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Harry Styles in Gucci
I can’t tell if I’m being too harsh on award shows during a pandemic, but did anyone else find the Grammys to be particularly boring this year? Also, why didn’t I laugh at anything Trevor Noah said? The highlight of this show was less than a handful of performance and three outfit changes by Harry Styles.
Favorite Style Icon: Zendaya
What a year it has been for Zendaya! Between Spider Man and Euphoria, she’s had quite a year. And with that, many more opportunities to showcase her looks on the red carpet. We highlighted Zendaya for Snaps for a Snapshot multiple times in 2019 that was a no-brainer she’d be our pick. We can’t wait to see what she serves up for us in 2020.
Runner Up: Brie Larson
Favorite Getaway: Taipei
Okay, when you’re comparing a week long international trip to three domestic weekend trips, there’s an obvious choice here. As much as I enjoy my job and make excuses that it’s hard for me to find time to get away, this trip was worth every minute and penny. Catch my entire recap of the trip [here!]
Runner Up: New York
Favorite Artist: Maren Morris
I got invited to a Maren Morris show earlier this year and it blew me away. I started listening to Maren early on through a referral back when she just had her EP. Those were my five favorite songs for awhile! There was a brief hiatus somewhere in between that made me miss her entire first album. After that concert, I spent months going back through her discography and it was all I listened to.
Runner Up: Hayden James
Favorite Guilty Pleasure: Fleabag
I still can’t go over how sad I am about there not being a third season of this series! Most of the time, I’m watching new shows without ever having much context about them and this was the most pleasantly surprising of all of them. It’s also the show that I continue to share with all my friends who haven’t seen it.
Runner Up: Watchmen (still in the middle of this by the way and loving it!)
Favorite item purchased this year: [Oak + Fort Bag 1913]
When it came to my work bag, I always thought I needed something that could transport my laptop from home to the office easily. It didn’t matter too much to me what that looked like. For years, I’ve basically been using this Madewell [tote.] There isn’t anything wrong with it and it’s completely functional. The downside? It’s a little bit too oversized for what I needed. While it had so much storage space, I felt weighted down by all things that I was bringing with me. It also made it challenging going from the office to evening plans. So while my new bag has less space, it is a great transition bag as well!
Runner Up: Orange Leopard Print Dress
Favorite Albums (in no particular order):
I’ve been looking into this series ever since I saw Shawn Mendes’ recently. I was surprised even getting chills just watching the intro to Maren’s short doc. I’ve been a fan of hers for a couple of years now, but seeing her live in San Francisco this year really solidified everything for me. “The Middle” was what skyrocketed her career, but now we’re getting a glimpse into the music that she’s really making and why it’s impactful. It’s not the cookie cutter mainstream pop that she did, but she can do that also.
This has been one of my favorite albums this year. I can’t tell you how many times I cycle through her songs on a weekly basis. She’s our ultimate girl crush and I’m so grateful to have learned about her early on. If you’re not onto her yet, it’s only a matter of time.
“The Middle” was quite easily my favorite song of 2018. I knew when I had heard it that it was going to be a hit and that I would be listening to it on repeat forever. It was also a great opportunity for Maren Morris who was killing it on the country scene already, but skyrocketed with this pop smash. It was only recently that I had learned that Maren wasn’t exactly the first choice even though she was the best choice. Nearly 15 other vocalists had auditioned for the part. Demi Lovato and Camila Cabello were top contenders, but pulled out because their own songs were climbing the charts already. In the end, it all worked out the way it was supposed to.
The most interesting part of this to me was how quickly Sarah Aarons had written this song. Her vocals sound so similar to Maren’s making this the best fit after all.
I mean, did any of you ever think you’d be seeing me post about a country music star on Yow Yow?! Taylor Swift doesn’t count. Maren Morris performed her latest single this week on Ellen and last week, we saw her live in concert. I, too, was shocked.
I first learned about Maren Morris years ago from a candidate of mine. He happened to be from the music industry and we were just talkin’ shop about who was up and coming. Country music has a very strong stigma to it. It has a reputation for being old-fashioned, twangy, and conservative. These stereotypes aren’t all that false. However, you all know in the last year, I’ve been on this power women kick which includes Maren and Kacey Musgraves. For me, they are the exception. My candidate encouraged me to give Maren a chance and while I was hesitant, I found myself loving her EP. She had had just a handful of songs at that time, but don’t even try and ask me how many times I had “My Church” on repeat. Likely, hundreds.
Her latest album “Girl” is exquisite and these days I find myself starting my work days with her album. Her live show last week in San Francisco did not disappoint. It was my first time at The Masonic – a beautiful venue in the city and her entire set was full of fun and no frills. What I mean by that is that she had a simple set and no outfit changes! She owned that stage, played every hit of hers and it was spectacular on her first headlining tour.
Interestingly enough this might have been the first year where I totally fan-girled out over these performances! I’m not sure if it was just because I’ve been listening to more mainstream artists this year or I was more invested in the nominees, but there were so many stand out ones. I clearly love it enough to want to share my favorites here with you all! Taking the cake is Dua Lipa and St. Vincent. While incredible on TV (and so steamy!) I’m told by a friend that actually attended the award show that it was bad live. Oh well!
Leon Bridges
Oh man, if I had to pick the most enjoyable award show to watch of the year, it would have to be this one. From start to finish, I loved so many of the performances. There were even some that surprised me! There were also many artists that won this year who were so deserving: Dua Lipa, H.E.R. and Kacey Musgraves to name a few. Every year the red carpet at The Grammy’s tends to be hit or miss and this year is no different. I have fewer favorites than I usually do, but it’s still important for us to showcase them.
Raquel Sofia
Read more “2019 Grammy’s Red Carpet”