Chapter 178: Lightning Strikes Above Staples Center
[Chapter 178: Lightning Strikes Above Staples Center]
As the lights dimmed throughout the venue, a series of VJ visuals began to flicker across the large screen behind Kate Beckinsale, culminating in a lightning bolt symbol. This was the visual motif that Ryan had confirmed earlier; he had seen the visual symbol of AVICII in the Wake Me Up music video, which was characterized by two triangles joined together. Every prominent DJ had their own unique symbol, serving as a kind of "signature."
The spotlight landed on Ryan and gradually expanded, revealing a few backup dancers behind him.
Despite the rushed schedule leaving little room for preparation, Ryan had his team members on hand. Deadmau5 was able to directly connect him with industry VJ visual effects animators, who worked overtime to finish the project.
As for the performance content, there would be no additional rehearsals necessary; Ryan simply repeated his earlier performance of Where Are U Now from the AMA Awards.
Traditionally, the director might cut to Taylor Swift in the audience, but this time, he didn't do that.
After bouncing through the performance, Ryan showed no sign of exiting the stage. The stage in front of the large screen began to rise slowly, the same platform where the lead singer of U2 had once stood. However, now standing there was Taylor, hands on her hips, microphone in hand, dressed in the same outfit she'd just worn for her performance: a black top, black trousers, and black boots, paired with a loose, linen mesh "batwing top" that exaggerated the sleeves, mimicking the wings of a bat. This style effectively complemented Taylor's slender frame.
...
Taylor gracefully made her way to the front of the stage, meeting Ryan at the center. Taylor began to stand in front of the stage, while Ryan stood on the hydraulic stage where Taylor had just appeared.
At that moment, a DJ booth appeared on stage!
The music transitioned smoothly from Where Are U Now into I Need Your Love, while the large screen began displaying photos of couples, including those of celebrities, like Ryan and Taylor, and others of ordinary people from various ages and backgrounds.
This was the first time Ryan and Taylor performed together live.
As the powerful piano intro kicked in, along with crisp hi-hat sounds, Taylor raised her hand and began to sing, ♫ I need your love, I need your time... ♫
The laser lights exploded, flashing wildly across the stage.
When the pre-chorus hit, the electronic piano in the track began to thump forcefully, and as Taylor sang live, Ryan followed the rhythm, continuously shouting, "Put it up!"
At American music award ceremonies, it was particularly common for the audience to stand up, swaying to the music, representing the participation of all the guests, which enhanced the atmosphere. Ryan had often seen Taylor Swift as the one dancing the most energetically in the crowd.
But this time, she was on stage, as a section of stars in the audience began to look around; unsure who stood first before the entire section was up on their feet.
Just then, the music burst into the chorus, as the massive energy swept through the venue, making numerous celebrity guests start to move with the beat, laughter filling the air as they loosened up.
During a lyrical-free segment, Taylor danced energetically on stage, her blonde hair flying around, completely obscuring her face.
...
"Cut to the crowd! Get a shot of the audience!" the director shouted.
The camera cut to the stars below; Justin Timberlake mouthed the lyrics along with the song, Sean Combs hadn't hesitated to showcase his moves, even the elder lead singer of Led Zeppelin nodded rhythmically. Adele raised her arms and began to sway, despite not having the traditional figure associated with such performances, while Katy Perry joined in too.
By the time the second chorus arrived, the pent-up excitement erupted, turning all the stars into a frenzy of jumping and dancing.
Despite the lack of preparation, Ryan and Taylor's performance together surpassed even last year's collaboration between Kanye West and Daft Punk!
The only downside was the song's brevity. Upon returning backstage, both Ryan and Taylor felt a bit unsatisfied.
"This time we nearly turned the Grammys into our home stage," Taylor chuckled, shaking her head.
...
They hurried to change back into formal attire and rushed to their seats. Yet Ryan hardly paid any mind to the "Best New Artist" award; after all, at the award ceremony tonight, Adele hadn't even taken the stage yet.
At that moment, Kanye and Estelle were presenting the next award.
"The 51st Grammy Award for Best New Artist goes to... Adele!" Kanye announced as he opened the envelope.
The camera quickly cut to Adele, who instantly stood up.
Just as she began to make her way to the stage, Kanye awkwardly nodded, "I think I made a mistake...The real Best New Artist winner is Ryan Rivers!"
He displayed the envelope to the audience, confirming Ryan's name was indeed on it! Estelle quickly verified this.
Kanye had only intended to create a moment, but as he finished announcing Adele's name, the music started playing, nearly creating a comical mishap.
Adele froze mid-stride, looking back toward where Ryan was seated.
At that moment, Ryan hadn't even taken a seat; he looked just as taken aback as Adele, glancing at Taylor who was cheering and hugging him. It finally hit Ryan that all of this was real! He could barely remember making it to the stage.
When he received the Grammy trophy from Kanye, it felt like everything had come to fruition.
Best New Artist!
Me?
"Dude, this is what you deserved this year. Hold onto it," Kanye whispered in Ryan's ear.
Ryan looked at the trophy in his hands, wanting to say something, but for a moment felt utterly speechless.
"Thanks!" he managed to blurt out before heading backstage.
The audience erupted into thunderous applause.
...
Next was the award for Best Pop Male Artist, which went to the handsome John Mayer for his song Say, the theme for the movie The Bucket List.
The Best Pop Female Artist was awarded to Adele; compared to the Best New Artist which had a broad competition, this category was undoubtedly less competitive.
Best Pop Group unsurprisingly went to Coldplay.
The Best Pop Album went to Duffy's Rockferry.
In the dance music category, while Ryan had been nominated for Best Dance Recording, he ultimately lost without suspense to Daft Punk's Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.
The Best Dance Album was also claimed by Daft Punk for Alive 2007.
In the country music arena, the Best Female Country Artist was easily clinched by Carrie Underwood, with Taylor not in the competition this time around.
In R&B, the competition was fierce; the winner for Best Male Artist was Ne-Yo, while Best Female Artist went to the stunning Janelle Monae.
In the rap category, this year was unusually dominated by a single figure.
Lil Wayne took home Best Rap Solo for A Milli, Best Rap Song for Lollipop, and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for the collaboration track Swagga Like Us he did with Kanye. In the entire rap category, all male awards were won by Kanye West.
The penultimate award of the night -- Best Rap Album -- was likewise won by Lil Wayne for Tha Carter III, outshining competitors like Jay-Z, Nas, and T.I.
He was arguably one of the year's biggest winners! Up until now, Jay-Z had collected seven Grammys, Dr. Dre had five, and Diddy had three, while Lil Wayne had secured four this year, making him the third-highest winner in terms of Grammy count.
He was also Ryan's collaborator, ensuring that the new New Orleans branch of the Bad Room would certainly attract considerable attention, almost like an "opening gift."
...
The last award of the night was always for Album of the Year, akin to the Oscars' Best Picture; this award encompassed producers, engineers, songwriters, and all participants associated with the album, making it a collective honor. Naturally, the most vital contributor was still the artist themselves.
Green Day came on stage to present the award.
The nominations for Album of the Year included Coldplay's Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III, Ne-Yo's Year of the Gentleman, Radiohead's In Rainbows, and the final nominee was Robert Plant & Alison Krauss for Raising Sand.
"I prefer Coldplay," Ryan said.
Taylor nodded in agreement, "No other album can compare to that one."
However, the result left Ryan and Taylor utterly stunned.
Just as Robert Plant & Alison Krauss had won Record of the Year, they found themselves on stage again to accept the Album of the Year -- an unexpected twist!
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.