Oh Me Oh My: Grammys 2015

Oh Me Oh My! Yes, that’s the name of a song made famous by The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin but that is also the four words that sum up my thoughts around last nights Grammy Award telecast. There were so many things about this year’s telecast that made me have that moment. Now you all know how I do, I do my high points and low points, there is no need to deviate from that. So here goes.

High Points:

The ACDC Opening:
This is how you open a show. Given legends the chance to shine. It one introduces the group to a whole new audience and 2 it reminds us who love rock and roll and good music why we fell in love with the songs in the first place. ACDC rocked the house and got the crowd hyped up, everyone including Sir. Paul McCartney was up on their feet. It was a great way to start a show, and a great way to keep good music alive.

Sam Smith:
The Grammy’s started off the night right with not only the ACDC performance but starting right away with the “Best New Artist” award presented by legend in the making Taylor Swift. The award went to the very deserving Sam Smith who had a phenomenal year and reminded us all that there is still hope for the future of good music. Smith had stated in an earlier interview that of all the nominations he wanted to win in this category the most because you only can get nominated for this one once. Mission accomplished! Sam now joins the ranks of Mariah Carey, Natalie Cole, Alicia Keys, The Beatles, and John Legend. Sam was truly humbled to win this award and then he won 3 more. The greatest moment came when he thanked the public for accepting whom he really was and only when he was being himself did he find true success. Very inspiring. Smith’s ended the night with a very inspiring performance with another inspiring legend Mary J. Blige and their soulful heartfelt performance of “Stay With Me.” Sam Smith is proof that as quoted last night from LL Cool J. “Dreams don’t have deadlines” Truth indeed.

Miranda Lambert:
Not a huge fan of country music, but her performance was good. One thing about country that I like is that it has stayed true to form. Country music does not really create flash in the pans and you really do have to have talent in this particular genre to stay relevant. Her performance of "Little Red Wagon" was cool and I appreciated it, even though I am not a fan of country music, I appreciate the global impact that it has on our society.
Usher:
Ushers tribute performance of Grammy favorite and legend Stevie Wonder’s “If It’s Magic” from the groundbreaking Songs In The Key of Life album was a great way to pay respect to the legend. I was skeptical at first because Usher is more known for performing style of say a Michael Jackson so a tribute to King of Pop would be more fitting for Usher but somehow he pulled it off, bringing Stevie out at the end of it for the harmonica solo was a nice touch.

Annie Lennox/Hozier:
I had heard the song “Take Me To The Church” by Hozier a few times and never really paid attention to it. After doing a little research and listening to the lyrics is that I realized that the song is a frustration with the Catholic Church on its stance on homosexuality. Say what you want about the controversy (which I will not touch on this entry) but bringing out a legend like Annie Lennox was a smart move on his part. My focus was more on Lennox performing “I Put A Spell on You”. She most certainly did. Annie definitely has some soul prowess in the voice and I was up on my feet when she was singing. Congratulations Annie, you just reintroduced yourself to a new legion of fans.

Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett:
This is a rare feat. Lady Gaga is usually never on my high point lists at award shows. But she pleasantly surprised me with her performance with Tony Bennett. I was blown away not only by her vocal ability and her talent but her normal looking outfit. I have a new found respect for Lady G. She is a real artist who can actually cover multiple genres. However it also proves my point that you don’t have to do all of that weirdness in order to sell records, but alas that is her style I guess. Tony Bennett do you ever age man? You still slaying it after all these years, keep on keeping on.

Prince:
When Prince was up to present the “Album of the Year” award by the sheer roar of the audience and the standing ovation he got, it’s clear how much of a legend and inspiration this man is and how much people love good music and artistry, which he embodies. However it was his brilliant introduction that he gave before he presented the nominees. “Like books and black lives, albums still matter.” Brilliant! All three seem to be not given a lot merit these days and with that simple statement Prince summarized a lot of our thoughts and feelings.

Feel Some Type of Way: In Between Moments:

Madonna:
I always enjoy Madonna. To be in her mid 50’s she is still kicking point. Madonna of course laid the groundwork for other shock artist such as Rhianna, Brittney Spears, and of course Lady Gaga. The fact that she is still doing her thing is great. However I am not really sure of her performance last night. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it. Something was off about it. I felt like she was trying too hard last night. For Madge, this not something she normally has to do. I think I was a bit confused by all she had going on stage. The guys shaped like cows or bulls, the being suspended in air at the end it just seemed a bit much. But then again that is Madonna.

Katy Perry:
The Domestic Violence thing just left me a little like “???” I appreciate the point of it and the message but it just seemed too contrived and out of place for The Grammy’s. I don’t feel like we need to always bring up politics and issues such as these at award shows. Entertainment is sometimes supposed to be a form of escapism for us. However, I applaud the message I just feel like it was not the right time. Katy Perry’s performance to me was also a bit confusing. My cousin Nailah said she looked like Superman’s mom form the original Superman II. LMBO!!!


Pharrell’s Happy
I understood what Pharell was trying to do bring light to TraVaughn Martin and Michael Brown and Eric Garner but I didn’t understand the connection to the song “Happy” which is supposed to make us feel just that. I am not sure what the exact message was. The outfit was strange even for Pharrell. Although I later realized that it was supposed to be an homage to the movie Grand Budapest Hotel movie but wasn’t the song originally from the movie Despicable Me? I was very confused. I was not sure if I wanted to buy Pharrell’s album or give him my luggage.

Low Points:

Warning: OK. Beyoncé or Beyhive fans… take a deep breath. Beyoncé is on the low point list. Breathe…relax it’s going to be okay. Beyoncé will be okay. Jay will be okay. We will all be okay… okay??

But before that….

SIA:
Who is she? Why won’t she show her face? Does anyone else think this is Lady Gaga’s alternate ego like David Bowie’s Iggy Stardust? She is doing too much. Please show your face.


Kanye West:
I can remember in 2005 I was bumping “All Falls Down…” “Slow Jams” “Through The Fire” like nobody’s business. I was on the Kanye bus. I was a fan. I loved the fact that this man was a game changer for hip-hop. Then “Gold Digger” came out and I was a super Kanye fan. I thought he was a little conceited complaining about not winning awards but I admired his honesty…then he did the Rolling Stone cover dressed like Jesus in which he compared himself to the savior. This fan was done.
Fast forward to last night…. My loathing for Kanye has reached a boiling point, his arrogance, his boldness, his diva attitude, and his need for attention. Forget Aretha, Mariah, Celine, and Barbara. If you want to know who the biggest diva of all time is its Kanye. We all the Kanye/Taylor debacle that happened a few years back, but Kanye attempted to do it again last night with Beck. Kanye sit your but down. You really thought you were entitled to interrupt Beck’s moment? Regardless weather or not you agree with the decision, sit down. Even if you meant it as a joke (which Kanye confirmed that it indeed was not), it still took away from Beck’s moment. Beyoncé’ and Jay-z DO NOT need you to fight their battles, and by the looks of Jay and Bey clearly they were embarrassed just like Beyoncé was when you put her out there at MTV. Then you say Beck should have given the award to Beyoncé in honor of true artistry? What kind of Shade was that to Beck? Beck is not an artist? Beck was a great part of my growing up with hits like “Loser”, “Where It’s At”, and “New Pollution”. Beck is an artist and furthermore who are you to determine what art is after that lackluster, head scratching, over exposed auto tuned, velour wearing sweat suit in 80-degree weather performance you dropped. Have several seats bro. Paging Dr. Phil, Paging Dr. Phil or Steve Harvey either one would tell you about yourself. Even the President of the United States thinks you are a jackass.

The Kanye/Rhianna/Paul McCartney thing…

First of all, no disrespect no shade to Sir. Paul McCartney a rock legend, pioneer. I have to give him gold stars for helping these overexposed pop singers out. First off Kanye probably thinks he is on the same level as Paul McCartney thinking he changed music like he did. Rhianna I still do not get how she is so popular. I’m not a fan. So you put them two together, you get a disaster. The whole performance was confusing and not at all inspiring.

Beyoncé Reliving Dream Girls:

So this is how the story goes…
If you have seen the movie Selma, you know that R&B singer Ledesi sings “Precious Lord Take My Hand” as Mahalia Jackson, (young folks you may want to Google her). Everyone knows that this song requires a certain amount of emotion, power, and feeling that only singers like Mahalia and Aretha Franklin can deliver. Ledesi does an amazing job filling those mighty big shoes. The song encompasses so many feelings. You’ve heard it at funerals, it’s the song that also helps to summarizes the emotions of the Civil Rights movement, hence the reason it was in the movie. So it only seemed natural that Ledesi would sing it at the Grammys as a introduction to John Legend and Common singing their song Glory from the same movie.

Enter Queen B….
Beyoncé’ decides that in honor of her father (who is still alive), and countless black men that she wants to sing the song instead of Ledesi. According to John Legend she asks the powers that be at the Grammys and according to Legend, “You don’t say no to Beyoncé.” Really? Now let me start off by saying that I love Beyoncé as an artist. She has really changed the game. She is a powerhouse, a cultural phenomenon all of that stuff but she had it dead wrong last night. It was Dreamgirls all over again. Countless fans of hers known as the “Beyhive” were saying that Beyoncé has “mass appeal” and that she would draw in more viewers than Ledesi would. Sound familiar? Remember in Dreamgirls when they decide that Deena (played in the movie by Beyoncé) would sing lead in lieu of the more soulful, more emotion filled Effie (played by Jennifer Hudson in which swept the award season with numerous acting accolades for her stellar performance). Beyoncé is a superstar she has won 20 Grammys, and has sold out arenas and broken records. This would have been a perfect opportunity for Beyoncé to let Ledesi shine and have this moment and introduce her the mainstream audience. This could’ve been, should’ve been Ledesi’s moment. Yeah I get it, The Grammy’s want/need a superstar to close the show. Bey still could have closed out the show. But why not put Ledesi before her? There were options. The Grammys and Beyoncé got it wrong last night. The performance also left something to be desired. She did not deliver the emotions as it did from her predecessors. It was a misfire on her part, she made a mistake it happens, but she was wrong. But hats off to Ledesi and to Beck for not throwing shade back as they were thrown.

All and all, surprisingly the Grammy’s was not as bad as I thought it would be in years past. There were some great performances. Having said that though, it’s not the same Grammy’s I watched in the 80s and 90s. They have eliminated several musical genres and reduced it pretty much to just a big concert instead of the award itself. They have cut a lot of categories and air several before the live telecast. It’s all about mass appeal. Back in the day the Grammy’s was about celebrating all genres on live television. Now we are just appealing to the fans of the mainstream artist. It’s now very political, very commercial.

Money truly does win out… smh.