Grammys 2013: Winners We'd Like To See
Best New Artist: Frank Ocean http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNBD4OFF8cc This category is easily down to Frank Ocean and Fun. The two both have legitimate cases to take the category, and the race will definitely be neck and neck. Experts are predicting Fun. to come away with the win, but I feel a little differently. For this one, Im going to expect that you all know what made both acts deserving of the win and try to focus on something you may not have thought about. I was already leaning toward Frank Ocean, and then I remembered that both Ocean and Fun. performed on Saturday Night Live recently. Seriously- watch both of these performances and tell me that Fun. should win Best New Artist. Sure, you might be able to do that based solely on Album sales, but the case for vocal abilities just isnt there. Thinkin Bout You, the song Frank Ocean performed, is a far more vocally taxing song than Some Nights, and while Nate Ruess (Fun.s lead singer) really stepped off of the throttle at a couple of big moments, Ocean hit every high note on or near the dot. Im sure youll all be wondering why Im putting so much stock into live performances from SNL- the answer is that this is the only thing between Frank Ocean and Fun. that we can compare over a similar stage, crowd size, and atmosphere. Once you make the comparison, Frank Ocean has an even bigger case to take the category. Here's Fun.'s for comparison. Another note: I hate to say this because I don't really have a problem with Auto-Tune used for pitch correction, but other than the obvious over-Auto-Tuning (which sounded completely horrible) at the end of this song, there is speculation, and rightfully so, that a lot of the rest of the performance was pitch-corrected as well. Just pay attention to how some of his notes start off and "snap" back to where they're supposed to be- especially the first "stand for". The only reason I pointed this out was to shamelessly prove Frank Ocean was better. I'm sorry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo-e7yls7wY