Over the past 10 years, few albums have received the praise that daft-punk“Random Access Memories” did. Being the EDM duo’s final album before their split in 2021, the record has been cited as one of the defining albums of the 2010s due to its cultural impact as well as critical and commercial success. All that success translated into love at the Grammys: Daft Punk took home five awards, including Album of the Year.
Daft Punk had never been a Grammy favorite. Prior to their 2014 sweep for “Random Access Memories,” they had only won two Grammys: Best Dance/Electronic Album for “Alive 2007” and Best Dance/Electronic Recording for “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Alive). 2007)”. both in 2009. But over the years, the band has garnered a huge following and, most importantly, a lot of respect in the industry.
The band had worked with legends like Kanye West and Kraftwerk before, and for “Memories”, they enlisted A-listers like Pharrell Williams, Julien Casablancasand disco legends Giorgio Moroder and Nil Rodgers. The vision for the new record was clear from the start: it was a tribute to disco and the era of analog music. Upon release, it became their biggest and most acclaimed album, peaking at number one on the Billboard 200 and scoring the massive hit “Get Lucky”.
Despite all of this, Daft Punk had quite the competition on their hands. The first was Taylor Swift, whose album “Red” was the biggest hit on the lineup. At the time, “Red” wasn’t very popular with critics, but Swift was already the Album of the Year winner and the record was a huge hit, so she couldn’t be ruled out. Swift’s biggest downside was the fact that the album was sonically all over the place, ranging from country to pop and even EDM. Musical eclecticism is often an advantage because it helps you attract a wide range of voters, but in this case it has probably backfired. Country voters haven’t exactly backed Swift as much as they normally do (she even lost top country album), and plenty of pop voters probably weren’t on board for her crossover yet. Interestingly, “Red: Taylor’s Version” was nominated for a Grammy nine years later, so she’s getting another kick in the box with this collection.
The second was probably Macklemore and Ryan Lewis“The Heist,” which had three big hits and swept the rap field. He was also easily accessible to pop audiences, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they got a lot of support from those voters as well. The last two nominees were Kendrick Lamar (“Good kid, MAAD City”) and Sara Barellies (“Blessed Agitation”). Lamar’s record was highly acclaimed, but he didn’t win any other awards, so it’s safe to say voters didn’t love him as much as they would in later years. And as for Bareilles, his album was clearly an addition to the committee, as it didn’t even make it into the top pop vocal album.
“Random Access Memories” had a few perks up its sleeve. First and foremost, Grammy voters tend to be older, so an album that honors the music of their youth was obviously going to appeal to them. Another big plus was the fact that it really was a musician’s album, just like other winners like beckthe “Morning Phase” and Jon Batiste“We are”. The album’s complex production, engineering and recording set it apart from the more inorganic and digital production of its competitors. Finally, we’ve seen that voters like it when artists take risks and change their sound (see the aforementioned “Morning Phase”, as well as Bruno MarsSwift’s “24k Magic” and Swift’s “1989” and “Folklore”). For Daft Punk, ditching most of their digital tools to create an authentic disco record with live instrumentation was a big risk, and voters clearly wanted to reward the duo for it.
“Random Access Memories” remains one of the best wins in Album of the Year history. Not only did this serve to honor music from the past, but it was also a sweet way to recognize such an influential duo, especially now that we know the record was their last. With this win, the world got to praise the iconic band and celebrate their greatness once again.
Make your Gold Derby predictions now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone or Android (Google Play) devices to compete against legions of other fans as well as our experts and editors for the highest prediction accuracy scores. Check out our latest prediction champions. Can you then top our estimated rankings? Always remember to keep your predictions up to date as they impact our latest racetrack odds, which record executives and music stars are terrified of. Don’t miss the fun. Have your say and share your opinions on our famous forums where thousands of showbiz leaders hide out every day to keep up with the latest awards. Everyone wants to know: what do you think? Who do you predict and why?
Over the past 10 years, few albums have received the praise that daft-punk“Random Access Memories” did. Being the EDM duo’s final album before their split in 2021, the record has been cited as one of the defining albums of the 2010s due to its cultural impact as well as critical and commercial success. All that success translated into love at the Grammys: Daft Punk took home five awards, including Album of the Year.
Daft Punk had never been a Grammy favorite. Prior to their 2014 sweep for “Random Access Memories,” they had only won two Grammys: Best Dance/Electronic Album for “Alive 2007” and Best Dance/Electronic Recording for “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Alive). 2007)”. both in 2009. But over the years, the band has garnered a huge following and, most importantly, a lot of respect in the industry.
The band had worked with legends like Kanye West and Kraftwerk before, and for “Memories”, they enlisted A-listers like Pharrell Williams, Julien Casablancasand disco legends Giorgio Moroder and Nil Rodgers. The vision for the new record was clear from the start: it was a tribute to disco and the era of analog music. Upon release, it became their biggest and most acclaimed album, peaking at number one on the Billboard 200 and scoring the massive hit “Get Lucky”.
Despite all of this, Daft Punk had quite the competition on their hands. The first was Taylor Swift, whose album “Red” was the biggest hit on the lineup. At the time, “Red” wasn’t very popular with critics, but Swift was already the Album of the Year winner and the record was a huge hit, so she couldn’t be ruled out. Swift’s biggest downside was the fact that the album was sonically all over the place, ranging from country to pop and even EDM. Musical eclecticism is often an advantage because it helps you attract a wide range of voters, but in this case it has probably backfired. Country voters haven’t exactly backed Swift as much as they normally do (she even lost top country album), and plenty of pop voters probably weren’t on board for her crossover yet. Interestingly, “Red: Taylor’s Version” was nominated for a Grammy nine years later, so she’s getting another kick in the box with this collection.
The second was probably Macklemore and Ryan Lewis“The Heist,” which had three big hits and swept the rap field. He was also easily accessible to pop audiences, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they got a lot of support from those voters as well. The last two nominees were Kendrick Lamar (“Good kid, MAAD City”) and Sara Barellies (“Blessed Agitation”). Lamar’s record was highly acclaimed, but he didn’t win any other awards, so it’s safe to say voters didn’t love him as much as they would in later years. And as for Bareilles, his album was clearly an addition to the committee, as it didn’t even make it into the top pop vocal album.
“Random Access Memories” had a few perks up its sleeve. First and foremost, Grammy voters tend to be older, so an album that honors the music of their youth was obviously going to appeal to them. Another big plus was the fact that it really was a musician’s album, just like other winners like beckthe “Morning Phase” and Jon Batiste“We are”. The album’s complex production, engineering and recording set it apart from the more inorganic and digital production of its competitors. Finally, we’ve seen that voters like it when artists take risks and change their sound (see the aforementioned “Morning Phase”, as well as Bruno MarsSwift’s “24k Magic” and Swift’s “1989” and “Folklore”). For Daft Punk, ditching most of their digital tools to create an authentic disco record with live instrumentation was a big risk, and voters clearly wanted to reward the duo for it.
“Random Access Memories” remains one of the best wins in Album of the Year history. Not only did this serve to honor music from the past, but it was also a sweet way to recognize such an influential duo, especially now that we know the record was their last. With this win, the world got to praise the iconic band and celebrate their greatness once again.
Make your Gold Derby predictions now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone or Android (Google Play) devices to compete against legions of other fans as well as our experts and editors for the highest prediction accuracy scores. Check out our latest prediction champions. Can you then top our estimated rankings? Always remember to keep your predictions up to date as they impact our latest racetrack odds, which record executives and music stars are terrified of. Don’t miss the fun. Have your say and share your opinions on our famous forums where thousands of showbiz leaders hide out every day to keep up with the latest awards. Everyone wants to know: what do you think? Who do you predict and why?