(411mania.com)
The Grammy Awards were this past Sunday. Touted as the biggest night in music, the Grammys bring together artists past and present to perform and allegedly hand out awards as well. A lot happened during the show, so lets take a look at some of the biggest moments.
Kanye is still Kanye
When Beck won Album of the Year in an upset over the likes of Sam Smith and Beyonce, many were shocked. Most shocked of all was Kanye West, who acted like he was going to interrupt Beck’s speech the same way he did Taylor Swift at the MTV Awards years ago. Instead Kanye smiled and turned back around, playing it off as a joke. It seemed like Kanye turned a corner and had a sense of self awareness. Then came his post-Grammy interview.
"We ain't gonna play with them no more. And Beck needs to respect artistry and he should've given his award to Beyonce,” said West. Then he talked about how Beyonce’s music takes people to a place they’ve never been before and all this other nonsense.
I like Kanye as an artist. I thought Yeezus sucked, but I love his other albums and enjoyed both of his Grammy performances. But his obsession with Beyonce is a little troubling. Not even Jay-Z, her own husband, cares to this extent. My buddy Deshaun Sheppard always had a theory that Kanye looks at wife Kim Kardashian more as an object than a person and I tend to agree with him. Well I’m pretty sure Kanye would leave Kim for Beyonce in a second, because she seems to be the true object of his affection.
Beyonce is worshipped by just about every person in the world. She doesn’t need Kanye to tell everyone how great she and her music are. She’s told that every single day by her BHive. I’m sure she’s not too upset that she lost out on a Grammy considering how devalued awards have become over the years.
Also, “Morning Phase” was awesome.
A Lot of Sad Music
You know you’re in for a sad night when Pharrell turns “Happy” into a slow love song before finally kicking it up a notch. I’m all for the occasional ballad, but I don’t need every single act doing a bible verse accompanied by a gospel choir. Like Paul McCartney, I was ready to wild out in four five seconds.
I thought Sam Smith and Mary J. Blige had a great performance, Madonna stood out because she was the only person who actually performed, ELO and Ed Sheeran killed it, and Annie Lennox shut it down. I liked the performances of John Legend and Common, Kanye West, Hozier, Ed Sheeran and The Gang, and Miranda Lambert but they didn’t exactly blow me away.
Beyonce, Katy Perry, Usher, and Ariana Grande were all wasted performances. They all performed the same song (at least it sounded like it). How are you going to have Usher perform and not have him do a single dance move?
The closing performance by John Legend and Common really brought the night to a fitting end. The closer should be a fun song that gets everyone dancing and in a good mood as they head to the after parties to get their drink on. Lighten up a little, Grammys.
Domestic Violence Issue
I’m all for stopping domestic violence, but are we only taking this stand now because of the NFL? This has been an issue in America (and all over the world) for years now. But it seems like no one cared until Ray Rice was caught knocking out his significant other in an elevator. Chris Brown was nominated for multiple Grammys this year and performed at the 2012 Grammys despite his domestic violence case taking place in 2009.
I’m not saying that a man can’t change (although I still think Chris Brown is douchebag), but why is everyone just now taking a stand against domestic violence when this is a long standing issue?
Also, if you’re going to speak out against domestic violence, you can’t then run 500 commercials for 50 Shades of Grey. I know that’s not really a movie on domestic violence, but if you listened to Brooke Axtell’s speech, she mentioned how she thought she was just in a very loving and passionate relationship before it took a turn for the worse. I’ve never read 50 Shades of Grey and have no plans to see the movie, but if I’m basing things on just the trailer, I can see parallels to a relationship that ends with domestic violence.
Taylor Gonna Tay Tay Tay Tay Tay
It’s no secret that I love Taylor Swift. Award shows love her as well because she knows the lyrics to every song and dances along, making the moves up as she goes.
She also made peace with a couple of enemies on Sunday. First was Diplo, a guy I’d never heard of until he started dissing Taylor. I’m pretty sure he only dissed Taylor because she wrote Bad Blood about Katy Perry, who Diplo was dating at the time. Then Perry broke up with him to go back to John Mayer and Diplo realized that maybe Katy Perry isn’t such a great person after all. That’s just my guess on things.
The bigger news is that Taylor and Kanye finally made up. I could actually see this coming because Kanye interrupting Taylor at the MTV Awards on behalf of Beyonce actually turned Taylor and Beyonce into best friends. It was only a matter of time before Beyonce brought these two together to bury the hatchet. Now we just need them to do a song together and shatter all the records.
Fashion Corner
I don’t care about fashion, but my girlfriend loves seeing what the stars are dressed in. So I’m going to let her write about who was wearing who in order to appease my female audience.
Jessica: The Grammy Awards is the one award venue where artists and actors alike can really push the envelope in fashion. Black and white were popular colors while ladies’ menswear made for a classic twist on the red carpet. Songstress Gwen Stefani mixed these trends with her Atelier Versace black pant and “spiderweb”-detailed top. This was a knockout look that had us singing No Doubt discography all night. Charli XCX’s blush fur wrap and white satin Moshino tuxedo with pink bow-tie seemed straight out of an eighties version of the “My Sweet Sixteen” MTV show.
Last night’s red carpet did not come close to the extreme of the embryonic egg of Lady Gaga in 2011 but Rihanna shocked with a pink loofah-esque dress by Giambattista Valli. Her late arrival 5 minutes pre-show was perfect timing for jaw-dropping across America. Not surprisingly, Sia arrived with her mini-me, white wig exploding around her head. Her press tour as of late has her eyes and most of her face shielded from audience view. But Madonna probably took the cake with her Givenchy bull fighting get-up complete with fishnets and a black thong she felt the need to expose to the cameras. She made it clear to Ryan Seacrest, this was NOT a performance outfit. Take it from the Material Girl, she will never stop taking risks.
Everyone was waiting for the arrival of Taylor Swift, and she did not disappoint. The artist, nominated for 3 Grammy’s, dazzled in a blue-green Elie Saab high-low gown with raspberry Giuseppe Zanotti sandals. Katy Perry’s curves were stunning in a sheer Zuhair Murad number but it was her lavender hair that stood out. Isn’t that Kelly Osbourne’s signature color? Her Super Bowl rainbow fest must have lasted another week.
The men mostly played it safe with traditional blazer/pant sets. The big winner of the night, Sam Smith looked dapper in burgundy with his usual buttoned-up white lapels. Crooner Aloe Blacc exceeded expectations for fashionable at his first Grammy’s with a royal blue suit that has been the trending color for men this awards season. Nick Jonas, with wife in-tow, went with a grey tweed sports suit with yellow stripes that reminded me that he’s not a Disney kid anymore. Pharrell Williams didn’t shock anyone with his grey shorts. With his wife in a onsie tracksuit, they made a strange pair. William’s performance costume looked straight out of The Grand Budapest Hotel as the lobby boy. Rapper Ne-yo brought his game in head-to-toe Marc Jacobs including fedora and fleur-de-lis pin.
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