Grammy predictions

Just for fun, I thought I’d try my hand at predicting the outcome on the 2013 Grammy Awards which will air this Sunday evening on CBS.

Of course, I’m only going to delve into a few of the dozens of categories that I feel like I know something about.

So without further ado, here goes.

And the Grammy goes to…

Best New Artist

Fun

Song Of The Year

We Are Young

Best Pop Solo Performance 

Adele – “Set Fire To The Rain”

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

Maroon 5 – “Payphone”

Best Alternative Music Album

Gotye – “Making Mirrors”

Best Country Solo Performance 

Carrie Underwood – “Blown Away”

Best Country Duo/Group Performance 

Little Big Town – “Pontoon”

Record Of The Year

Taylor Swift – “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”

Music review – We see a new side of Carrie Underwood in “Blown Away”

Carrie Underwood has been a mainstay on the country and pop music charts since her rise to fame as quite possibly the most successful winner of American Idol to date.

Her newest release “Blown Away” does feature some classic Carrie elements but also seems to venture into new territory with mixed results. Several songs include some surprisingly electronic beats and some have lyrics of a deeper, darker nature than anything else we’ve seen from Underwood in the past.

The most notable tracks on the album include “See You Again,” “One Way Ticket,” “Do You Think About Me,” Nobody Ever Told You” and “Who Are You.” Between these songs Underwood delivers a little bit of traditional country but mostly a mix of fun and uplifting music and lyrics with a lot of pop.

The lesser quality tracks would have to include “Two Black Cadillacs,” “Thank God For Hometowns” and “Cupid’s Got A Shotgun.” The first has a fairly traditional country vibe but is extremely dark. The other two go the extreme country route as well with the first being too basic and the second coming across a bit cheesey.

The rest of the tracks are pretty decent but nothing outstanding.

All in all, “Blown Away” is probably not one of Underwood’s best efforts but it is still far better than most of the music out there. I would give it a grade of a B-.

Song that really tug at the emotions

Music can be very touching

I would venture to say that over the course of everyone’s lifetime, there are some songs that come along that really touch us in one way or another. Perhaps it’s by instilling within us a sense of inspiration.  Or maybe it’s a collection of lyrics that cheer us up when we are down. And still in other cases, it might be a musical work that brings tears to our eyes. Whatever the case may be, we all have some songs that have touched us deeply. Here are a few of mine.

Josh Groban – “Weeping”

Michael Fronti and Spearhead – “Say Hey (I Love You)”

Christina Perry – “Jar of Hearts”

Carrie Underwood – “Temporary Home”

Alan Jackson – “Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?”

American Idol St. Louis Auditions

As the city of St. Louis closed out the audition rounds on this season’s American Idol, the “Gateway to the West” seemed to produce some quality talent.

This was the audition site that brought us Carrie Underwood eight years ago. Perhaps lightning will strike twice with a hopeful from this season.

Here’s how I rate the confirmed golden ticket winner thus far:

1. Lauren Gray

2. Ethan Jones

3. Johnny Keyser

4. Rachel Lamb

5. Reese Kloeckner