Grammys 2015: Lauren’s Top Five
Lauren Feeney ’15 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
Are you ready to shake it off for the Grammys? This Sunday, the 57th Grammy Awards will air at 8/7 central on CBS. The music awards show will bring together artists such as Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Iggy Azalea, and Meghan Trainor. For the fourth year in a row, LL Cool J is hosting the 83 category-filled show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Even if music isn’t your forte, I encourage you to stay with me and learn more about who might be taking home the coveted gold gramophones (Who wouldn’t want a gold gramophone? Now that’s the real question.) Here are my picks for five of the top categories.
Category One: Record of the Year
“Fancy” – Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX
“Chandelier” – Sia
“Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)” -Sam Smith
“Shake It Off” – Taylor Swift
“All About That Bass” – Meghan Trainor
This is a tough one. Over the past year, these nominees have produced head bopping, sing-your-heart-out-in-the-shower, make you feel good (and extremely emotional) songs (I’ll stay with you Sam Smith!). However, I think Meghan Trainor’s “All About that Bass” comes out on top. A native of Nantucket, Mass. (Mass. Represent!), Trainor has become a superstar within a few short months. This song was the song of the summer. She’s got sass! She’s got booty! She can hit those high notes! I’d love to see Trainor receive this award in all her pastel-colored attire, confident sass, lips moving glory.
Category Two: Album of the Year
Morning Phase – Beck
Beyoncé – Beyoncé
X – Shadow
In The Lonely Hour – Sam Smith
Girl – Pharrell Williams
Hands down, Sam Smith’s In The Lonely Hour. At 22, Smith has made history by being the 10th artist in Grammy history to be nominated in the four “general field” categories: Best Album, Best Song, Best Records, and Best New Artist. With hits like Stay With Me, I’m Not the Only One, and being featured in Latch by Disclosure, Smith proves his worth in the music industry as 2015 Album of the Year. His hypnotic, soothing voice keeps me coming back for more.
Category Three: Song of the Year
“All About That Bass” – Kevin Kadish & Meghan Trainor, songwriters
“Chandelier” – Sia Furler & Jesse Shatkin, songwriters
“Shake It Off” – Max Martin, Shellback, & Taylor Swift, songwriters
“Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)” – James Napier, William Phillips, & Sam Smith, songwriters
“Take Me To Church” – Andrew Hozier-Byrne, songwriters
Move over, Taylor Swift. It’s time for a rookie to take your place. Though not a rookie in the music industry, Sia is new to the Grammy scene. After a spellbinding music video featuring Dance Moms star as an erotic mini-Sia, she has catapulted her way into Dr. Dre beats all over the world. Her vocal range and odd stage habit of not facing the audience during performances shows Sia’s unique and raw talent. She’s here to stay. She is also nominated for Best Music Video. Hopefully she’ll be swinging off chandeliers with glee once she accepts both awards (facing backwards, of course.)
Category Four: Best New Artist
Iggy Azalea – Def Jam Recordings
Bastille – Virgin Records
Brandy Clark – Slate Creek Records
Haim – Columbia Records
Sam Smith- Capitol Records
Sorry Iggy, Sam has stolen my heart. I have a strong feeling that by the end of the night, Smith is going to latch onto a lot of awards. Although every nominee has great talent, Smith is clearly the breakout star of the year. If you’re ever in the Boston area, Sam, please be prepared, because I will be latching onto you. (Da da!)
Category Five: Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
“Fancy” – Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX
“A Sky Full Of Stars” – Coldplay
“Say Something” – A Great Big World with Christina Aquilera
“Bang Bang” – Jessie J, Ariana Grande, & Nicki Minaj
“Dark Horse” – Katy Perry Featuring Juicy J
Girl power at its finest. It’s about time three of the hottest women in the industry collaborated on a song together. If they win, they’d be the first all-female collaboration to win since Christina Aguilera’s “Lady Marmalade” in 2001. I’m rooting for them to bang bang onto the stage and get their deserving award!
There you have it folks, that’s all I have for now. Tune in on Sunday to see the final results. I’ll be in the way way back of the Staples Center, making sure the left shark doesn’t make an appearance on the stage with Swifty. Now that would cause an upROAR.
Till next time!
– Lauren