Beyoncé - RENAISSANCE

[KEY9481]

Of course you’re not the only one, we aint stupid.

[theMathematician]

I don't see anything controversial or polarizing about 'Renaissance', especially compared to 'Lemonade'. But then again, you'll never know... For all we know, 'Beyoncé', which wasn't quite mainstream-unfriendly either, did not only lose to Beck's 'Morning Phase' but also Pharell's 'G I R L'.
While 'Lemonade' won Best Contemporary Urban Album back in the day, we don't even know whether it was a tight 2nd for AOTY behind Adele's '25' or whether Sturgill Simpson ended up receiving more votes as well with his album. I am only pretty certain that Justin Bieber and Drake didn't receive more votes for their albums.

[aang]

Btw, this should maybe go in the Grammy thread, but am I the only one expecting her NOT to win AOTY?

We can discuss this here as it's still Renaissance-related but yep, I didn't expect her to win either. I have a strong feeling Bad Bunny will take it.

[theMathematician]

We can discuss this here as it's still Renaissance-related but yep, I didn't expect her to win either. I have a strong feeling Bad Bunny will take it.

Bad Bunny AOTY ? His album is pretty much the only one I'm almost certain that it won't win it, the other being Coldplay's.

[LittleLinda]

I don't see anything controversial or polarizing about 'Renaissance', especially compared to 'Lemonade'. But then again, you'll never know... For all we know, 'Beyoncé', which wasn't quite mainstream-unfriendly either, did not only lose to Beck's 'Morning Phase' but also Pharell's 'G I R L'.
While 'Lemonade' won Best Contemporary Urban Album back in the day, we don't even know whether it was a tight 2nd for AOTY behind Adele's '25' or whether Sturgill Simpson ended up receiving more votes as well with his album. I am only pretty certain that Justin Bieber and Drake didn't receive more votes for their albums.

I didn’t say “controversial” or “polarising”, I said off-putting for people who are rather conservative.
I mean, it opens with “These mother***s ain’t stopping me” repeated over and over again, which will certainly have some (esp. older) people dismissing it right out if the gate as “trashy”. It’s filled to the brim with samples and interpolations which some music purists frown upon as “uncreative” and it celebrates gay club culture which won’t sit well with homophobes.
I’m not saying that others don’t include sampling or curse words and that such albums never win, but it’s certainly an uphill battle when there are other, most notably “safer” choices in the race.

@ aang: Bad Bunny didn’t even take home the Latin Grammy, there’s no way he’s gonna win the general one. Especially not with the competition he’s facing there.

[theMathematician]

For Album of the Year, I have to agree that they the jury (Yes, I know that they vote in secret and consist of thousands of people!) tends to favor albums that are not heavy on swear words. Maybe that was the reason why 1989 and 25 won over albums with more explicit language. But then again, Meghan Thee Stallion won the prestigious Best New Artist trophy, and her music is not quite politically correct, so to say. And now that you say it, some people consider music heavy on samples to be less creative. I don't think being inspited by gay club culture will work against Beyoncé. The overall sound of the album, apart from Pure/Honey ^^ , is not really campy.

Bad Bunny not winning the AOTY trophy at the Latin Grammys will lower his chance to win the AOTY trophy at the overall Grammys, but it should be mentioned that it lost to an album that is not nominated for the overall Grammys' AOTY.

[basticasas]

the other nominated albums are not as impactful or good as RENAISSANCE, the queen deserves this!!!

[aang]

@ aang: Bad Bunny didn’t even take home the Latin Grammy, there’s no way he’s gonna win the general one. Especially not with the competition he’s facing there.

He did not? Oh wow I'm surprised. I'm not the biggest fan of his music (bop to a few songs here and there though) but based on what I've seen on social media I feel like the US & the Hispanic communities REALLY go hard for him it's insane so yeah, it's a surprise to me that he didn't take the Latin Grammys trophy.

But good for Renaissance though - I always felt like Bad Bunny was Bey's biggest competition up to this point (although HDD hinted that Harry Styles might take the trophy).

[Omiros]

I think Harry's got it in the bag personally. He has the mainstream appeal, huge hits, airplay and touring. He was inescepable this year.

[theMathematician]

I think Harry's got it in the bag personally. He has the mainstream appeal, huge hits, airplay and touring. He was inescepable this year.

So did Olivia Rodrigo (Sour). So did Justin Timberlake (Futuresex/Lovesound). So did Mariah Carey (The Emancipation of Mimi). So did Lady Gaga (The Fame Monster).

[Omiros]

So did Olivia Rodrigo (Sour). So did Justin Timberlake (Futuresex/Lovesound). So did Mariah Carey (The Emancipation of Mimi). So did Lady Gaga (The Fame Monster).

The committee never liked Justin, let alone give him AOTY for an album that at the time was consdiered promiscuous.

The rest are female artists so they were already at a disadvantage.

I'd obviously love to be proven wrong, Harry's the definition of vanilla. But as far as campaigning goes, he's done the best job.

[theMathematician]

I personally think those are the chances to win AOTY:
very likely:
Brandi Carlile
Beyoncé
ABBA
likely:
Adele
Mary J Blige
Harry Styles
unlikely:
Kendrick Lamar
Lizzo
Bad Bunny
very unlikely:
Coldplay

[Beautyisbeauty]

I think LittleLinda was spot on with her observation. Reinassance´s chances rely on the overall Academy´s demographics and how much weight young voters have in 2023. It´s more radical on its sound landscape and approach than Lemonade or BEYONCÉ were (for your average Grammy voter) and that, outside of the r&b field, it´s a tough sell.

I think Harry is not a threat unlike Adele and Brandi. imo this is his Unorthodox jukebox era with the only exception that his win is not going to be in the pop field.

It would be pretty much a matter of seeing how they perform first in the categories that are not their main votes pool (imo, Dance for Beyoncé, Rock for Brandi and Visual Media for Adele) and then those that traditionally are.

[westhammer]

I think Harry's got it in the bag personally. He has the mainstream appeal, huge hits, airplay and touring. He was inescepable this year.

Surely not! I mean I love Harry and the album but it is not a masterpiece or deserving of AOTY (and Fine Line was better). Renaissance is an iconic album and I will never be more outraged if it doesn’t win!

[LittleLinda]

If I had to bet, I’d go with Brandi / Adele as the winners, then Harry, then ABBA / Beyoncé.
I’d be happy to be proven wrong and for her to finally bag it, but I believe her chances were much better with both Self-titled and Lemonade. And we all know how that went.

[theMathematician]

LittleLinda : For what we know, the Grammy jury preferred Beck's and Pharell's albums to Beyoncé, and Adele's album to Lemonade. It would be interesting to know how much further behind Beyoncé's albums were in the voting. For example, Beyoncé could have also ended behind Sam Smith's album (don't think Ed Sheeran's album got more votes though) as it felt like he was the big winner of that night. Was Lemonade a close second or did it even land behind Sturgill Simpson's album? I doubt Drake's and Justin Bieber's albums got more votes than Lemonade.
What do you think?

[lambforever]

In reference to her chances this time around , I agree with the Matimatician ranking.

Abba and Brandi being the 2 albums to beat for AOTY

[Beyon]

She's not performing at the Grammys.

[theMathematician]

But she will still attend after all, won't she?

[Beyon]

But she will still attend after all, won't she?

Who knows.
God knows when this era is going to start, if at all.

Maybe there's a rich gay couple that's getting married and is willing to offer her millions to do a private Renaissance performance

[Artoo]

Guys, let’s just write this ‘era’ off and start asking for Act II. I swear we’ve got more chance. It’s been six months and not a single music video, performance, interview or tour date announced. Instead she spends a month rehearsing for her debut as a hotel singer, then takes herself off on holiday during award season. Seriously, what’s going on with her?

[KEY9481]

She's not performing at the Grammys.

[theMathematician]

Guys, let’s just write this ‘era’ off and start asking for Act II. I swear we’ve got more chance. It’s been six months and not a single music video, performance, interview or tour date announced. Instead she spends a month rehearsing for her debut as a hotel singer, then takes herself off on holiday during award season. Seriously, what’s going on with her?

I don't have a clue what she's doing, to be honest. It would help if she at least spoke about her current handling, but nothing... All we have is assumptions why she could act the way she's acting.

[InFamous]

Not remotely surprised Bey is skipping the Grammys. She looked bored to tears the entire evening at the last one she went to and probably thought .. I'm done with this crap.
Bottom line, she doesn't have to go. Nor does she have to film videos.
Fans thinking they can decide the schedules and plans of their faves need to realize its not their decision to make.
have a great holiday Bey

[KEY9481]

SUPERSTAR DREAMS?
Last night (1/26), word was that members of the Academy's TV committee claimed they were still in negotiations with a female superstar to perform on the Grammy telecast. These committee members lead insiders to believe the star in question could only be Taylor Swift or Beyoncé. Is this wishful thinking, or perhaps the result of some very strong weed? Stay tuned.

https://hitsdailydouble.com/news&id=...AR-DREAMS%253F