Billboard Awards: The Good and The Old
Tori Kelly - A New Star Steals the Show
The 2015 Billboard Music Awards delivered some predictable wins – Taylor Swift, One Direction, Sam Smith – some surprisingly great performances – Imagine Dragons, Nick Jonas, Tori Kelly – and some performances that should rather have stayed in the past – Mariah Carey and Simple Minds.
It also delivered Kanye West. Or delivered 50% of Kanye West. Half of the screen time Kanye got while closing the show was censored and inaudible, closing the show with a whimper rather than a bang – a real dud, really.
But let’s not stumble over whatever that was. The night delivered some very strong performances from the young and some questionable deliveries from the old. Let’s break it down now, shall we?
Standout Performances:
Ed Sheeran – The lovable and extraordinarily talented ginger brought out his new single “Bloodline” and delivered one of the rawest performances of the night. With only an acoustic guitar and a loop pedal, Sheeran electrified the crowd, slapping his guitar and shout-singing over the microphone, filling the arena with his cries. Sheeran showed why he is one of the most talented musicians in music today, showing pure musicianship like no one else on the night.
Tori Kelly – Girl slays. Kia’s One to Watch artist showed absolutely no nervousness during her moment in the spotlight – armed with just an acoustic guitar, a great voice, and her breakout hit “Nobody Love” – she arguably stole the night, delivering a surprisingly great moment. This girl should go places. If not, the music industry is screwed. The voice, the looks, and the musicianship – it’s all there. Just watch her explode.
Imagine Dragons – The Las Vegas rock band paid tribute to the late Ben E. King, performing the classic “Stand By Me”. Yes, you read that correctly. A very surprising choice to pay homage to a soul legend, but throw all doubt out the window they did. The band is known for their big rock hit “Radioactive”, but last night they flipped the script and went all subtle and quiet, delivering a performance that surprised the crowd. Slowing things down, Dan Reynolds’s voice shone through and delivered a heartbreaking take on the soul classic.
Nick Jonas – One must wonder what the One Direction boys thought while Nick was up on the stage, all owning it and shit. None of the One Direction boys could deliver a performance like that in a few years, that’s for sure. Jonas performed his breakout solo hit “Jealous” under neon lights, giving it an 80’s throwback vibe, his falsetto as sexy as ever. Again, like Tori Kelly, this is it. Young stars surprising and owning the night. The youngest Jonas brother was smooth as he played the electric guitar, showing that he has depth to go with the looks and the voice.
Whiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth & Lindsey Stirling – The Puth-penned track from the Furious 7 soundtrack is currently topping the Billboard Charts, and last night it was easy to see why. Written for the late Paul Walker, the song is a heartbreaker, not leaving a dry eye in movie theatres the last few months. The addition of violinist Stirling, a Billboard Music Award winner herself, elevated the song even further while images of Walker played in the background. Wonderful teary-eyed moment. Charlie Puth needs to break through.
Not Sold:
Little Big Town & Faith Hill – “Girl Crush” is one of the best tracks to come out of the Country genre for quite some time. When news broke that the song was being pulled from Country radio because listeners complained about its lesbian tendencies, the song exploded on iTunes and subsequently became a radio hit too – smart, eh? Great promo. The performance last night was wonderful and touching until Faith Hill joined the group on stage, her voice not as good as it used to be. Rust, maybe? The performance suffered somewhat after that. Still, it’s a great song.
Just Nope:
Mariah Carey – Mariah is a legend. A legend whose accomplishments will never not be incredible, but something that does not have the luxury of never being not incredible is her voice. During her medley of “Vision of Love” and “Infinity”, her voice was underwhelming, not reaching the heights that she once did – not even close. At least she has the Vegas residency.
Simple Minds – Love “Don’t You Forget About Me”. Love The Breakfast Club. 30 years ago. Sure, it could have been a sweet moment, but the underwhelming performance by its old stars left me cold. The past shouldn’t haunt.
Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea’s performance of their song “Pretty Girls” was a lowlight. Britney looks great. What wasn’t great was the lip syncing. No, that was bad. The song itself is no good either, but nice try, Britney.
The rest of the performances included Kelly Clarkson, Fall Out Boy, and Hozier. Not good enough for my standout list, but not bad either. Kelly is a vocal beast, but the song is not. Same with Fall Out Boy. Hozier delivered a predictably great rendition of his incredible “Take Me to Church”.
All in all, it was a strong night.
PS. Taylor Swift’s music video to new single “Bad Blood” was a letdown. All those guest stars and hype forced the finished product to underwhelm and the story to feel thin. Loved seeing Meredith out of her scrubs, though.
