Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Eminem and Lady Antebellum. What do these four artists have in common? They were all defeated by Canadian rock group Arcade Fire for the Grammy Awards‘ coveted “Album of the Year” title. Some have viewed it as one of the night’s many “upsets”, in which a lesser-known underdog tramples their high-profile competition. See also, Esperanza Spalding‘s win in the “Best New Artist” category.
But back to the topic at hand. When it all comes down to it, The Suburbs was the only album worthy of the top honor. Every other nominee’s offering plays out like a collection of “potential singles”, while the Arcade Fire’s third release showcases a focused (yet surprisingly diverse) flow from start to finish. It’s a proper album, rather than a playlist with songs by the same artist. Get mad all you want to! These bitches deserved their trophy. Thoughts?
– Dewitt
Photo credit: Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
To listen to Arcade Fire’s “Ready To Start”, follow the JUMP:
I love love love Half Light II off that record. I know you cared about how I felt about that song. I felt it.
i cant completely disagree. lady gaga shouldnt have even been nominated, her album came out back in 2009 didnt it? way too old to even be a nominee.
eminem? really, hes not dead or something. i literally havent heard from him in years, chances are he’s still making the same crap though.
never heard lady antebellum album, i know her one song and its good.
katy perry i felt like was a strong contender, she had a almost flawless album, save for a couple bad songs imo. im not mad that she didnt win however, am glad she was a nominee.
as for arcade fire, the only songs i know of are neighborhood #2 or whatever. hearing ready to start that you linked, i have to say i have heard and enjoyed. im on youtube now checking out the rest of the tracks to see if i know any (omg, we used to wait, love this song). the rest seem decent enough.
i prefer pop/dance songs so i would have prolly given it to katy perry over arcade fire, but all awards shows are opinions so its nothing to get worked up about
agreed, this was about true talent and consistency
Arcade fire exhibit more talent in one song than the other psysudo singer have in their combined careers.
Really happy for Lady Antebellum.
Need you now deserved all the awards.
I’m glad Eminem didn’t win anything major.
Really glad Katy Perry didn’t get this one.
Her songs about plastic bags don’t even deserve Grammy nominations, not to mention the ones about ‘melting popsicles’.
Lady GaGa’s album was quite a good contender, to be hinest. Lady Antebellum album is also pretty good. Too bad I never listed to Arcade Fire before.
Oh, ye, really glad Justin Beiber didn’t win Best New Artist. Pity it wasn’t Florence though.
Oh, and I love how Lady GaGa arrived in an egg to avoid questions about Born This Way vs. Express Yourself. Clever team.
But then she thanks Whitney for Born This Way? Seems like she is trying to anger Madonna to create some massive scandal. I’m pretty sure Madonna will be wise and stay low on this one not to give troll GaGa what she wants. I’m really disappointed with the new direction that she is taking. Very cheap.
I thought this album was a much needed boost after Neon Bible. A lot of people have shunned me for saying so, but I thought this was really a return to everything that made Funeral amazing, but still felt much more… just… more, I guess. Loved it. Or, most of it.
the music on the album may be good – but that performance they did last night was horrific
I was so surprised they won.
I love Arcade Fire, don’t get me wrong.
But I personally found The Suburbs to be their least attractive album.
Now, it’s still damn good, but after seeing Lady Antebellum tear up the place and Lady Gaga being…well Lady Gaga, it was just a shocker to see them win!
Kinda nice though.
And gah! Esparanza beat Mumford and Sons!
🙁
Not only do I love all of their music they’re all absolutely gorgeous…
And @Brian, they’re performance was bitchin what’re you talking about?!
Their performance was a screaming assault on my eardrums and my aesthetic sensibility. Arcade Fire winning “Album Of The Year” is the final stake in the heart of Grammy credibility, in my opinion. And Esperanza Spaulding as “Best New Artist”? Who the fuck is that? Never heard of her before checking her out on iTunes this morning. I guess she’s talented, but so what? How many albums did she sell? And Lady Gaga’s performance was ridiculous, not to mention that her new song is such a blatant theft of “Express Yourself.” If Madonna doesn’t sue, I’ll be amazed. But Mick Jagger was amazing. No sequined dancers, no props or costumes, just that wrinkled, skinny old guy prancing around like he was 25 and singin’ his ass off! The highlight of the show.
katy perry is an awful singer. i don’t get how someone with her lack of talent could even be considered for a grammy. people who use autotune and lip sync their way through their career shouldn’t be awarded, they should be shunned. ugghghghgh
same with that nasty scullery maid lady gaga
I still think Florence Welch should have won Best New Artist :-/
I thought Eminem had died… or something… As a Canadian, I fuckin LOVE Arcade Fire with a passion, and am very glad they beat all the others. Quite deservedly too. 🙂
Yeah, I think the win would only be considered an upset to people who haven’t heard the album.
Uh…what is special about this piece of music? It sounds like something a garage band could procure. That’s a little embarrassing for the Grammy’s. Glad I don’t use them to formulate my own opinions about music.
Why would anyone be upset that Arcade Fire won? Just because their album didn’t sell 5 million copies doesn’t mean it’s bad. I don’t like how people perceive music. To them, Katy Perry having 3 No. 1’s guarantees that she’ll win the Best Album category, no matter how bad that horrendous album was, because it was BAD. She doesn’t even have the vocal capabilities for half the songs on the album.
Arcade Fire deserved this. Eminem isn’t that good. He’s been doing the same ol’ shit for over a decade now and gets praise only from the mainstream and nowhere else. His album didn’t even get good reviews, other than Rolling Stone, the most biased magazine of life.
The nominations were ridiculous for Album of the Year. They also need to fix the schedule. Lady Gaga’s was released in ’09, and it’s annoying when something was released 2 years ago and wins an award, eg, Bad Romance. I can’t believe Janelle Monae didn’t get a nod for Album of the Year, or Sufjan Stevens or even Robyn. Like, how did they just fly by Sleigh Bells?!
Because of their stupid rules, there is no doubt Kanye is gonna rule the Grammys next year although he released the album in 2010… Ugh! (not a bad thing, but just annoying ’cause there’s gonna be so much great music in ’11!)