by Tyler Glover & Julian Spivey “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift for Song of the Year Honestly, as a gigantic Swiftie, all of Taylor Swift’s 4 nominations are the ones I am the most excited about. However, the one I am the most excited about is her nomination for Best Song of the Year for “All Too Well.” “All Too Well” was already arguably Swift’s best song, originally released in 2012. Due to Swift’s very publicized quest to reclaim her work through re-recording her first six albums, she treated fans to the original 10-minute version of the song last year on the re-release of Red (Taylor’s Version). Thus, one of the best songs of all time became even better. With new haunting lyrics like “You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath,” we were given more depth to an already brilliant song. With this nomination, Swift ties Lionel Richie and Paul McCartney for the most nominations in the category. Despite being one of the most decorated stars of all time, this is an award Swift has yet to win. There is stiff competition, but I would love to see Swift win. It would be one of the most deserving wins of all time. TG “In These Silent Days” by Brandi Carlile for Album of the Year I’m starting to sound like a broken record stumping for Brandi Carlile in the general field categories at the Grammy Awards. This is the third time in the last five years Carlile has had recordings in the general field and I love the reception and response she’s gotten for it. I’m thrilled that In These Silent Days, her seventh studio album, is nominated for Album of the Year, though I realize it’s a huge longshot with Adele, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar and Harry Styles all nominated in the same category. Carlile has a much more likely chance at winning Best Americana Album for In These Silent Days, but even in that category she’s up against legends Bonnie Raitt and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss. JS “Does He Love You” by Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton for Best Country Duo/Group Performance My absolute favorite duet of all time: “Does He Love You” was re-visited last year on Reba’s latest album: Revived Remixed Revisited. This time, Reba was not joined by Linda Davis, but by the Queen of Country Music Dolly Parton. As a major fan of both of these artists, this was a dream come true. It did not disappoint. This new interpretation that made it feel more like a conversation between the wife and the jilted lover brought more depth. The listener feels like you are sitting in on these two women meeting and expressing their feelings to one another. Dolly’s sweet and beautiful voice mixed with Reba’s fierceness and power vocals makes this a song that should not be missed. It should be forever remembered as a Grammy-winning performance. TG “Easy On Me” by Adele for Best Pop Solo Performance You know any time Adele records anything she’s going to receive a pile of Grammy Award nominations. It’s just the way it goes and with a voice like hers, it’s always going to be worthy. Adele’s “Easy On Me” is nominated in both the general field categories of Record of the Year and Song of the Year and she may well be considered the front-runner to win both (though I personally would vote for other options in both categories). That is why I’ve chosen Best Pop Solo Performance for “Easy On Me” as one of my favorites. There are some other great options in this category as well – both Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” and Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” but for me this is the most obvious win for Adele come Grammy night. JS “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” for Best Song Written for Visual Media One of the biggest botched Oscar submissions in recent history was Disney not submitting “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” for Best Original Song. The submissions did have to be turned in before the film was released so the studio did not know this song was going to be a phenomenon. However, Lin-Manuel Miranda would have most definitely been an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar & Tony) winner right now if this song would have been submitted vs. their submission: “Dos Oruguitas.” That’s why it was so exciting to see “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” get into the equivalent category at the Grammys. This song was beloved by Disney fans of all ages and should go down in history as a Grammy-winning song. TG “’Til You Can’t” by Cody Johnson for Best Country Song I’m kind of disappointed in the Best Country Song category at the Grammy Awards this year. They always do a better job with nominees in this category than the more mainstream country music award and have done so once again this year. But I feel it could’ve been better. My favorite in the category this year is Cody Johnson’s “’Til You Can’t,” which broke the artist out of a more regional Texas Country Music scene into the mainstream with a No. 1 hit. The song about not putting off the important stuff until tomorrow was written by Matt Rogers and Ben Stennis, who would be honored if the song were to win. JS “Hold My Hand” by Lady Gaga for Best Song Written for Visual Media Lady Gaga is one of my favorite artists ever. I saw her in concert this past summer at Wrigley Field on her “Chromatica Ball Tour.” “Hold My Hand” was the last song on her set list. It gave me chills to see her perform this song. It is a song I am predicting to also be nominated this year at the Academy Awards and could even possibly win. Gaga’s powerhouse vocals and touching lyrics about staying together through it all give you goosebumps. It is definitely one of the top 10 songs of Gaga’s career thus far. I was very excited to see Gaga get this recognition. TG “In His Arms” by Miranda Lambert for Best Country Solo Performance I was dumbfounded last year when the collaborative album The Marfa Tapes between Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram and Jon Randall – probably the best country album of 2021 – was mostly snubbed by the Grammys – though it was nominated for Best Country Album (which it should’ve won but lost to Chris Stapleton’s Starting Over). One of the best tracks on that album was “In His Arms,” which Lambert included with more instrumentation on her eighth solo studio album Palomino this year. It’s a beautiful song about longing to be with the one you love. JS “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” for Best Country Duo/Group Performance - Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde This year, if you are talking about the song nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance which is a duet between a wife and her husband’s mistress, you will have to be more specific. That is because “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” is nominated alongside Reba’s classic hit, “Does He Love You” that has been revisited this year. The main difference is that in “Never Wanted To Be That Girl,” the lover did not know he was married and in “Does He Love You,” she did know. Both are fantastic songs in their own right, and both would be a deserving Grammy-winning performance. One of my favorite lyrics from “NWTBTG” is “I thought I knew who I was, but it’s getting hard to tell.” We all end up in life in circumstances we would have never predicted and that are difficult. This lyric truly is touching and just a reflection of a well-written song that becomes even more effective with heartfelt performances from Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde. TS “Broken Horses” by Brandi Carlile for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Solo Performance I was surprised, but pleasantly so, when the Grammy nominations were revealed last week and I saw Brandi Carlile’s name in a couple of the rock music categories beside names like Ozzy Osbourne, Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Black Keys. However, “Broken Horses” – nominated for both Best Rock Song and Best Rock Solo Performance – is a rock song. It kicks ass. It’s just somewhat surprising to see Carlile, traditionally nominated in American Roots categories and last year had a song in the pop categories, alongside the “Prince of Darkness.” She may not even be a dark horse in these categories, and I hope she wins. JS
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