Saving Country Music’s 2014 Grammy Awards LIVE Blog

56th-grammy-awards

Here we are once again ladies and gentlemen, joined together as disenfranchised music fans to commiserate, contemplate, and at times, downright mock the spectacle that will transpire in front of our very eyes at the 56th Grammy Awards. So instead of hard cussing our televisions all alone, let’s unite together and let our voices be one in dissent in another LIVE blog, and not let ourselves lose touch if there actually happens to be a touching or rewarding moment.

So get your refreshing fingers ready, feel free to pipe up in the comments section below if you feel so inclined, and let’s have a fair fight.

Jason Isbell Got Screwed: A 56th Annual Grammy Awards Complete Preview


Funny: Watch Taylor Swift flinch, thinking she won Best Album

WINNERS:

  • Kacey Musgraves wins Best Country Album for Same Trailer, Different Park
  • Kacey Musgraves wins Best Country Song for “Merry Go ‘Round
  • The Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance went to Darius Rucker for “Wagon Wheel“.
  • The Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance went to “From This Valley” from The Civil Wars
  • The Grammy for Best American Roots Song went to Edie Brickell and Steve Martin for “Love Has Come For You“.
  • The Grammy for Best Americana Album went to Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell for “Old Yellow Moon“.
  • The Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album went to Streets of Baltimore from the Del McCoury Band.
  • And the Grammy for Best Folk Album went to My Favorite Picture of You by Guy Clark.

11:00 – Without question, when it comes to the country perspective, the night belonged to Kacey Musgraves. Winning the two big awards for Song and Album is a career moment for her. Will it result in huge sales? She’ll see the customary Grammy bump, but more importantly it has to instill a confidence in her that she’s on the right path. I have a lot of concerns for Kacey, but one thing I’m not concerned about is her talent, and her compass. I think she needs to work harder at refining that talent and making better decisions when it comes to her music, but a night like tonight might instill the confidence she needs to do so.

Once again Taylor Swift gets locked out, similar to how she was locked out of the CMA Awards. Where Kacey Musgraves was the critical favorite, Taylor went in a different direction with “Red” and now the critical acclaim is not there.

On the Grammy Awards themselves, just like last year, they felt consistently flat. They didn’t deliver any “moments” when you were wondered by an artists talent, except for maybe the Pink performance, but this was more based on her physical choreography. But cutting songs short, but doing medleys, by having forced collaborations, they’re failing to create those water cooler moments that stick with you after the show is over. Two year ago in the aftermath of the death of Whitney Houston, it was like every performer elevated their game. The Grammy Awards need to try to get back to that, stop trying to put on a good show, and understand they are the key to building artist legacies and singular moments.

10:46 – Thanks so much for everyone for stopping by! Thanks for commenting, or just lending your eyes to the cause! I am going to compose some final thoughts, recap the country winners, and be done!

10:45 – And half the crowd files out and the cameras cut away halfway through the final performance.

10:43 – As much as I love Dave Grohl, it’s a little annoying to see the cameras favor him. The drummer is not supposed to be the focus. It should be the song and the front man.

10:40 – Random Access Memories was my pick for Best Album, and is probably deserving considering the field. It was the work that defined 2013. They led, everyone else followed.

10:39 – So Taylor Swift is pretty much shut out for major industry awards for this cycle, aside from some American Music Awards that have questionable legitimacy. This has got to be a disappointment for Camp Swift.

10:36 – And yes, I did see Taylor Swift and her peeps jump when they heard “R” that morphed into Random Access Memories.

10:35 – The Grammy for Best Album goes to Random Access Memories by Daft Punk.

10:29 – Really solid performance by Miranda Lambert and Billie Joe Armstrong playing “When Will I Be Loved” in tribute to Phil Everly. The Billie Joe Everly tribute “Foreverly” is worth checking out.

10:26 – The Grammy Awards do their annual “In Memoriam” segment, and after a tribute to Van Cliburn, the first artists featured are George Jones and Ray Price. Also featured are Jody Payne, “Cowboy” Jack Clement, Steve Fromholz, Mindy McCready, Slim Whitman, and Tompall Glaser. Really surprised to see such deep names included. Almost was expecting to see Wayne Mills.

10:21 – The Grammy pay tribute to a music educator as part of a new award and music educational program. This is the thing that sets the Grammy Awards apart. The do a lot of stuff behind-the-scenes to help support the development of music.

10:14 – So a bunch of people some straight, some gay,  just got married by a bad-facelifted Madonna. The Everly tribute can’t get here fast enough.

10:11 – I really have no idea what is going on right now. But Madonna looks in rough shape.

10:07 – Rapper Macklemore performs a politically-charged pro gay song in front of a church backdrop. And no, I’m not touching this.

10:05 – Funny Tweet from Hillgrass Bluebilly: “Only you can prevent Smokey Robinson and a Smokey the Bear hat on stage at the same time.”

10:01 – So wait, this thing isn’t ending at 10 PM? Isn’t it past Hunter Hayes’ bedtime?

9:59 – Right now, Daft Punk’s helmets are inspiring George Lucas to figure out how to screw up their narrative concept with bad CGI, undeveloped storylines, and questionable edits of previous content.

9:57 – The Grammy winner for Record of the Year goes to Daft Punk for “Get Lucky.”

9:56 – …though it got a little weird at the end.

9:55 – Not a huge Metallica fan, but this performance shows the virtues of true collaboration, and letting a performance breathe and develop. Also helps that James Hetfield looks so much like The Reverend Horton Heat these days.

9:52 – This Metallica performance could be one worth waiting for, if they don’t cut it super short like they’ve been doing with most of the performances tonight.

9:50 – No offense to Lou Reed. Good he’s getting this poignant tribute. But why couldn’t we get the same for George Jones and Ray Price? A few extra seconds goes a long way.

9:48 – Interesting. Apparently the backdrop for the Willie, Merle, Kris, Shelton performance was Willie’s town “Luck, TX” that he built during the production of the movie “Red Headed Stranger” and still hosts events.

9:45 – With the win for both the Country Best Song and Album, you have to put Kacey Musgraves up there with Lorde as the two biggest winners so far tonight.

9:41 – The Grammy for Song of the Year goes to Lorde and the songwriters for “Royals”.

9:37 – I watched the entire pre-telecast event that was hosted by Cindi Lauper. She was sloppy as hell then too. It was kind of sad.

9:33 – Still trying to process this Kacey Musgraves win for Best Album. I knew it was a real possibility and had it in my predictions, but the weight it means for that particular artist is more than it would have meant for any other nominee. Taylor Swift must be praying right now she wins for the all genre Best Album. She’s had an anemic awards season, possibly a symptom of going so pop.

9:29 – The whole EDM thing is not my flavor, but I’ve always thought Daft Punk did a good job referring to the past in thier music, and integrating real singing and instrumentation to where they distinguish themselves from the unclean masses and hacks of the electronic music business.

9:26 – Going back to the Merle, Willie, Kris, Shelton performance, as I was worried about, it felt unreheased, disjointed, and didn’t represent either of the men’s contributions to music accurately. Yes, cool to see them, but in the end, that’s the cold hard truth of the performance. I wish they would have focused on just one song. Still glad to see them here, and would have rather had that than nothing.

9:24 – Massive moment for Kacey Musgraves. This was the face time she deserved. Her career may have truly started tonight.

9:23 – Kacey Musgraves wins the Grammy for Best Country Album for Same Trailer, Different Park.

9:22 – Zac Brown and Martina McBride give some very quick, but thoughtful love to George Jones and Ray Price before giving away award for Best Country Album.

9:21 – Kris Kristofferson told Blake Shelton backstage to never look him in the eye or he’d fly a helicopter up his country-rapping, reality show-judging ass.

9:19 – “Who the shit is Blake Shelton?” —Merle Haggard 5 minutes before this performance.

9:18 – Before Willie, Merle, and Kristofferson would agree to perform with Blake Shelton, they all initiated him by each giving him a swirly. Then Merle gave Blake an atomic wedgie so fierce, it ripped Blake’s Jockeys and Willie Nelson ran them up the Staples Center flagpole.

9:17 – Kris Kristofferson wearing a winged necklace, likely for the absent Waylon Jennings.

9:15 – Nice to see Kris Kristofferson at least get some face time coming out of the break for his Lifetime Achievement Award.

9:12 – It will be cool to see Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, and Willie Nelson on the Grammys, but I’m not expecting much from this performance. It’s just too limiting of a forum. But who knows.

9:10 – Apparently the piano Paul McCartney was playing was the actual piano from The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour. My apologies to the the piano and its family and fans.

9:07 – The Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album “Unorthodox Jukebox” by Bruno Mars. Not bothered by Bruno.

9:03 – Notice Ringo is barely playing. It’s the other drummer doing the heavy lifting.

9:00 – The paint job on Paul McCartney’s piano looks like it should be yard art in a hipster’s organic garden.

8:59 – Jim Marshall that they just honored was the guy that shot Johnny Cash’s famous middle finger photo, and a lot of other iconic Johnny Cash, and music photos. Good to see him get some love here.

8:57 – I really questioned the wisdom of Kacey Musgraves singing “Follow Your Arrow” at the CMA Awards if they were going to censor it, so it’s good to see it was accepted here. Even if you hate the line, the song, or Kacey, music should be expressed the way it was meant.

8:54 – Really liked Kacey Musgraves’ dress too, even though it looked like it was made from my grandmother’s drapes from 1974 that reek of Pall Malls.

8:52 – Yes! No censorship for Kacey Musgraves! Good job Grammy Awards and CBS! Let the girl sing her song!

8:49 – Where’s the melody, where’s the composition? We’ll just replace it by dressing all in white and playing big drums really really awesomely. What music wankoffedness.

8:47 – Imagine Dragons have so much nothing. It’s all gesticulations and stage props.

8:45 – Yes T-Swizzle getting down to this Imagine Dragons wank off! About as graceful as a Gran Mal.

8:42 – I’m not feeling any energy from The Grammys. I noticed this lat year too. The whole thing seems to be meadering, delivering no real memorable performances. Even the Pink theatrics, though impressive, seemed to descend into theories if she’s singing or not. Where’s the big songs, the big voices, the big performances? This is supposed to be music’s biggest night? I remember a couple of years ago, I was wowed left and right by inspired performances, regardless of genre. The last two years I’ve been fighting off yawns. There’s not really even much to make fun of.

8:39 – Many Pink fans insisting she sang her performance live, and if you say otherwise, apparently you suck. So there’s that.

8:36 – The Grammy for Best Rap / Sung Collaboration goes to Jay Z with Justin Timberlake for “Holy Grail.”

8:34 – Love ya Ringo, but I’ve got my head on my desk. What is the point of this performance.

8:30 – It would be cool to see Black Sabbath at The Grammys, if it wasn’t so uncool to be seen at The Grammys.

8:26 – Lots of questions on the interwebs if Pink was truly singing live. I think you would have had to hear more breath in the mic if that was the case. At the very end of her first song, you all of a sudden heard her breathing heavy. I have no proof, but I find it very hard to believe it was live.

8:24 – The Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance goes to Lorde for “Royals”.

8:23 – Wow, that was downright painful.

8:22 – If that’s the guy from Fun in the ironic mustache, he’s out of tune.

8:18 – Do we really believe Pink is singing while all of this is going on? Seriously, I’m asking.

8:17 – 7 seconds into this Pink performance, and I was already dizzy to the point of nausea.

8:15 – From Drew Magary on Twitter: ” I bet Taylor steals all her lyrics from the Missed Connections part of Craigslist.”

8:13 – Funny from JJ Akin on Twitter: “They should cutaway to Taylor Swift in the audience dancing to this Taylor Swift performance.”

8:10 – Yawn. Oh wait, pictures of Willie and Merle going to break! For the love of God Grammys, give us SOMETHING!

8:08 – Yeah, the hair whipping seems so unbelievably contrived. Isn’t a band performance, but this song doesn’t go anywhere.

8:04 – “All Too Well” was one of the critic’s favorites from Taylor Swift’s album “Red”. It has some depth, but kind of meanders.

8:04 – The Grammy for Best Rock Song goes to Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, and some other dudes for a song I’ve never heard before, and nobody will remember after tonight.

8:00 – Ha! Chicks in the crowd playing in the shadows behind this lame guy playing piano. They’re bored too.

7:58 – Man, these awards have been a snoozer so far.

7:50 – Gary Clark Jr. is the real deal folks! Austin-grown good songwriter, and great guitar player. Glad to see him here. Folks should check him out.

7:48 – When did Keith Urban cut his mop like a 14-year-old tank-booted punk girl from 1997?

7:46 – Robin Thicke could use a crane kick to the kisser about right now. Sweep the leg.

7:45 – Never had a big problem with Chicago, until Peter Cetera whored the band for Karate Kid soundtracks.

7:45 – Why does this Chicago performance remind me of a Cialis commercial? I feel like a voice over is about to come on asking me if I’ve checked my testosterone level.

7:37 – About the only thing impressive with Katy Perry’s performance is how she hid the 9V battery to her blouse.

7:33 – Interesting note: Kacey Musgraves made time to both make out with Katy Perry, and smoke pot with Willie Nelson before the show. She called it the “Buzzword round the world”.

7:30 – Daft Punk won something. I was too busy being a bully on Twitter to pay attention to what.

7:29 – If you go for the climactic moment, you better nail it. Hunter didn’t. That not bullying, that’s just truth.

7:28 – Funny how an anti-bullying song just wants me to bully Hunter even more. It’s okay Hunter, someday my words will be invisible.

7:26 – Grammy or not, Hunter Hayes is already a winner today after finding his very first pubic hair. Congrats Hunter!

7:24 – If you haven’t heard yet, Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Blake Shelton will all perform a medley of songs together (which one of these things is not like the others?). The performance will begin with Willie and Kris singing the Jimmy Webb-penned song “The Highwayman.” Then all the men will sing a version of “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys,” and end with Haggard’s “Okie From Muskogee.”

7:20 – Lorde = innocuous. Is it time for Kris, Willie, and Merle yet?

7:16 – My pop friends tell me Lorde is the real deal. Much better than your average pop star. Hit me with your best shot Lorde.

7:15 – Two white rappers win an award. This is more like the CMA Awards than I expected.

7:14 – The Grammy for Best New Artist goes to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. Kacey Musgraves looks gracious in defeat (because apparently, these things matter).

7:12 – “Who’s this asshat in my hat?” — Smokey the Bear.

7:09 – Can’t LL Cool J take some of that Primetime TV Show money to gets duds not cobbled out of Crown Royal covers?

7:07 – Me stubbing my toe in the dark at 3 AM hungover is more graceful than Taylor Swift impromptu dancing.

7:05 PM – Beyonce’s butt is getting more face time than her face.

7:03 PM – Am I’m supposed to know who this chick is? And if she was leading off The Grammys, could she at least make sure her hair was dry after taking a shower? Someone get this woman a towel.

7:00 PM You can see all the performances you can expect on the SCM Preview https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/jason-isbell-got-screwed-a-56th-grammy-awards-preview

6:58 PM – It’s a real shame that they couldn’t have handed out the Grammy for Country Song of the Year to Kacey Musgraves during the televised portion of the broadcast. Seems like a big enough award to deserve that distinction, and it would have meant the world for Kacey’s career. She’s still up for Best Album and New Artist.

6:52 PM – Picture of Willie, Merle, and Kris on the red carpet from earlier today

willie-nelson-merle-haggard-kris-kroistofferson-grammy-001

6:50 PM  – Some of the major country awards were given out pre-telecast.

Kacey Musgraves, Shane McAnally & Josh Osborne won the Grammy for Best Country Song for “Merry Go ‘Round“.

grammy-best-country-song-2014

The Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance went to Darius Rucker for “Wagon Wheel“.

The Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance went to “From This Valley” from The Civil Wars

john-paul-white-grammy-2014

6:47 PM – A bunch of awards were given out pre-telecast, including all of the bluegrass, folk, and Americana awards.

The Grammy for Best American Roots Song went to Edie Brickell and Steve Martin for “Love Has Come For You“.

edie-brickell-steve-martin-grammy

The Grammy for Best Americana Album went to Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell for “Old Yellow Moon“.

ff

The Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album went to Streets of Baltimore from the Del McCoury Band.

del-mccoury-grammy-2014-bluegrass-album

And the Grammy for Best Folk Album went to My Favorite Picture of You by Guy Clark.

6:45 PM – The main Grammy presentation happens tonight, but there are events all throughout the week. Earlier in the week, Dolly Parton’s song “Jolene” was officially inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. So was Kris Kristofferson’s first, self-titled album. Kris Kristofferson also received a lifetime achievement award. Below is video of the presentation.

© 2023 Saving Country Music