Elizabeth is a Vancouver-based writer and editor. Her first book “Beyond Black and White” is available now. She is an old soul who's young at heart, a human jukebox, and a corgi lady in training.
The 85th Academy Awards are this Sunday and as Oscar watchers wait with baited breath to find out which nominees take home the golden statue, here at The Hudsucker we try our hand at predicting the winners in some of the major categories. A few of our lovely writers and resident cinephiles – Drew Bryce, Karen Datangel, Bo Dietrick, Cathie Dillard, Katherine Hernandez, Tania Hussain, and Elizabeth The – also share their thoughts on who they’d vote for if they were members of the Academy and who they feel got snubbed.
Record executive Clive Davis really has some nerve to portray Kelly Clarkson as a naive ingrate in his newly-published memoirs.
I applaud Kelly for responding to his false claims in this blog post, where she reveals the truth behind their rocky professional relationship. It made me especially angry to learn that Mr. Davis had insulted her songwriting talents, calling her a “shitty writer” after hearing “Because of You”. As we all know now, he was wrong. And not just because it was a sensational hit on the charts, but more importantly, because it resonates today as the best song Kelly has ever written and recorded.
“Because of You” taught me a crucial lesson that helped me get through difficult times during my younger years – You Are Not Alone. For children and teenagers in broken homes, it is hard to express the pain felt and experienced from troubled family relationships. Home is supposed to be a place where you feel safe from harm and loved unconditionally, but it’s not always the case, and that harsh reality comes great pain and shame. With these unspoken truths, it’s unfathomable to imagine that anyone else is possibly going through the same situation as you. Then “Because of You” came out, and suddenly, I (and all of the kids and teens who were also hurting) didn’t feel so alone in the world anymore.
Some days, when I couldn’t hold it together, I would sit in my room, listen to “Because of You”, and cry. While the song couldn’t mend all of the wounds, it did a tremendous job at helping to ease the suffering. I felt such a great connection to Kelly, and her song was the friend I needed at a time when I couldn’t be open about what I was experiencing at home. It was through listening to Kelly Clarkson’s albums that I began to use music as an escape, and her songs continue to have that impact on me to this day.
Kudos to Kelly for standing up for your art with boldness, integrity, and class, and thank you for making music that is authentic, relatable and inspirational. I am so proud to be a fan of yours!
2012 was a strong year for music. Promising newcomers (Ed Sheeran, Hunter Hayes) emerged on the scene as alternative artists (fun., Gotye) and fabulous females (Rihanna, P!nk, Kelly Clarkson) ruled the airwaves. The 55th annual Grammy Awards recognized and rewarded the musicians whose albums and singles resonated with fans in an impactful way. Unlike Adele’s remarkable six trophies sweep during last year‘s ceremony, there was no clear frontrunner in terms of 2013′s award recipients. This year’s Grammys honoured artists and bands from a variety of genres, which was also evident from the line-up of the evening’s live performances.
Here are five of my favourite award recipients and/or moments from this phenomenal celebration of music:
Imagine, just for a moment, that Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice did not take place in 19th century England, and instead took place in 21st century California. Would our intelligent, outspoken protagonist Elizabeth Bennet be a graduate student with an interest in video blogging? Wouldn’t Darcy’s elitism and reserved nature make him the quintessential bowtie-wearing hipster? What if Georgiana Darcy conspired with Colonel Fitzwilliam to get Elizabeth and Darcy together—by tweeting at him?
Failure sucks. When you have fallen short of reaching your goals, you cannot help but feel a tremendous blow to your confidence and self-worth. As the antithesis of success, failure is a condition that we strive to avoid in all of our efforts. But by doing this, we may miss the beauty of failure.
Elizabeth Rosalyn 