Holy Grail

It's already Friday and the GRAMMYs are on Sunday!!  It's crazy how fast the past year went.  Here's a continuation of my GRAMMY picks.

9.  Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

Rob Cavallo - i.e.  You've Got Time (Regina Spektor), If I Loved You (Delta Rae feat. Lindsey Buckingham)
Dr. Luke - i.e.  Crazy Kids (Ke$ha), Rock Me (One Direction), Wrecking Ball (Miley Cyrus)
Ariel Rechtshaid - i.e.  Everything Is Embarrassing (Sky Ferreira), Modern Vampires Of The City (Vampire Weekend)
Jeff Tweedy - i.e.  Wassaic Way (Sarah Lee Guthrie And Johnny Irion), The Invisible Way (Low)
Pharrell Williams - i.e.  Blurred Lines (Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell), Oceans (Jay Z feat. Frank Ocean)

My dream is to be a music producer, so I love this category!  It was difficult for me to pick, and I narrowed down my options to Dr. Luke and Pharrell Williams.  After minutes of contemplating, as you can see, I went with Dr. Luke because I like most of the song he's produced.  And like a good number of music producers he is also a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and remixer.  Seems to have a lot going for him.

10.  Best Song Written For Visual Media

"Atlas" - Coldplay for The Hunger Games:  Catching Fire
"Silver Lining" - Jessie J for Silver Linings Playbook
"Skyfall" - Adele for Skyfall
"We Both Know" - Colbie Caillat feat. Gavin DeGraw for Safe Haven
"Young and Beautiful" - Lana Del Rey for The Great Gatsby
"You've Got Time" - Regina Spektor for Orange Is The New Black

I was honestly very stuck for this one.  I didn't know whether I should pick "Young and Beautiful" or "Skyfall."  I went with "Skyfall" because Adele fits the James Bond voice so well.  I even feel like the song fit the movie perfectly.  While "Young and Beautiful" was good for The Great Gatsby, I felt it couldn't really compare to Adele's song for Skyfall.

11.  Best Country Solo Performance

"I Drive Your Truck" - Lee Brice
"I Want Crazy" - Hunter Hayes
"Mama's Broken Heart" - Miranda Lambert
"Wagon Wheel" - Darius Rucker
"Mine Would Be You" - Blake Shelton

I am a sucker for Hunter Hayes.  My friend got me into his music last year and I've loved him ever since.  He is young and talented and I think he will have a successful career in the music industry.  That's why I am picking Hunter Hayes.

12.  Best Rap Song

"F***in' Problems" - ASAP Rocky feat. Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar
"Holy Grail" - Jay Z feat. Justin Timberlake
"New Slaves" - Kanye West
"Started From The Bottom" - Drake
"Thrift Shop" - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz

Again, this one was difficult for me to choose just one.  "Thrift Shop" was my FAVORITE song for weeks (who didn't like that song?) but "Holy Grail" has a great hook.  I think the hook is the reason I'm going for "Holy Grail."  The song itself is okay - I'm not a huge rap fan.  But "And baby / It's amazing I'm in this maze with you / I just can't crack your code / One day you screaming you love me loud / The next day you're so cold / One day you're here, one day you're there, one day you care / You're so unfair sipping from your cup / Till it runneth over, Holy Grail" is absolutely amazing...go listen to it right now.

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!

Get Lucky

So it is GRAMMY season.  I thought I would tell you who I would like to see win in each category.  Even though I may not get my wish, I still hope I'll "Get Lucky."

1.  Record of the Year

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

"Radioactive" - Imagine Dragons

"Royals" - Lorde

"Locked Out Of Heaven" - Bruno Mars 

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

I really want Daft Punk to win this because Lorde, Bruno Mars, and (I can't believe I'm saying this) Robin Thicke have really gotten on my nerves this year.  I like Imagine Dragons' music, but that song just didn't do it for me - I prefer "It's Time."  "Get Lucky" was a good song to hear this past summer.  I'm rooting for them!

2.  Album of the Year

The Blessed Unrest - Sara Bareilles

Random Access Memories - Daft Punk

Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City - Kendrick Lamar

The Heist - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Red - Taylor Swift

This is a tie for me.  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have solid songs on this record, while Daft Punk has always "wow-ed" me.  I may lean a little more to the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis end just because they are new to the charts, while Daft Punk has been around for a long time.

3.  Song of the Year

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

"Locked Out Of Heaven" - Bruno Mars

"Roar" - Katy Perry

"Royals" - Lorde

"Same Love" - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (feat. Mary Lambert)

I love duets!  This is probably my favorite male and female duet from 2013 and I'm a huge fan of P!nk.  I'm not a fan of Katy Perry's most recent songs, so that's why I'm not choosing "Roar."  The other songs, to me, were overplayed and talked of too much.

4.  Best New Artist

James Blake

Kendrick Lamar

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Kacey Musgraves

Ed Sheeran

I love my Brits and that's part of the reason why I'm picking Ed Sheeran as Best New Artist.  But his album + was popular and I loved it, too.  He had hits like "The A Team" and "Lego House" and I like "Wake Me Up" as well.  Sheeran's sound is exactly what a lot of people like these days. 

5.  Best Pop Solo Performance

"Brave" - Sara Bareilles

"Royals" - Lorde

"When I Was Your Man" - Bruno Mars

"Roar" - Katy Perry

"Mirrors" - Justin Timberlake

I don't think I am picking any nominee for this one because all of these songs made me want to punch myself in the stomach last year.  I heard them too much and too many people went crazy over them.  Nope, won't pick. 

There are a lot of categories, so I'll post five a day until I'm done giving my own GRAMMYs away.

What I've always wanted to do

Something I have always wanted to do is have VIP backstage passes to a concert.  I want to hang backstage and meet a singer or band that I absolutely love!  I have been thinking about that a lot lately and the more I think about it, the more I want it to happen.

Another thing I have always wanted to do is perform at a big event or cool venue like Six Flags, Bamboozle, or even Madison Square Garden, which I know is taking it a little too far.

At the moment, I'm really itching to meet one of my favorite singers Sammy Adams.  I talked a little bit about him last week and have ever since been dying to meet him.  I think he is beyond cool and I am obsessed with his music!

I know I may sound like I am dreaming too big, but going to a music award show like the VMAs or the GRAMMYs is a huge dream of mine.  I don't even necessarily want to be nominated for anything.  I just want to be able to walk on the red carpet, meet my favorite people, and sit with all of them while watching the award show right in front of me.