattan digest, miley cyrus, music, one direction, paramore, paris hilton, Pitbull, pitch perfect, r. kelly, robin thicke, ryan lewis, z100

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

MTV’s Video Music Awards- Live From The Red Carpet

by Ryan Shea

Credit to: Myself
Credit to: Myself

 

After doing this whole blogging thing for the past three or so years, I can honestly say that all my hard work and dedication has somewhat led up to what occurred on Sunday night.  I represented Manhattan Digest at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on The Red Carpet and stood beside some of the biggest press outlets in the world, from Entertainment Tonight to Reuters to Access Hollywood to name a few.  Truly, I felt honored and quite humbled to just be there and the exhilarating feeling of walking across the red carpet was something I will never really forget.

Credit to: New York Daily News
Credit to: New York Daily News

 

The day started with my trek to Brooklyn from Long Island.  Once I got to Brooklyn, I waited in line with a ton of other press outlets who were eagerly waiting to see what was going to happen next.  The amazing thing is that even six or seven hours early, there was a massive crowd outside of fans and people alike.  I’m so happy that MTV decided to do this in Brooklyn as so many real music fans and performers alike were born and bred here.  We were then redirected inside The Barclay Center, where we were treated to some great audio in the sense of all the VMA performers doing their rehearsals.  Shortly after, we lined up and made our way to the red carpet where the night really took off.

 

Credit to: Huffington Post
Credit to: Huffington Post

The red carpet itself was magical in its own way, with stars from across the board showing up for quite possibly the most buzzed about and trendiest award show of the night.  Early arrivals from Snooki and Kendrick Lamar got things going and  the energy and excitement from the fans on the red carpet and even the ones who were hanging in the buildings adjacent from the Barclay Center was incredible as the sunlight went down and it progressed into nighttime.

 

Credit to: US News
Credit to: US News

We were treated to pre-VMA performances on the red carpet from Artist To Watch winner Austin Mahone and fresh-faced newbie Arianna Grande, who recently scored a top ten hit with rapper Mac Miller in her song “The Way”.  Some of the biggest starts towards the end of the red carpet from the Twerking and foam finger loving Miley Cyrus to multiple winners Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Hollywood Legend Will Smith who memorably made the face above when seeing that Miley performance. Tee hee.  The only stars that managed to not show up to the red carpet was Britney Spears (who was rumored to be in Brooklyn- DAMMIT!)  and Justin Timberlake and NSYNC as they were the surprise performance of the night (that I wish would’ve lasted a little longer.   Sad face indeed).

Credit to Me.
Credit to Me.

 

Although I didn’t go to the award show itself, it didn’t really matter to me.  I was able to meet and greet people that most people only get a chance to see on the big screen.  The whole experience itself was just amazing.  I have said this before and will say it again and again- persistence and perseverance pays off in the long run.  It always does.  If you truly believe something it will happen, without a doubt.  Oh and Will Smith said hey to me.  The pic is above.  Yeayuhhhh.  For all things VMA’s and MTV, check out MTV.com 

Filed Under: BREAKING NEWS, ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC, TELEVISION Tagged With: arianna grande, britney spears, Brooklyn, justin timberlake, mac miller, macklemore, miley, miley cyrus, mtv, NEW YORK, nsync, ryan lewis, twerk, twerking, video music awards, vmav, will smith

2013 MTV Video Music Award Noms- The List is out…

by Ryan Shea

Credit to: Filter Magazine
Credit to: Filter Magazine

 

The Video Music Awards are the one award show I look forward to every year because beyond anything it tends to be pretty freaking awesome.  It ranks as one of the most social events of the year and has birthed and revamped many careers over the past three decades.  Now in it’s 30th year (crazy), the VMA’s are set to take place back where it all started- New York.  It will be broadcasted live on August 25 at the brand new Barclay Center right in the heart of Brooklyn.  Heck, even the classic Moonman got a great redesign for only this year.  Truth be told, this will be another one for the record books.  How can I tell? All the great people are nominated this year.  Let’s break down each category.

Credit to: Idolator
Credit to: Idolator

 

Video of the Year-

The ultimate, the biggest award of the night has got to be “Video of the Year”.  In recent years, R&B Divas like Beyonce (Single Ladies) and Rihanna (Umbrella, We Found Love) have taken the trophies yet over it’s 30 year history has seen this award go to a bevy of legends such as Madonna (Ray of Light) and Eminem (Without Me) just to name a few.  This year three R&B crooners, a hip-hop legend in the making and one of the biggest female stars on the planet all under one category.  Robin Thicke has his first set of nominations this year with his number one chart topping “Blurred Lines” featuring Pharrell Williams and T.I.  That song has been voted by several publications as the song of the summer, and boy has it been good to him.  Justin Timberlake returns to the VMA pool with the second single off his album The 20/20 Experience with “Mirrors”.  He has been in this category twice before for “What Goes Around… Comes Around” and “Cry Me A River”.  Country-turned-Pop diva Taylor Swift has her first Video of the Year nod with the second single off her album “Red” called “I Knew You Were Trouble”.  Rounding out this category is R&B hit maker Bruno Mars “Locked Outta Heaven” and who I think will and should be the winner, Macklemore &Ryan Lewis’ “Thrift Shop” which currently sits as the biggest selling song of 2013.  It’s also a rad video. Yup.

Credit to: Rap It Up
Credit to: Rap It Up

 

Best Hip-Hop Video-

This category has been around since 1999 (it changed from Best Rap Video) and has been won by quite the bevy of artists such as Beastie Boys, Jennifer Lopez and Missy Elliott.  The nominees this year scream out for the fresh new faces that are taking over the industry and keeping it hot and hopeful for the years to come.  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, who are up for 6 this year, come in again in this category with “Thrift Shop” but they have some truly stiff competition in place.  Newbies in the game from Kendrick Lamar (Swimming Pools), A$AP Rocky (F***ing Problems) have their first shots at winning a moonman, and perennial favorites such as Drake (Started From The Bottom) and J. Cole (Power Trip) are looking to make their mark in this category.  “Thrift Shop” will most likely win in this category as well, but there is a crowded room for anyone to come out on top.

Credit to: Idolator
Credit to: Idolator

 

Best Collaboration-

This award, only given out in 2007, 2010 and 2011 has been won by all the big divas in recent years such as Katy Perry (E.T. with Kanye West), Lady Gaga (Telephone with Beyonce) and Beyonce and Shakira (Beautiful Liar).  The divaness in this one is not on the mainstage, as the five nominees couldn’t be different from each other.  Robin Thicke shows up again in this category with the saucy “Blurred Lines”.  Hot dance tracks such as Pitbull & Christina Aguilera’s “Feel This Moment” and Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding’s “I Need Your Love” populate the crowd as well.  The two that I see truly going neck to neck on this is Justin Timberlake & Jay-Z’s “Suit & Tie” and chart-topping “Just Give Me A Reason” by Pink and Nate Truess.

Check out the full list on MTV.com.  Who is your pick to win? Be sure to watch the MTV Video Music Awards live on August 25th and see if your favorite wins!

 

Filed Under: BREAKING NEWS, ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC, TELEVISION Tagged With: a$ap rocky, drake, j. cole, jay-z, justin timberlake, kendrick lamar, macklemore, nate truess, pharrell williams, robin thicke, ryan lewis, t.i., thrift shop, video music awards

Is Macklemore the new Eminem?

by Ryan Shea

Credit to Wweek.
Credit to Wweek.

I don’t think that title is really premature in saying what a lot of people are thinking.  Macklemore really can be the next Eminem if he plays his cards right.  The Seattle native continues to take 2013 by storm again last night with his performance of his new single “Can’t Hold Us” featuring Ray Dalton at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards.  Many said that was the highlight of the night and this is a  freaking movie award show (then again it’s MTV, so we are lucky it wasn’t a Best Teen Mom Shore Buckwild Show).

Macklemore was known by many a hip-hop tastemakers for a while now but no one really understood who this guy was until late 2012 whe a song about a thrift shop came into play.  Little do people know this guy, who turns 30 later this year, has been in the game for over a decade now, right around the time that Eminem broke through.

He released his first full fledged EP back in 2000 under the name “Professor Macklemore”.  He quickly dropped the professor aspect of things but substance abuse plagued his chances of really becoming the star that he is today.  These substances had him relapse on a number of occasions, most recently in 2011.  Yet during this time he released some truly amazing music, such as “The Unplanned Mixtape” and “The VS Redux” in 2009 with his constant companion and DJ Ryan Lewis.  That is some of his best work in my opinion, as you can tell what he was going through during that time.

Now with his album “The Heist” in full swing, “Thrift Shop” topping the charts for weeks and his subsequent song “Can’t Hold Us” climbing up the charts, we gotta wonder, is he the next big thing? The next Eminem? Let’s weigh this in and see.

Going beyond race, Eminem truly defines what an MC is and how, at least for my generation, he was our Kurt Cobain.  He was our Elvis Presley, he was our Michael Jackson.  He was a movement in itself for the simple fact that he went so far outside the boundary lines of what an artist is supposed to do and speak from his heart on what he was going on.  “The Marshall Mathers LP” and “The Slim Shady LP” are in my opinion two of the best hip-hop albums ever with the former being the best one to be released in the new millennium.  He has even impressed as a featured artist on other people’s tracks, most notably Drake’s “Forever”.  He truly understands his gift of gab and uses it to its best extent.

What i just wrote is something that Macklemore is getting the hang of.  “The Heist” is an amazing second album and is reminiscent of things that Eminem did.  They both have that juxtaposition of being able to do funny songs (Thrift Shop) and then serious ones that really make you think (Wings).  The stand out track here is “Same Love”, written in the support of same-sex marriage.  It’s truly an amazingly written song and something really out of left field when it comes to a straight dude and hip-hop head writing about a very controversial topic.  This can parlay to any of the controversial topics that Em wrote about, including anything from “Love The Way You Lie” about domestic violence and “Stan” about a deranged fan.  Regardless, they make you think, something other rappers can’t seem to make you do.

So what is the verdict overall with this? Macklemore could no doubt be the next Eminem in my book.  No doubt, even though he has been in the game for a minute, that he will be all over the Best New Artist categories at a ton of award shows and be on everyone’s forefront similarly to how Eminem is.  Could they do a duet one day? Only one can hope.  For me, he’s got it in him to go the long haul.  Best of luck to him in the future.

Filed Under: BREAKING NEWS, ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC, OPINION Tagged With: 2013, buckwild, eminem, hip hop, jersey shore, macklemore, marshall mathers lp, mtv movie awards, ray dalton, ryan lewis, same sex marriage, seattle, slim shady lp, teen mom, thrift shop

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis top, J Tim gains on Billboard

by Ryan Shea

Macklemore++Ryan+Lewis+png
Macklemore++Ryan+Lewis+png
Credit to last.fm

 

Two hip-hop songs emerge as victorious on the Billboard Hot 100 in a rather stale and non-movement week otherwise.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Thrift Shop” featuring Wanz shot to number one this week, dethroning Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out Of Heaven” which spent a total of six weeks in the top spot, according to Billboard today.  This is the first number one song for the duo, and it only took sixteen weeks to get to this spot.  This is a relatively short time for an artist largely unknown in the typical top 40, poppish type songs that always seem to carry the number one spot, and a unique song as well.  This is the first time also where a song about a thrift shop is number one.  Yes, that is accurate.

Much of the reason why this song has hit number one is it’s gain in digital sales and that it currently sits at number one on streaming songs with 1.68 million in one week. Streaming pretty much means being placed on apps like Spotify and Rhapsody to name a few.  This was a problem for Taylor Swift, where her record label refuses to put her song “I Knew You Were Trouble” on streaming.  It sits at number five even though it was a huge success in radio and digital sales.

Justin Timberlake, who has had a triumphant return to music after a seven year hiatus, sees his song “Suit & Tie” skyrocket from number 84 last week to number four this week.  The song features hip-hop legend Jay-Z and has been met with quite mixed reviews since it’s release.  It opened on the digital songs chart with 315,000 copies beating his previous best for “Sexyback” by nearly 100,000 copies.  Expect it to linger in the top ten for quite sometime.

Filed Under: BREAKING NEWS, MUSIC Tagged With: jay-z, justin timberlake, macklemore, ryan lewis, suit and tie, thrift shop

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