Awards – 3, 2, 1, we’re done

Three of the most important music awards were given out within ten days this month. First came the Grammys, Echo was next, and the Brit Awards finished it of. So, what did we learn? Well, the same procedure as every year. Award shows sell product. That’s what they’re for, right? Don’t get me wrong. I think it is wonderful for the industry to get a night on TV during prime time. Just do me a favor, dear TV producers: Make it fun to watch these shows. Don’t bore us to death with celebs trying to read their two sentences off a teleprompter, with strange musical collaborations, or with so-called comedians (Oliver Pocher as Britney?) stumbling the fine line to tastelessness. One of the more refreshing moments was to see Mark Ronson at the Brits with his guests. Of course, everybody just wanted to see if Ms Winehouse would show. But once again I was most impressed by Adele. Talk about making a Coldplay song sound good. Will she make it in the U.S.? Will Duffy? Who knows. But keep this in mind, Bob Lefsetz: there are millions of overweight kids in the U.S. Some of them just might fall in love with an artist that is so much more like them as compared to someone like, say, Beyoncé. And she is so talented! Let’s just hope the Ronson collabos or Beth Ditto with Mika at the Brits teach the Grammy producers a lesson: this is how you combine artists on stage. One more thing: Stop wondering about Herbie Hancock’s big lucky win. Take a cue from that, Gerd Gebhardt and the whole Echo team. Sometimes having a jury decide the winners can add to the appeal of the show. Just look at the sales figures for Herbie’s “Joni” album – a record that before almost nobody knew suddenly exploded at retail. And wasn’t that the intention of this entire award thing, anyway?