Critical Evaluation of Eminem and Modern Grammy Culture.

Recovery was the best-selling album in the US in 2010: it sold a staggering 741,000 copies in its first week, marking the sixth consecutive number one album for Eminem. – Who coincidently is the best selling artist of the decade.   And yet although nominated for 10 Grammy Awards, he walked away with only two! The star-studded album Recovery included the likes of P!NK, Rihanna, Lil Wayne and Kobe and should have run away with the award, but instead lost to The Suburbs, an album by Arcade Fire, who (before writing this article) I had never heard of.

Speaking of the star-studded performers, take a minute to remember (I’m sure it won’t be hard) the glorious track Love The Way You Lie. – The track was relevant, as I’m sure most of us remember the Chris Brown/Rihanna extravaganza, but was so much more than just a “relevant” track: it was superb! Definitely the track of the summer, and without a doubt the track of the year. The intensely hot track attracted over 290 million views on YouTube to date, and over 6.6 million in just 24 hours.

The ‘song of the year’ Need You Now by Lady Antebellum attracted (in comparison) a meager 15 million views. I’ll admit, it’s catchy, and unlike Arcade Fire I had actually heard of Need You Now before. But let’s face it, Eminem’s song runs in circles around Lady Antebellum’s track.

Now I understand Empire State of Mind winning the ‘Best Rap/Sung Collaboration’ category ahead of Eminem and Rihanna. – We were all singing “New York” at the top of our lungs, but winning the ‘Best Rap Song’ ahead of Not Afraid and Love The Way You Lie? I don’t want to trash a beautiful track (and hopefully you won’t think that’s what I’m doing), but in my opinion what makes Empire State of Mind the track that it is, is Alicia Keys and her insane vocals alongside a catchy tune. – Not taking away from Jay Z’s rapping, but unlike Love The Way You Lie, Jay Z’s track lacks the intense emotional performance and chemistry displayed in, not only the...