Home Music Beyoncé’s Grammys Problem: She’ll Never Win Album of the Year Until…
Harry Styles was named Album of the Year at the Grammys on Sunday for his “Harry’s House.”
Beyonce again failed to win Album of the Year. Everyone has a theory, but mine is this: Your album Renaissance is full of samples of other music. That’s right. About 20 samples spread over a dozen songs.
One more thing: the songs on “Renaissance” are full of strong language. The F-word is generously omitted. It’s rough and rough.
And that’s it. Beyoncé has an extraordinary voice. i love hearing it. She has an ego, but she also has a nice smile. Yes, she’s late for everything, even the live Grammys, but you’ll be happy to see her when she arrives. She now has the record for most Grammy Awards, so it’s not like she’s unloved by the Recording Academy.
No, the problem is the lack of originality in their albums. Harry’s House, like Adele’s 30, is all original material. Even Mary J. Blige’s album Good Morning Gorgeous is almost sampleless. The rest of the Grammy nominees went largely without rehearsals.
Really, “Renaissance” is lucky to even be in that category. I know people will tell me samples are the foundation of hip-hop. That’s fine. But to make the final cut for album of the year, there’s a higher standard.
Last year’s Album of the Year winner was Jon Batiste. Many people were surprised. But Batiste combined all the new songs with clever cover versions. He didn’t create Frankensteins.
Added to this is the story I wrote at the end of last week. Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul” was nominated for Song of the Year. But it was basically a sample of a 1993 disco hit called “Show Me Love”. Beyonce and her producers added some knick-knacks and their names to the credits. But the Grammys didn’t want to nominate original author Allen George because it was a sampled work. Sampling will never win grand prizes.
Beyoncé’s best bet: Make a record all your own, even if it’s covers of old songs. These can be existing songs. But they can’t be songs made up of particles from other songs. Natalie Cole won an entire album of covers with her “Unforgettable”. Beyoncé can do it. It’s in her power. Everything is according to their fans. Host a gathering of the best songwriters and ask about their latest material. Then you have the album of the year.
Source: https://www.dailystar.co.uk