Adele or Beyoncé ? That is the questions looming on everyone’s mind at the Grammy Awards this year. For an award show whose relevancy hasn’t been strained by the digitalisation of the music industry, it would be interesting to see who the jury favours this year.
Would the voters bow down to the massive numbers Adele’s 25 has clocked (a staggering 8 million just in the US) since release or succumb to the soul baring narrative of Beyonce’s admission of a rocky marriage with Jay-Z. Music pundits aren’t dismissing the possibility of a lesser mainstream artist like Sturgill Simpson pulling off a win with his critically acclaimed album A Sailor’s Guide to Earth. So here’s predicting the main categories on who will win and who should win on Monday morning at the 59th Grammy Awards.
Album of the Year
25 — Adele
Lemonade — Beyoncé
Purpose — Justin Bieber
Views — Drake
A Sailor’s Guide To Earth — Sturgill Simpson
Who will win: 25 by Adele
Who should win: Lemonade by Beyonce’
There is no escaping the magic of Adele at the award season this year. She is going to line up a massive number of trophies in 2017. And why shouldn’t she? 25 has been the most successful album of the year, giving the industry a much needed boost. With physical sales almost extinct and digital streaming eating into revenues, 25 proved that a good album will shine despite the shortcomings of the business. However, my personal favourite of 2016 has been Lemonade. I love Adele, but the production on Lemonade is to another level. The Beyhive rejoiced when their Queen gave them more than just an album. Lemonade was an experience and the fact that the music videos looked like part of a fancy art film only added to the excitement. The album is her most mature and brave work even without the gimmicks of a marriage breakdown.
Record Of The Year
Hello — Adele
Formation — Beyoncé
7 Years— Lukas Graham
Work — Rihanna Featuring Drake
Stressed Out — Twenty One Pilots
Who will win: Formation by Beyoncé
Who should win: Formation by Beyoncé
The production values on Formation are definitely the best in its category. Mind you that Record of the Year and Song of the Year are two different categories judging two very different things. The former focusses on the overall sound and production value of the track, what went in the studio, the percussions and instruments used, the layering of vocals, while Song is all about honoring the lyrical mastery and songwriting skills of individuals. Formation’s bass heavy chorus and the opening synths that lead into Beyoncé’s vocals easily make it a prime contender to win. While Adele’s Hello is more popular the production on the song is still minimalistic relying more on her vocal acrobatics than the art of recording.
Song Of The Year
Formation — Beyoncé
Hello — Adele
I Took A Pill In Ibiza — Mike Posner
Love Yourself — Justin Bieber
7 Years — Lukas Graham
Who will Win: Hello by Adele
Who should win: Love Yourself by Justin Bieber
Hate on me, but lyrically, Love Yourself is genius. A break-up song that talks about putting yourself first without being bitter or a cliché is the reason why Justin Bieber gets so much respect these days as a songwriter. Also the fact that lyrical heavyweight Ed Sheeran gets credit on it makes the track award-worthy.
But 2016 has been the year of one word — Hello. There was no escaping this song and there will be no escaping it on Monday morning when the awards are given out. Adele’s Hello not only became the most downloaded and streamed track of the year, but it also became the most covered song on YouTube. The song’s beauty lies in simplicity, the conversational opening lines (“Hello, it’s me...”) and that goosebump-inducing bridge.
Trust Adele to have her hands full at the Grammys this year!
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