The Grammys sweep has been a permanent fixture in the award show for years. The trademark picture is notorious: the artist’s arms spread wide, barely managing to cradle those famous golden gramophones. With the Grammys coming up this Sunday night, Trophy Talk has made a special return to talk about this year’s nominees.
Since 2007 there has been a consistent sweep by the ladies, with female performers winning five or six awards in a night. The Dixie Chicks in their comeback (2007), the late Amy Winehouse in her glory days (2008), Alison Krauss with Robert Plant (2009), Beyonce just being Beyonce (2010), the lady of Lady Antebellum (2011) and the goddess herself, Adele (2012).
But 2013 will not see a lady sweep, not even close. The six acts who hold the most nominations (Fun., Frank Ocean, Mumford & Sons, Jay-Z, Kanye West and Dan Auerbach) are all men.
It’s just one of the interesting trends occurring in the 2013 Grammy nominations. Not a single female artist is nominated in the major album of the year category (won by Adele last year). Nor is there a single solo female artist nominated for best new artist (though Alabama Shakes’ lead vocalist Brittany Howard will be reppin’).
It’s finally the men’s chance to shine and, as per usual with the Grammys’ odd eligibility frame, it’s an odd mash-up of gems from summer 2011 (like Kanye and Jay-Z’s “Watch the Throne,”) to new favorites like Frank Ocean’s “Channel Orange.”
If there is a sweep this year, it’ll shine an interesting spotlight on whether the voters choose to skew mainstream or experimental, specifically a la Mumford & Sons versus Frank Ocean, who I at least think are the two major players for this Sunday’s show.
Mumford & Sons’ “Babel” was critically beloved by all, and “I Will Wait” is playing on the radio at least as much as Bieber (it’s the little things in life, guys). Their sheer popularity and exposure will help them out massively in an award selection process decided on by heavy hitters in the music industry.
But I’m cheering and placing my bets on “Channel Orange.” Though “Babel” is a fine piece of folk, it’s also very similar to the band’s debut “Sigh No More.” And that’s fine – why fix something that isn’t broken? But then again, where’s the fun in not taking risks?
Frank Ocean has risk-taking in spades. “Channel Orange” consists of a nine-minute stripper epic (“Pyramids”), songs that veer from traditional choruses and bridges (“Sierra Leone”) and plenty of social commentary to spare (“Super Rich Kids,” “Crack Rock”). It’s a work so innovative it’s considered to be part of a new genre it helped create – PBR&B, alternatively known as hipster R&B (and yes, PBR is meant to refer to every hipster’s favorite beer – really, you can’t make this stuff up), and is accompanied by the likes of The Weeknd and Miguel.
I’m also holding out hope that Jay-Z and Kanye’s “Watch the Throne” will dominate. Even though it was released two summers ago, the pair’s project is a testimony to experimenting in rap. Nominated song “No Church In The Wild” (which just happens to feature Frank Ocean) is as smooth in its sound as it is cutting in its verses, and songs like “Who Gon Stop Me” (which borrows from the electronic act Flux Pavilion) push the boundaries of what rap can or can’t be.
Here’s hoping the men enjoy the spotlight this Sunday. Word on the street is Queen B has a new record coming in 2013 – and if the Super Bowl was any indication, it’s game over when Beyonce is in the ring.
Miss “Trophy Talk”? Stay tuned for the Oscar edition on Feb. 19. Email Konstantinides at akonstantinides@media.ucla.edu.