Sam Smith was clearly the big winner at Sunday's Grammys, with awards including Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Album and Record of the Year. Perhaps the most curious of the breakout singer's victories, however, was Song of the Year, considering that award is supposed to recognize an achievement in songwriting (whereas Record of the Year awards the way the piece turned out).
To be clear: Sam Smith definitely can sing. He's struck a chord with people who like sad songs. That's fine. But I don't see how anyone can look at the lyrics to his massive single, "Stay With Me," and call them award-worthy. At a glance, it looks like they took about 25 seconds to write.
There's value in writing something simple and straightforward. But artists also have to make sure their words feel personal and authentic, not just evidence that they can only express themselves through clichés. Plenty of songs have been written asking someone to stick around. And I'd argue the lyrics to "Stay With Me" cut deep only because of how they're sung, not because of anything they say.
Song of the Year isn't only about lyrics, but considering complex songs like Hozier's "Take Me to Church" and Sia's "Chandelier" were also nominated in the category, it's disappointing to see Smith's "Stay With Me" win an award previously given to far superior work like Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and the Dixie Chicks'"Not Ready to Make Nice." Of course, Fun. also won for "We Are Young," so clearly depth isn't always given priority.
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