10. BEST ALBUM 2010; Gaga got Fired.
The biggest upset of 2010 Grammys was when the most downloaded and anticipated album, The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga, got sidelined by The Suburbs by Arcade Fire.
Gaga’s album featured artists like Beyonce, Rodney Jerkins, Tedy Riley, Sapce Cowboy and Ron Fair, whereas, Arcade Fire’s album was a venture of a known local artists producers and engineers. The Suburbs was reckoned to be the under rated effort and it couldn’t grab the global attention that ‘The Fame Monster’ had. The other best album nominations were Teenage Dream by Katy Perry, Recovery by Eminem and Need you now by Lady Antebellum.
9. Best New Artist 2010; A Spalding night for Bieber.
Another Major Upset of 2010 Grammy was the thrashing of worldwide teenage heart throb by the soothing and no more unknown Esperanza Spalding. That was probably the first time when Esperanza Spalding was trending on Twitter and the most re-tweeted tweet was from Jamie Fox, who said, “I had to Google this name”.
Bieber had the worst night probably, especially when he was found having difficulties performing Live during the famous ‘Never Say Never’ cover, alongside Jaden Smith. The other nominees for the Best New Artist were, Drake, Mumford & Sons and Florence & The Machine.
8. Best Album of the Year 2009; Swift Therapy for Peas and Gaga.
Media went wild when Kanye West took over the stage ruined Taylor Swift’s moment of pride from her. Taylor Swift won the Best Albums amongst artist like Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas and Dave Mathews Band. Beyonce’s ‘I Am …. Sasha Fierce’ has the highest views and downloads, including the most played videos, but the Swift charm took her Grammys dream down the drain.
7. Best Album of the Year 2008; Kanye and Amy got Hancocked.
While sitting in having snacks with my friends and watching Grammys, there was a sudden outburst of comments and shock, when the best album of the year was awarded to Herbie Hancock instead of Amy Winehouse or Kanye West. Kanye West has one of the strongest years of his career and was the favorite contender, but what people forgot was the power packed backing of Tina Turner, Norah Jones, Leonard Cohen and Corinne Bailey Rae on the album.
6. Record of the Year 2007; Rehab for Foo and Jay.
The most anticipated award of all time, that had the toughest nominations ever was the record of the year for year 2007. The nominees had The Pretender by Foo Fighters, Umbrella by Jay-z and Rihanna, What Goes Around Comes Around by Justin Timberlake, Irreplaceable by Beyonce and Rehab by Amy Winehouse. The award went to the least expect Amy Whinehouse, who had the best night of her life, while she bagged five Grammys that night for Rehab.
5. Best Female Pop Vocal Performance 2007; Fergie and Furtardo to Rehab.
Amy Winehouse took everyone by shock when she came up to collect Grammy for best female vocal performance, while Nelly Furtardo, Fergie, Feist and Christina Aguilera were left in shock. It was the same year, when Nell Furtardo released the most downloaded track from a female vocalist, “Say It Right”.
4. Best Hard Rock Performance; Disturbed Priest as Mars Volta grabs it.
The nominees had Rob zombie for Lords of Salem, Disturbed for Inside the Fire, Judas Priest for Visions, the mars Volta for wax Simulacra and Motley Crue for Saints of Los Angeles. It was a sight in itself to see the expression of Judas Priest when The mars Volta was announced as the title winner for Best Hard Rock performer. Though, disturbed and Priest the most anticipated candidates for the category.
3. Best Rap Album 2008; American Gangster and Paper Trail bullied by Tha Carter III.
Lupe Fiasco had taken over the radios with Superstar, while Jay-Z became one of the richest Brooklyner with his ‘American Gangster and T.I had the sickest of rhymes making airwaves internationally. In the midst of this all rap frenzy the commercial act by Lil Wayne took over all the rap albums including Nas’s ‘Nas’. It wasn’t an upset if the statistics were revealed, but the real reason for the upset was the talent in this category. Lil Wayne bagged the Grammy amongst the Big Dogs of rap game.
2. Best New Artist 2008; Adele shock for Antebellum and Jonas.
2008 was musically one of the toughest for Grammys and the best new artist category has always been the most crucial, as it makes or breaks the market for a new artist. With the induction of strong new artists like Lady Antebellum, Duffy, The jonas Brothers and Jazmine Sullivan, in the music industry, it was Adele who shocked everyone with the Grammy hat night.
1. Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental; Jethro Tull outrules Metallica.
Academy recognized hard rock music artists for the first time in 1989 under the category Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental to Jethro Tull for the album Crest of a Knave taking Mettalica by surprise who were most favorite for ths category. This choice led to widespread criticism of the Academy, as journalists suggested that Jethro Tull’s music did not belong in the hard rock or heavy metal genres. In response, the Academy created the categories Best Hard Rock Performance and Best Metal Performance, separating the genres. The incident is often considered an example of the Grammy Awards being out of touch with popular sentiment, and was even named the biggest upset in Grammy history by Entertainment Weekly.