Last year’s Grammys revived what at one time seemed to be a dying show. From marquee artists skipping out on the event, to the lackluster performances of recent years; last year made up for all of that. At this point in the year, if these nominations are any indication of the show we will get this year, then we are in for an eventful award ceremony.
One of the most intriguing of the nominations is Bon Iver, my personal favorite artist and musician. Bon Iver was nominated for multiple Grammys this year having not been nominated since his 2017 record “22, A Million” which was nominated for Alternative Album of The Year. In 2012 he won Best New Artist and Alternative Album of The Year. This year his album “i,i” is prominent amongst numerous nominations, including some very high-valued ones: Record of The Year, Album of The Year and Alternative Album of the Year.
Lead singer Justin Vernon has been an outspoken critic of the awards for quite some time now; especially in 2018 when he tweeted this out after Bruno Mars took home an abundance of awards, “Looks like [Grammys] are still something serious musicians should not take seriously!” Vernon tweeted. “Absolutely NO offense to Mr. Mars, but you absolutely have to be s—ting me.”
The most interesting part about the nominations of Bon Iver is how relatively unknown he is to the vast public, yet his influence is not ignored within the music world. Having been featured on numerous Kanye West songs and helping him produce multiple albums, to being featured on Chance the Rapper’s new album and being credited on the final song of Nas’ new album, Vernon has a reach stretching across genres. When he released “i,i,” it was no surprise to me how much love and support it got from not only the alternative music world, but also noticeable rappers and pop artists.
“i,i” is not my favorite record of Vernon’s; “Bon Iver, Bon Iver” takes that honor, but the melodic ingenuity and lyrical brilliance is the best by far out of all his pieces of work. This was an album made for arenas, which he has proved selling out more than 10 arenas on their tour this year, and to see him getting recognized is well past overdue.
Listening to his interviews, you can hear just how much he truly loves music, how much he cares about his art form and how much time and passion he puts into everything he does. To prove my point on this statement he rented out a Sonic Ranch in El Paso, TX, so he and his band could stay there and work on this album without any distractions.
I love that the Grammys are giving Bon Iver the recognition they deserve. They have influenced so many other musicians, and for him to finally have two marquee nominations under his belt for this album makes me all the happier. I really hope he is more than just nominated and he takes the golden gramophone back home, but even if he does not win, at least I can sleep peacefully at night knowing he is being recognized for who he is: an immensely talented musician.
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