awards

The Next “Need You Now”

Posted by John on November 14, 2010
Posted in: awards, singles, videos, youtube. 5 Comments

Fan Cover from www.aiewblog.comIt was a year ago this week that Lady Antebellum performed “Need You Now” on the Country Music Association (CMA) awards show, and we all know what happened after that. Fun fact…the song went top 10 in seven other countries beside the United States. I can’t think of a country artist that has done something close to that since Shania Twain ruled the pop and country charts in the late 1990s/early 2000s.

In the music business, it’s all about finding the next (fill in the blank). So where do you go when you have a country song that becomes such a smash that it goes 4x Platinum on sales of well over 4 million singles? I’ve been wrong before, but my money right now is on the next single from Jason Aldean’s fourth CD My Kinda Party entitled “Don’t You Wanna Stay”. And go figure, the song was performed on the CMA awards this past week…

I’ve been a fan of Jason Aldean’s way back since “Hicktown,” but it was “Amarillo Sky” that cemented the idea that this guy could connect with a country song with some depth. It is very clear that Aldean connects with “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” and big props to him for having the vision to ask Kelly Clarkson to take a song written for a solo artist and turn it into a killer duet. While I don’t know if this song will go worldwide, I don’t think it’s a big stretch to hear this song on Adult Pop stations, with an outside chance of Top 40 stations coming along for the ride. I saw the song get as high as #18 on iTunes, but it currently sits at #31.

The arrangement from the live performance buried almost every trace of “country” in the song, allowing the song to stand on its own as a well-written and well-sung song. You can call it country, country pop, modern country, whatever. At the heart of the song, it’s a pop song, and I mean that with as much respect as I can gather. Let’s see how John the Swami does this time around.

Random Notes – 02-01-10

Posted by John on February 1, 2010
Posted in: awards, concerts, music industry, news. Tagged: , , , , , . 12 Comments

– So maybe we DO get to see the JLS vs Taio Cruz throwdown after all! JLS are supposedly going to get the full-court press here in the States, although I think it’s a little dubious. Press releases last week touted that “influential” top 40 station WXSS in Milwaukee is getting calls for the track. Well, Milwaukee isn’t exactly an “influential” market, and right now the song is #44 in their rotation, so someone is grasping pretty deep. I just don’t see “Everybody” breaking them big, and I SURE don’t see “One Shot” doing the job either. Take “Beat Again”, add in a cameo from Pitbull or Flo Rida, and redo the video, and I think that might be their one shot (pun intended).

– One song that WILL continue to climb the charts is Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now”, which is currently sitting at #1 on the iTunes singles chart. They peaked at #5 back in November after the CMA Awards, but with another surge in sales, along with still high country airplay and rapidly growing airplay at both Top 40 and Adult Top 40, you may see Lady A achieve an even higher peak. Stay tuned…my review of Need You Now will be posted tonight or tomorrow at the latest.

– After checking out the review on Paul’s blog, I am hooked on Matt Morris. One thing I didn’t realize until I dug a little deeper is that he’s from Denver! He’s got a great webpage up and running, and in the videos section, you can even see him show up at Twist & Shout Records here to drop of his CD when it was released in mid-January.

Matt has announced that he will be playing a concert at the Bluebird Theater here in Denver, and I already have my tickets. His opening acts are listed as John Common & Blinding Flashes of Light, but I read that there might be some unannounced guests. Considering that Matt is signed to Justin Timberlake’s new Tennman Records, certain educated guesses could be made, no? Or since he lives in Denver, home of the Fray, 3OH!3, and the Flobots, maybe a more local surprise gues would be in order. Either way, I’m looking forward to hearing how his music translates live.

– So I didn’t do too badly on the predictions for the Grammys, but I had a couple of big misses, primarily on Album of the Year. While I was flying during the telecast, I saw Taylor Swift’s performance with Stevie Nicks, and based on that alone, Taylor should never receive another major nomination outside of the Country category. It has become very clear over the last year that Taylor just cannot handle live performances with a paper-thin voice.

Gimme A Grammy 2010

Posted by John on January 31, 2010
Posted in: awards. Tagged: , , , , . 5 Comments

While I was flying on Friday, I overheard the father of a family of 5 lean over to his wife and said “Lady GaGa and Elton John are opening the Grammys. They’re both flamboyant.” Wow. GaGa sure got mainstream real quick, didn’t she? There seems to be a bit more buzz about this year’s show, but I am really not all that inspired by the nominees this time around. Having said that, we play what we are dealt, so here go the predictions:

Record of the Year
Halo/Beyoncé
I Gotta Feeling/The Black Eyed Peas
Use Somebody/Kings Of Leon
Poker Face/Lady Gaga
You Belong With Me/Taylor Swift

This one is hard to call, because while Taylor Swift may seem like a pop record to a lot of people, to the Nashville voters, this is a country record. However, some of those Nashville voters will also want to recognize hometown band Kings of Leon. Beyonce, BEPs and GaGa will split their voters, so the race is between Kings and Taylor, but my gut says Kings of Leon will take this one hom.

Song Of The Year
Poker Face/Lady Gaga & RedOne, songwriters (Lady Gaga)
Pretty Wings/Hod David & Musze, songwriters (Maxwell)
Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)/Thaddis Harrell, Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash & Christopher Stewart, songwriters (Beyoncé)
Use Somebody/Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill, songwriters (Kings Of Leon)
You Belong With Me/Liz Rose & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)

We could see the Kings walk away with both awards this year, but I have a feeling that Maxwell may have a shot at the Song award. The straight-ahead pop songs (and “Belong”) split the vote again.

Album Of The Year
I Am… Sasha Fierce/Beyoncé
The E.N.D./The Black Eyed Peas
The Fame/Lady Gaga
Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King/Dave Matthews Band
Fearless/Taylor Swift

If Beyonce has a shot at a big award, I think this is the one. However, the canceling effect may kick in again here, and since a lot of people feel that the Dave Matthews Band is long overdue for some recognition, look for a shiny glare from Dave’s head to be staring back at you when the award is handed out.

Best New Artist
Zac Brown Band
Keri Hilson
MGMT
Silversun Pickups
The Ting Tings

Best New Artist always seems to be the most difficult category to pick, because the members normally do a good job of picking a diverse range of artists. In this case, I think MGMT and the Ting Tings cancel each other out, and I don’t know if the Pickups have enough support to pull an upset. Give the edge to Keri, because she’s known behind the scenes as well as on the charts.

Best Dance Recording
Boom Boom Pow/The Black Eyed Peas
When Love Takes Over/David Guetta & Kelly Rowland
Poker Face/Lady Gaga
Celebration/Madonna
Womanizer/Britney Spears

GaGa owns the Dance category this year. Look for Dance Recording and Album to both get picked up by a small woman in a crazy outfit.

In case you’re feeling bad for the Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce and Taylor Swift, I think they respectively will own the Pop, R&B and Country categories.

VMA – Various Musical Attitudes

Posted by John on September 14, 2009
Posted in: awards, commentary, music industry. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 7 Comments

Kanye Taylor VMAIf you want a full, thoughtful recap of the VMAs, look no further than Rich’s amazing breakdown of the events (with some amazing screen caps) at fourfour, because he gets almost all of it. I disagree slightly on one or two points, but overall, he needs to get out of my head right now.

Having given you the full breakdown, there are a couple of things that I feel compelled to highlight.

– Madonna, for all of her bad choices of late, is being hailed as a class act for her introduction. Leave it to me to throw cold water on that one. Her intent may have been good, and I believe she was completely sincere in her commentary, but to create this intense bond via the similarities of their circumstances, and then use it to say “he was more fucked up than I will ever be, but I hold myself (and all of you) responsible for his downward spiral” seemed a tad arrogant to me.

Janet Scream VMA– I defeated myself with Janet, because the initial buzz made it sound like she was going to be the heart of this dance extravaganza, but cooler heads prevailed, and she did the most appropriate thing possible. The way they only used his part of the video dance scene, and then got the camera angle of her dancing with him in the right position, was perfection. My initial disappointment with the lack of Janet turned to relief that a) she didn’t embarrass herself; and b) she didn’t embarrass Michael.

– Speaking of Janet, after the show, she released a new song on her website that I am really enjoying. “Make Me” harkens back to that disco vibe of “All for You”, which leads me to believe that this is a product of her revived connection with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. More please!

– I’m torn on the best performance of the night. P!nk’s high-flying acrobatics to “Sober” were truly impressive, but for sheer fun and impact, Beyonce won me over with her army of “Single Ladies”. I got a bit of a kick out of Green Day inviting the entire audience up on the stage at the end of their song, too. Boos to the security gorillas dragging people off the stage after the invite.

Gaga Eminem VMA– Lady GaGa, meet the jumping shark. Jumping shark, here’s your next victim.

I actually LAUGHED at the “death” scene. The blood was so hilarious to me that I am sure people in the next house over heard my guffaws. Note to GaGa…if you’re going to simulate a death and hanging on a family-rated awards show, use some subtlety. This is coming from a fan, so don’t take this as just another hater. Just calling it as I see it.

One more thing…Eminem got what he deserved when he realized that he would HAVE to hug the Lady out of protocol. Karma’s a bitch, bitch.

– I’m sure this won’t be a surprise to anyone, but I will go to the movie theater to see This Is It. For as ghoulish as he looks in parts of the trailer for the movie, it’s going to be a spectacle, and I will be there to see it.

Gerard Butler VMA– If anyone is going to get a sales bounce out of this show, I am hoping it is Muse, who completely deserves it. They rocked it out, and I will be looking for the CD coming out tomorrow. Oh, and Gerard Butler introduced them. Just sayin’.

– One final note…reason #74 why we love Kelly Clarkson.

Random Notes – 02/20/09

Posted by John on February 20, 2009
Posted in: awards, personal, travel, videos, youtube. Tagged: , , , . 6 Comments

– Despite loving the Pet Shop Boys performance/tribute at the Brit Awards this week, my choice for favorite performance hands down goes to the Ting Tings and Estelle for their mash-up of “Shut Up and Let Me Go”, “American Boy”, and “That’s Not My Name”.

As a consolation, though, check out this grainy but still watchable version of PSB’s “Go West” from 15 years ago.

– In the “there might be justice yet” department, it looks like Apple might be helping PMN favorites Franz Ferdinand here in the US with a new iPhone commercial that utilizes “No You Girls”. Here’s a cool performance video of the track. If Feist, Yael Naim and the Ting Tings are the models, Franz Ferdinand should have a Top 40 hit in a couple of weeks.

– Inquiring minds apparently wanted to know more about the super secret (squirrel) mission last weekend. Well, I ended up back in San Francisco for another fun-filled weekend, including a midnight sing-along of Grease, complete with a drag re-enactment of “Summer Nights”. While both of our attempts to get cheap seats for Wicked failed miserably, I had a great time, and am looking forward to my next trip. Wonder when that’ll be…

Dancing In the Heights

Posted by John on February 18, 2009
Posted in: awards, personal, reviews. Tagged: . 3 Comments

Life gets in the way sometimes, doesn’t it? Some of you have asked in comments about where I’m at and what I’m doing, and while I’m not quite there to reveal all (trust me, it’s not that exciting), I’ve got multiple posts that I want to update that are kicking around my head, screaming to get out.

in_the_heightsOver the weekend, I had the pleasure of being introduced to the Cast Recording of “In the Heights”, which won the Grammy for Best Cast Recording last week. Now, let me clarify one thing: I am not a musical guy. Never have been, and I doubt I ever truly will be. Having said that, there have been certain musicals that have resonated with me, in part because they embrace more contemporary styles of music. My first was Dreamgirls (melding my love of R&B music and divas, apparently), and then Chess (“One Night In Bangkok” hooked me, “I Know Him So Well” locked it in for life), followed by Rent (front row balcony, I was spellbound).

“In the Heights” follows in that tradition of pop-influenced scores, with more Latin and Hip-Hop melodies stepping to the forefront. Wikipedia describes it as “the story (of) three days in the characters’ lives in the New York City Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights.” While the story itself follows a similar arc of many musicals, it’s the music that really causes this show to stand out. Killer hooks, grooving melodies, and soaring ballads all suck you into the story, and don’t let you go until the closing number. While some of you may never listen to a cast recording as long as you live, for those of you open to it, I highly recommend it.

In Between Times

Posted by John on February 12, 2009
Posted in: awards, commentary, music industry. Tagged: , , , , , . 6 Comments

clockThere are some pretty cool things going on here in the non-virtual world, so updates won’t be coming quite as regularly for the next week. Without going into too much detail, there are a couple of cool professional/academic challenges that need to be met, along with a top-secret mission in the personal life that will be accomplished by Sunday night. I’m hoping that I can fill y’all in next week. [BTW, the clock is in tribute to PSB, who are now up for pre-orders for their upcoming CD. It’s a good time to be a fan of pop music.]

293adelelc020909What I would like to mention really quick is that, while folks were initially talking about Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, Jennifer Hudson, and Sugarland being the recipients of bumps, it looks like Adele really came out the big winner. Krauss & Plant’s current #1 is a given, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a Best New Artist pick up this much momentum off of a Grammy win without having significant success prior to the show. After having been blown away by the response that she received off of the Saturday Night Live performance, it looks like the record company did a perfect job of positioning her to peak at just the right time. The challenge at this point is how do you capitalize on this, because I’ve felt all along that “Chasing Pavements” was the only song that really stood a chance on pop radio here in America. Could “Hometown Glory” be a hit? I hope so, but I just don’t know.

My Own Private Twitter

Posted by John on February 8, 2009
Posted in: awards, commentary. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

Okay…I actually don’t have a Twitter account, but if I did, it would have looked like this during the Grammys tonight, as I chatted with a good friend in Atlanta:

I’m just not feelin the U2 song. Escape Club did it so much better

DAAAAAAAAAAAAMN…she looks GOOD! (referring to Whitney)

yay, J Hud!

Al Green and JT!

Keith Urban got better billing than Boyz II Men on an R&B tribute

Carrie looks kinda slutty tonight

yay, Sugarland!

ugh, Kid Rock

OMG…SO bad Miley & Taylor. Can we just ship Miley off to the trailer park now?

damn…I liked the Jonas Bros/Stevie collab

ugh…Katy Perry. nauseating

yay, Estelle! she looks hot. Kanye, meanwhile, is bringing back the mid 80s R&B look

okay…New Artist

waiting….

come on…

ADELE!

(my friend) i can’t believe i didn’t hear your scream of joy all the way from denver

I stifled it

MIA is HUGE!

well, Record of the Year confirms that Plant and Krauss will win album of the year

Swagga Like Us was HOT

John Freakin’ Mayer? Srsly? There were four more worthy songs

yay, Sugarland and Adele!

Cyndi had a mohawk!

Radiohead is really good tonight

isn’t TI supposed to go to jail sometime before the next decade?

this Four Tops performance is KILLER

Jordin Sparks sitting behind Paul McCartney. that’s funny

okay…I’m gonna skip Neil Diamond

did Ne Yo perform solo? all the other Album of the Year artists did. although maybe that’s the producers’ way of saying that even they know he was out of his league in that category

did T-Pain say “that’s f*&#in awesome”? when they announced Lil Wayne, he said that just off mic, but enough to get through

Gimme A Grammy

Posted by John on February 7, 2009
Posted in: awards, commentary, music industry. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 6 Comments

It’s time to do the Great Swami predictions for the Grammy Awards, and while I have some clear favorites, this year seems to be just a tad more difficult to predict, due to some bizarre wins over the past few years. I’ll give it a go here, but please let me know what you all think.

krauss-plantALBUM OF THE YEAR
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, Raising Sand (Prediction)
Coldplay, Viva La Vida (Pick)
Ne-Yo, Year Of The Gentleman
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
Radiohead, In Rainbows
While I gave the Ne-Yo CD a great review this past year, I just feel like he’s in over his head in this category. Lil Wayne pulled a great collection of tracks together, and Radiohead did their thing, but I really think this is going to be between the ubiquitous Coldplay and the critical darlings Krauss & Plant. The Nashville voting block has become much stronger over the past few years, so Raising Sand gets the edge.

adele liveBEST NEW ARTIST
Adele (Prediction) (Pick)
Duffy
The Jonas Brothers
Lady Antebellum
Jazmine Sullivan
My concerns of Adele and Duffy canceling each other out have faded, as Adele’s popularity peaked at exactly the right time. Everyone else’s efforts really feel like debuts, while Adele’s 19 has the soul of a veteran, and should triumph.

M.I.A.RECORD OF THE YEAR
Adele, “Chasing Pavements”
Coldplay, “Viva La Vida” (Pick)
Leona Lewis, “Bleeding Love”
M.I.A., “Paper Planes” (Prediction)
Robert Plant and Alison Kraus, “Please Read The Letter”
Since Record of the Year addresses production, you really have to give credit to Coldplay, who took their usual formula and gave it enough of a tweak to result in a truly uplifting record, but I have a hunch that M.I.A. will be the hipster pick of the night.

coldplaySONG OF THE YEAR
“American Boy,” William Adams, Keith Harris, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, John Stephens, Estelle Swaray & Kanye West, songwriters
“Chasing Pavements,” Adele Adkins & Eg White, songwriters (Pick)
“I’m Yours,” Jason Mraz, songwriter
“Love Song,” Sara Bareilles, songwriter
“Viva La Vida,” Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin, songwriters (Prediction)
The hardest category for me to pick, since all of the songs on this list appeared on my Top Songs of 2007 and 2008. From a songwriter’s standpoint, voters will be hard-pressed to vote for Estelle’s seven songwriters. I’m not sure that Adele and Sara have enough clout with their records, so the prediction comes down to Coldplay and Jason Mraz. Edge definitely goes to Coldplay, although Mraz was still on the radio when the voters got their ballots.

S SparroAnd to mix things up a bit…
BEST DANCE RECORDING
Daft Punk, “Harder Better Faster Stronger” (Prediction)
Hot Chip, “Ready For The Floor”
Lady Gaga & Colby O’Donis, “Just Dance”
Madonna, “Give It 2 Me” (Pick)
Rihanna, “Disturbia”
Sam Sparro, “Black & Gold”
With Kanye’s “Stronger” having been everywhere at the end of 2007, I fear that this live version of Daft Punk will get the nomination, but for my money, the true dance song on the list is Madonna. Having said all of this, Sam’s record seemed to be the hip “go-to” record at wildly different concerts throughout the year, so I’m wondering if there might not be an edge in there.

cyndi_night_lifeBEST ELECTRONIC/DANCE ALBUM
Brazilian Girls, New York City
Daft Punk, Alive 2007
Cyndi Lauper, Bring Ya To The Brink (Pick) (Prediction)
Kylie Minogue, X
Moby, Last Night
Robyn
Y’all know I love me some Robyn, and the album is terrific, but Cyndi’s record IS a dance album. Brilliant album, and should grab the Grammy. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kylie pick this up, though. Dance seems to be the only category she can win in.