What's Up With This Year's Grammy Nominations?

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Yay, my first post, and it's on something that occupies my mind every year from December until February: the Grammys! And this year, the nominees for all categories have already undergone loads of criticism. Now, don't get me wrong, I do appreciate Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, and The Weeknd; they are remarkable artists in their fields of music...but where was everyone else?

The Grammys have been on a downwards spiral with their nominees for previous years, but this year they seem to have disregarded prominent singles and artists who have made some of their greatest albums to date. I'm a Foo Fighter fan, and I screeched like a banshee seeing that they only had one nomination for "Best Rock Song - Something from Nothing;" not even getting a nod for "Best Rock Album" or "Album of the Year." Their recent album, Sonic Highways, was exceptional in its sound engineering, production, lyrics and vocals, and instrumental layout, and it only received one nomination? But hey, I'm a just crazy Foo Fighters fan; I adore anything that they create. 

The Grammys always seem to play it safe and keep in their comfort zone, and I believe that's what makes the majority of nominations seem generic and unsurprising, particularly in the Big Four categories - Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist. They only ever seem to nominate artists who have been significantly publicised on the radio or social media outlets regarding their singles and/or album; which is ridiculous considering that there is an immense amount of talent from other artists who aren't in the Top 40 Countdown. 

Again, I'm not criticising pop artists - I'm merely saying that the Academy should be opening up to other genres in their major categories. Although, the surprising and fascinating fact about the nominees this year was, as in previous years, its inclusion of up-and-coming artists, such as James Bay and Tori Kelly, and artists that only a few people have heard of. 

Of course, some exceptional songs and artists were nominated: I would have figuratively kill someone if "Uptown Funk" or J. Cole weren't nominated for anything, but then again, there are people who would disagree with me; which is what makes award season so insightful! The opinions and voices of music, film and television fans come to light, and you read such diverse and interesting perspectives on a variety of topics. It's such a great time to read other articles, and I recommend just searching anything Grammy-related on the internet for completely different and unique opinions. :)

The fact of the matter is that even if a certain band, group, artist or song isn't nominated, fans will still listen to and respect their music; after all, it's just a Grammy. A Grammy, as with any award, really only puts an artist onto a larger platform than they were already on, but it doesn't stop them from being incredible at what they do. It mainly just infuriates a tonne of fans. ;)

Regarding this year's nominees, the Grammys have highlighted that the music world should be more open to artists other than the most popular and common ones, and as listeners, we'll start to appreciate the myriad of unique artists and songs in this world today. One of the highlights of the Grammys for me is discovering new artists and songs that I've never heard of, and even becoming lifelong fans of their work. 

Awards season is upon us, and even if Lana Del Rey or the Foo Fighters weren't nominated for as many awards as I would have hoped, I'll still keep an eye out for the winners in February! Congrats to the nominees and more of my posts coming this week - watch this space! Ta!

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My Name Is, and This Is What I'm All About

I have waited such a long time to start writing this blog, and I'm super pumped about it! :D So...here goes! I'm Annabelle and if you don't get the impression when you meet me, I am a super enthusiastic person...over anything! If I hear the mention of "Harry" - and it doesn't even have to be followed by "Potter" - I'm immediately starting intently at the person hoping that they say "Potter" and not "Styles." I also love thinking and pondering about unique and random perspectives on various issues and topics, and finally discussing them with others because that's how new perspectives are brought up; new ways that you never thought about something before.

That's where I got this idea about starting a blog: combining my exuberant love for film, music, television and books and trying to interest and bring about potential discussion surrounding the world of entertainment. My posts will include critics and reviews on newly released entertainment items, my perspective on the current debates and discussions circulating the entertainment world, and of course just fun banter and random pop culture discussions! :D I'll be providing my perspective on such topics and hopefully stimulating conversations for you to start with friends when you've run out of things to talk about. I would also love to hear whether you disagree with something I have written or have something to add on; please write it in the comments! I am curious and open to debates and discussions! In short, I love entertainment and the easiest way for me to express that love is by writing endlessly about it. 

Thank you, and I do hope that the following posts are intriguing and highly entertaining! I will try and post at least once a week, and expect lame puns and jokes to follow! Ta!