62nd Annual Grammy™ Awards (2020)

I know, the Grammys, how gauche — but they mean a lot to the artists, and performing on the telecast can offer a significant career boost to (often deserving) up-and-comers.

Anyway, three of my favorite artists are up for awards tonight! Full slate of nominations here.

Thanks. I would say that I was excited that a friend and neighbor is out there because he is nominated for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, for a project that was named after, conceived after and worked on in a place I spent the better part of a decade hanging out at, which place is nicely depicted on the cover and which I can see from the subway platform at the start and end of my commute, but I tried that on the Queens thread and was accused of naive borough boosterism, because "Simon and Garfunkel got there first," so am somewhat hesitant to do so.

Oh yeah, thanks for posting that first part about career boost.

for those who aren't aware, there's a lot of drama surrounding this year's ceremony in the wake of allegations made by deborah dugan in her recent lawsuit against the recording academy (cf this thread), including allegations of corrupt practices among the nominations committees and sexist harassment perpetrated by powerful men in the academy. amidst all the ensuing brouhaha, members of the academy's recently-formed task force for diversity and inclusion have also spoken out, stating that leaders in the institution are more interested in the optics of merely having a diversity task force than in actually carrying out any of the group's recommendations.

so while the more diverse crop of new blood in the industry may stand to gain from being peppered thruout the performers and nominations lists for this broadcast, i can't wonder how bizarrely at odds with the academy's apparent institutional priorities it will seem to viewers and participants in the event. (not to mention that many of these young artists' fans appreciate these artists partly because they don't (outwardly) seek validation from old fogey-dominated institutions.) meanwhile, some more established superstars, evidently concerned about the allegations, are wondering to what extent they should even participate. taylor swift, for example, will reportedly not be present at all despite having previously been considering performing on the broadcast.

i won't be watching the telecast myself, but i'm sure i'll end up reading coverage of it afterward and perhaps streaming some of its performances if they end up being viewable online.

I have fully stopped caring about new music. However, I still care about awards shows, so I'll watch.

(Yes, the above statements indicate I'm fully ready for either death or academy membership.)

I imagine Ariana will perform “7 Rings,” because it’s up for Record of the Year — and it’s also the song she had wanted to perform last year, but she ended up not appearing, because former Grammy chief Portnow wouldn’t let her perform a (then-)new song (among other reasons).

Personally, I’d rather see her perform anything else at this point; and I’m fine if “7 Rings” does not win Record of the Year. I do hope that thank u, next wins Album of the Year, however (and not just because I’m a fan, I think it’s deserving).

Rooting for Julian Lage to win best Jazz Solo.

Which he did not win. And my friend just lost in his category, so from now on I am a neutral.

But I do see another cat I know on the stage now, accepting this next award with Chick Corea.

alright Koffee won Best Reggae Album, which considering there was someone named Marley nominated is a genuine surprise

Win for Rosalía! (Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album)

Best Instrumental Composition
John Williams - “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Symphonic Suite”

gotta hand it to john williams, he really is, indisputably, the most talented composer working, every year for the last 40 years. everything he touches is pure gold!!!

lol

Seconded

:( no win for Big Thief

big thief had a good year, but you gotta admit that if they were going to lose to anyone, you could do worse than john williams! he's got a really common name and he STILL owns it

I like what he does with orchestras and things, it’s pretty cool. I’m glad he’s finally getting some recognition.

xp They lost to Vampire Weekend, the John Williams of indie music

Then wish!!!

they

Ok, Billie won best pop vocal album; that’s fine, as long as Ariana wins the bigger award. (I would have given it to Taylor over Billie.)

i guess i lied, went to see a friend at a bar and it's playing here

of what i've seen the boyz ii men/charlie wilson/tyler the creator performance is the highlight

i love usher and he did well but a superlative prince tribute requires a good dose of pure feminine energy that seems to be outside his range

yeah, like, usher and prince are two excellent performers who are good at very different things, and one's strengths do not flatter the other's; I thought it was mostly awful (and also twigs should have gotten to sing)

of course i wanted to sing at the grammys. i wasn’t asked this time but hopefully in the future. none the less what an honour. congratulations to all winners x

— FKA twigs (@FKAtwigs) January 27, 2020

Katherine otm, Usher sounded like he was doing karaoke

God love Charlie Wilson, seeing him in this show was the highlight of the night.

“Old Town Road” performance was pretty entertaining.

Wow - Demi Lovato perf definitely something else

Mark Hollis, David Berman, and Scott Walker all missed the “in memorium” cut

(xpost) I watched about a half-hour's worth, and yeah, "Old Town Road" was good--although I wish they would've brought on Willie Nelson or somebody like that to join in at the end.

well-deserved album of the year win for billie eilish

XPS Putting Roky Erickson (w/audio!) and Daniel Johnston together was class tho.

Ariana wuz robbed... many of Billie’s awards made sense, but her album was not deserving.

i enjoyed Ariana, like morrisp i wish she'd won Album of the Year

i'm tired of Eilish, though i thought it was nice to see her being earnest (and even acknowledging it)

thought Rosalia was good, and Camila's song about her dad was very sweet

Alicia does a pretty good job with a tough gig, imo

anyway ... Tyler ran circles around the whole thing. that dude is can't miss for me right now.

Last black artist to win Grammys album of the year was Herbie Hancock in 2008

So uh is there any way to actually watch the Prince tribute? It was on at a bar, it was kinda fun trying to figure out what songs they were playing with the sound off.

I think CBS & the Grammys limit access to the programs after , but maybe someone will get permission or a clip will be briefly available on YouTube till taken down. Usher was ok but not dazzling. FKA Twigs danced but wasn’t allowed to sing.

Sheila E was there too.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2020/01/26/grammys-2020-mixed-reviews-prince-tribute-usher-fka-twigs/4585624002/

so USA Today writers don't get their own takes and just compile tweets now, I guess

sounds very gannett

There was stuff you could stream on the Grammy website last time I looked, not sure how extensive or complete it is.

the performances had all been unofficially uploaded to youtube last night.

my niece the Eilish fan will now be spending more of her parents' dough

They were taken down by this morning

i'm sure official youtube uploads will appear after a few reruns have aired

Trying to watch this now. Is it me
Or is Alicia Keyes awful now? Everyone takes themselves so seriously. Jesus.

i like her but:
drinking game idea: drink every time Alicia Keys says “amayzin”

She always talks like she just smoked 3/4 of a joint.