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Tag: grammy nominations 2014

  • Pharrell Williams Nabs Oscar Nomination

    If you thought multi-platinum selling singer, songwriter and producer Pharrell Williams had a big year in 2013, just brace yourself. It looks as though 2014 will only elevate his career even more.

    Williams, who was a fixture on the Billboard charts last year with hits like Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” has added  yet another accolade to his list.

    The N.E.R.D. rapper has received his first Oscar nomination for his work hit record “Happy,” which appeared on the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack album.

    According to ABC News, when Williams was asked about his reaction to the nomination, he was literally rendered speechless.

    “Uh, I’m speechless,” he said in an interview on Thursday, Jan. 16. “Man, I am over the moon.” He was then asked what he was doing when he received the news of the esteemed nomination. But, once again he was still at a loss for words. “Man, I’m sorry, I don’t know,” he said.

    Although he couldn’t recount what he was actually doing at the time he received the news, he did note “Happy” as ‘one of his best works.’ He shared that the most gratifying aspect of the record was that he made it with his eyes closed.

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    Williams, also known as Skateboard P., has been quoted for “hearing colors” which sets the tone of his music, so his declaration of the “eyes wide shut” creation is yet façade of his eclectic musicianship. The Lap Dance rapper also recounted that the song was actually recorded a total of nine times before reaching a level of perfection that was satisfactory to his standards.

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    “It’s some of my best work and that’s because in the process I made it with my eyes closed,” he said. “That’s not a reflection of any sort of superiority in any way, shape or form. I didn’t do a lot of looking around to try and figure it out. I just closed my eyes and made it by feeling it and I think that’s why I am most proud of it.”

    However, the Oscar nomination isn’t the only form of recognition he’s received for his blow-out year in music. Williams is a driving force for the 2014 Grammy Awards. He has seven Grammy nominations in five different categories including ‘Record of the Year’, ‘Album of the Year’, and ‘Producer of the Year’.

     Image(s) via Wikimedia Commons | Pharrell Williams – Happy  Facebook | Pharrell Williams (1) (2)

  • Macklemore Is ‘The Source’ Man of The Year

    Macklemore Is ‘The Source’ Man of The Year

    The Source Magazine ‘Man of the Year’ award goes to…. Macklemore!

    The Seattle rapper soared to unprecedented heights in 2013, with the groundbreaking 2012 release of his first studio album The Heist.

    The debut album was a collaborative effort for Macklemore and his producer Ryan Lewis. However, the most compelling aspect of the album is that it was independently produced, recording, released and distributed.

    In other words, they did it all without a record deal. Within hours of the album’s release, it skyrocketed to N0. 1 on iTunes with no mainstream marketing, promotion, or advertisement.

    With the release of the album’s three hit singles, “Thrift Shop,” “Can’t Hold Us,” and “Same Love,” the duo catapulted to mainstream radio, and are among the most-played artists of 2013.

    The three singles sold an estimated 13 million units collectively. The album’s esteemed success has earned Macklemore and Lewis an impressive seven Grammy nominations.

    The rapper even tweeted about the incredible feat earlier today.

    However, Macklemore’s success doesn’t stop at the stage or the studio. The anti-consumerist rapper is also becoming quite the businessman. Although 2013 was a highly successful year for the “White Walls” rapper, he already has a growing list of endorsement deals lined up for 2014.

    According to Business Insider, Macklemore has upcoming ad campaigns AT&T, Dr. Pepper, and the highly lauded media and interactive advertising agency Deutsch, Inc.

    Since Macklemore is gracing the front cover of Source, fans will get the opportunity to see a glint of the man behind the microphone. He recently sat down with magazine to share facts about his hip hop credibility.

    Most view Macklemore as a pop artist, instead of a rapper, which is the reason for the chatter behind his recent Grammy nomination for “Best Rap Album.” However, the cynical remarks don’t seem to bother him. He even shared his thoughts of the upcoming Grammy Awards with the magazine, stating who he personally think should win.

    “If we win a Grammy for Best Rap Album, Hip-Hop is going to be heated. In terms of [that category], I think it should go to Kendrick. He’s family. TDE is family, and I understand why Hip-Hop would feel like Kendrick got robbed [if he didn’t win]. I’m not trying to compare albums; I think you can make an argument for both. With that being said, I am a huge supporter of what Kendrick does. And because of that, I would love to win in a different category. We obviously had massive success on commercial radio, and I think that, in ways, The Heist was a bigger album, but Kendrick has a better rap album.”

    Image via Twitter | Macklemore

  • Justin Timberlake Misses Out On Top Grammy Honors

    Justin Timberlake may be sitting pretty in terms of total Grammy nominations, but there is a startling lack of nominations for major categories. He will actually be sharing the majority of the nods he did get with rapper Jay-Z for collaborations on “Suit & Tie” and “Holy Grail”. “Mirrors” is up for Best Pop Solo Performance and “Pusher Love Girl” for Best R&B Song. Timberlake’s other nomination is for Best Pop Vocal Album.

    Members of the media are already calling it a snub, and it’s hard to argue against the sentiment. His critically-acclaimed album, “The 20/20 Experience”, was the most successful of the year. It has sold 2.3 million copies to date. The second part has sold well over 600,000 copies, bringing his total sales to close to 3 million for the year. Suffice it to say, this is quite a feat in a post “illegal mp3 download” world.

    But sales aren’t everything, and the decision to overlook Timberlake in the major categories seems to drive this point home. Glancing over the list of people who did make it into the list for top honors, you’ll note that most of them are new faces. While some became popular over the last two or three years, the majority are riding on major and fairly recent buzz. The young singer Lorde with her hit “Royals” is a prime example. Not only does she join Timberlake in two of his pop categories, her music is up for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

    But before we dismiss the Grammys as being all about everything new this year, it should be noted that Daft Punk could also be drawing top honors for their successful “Random Access Memories” album and single, “Get Lucky”. Pharrell Williams is featured in that song, as well as another song up for an award: “Blurred Lines” with T.I. and Robin Thicke.

    Parallels are often drawn between Timberlake and Thicke over the neo “blue-eyed soul” sound and styling, raising some speculation on the inclusion of one for Record of the Year and the ignoring of the other.

    It’s doubtful that Justin Timberlake will be too bothered about which categories he missed out on this year. It’s more likely that he’s hoping what everyone else who got a nomination is hoping: To not go home empty-handed.

    Image: Justin Timberlake’s Facebook

  • Grammy Nominees 2014: Kendrick Lamar And Macklemore Stand Out

    This year’s Grammy nominations were announced on Friday night during the Grammy Nominations Concert Live. Among the expected names were, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Lorde, Taylor Swift and Daft Punk — all of whom dominated the radio waves this year. However, this year’s nominations came with its fair share of surprises as well as shocking omissions. From Justin Timberlake’s head scratching miss to Kendrick Lamar’s surprising triumph.

    Justin Timberlake was locked out of the top awards categories (Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year) despite his seven nominations in other categories. JT’s “20/20 Experience” was considered a heavy favorite for Album of the Year. The single “Mirrors” looked like it might win both Record of the Year and Song of the Year awards but somehow did not get nominated. Timberlake’s past albums “FutureSex/LoveSounds,” and “Justified” were both nominated for Album of the Year in past years. This year, his epic “20/20 Experience” received very positive reviews, tons of radio play, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and went just short of platinum in it’s first week of sales. Despite all this, Justin was shockingly left out.

    Some are still scratching their heads as to why Lady Gaga is conspicuously missing in the big list. Turns out she didn’t make the cut because “ARTPOP” missed the eligibility period and her single “Applause” didn’t get enough time to build up steam before eligibility ended. Chances are she’ll be named for a number of awards come next year.

    Kendrick Lamar managed a massive seven nominations, topped only by Jay-Z’s nine nods, for his debut “Good kid, m.A.A.d city” album. Among Lamar’s nominations is the nod for the coveted Album of the Year award. Could this be the year rap music takes the top honor? A rap album hasn’t won Album of the Year since 2004, when ‘Outkast’ walked away with the award.

    Newcomers Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are also in the mix with seven nominations of their own. This year they are contenders for Album of  the Year for their rap album, “The Heist” and Song of the Year for “Same Love”. The duo from Seattle also opened the Grammy Nominations Concert Live with their hit song, “Thrift Shop”.

    2014 Grammy Nominees:

     

    Record Of The Year

    Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams – “Get Lucky”
    Imagine Dragons – “Radioactive”
    Lorde – “Royals”
    Bruno Mars – “Locked Out Of Heaven”
    Robin Thicke Featuring T.I. & Pharrell – “Blurred Lines”

    Album Of The Year

    Sara Bareilles – “The Blessed Unrest”
    Daft Punk – “Random Access Memories”
    Kendrick Lamar – “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City”
    Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – “The Heist”
    Taylor Swift – “Red”

    Song Of The Year

    Pink Featuring Nate Ruess  – “Just Give Me A Reason”
    Bruno Mars – “Locked Out Of Heaven”
    Katy Perry – “Roar”
    Lorde – “Royals”
    Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Mary Lambert – “Same Love”

    Best New Artist

    James Blake
    Kendrick Lamar
    Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
    Kacey Musgraves
    Ed Sheeran

    Kendrick Lamar On Getting Grammy Nomination

    Kendrick Lamar On Tupac And Dr. Dre

    (main image via Wikipedia)