Happy New Year, music fans.
Early last year, I discovered Sara Bareilles’ album, The Blessed Unrest, and fell completely head over heels for the sound and lyrical craftmanship of the California native songwriter. Back in July 2013, I wrote my review of this amazing album. The connection for me was that Sara had also sang for the soundtrack of Bounty Killer, a movie that I reviewed for another blog. All this was before Sara ended up on stage as the secret guest on The RED Tour, doing in a duet with Taylor Swift in August.
Now Sara has two Grammy nominations, one for “Brave” as Best Solo Pop Performance and one for The Blessed Unrest for Album of the Year. That last one puts her head to head against the Blonde With The Sparkly Guitar and now I’m in a bit of a bind. I don’t have a say in which one wins but it’s going to be hard to cheer either way. On one hand, Taylor has put a lot of work into RED and on the other hand, it would be a shame for the Grammy Awards to pass on Sara’s amazing work in The Blessed Unrest.
Here’s what Sara has said about her nomination:
It all feels very surreal. I think my entire team we’re sort of looking at each other with this childlike astonishment, it was just so unexpected. I feel so honored and so grateful to have been selected as a nominee. I kinda can’t believe it and I know a lot of people can’t believe it, but I’m gonna take it. I’m thrilled; I’m so happy.
– Sara Bareilles via People’s Choice.
Ultimately of course, I could end up with two heartbreaks if neither album is chosen. But come January 26, I’m going to one nervous blogger. It’s not about who deserves it more. It’s about a personal choice, even if by personal we’re referring to the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. I will be honest with you… even if you call me a bad fan here: it would really be more of a heartbreak for me to learn that Sara didn’t get her first Grammy than Taylor not getting an additional one to the seven ones she already has. For Taylor, it will be a triumph for RED – the Academy never nominated Speak Now – but if you haven’t heard The Blessed Unrest you really owe it to yourself to purchase a copy before judging.
Sara is set to perform at the 40th Annual People’s Choice Awards.
Coming up on the Calendar!
- January 8, 2014: The 40th Annual People’s Choice Awards will be broadcast LIVE from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/delayed PT), on CBS.
- January 26: The 56th Annual Grammy Awards will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show will be broadcast live on CBS from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). Taylor Swift has four nominations:
- Album of the Year for RED.
- Best Country Album for RED.
- Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Highway Don’t Care” along with Tim McGraw and Keith Urban.
- Best Country Song for “Begin Again”.
(Sources: People’s Choice)
The Swift Agency 
I feel the same way. It would be amazing for Taylor to get AOTY twice…but at the same time, The Blessed Unrest is sooooo good and Sara really deserves a Grammy…ugh!
It’s interesting, cause in a lot of ways, Red and The Blessed Unrest are similar. Not like you could confuse one for the other or anything, but think about it – the albums are Taylor and Sara’s most experimental, most pop, most collaborated on efforts yet. Both tried to push genre boundaries. In the past, Sara’s music was much more piano-based pop/rock/soul, and Taylor’s was much more guitar-based pop/country (that’s not to say their previous songs/albums weren’t diverse, but I’d say they were much less so compared to their most recent efforts). Both consciously made an effort to branch out to more experimental sounds. Which consequently made Red and The Blessed Unrest the most similar sounding of each of their albums.
Not to mention that just in general, both Taylor and Sara are singer-songwriters who love to write deep and meaningful lyrics, and who write the majority of their songs alone, both of which are very unusual for females in the top of the music industry today.