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Pop Rock Nation

Category: News

music-news-from-breakups-to-the-lastest-buzz

  • …As The Best of Lists Come Floating In…

    Check out this list of iTunes and last.fm’s top downloaded singles of 2008. As you can see, it was quite the year for Coldplay and Rihanna, both of whom will probably figure heavily when the Grammy Award nominations are announced tonight. Every year, I predict the winners of the February award ceremony, and I generally call the winners pretty closely (which says as much for my prognostication skills as it does the Grammys’ predictability). Here are the artists and albums I think will be nominated in the three major categories.

    Record of the Year: Coldplay’s Viva La Vida is the front runner here. Leona Lewis and John Mayer are probably sure things for Bleeding Love and Say (which I also think is the front runner for Song of the Year), Rihanna will probably be nominated for either Take a Bow or Disturbia. Katy Perry could snag a nod for I Kissed a Girl. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kanye grab a nomination for Homecoming. We might see some love for Chris Brown’s With You, with outside shots for M.I.A.’s Paper Planes and Adele’s Chasing Pavements, and don’t count out Mariah Carey’s Touch My Body or Madonna’s 4 Minutes, despite the relative disappointment of their album sales.

    Album of the Year: Coldplay is again the front-runner in this category, far and away. Also look for Radiohead’s In Rainbows to score a well-deserved nomination. Lil’ Wayne had the year’s biggest selling album with Tha Carter III, but Grammy generally doesn’t roll out the red carpet for hardcore rap acts. Alicia Keys is almost certain to get a nod for As I Am, while labelmate Leona Lewis could score big here, too. Dark horses here include Jack Johnson, Metallica and Carrie Underwood, and we can’t forget The Eagles’ huge-selling Long Road Out of Eden.

    Best New Artist: Leona Lewis is the obvious front-runner here, but we could see love for a variety of different artists. Fellow Brit chanteuses Adele, Duffy and Estelle (whose American Boy could also see a Record of the Year nomination) could all follow in the steps of last year’s winner, Amy Winehouse. Indie faves Vampire Weekend and The Ting Tings could pop up in this category, as could Timbaland proteges OneRepublic. Also watch out for country group Lady Antebellum as well as American Idol’s Jordin Sparks and Jennifer Hudson.

    We’ll do a recap of the nominations tomorrow after the announcements have been made!!

  • New Music: You Found Me by The Fray

    I’m a sucker for melody and emotion, and for some reason, the singles from The Fray’s debut album How To Save a Life hit home for me in a whole lot of different ways. While they definitely have a bit of Coldplay in them, there’s also less of a grandiose, more grounded feel to The Fray’s music (maybe it’s just because they’re an American band?).

    At any rate, I believe their new single, You Found Me, premiered on Grey’s Anatomy last week (or maybe it was Lost?) and the band will be performing it live on the American Music Awards (which will have very likely aired by the time you read this). It’s recognizable enough as a Fray song, with a slightly more rock-sounding edge. I’m digging it and highly anticipating their new album in February. What do you guys and girls think?

  • 808s & Heartbreak: Kanye West’s Headphone Masterpiece

    This was not set up to be a good move. Kanye West had made three of the finest hip-hop records of the past half-decade. Despite limited lyrical skills, he used relatability, a way with a punchline, and strong production values to make three classic or near-classic albums.

    I think it was Neil Young who coined (or at least inspired) the term “going straight from the middle of the road into the ditch” to be used whenever an artist with commercial success makes a serious left turn away from the sound that brought them accolades-think Young going from folk-rock to experimental electro and rockabilly, or Prince going from Purple Rain to Around the World in a Day.

    For his fourth album, Kanye promised to shake things up. Kanye singing? Using Auto-Tune throughout the entire album? Either West was seriously on some other shit or he was hell-bent on completely obliterating his audience.

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