Opinion
Enjoying award shows on Sunday nights, the new modern season
February 10, 2012
Did you know there is actually five seasons in a year? Yeah, that’s right, five. Spring, summer, fall, winter and award. You read that right.
Award season is by far my favorite season of the year. A season where all of our favorite actors, musicians, directors and everyone else involved in the entertainment business dresses up on Sunday nights and accepts awards from each other. Sometimes there are jokes, musical numbers, or extralong speeches. Whatever happens, I love it all. And this Sunday night, Feb. 12, is no exception. The Grammy Awards air at 8/7c on CBS.
The Grammys are the most prestigious awards given to people in the music industry. The show is also known for its terrific performances given by the year’s hottest artists and music legends alike, which makes it unique to other award shows. Most other award shows rely on witty banter to entertain audiences. They don’t have the luxury of calling upon its nominees to perform.
The four biggest awards of the night are, in no particular order, “Record of the Year,” “Song of the Year,” “Best New Artist” and “Album of the Year,” which I will refer to as the “big four.” When I was younger, I never understood the difference between “Record of the Year” and “Song of the Year.” If a record was another name for a song, why are there two separate categories for them? It turns out that songwriters are nominated for “Song of the Year” and the producers and mixers are nominated for “Record of the Year.” This is why most songs that are nominated for “Song of the Year” will also be nominated for “Record of the Year.” However, if the song wins both categories, different people will most likely be accepting different awards.
Anyway, on to my predictions for the 2012 Grammy Awards. The nominees for “Best New Artist,” with genre in parentheses are The Band Perry (country pop), Nicki Minaj (hip-hop/rap), J. Cole (rap), Skrillex (dubstep/electronica), and Bon Iver (folk). I believe that Nicki Minaj has this award in the bag because she definitely has the largest audience and the biggest singles to date. If I could choose the winner I would choose Bon Iver, mainly because I think they write the most haunting and beautiful music I’ve heard in a long time.
The nominees for “Song of the Year,” include “All of the Lights” by Kanye West et al., “The Cave” by Mumford and Sons, “Grenade” by Bruno Mars, “Holocene” by Bon Iver, and “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele. Even though I love Bon Iver, my favorite out of this list is “The Cave” by Mumford and Sons because the lyrics are powerful and the music is so pleasant to the ears. However, the winner will be “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele because she is on fire this year (no pun intended) with her album “21,” and “Rolling in the Deep” was one of the most popular songs of 2011, and also beautifully written.
“Record of the Year” nominees include “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele, “Holocene” by Bon Iver, “Grenade” by Bruno Mars, “The Cave” by Mumford and Sons, and “Firework” by Katy Perry. My personal choice would be “Holocene” by Bon Iver because it is so good. Seriously, listen to it on You- Tube. Or watch one of their live performances because they are extraordinarily talented musicians. I think the winner will be “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele. This is another song that was terrifically recorded and so popular.
The biggest award of the night is “Album of the Year.” The nominees are “21” by Adele, “Wasting Light” by Foo Fighters, “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga, “Doo-Wops and Hooligans” by Bruno Mars, and “Loud” by Rihanna. My personal choice and my predicted winner are the same: “21” by Adele. I believe that when I listen to this album I am listening to a story, which I don’t get with the other albums.
So watch the Grammys on CBS this Sunday at 8/7c to see if any of my predictions come true! I’ll be watching every last second. And in two weeks, read my predictions for the Academy Awards!
Amanda White is a junior majoring in journalism. She appreciates good books, good style, and good conversation.