Pure Heroine

My GRAMMY winners continued:

6.  Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

"Get Lucky" - Daft Punk (feat. Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers)

"Just Give Me A Reason" - P!nk (feat. Nate Ruess)

"Stay" - Rihanna (feat. Mikky Ekko)

"Blurred Lines" - Robin Thicke (feat. T.I. & Pharrell)

"Suit & Tie" - Justin Timberlake & Jay Z

I had a lot of trouble picking between Daft Punk and P!nk for this one, and I know I picked two yesterday for Album of the Year, but I shouldn't have done that because there can only be one winner for each category.  I went with Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers because, again, I think this song was done soooo well.  It's pretty rare that Daft Punk disappoints.  There's nothing about this song that I don't like.

7.  Best Pop Vocal Album

Paradise - Lana Del Rey

Pure Heroine - Lorde

Unorthodox Jukebox - Bruno Mars

Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke

The 20/20 Experiences - The Complete Experience - Justin Timberlake

I know, I know:  How could I have picked Lorde?  Overall, here debut album is pretty solid.  Yes, I am sick of hearing "Royals" and I am tired of hearing everyone go crazy over this 17-year-old New Zealand star, but I recently got a chance to listen to the record and every song is good - not a single one (well, besides "Royals") is terrible.  Maybe there is reason to hype...

8.  Best Dance Recording

"Need U (100%)" - Duke Dumont (feat. A*M*E & MNEK)

"Sweet Nothing" - Calvin Harris (feat. Florence Welch)

"Atmosphere" - Kaskade

"This Is What It Feels Like" - Armin Van Buuren (feat. Trevor Guthrie)

"Clarity" - Zedd (feat. Foxes)

I am still obsessed with this song.  I love the mix and I love her voice.  I was listening to iTunes and saw something I never realized that on Lady Gaga's album Born This Way (Deluxe Edition), Zedd remixed her song "Marry The Night," which is really good.  Anyway, this song was the biggest hit out of the five nominees, so Zedd deserves to win this.

There are only a few more categories I am going to post, so I'll do those tomorrow!

Summertime Sadness

The lyrics to "We Can't Stop" and the title Bangerz for her album have made Miley Cyrus one of the most well-known names in the music biz.  Despite her recent decisions (which have been viewed as "trashy" by some) I love her.  She has an incredible amount of talent and is perfect in so many ways.

I also love BBC Radio 1, the radio station in the UK. Well, Miss Cyrus was there the other day and did a cover in the Live Lounge of Lana Del Rey's "Summertime Sadness."  I have nothing to say except it was incredible.  Lana has such a distinct voice that I have felt no one can really mimic, but Miley does it beautifully.  Here it is:

[Source:  YouTube]

I am also blown away by how well she sings this live.  I sing Del Rey songs around the house and I always have a hard time.  I saw her in concert in 2009 for her Wonder World Tour and she was flawless then and continues to be flawless now.

She gets a lot of crap from so many people, but my cousins and I will always be true Smilers...forever!  Love you, Miley xx <3

Paradise

I bought a Lana Del Rey record on Monday at Jack's Music Shoppe in Redbank.

Paradise is her third EP and includes eight tracks all around four minutes in length.  One of the three lead singles off the album is "Blue Velvet," a cover of the popular song from the '50s.  The other two singles were "Ride" (which is the first track) and "Burning Desire" (a song available iTunes).

My favorite song would have to be "American."  I love the lyrics - very complimentary of her voice.

She makes a couple references to well known American artists.  She speaks of Elvis in the second verse by saying, "Elvis is the best, hell yes."  In the first verse she sings of Bruce Springsteen and says, "Springsteen is the King don't ya think / I was like 'hell yeah that guy can sing.'"

But aside from her vocal talent, Del Rey writes her songs as well.  She wrote all of the songs on Paradise with the exception of "Blue Velvet."  Although, the song could certainly be her own.