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Thank U, Next: Grammy snubs and other interesting facts
NEW YORK — Fourteen things worth noting about Friday’s nominations for the 2019 Grammy Awards, from snubs to first-time nominees:
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THANK U, NEXT
It’s another year at the Grammys, and another snub for Ed Sheeran.
Though this singer won two pop
Sheeran had one of the year’s biggest hits with “Perfect” — both the solo version and duet version with Beyonce. But the song didn’t earn any Grammy nods.
Carrie Underwood is in a similar position: She launched the first album where she co-wrote and co-produced each song this year, but the seven-time Grammy winner didn’t pick up a single nomination for the project. Kane Brown, one of the most successful new artists of the year and a dominator on the country charts, was also snubbed.
Young rappers who heavily dominated on streaming services this year were also left out, including the late XXXTentacion, Juice WRLD, Tekashi 6ix9ine, Lil Pump, Lil Baby, Gunna and others.
Seasoned acts who have won Grammys or scored multiple nominations in the past were also dissed, including Lil Wayne, Sam Smith, Nicki Minaj, Migos and Chris Brown.
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NOMINATED BUT STILL SNUBBED
Billboard reported this week that Taylor Swift’s “reputation” was the year’s biggest album, but the Grammys don’t agree.
The album surprisingly only earned Swift one single nomination — for best pop vocal album — and was snubbed in the album of the year category. Her hit song, “Delicate,” was shut out of record and song of the year, and even best pop solo performance. At the Grammys earlier this year, her song “Look What You Made Me Do” qualified for awards but didn’t garner any nominations.
Could it be Taylor fatigue?
Kanye West, whose years focused more on politics than music, has a similar problem: He only received one nomination, too. He’s up for producer of the year, despite releasing an album and producing a number of projects.
Ariana Grande received nominations for best pop solo performance and best pop vocal album, but many felt she should have earn nods for album, song or record of the year.
Maroon 5 had one of the year’s biggest hits with “Girls Like You,” featuring Cardi B, but only earned a nod for best pop duo/group performance.
Luke Combs had the year’s most streamed country album, but he didn’t get any country nods. He’s up for best new artist though.
And Eminem released two albums but only earned one nomination — for best rap song.
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J. COLD
With hip-hop dominating the pop charts and streaming services this year, many wondered who would earn Grammy nominations in the rap categories because of all the competition.
J. Cole seemed like a shoo-in.
He earned two nominations for his collaborations with others, but his impressive and acclaimed “KOD” album was left out of best rap album and album of the year. The album’s songs also didn’t earn nods like best rap song or best rap performance.
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TOTAL REQUEST LIVE
The best pop/duo group performance is looking like MTV’s “TRL” in the late 90’s and early 2000s.
Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys and Justin Timberlake are nominated in the category, which has seven nominees.
Aguilera is up for “Fall In Line,” her duet with Demi Lovato; Timberlake and Chris Stapleton are nominated for “Say Something”; and Backstreets Boys’ latest single, “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” earned them nomination, their first since the 2002 Grammys.
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LONG LIVE THE DEAD
Mac Miller died in September, a month after releasing the album “Swimming.” Now, it’s competing for best rap album, where he will compete with Cardi B, Travis Scott, Pusha T and Nipsey Hussle.
Chris Cornell died last year and was a posthumous at the 2018 Grammys in best rock performance. He’s nominated in the category again with “When Bad Does Good.”
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BEYONCE VS. HER MENTEES
Has the student become the master? The soulful duo Chloe x Halle, mentored by Beyonce, will compete with Queen Bey at the Grammys.
Chloe x Halle’s full-length debut, “The Kids are Alright,” is nominated for best urban contemporary album, where Beyonce and Jay-Z’s “Everything Is Love” is also a nominee.
The sister duo, co-stars of the “black-ish” spinoff series “grown-ish,” also picked up a nomination for best new artist.
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HOLLLYWOOD’S HOTTEST
While Bradley Cooper earned Golden Globe nominations and is a likely Oscar contender, the Grammys are also part of his awards season.
The actor scored two nominations for his duet with Lady Gaga, “Shallow,” including record of the year and best pop duo/group performance.
Tiffany Haddish, a recent Emmy winner, has a reason to wear the famous white dress she’s sported everywhere one more time: She’s nominated for best spoken word album.
Famous faces also make up the nominees for best comedy album, including Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Fred Armisen, Jim Gaffigan and Patton Oswalt.
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WHAT THE…?
The Grammys just gave Pusha T major bragging rights.
His rival, Drake, may be up for album of the year, but he’s not nominated for best rap album, where Pusha T is nominated.
Janelle Monae also earned an album of the year nomination, but she’s not competing in any R&B categories.
Even the “Black Panther” soundtrack, an album of the year contender, does not appear in the best compilation soundtrack for visual media category, where nominees include “The Greatest Showman” and “Deadpool 2.”
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FINALLY!!!
Florida Georgia Line have launched multiple hits since they released their debut album in 2012, but they never received Grammy love.
Until now.
The country duo earned their first nomination ever this year, for best country duo/group performance for “Meant to Be,” which features Bebe Rexha and is the longest-running No. 1 song on Billboard’s country songs chart.
Shawn Mendes has been a star since he emerged on the music scene, but he’s finally competing for Grammy gold with his third album. He’s nominated for song of the year with “In My Blood” and best pop vocal album for his self-titled third album.
Camila Cabello didn’t earn any nominations when she was in the group Fifth Harmony, but her solo debut earned her two nominations this year.
The country duo Dan + Shay and DJ Mustard, who co-wrote Ella Mai’s hit “Boo’d Up,” are also first-time nominees.
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CHARLIE PUTH, THE ENGINEER, SHINES
Charlie Puth didn’t earn nods like song of the year or best pop vocal album, but his work as an engineer has given him a chance at winning a Grammy.
Puth is nominated for best engineered album (non-classical) for “Voicenotes,” his sophomore album. He’s listed as an engineer on the project and shares the nomination with Manny Marroquin and Dave Kutch.
Puth was previously nominated for three Grammys at the 2016 show for his hit, “See You Again.”
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LADIES’ NIGHT
Almost a year after Neil Portnow told women to “step up” — which he later corrected — female performers are dominating in the major categories at the Grammys.
Five of the eight album of the year nominees are women, including Janelle Monae, Kacey Musgraves, H.E.R., Brandi Carlile and Cardi B.
Six of the eight best new artist nominees are women, including H.E.R., Jorja Smith, Margo Price, Chloe x Halle, Bebe Rexha and Dua Lipa.
Women are also strongly represented in song and record of the year, too, where nominees include Lady Gaga, SZA, Cardi B, Maren Morris, Ella Mai and Carlile.
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WOMEN IN COUNTRY MUSIC
For years women have struggled on the country music charts and country radio, but at the Grammys, they shine brightly.
The country categories, like usual, includes more women nominees than men. Three of the five best country album nominees are women, including Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini and Ashley McBryde.
Three of the five best country solo performance nominees are also women, including Musgraves, Loretta Lynn and Maren Morris.
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A SOLDIER’S SONG
Folk singer Mary Gauthier released an album this year exclusively featuring songs co-written with veterans and their family members from sessions with the
Now the album, “Rifles & Rosary Beads,” is nominated for best folk album at the Grammys.
The critically acclaimed 11-song project earned a nomination earlier this year for album of the year at the Americana Music Honors & Awards, but lost to Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s “The Nashville Sound.”
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MOVING GENRES
Tori Kelly, who burst on the music scene as a pop singer, released a gospel album this year and picked up two nods in the gospel category.
Sting, who released a collaborative album with Shaggy this year, earned a best reggae album nomination for the project.
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Online: https://www.grammy.com
Mesfin Fekadu, The Associated Press
From LifeSiteNews
According to internal documents, the RCMP plans to conduct undercover surveillance on Canadians by creating fake online accounts and tracking what they consider ‘ideological extremists,’ which may include pro-family, pro-life and pro-freedom content.
Canada’s national police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), is planning to create fake online accounts to target Canadian “extremists.”
According to an internal strategy document, the RCMP plans to conduct undercover surveillance on Canadians by creating fake online accounts and tracking what they consider “ideological extremists,” which could include pro-family, pro-life and pro-freedom content.
“The RCMP’s lack of a covert online presence was previously highlighted in the OIR (Operational Improvement Review), which recommended that the RCMP develop its own online undercover program to assist with national security criminal investigations,” the RCMP internal document stated.
The document, obtained by an Access to Information request and shared with CBC News, reveals that the Federal Policing National Security is “currently taking steps to address this recommendation through proactive legend-building and backstopping personas, but this work needs to be prioritized and accelerated in order to meet future demand for online undercover activities.”
“Undercover police investigations, among many tools, remain an effective technique to thwart the commission of serious crime and resolve historic offences,” the plan continued. “The focus is on uncovering the truth, verifying facts and determining if someone is involved.”
According to the RCMP, violent extremism is divided into three categories: religiously motivated extremism, politicly motivated extremism, and ideologically motivated extremism.
Ideologically motivated extremis is further categorized into xenophobic violence, gender-driven violence, anti-authority violence, and “other grievance-driven and ideological motivated violence.” The last category includes environmental, animal rights, and “anti-abortion violence.”
While the RCMP’s move to monitor Canadians online is alarming, it is hardly the first time the government-run police force has spied on its citizens.
In 2022, the RCMP acknowledged it uses spyware to turn on or off the camera or microphone of a laptop or phone at will to eavesdrop on one’s conversations without the suspect even knowing it.
The same year, it was disclosed that Canadian Special Forces conducted surveillance flights over the trucker’s Freedom Convoy in February in a spy plane capable of eavesdropping on cell phone calls and tracking small movements, contrary to a military directive banning such flights.
Spying on and tracking Canadians for sharing pro-family and pro-freedom values could prove even more dangerous if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Online Harms bill, which would punish “hate speech” online, is passed.
Bill C-63 was introduced by Justice Minister Arif Virani in the House of Commons in February and was immediately blasted by constitutional experts as troublesome. Put forth under the guise of protecting children from exploitation online, the bill also seeks to expand the scope of “hate speech” prosecutions, and even desires to target such speech retroactively.
Furthermore, the RCMP, like the rest of Canada’s government-run organizations, appears to have been infiltrated by woke activists who label pro-family, pro-freedom, and pro-life causes as “extreme” and “dangerous.”
In 2022, the RCMP issued a 16-page guide suggesting people tell on those who show any signs of “anti-government” or “anti-LGBTQ2” opinions on the internet.
“Some people hold social or political beliefs that may be considered ‘extreme’ or outside mainstream ideologies. Although some ideas alone may be concerning to those around them, it is when a person uses or actively supports violence to achieve ideological, religious or political goals that the police have a role to play,” the guide said.
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Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis calls out Liberals for not supporting anti-church burning bill
From LifeSiteNews
Speaking about the ‘hundreds of churches’ that have been ‘set on fire across Canada’ in the last number of years, Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis questioned why the Liberals seem completely unconcerned.
One of Canada’s most prominent pro-life MPs has called out the Trudeau government for its apparent lack of support for an anti-arson bill which aims to curb the rash of church burnings plaguing Christians in the country.
In an X post Monday, Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis pointed out that under the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, church burnings have shot up “100 percent,” and that the government does not seem to have expressed any “concern” at all.
“In the last several years, hundreds of churches and other places of worship have been set on fire across Canada. Under this Liberal government, these crimes have increased by over 100%,” wrote Lewis on X.
“Where is the concern or action from the Liberals regarding these attacks on Christian churches?”
Lewis’s post included a link to another X post from Conservative MP Marc Dalton, who posted a video on October 31 highlighting the recent rash of church burnings and how his bill, C-411, aims to stop this.
“Thank you @MarcDalton for bringing forward Bill C-411, the Anti-Arson Act, an important bill to protect places of worship and increase penalties on those who would target them,” wrote Lewis.
Bill C-411, or, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (arson — wildfires and places of worship), was introduced by Dalton in June.
The law, if passed, would create specific criminal offenses for setting fires to churches and for starting wildfires.
Dalton said in his video that there is a “serious problem in Canada that must be addressed” concerning Catholic and Christian churches being the target of arson.
He highlighted how since 2010, 592 churches have been the target of arson in Canada, with a large portion of these being concentrated to the last few years.
Dalton noted how Canada’s Criminal Code, as it stands, does not include specific protections against arson directed at religious institutions. C-411 aims to “change that,” said Dalton, noting that the bill would implement a minimum sentence of five years in jail for a first offense of this kind, and seven years for a repeat offense.
“This bill strengthens our criminal code and punishes these hateful arson attacks,” he said.
“Commonsense Conservatives stand for strict punishments against criminals who target places of worship.”
Since the spring of 2021, 112 churches, most of them Catholic, have been burned to the ground, vandalized or defiled in Canada.
The church burnings started in earnest after the mainstream media and the federal government ran with inflammatory and dubious claims that hundreds of children were buried and disregarded by Catholic priests and nuns who ran some of the now-closed residential schools in Canada, particularly a school in Kamloops, British Columbia.
The anti-Catholic narrative that developed following these claims continues to this day, despite the fact that no bodies have actually been discovered.
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