I’m going to say something I never thought I would: I think that Kanye West guy was on to something. I am one of the many music enthusiasts who is baffled by the fact that Taylor Swift won the Grammy for “Album of the Year” over Beyonce AND Lady Gaga. I mean don’t get me wrong TSwift, I completely respect that fact that you’ve written all of the music to an album while still in your teen years. It’s really cool and something that I know I could never do. But the fact that her generic tween album won over Beyonce’s two disc extravaganza of fierceness, and Lady Gaga’s look-at-me-change-the-face-of-pop-music favorite is unfathomable.
As if the albums themselves didn’t speak enough to put Taylor in third place in my mind, watching each of their live performances spoke volumes to which ladies were superior. Lady Gaga opened the show with a standout performance including a duet with Sir Elton John that made me die a little from happiness. Beyonce followed this by belting her head off and covering Alanis Morissette in a way nobody saw coming. Then soon-to-be-Grammy-winner Taylor Swift came on stage to sing with Stevie Nicks. Now I’ve seen Taylor perform live a few times this year and I have to say… Taylor Swift has never met a note that she liked. Taylor’s vocals reminded me of a rabid cat in a junkyard. Furthermore, watching Stevie Nicks try to harmonize with her was an unexpected comedy show in the middle of the Grammys.
One of the possible other reasons for Taylor Swift winning is her image and the demographics she is a member of. Taylor is a white, heterosexual, young, beautiful, “pure” girl. This is rather different from her main competitors Beyonce, a strong black woman, and Lady Gaga, an overtly sexual, non heterosexual, “weird” woman. Perhaps the Grammy voters and our society as whole values the pure and chaste aspect of Taylor undoubtedly due to her age. Furthermore, after the altercation with Kanye at the VMA many non-fans jumped on the “poor Taylor” train (myself included) which may also have affected the votes.
As far as I’m concerned the Grammy voters picked Taylor simply due to her age (and apparent chastity). And if that was a deciding factor, why didn’t Avril Lavigne get a Grammy for her teeny bopper hit “Sk8er Boi” which I feel closely resembles Taylor Swift’s “You Belong To Me”. When Taylor went up to accept the biggest award of the night, I was praying for a Kanye West-esque event to occur that would dethrown T Swift from such an honor. Do you think that Taylor’s win was valid, or was it really her age that won her the award, and not the album itself?
Think about it.
Corey
No comments:
Post a Comment