From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

“The 46th Grammy Awards, Best New Artist Nomination — —

August 31st Band.”

With just one sentence, the large screen once again displayed the raw footage of the August 31st Band's European street tour, their unique style hitting head-on.

The Staples Center's absent-minded and frequently wandering attention was re-focused from scattered corners, unconsciously developing a conditioned reflex to the music of the August 31st Band.

Without a doubt, the August 31st Band is special.

Without music videos or live performance footage, the band used self-shot footage of their European street performances during the nomination announcement tonight, raw and simple, without any embellishment, yet releasing a fierce power that penetrated the screen and rushed towards the audience.

Especially after the opening performance of the second half, the vitality in the music became more vivid and intense, watching their figures laughing and running wildly on the big screen, an indescribable energy also surged through the chests of every audience member.

This touch of color has brought too much excitement to the music world in the past year.

However, the opponents competing with the August 31st Band for Best New Artist should not be underestimated — —

Evanescence, 50 Cent, Sean Paul, Heather Headley.

Most obviously and directly, both Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake, two solo rookie singers who have been praised throughout the year and have risen with the wind, were both absent from the Best New Artist nomination. This is an opportunity that each singer only has once in their career, but both of them missed it with regret.

From professional reviews to public feedback, from album sales to media opinions, from popularity to cultural impact, the nomination list for Best New Artist can be described as top-notch. Before the awards ceremony, it was hailed as one of the most suspenseful awards, and also one of the important highlights of the awards ceremony night.

Judging from the various analyses before the awards ceremony, 50 Cent took the lead. This rapper who came out of nowhere completely subverted the entire music scene, bringing a fierce impact with a destructive attitude; Evanescence was unwilling to show weakness. This rock band, with its distinct and unique imprint, established its presence with a gothic metal style, and was called "a female-vocal version of Linkin Park" by the media, but the style was sharper and darker.

Of course, no one can ignore the existence of the August 31st Band. The unique style of mixing classical instruments with rock made the band unique, and professionals could not even simply classify the band's music genre.

This distinct color successfully allowed the August 31st Band to break a bloody path in the fierce market competition, but it may also become a shackle for the band's deviation from the mainstream impression, like a double-edged sword, the impact is difficult to estimate.

Perhaps, this can declare their presence like Norah Jones; perhaps, this may be ignored by the academy judges like Linkin Park.

Similar things happened at last year's Grammy Awards ceremony; coming to this year's Grammys, the unpredictable uncertainty still exists.

So, who can win?

50 Cent? Evanescence? Or the August 31st Band?

Or is it a case of鹬蚌相争渔翁得利 (when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits), with Sean Paul and Heather Headley breaking through and reversing to the top?

The suspense has been maintained until now.

When the nomination candidate images were all played, the live camera returned to Norah Jones and James Franco, the two award presenters, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Because of curiosity, because of expectation, and also because of a inexplicable sense of anticipation.

Involuntarily, inexplicably, there seemed to be a candidate expected to win deep in their hearts, but because they were not clear about their own thoughts and not sure about the competitive landscape, they became particularly anxious and uneasy.

Norah Jones could clearly feel the focus of the audience's gazes surrounding her, and she couldn't help but become nervous, her hands trembling slightly.

James Franco noticed it and cast a glance at Norah, asking and comforting. Unlike Norah, he was just an actor, appearing here purely as a cameo, and his mentality remained relaxed.

If necessary, he didn't mind taking over Norah's role in announcing the results, but as last year's Best New Artist winner, the Grammys certainly still hoped that Norah would complete the task.

Norah could feel James's gaze. She took a deep breath and stood her ground slightly. Beneath her seemingly soft and lovely appearance was a tenacious soul.

Then, Norah opened the envelope and drew out the card inside under the scorching gaze of the audience — —

Wait, who?

Slightly stunned, then their hearts exploded, and all the guests frantically looked around to find the location of the August 31st Band.

However, they still gained nothing.

Everyone: ? ? ?

What exactly is the August 31st Band doing? They disappeared for the entire first half, and as a result, they disappeared in the second half as well. Does this count as attending the awards ceremony or not?

That kind of excitement and passion had already surged to their throats, and they were about to explode, but they were abruptly stuck, and that kind of unsatisfying but nowhere to vent feeling abruptly controlled the entire Staples Center.

Not only the front stage, but also the backstage was in a state of astonishment.

Because the scene was too chaotic and too sudden, Higgins was also stunned for a moment.

After reacting for a second, Higgins finally realized what had happened.

“Go!”

In a series of high-pitched "Go, Go, Go" sounds, the August 31st Band ran wildly again, rushing through the darkness and breaking through the shackles, and suddenly broke into the boundless light.

The first one was Connor.

Waiting and waiting, suppressing and suppressing, the Staples Center finally waited for the focus figure, and the emotions in their chests could no longer be controlled, and were fully released — —

哗 (Hua! - sound of an uproar)!

Exploded in a second, continued to rise.

Even without brewing or waiting, it directly broke through the clouds.

The whole audience, rumbled.

Previously, during the opening performance of the second half, although all the emotions were released, after the end of the performance, the August 31st Band directly disappeared, so that the audience never found the opportunity to truly applaud the band, nor could they directly face the band again to feel that shock and impact. This kind of emotion has been accumulating in their chests, and no one has noticed it.

Until now.

The August 31st Band finally appeared again, winning Best New Artist.

That kind of emotion could no longer be suppressed, erupting without warning and surging, and finally evolved into the entire audience standing up and collectively applauding — —

For Best New Artist, this is undoubtedly an incredible treatment, and the entire Staples Center fell into frenzy for the victory of the August 31st Band.

Insanely.