2018 Grammys pop field gives disappointing selection of winners

Ed+Sheeran+at+Hovefestivalen+2012.+Photo+by+Tom+%C3%98verlie.+Used+under+Creative+Commons+Public+License

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Ed Sheeran at Hovefestivalen 2012. Photo by Tom Øverlie. Used under Creative Commons Public License

Natalie O'Dell, staff writer

The 2018 Grammy Awards were held to reward the music artists and songs of last year. I will be taking a look back at the pop field of this event before the event and talking who I would have chosen as the winner.

The first category in this field is for best pop solo performance.  The nominees were Kelly Clarkson’s “Love So Soft”, Kesha’s “Praying”, Lady Gaga’s “Million Reasons”, P!nk’s “What About Us” and Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You”. I was pretty satisfied with that lineup.  Although I’m not that big on “Praying” and I dislike “Shape of You” and I am not happy about the fact it was chosen as the winner, the other three nominees are solid choices.  “Million Reasons” is a very heartfelt ballad that is very successful in delivering what a song of its kind should have.  “Love So Soft” is a unique, fun, and energetic love song that I find really addicting and have a lot of fun listening to.  My favorite of these nominees is “What About Us”.  As I mentioned in my Top 10 Songs of 2017 story, the song is beautifully produced, has wonderful lyrics and a great theme, and I would have loved to see it win.

The next category in this field is Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, for collaborations between artists and bands.  The nominees were The Chainsmokers and Coldplay’s “Something Just Like This”,  Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber’s  “Despicito”, Imagine Dragon’s “Thunder”, Portugal. The Man’s “Feel It Still”, and Alessia Cara and Zedd’s “Stay”.  If you read my top 10 songs of 2017 list, you’ll know I am a big fan of “Something Just Like This” and “Thunder”, and they both were placed very high on the list.  Out of those two, I’d have to choose my second favorite hit song of last year, “Thunder” by Imagine Dragons.  As I mentioned in that story, it takes a few listens to appreciate, but after that it is a very powerful and addictive piece of music, and absolutely deserved this prize.  As for the other songs, I find myself indifferent to them, and my opinion of them just boils down to “they’re okay”, including the winner, “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man.

For the third pop category, we have best traditional pop album.  I’m just going to leave this category be, because it isn’t a type of music I am interested in, and I don’t feel like it is my place to judge it.

The next category is Best Vocal Pop Album, and I am not too satisfied with the line up, which consists of Coldplay’s “Kaleidoscope EP”, Lana Del Rey’s “Lust For Life”, Imagine Dragon’s “Evolve”, Kesha’s “Rainbow”, Lady Gaga’s “Joanne” and Ed Sheeran’s “Divide”.  I thought all of these albums were mediocre.  It comes to no surprise that Ed Sheeran’s album was the winner, but it also probably comes as no surprise that I am not all that happy about it given what I’ve said about “Shape of You” and my comments about him in my review of Taylor Swift’s “Reputation”.  Because of this lackluster lineup, my personal pick is a bit hesitant, but I would have to say Imagine Dragons’s “Evolve” is the winner.  Given my high praise for “Thunder” ,you may be surprised by my reluctance to declare it the best of the list, but I was actually pretty disappointed with the album.  The entire thing just felt like a failed experiment.  They tried to do various different things with the sound of their music, but with little success of creating something audibly pleasing.  Still, I have to give it credit that it did give us a great non single, “Rise Up”, which is actually one of my favorite songs.  It also introduced “Walking the Wire” and “Mouth of the River”, which are decent songs I find myself listening to sometimes.  

As you could probably tell, I was not all that satisfied with the winner choices this year, and honestly, that’s fine.  Although I love critiquing music and trying to be objective about it, I realize that it is completely subjective and it could never truly be measured in terms of quality. No person’s taste is exactly the same as another, and I see a beauty in that, as shows our individuality as humans.