Where does Stevie go from here?
 

So I am sure many of you have seen her performance with Taylor Swift and most people agree it wasn't the best performance of the night. Now it seems the general consensus is that Stevie was amazing and Taylor ruined it, but I'm wondering if Stevie will see it this way. So what do you guys think? Do you think she knows Taylor did bad and will just let this performance slide by? Or do you think this is going to make her question herself? And if so, is that going to put her in fear of doing anything else? Or will it make her want to PROVE that she is a legend by blowing everyone's mind with new stuff?

I think Stevie knows that Taylor did poorly, I thought I saw it in her eyes when TS went so offkey in Rhiannon, there was a flash, I thought of, 'I can't believe it'...also the hug at the end seemed maternal, like 'my little girl really messed up but it's my job to make her feel better'- I don't think Stevie will be plagued by any self-doubt because TS was flat and off-key (not only on 'Rhiannon', either). I think Stevie is self-aware enough to know that her own performance was ok, nothing remarkable, but nothing to make her wake up in a cold sweat screaming, either. I think Taylor Swift's reputation will suffer, a professional just really can't get away with such poor singing, a talented amateur could have done a better job.
Next for Stevie? I think back into the studio. I think she'll have at least one new song on itunes by the summer and an album by fall, and yes, I know that's incredibly fast, which isn't Stevie's normal pace. But there's no time to waste, and I think SN performing with TS was just to try to get a new generation of potential buyers for her new music. I won't be surprised if Stevie doesn't get new music out fast, though I hope she really rallies and revitalizes her songwriting career. After most of '09 singing songs she wrote from the 70s to 1983, I'd think she must know the time is now to really become prolific about getting her music out there, and not keep the dozens upon dozens of songs many of us have heard left unrealized, unfinished and unheard by the masses. I don't think she can do it at 70, so she'd better hurry up! (Yet, wasn't Roberta Flack quite good, she'll be 73 this month!)

I'm thinking she'll come away from this empowered, and ready to kick some butt with new material. I'm still not sure if that will come in the form of Fleetwood Mac or solo. I tend to think she'd prefer her solo career... but if she left it right now, her legacy is tied up pretty neatly with Trouble In Shangri La. Fleetwood Mac however has loose ends. I suspect she'd prefer and have more fun with her solo career... but I think she knows she has unfinished business with the Mac. Anyone's guess is as good as mine as to what she'll do next...

:)
 

Hello~I agree that Stevie went maternal and Im thinking Taylors mishap isnt a reflection on Stevie. Taylor is young and must have been nervous bigtime. Wayne (my hubby) said she should have used one of those mics rigged to a synthesizer that Jamie Fox used~LOL Stevie was as awesome and gracious as ever. I dooooo love her!

I'm not so sure anyone will be hurt by this because taylor is such the ''it'' girl right now i don't think
anything can touch her..not even a bad performance. As far as stevie goes..i'm not sure why she was there other than to make taylor look better. If anything at all comes out of this it just might be
that both artists will have new fans. Stevie could definitly widen her fan base and taylor might gain
some crossover fans who normally would not give her a second look. either way it was a great night
and looking forward to see what happens next.

There is no way that Stevie made new fans last night based on that performance. Yes, we all know that Stevie was forced to "manage the damage" throughout the performance due to Taylor's off-key bellowing. And, yes, Stevie had to sing the low harmonies, which sounded Poltergeist-ish at times. But it just seemed like, amidst a roster of highly-produced, big spectacle performances, their performance was just too low-key and lacking inspiration, which is rather inexcusable coming from the winner of the album of the year trophy. To make matters worse, Taylor was bathed in the most exquisite lighting, whereas Stevie was shot from a most unflattering angle while her face was cast in harsh shadows, making her look a bit rough and, um... old :sorry:. If anything, I think that people who have not seen/heard from Stevie in a long time will have probably thought "WTF was that?"

It's hard to fathom what made Stevie do this. Did Taylor initiate this? Do they have managers/agents in common? Did Stevie insist on performing with TS? Did her management insist on it? Did she do this to get her name in the papers? Did Mick twist her arm? Is Stevie orchestrating a solo comeback? Nothing about this makes any sense at all.

the only thing i can think of right now is that maybe stevie saw something in taylor. taylor's
songwriting style and skills are very close to stevie's. meaning that both stevie and taylor write
from the heart and personal expearinces.

I can't get my head round it either. I mean, why would Stevie WANT to sing backup and play tambourine for Taylor? Come on, she's Stevie Nicks. She doesn't need to play tambourine for an off key little pop star.

I hope it is the beginning of something new for Stevie though. *Hint* Solo album *Hint*

no need to apologize about the old comment. That lighting was horrible and I was shocked by how old she looked. Is it me or did she also look really tired?? I think curled hair would have improved her appearance also but what's done is done.

Well if you saw the rest of the show you saw Elton John, Roberta Flack and Leon Russell. There were lot's of legends there with the newer acts. Stevie was no different.

I go for what you say. Trouble in Shangri-La is a good place to end, concerning the solo projects. I know a lot of fans want more solo material, but after TISL, I think a lot of people wouldn't be satisfied with a new solo. It would have to be a very excellent album to surpass TISL. Let's all think about this, would you want Stevie to put out an album, risking the fact that it could be about as well accepted as Street Angel, or would it be better that her solo career end on a high note?

I was hoping and hoping that for this special occasion that she would have surrendered herself to a new stylist that really understood the whole Boho-goth Stevie-persona, e.g., Rachel Zoe. It would have been amazing to see Stevie sporting some variation of the marcel-wave hairdo that has become TS's trademark. And it would have been great to see her wearing some haute-couture from a current, happening designer, rather than that tired old sparkly black **** from the tour, which we couldn't see anyway due to the bad lighting. I could only dream that she would appear on the "What Not to Wear" show one day, and we will be able to witness Stevie throwing all of those Margi Kent creations into the rubbish can.

These days "well accepted" is relative. Basically if you sell half the number of units you sold ten years ago, it is considered to be a hit. Accordingly, I think Stevie could easily move 300-400K copies of a new album if she released it today, and I don't think that would be anything to be ashamed about. And let's face it- Street Angel didn't sell because it was not a good album and it was virtually unpromoted. One thing that Stevie has going for her now that maybe was not as apparent ten years ago, is the overall sense of goodwill from her peers. They are finally coming around to admiring her body of work, her longevity and her iconic status in the history of rock music. In this age of manufactured celebrities and talent shows, people are appreciating people who have earned their stardom the old-fashioned way- talent and hard work. I have every reason to believe that if Stevie decided to do another solo album, it would be as strong as anything she has ever done, even if it means involving a lot of helping hands.

I agree that 'well accepted' is a relative term. The music business has changed a lot. I didn't dislike Street Angel (nor did I love it). Likely, we fans will at least like some of any album she puts out. As for 'involving a lot of helping hands', that can be an asset, or a disaster. Stevie isn't always the best judge of who is helpful or hurtful to an album.

As long as Mike Campbell is not involved, I would be perfectly happy with whomever she chooses as a collaborator!

I honestly don't think this will prompt anything new from stevie if it does anything it might get
people intrested enough in her to have the record company remaster her solo albums and add
a few unreleased songs from her past. But i think a new solo album with all brand new songs are
not in the cards right now. Stevie has not put anything new out in 9 years and if you go thru the
songs on the tisl album most of them were written by stevie in the 70's or had a major sheryl
crow helping hand.

Although the lighting certainly could have been better, I didn't think Stevie looked bad or old. After all, she was standing next to a girl who is one third her age and who actually looks younger than 20 IMO. It is unfortunate that Taylor is not much of a live performer/singer. I wish Stevie had been paired with someone else given the fact it was the Grammys.

I agree... she just looked like Stevie to me :shrug:. Believe me, I'm not deluded or trying to make Stevie into something she's not... but she didn't look any different to me last night than she has in years. Trust me, I call stuff as I see it. I thought she could have chosen a better outfit and done her hair better... but both could have been worse too. Her face looked fine to me... still heads and tails about any other 60 something woman that I know! :nod:

I wonder why she did it too. I don't think it was Stevie's idea tho, and I think she was probably hesitant to it. I keep wondering WHY Waddy and Sharon were there. They didn't need them. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they were there, but I just think maybe Stevie demanded that if she was to do this she would get this amount of money AND get her guitarist and her own backup singer.

I think Waddy was there because Stevie feels more comfortable with her guitarist playing the intro Rhiannon riff and accompanying her. Sharon's presence is more of a mystery. Definitely not needed vocally, but maybe she also makes Stevie feel more comfortable in live performances.

Waddy was there because he is the leader of Stevie's band, and given the time constraints to rehearse the song, it made sense that he come on board to teach the band members their parts on "Rhiannon." Similarly, Sharon is the one who does the b/u vocal arrangements, so she probably worked with the vocalists.

I am inclined to believe that Stevie kinda did this for her ego- to be up there singing with the most popular singer-songwriter in the country today. It could be as simple as that. I suspect that Vanessa Carlton must have been sulking in a fetal position last night.

I know, right? Vanessa must feel like a thrown-off shoe.
"Heyyyyy. I thought I was going to benefit from Stevie's mentoring. What about ME? Huh?"

Stevie's Next Project Idea...
 

I think no new solo album for Stevie. Next year is the 30th anniversary of Bella Donna. Do a new Fleetwood Mac album to be released by late 2010, early 2011, and then release a box set of remastered solo albums with added bonus tracks of all the unfininished, unreleased songs we know and love. At a concert last year, wasn't there a song about Hurricane Katrina? We know she must have volumes of material!
My wish list? Final Fleetwood Mac album produced by Ken Caillat (a final double-album with Christine), Solo Box Set, then release Buckingham Nicks remastered with extra tracks like Watchdevil and Without You in 2013 for it's 40th anniversary!

Wowe, I didn't notice anything wrong with Taylor's performance. Maybe it's because I really don't know/care who she is, and had never heard her sing before?

What exactly was wrong?

I think it was taylor's people or the grammy people that went to stevie. Stevie has just come off a long
major world tour with fleetwood mac so i'm guessing she was resting or on vacation when she got the call. stevie really don't seem the type to do anything because of an ego.

No matter what we think about that rendition, I bet Rhiannon has snagged some hefty new sales on Itunes and Amazon since last night.

Michele

I agree with all of this

This, exactly. The minute Taylor opened her mouth, I thought Stevie gave her a side glare. And the hug at the end was definitely out of politeness.

I think they're encouraged by their ~people~ to act as mentors to the younger stars. Come on, no one really believes that Stevie has Mariah Carey on her ipod. :laugh: And if she does, she shouldn't have admitted it. It's the same as when Dolly Parton says she loves Miley Cyrus (:eek: ) ... if they bash instead of praise, they'll look old and embittered. This makes them seem current and relevant, even if they aren't always in the public eye.

But yeah, it should have been more like Taylor Swift accompanies Stevie Nicks... not the other way around.

I get a feeling that Stevie has been "writing like a manic" while on tour with the mac. I also get a sense that she may start to offer her songwriting skills for other's to sing and that she feels best singing with someone like Sheryl or Lindsey who can strengthen and bend around her's in support. Did she and Sheryl have a falling out of sorts? Used to hear about them being friends and now nothing. Perhaps they rubbed elbows at the grammies and might start creating soon. Someone get momma grooving, we know she's got material!

Hmmm...i dunno. Stevie isn't one to do these kinds of award shows. She's private to a fault, and never gets involved in these big productions that involve a laundry list of other artists.

My personal view on this is that Taylor or her management team reached out to Stevie, and more-or-less, begged her to perform with Taylor. I think Stevie did this to show her support for Taylor because she probably wanted to take her under her wing like she did with Sheryl, Michelle Branch and Vanessa. I don't know if there's still an open invitation for that though after last night.

Hahaha just imagine Stevie dancing around her house wrapped in her shawls singing "Touch My Body" :laugh:

I was even thinking that something similar to Taylor's outfit would look nice on Stevie these days. :shrug:

This is a pic of Stevie and Sheryl backstage at The Grammy's last night.

As a semi-long time fan:

Very honestly? I think this was "just another day at the office," and I think she's forgotten about it already. Almost literally.

I Am so very scared for mama. What if critics see the performance and think: "well if stevie can only sing duets with other people its a crutch. Shes done at 61. I know its a little outlandish but im super scared! I've only been exposed to her music for a such short time. She cant be done! Stevie we need more material! New album! My god this is more stressful than midterms. Thays sad lol

Dont worry, Shes not done yet.:angel:

Seriously? Then yes, that's just sad.

Or more fittingly, without. :shocked: