The big American music awards ceremony could spark fan interest with stars such as Olivia Rodrigo, Kanye West, Lady Gaga and Barack Obama for best « spoken » album.
Forget the Will Smith affair … Not sure, but between the possible box of Olivia Rodrigo, the unpredictable Kanye West, and Barack Obama candidate for his third award, the Grammy Awards ceremony presented by comedian Trevor Noah , Sunday night in Las Vegas, may spark fan interest.
The great pop sensation from the Disney series, High School Musical, Olivia Rodrigo, can repeat the feat achieved by Billie Eilish two years ago, by winning the four most prestigious trophies – album, song, recording and revelation of the ‘year. In total, she has no less than seven nominations, as many as Billie Eilish, freshly Oscar winner with the song from the latest James Bond (No Time to Die), but one less than popstar Justin Bieber or rapper Doja Cat.
The 19-year-old Californian, singer of drivers license and Good 4 u is also expected on the stage of the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to sing live, just like the popular South Korean boy band BTS, Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow, HER, Nas, and jazzman Jon Batiste, record number of nominations (11) and favorite this year.
Kanye West, who legally changed his name to Ye, released an album last year, Donda, and another this year, Donda 2. But it’s mostly for his personal attacks on comedian Pete Davidson , in a relationship with his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, whom he made talk about him, until being banned from posting on Instagram for … 24 hours. Stage beast, named this year in five categories, he can still give cold sweats to the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (The Recording Academy) for his unpredictable side. Reports have circulated that the Academy informed him that he could not perform on stage, but a surprise is still possible. The rapper and producer competes in particular in the category of best album, with Donda. And he finds himself face to face with folk pop star Taylor Swift, the very one he had vehemently interrupted on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2009, to come and say that Beyoncé deserved an award in her place.
One, Jay-Z, now has the record for nominations, 83 in all counting the 64th ceremony on Sunday, ahead of the legendary Quincy Jones; the other, Beyoncé, became the most awarded singer with 28 Grammys. But in Las Vegas, it is not certain that we will see the couple, one of the most influential in contemporary popular culture. Because despite their records, Jay-Z and Beyoncé also embody the difficulty of the Grammy Awards to devote R&B, hip-hop, and non-white artists with prestigious awards. Thus, despite 23 awards, Jay-Z has never won anything in a major category, and Beyoncé only has one trophy at this level. In 2018, the Brooklyn rapper, turned producer and billionaire business man, was even at the top of the nominations (8) but had won nothing. The following year, the couple shunned the ceremony, which did not prevent their musical duo, The Carters, from winning a Grammy (best contemporary urban album).
Barack Obama towards a third Grammy?
Another duo of the evening, singer and actress Lady Gaga and crooner Tony Bennett, 95, can believe in their chances with six nominations for their second album together, – the 61st in the studio for Bennett! -, Love For Sale. In 2014, the New Yorker became the oldest album sales number one in history, thanks to his first duet with his accomplice. After revealing in 2021 that he has Alzheimer’s disease, the Queens crooner no longer performs on stage, « by doctor’s order », but it is not impossible that he will make an appearance on Sunday with Lady Gaga.
The United States Constitution limits the number of terms of office of the American president to two, but it will not prevent Barack Obama from aiming for a third Grammy in the always very eclectic category of the best spoken album. The former president (2009-2017), already rewarded in 2006 and 2008, returns in 2022 for the audio version of his memoirs, (A promised land). In 2020, his wife, Michelle Obama, won with the audiobook Becoming.