First of all, this is a weird year for the Grammys. You'll notice that the nominations are skewed heavily to the hip-hop side of things. I'm not sure if that is a concerted effort by the Recording Academy to represent genre and artists that have been ignored in the past, or if it truly represents the best of 2017. Honestly, I'm having a tough year coming up with my tops for the year, so I'm inclined to say these are the most impressive works of last year. Many of them are outside of my normal listening habits, but I found that I enjoyed more than I thought I would.
So, here are my thoughts . . .
Oh, and I've included Content Warnings (CW) since so many of these songs have the potential to offend. I'm not for censorship, but I do think people have the right not to be shocked if it can be avoided.
BEST NEW ARTIST
I'd heard of 4 of the 5. I'd heard music by a few of the 5. I enjoyed mostly none of the 5, for reasons I'll expound on. This is the toughest category for me every year since the criteria are a bit vague. "An artist will be considered for Best New Artist if their eligibility year release/s achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape." Yeah, not hard to judge at all.
Alessia Cara
She is everywhere. She is everywhere. She has a great voice, and from what I've heard, she is doing a TON of great collaborations. I gave her solo album (Know-It All) a listen and enjoyed it pretty well. Here's a sample from that debut album.
Cara sang the version that played over the end credits of the movie "Moana."
Khalid
I kind of like his retro sound, but it definitely comes off as young, or at least inexperience. It's quite possible he's going for that feel. He's another artist who is doing a lot of collaborations, and I'm thinking that may be super important for this category, since it's so broad and non-specific.
CW: You may fall asleep listening to his sedated style.
Lil Uzi Vert
Seriously, what in the actual hell?! I will set aside the fact that this guy plays into every sexist stereotype that exists in the hip-hop and rap world. Let's just talk talent. He is over-autotuned, super choppy in his rapping style, and not clever in the least. There is nothing on his recordings that I find original, groundbreaking, or ingenious. No way he should win this.
(If you really are that curious, you can look up a sample. I refuse to inflict this on anyone.)
Julia Michaels
I didn't realize who she was until I saw the first track of her album was "Issues." I'd actually heard this song before. I wasn't sure what to expect from her since her overt style wasn't really distinct. It turns out that she has a decent indie-pop sound, but nothing earth-shattering as far as I'm concerned.
CW: You may become confused and unable to distinguish Michaels from many other white, female indie artists.
SZA
Even though she is another artist who is collaborating a ton, I listened to her most recent album, "Ctrl." I definitely love her musical style. It takes me way back to the R&B I grew up on. I'm not a huge fan of her vocal style on that album, but I've heard her on other tracks that I enjoy. My favorite recording from her is "All These Stars" with Kendrick Lamar from the soundtrack for the upcoming Black Panther movie. Go figure.
CW: a couple of F-bombs. You may also develop the sudden urge to engage in vigilante-style justice.
My Pick: Alessia Cara
My Prediction: SZA
SONG OF THE YEAR
This award goes to the songwriter, or team of songwriters. It doesn't necessarily include the entire production of the recording, but I'm sure that plays in. Ultimately, we are looking at which of these songs is the most well-written, regardless of how it ends up being presented.
"Despacito"
Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi & Marty James Garton, songwriters; Recorded by Luis Fonsi &; Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber
It's trash. The beat is catchy. The Puerto Rican rap sounds cool and exotic, but when you translate the lyrics, you realize it's another misogynistic song about a sex-crazed guy luring a woman in. There is no message. No irony. No subtlety. The lyrics aren't clever or deep, so it misses in a songwriting category. It really upsets me that this track is here over any number of Sheeran tracks from his album.
CW: Ridiculous Latinx stereotypes. And Justin Bieber.
"4:44"
Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters; recorded by JAY-Z
I can't believe I'm going to say this, but this is such a good track. The lyrics are spot on and completely nails the message he is going for. The story goes that he woke up at 4:44 am and had to write this song, so he did. And he named the entire album after this track. As an aside, I love Kim Burrell on the recording. I'm not sure if that really matters in the songwriting category, but still, it had to be said.
I wish I could find just the recorded track, but the official video is all that's out there. I did start the video well into it so you can hear a better representation of the song.
CW: profanity, brief video clips of violent acts
"Issues"
Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels & Justin Drew Tranter, songwriters; recorded by Julia Michaels)
All in all it's not a bad song. I'm not wowed by it or anything. I think the way it goes at troubled relationships and toxicity in love is good, so there's that. I don't know that I any stronger feelings that that, though. Like I said, it's a decent song. Another song that pales compares to many of the Sheeran tracks.
(The video is up under the info about Julia Michaels,)
"1-800-273-8255"
Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury & Khalid Robinson, songwriters; recorded by Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid
This is one of those songs with a really catchy hook, and it definitely has a great message, and I'm glad people are trying to bring awareness to suicide and suicide prevention. It's a nice collaboration, but it's a little bit repetitive, so if I'm being honest about the songwriting, I don't think it measures up. But that is not to say it isn't a great and important song.
Disclaimer: I haven't seen the video, but the song is good.
"That's What I Like"
Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters; recorded by Bruno Mars
I'm just not that impressed with the song. It's catchy. I'll give it that. I suppose that's a trademark of Bruno Mars. He writes songs that get stuck in your head, and that's not a bad thing. The lyrics are decen, but it doesn't feel new and innovative, like some of his early songs have been. More on this later, but I'm sort of disappointed in general with his most recent album.
CW: feeling of immense inferiority when considering your own dancing skills.
My Pick: "4:44"
My Prediction: "Despacito" (Lord help us all!)
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
This award goes to all the people who worked on the album from artist to recording engineers to songwriters and featured artists. You have to consider the album as a whole. When I first saw the nominations, I was disappointed. Have I mentioned how I wish we had some Ed Sheeran up in here? I will say, though, that I found some surprisingly good listens here. I wasn't blown away by all of the recordings, but I didn't hate listening to most of this.
Awaken, My Love!
Childish Gambino
Donald Glover is everywhere these days, so why not the Grammys? I was not sure what to expect since other things he's done have left me really disappointed. This was the first album I listened to in the group, and I was shocked. I loved the overall approach. He channeled a lot of older R&B, soul, and rock artists (I even heard some vocals that had to be inspired by Prince), so of course I loved that. His vocals a little all over the place, but that's probably intentional in his overal presentation.
4:44
JAY-Z
This is essentially an apology album (or at least has several tracks in this vein). It's a response to Beyonce's Lemonade, and it's a good one. From top to bottom, this album hits it all. It feels like he's had an epiphany and had to translate that into a very solid hip-hop album. I'm not normally a fan of JAY-Z's style since it's very herky-jerky and not as smooth as I'd like. I'm going to say that I really enjoyed this one. And the irony is not lost on me that he could win several Grammys this year while his wife did not win many that she really should have last year. I'm waiting for the backlash if he does well.
DAMN.
Kendrick Lamar
I'm a big fan of Kendrick Lamar. I'm a bigger fan of his To Pimp a Butterfly album than of this album, but this one is still good. He's definitely a genius of the concept album. All the tracks tell a story and flow. And his lyrical style is like fine-crafted poetry. It feels like an extension of poetry coming out of Harlem in the early 20th century. Damn. is more harsh and militant, but in the end Lamar seems completely possessed by purpose.
Melodrama
Lorde
For fans of Lorde, it's a great album. Songs all sound familiar and typical of her style. There is great songwriting and lyrical styling, and if you love good alternative rock of the 80s and 90s, she definitely has you covered there. My only criticism is that it doesn't strike me as horribly different from her previous work. I really enjoyed it, but I didn't "this is the Album of the Year" enjoy it.
Since the other nominees have videos elsewhere on this post, but Lorde doesn't, I'll leave one here for you.
24K Magic
Bruno Mars
This was easily my biggest disappointment of the category First, the good: as is so typically awesome of Bruno Mars, he shows off all the R&B styles you could ever want, proving he is a brilliant student of the genre. I heard the styles of Bobby Brown, New Edition, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, El Debarge, James Brown, and more. Musically, it was phenomenal, especially for fans of old school R&B, which shows again why if I were to ever be a touring musician (which I would never), his back-up band is the place to be. Now, the bad: this album played like one giant brag about being rich. He reminds us what it's like to have more money than you need, and why men with money have historically gotten to be so stereotypically sleezy. I mean, the title is 24K. And his music videos don't even try to throw us off the track.
My Pick: 4:44
My Prediction: 4:44
RECORD OF THE YEAR
This award goes to the team of artists, producers, and engineers involved in the best single recording of the year. Songwriting is not a part of it, but I'm not sure it can be completely taken out of the mix.
"Redbone"
Childish Gambino
Top to bottom this is a great track, and is one of my favorites from his album. From the start you get the distinct impression that this will be very unique. This track also has a very heavy Prince vibe to it, which isn't a bad thing.
CW: potential for nightmares after seeing this image for the entirety of the song.
CW: potential for nightmares after seeing this image for the entirety of the song.
"Despacito"
Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber
See my Song of the Year thoughts. I don't know how much more I can say about this song. I will say that it is way more appropriate for this category, but the fact that the lyrics are so subpar, there's no way I can get on board with this song for Record of the Year.
The video is up there somewhere in the post. I just can't do that again.
"The Story Of O.J. "
JAY-Z
I heard the first bit of this song and realized I was in for something special. This is a fantastic record. It hits at big issues in the Black community, and these are things that can only be said by someone born and raised in this community. The ultimate message is whatever "kind" of black person you are, you are still black in this country. And what are you going to do about it? OJ tried to distance himself from the Black community and in an ironic twist, probably needed that association to be acquitted of a major crime. The track is phenomenal. And any recording that samples Nina Simone is going to be something special.
CW: abundant use of one version of a racial slur, exposure to an artistic representation of minstrel show stereotypes, an F-bomb or two.
I will say that this video is brilliant, as far as I'm concerned.
I will say that this video is brilliant, as far as I'm concerned.
"HUMBLE."
Kendrick Lamar
This is a super deep track, which is not unlike nearly all of Lamar's work. It's filled with irony as he talks honestly about his accomplishments and the dangers of not remaining humble. It also points out how a rise from nothing will invariably include people tagging along. And those people aren't always the best to have around. I hoped for more from him, but I can see why the track is nominated.
I posted the "clean" version. It just seemed more appropriate than a paragraph of CWs.
"24K Magic"
Bruno Mars
I swear Bruno Mars is a direct musical descendant of the Jackson 5. This track takes me back to the early 80s and all the styling that was coming out of Motown at that time. The production quality on this song is off the charts and just feels right. I'm not a huge fan of the song and it's message otherwise but can't deny that it is well-produced.
My Pick: "The Story of O.J."
My Prediction: "The Story of O.J."
OTHER NOTABLES
Ed Sheeran was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance ("Shape of You"), and Best Pop Vocal Album (Divide). Definitely check it out. OK, since you begged, I'll post a video of my favorite track from his album.
CW: the desire to visit Galway, Ireland and do step dancing with Saoirse Ronan.
Taylor Swift isn't to be found in the big awards, but she did receive a nomination for Best Country Song "Better Man" written for Lady Antebellum, and the Best Song Written for Visual Media "I d/on't Wanna Live Forever" ("Fifty Shades Darker"). She's a talented songwriter to be sure.
Alabama Shakes was nominated for the Best American Roots Performance ("Killer Diller Blues"). Anything they do demands some attention.
Iron & Wine is nominated for Best Americana Album (Beast Epic). I recently learned about him because of a rabbit hole I dove down after a friend talked to me about Dawes and work they have been doing. Iron & Wine was an artist suggested to me during my searches. He has a great folksy Americana sound without getting too close to the country/bluegrass side of things.
Lin-Manuel Miranda is never far from the Grammy stage. "Moana: The Songs" was nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, and "How Far I'll Go" was nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media. He's still looking for his Oscar to complete the PEGOT, but another Grammy can't be disappointing.
