‘Blinding Lights’ and more hits the Grammys left in the dark
NEW YORK (AP) — The wattage in The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” wasn’t strong enough to compete at the Grammys – but the song isn’t the only electrifying No. 1 hit that the Recording Academy snubbed.
The Weeknd joins an exclusive club of songs that were crowned biggest hit of the year by Billboard but fell short at the Grammy Awards.
It’s been 10 years since a song that dominated the year in music didn’t garner a nomination at the Grammys, and that was “TiK ToK,” the drunken party anthem and multi-platinum debut single from pop singer Kesha.
And in the last 30 years, only five No. 1 songs of the year have missed out at the Grammys. Others joining The Weeknd and Kesha are the rock-pop hit “Hanging by a Moment” from Lifehouse, the top song of 2001; R&B trio Next’s racy hit “Too Close,” which won over 1998; and the 1996 pop culture moment that was the “Macarena,” by Spanish duo Los del Río.
“It’s horrible company to be in,” Ron Aniello, who produced “Hanging by a Moment” and discovered Lifehouse, said with a laugh.
“We’re talking about industry people voting, we’re not talking about the public, so it’s quite different,” Aniello continued. “I think that was a very popular song for the general public but I’m not sure how seriously (the Grammys) took the band to put them first for voting. If you remember it was their first hit. They had no history. ‘ We’re going to vote for Lifehouse for best song of the year? Why should we? Who are they?’ They were undefined as artists, so maybe that had something to do with it.”
Like Lifehouse, Kesha was a new artist marking her breakthrough when her song became the year’s biggest hit. Though she launched multiple successes from her debut album, the girl who jokingly sang about brushing her teeth with Jack Daniels and described her personal style as a “garbage chic” wasn’t immediately seen as a serious musician, and it didn’t surprise many when she didn’t earn Grammy recognition in her debut year, especially for “TiK ToK.”
On the other hand, there are monster tracks like “Blinding Lights” that feel like a shoo-in at the Grammys. The Weeknd’s song is spending its record-extending 50th week in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart and is also the longest-running No. 1 hit of all time on the R&B chart, spending 47 weeks — and counting — on top.
“It is kind of surprising because you think that someone with that kind of energy behind him or push or visibility would at least have gotten the nomination,” said Paul Jackson Jr., an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music and Grammy-nominated musician who played on The Weeknd’s global hit “I Feel It Coming.”
“I’ll give you another one that’s surprising — if you look in 1984, ‘ When Doves Cry’ was not nominated,” he continued. “Huge record.”
While Prince’s lead single from “Purple Rain” didn’t score a nomination, the soundtrack and the title track won Grammys. George Michael’s “Faith” won album of the year but the title track — the No. 1 song of 1988 — did not compete in any Grammy categories.
Jackson Jr. played guitar on the No. 1 song of 1986 — Dionne Warwick’s “That’s What Friends Are For” — which won the Grammys for song of the year and best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals.
“It was a big collaboration,” Jackson Jr. said of the tune which also featured Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and Elton John. “It was dealing with AIDS awareness and a lot of things like that. So there was a big push behind it from a lot of the (voting) members.”
“That’s What Friends Are For” is just one of nine Billboard year-end No. 1 hits to win the song of the year Grammy. Ten of the top songs of the year have been named record of the year.
Since the Grammys held its first show in 1959 — to honor the music of 1958 — Billboard has named 63 No. 1 songs of the year. Of the 63 hits, only 18 songs have missed out on Grammy nominations, including “Blinding Lights.” Twenty-eight of the 45 nominated No. 1 songs have won Grammys, which currently has 84 categories.
Only five year-end No. 1 tunes have won both song and record of the year, including Adele’s “Rolling In the Deep” in 2012, Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes” in 1982, Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in 1973, Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” in 1971, and Domenico Modugno’s “Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare)” in 1959.
Aniello said one of the reasons a song may not get a Grammy nomination could be the result of record label politics.
When thinking of why “Hanging by a Moment” missed out, he said: “That year we were on DreamWorks and it was ‘ I’m Like a Bird’ by Nelly Furtado, that’s the song that the label chose to push for a Grammy.” Furtado’s offbeat Top 10 debut single went on to win best female pop vocal performance and was nominated for song of the year. Furtado also competed for best new artist and best pop vocal album.
LOS ANGELES ( AP) — Los Angeles County on Wednesday reported another 806 deaths from coronavirus during the winter surge, pushing California’s toll above 50,000, or about one-tenth of the U. S. total from the pandemic.
The county, which has a quarter of the state’s 40 million residents, said the deaths mainly occurred between Dec. 3 and Feb. 3. The Department of Public Health identified them after going through death records that were backlogged by the sheer volume of the surge’s toll.
“It is heartbreaking to report on this large number of additional deaths associated with COVID-19 and a devastating reminder of the terrible toll the winter surge has taken on so many families across the county,” Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles County’s health director, said in a statement.
Johns Hopkins University put California’s overall COVID-19 death toll at 50,890.
The grim figure comes days after the U.S. recorded a half-million deaths.
While the nation’s most populous state has the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., it is ranked 25th in the number of cases per capita because of its large population.
The death toll climbed precipitously amid a fall
and winter surge that has begun to taper off as cases and hospitalizations drop. Los Angeles County on Wednesday reported an additional 136 deaths, accounting for nearly half of the state’s 314 additional deaths.
The state has begun to ease more restrictions on businesses after lifting a
stay-home order about a month ago. Gov. Gavin Newsom has vowed to reopen schools soon despite opposition from teachers unions.
It took 10 months for the state to hit 25,000 deaths on New Year’s Eve and less than two months for that number to double.
When the state hit the
40,000 death mark on Jan. 30, it had recorded 3,800 deaths in the previous week. In state figures reported through Tuesday, it recorded 2,370 deaths over the past week.
Because of a lag from infection to illness to hospitalization and death, the number of deaths have fallen more slowly than infections. But deaths are expected to continue to drop.
Deaths have hit the poor, and Latino and Black communities especially hard. People working essential jobs have greater exposure to the virus and are more likely to bring it home to others who share crowded living quarters.
The death rate for Latinos is 21% higher than the statewide figure and 7% higher for Black people, according to the state Department of Public Health.
Latinos comprise a plurality of the population — 39% — but 55% of cases and 46% of deaths. Black people make up 6% of the state’s population and account for 4% of cases and 6% of deaths. Whites, by comparison, make up 37% of the population but only 20% of cases and 32% of deaths.
Case rates are 38% higher in communities where the median annual income is less than $40,000.
Local activists have launched a petition through the Change.org platform to demand greater support for the farmworkers who work in the Imperial Valley. The petition was recently launched by activist Hugo Castro, a local representative of the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA).
The petition highlights that around 18,000 farmworkers who serve in Imperial Valley contribute to feeding the United States this season. The city of Calexico, Castro said, is the rallying point for more than 80 percent of these essential workers who risk their lives to continue feeding the country. Most, he said, are cross-border workers, since they cannot afford the high housing costs in the Imperial Valley.
Castro noted that most local cities offer housing programs for farmworkers, with the exception of Calexico.
The mayor of Calexico recently offered for sale 2.5 acres of land to the federal government for $26,000, he recalled. These lands were identified as “surplus,” while a housing crisis has affected the city for years.
A group of day laborers set up a temporary camp in the area several weeks ago in order to pressure the authorities to provide affordable housing.
The monthly cost of a small room in the city has at best a minimum price of around $600, which is a significant chunk from a job that typically pays less less than $15 per hour.
Castro affirms in the petition that day laborers cannot pay rent, like hundreds of vulnerable residents who are on a waiting list for government housing programs. Although thousands of essential workers cross the border every day between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., U.S. Customs and Border Protection offers only two pedestrian lanes.
This causes thousands of essential workers to wait up to three hours or even more to cross the border.
However, many times the agglomerations of farmworkers, who refuse to queue, have led to the closure of the pedestrian crossing by CBP. This happens continuously from Monday to Friday, Castro added.
Farmworkers are concentrating in the area, feeling pressure not to be late for work, he said.
The lack of an effective response by CBP not only affects the quality of life of essential workers, but also increases the risk of contracting COVID-19 to farmers, Castro argues. According to the activist, even though Calexico is the rallying point for 80 percent of local farmers’ workforce, these workers who have helped feed the United States are ignored.
Castro blamed the city of Calexico for closing public toilets, which has led visitors to use the alleys for this purpose.
“The lack of common sense of the administrators and representatives of the city of Calexico increases the risk of transmission of diseases caused by human waste,” Castro declared.
“We demand essential rights for essential workers,” he added.
According to Castro, Calexico residents, including many retired older adults who still work in the fields, are being ignored in the distribution and access of vaccines against COVID-19.
Retired field workers continue to work since their retirement income is not enough to cover their expenses, he said. The petition calls for the intervention of President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Alex Padilla, and Congressman Juan Vargas, “in order to aid and rescue the essential but ignored Imperial Valley farmworkers, and also to the residents of Calexico who have had their basic human rights taken away.”
The petition not only addresses essential workers, but the community as a whole. Long lines, both in the pedestrian and passenger vehicle lanes, have been occurring for quite some time regardless of the border crossing restrictions.
Also, it must be noted businesses are getting affected as well. UETA managers recently complained to Calexico city officials regarding customers’ access due to crossing issues.
Hopefully President Biden and the others named in the petition will respond, but the appropriate answer would be hiring more CBP officers to expedite border crossing.