2021 Grammy Awards

 The three and a half hour show showed the impact corona had on the music industry. The production value focused more to highlight singers and talent of this past year such as artists Taylor Swift to Bad Bunny to Lil Baby. Beyoncé won multiple awards giving her the title of the female artist with the most Grammys ever won. Harry Styles opened up the show with his performance of Watermelon Sugar with comedian Trevor Noah hosting the socially distant award show. 

 

At the Grammys, besides the pre-recorded performances, the audience was only a couple dozen of award winners such as Noah Cyrus, Meg the Stallion, Billie Eilish and even Beyonce and Jayz were in attendance.

Favorite performances of the night include teen heartthrob Harry Styles and Dua Lipa both with massive radio hits Watermelon Sugar and Levitating and Don't Start Now. Megan Thee Stallion also sang Savage remix as well as Body.

 Surprised large productions include Rock Star by Da Baby, Lil Baby's The Bigger Picture, and Silk Sonic's Leave the Door Open. Silk Sonic is a group including Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak, both incredible vocal artists giving a throwback feel good styled song. At the end of the night WAP was performed by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion again in an almost after dark show dancing all over the stage. 

 

Lil Baby's The Bigger Picture's song gave insight about police today and protests as well as unity with lyrics in his song. Opening up with a police aggression and acting out protests as well as unity showed what this past year 2020 had given us.

It's bigger than black and white
It's a problem with the whole way of life
It can't change overnight
But we gotta start somewhere

-The Bigger Picture Lyrics

Other artist such as Billie Eilish and Post Malone gave great performances as always and even Billie had won the Record of the Year once again this year with her song "Everything I Wanted" where last year it was with the song "Bad Guy". Taylor Swift performed songs from one of her latest album Folklore, also a well publicized singer who is rerecording her past hits. This year had the all time lowest ratings but there was lots of discussion on social media over the show. The past few weeks there has been rumors of controversy with talks of the political side of the music industry as well as rigged awards. Throwing in corona, and the different set up, overall, the awards was far from normal but very reflective on this past year as a whole.

 

2021 GRAMMY WINNERS 

Record of the Year
“Everything I Wanted,” Finneas O’Connell, producer; Rob Kinelski and Finneas O’Connell, engineers/mixers; John Greenham, mastering engineer (Billie Eilish)

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Album of the Year
“Folklore,” Taylor Swift

Song of the Year
“I Can’t Breathe,” Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas, songwriters (H.E.R.)

Best New Artist
Megan Thee Stallion

Best Pop Solo Performance
“Watermelon Sugar,” Harry Styles

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
“Rain on Me,” Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande

Best Pop Vocal Album
“Future Nostalgia,” Dua Lipa

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
American Standard” by James Taylor

Best Dance Recording
“10%,” Kaytranada featuring Kali Uchis

Best Dance/Electronic Album
“Bubba,” Kaytranada

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
“Live at the Royal Albert Hall,” Snarky Puppy

Best Rock Performance
“Shameika,” Fiona Apple

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Best Metal Performance
“Bum-Rush,” Body Count

Best Rock Song
“Stay High,” Brittany Howard, songwriter (Brittany Howard)

Best Rock Album
“The New Abnormal,” The Strokes

Best Alternative Music Album
“Fetch the Bolt Cutters,” Fiona Apple

Best R&B Performance
“Black Parade,” Beyoncé

Best Traditional R&B Performance
“Anything For You,” Ledisi

Best R&B Song
“Better Than I Imagine,” Robert Glasper, Meshell Ndegeocello and Gabriella Wilson, songwriters (Robert Glasper featuring H.E.R. and Meshell Ndegeocello)

Best Progressive R&B Album
“It Is What It Is,” Thundercat

Best R&B Album
“Bigger Love,” John Legend

Best Rap Performance
“Savage,” Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé

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Best Melodic Rap Performance
“Lockdown,” Anderson .Paak

Best Rap Song
“Savage,” Beyoncé, Shawn Carter, Brittany Hazzard, Derrick Milano, Terius Nash, Megan Pete, Bobby Session Jr., Jordan Kyle Lanier Thorpe and Anthony White, songwriters (Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé)

Best Rap Album
“King’s Disease,” Nas

Best Country Solo Performance
“When My Amy Prays,” Vince Gill

Best Country Duo/Group Performance
“10,000 Hours,” Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber

Best Country Song
“Crowded Table,” Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby and Lori McKenna, songwriters (The Highwomen)

Best Country Album
“Wildcard,” Miranda Lambert

Best New Age Album
“More Guitar Stories,” Jim “Kimo” West

Best Improvised Jazz Solo
“All Blues,” Chick Corea, soloist

Best Jazz Vocal Album
“Secrets Are the Best Stories,” Kurt Elling featuring Danilo Pérez

Best Jazz Instrumental Album
“Trilogy 2,” Chick Corea, Christian McBride and Brian Blade

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Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
“Data Lords,” Maria Schneider Orchestra

Best Latin Jazz Album
“Four Questions,” Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra

Best Gospel Performance/Song
“Movin’ On,” Darryl L. Howell, Jonathan Caleb McReynolds, Kortney Jamaal Pollard and Terrell Demetrius Wilson, songwriters (Jonathan McReynolds and Mali Music)

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
“There Was Jesus,” Casey Beathard, Jonathan Smith and Zach Williams, songwriters (Zach Williams and Dolly Parton)

Best Gospel Album
“Gospel According to PJ,” PJ Morton

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
“Jesus Is King,” Kanye West

Best Roots Gospel Album
“Celebrating Fisk! (The 150th Anniversary Album),” Fisk Jubilee Singers

Best Latin Pop or Urban Album
“YHLQMDLG,” Bad Bunny

Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album
“La Conquista Del Espacio,” Fito Paez

Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)
“Un Canto Por Mexico, Vol. 1,” Natalia Lafourcade

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Best Tropical Latin Album
“40,” Grupo Niche

Best American Roots Performance
“I Remember Everything,” John Prine

Best American Roots Song
“I Remember Everything,” Pat McLaughlin and John Prine, songwriters (John Prine)

Best Americana Album
“World on the Ground,” Sarah Jarosz

Best Bluegrass Album
“Home,” Billy Strings

Best Traditional Blues Album
“Rawer Than Raw,” Bobby Rush

Best Contemporary Blues Album
“Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?,” Fantastic Negrito

Best Folk Album
“All the Good Times,” Gillian Welch and David Rawlings

Best Regional Roots Music Album
“Atmosphere,” New Orleans Nightcrawlers

Best Reggae Album
“Got to Be Tough,” Toots and the Maytals

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Best Global Music Album
“Twice as Tall,” Burna Boy

Best Children’s Music Album
“All the Ladies,” Joanie Leeds

Best Spoken Word Album
“Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth,” Rachel Maddow

Best Comedy Album
“Black Mitzvah,” Tiffany Haddish

Best Musical Theater Album
“Jagged Little Pill,” Original Broadway Cast

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
“Jojo Rabbit,” Various Artists

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media
“Joker,” Hildur Gudnadottir, composer

Best Song Written For Visual Media
“No Time to Die,” Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas Baird O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)

Best Instrumental Composition
“Sputnik,” Maria Schneider, composer (Maria Schneider)

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
“Donna Lee,” John Beasley, arranger (John Beasley

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Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals

“He Won’t Hold You,” Jacob Collier, arranger (Jacob Collier featuring Rapsody)

Best Recording Package
“Vols. 11 & 12,” Doug Cunningham and Jason Noto, art directors (Desert Sessions)

Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package
“Ode to Joy,” Lawrence Azerrad and Jeff Tweedy, art directors (Wilco)

Best Album Notes
“Dead Man’s Pop,” Bob Mehr, album notes writer (The Replacements)

Best Historical Album
“It’s Such a Good Feeling: The Best of Mister Rogers,” Lee Lodyga and Cheryl Pawelski, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer (Mister Rogers)

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
“Hyperspace,” Drew Brown, Julian Burg, Andrew Coleman, Paul Epworth, Shawn Everett, Serban Ghenea, David Greenbaum, John Hanes, Beck Hansen, Jaycen Joshua, Greg Kurstin, Mike Larson, Cole M.G.N., Alex Pasco and Matt Wiggins, engineers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer (Beck)

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Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Andrew Watt

Best Remixed Recording
“Roses (Imanbek Remix),” Imanbek Zeikenov, remixer (Saint Jhn)

Best Engineered Album, Classical
“Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, ‘Babi Yar,’" David Frost and Charlie Post, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (Riccardo Muti and Chicago Symphony Orchestra)

Producer of the Year, Classical
David Frost

Best Orchestral Performance
“Ives: Complete Symphonies,” Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)

Best Opera Recording
“Gershwin: Porgy and Bess,” David Robertson, conductor; Frederick Ballentine, Angel Blue, Denyce Graves, Latonia Moore and Eric Owens; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; the Metropolitan Opera Chorus)

Best Choral Performance
“Danielpour: The Passion of Yeshua,” JoAnn Falletta, conductor; James K. Bass and Adam Luebke, chorus masters (James K. Bass, J’Nai Bridges, Timothy Fallon, Kenneth Overton, Hila Plitmann and Matthew Worth; Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and UCLA Chamber Singers)

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
“Contemporary Voices,” Pacifica Quartet

Best Classical Instrumental Solo
“Theofanidis: Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra,” Richard O’Neill; David Alan Miller, conductor (Albany Symphony)

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Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
“Smyth: The Prison,” Sarah Brailey and Dashon Burton; James Blachly, conductor (Experiential Chorus; Experiential Orchestra)

Best Classical Compendium
“Thomas, M.T.: From the Diary of Anne Frank & Meditations on Rilke,” Isabel Leonard; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Jack Vad, producer

Best Contemporary Classical Composition
“Rouse: Symphony No. 5,” Christopher Rouse, composer (Giancarlo Guerrero and Nashville Symphony)

Best Music Video
“Brown Skin Girl,” Beyoncé, Blue Ivy and WizKid

Best Music Film
“Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice,” Linda Ronstadt

The Hollywood Reporters' Roundtables: Are They in on the Joke?

With media companies doing these panel discussions like a Comic Con or press junkets or random interviews, it's interesting to see what questions are chosen to be asked, either to dig deeper into a specific production, the behind the scenes of entertainment, or showing how hollywood is just like us! 

Sometimes these talks can borderline seem to be circlejerking each other about the craft of hollywood but others its a unique window into the day in the life. 

 When talking about the scrutiny of the media and press, five out of ten times, watching The Hollywood Reporters' Roundtables, the discussions about various aspects of entertainment, the journalists asking the questions laugh alongside the faces in entertainment like they are their peers. There really seems to be zero awareness to what side of the road the interviewers are on and the negative affect they can have, even while they are asking questionable things in real time. Asking things and bringing up hardships and embarrassments of their past.  

The journalists kind of harsh and negative questions like the most embarrassing things that have happened, or the different horrible auditioning processes or the worst interviews/backlash. 

The women conversations talked about the feedback rather than the shows and even less about the comedy. Looking at the actors comedian roundtable, there's more laughs about their different productions and even the questions were different. Questions for the men did seem more about the production but still talked about the hardships. 

Full negative questions like what is one job you hated, horrible audition stories, talking about the pay disparity, and the hypocrisy and double standards of entertainment needed good interview questions talked about who inspires them, talking about agents and managers, social impact, differences in TV back then and now, etc. 

The one thing you do see with both the actors and the actresses is how fans are so reactive with encounters. It's interesting like from Matthew Perry from Friends and even more specific comedy productions like Fred Armisen's Porlandia or SNL  fan reactions are more of the same just with technology advancing with iphones and social media. 

As a consumer it should be easy to separate an actor or actress from a television show to be a normal person, even any type of entertainment really. There doesn't have to be a barrier between the two but fans can and do go over the line. 

On sites like deuxmoi on Instagram and other gossip sites, it shows fans prank calling and borderline harassing these guys which is bazaar in itself. The new popular TikTokers talk about how parents will drive to their houses and stalking, taking weird liberties with people who don’t know them.

 On the other side, some famous people call the paparazzi on themselves to get their face out there or purposely go to places where they’ll get seen. Actors and actresses can become addicted being doted over, so they may want the fame, but not the crazy, but everyone’s different.

Talking about how much actors take on themselves because of their job, and how much of themselves they put into their acting, you can understand their passion and specific perspective. Comedy is such a unique multifaceted genre where each projects the actor or actresses work on, they do somehow have that shared experience. Slapstick comedy, to standup, to improv, to even the sitcoms, all have their unique audiences and it's interesting to hear the different backgrounds. It could be simply memorizing someone else's works and edited or just make it up as they go along. 

Is entertainment more to get at a viewer or an audiences funny bone or more formulaic with only money on their mind? Also on the same point, is journalism and media made for breaking news or getting finding a scandal for clicks? One does not necessarily need the other but there is that weird symbiosis and give and take of the two. I enjoy this small edited window into the world of hollywood and am curious about eh going ons of it all. 

We Need to Laugh More

The SNL seasons I have watched during and pre-corona, definitely in 2020 the series received highs and lows along with the other productions out there (The Golden Globes happened and I barely recognized any of the shows), this past saturday was definitely a low. Nick Jonas was the host and the musical guest and it was very evident where a majority of the effort went for the night. His musical performance was miles ahead better than the skits. 

Publications go on to talk about how SNL isn't the same and not as good as it once was but even with the hosts this past year I beg to differ. TV shows try to cater toward its audience and that changes week to week and with media becoming more and more involved, I'm sure it's difficult to nail perfectly every week. Social media and streaming shows though definitely boomed this year for sure though. Netflix and Hulu and HBO are huge.

I'm sure back in the day there were less lawyers involved with SNL and working with ads and donors, hell every old story talks about the millions of parties and drugs and drinking that happened. Less censoring for television for sure and the drugs had to bring out more creativity for skits and stuff compared to today. 

Today, everyone will sue anyone so I'm sure production has to walk that fine line. I'm sure television wants people who are hugely popular and doesn't have a bad reputation. Look back to Nick Jonas, this past weekends host. Nick and the other Jonas Brothers grew fame from Disney, who have a reputation of being the squeaky clean kids, then some child actors go through their scandalous phase after, Amanda Bynes, Demi Lovato, Britney Spears...That is a whole separate issue though...

There are still great ways to bring a fresh new take for comedy though. Examples of great hosts this past year include Bill Burr, Dave Chapelle, and Adele. Bill Burr known for toeing the line and his opening monologue definitely got reactions out of people on twitter talking about 'woke' media and BLM. Even Dave Chapelle's 16 minute monologue    talking about the effects of corona and the election. Both had perfect sets. Adele was surprising with her acting and other popular guests were Timothee Chalamet and John Krasinski from The Office.

This year it seemed to be a theme to bring back some of the SNL alums as well. John Mulaney and Chris Rock both were amazing talents and not even talking about the musical guests, Justin bieber, Jack White, Meg the Stallion, all with huge songs. I think that people are complaining about this year because there isn't anything going on really, barely any shows or entertainment. It's hard to be inspired creatively without anything going on. 

News outlets and bloggers often point out how the shows are less and good each time but with this hyper criticism, can you blame shows to have a more kid friendly and PC show? With views mattering so much for the advertisers as well as the millions of opinions of the viewers, everything is now picked through with a fine toothed comb. 

Criticism is not only through word of mouth and tradition news media but social media. Definitely has to be taken into consideration with TV productions like this, with Twitter and the PC warriors to Tik Tok the newest platform. Theres a million of young users on those sites with their own opinions as well as older more tradition media personalities. I'm sure Nick Jonas was a huge get for SNL with his younger demographic and his new album going solo, no scandals and popular seasoned young singer. 

Its the chicken or the egg situation, bloggers and viewers complain about being offended with shock jock humor or complaining about shows being not as good as they once were. The media definitely perpetuates their own opinions onto there huge audience and following. With right now not much happening with corona, everything is being looked at under a microscope. I can't wait for things to open up and more more music, more movies, and just things back to what they were. Anyways, heres a clip of a parody of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from over the summer.