Pop Culture
Eighty-three gramophone statues were given out last night at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. Sam Smith won four awards—for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album. Beyoncé, Pharrell and Roseanne Cash all took home three Grammys each, but many people think that Beyoncé unfairly lost out on Album of the Year to Beck. Kanye West lost in all his categories, but he still managed to stay in the spotlight, performing at the show and doing a spoof in which he interrupted Beck when receiving his award for Album of the Year, a move reminiscent of his infamous interruption of Taylor Swift last year.
The most surprising upset of the night was probably the results for Album of the Year. Although Beck’s album Morning Phase is great, he faced steep competition against Beyoncé, Pharrell, Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran. However, Sheeran did give an amazing Grammy performance, singing “Thinking Out Loud,” accompanied by John Mayer, Questlove and Herbie Hancock. Let’s just say Sheeran is still my favorite singing redhead.
Television personality and entertainer Joan Rivers won posthumously for Best Spoken Word Album for her memoir Diary of a Mad Diva. The award is another reminder of the groundbreaking, rule-defying powerhouse of a figure who now adds her first Grammy to her collection.
In other news, Kardashian extra Bruce Jenner was involved in a four-car collision on Saturday that resulted in the death of one woman and non-life threating injuries five other people. Jenner, who was trying to evade the paparazzi, was uninjured, but he may be required to give police his cell phone records to prove that he wasn’t texting or talking on the phone while driving. This provides just one more reminder that texting or driving while distracted is a serious danger.
Last week, Harper Lee announced that she will be releasing Go Set a Watchman, a follow-up novel for To Kill a Mockingbird, after decades of living in solitude. The release is mired in controversy, as fans are left wondering why Lee, who is in ailing health, would choose to release the novel after all these years. Many wonder if her lawyer is controlling Lee’s work, possibly motivated by the lucrative financial windfall from the publication.
In other literary news, J.K. Rowling answered three Harry Potter questions on Twitter last week, giving fans around the world a bit more insight into her magical world. Rowling has also released short stories and other details through the website Pottermore, but fans continue to ask her questions. One question was about why the horcrux in Harry Potter had not been destroyed when, in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, he was bitten by the basilisk. Rowling explained that Harry would have had to been killed, or “destroyed beyond repair.” The second question regarded what had happened to Fluffy, the three-headed dog who guarded the entrance to the chamber of secrets. Rowling responded that Fluffy was returned to his home in Greece. Before returning to her own life, Rowling answered one last question about why the Black family home is located in the middle of a muggle neighborhood. Rowling explained that a Black ancestor “persuaded” a muggle to give him the house and put the subsequent spells on the home. Hopefully this is enough to quench your Harry Potter curiosity for now!
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