How the 58th Grammy Awards Should Happen

Josh Rosenberg

10 years ago

This year’s GRAMMY’s air on Feb. 15, 2016

Record of the Year
- Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
- D’Angelo and the Vanguard – “Really Love”
- Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
- Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
- The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face”
  - Who Should Win? –> “Uptown Funk” – Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars
    - Though all very well recorded & produced songs, I find it amazing how the nominees for the best recording of the year are always pretty much the same as Single of the Year. On “Uptown Funk,” Ronson, Bhasker, & Coyne’s production work and use of stereo image over the variety of vocals, horns, and drums is very impressive.
  - Who Won? –> “Uptown Funk” – Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars
Album of the Year
- Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color
- Chris Stapleton – Traveller
- Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly
- Taylor Swift – 1989
- The Weeknd – Beauty Behind the Madness
  - Who Should Win? –> Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly
    - Though Father John Misty’s I Love, You Honeybear was my favorite album of 2015, Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly was a very close second. The originality and importance of To Pimp A Butterfly has been stated enough, if anything it was definitely 2015’s most important album. I’m not a country fan, so Chris Stapleton didn’t really have a chance, and while Alabama Shakes’ album was great, they never usually get the acclaim they deserve. While Kendrick should win the award, knowing awards shows and how huge the album was in the pop world, it’s probably gonna go to Taylor Swift.
  - Who Won? –> Taylor Swift – 1989
Song of the Year
- Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge – “Thinking Out Loud”
- Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna & Liz Rose (Little Big Town) – “Girl Crush”
- Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams & Digi+Phonics – “Alright”
- Taylor Swift, Max Martin & Shellback – “Blank Space”
- Wiz Khlafia, Andrew Cedar, DJ Frank E, & Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
  - Who Should Win? –> Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge – “Thinking Out Loud”
    - When it comes to “Blank Space,” “See You Again,” and “Girl Crush,” the song itself isn’t that impressive. This is the award for the best song of the year, the award for the songwriters; including lyrics, music, arrangement, etc. Most pop should probably be excluded from the genre, but from the nominees that we have, the award should go to Ed Sheeran. “Alright” by Kendrick & Pharrell is a great track, but shouldn’t be up here with the awards for songwriters. Same goes for “See You Again.” “Blank Space” is pretty repetitive. The award should go to “Thinking Out Loud.”
  - Who Should Have Been Nominated for Something? –> Father John Misty – “Bored in the U.S.A.”
  - Who Won? –> Ed Sheeran & Amy Wedge – “Thinking Out Loud”
Best New Artist
- Courtney Barnett
- James Bay
- Sam Hunt
- Tori Kelly
- Meghan Trainor
  - Who Should Win? –> Courtney Barnett
    - Meghan Trainor, like really? I think this is an easy win for Courtney Barnett. Knowing the Grammy’s, they’ll either give it to Tori Kelly or Sam Hunt cause they love their pop music people pleasers, but Courtney Barnett is the clear front-runner.
  - Who Won? –> Meghan Trainor
Pop Awards
- Best Pop Solo Performance
  - Blank Space – “Taylor Swift”
  - Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
  - Ellie Goulding – “Love Me Like You Do”
  - Kelly Clarkson – “Heartbeat Song”
  - The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face”
    - Who Should Win? –> The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face”
      - This award has only been around since 2012, in which Adele has won twice, Lorde for “Royals,” and then Pharrell Williams for “Happy.” I honestly don’t know what this award specifically states. Is it the best pop song, or is the best pop vocal performance? Seeing as its gone to Adele twice, I might lead toward “pop vocal performance,” over just “best pop song.” With that in mind, I’d give it to Ed Sheeran or the Weeknd, probably the latter, but if it’s just “best pop song,” then Taylor Swift, though I do think the Weeknd has a good chance either way.
    - Who Won? –> Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
- Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
  - Florence + the Machine – “Ship to Wreck”
  - Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
  - Maroon 5 – “Sugar”
  - Taylor Swift – “Bad Blood (feat. Kendrick Lamar)”
  - Wiz Khalifa – “See You Again (feat. Charlie Puth)”
    - Who Should Win? –> Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
      - Not a big Florence + the Machine fan since “Shake It Out,” or a Maroon 5 fan since Songs About Jane, the nominees in this category looks pretty damn similar to the others. Other than the fact that I said “Uptown Funk” should win for “Record of the Year,” it wasn’t nominated for Song of the Year. Nonetheless, where it comes to Wiz Khalifa/Charlie Puth and Taylor Swift/Kendrick Lamar, those performances are more of rap featurings than they are collaborations. Charlie Puth or Kendrick Lamar’s existence on the song aren’t important, they’re replaceable with other singers & rappers. On “Uptown Funk,” it’s a true great collaboration; that song had to be Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars to be as big a success as it was.
    - Who Won? –> Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
- Best Pop Vocal Album
  - Florence + the Machine – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
  - James Taylor – Before This World
  - Kelly Clarkson – Piece by Piece
  - Mark Ronson – Uptown Special
  - Taylor Swift – 1989
    - Who Should Win? –> Taylor Swift – 1989
      - Taylor Swift.
    - Who Won? –> Taylor Swift – 1989
- Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
  - Barry Manilow & Various Artists – My Dream Duets
  - Bob Dylan – Shadows in the Night
  - Josh Groban – Stages
  - Seth McFarlane – No One Ever Tells You
  - Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap – The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern
    - Who Should Win? –> Bob Dylan – Shadows in the Night
      - Honestly hadn’t heard any of these besides the Bob Dylan album Shadows in the Night, where he covers Frank Sinatra songs. While I haven’t listened to Barry Manilow’s duets, Tony Bennett’s Jerome Kern album, Josh Groban, or Seth McFarlane, I still think the award should go to Bob Dylan.
    - Who Won? –> Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap – The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern
Dance/Electronic Awards
- Best Dance Recording
  - Above & Beyond – “We’re All in Need (feat. Zoe Johnston)”
  - The Chemical Brothers – “Go”
  - Flying Lotus – “Never Catch Me (feat. Kendrick Lamar)”
  - Galantis – “Runaway (U & I)”
  - Skrillex , Diplo & Justin Bieber – “Where Are U Now”
    - Who Should Win? –> Flying Lotus – “Never Catch Me (feat. Kendrick Lamar)”
      - “Never Catch Me” was my favorite song of 2014, so funny to see it here in the Grammy’s airing in Feb. 2016. Where the award will probably go to “Where Are U Now,” it should go to Flying Lotus.
    - Who Won? –> Skrillex, Diplo & Justin Bieber – “Where Are U Now”
- Best Dance/Electronic Album
  - Caribou – Our Love
  - The Chemical Brothers – Born in the Echoes
  - Disclosure – Carracal
  - Jamie xx – In Colour
  - Skrillex & Diplo – Jack U
    - Who Should Win? –> Jamie xx – In Colour
    - Who Won? –> Skrillex & Diplo – Jack U
Rock Awards
- Best Rock Performance
  - Alabama Shakes – “Don’t Wanna Fight”
  - Elle King – “Ex’s & Oh’s”
  - Florence + the Machine – “What Kind of Man”
  - Foo Fighters – “Something From Nothing”
  - Wolf Alice – “Moaning Lisa Smile”
    - Who Should Win? –> Alabama Shakes – “Don’t Wanna Fight”
      - One of my favorite songs and vocal performances of 2015.
    - Who Won? –> Alabama Shakes – “Don’t Wanna Fight”
- Best Rock Song
  - Alabama Shakes – “Don’t Wanna Fight”
  - Elle King & Dave Bassett – “Ex’s & Oh’s”
  - Florence Welch, John Hull & Tom Hull (Florence + the Machine) – “What Kind of Man”
  - James Bay & Iain Archer – “Hold Back the River”
  - Richard Meyer, Ryan Meyer & Johnny Stevens (Highly Suspect) – “Lydia”
    - Who Should Win? –> Alabama Shakes – “Don’t Wanna Fight”
      - I love how Florence + the Machine is up for Best Pop Album & Best Rock Song. Grammy’s can never figure out genres or artists that bend genres.
    - Who Won? –> Alabama Shakes – “Don’t Wanna Fight”
- Best Rock Album
  - Death Cab for Cutie – Kintsugi
  - Highly Suspect – Mister Aslyum
  - James Bay – Chaos in the Calm
  - Muse – Drones
  - Slipknot – .5: The Gray Chapter
    - Who Should Win? –> Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color
      - I know they’re not even nominated, I don’t care. How are Alabama Shakes up for Best Rock Performance & Best Rock Song but not be up for Best Rock Album, but instead nominated for Best Alternative Album, a category that like all years, is especially laughable this year in all over the place selection. Slipknot is Metal, Death Cab’s last record was pathetic. No one should win this category.
    - Who Won? –> Muse – Drones
Best Alternative Music Album
- Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color
- Bjork – Vulnicura
- My Morning Jacket – The Waterfall
- Tame Impala – Currents
- Wilco – Star Wars
  - Who Should Win? –> Honestly Any of Them
    - Considering the fact that all of these albums are of a different genre, especially Bjork & Tame Impala, this one just can’t be picked. I had Tame Impala the highest out of all of these albums on my Best Albums of 2015 list, but these are all great albums that all were in my Top 35 of 2015. I’d be happy with any of their wins, I just wish the Grammy’s didn’t have a “…and the rest” category.
  - Who Won? –> Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color
R&B Awards
- Best R&B Performance
  - Tamar Braxton – “If I Don’t Have You”
  - Andra Day – “Rise Up”
  - Hiatus Kaiyote – “Breathing Underwater”
  - Jeremih – “Planes (feat. J. Cole)”
  - The Weeknd – “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)”
    - Who Should Win? –> The Weeknd – “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)”
      - Who’s vocal work up for the award is better than The Weeknd’s?
    - Who Won? –> The Weeknd – “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)”
- Best R&B Song
  - Miguel & Brook Davis – “Coffee”
  - Ahmad Balshe, Stephan Moccio, Jason Quenneville & Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd) – “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)”
  - Kenny B. Edmonds, Jazmine Sullivan & Dwane M. Weir II – “Let It Burn”
  - D’Angelo & Kendra Foster – “Really Love”
  - Warryn Campbell, Tyrese Gibson & DJ Rogers Jr (Tyrese) – “Shame”
    - Who Should Win? –> Miguel & Brook Davis – “Coffee”
      - The one artist whose R&B vocal work is better than The Weeknd’s.
    - Who Won? –> D’Angelo & Kendra Foster – “Really Love”
- Best Urban Contemporary Album
  - The Internet – Ego Death
  - Kehlani – You Should Be Here
  - Lianne La Havas – Blood
  - Miguel – Wildheart
  - The Weeknd – Beauty Behind the Madness
    - Who Should Win? –> The Internet – Ego Death
      - Besides my dislike of “Urban Contemporary” as a description for this style of R&B music, the award hands down goes to The Internet.
    - Who Won? –> The Weeknd – Beauty Behind the Madness
- Best R&B Album
  - Leon Bridges – Coming Home
  - D’Angelo And The Vanguard – Black Messiah
  - Andra Day – Cheers To The Fall
  - Jazmine Sullivan – Reality Show
  - Charlie Wilson – Forever Charlie
    - Who Should Win? –> Leon Bridges – Coming Home
      - He should, but he probably won’t. They’ll probably give it to D’Angelo, whose music I’ve never really been that much of a fan of. Shout out to Charlie Wilson for getting nominated though, haha wow.
    - Who Won? –> D’Angelo And The Vanguard – Black Messiah
Rap Awards
- Best Rap Performance
  - J. Cole – “Apparently”
  - Drake – “Back to Back”
  - Fetty Wap – “Trap Queen”
  - Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
  - Nicki Minaj – “Truffle Butter (feat. Drake & Lil Wayne)”
  - Kanye West – “All Day (feat. Theophilus London, Allan Kingdom & Paul McCartney)”
    - Who Should Win? –> Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
      - What even are these nominees? “Back to Back” is on here? “All Day” is on here? Is “Trap Queen” a rap performance? Kendrick should have this one.
    - Who Won? –> Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
    - Who Got Snubbed?
      - Action Bronson & Chance the Rapper – “Baby Blue”
      - Freddie Gibbs – “Careless”
      - Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment – “Sunday Candy”
      - Joey Bada$$
      - Lil Dicky
      - Lupe Fiasco
- Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
  - Big Sean – “One Man Can Change the World (feat. Kanye West & John Legend)”
  - Common & John Legend – “Glory”
  - Jidenna – “Classic Man (feat. Roman GianArthur)”
  - Kendrick Lamar – “These Walls (feat. Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat)”
  - Nicki Minaj – “Only (feat. Drake, Lil Wayne & Chris Brown)”
    - Who Should Win? –> Kendrick Lamar – “These Walls (feat. Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat)”
      - This one’s gonna be a toss-up I think. If they go for biggest hitters, Big Sean & Kanye & Legend or Common & Legend will probably take it, unless they go with the other big hitter side of Nicki, Wayne, Drake & Chris Brown. “Glory” is a true Rap/Sung Collaboration which leads me to believe that’s the one they’ll choose, with Big Sean’s song being kind of lame and “Only” being way more rap oriented than featuring a Chris Brown sung chorus. “Classic Man” just shouldn’t win, period. Even though I just think “These Walls” is the best song up here, the three featured artists also collaborated on the entirety of To Pimp A Butterfly, and the result had them gel together incredibly well under Kendrick’s direction.
    - Who Won? –> Kendrick Lamar – “These Walls (feat. Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat)”
    - Who Got Snubbed?
      - Action Bronson & Chance the Rapper – “Baby Blue”
      - Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment – “Sunday Candy”
- Best Rap Song
  - Ernest Brown, Tyler Bryant, Sean Combs, Mike Dean, Rennard East, Noah Goldstein, Malik Yusef Jones, Karim Kharbouch, Allan Kyariga, Kendrick Lamar, Paul McCartney, Victor Mensah, Charles Njapa, Che Pope, Patrick Reynolds, Allen Ritter, Kanye West, Mario Winans & Cydel Young – “All Day”
  - Kendrick Duckworth, Kawan Prather, Mark Anthony Spears & Pharrell Williams – “Alright”
  - Richard Dorfmeister, A. Graham, Markus Kienzl, M. O’Brien, M. Samuels & Phillip Thomas – “Energy”
  - Lonnie Lynn, Che Smith & John Stephens (Common & John Legend) – “Glory”
  - Tony Fadd & Willie J. Maxwell (Fetty Wap) – “Trap Queen”
    - Who Shold Win? –> Lonnie Lynn, Che Smith & John Stephens (Common & John Legend) – “Glory”
      - This one’s for the composition of the song, and honestly “All Day,” and “Energy” have some boring looking compositions. “Glory” was made for film, and the instrumentation / lack of repetition is enough to give it the award. Love me some Kendrick though still.
    - Who Won? –> Kendrick Duckworth, Kawan Prather, Mark Anthony Spears & Pharrell Williams – “Alright”
- Best Rap Album
  - J. Cole – 2014 Forest Hills Drive
  - Dr. Dre – Compton
  - Drake – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
  - Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly
  - Nicki Minaj – The Pinkprint
    - Who Should Win? –> Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly
      - And ya’ll thought it was a shoe in last time. Definitely this time.
    - Who Won? –> Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
- Timbaland & Jim Beanz – “Empire: Season 1”
- Various Artists – “Fifty Shades of Grey”
- Glen Cambell – “I’ll Be Me”
- Various Artists – “Pitch Perfect 2”
- Various Artists – “Selma”
  - Who Should Win? –> Various Artists – “Fifty Shades of Grey”
    - Unless they’re in love with Empire, Fifty Shades should take it.
  - Who Won? –> Glen Cambell – “I’ll Be Me”
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
- Antonio Sanchez – “Birdman”
- Alexandre Desplat – “The Imitation Game”
- Hans Zimmer – “Interstellar”
- Jóhann Jóhannsson – “The Theory of Everything”
- Justin Hurwitz – “Whiplash”
  - Who Should Win? –> Antonio Sanchez – “Birdman”
    - All amazing scores honestly could go to any of them. Birdman’s score though, with the drumming, kept the movie at the pace and suspense it had.
  - Who Won? –> Antonio Sanchez – “Birdman”
Best Song Written for Visual Media
- Ahmad Balshe, Stephan Moccio, Jason Quenneville & Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd) – “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)”
- Lonnie Lynn, Che Smith & John Stephens (Common & John Legend) – “Glory”
- Savan Kotecha, Max Martin, Tove Nilsson, Ali Payami & Ilya Salmanzadeh (Ellie Goulding) – “Love Me Like You Do”
- Andrew Cedar, Justin Franks, Charles Puth & Cameron Thomaz (Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth) – “See You Again”
- Lady Gaga & Diane Warren – “Til It Happens to You”
  - Who Should Win? –> Lonnie Lynn, Che Smith & John Stephens (Common & John Legend) – “Glory”
    - Real toss up for me between “Glory” and “Earned It,” but I feel like the Grammy’s are a bit more “Glory” than “Fifty Shades” leaning.
  - Who Won? –> Lonnie Lynn, Che Smith & John Stephens (Common & John Legend) – “Glory”
Best Engineered Album
- Dave O’Donnell, engineer; Ted Jensen, mastering engineer (James Taylor) – Before This World
- Maxime Le Guil, engineer; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer (Melody Gardot) – Currency of Man
- Greg Kurstin & Alex Pasco, engineers; Emily Lazar, mastering engineer (The Bird And The Bee) – Recreational Love
- Shawn Everett, engineer; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer (Alabama Shakes) – Sound & Color
- Steve Price, Jochem van der Saag & Jorge Vivo, engineers; Paul Blakemore, mastering engineer (Diana Krall) – Wallflower
  - Who Should Win? –> Shawn Everett, engineer; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer (Alabama Shakes) – Sound & Color
  - Who Won? –> Shawn Everett, engineer; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer (Alabama Shakes) – Sound & Color
Producer of the Year
- Jeff Bhasker
- Dave Cobb
- Diplo
- Larry Klein
- Blake Mills
  - Who Should Win? –> Diplo
    - Diplo was everywhere last year. Blake Mills did Sound & Color, but that’s basically it, and Jeff Bhasker did a lot of pop too, but none as successful as Diplo’s 2015.
  - Who Won? –> Jeff Bhasker

Let’s see how it goes.