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Maya Arulpragasam (better known as M.I.A.) is having an already stellar 2009. Good for her. Let’s look at the things she has to look forward to in February.
For one thing, she’s pregnant and her baby is due February 8th! As if that weren’t exciting enough, on that night (GRAMMY night), Ms. Arulpragasam is nominated for two GRAMMYs: one for Record of the Year for “Paper Planes,” and another for Best Rap Song for “Swagga Like Us” — under the technicality that the song samples “Paper Planes” and she wrote “Paper Planes,” and in the GRAMMY panel’s eyes, that’s the exact same thing.
That’s pretty huge stuff. For some women, having a child is the highest honor. For some musicians, winning a GRAMMY (or two) is the highest honor. She’s doing pretty damn good as a female musician if you look at it that way. Now what if this lauded female musician mother/GRAMMY-winner wins an Oscar? That would be pretty fucking crazy, no?
That could very well be M.I.A. come February 22nd because — you guessed it — she’s nominated for an OSCAR for her fantastic work in “O Saya,” one of a few M.I.A. songs featured on the annoyingly overrated Slumdog Millionaire. If she were to win, she’d share the Oscar with A.R. Rahman, who nominated for another Oscar for Best Original Score for “Slumdog.”
Is M.I.A. friggen awesome, or what?
Tags: A.R. Rahman, Academy Awards, Grammys, M.I.A, Oscars, Slumdog Millionaire
You didn’t like Slumdog Millionaire ? Why do you think it’s so overrated?
I really liked Slumdog Millionaire. A lot. I just don’t think it’s the best film of the year (like everyone says it is). It doesn’t hit my Top 5 of 2008 at all.
A.R. rahman is going to win the oscar for best song, im calling it already
the annoyingly overrated Slumdog Millionaire? I think not.
Slumdog Millionaire… overrated?! dude, I’m at a loss for words. Sorry, I’m a fan of yours, but it wasn’t anything short of being a masterpiece. Last time I checked this was a blog about ‘music’.
Simple and clean -
“one of the few M.I.A. songs featured in Slumdog Millionaire.”
I’m not here to complain about someone’s taste or breaching that blogging contract where you’re only allowed to blog about ‘music’
.. and I agree with Luis on this one. Slumdog was appealing, but poorly written (original novels fault?), and as a result, has an utterly predictable plot. Too many people are jumping on the Hindi genre bandwagon with this one. Plus seeing the Dark Knight getting snubbed for best picture doesn’t help
It’s great to see how everything works out for M.I.A. slowly. She will never appear to mainstream in a huge way, maybe offering one or two tracks this year having the possibility to become hits but still keeping her very own style. Can’t describe how much I love her and her work. Waiting for the second important M.I.A.-dropping this year after the baby- the third album.
“Last time I checked this was a blog about ‘music’.”
Oops. I forgot I wasn’t allowed to have an opinion on anything but music. Sorry guys.
Wouldn’t those sampling rules also reward the Clash since Paper Planes is just the intro from ‘Straight to hell?’
I think that’s a bit different since “Swagga Like Us” sampled M.I.A.’s lyrics above all. “Paper Planes”‘ tunage is not really recognizable in SLU.
No! Thanks. But have fun. O’Saya is really nice, I like it. ;P
if you’re going to “have an opinion” about something other than music, maybe next time you should try and explain why you think slumdog millionaire is overrated instead of throwing in such a cheap shot.
you lot all need to take it easy. luis is good to us- a provider.. let the man have his say! and o saya is alright. paper planes is brilliant- yes she sampled the start of paper planes but since when is a song defined by its first 10 seconds? she’s a lyrical genius. im rooting m.i.a. all the way.
a.r. is a big timer, too. you should put some of his other work up- and he samples missy!
music is recycled and refined and remixed- like everything else. get over it!
MIA,
You have a great story to tell the world. MIA, a Tamil refugee girl who fled Sri Lanka to escape from genocide.
A book published somewhere in 1998 about a girl by the name Waris Dirie who fled Somalia to escape from female genital mutilation landed in London and became a supermodel. That book by the name *Desert Flower* became a best seller.
Please publish a book on your autobiography and the genocide taking place in your native land. I am sure it will become a best seller.
Slumdog is amazing and it deserves every single accolade that it is getting…get over yourself!
Slumdog Millionaire is ridiculously overrrated. The second hour of the film is tedious to say the least.