Grammy Awards 2013
BY İDİL DAMLA BİNGÖL (IE/IV)
The 2013 Grammy Awards were held on February 10 in Los Angeles. As we all know, the Grammys are one of the most prestigious awards in the music industry. Some think the Grammys have lost their impact, some think they have become too mainstream and lost their value, but they're still very important for the music industry and the artists.
This year, the award ceremony was hosted by LL Cool J, and the most nominated artists were Fun., Frank Ocean, Mumford & Sons, Jay-Z, Kanye West and Dan Auerbach (of The Black Keys), all with six nominations. Some of the artists who performed during the ceremony included Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Mumford & Sons, Elton John, Jack White, Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5, Jay-Z, Sting and Frank Ocean.
Dan Auerbach, with four awards, and The Black Keys, Gotye, Jay-Z, Skrillex and Kanye West, with three awards each, were the biggest winners of this year's Grammys.
The Grammy Awards seem like a repetition of the same names in connection with the same awards every year. Every year, we see Beyoncé, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Kanye West and other very popular musicians. I don't say these artists aren't talented or successful, but isn't anything more interesting or novel happening in the music industry? The Grammys seem like they're for "MTV artists" only. They don't recognize new artists, new genres or interesting collaborations between artists. Today, especially, by means of the Internet, everyone has the opportunity to listen to music from all over the world, but at the Grammy Awards we still don't see the names of these talented, new and slightly more underground artists. Why don't we see The Weeknd, Passion Pit, Yeasayer or Crystal Castles? I still think the Grammys are important, but I also think they should recognize new developments in music in order to fulfill their purpose.
Here is a list of some of this year's winners, including the major awards.
Album of the Year:
"Babel" - Mumford & Sons
Record of the Year:
"Somebody That I Used to Know" - Gotye ft. Kimbra
Song of the Year:
"We Are Young" - Fun. ft. Janelle Monaé
Best New Artist:
Fun.
Best Pop Solo Performance:
"Set Fire To The Rain [Live]" - Adele
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
"Somebody That I Used To Know" - Gotye ft. Kimbra
Best Pop Vocal Album:
"Stronger" - Kelly Clarkson
Best Pop Instrumental Album:
"Impressions" - Chris Botti
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:
"Kisses on the Bottom" - Paul McCartney
Best Rock Performance:
"Lonely Boy" - The Black Keys
Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance:
"Love Bites (So Do I)" - Halestorm
Best Rock Album:
"El Camino" - The Black Keys
Best Rock Song:
"Lonely Boy" - The Black Keys
Best Alternative Music Album:
"Making Mirrors" - Gotye
Best Dance/Electronica Album:
"Bangarang" - Skrillex
Best R&B Performance:
"Climax" - Usher
Best Traditional R&B Performance:
"Love on Top" - Beyoncé
Best Urban Contemporary Album:
"Channel Orange" - Frank Ocean
Best R&B Album:
"Black Radio" - Robert Glasper Experiment
Best R&B Song:
"Adorn" - Miguel
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration:
"No Church In The Wild" - Jay-Z & Kanye West ft. Frank Ocean & The Dream
Best Rap Performance:
"N****s In Paris" - Jay-Z & Kanye West
Best Rap Album:
"Take Care" - Drake
Best Rap Song:
"N****s in Paris" - Jay-Z & Kanye West
Best Latin Pop Album:
"MTV Unplugged" - Juanes
Best Country Solo Performance:
"Blown Away" - Carrie Underwood
Best Country Duo Performance:
"Pontoon" - Little Big Town
Best Country Album:
"Uncaged" - Zac Brown Band
Best Country Song:
"Blown Away" - Carrie Underwood (Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins, songwriters)
Best Americana Album:
"Slipstream" - Bonnie Raitt
Best Jazz Vocal Album:
"Radio Music Society" - Esperanza Spalding
Best Blues Album:
"Locked Down" - Dr. John
Best Spoken Word Album:
"Society's Child: My Autobiography" - Janis Ian
Best Musical Theater Album:
"Once: A New Musical"
Best Comedy Album:
"Blow Your Pants Off" - Jimmy Fallon
Best Short Form Music Video:
"We Found Love" - Rihanna ft. Clavin Harris
Best Long Form Music Video:
"Big Easy Express" - Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe, Magnetic Zeros & Old Crow Medicine Show
Best Song Written for Visual Media:
"Safe and Sound" - Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars (from "The Hunger Games")