Jump to content
  • American Music Awards - 2015

    By Dendy Jarrett |

    HC_American-Music-Awards-2015-Logo.pngAmerican Music Awards – What a Colossal Waste!

     

    Several Hours I’ll Never Get Back

     

    by Dendy Jarrett

     

    The 2015 American Music Awards' tremendous opening segment featured an extremely long, but well-done, dance routine with the show’s host, J. Lo. The well-choreographed and energetic moves left me hopeful that the show would not disappoint.

     

    But it did.

     

    Writing a review about a show that was a mess can make the review a mess, and what's worse is that in an effort to be constructive, it's hard to know what would have made this better. The show looked like it was trying to incorporate every possible comment about every possible form of entertainment from every focus group since the dawn of time - and when you try to please everyone, the odds are pretty good you'll please no one.

     

    After the intro, it spiraled downward quickly into what appeared to be an insider's “club” of performances (if you can call them that). It seemed like (what we call in the South) a good ole’ boy’s network of self-serving “hey, look at me!” moments, rather than a show designed to entertain the audience and fans. 

     

    Furthermore, I didn’t really understand a few things…like, with so many artists out there, why were there only three nominees per category for most categories? How can you get a fair representation with only three? And, why did some artists get away with doing three songs back to back instead of having more people showcase their work? I had to keep reminding myself that ABC is owned by Disney...so this show had about as much to do with music as Tomorrowland has to do with NASA.

     

    But, I digress. How about just letting entertainers be entertainers? Do they really need the mind-numbingly elaborate productions that may or may not have anything to do with the music? Take a few  cues from the CMAs, an award show that lost its way but is getting its mojo back by remembering that music is about entertaining the fans and paying them back, not paying back the industry.  

     

    Let entertainers play one song and nail the song or not nail the song - and then the audience can then decide what's good and what's not. This reminds me of a discussion I had with Craig Anderton about the Fourth of July celebration here in Nashville with Martina McBride. He said his favorite moment was when she hit a wrong note, because then he knew that the rest of the vocals - where were excellent - were in fact "real." And shouldn't music be real? Isn't it about raw human emotion, not a bad emulation of a Broadway stage production? Now, if it had been a great emulation of a Broadway stage production, that might have been a very different story...

     

    The show did rally with the tribute to John Williams, based around a symphonic presentation of music from Star Wars (note to self: Pentatonix can really sing), and a very moving presentation by Celine Dion in French to honor the victims of the recent Paris attacks. But the show ended with three agonizing songs by Justin Bieber — three songs!! Was it punishment for my not turning off the TV? Or was it "pay-to-play" to promote his new album?

     

     HarmonyCentral_AmericanMusicAwards_ColdP

    With the exception of ColdPlay's “Adventures of a Lifetime,” which somehow managed to combine rock, a dance music sensibility, and a psychedelic visual  overlay, most of the performances were formulaic and many of the singers had pitch problems. Even sadder, it sure seemed like many of the performers did have potential - but it was suffocated by the over-the-top production values.

     

    I realize I may come across as the crochety old neighbor next door who's constantly yelling at the kids to "get off my lawn," but it's difficult - if not impossible - to give constructive criticism on how the awards could have been better. The show was over-produced, over-hyped, inauthentic, and as sterile as a bag of saline solution. It  seemed like a disjointed collection of old, new, trying to be hip, trying to appeal to a wider demographic, trying to act like it's about contemporary music but there were so many echoes of the past...and the bottom line is it got clobbered in the ratings by a football game.

     

    In fact, ratings were down compared to 2014, and if they don't want the ratings to go down further in 2016, they might want want to remember that awards shows are about thanking the fans - not self-congratulation. Meanwhile, Harmony Central will need to find someone else to cover the AMA awards show next year, because I've already made plans for something far more exciting on whatever date it happens to be - cleaning my sock drawer!

     

    ______________________________________________

     

    Jennifer Lopez Opening Performance:

     

     

    Pentatonix- Star Wars Score:

     

    In case you are still interested, here are the winners:

     

    ARTIST OF THE YEAR

    • Luke Bryan
    • Ariana Grande
    • Maroon 5
    • Nicki Minaj
    • One Direction - WINNER
    • Ed Sheeran
    • Sam Smith
    • Taylor Swift
    • Meghan Trainor
    • The Weeknd

     

    NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR presented by Khol's

    • Fetty Wap
    • Sam Hunt - WINNER
    • Tove Lo
    • Walk The Moon
    • The Weeknd

     

    SONG OF THE YEAR

    • Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth, “See You Again”
    • Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk!”
    • Ed Sheeran, “Thinking Out Loud”
    • Taylor Swift, “Blank Space” - WINNER
    • The Weeknd, “Can’t Feel My Face”

     

    COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR

    • Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth, “See You Again”
    • Rihanna & Kanye West Featuring Paul McCartney, “FourFiveSeconds”
    • Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk!”
    • Skrillex & Diplo Featuring Justin Bieber, “Where Are Ü Now” - WINNER
    • Taylor Swift Featuring Kendrick Lamar, “Bad Blood”

     

    FAVORITE MALE ARTIST -- POP/ROCK

    • Nick Jonas
    • Ed Sheeran - WINNER
    • Sam Smith

     

    FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST -- POP/ROCK

    • Ariana Grande - WINNER
    • Taylor Swift
    • Meghan Trainor

     

    FAVORITE DUO OR GROUP -- POP/ROCK

    • Maroon 5
    • One Direction - WINNER
    • Walk The Moon

     

    FAVORITE ALBUM -- POP/ROCK

    • Ed Sheeran, X
    • Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
    • Taylor Swift, 1989 - WINNER

     

    FAVORITE MALE ARTIST -- COUNTRY

    • Jason Aldean
    • Luke Bryan - WINNER
    • Sam Hunt

     

    FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST -- COUNTRY

    • Kelsea Ballerini
    • Miranda Lambert
    • Carrie Underwood - WINNER

     

    FAVORITE DUO or GROUP -- COUNTRY

    • Zac Brown Band
    • Florida Georgia Line - WINNER
    • Little Big Town

     

    FAVORITE ALBUM -- COUNTRY

    • Jason Aldean, Old Boots, New Dirt
    • Florida Georgia Line, Anything Goes - WINNER
    • Sam Hunt, Montevallo

     

    FAVORITE ARTIST -- RAP/HIP-HOP

    • Fetty Wap
    • Nicki Minaj - WINNER

     

    FAVORITE ALBUM -- RAP/HIP-HOP

    1. Cole, 2014 Forest Hills Drive
    • Drake, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
    • Nicki Minaj, The Pinkprint - WINNER

     

    FAVORITE MALE ARTIST -- SOUL/R&B

    • Chris Brown
    • Trey Songz
    • The Weeknd - WINNER

     

    FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST -- SOUL/R&B

    • Beyoncé
    • Mary J. Blige
    • Rihanna - WINNER

     

    FAVORITE ALBUM -- SOUL/R&B

    • Chris Brown, X
    • D’Angelo and The Vanguard, Black Messiah
    • The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness - WINNER

     

    FAVORITE ARTIST -- ALTERNATIVE ROCK

    • Fall Out Boy - WINNER
    • Hozier
    • Walk the Moon

     

    FAVORITE ARTIST -- ADULT CONTEMPORARY

    • Ed Sheeran
    • Taylor Swift - WINNER
    • Meghan Trainor

     

    FAVORITE ARTIST -- LATIN

    • Enrique Iglesias - WINNER
    • Ricky Martin
    • Romeo Santos

     

    FAVORITE ARTIST -- CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL

    • Casting Crowns - WINNER
    • Hillsong United
    • MercyMe

     

    FAVORITE ARTIST -- ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM)

    • Calvin Harris - WINNER
    • David Guetta
    • Zedd

     

    TOP SOUNDTRACK

    • Fifty Shades of Grey
    • Empire: Original Soundtrack from Season 1

                      Pitch Perfect 2 - WINNER

     

      

    _________________________________________________________________

    dendy-editorial-image-small-1c93e909.jpg.c7c248493c9c4ed91da6b5dc7e4c85bf.jpg

     

    Dendy Jarrett is the Publisher and Director of Harmony Central. He has been heavily involved at the executive level in many aspects of the drum and percussion industry for over 25 years and has been a professional player since he was 16. His articles and product reviews have been featured in InTune Monthly, Gig Magazine, DRUM! and Modern Drummer Magazines.

     

     

     




    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    There are no comments to display.


×
×
  • Create New...