Was There A Boycott? Here's A Few Notable Grammy Moments Worth Talking About
Welp! The 2016 Grammy Awards ceremony was mostly underwhelming. Perhaps because a lot of big named artists were visibly missing from the red carpet.
Nicki Minaj reportedly pulled out of her Grammy performance this weekend. Rihanna cancelled her performance, and Drake was noticeably missing. Lauryn Hill was going to do a surprise performance with The Weeknd, but because of her performance schedule, she wasn't able to attend.
All of this is interesting, because earlier this month, Snoop Dog said that he was not attending after saying that the Grammy's was just as whitewashed as the Oscars.
I'm not saying that the Grammy's appeared to have a silent boycott, but it is odd to me that a lot of TIDAL artists were missing from the biggest awards show at the same time. Even Twitter noticed it.
Either way, the party continued, and there were some great moments, starting with the red carpet. There were several people who stood out among the rest.
For instance, Jazmine Sullivan had more curves than a bottle of coke in her black, floor-length Michael Costello gown.
Also, Big Sean set off smoke alarms on Twitter in a black and white tuxedo blazer and slacks. Heeey Almond!
You can't tell me that their #RelationshipGoals isn't giving you all the feels with this photo. Hands down, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen were the cutest couple on the red carpet.
But that's about it. There wasn't much to the red carpet this year. Again, a lot of people were visibly missing.
KENDRICK LAMAR'S BIG WIN
I have to admit that I thought the awards show was going to really bad after the skinny red carpet. However, Kendrick's win for "Rap Performance of the Year" helped to make the night a little more promising.
O'Shea Jackson Jr. and his dad Ice Cube presented Kendrick with the first award of the night. When he gave his speech, what stood out was him thanking his fiancee Whitney Alford for holding him down. It was such a sweet gesture, and when he said it, he meant it. These two love birds have been together since high school.
How sweet!
ANDRA AND ELLIE SANG, CHILD!
THAT PENTATONIX AND STEVIE WONDER COLLAB THOUGH!
Pentatonix and Stevie Wonder took to the stage to present the award for Song of the Year, which went to Ed Sheeran for "Thinking Out Loud." But before Sheeran accepted his award, they performed an emotional tribute to Maurice White, founding member of the legendary band Earth Wind and Fire while doing their signature beatboxing, along with Stevie singing lead on "That's the Way of the World."
This is one of those songs that always brings back a good memory, so if you watch it, get ready to get all of the feels.
THE CAST OF HAMILTON HAD BARS AND THEY WON
The amazing Broadway cast of Hamilton came on stage, and for some reason I thought that I had heard Twitter collectively sigh of boredom.
That is until the cast opened their mouths. They not only blew everyone away, they also brought those bars.
The mega famous bio-musical about the life of Alexander Hamilton and the country's founding fathers has been met with tons of accolades. But when their performance hit Twitter, everyone was trying to beg, borrow, and steal their way to the next Hamilton performance.
They also won for best acceptance speech when they received their award for Best Musical Theater Album, because the mastermind behind the critically acclaimed show, Lin-Manuel Miranda, rapped his whole acceptance speech, and it was lit. Watch how he did it below.
KENDRICK LAMAR'S VERY POLITICALLY CHARGED PERFORMANCE
But if no one in the audience felt him, there were plenty of people at home who did. Twitter went wild with Kendrick during his performance, and they loved every bit of his message. Even celebrities were awed by his raw set.
Kendrick walked out of the building with five awards, and one hell of an impression on the audience. Watch his full performance below.
QUEEN BEYONCE FINALLY EMERGED TO PRESENT RECORD OF THE YEAR
By this time, everyone was wondering if Beyonce was really going to come on stage, because she was visibly missing from her seat. But she finally emerged on stage looking like a dream in a sheer white gown.
What was even better about her appearance was the words that she had to say before presenting the award, where she made a strong statement of the powerful impact of music. Everyone was moved.
She went on to present Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson for their immensely contagious his "Uptown Funk," which was a hard category to predict against nominees Ed Sheeran for "Thinking Out Loud," The Weeknd's "Can't Feel my Face," Taylor Swift's "Blank Space," and D'angelo's "Really Love."
TAYLOR SWIFT'S KANYE SHADE
Well it looks like Taylor Swift let it be known how she was feeling about Kanye's diss on his latest album, where he rapped that he made that "b*tch famous." She didn't keep her feelings cute at all when she said,
“As the first woman to win Album of the Year at the Grammys twice...I want to say to all the young woman out there: There will be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomphlishments, or your fame. But if you just focus on the work, and you don't let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you're going, you will look around and you will know that it you and the people that love you who put you there, and that will be the greatest feeling in the world. ”
And then she walked off stage with the biggest award of the night. #MicDrop.
What were your favorite moments from tonight's Grammy Awards ceremony? Sound off in the comments.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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I think we all can agree that social media really is a double-edged sword. What I mean by that is there is just as much bad that can come out of it as good. At the end of the day, it really is about 1) having your own mind, 2) finding balance when it comes to how much time you spend online, and 3) doing your own research instead of taking random people’s opinions as the gospel (i.e., facts).
Gee, I wish more folks did all of this when it comes to if a man needs to have a large penis to sexually satisfy a woman (he does not) and if a woman who has had multiple sex partners will ultimately end up with a vagina that is too large for smaller penises to please her (a lie).
Science totally has my back on debunking both of those things (more on that in a bit). Know what else does? A particular type of sex method that is becoming more popular by the day. One that just might convince you to, as they used to say back in the day, focus less on the “size of the wave” and ride out the “motion of the ocean” instead.
It’s called shallowing. Here’s what it’s all about.
What Is Shallowing?
GiphyIf there’s one thing that I wish folks would say more thoroughly when it comes to women and orgasms, it’s that when it comes to75 percent of women not being able to orgasm from only intercourse, the accurate statement is they struggle with achieving a vaginal orgasm without the assistance of some type of clitoral stimulation. Yeah, we’ve really got to remember that very few things in this life are a complete monolith — orgasms included (check out “U-Spot Orgasm, Fantasy Orgasm & 6 Other Orgasms You Should Try Tonight”).
In fact, it was while I was reading up on pairing — a word that is used for when clitoral stimulation transpires during penetration — that I decided to do some deep-diving into shallowing (because it was mentioned inone of the articles that I read).And what is it? Shallowing is when a penis, finger, tongue, or sex toy of some sort is used in order to ever so slightly penetrate the vaginal opening of a woman.
And why is shallowing not just a current sex trend but something that every woman on this planet should try? It’s because of what I’ve said, more than once, on this platform: it focuses on the most sensitive part of a woman’s vagina, which isthe first two inches of her vaginal opening.
When the emphasis is placed there, not only does it increase your chances of experiencing “the big O,” but it can also build up anticipation, which can intensify your orgasms too — yes, shallowing can also be seen as a form of edging.
Another thing that’s cool about shallowing is — and it really and truly can’t be said enough — something that makes vaginal and blended orgasms easier to achieve for some women really has little to do with the size of a man’s package or even his technique; it’s straight up anatomy. Yep, the closer that a woman’s clitoris is to her vaginal opening, the easier it is for a penis to stimulate both. So, science makes it possible for vaginal orgasms to be easier for some women than others.
At the same time, shallowing can make it possible for more women who want to see what a vaginal orgasm actually feels like (because it’s easier for the head of the penis to stimulate the opening of the vagina while the shaft can rub up against your clitoris; based on the position that you are in, of course — the missionary with some pillows propped under the lower part of your back is ideal for this).
Now that you see what shallowing actually is, do you get why I said that penis size doesn’t matter when it comes to doing it — and getting the kind of orgasms that you want? Contrary to popular belief, your vagina is only around four inches. In fact, some health experts say that it ranges between 2-4”. Anything larger, your body literally has to stretch out to accommodate; this includes penises and babies. So, if your vagina is “making room” for more than four inches, why in the world do you think you need a 10-inch man? Yeah…exactly. It really is time to get over the silliness. The average penis continues to be 5.5”. Makes sense when you take it all in (no pun intended).
Aight, so now that you know what shallowing is all about, let me try and hard sell you on why it’s a sex technique that you should try as soon as tonight (if you possibly can).
1. It takes the pressure off of you and your partner.
I’ve been working with couples for almost 20 years at this point. This means that the topic of sex comes up quite a bit. And if there’s one thing that continues to be an issue is inconsistent orgasms (check out “Why Do Orgasms So Often Seem Like A ‘Hit-Or-Miss’ Experience For Women?”).
Listen, no matter how many articles you read or sex positions you try, if you’re anxious, stressed out, or overthinking, it’s gonna get in the way of you experiencing high peaks of pleasure on a consistent basis. Since shallowing is something that can easily be done even in foreplay (via fingering and/ororal sex) if you get that first “release” off, that makes it easier to just sit back and enjoy the ones that (hopefully) are to follow.
2. It teaches you more about your vagina.
A part of the reason why I keep repeating certain facts about vaginas in these articles is that it’s amazing how little certain things are discussed en masse — like the size of the vaginal tube. And since shallowing helps you to stimulate the nerve endings at the entrance of your va-jay-jay along with your G-spot (which is housed a little ways from your opening), shallowing is a great way to explore that area of your body as you figure out what truly works for you and…what doesn’t.
3. It’s the perfect merging of foreplay and intercourse.
When you really stop to think about it, shallowing is like the bridge between foreplay and intercourse because you can use so many different things to do it. So, if you want to experiment with a new sex toy or you want a bit more time to “warm up the engine” before full-on penetration begins, shallowing is one of the most sexually arousing compromises there is.
4. It can help to increase your partner’s stamina.
A few years back, I penned an article for the site entitled, “We’ve Got Some All-Natural Ways To Increase Stamina & Sensitivity.” Listen, even though I onceread a GQ article that said that over 60 percent of the people they polled were fine with intercourse lasting no longer than 5-10 minutes — that poll doesn’t speak for all of us, chile.
So, if you would like your man to build up to going longer, shallowing can help to make that happen. Since he’s barely putting beyond the tip in, he can learn how to be in you for longer periods of time without being, well, in you.
5. It helps you to appreciate whatever “package” he has.
Again — and it really can’t be said enough — if shallowing is all about exploring the mere entrance of your vagina, you don’t need a man with BDE (check out “BDE: Please Let The 'It Needs To Be Huge' Myth Go”) or honestly, even anything close to it.
I mean, even though, reportedly, the size that the average woman says gives her the most orgasms is eight inches — I bet those women have never really tried shallowing before. 10”, 8”, or the average 5.5” can certainly get the job done. And well.
6. It feels A-MAZ-ING.
Okay,so now that you know about shallowing, I promise that if you put the word into your favorite search engine, you’re either gonna see articles on golfing (LOL) or sex, especially as of late. That’s because more couples are trying it out and getting mind-blowing results from it. So, if you’re looking for something new to try, give shallowing a shot.
Hey, anything that’s designed to stimulate your most intense vaginal nerve endings has got to be something for the record books. I mean, how could it not be? Lawd.
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Featured image by Juan Moyano/Getty Images