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March 28, 2024

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Spring Housing Guide

“Grammy Awards lacking in quality music nominations”

I am an avid fan of music.

I always have been. So it makes sense that I watch the Grammy Awards religiously every year.

I wait until November or December to hear the nominees be announced and this year, I am not very pleased.

I’m pretty disappointed actually, for a number of reasons.

This past year was a great year in music, and the Grammy Award nominations do not reflect it.

First, how is Justin Timberlake’s “The 20/20 Experience” not nominated for Album of the Year? I mean, it was the best-selling album of 2013, it’s full of quality, genre-bending material, and it further cemented Timberlakes’s place in the pop elite.

I just don’t understand. They didn’t nominate him or Bruno Mars’ equally compelling “Unorthodox Jukebox.”

No, instead they nominated Sara Bareilles’ “The Blessed Unrest,” which to me is rather boring [Yes, I did listen to it].

Second, J. Cole wasn’t nominated for Best Rap Album, for his second album “Born Sinner,” despite it being one of the most potent hip-hop LPs released last year.

This frustrated me on many levels.

When it comes to awards, J. Cole doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Not only is he a legitimate talent who has broken into the mainstream, but his lyrics deal with real life issues instead of the sex-drugs-party norm sometimes heard in hip hop music.

The same can’t be said for Kanye and Jay-Z. Both received nominations in the category despite releasing rather uninspiring albums.

Here’s hoping J. Cole goes home with an award for his collaboration with Miguel, “Power Trip.”

Third, Lorde and Ariana Grande were shut out of the Best New Artist category.

Lorde, a New Zealand teenager with her own view on the music industry, came out with probably the best pop song of 2013, “Royals,” which criticized the hedonistic and materialistic views in pop culture.

As a matter of fact, Lorde’s debut “Pure Heroine,” is pretty much substance over style, and it’s really good too.

Ariana Grande, on the other hand, is an artist who is very stylized. But she has the incredible voice and the material to back it up.

Everyone compares her to Mariah Carey, so that must mean something.

Plus, Grande’s debut album “Yours Truly” isn’t filled with electronic dance music or bubblegum trash, but rather a soulful throwback to 90s R&B.

Maybe being shut out will be good for these two in the long run. Who knows?

Anyway, those are my three main concerns.

I have smaller issues with the nominations, like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis being considered hip-hop, and Rihanna’s “Stay” receiving only one nomination, but I won’t get into them.

I’ll be watching the 56th Grammy Awards Sunday on CBS. Will you?

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