NEW MUSIC — Ciara x Future, ‘Anytime’

2014 Grammy Review

So the Grammys aired this past Sunday (1/26) and the show was very typical for me. There were some performances that stood out and some that were bland. In this review I’ll be highlighting all my favorite performances and to see all the winners of click here.

My favorite performance of the night was Imagine Dragons & Kendrick Lamar performing ‘M.A.D.D. City’ & the ‘Radioactive (Remix).’ I just can’t stop watching the performance. The energy from both Kendrick and Imagine Dragons as a whole. I love when artists feel the music and really get into it. I just want to download an unedited version of this entire performance. It was just ON POINT from start to finish. The Radioactive Remix is available on iTunes NOW!

Kendrick might not have won any Grammys last night, but this performance was a sure win in the books for another successful Hip-Hop/Rock merge. Some say he was robbed by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, but here’s what Macklemore had to say about the situation in a brief Hot 97 morning show interview (1/27):

It’s the blessing and the curse, a little bit more the curse. First and foremost, Kendrick is a friend of mine. He’s somebody that I love his music and, in my opinion, had the best Rap album of the year. And knowing how the Grammys usually go, I knew that there would be a great chance that we’d win that award and, in essence, rob Kendrick. That’s what happened tonight. It kind of sucks. I think we made a great album. I think that Kendrick made a better Rap album.

The winners of the Grammys are pretty much set in stone now, but Macklemore could not have said it any better. Although the ballot is filled out by many people in higher up positions that know music, they do not know every single artist nominated, nor all the music from that genre. With that it does boil down to popularity and who’s name was out there more along with who topped the charts. When you put those two factors together it goes to show why some artists may have gotten ‘robbed’ in the eyes of others. Overall, congrats to the winners!

Beyoncé opened up the show with, ‘Drunk In Love.’ Although I LOVE the song the performance overall was bland. Jay Z came out and it was the usual, he hugs her, touches her butt, same old same old. I wish she would’ve done something more upbeat off the album. It would’ve been dope if she did ‘Flawless.’ This performance for me was just basic. Nothing against the simplicity of performances, but on the level and pedestal that Beyonce is put on I was expecting more. Shout out to Taylor Swift’s ‘Diddy Bop’ all night long.

John Legend performed ‘All of Me’ as his wife stared on mesmerized by the performance. He did not so the entire song, but it was just enough. Classic R&B. His voice + his flawless piano playing = perfection! I am a huge John Legend fan and his ballads are always Grammy worthy.

Sara Bareilles teamed with Carol King for a medley of ‘Beautiful’ and ‘Brave.’ This comes down to being one of my favs because I love Sara Bareilles and her song ‘Brave’ is just AMAZING! Also Carol King is a legend in her own right. The medley was perfect. The two did not sing over the other making their voices complimentary of each other. It was a short performance, but it was a great to merge the past and the present.

Daft Punk teamed up with Nile Rogers, Pharrell, and Stevie Wonder for their performance. I loved how it was a recording studio theme. I see that as the mystery of whats to come out of the studio when performing a song with that of Daft Punk’s mystery personas. Pharrell got a lot of flack for his hat, but there’s no denying his talent. Stevie Wonder ended the set with his song ‘Another Star.’ What an amazing ear to segue between those two songs. My 2nd fav performance of the night.

Lastly I have to give props to the Queen of Physicality, Pink! She did her signature acrobatic set and her strength plus the ability to sing on key through all that does not go without mention. She performed ‘Try’ and the Grammy nominated song ‘Just Give Me a Reason’ with Nate Ruess. Absolutely loved the performance.

NEW MUSIC — Imagine Dragons x Kendrick Lamar, ‘Radioactive (Remix)’

Then & Now Thursday (V.2) — The Grammy Edition

The 56th Annual Grammys will be airing this Sunday (1/26/14) & I wanted to highlight some of the nominees and the progression of their careers.

Taylor Swift is nominated for 4 Grammy awards and she has already received 7 in her career thus far. Basically anything she’s nominated for she gets and her music, although I wasn’t a fan of the bubble gum and lollipops initially, I respect her drive and creativity. Here’s the song that changed my mind on Taylor no matter how much I tried NOT to like her music.

At first she was singing about how that special guy would always be her prince charming know matter who he might be with on her tracks ‘Love Story’ and ‘You Belong With Me’ (Fearless, 2008). Now she’s over the whole ‘love’ thing on her album Red, singing about how boys are trouble and once she’s done she’s done, insert ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.’

Congrats to Taylor on her domination not only in Country music, but in Pop as well.

Shawn Corey Carter better known as Jay Z is nominated for 9 Grammys having won 17 so far in his career. Jay Z has become an icon in the Hip Hop community and since 2003 has expanded his popularity with his high popularized romance with wife Beyoncé. It all began with 1996s, Reasonable Doubt.

Nearly 20 years since the release of his debut album he’s now at a point in his career where he’s considered ‘old.’ Not old in being in his 40s, but old in the game, yet he seems to release some of the freshest music. His recent work, Magna Carta…Holy Grail spanned the huge hit ‘Holy Grail’ which features Justin Timberlake and my personal fav from the album ‘Tom Ford.’

Rihanna who is Jay Z’s biggest investment to date is nominated for having won 6 so far. I never thought that her career would have excelled to the level it has after ‘Pon De Replay’ (Music of the Sun, 2005).

Rihanna has put out 7 albums in less than decade. Her sound has evolved with her age. Good Girl Gone Bad (2008) was the turning point and she really crossed over with the track ‘Umbrella.’ Her sound is clearly a reflection of her life being that she draws from personal experience. Now she’s a no holds barred artist that does what she wants. Her album, Unapologetic, is my favorite compilation that she has released thus far. With tracks like ‘Diamonds,’ ‘Stay,’ ‘No Love Allowed,’ she serenades each track with her unique voice and you can hear the passion and realness in the music. She’s let fans in to all aspects of her personal life and that’s something to commend.

In the beginning it was all about honing in on her sound, but now she’s her own woman and is putting out real music now. You might not like her voice, her fashion, her risky behavior, but there’s no denying that Rihanna is one of the hardest workers in the business at her age.

Next up is Mr. Robin Thicke who is nominated for 3 Grammys, the first Grammy nods he’s had in his career. He is somewhat of a vet in the industry, but his work has been overlooked.His partner in crime from the beginning of his career has been Pharrell. They teamed up on the first track I ever remember hearing from him, ‘Wanna Love You Girl’ (The Evolution of Robin Thicke, 2006).

His sound hasn’t drifted at all from what he began. He’s a love song making guy. Every song he’s made has been a long the lines of that. ‘Blurred Lines’ is that track that very few people have in their careers to push them to the next level.

Despite the controversy of the song from the video to the actual production, there’s no denying that this song was a hit. Not a complete fan of the entire album, but ‘Blurred Lines’ was definitely the song of the summer. I’m glad he was able to get that push.

Congrats to all the nominees.

56th Annual Grammy Awards — January 26, 2014 — Live CBS 8pm (EST)

Beyoncé’s, ‘Drunk In Love’, to be Edited on UK Station

Beyoncé has been getting a lot of flack about the lyrics to her new self-titled album and it doesn’t seem to be stopping. UK radio station, Bang Radio, has banned a part of Jay Z’s lyrics from ‘Drunk In Love’ for domestic violence. What type of domestic violence did he insinuate?

I’m Ike, Turner turn up/ Baby know I don’t play / Now eat the cake, Anna Mae / I said eat the cake, Anna Mae

That is one of the prolific scenes from the Tina Turner biopic starring Angela Basset. Bang Radio’s CEO, Jennifer Ogle, released a statement:

The lyrics controversially imitate a scene of severe domestic violence within the film, displaying promotion of domestic violence against women. In this light Bang [refuses] to play the song lyrics from henceforth on our station. We believe in the unity of women and music and in no way condone violence, domestic or otherwise, especially not through the power of music. Therefore, the decision has been made to wipe the stated lyrics from the song … Respectful of what our audience [wants] to hear on Bang Radio, we feel this is the right action to take in regards to the controversial lyrics of the song and we will continue to serve in social equality for people through music and content on our station.

From the first half of the statement it said that the song would no longer be played, but near the end the decision was changed to the song being played with the lyrics removed. This could be done one of two ways. Jay Z’s lyrics could be removed from the song entirely or his lyrics can still be played just removing the part insinuating domestic violence with some looping. I really would have thought that the song would get banned for the sexual innuendos instead of the domestic violence insinuation that clearly went over my head.

The song is doing very well on the charts ranking in the top 5 on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts. The album itself is holding on at #2 on the Billboard 200.

Well if you would like to keep up the Carters you can catch them (including Baby Blue) all over the blogs and Beyoncé’s Instagram. The couple is also slated to perform at the Grammy’s this Sunday (1/26/14).