Awards
Page: 123
The producers of the 1984 Grammys knew they needed to book a performance by Michael Jackson, who in 1983-84 was hotter than anyone had been in pop music since The Beatles in 1964-65. The need was made even clearer when the Grammy nominations were announced in early January, and Jackson set a new record with 12 nods.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
There was just one problem: Jackson didn’t want to do it. As Ken Ehrlich, who was producing the show for the fifth year (of a remarkable 40-year run) put it in his 2007 book At the Grammys!, “Even after his record nominations, Michael hadn’t said yes to performing, and without him, it could be wildly embarrassing.”
In an attempt to stave off that embarrassment, Jackson’s manager arranged what Ehrlich called “a very quiet, discreet meeting at his home for us to talk about what we wanted to do. We sat, Michael barely talking, and when he did, directing his words to the manager, and I knew that we were up against it. No matter where we went, it wasn’t going to be satisfactory. I left very discouraged.”
Trending on Billboard
Ehrlich had allies who were trying to convince Jackson to do it. As Ehrlich wrote: “The people at Epic Records, Michael’s label, wanted him to perform. His father wanted him to perform. [His sister] Janet, with whom I was then working at [the TV series] Fame, talked to him about performing. But no matter what kind of pressure was applied, there was no budging Michael. He wasn’t going to do it. … Even Quincy Jones, a great friend of the Grammys, was unable to sway him, and we went into the Grammy show Michael-less.”
John Denver hosted the show that year, promising “a show so hot it’s going to pop if we don’t get right into it.” I was at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles that year covering the show for Billboard and remember it as a lively and entertaining show. A Jackson performance would have lifted the show even higher, but it did phenomenally well as it was. The show was seen by more than 51.67 million viewers – an all-time record for the Grammys that is unlikely to ever be broken.
Why was Jackson so resistant to performing on what was clearly shaping up to be his big night?
For one thing, he probably knew he didn’t need to perform to dominate the night. So, why take the risks that are in inherent in a live TV performance? (Taylor Swift may have made the same calculation when she declined to perform on this year’s ceremony.)
Also, Jackson may have been spooked by a widely reported accident that happened when he was filming a Pepsi commercial at the Shrine on Jan. 27. During a simulated concert, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson’s hair on fire, causing second-degree burns to his scalp.
In his book, Ehrlich suggested another reason: “And then we discovered that, as with other artists, he had felt mistreated in the past by the Grammy voting process, and this was his way of getting back.”
Jackson had indeed been underrecognized by Grammy voters. The Jackson 5 (and later The Jacksons) never won a Grammy. Jackson had never previously been nominated in a “Big Four” category – album, record and song of the year plus best new artist. Even the blockbuster Off the Wall was passed over for an album of the year nod. Jackson’s only Grammy victory to that point was a 1980 win for best R&B vocal performance, male for “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.” So, he had a right to feel he hadn’t gotten his due from the Academy.
Jackson had also opted not to perform at the American Music Awards, which were also held at the Shrine (his home away from home that year) on Jan. 16. In his absence, Barry Manilow performed The J5’s “I’ll Be There.” Jackson had performed on the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Forever special which was taped on March 25, 1983. That was the show where Jackson moonwalked publicly for the first time during “Billie Jean” – a performance that brought him a Primetime Emmy nomination.
Jackson, who was 25 at the time – and as it turned out, halfway through his life – could not have been hotter than he was in 1984. His every move made news. The way it is with Swift now, it was with MJ back then, and he didn’t have a high-profile romance fueling the publicity flames.
Though Jackson didn’t perform on Grammy night, there were many cutaways to him, as he sat in the front row, accompanied by his date for the night, actress Brooke Shields; Emmanuel Lewis, the 12-year-old star of the hit sitcom Webster; and the legendary Jones, who produced Thriller (with Jackson credited as co-producer of three tracks). Lewis’ presence was an unspoken reminder that Jackson had also been a child star, landing his first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 at age 11, fronting The Jackson 5.
Jackson dressed regally, as if seeking to live up to his preferred appellation, the King of Pop. (Writing in Rolling Stone decades later, Andy Greene took a less respectful tone, saying he looked like “the captain of the disco navy.”)
Near the top of the show, Denver explained that the big buzzwords of the past year had been “videos, Boy George and Michael…” Denver didn’t even need to finish the sentence. Fans in the audience screamed out the star’s last name.
Jackson won a record eight Grammys in 1984, seven for his work on Thriller and one for narrating a children’s recording, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. That’s one more than Paul Simon had won in 1971, the year of the first live Grammy telecast.
[embedded content]
Jackson won five of the eight awards on the telecast – including two in categories that are rarely presented on-air – producer of the year, non-classical and best recording for children. He and Jones were co-winners in those two categories, and in two other categories that Jackson won on the air that night – album and record of the year. So, the two men, who were 25 years apart in age and looked very much like father and son, made a lot of trips up the stage together.
Without a Jackson performance to trumpet, the producers had to get creative. They booked performances by all five of the nominees for best pop female vocal performance. That smart decision gave the show a thematic element that Jackson was not part of, which helped to broaden the show’s focus. It helped that the nominees in that category that year were exceptionally strong and varied.
Donna Summer had the first performance of the night with her terrific hit “She Works Hard for the Money,” which she performed wearing a pink waitress outfit. (She wore a similar outfit on the album cover and single sleeve.) It was a big production number and got the show off to a rousing start.
[embedded content]
Performances by the other four nominees in the category were sprinkled throughout the show. Bonnie Tyler sang her thundering power ballad “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” Linda Ronstadt, backed by Nelson Riddle and his orchestra, crooned “I’ve Got a Crush on You,” the 1928 Gershwin tune that was a highlight of What’s New, her 1983 hit collection of standards. Sheena Easton sang her trendy “Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair).” Irene Cara performed “Flashdance…What a Feeling,” which was so good you could forgive it for borrowing so heavily from the Summer hit playbook.
Four of these songs had been top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. The exception was Ronstadt’s ballad, which was featured on an album that stunned the industry by spending five weeks at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 over the peak holiday sales period. The award went to Cara, who went on to win an Oscar for best original song on April 9 for co-writing the song.
[embedded content]
In an unfortunate development, the first three winners on the telecast were no-shows, because they were on tour, we were told – Sting for song of the year for “Every Breath You Take” (the only Big Three award Jackson didn’t win); The Police for best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal for Synchronicity; and Duran Duran for best video album for Duran Duran. (The fact that the latter category was presented on-air was a sign of the times. Two and a half years after MTV’s debut, video was driving the music business.)
Fortunately, Jackson and Jones were in the house to accept the fourth award of the night, producer of the year, non-classical, which was presented by Toto, the previous year’s winners in the category.
Jackson shared the spotlight on his five trips to the podium, calling up his sisters – Janet, then 17; La Toya, 27; and Rebbie, 33, as well as CBS Records president Walter Yetnikoff (“the best president of any record company,” Jackson said of the man who strong-armed MTV into adding the “Billie Jean” video). In a poignant moment, Jackson remembered R&B pioneer Jackie Wilson, who had died five weeks earlier at age 49. “Jackie Wilson was a wonderful entertainer. He’s not with us anymore, but Jackie, where you are, I’d like to say I love you and thank you very much.”
The 1984 Grammy telecast was just the second to run three hours. CBS had bumped the Grammys from two to three hours the year before so they could have extra time to mark their 25th anniversary. The show has run three hours (or more) ever since.
The 1984 show marked the first time in 12 years that the Academy presented lifetime achievement awards. They had probably stopped because of severe time constraints on the telecast, but now that they had more airtime to fill, they were able to resume this tradition. The 1984 honorees were rock pioneer Chuck Berry, then 57, and, posthumously, jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker and Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini.
Berry, who had blazed a trail for Jackson and other Black superstars of the modern era, performed his 1955 classic “Maybelline,” after which George Thorogood and Stevie Ray Vaughan performed “Roll Over Beethoven,” before all three teamed for “Let It Rock.” In his performance, Berry did his famous duckwalk. How great would it have been to have the duckwalk and the moonwalk on the same show?
Herbie Hancock performed his instrumental hit “Rockit.” The performance replicated the acclaimed video, which was directed by Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. As Ehrlich recounted in his book: “We located the original robots [that were featured in the video], worked on a system of making them work live (it had taken four days to tape the video) and it was far and away the performance of the show. The crowd loved it.” “Rockit” went on to receive a video of the year nod at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards later that year.
[embedded content]
Wynton Marsalis, 22, performed both jazz and classical numbers, underscoring his versality. He was the first person to perform songs nominated in two different genres on the telecast. Marsalis wound up winning for both best jazz instrumental performance, soloist and best classical performance – instrumental soloist or soloists (with orchestra).
The show cut away twice to London where Boy George of Culture Club and Joan Rivers provided comic relief. In their first segment, they read the rules (an awards-show custom that seems to have fallen by the wayside). Rivers offered a humorous explanation for reading the rules: “Every one of the nominees out there should know why they lost out to Michael Jackson.”
Rivers’ jokes were topical, at least, including a reference to a MJ/Paul McCartney song that had topped the Hot 100 for six weeks in December 1983 and January 1984. “I am thrilled to be on a music show because I know very little about music. I thought the song ‘Say Say Say’ was Mel Tillis trying to do the National Anthem.”
In their second spot, Culture Club was awarded best new artist (over Eurythmics, among others). The presenters were Cyndi Lauper, the previous year’s winner, and Rodney Dangerfield. Boy George’s acceptance speech was an instant classic: “Thank you, America, you’ve got taste, style and you know a good drag queen when you see one.”
Cross-dressing was a recurring theme on the show. Annie Lennox was dressed as Elvis, complete with sideburns, for Eurythmics’ performance of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” which had been a No. 1 hit on the Hot 100.
[embedded content]
Walter Charles, from the company of the Broadway smash La Cage Aux Folles, performed that show’s standout song, “I Am What I Am,” in full cross dress, joined by cast member Jamie Ross. The show’s stars Gene Barry and George Hearn did not make the trip to Los Angeles, a decision they may have regretted when they saw the ratings. La Cage went on to win the Tony for best musical on June 3.
Denver teamed with Floyd the Muppet (Jerry Nelson) of The Muppets to perform “Gone Fishin’” from their album Rocky Mountain Holiday, which was nominated for best recording for children (and lost to you-know-who).
Other performers on the telecast were Big Country (doing their pop/rock hit “In a Big Country”), The Oak Ridge Boys’ (the Hot Country Songs-topping “Love Song”), Phil Driscoll (the classic Christian hymn “Amazing Grace”) and Albertina Walker with the Pentecostal Community Choir (“Spread the Word”).
As is often the case with Grammy telecasts, the show honored the past, while looking to the future. Jones announced that year’s five inductions into the Grammy Hall of Fame, including such immortal hits as Glenn Miller & His Orchestra’s “In the Mood” and Hank Williams’ “Your Cheatin’ Heart.”
The Academy’s then-president Mike Melvoin held up a vinyl LP and then a shiny silver object and announced “This is the new compact disc.” Despite Melvoin’s enthusiastic pitch, CDs didn’t surpass LP sales until 1987 and didn’t surpass cassette tapes to become the top medium for music until 1991. Melvoin also announced a trustees award for the late composer and conductor Béla Bartók.
The show was not glitch-free. As Ehrlich relates in his book, Summer’s limo had stalled blocks away from the Shrine. Summer, who was set to perform the opening number, got out of the limo and hot-footed it to the venue. “She ran into the house, winded, about two minutes before the hard wall rose on the number,” Ehrlich remembered. “But it was a big score.”
Mickey Rooney (another former child star), who co-presented the award for best cast show album, hammed it up to the point that director Walter C. Miller asked Ehrlich “to go out onstage and pull him off, anything we could do to end this embarrassing moment.” In his book Ehrlich wrote, “To this day I can’t tell you whether Mickey was a little hammered or he’s just that way.”
Classical clarinetist Richard Stolzman, who was set to present the classical awards, had been ill-served by the accountants working the show: “He opened the envelope to find it empty, and vamped … until one of the accountants rushed out onstage to give him the right envelope,” Ehrlich remembered.
The glitches and Jackson’s decision not to perform were forgotten when the ratings came in.
Will the Grammys ever reach such a vast audience again? It’s highly unlikely. The only Grammy telecast that got anywhere close to the 51.67 million who tuned in in 1984 was the 2012 telecast, which attracted 39.9 million viewers. There were two main draws that year – a red-hot Adele, who won six awards, and Whitney Houston, who had died the previous afternoon. Viewers wanted to see how the Grammys would handle something they couldn’t possibly have foreseen.
Rewatching the 1984 telecast 40 years later, I was struck by how much the Grammys have changed. Back then, the show still attempted to cover all genres on the telecast, including jazz, classical and gospel. It still attempted to give on-air recognition to the winners of pre-telecast awards, something that became more difficult as the number of categories ballooned. There were 67 categories in 1984. There were 94 this year. And the show was not as fast-paced. Clip packages, showing the nominees in each category, went on much on much longer than they do now.
I was also struck by how many of the night’s biggest stars are no longer with us – Jackson, Denver, Summer and Cara, as well as Chuck Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albertina Walker and Walter Charles. I guess 40 years is a long time, though in some ways it seems like yesterday.
So, was Jackson right to decline to perform on the biggest night of his career? That’s impossible to answer, but here’s what Ehrlich wrote in his book, which was published two years before Jackson’s death: “To this day I wonder whether the show that he saw up on the stage that night made him feel as through he had missed the boat by not performing. On the other hand, he was to perform a few years later and give one of his greatest-ever television performances, so perhaps he was right in spurning the 1984 show since the Academy had done the same to him in previous years.”
Indeed, Jackson performed two songs – “The Way You Make Me Feel” and “Man in the Mirror” – on the 1988 Grammy telecast, which was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York. His performance that night will always stand as Exhibit A to anyone who wants proof of his artistry and command when he was at the peak of his powers.
[embedded content]
As the five members of NewJeans file gracefully down the stairs at their Billboard photo shoot in Seoul, they greet me with bright smiles and genuine greetings of “Nice to meet you.” Just a few days prior, the exploding K-pop girl group won artist of the year and song of the year at both the Melon Music Awards and MAMA Awards, two of South Korea’s most prestigious music prizes — and just two of the roughly 10 awards shows they attended and performed at in the country this past December and early January. Yet despite the hectic schedule of winter awards season there, they exude warmth and enthusiasm.
That infectious energy has endeared the women of NewJeans — Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein, who range in age from 16 to 19 — to fans both in South Korea and worldwide. Since debuting in July 2022, NewJeans has swiftly ascended to the top of the K-pop pantheon. Six of its eight released singles have reached No. 1 or No. 2 on South Korea’s dominant streaming measure, the Circle Digital Chart. The act has made inroads on several Billboard charts as well, including three top 10 hits on the Global 200 and four on the Global Excl. U.S. chart, five entries on the Billboard Hot 100 and six top 10s on World Digital Song Sales (the highest-reaching was “Super Shy,” peaking at No. 2 last July). The group’s songs have gained 931.6 million official U.S. on-demand streams, according to Luminate.
Trending on Billboard
Along the way, NewJeans has smashed expectations in K-pop, helping lead a new era of female influence in a genre long dominated by male groups. While it was once accepted industry wisdom that only boy bands could build a core fandom and widespread commercial success (selling both albums and concert tickets), NewJeans is part of a girl-group generation that has done both, shifting the paradigm of what achievement entails for young female groups. And NewJeans has done so under the guidance of an equally innovative leader: It’s the first act to debut under ADOR (All Doors One Room), led by founder and CEO Min Hee Jin, the rare woman leading a K-pop label and management company.
About a decade ago — when this writer started working in K-pop as a producer — it sounded very differently. Record labels emphasized melody, dynamic vocal range and cohesive track arrangements, while dance performance was simply considered support for a song. Over time, the music trended toward bombastic anthems well-suited to choreography, and so-called “easy listening” songs (those preferred by the South Korean general public, who of late have not been K-pop’s core audience) tended to get lost. But NewJeans has proved that strong performances and easy listening need not be mutually exclusive. And as Billboard’s Women in Music Group of the Year says in person in Seoul, the act is just getting started.
Danielle
Ssam Kim
Haerin
Ssam Kim
How did it feel to win artist of the year and song of the year at the Melon Music Awards and MAMA Awards?
Hanni: It was really surreal to win such big awards. Honestly, for us, when it comes to these types of awards shows, we are just excited to be there. Just to be invited is an honor. We never expected [to win]. We really are just thankful for everyone who has put in a lot of hard work toward our content and music and all the people that really enjoyed it, so I think it just makes it more fun.
Danielle: I agree with Hanni. There are so many people that put in so much effort and hard work into what we do, and we are just so honored that so many people are enjoying it just as much as we are enjoying it. Sharing that happiness and positive energy through our music is such an honor in itself.
You have a small discography but so many big songs like “Ditto,” which won song of the year at the Melon and MAMA awards. Which did you expect to become as big as they did?
Danielle: When our CEO has a new song and she’s prepared to make a new album, she gets us all in her studio and we listen to all the songs together. I remember the first time we heard the songs for our album Get Up, we were just blown away. Because we truly were just like, “This is so us! This is so NewJeans.” When I first heard “Ditto,” I felt a connection to it — I guess I felt if people hear this, I want them to feel they’re healed in some way. So to know that people out there are receiving somewhat of a positive energy, it’s really amazing. Every time we release new music, we wonder if people are going to enjoy it just as much as we do. To see people out there jamming to our songs, it puts a really big smile on our faces.
Hanni
Ssam Kim
From left: NewJeans’ Minji, Danielle, Haerin, Hanni and Hyein photographed on December 4, 2023 at Seongbuk Songjae in Seoul.
Ssam Kim
Traditionally, men have run the K-pop industry, and ADOR was notably founded by a woman. What was it like training under a CEO who has that shared perspective?
Danielle: I can’t imagine what it would be like if it wasn’t for our CEO, Min Hee Jin. We are so close to her, and we feel such a strong connection to her. After a conversation with her, we’d just be inspired and learn so much. When we go overseas and stuff, she’d take us out shopping and we’d have dinner together, and we’d spend hours and hours laughing and talking about what happened and how we’ve been and telling stories.
Hyein: She is very consistent. She’s always wondering about us and worrying about us. She’s very friendly and reaches out [to us] first, which helps us feel really comfortable around her. She gives us advice like a mother would. She’s not just a great CEO but a great human being in general.
Historically, core fandoms have been harder for women to achieve in K-pop. But in the last few years that has completely changed, and NewJeans is at the forefront of that. Why do you think you’ve been able to capture that?
Minji: It may have to do with the fact that the K-pop market became a lot bigger. That’s one of the reasons why we started with so much attention and love from the general public. We never really set a specific [goal], but rather aimed to put on a performance that we love with songs that we love. I think this probably helped our fans love us from early on.
Haerin: I agree with Minji. I think it’s also because there are so many channels we can use to communicate with our fans and the public.
Hyein
Ssam Kim
Minji
Ssam Kim
I think NewJeans has changed how music sounds in K-pop, with a trend toward returning to easy listening music. Do you agree?
Danielle: Music itself is always changing. But before we debuted, our CEO told us that she wanted to do something new, something fresh and different. But with that, she wanted it to be, no matter who you are, no matter what age or gender, you can listen to it and enjoy it. So I think with that came the easy listening music. We didn’t really think, “Oh, we’re going to change music, that’s crazy.” (All laugh.) We just wanted to try something new and fun.
You’ve accomplished so much in a short time. Where do you want to go from here?
Haerin: I want our songs to move people. My goal is not only to have songs that are emotional but also to share the emotions with people onstage and through our music.
Minji: I have similar thoughts to Haerin, but I want our music to be remembered for a long time. For example, I want people to think of last winter when they hear “Ditto.”
Danielle: Besides music and performing, I just want to become someone who stays true to myself and is always open-hearted and open-minded and modest and tries really hard because there are so many things I want to do and so many places I want to go. I want to experience a lot and learn a lot and just enjoy the time being with the [NewJeans] members.
This story will appear in the March 2, 2024, issue of Billboard.
RAYE — who set a new record last month for the most Brit Awards nominations by an artist in any one year — is this year’s recipient of the Brit Award for songwriter of the year. The Brits will be held Saturday at 8.30 p.m. local time at The O2 arena in London. The show will broadcast on ITV1 and ITVX in the U.K. and will stream globally on YouTube.
The winner of the songwriter of the year award, which was introduced in 2022, is determined by a panel of expert judges. The two previous winners are Ed Sheeran and Kid Harpoon, which makes RAYE the first woman to receive the honor. The Brits added this category one year before the Grammys added songwriter of the year, non-classical. To date, no woman has won in that Grammy category.
Trending on Billboard
RAYE’s “Escapism” (featuring 070 Shake) reached No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 2023 and logged 23 weeks on the chart.
RAYE is set to also perform on this year’s Brits, along with Becky Hill together with Chase & Status, Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding, Dua Lipa, Jungle, Kylie Minogue, Rema and Tate McRae. Lipa opened this year’s Grammys on Feb. 4 with a performance of “Training Season” and “Houdini.” The Brits will be hosted by Clara Amfo, Maya Jama and Roman Kemp.
RAYE is the fourth Brits winner to be announced ahead of the show.
Chase & Status are this year’s producer of the year winners. The electronic music duo, consisting of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status), is also nominated for group of the year. They have produced not only their own releases, but the works of such other acts as Becky Hill, Paloma Faith, Rihanna, Rita Ora and Tinie Tempah. Chase & Status are the fourth multi-person production team to win producer of the year, following Stock Aitken Waterman (1988); Chris Potter, The Verve & Youth (1998); and Alan Moulder & Flood (2014).
Minogue will be presented with the Brits’ Global Icon award. Taylor Swift won that award three years ago.
The Last Dinner Party are the winners of the Brits Rising Star award.
The Brit Awards 2024 with Mastercard – the show’s official name – will take place Saturday, March 2, broadcast live from 8:30 p.m. local time on ITV1, STV, ITVX and STV Player.
Yinka Bokinni and Jack Saunders will present The Brits’ Red Carpet for ITV2 and The Brits’ Aftershow for ITVX.
Perry Farrell is of two minds regarding the second Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination for Jane’s Addiction.
“I would like the world to view Jane’s in the same light as the greats, but that’s as far as it goes,” he tells Billboard in the midst of the Horns, Thorns en Halos Farewell Tour by Porno For Pyros, his other band with Jane’s drummer Stephen Perkins. “I don’t really get off on trophies. I’ve always kind of felt like I’m on my own island. It’s nice of them to consider me, (but) I’m not so sure I belong there.”
A vanguard of the alternative rock scene, Jane’s Addiction was previously nominated for the Rock Hall in 2017. The on-and-off group’s fourth and most recent studio album, The Great Escape Artist, was released during 2011, and it’s released two live albums since, in 2013 and 2017. A non-album single, “Another Soulmate,” came out in 2013. The group toured during 2022 and 2023 with original bassist Eric Avery back in the lineup but not guitarist Dave Navarro, who was struggling with effects from long COVID. The group has reportedly been in the studio working on new material as well.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Asked if he wants people to vote for him, Farrell, a co-creator of Lollapalooza, responded, “That’s up to you. If you’re gonna do it, check off Cher’s box, too.” He also voiced support for an eventual induction for the MC5, which has been nominated six times. Jane’s currently ranks 12th in the fan voting for the Rock Hall. Public votes can be cast via vote.rockhall.com.
Trending on Billboard
Rock Hall concerns are currently taking a back seat while Farrell and Perkins criss-cross the country with Porno For Pyros — including original guitarist Peter DiStefano but with Mike Watt subbing for Martyn LeNoble.
“We are just playing elegant, gnarly, unpredictable punk-jazz,” Farrell says of the shows, which are mixing songs from the band’s two studio albums with the recently released “Agua” and “Little ME” and occasional covers. “We’re getting the job done by spreading a good message. I think we’re getting to spread a message that I think the world sorely needs right now — not tomorrow. When we go out and play Porno, I feel like we’re able to relate and inspire people through music. It’s the nicest experience that can happen to you.”
Farrell adds that despite the tour’s name this may not be the last we see of Porno For Pyros. “It really depends on what goes down,” he says. “If we all enjoy each other’s, not just company but each other’s musicianship, how we are playing on stage…. That’s the most important thing. I see Porno as a project. I have projects that I do in my life. Porno’s a very important one. I would never say never.”
Harvey Mason jr. is having a very good month. On Feb. 4, as Recording Academy CEO, Mason oversaw the 66th annual Grammy Awards, which were well-received by critics and saw an uptick in ratings.
Ten days later, wearing his other hat, as a long-time music supervisor for film and TV, Mason saw the release of the film Bob Marley: One Love, on which he is credited as executive music producer, and for which he recorded and mixed the songs. The film has been No. 1 at the box office in its first two weeks, and is already one of the top 10 highest-grossing music biopics in history.
Trending on Billboard
Bob Marley, who died in 1981, has long been one of Mason’s favorites. “I grew up listening to his music,” Mason says. “When I was in college, he was probably one of my top five most played CDs. I loved his music, so the chance to work on this project, even though it was a big one, was something I talked a lot about, thought a lot about and ultimately decided it was something I couldn’t pass up.”
The film includes a generous amount of Marley music as well as other music from the period, such as punk and disco (the Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing”). “It was a fruitful time in music, for sure,” Mason says. “The filmmakers [led by director Reinaldo Marcus Green] did an excellent job of showcasing everything that was happening around different genres and the music and the culture at that period.”
When Mason signed on as Recording Academy CEO, he insisted on being able to continue his outside music projects on his own time. He believes it makes him a better CEO. “Being involved in music and getting a chance to create and have that outlet is a huge value to me as an executive,” he says. “That’s my life – making things and creating, collaborating.
“Each feeds the other,” he continues. “I really think there’s a value in doing both.”
Mason, who became interim president and CEO on Jan. 16, 2020 and assumed the role of permanent CEO on May 13, 2021, is a master at compartmentalizing. “I do Academy business 18 hours a day and then I get a meal and get back to the studio at night and create until I fall asleep. … I’m giving a ton of focus to the Academy, but fortunately I’m able to still be creative. For me, that was really part of being able to do this role at the Academy – could I stay creative? Could I remain connected to music and working with artists, songwriters and producers? I thought it was very important for me to continue doing that.”
Mason quickly adds, “It’s also something that the search committee and the executive committee felt was a good thing. It wasn’t something that I had to negotiate. They said, ‘We love that you’re a creator; that you do this work and you’re still involved in creating music. We’ve never had a CEO like that.’”
Mason doesn’t have to clear each outside music project with the trustees, but stresses, “I think there’s a mutual understanding that I wouldn’t want to do something that takes away from my job at the Academy. But also, the Academy understands the value in having a creator in this position. So, there’s not a formalized process, but I’m very respectful of my role and my obligations that I’ve made to not just the board but also the music community.”
Before he became CEO, Mason received five Grammy nominations – three of them for his work in film and TV, on the soundtracks to Dreamgirls, Pitch Perfect 2 and Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.
But he has taken himself out of Grammy contention as long as he is CEO. “I’ve committed to not putting my name on the ballot because I wouldn’t want my job at the Academy to influence how somebody viewed a project or voted for a project.”
But other people who work on those projects can submit their own names. “I don’t want to punish people that do great work. So, others can submit, I won’t submit and I will not be getting a nomination or win while I’m in this role.”
Mason has a different view about Recording Academy trustees competing for Grammys. This year, three current trustees won Grammys. Michael Romanowski won best immersive audio album for a deluxe edition of Alicia Keys’ 2004 album The Diary of Alicia Keys. J. Ivy won best spoken word poetry album for The Light Inside. P.J. Morton won best traditional R&B performance for “Good Morning” (featuring Susan Carol). All three had won previously in those categories. Some have questioned whether their high-profile involvement in the Academy gives them an unfair advantage in the voting.
“I think as long as all the processes are sacrosanct and pristine, which they are, it’s great to have relevant music makers being celebrated,” Mason says. “Having members of board being people at the top of their craft says a lot about who our board is.”
Asked if he can see a sensitivity to having current board members competing for Grammys, he replies, “I can understand people wanting to make sure that it’s fair, which I do believe that it is. I don’t think people are just voting for people because they’re on the board, or because they’re friends. Our voters listen and go through the ballot and vote for people they think are doing great work. Some of these people are going to be on our board. I would love to have as many people on our board as possible that are relevant and contemporary and doing work at the top of their game. I’d hate to see us become an Academy where we didn’t want people who were thriving and winning and succeeding in the music industry on our board.”
Mason’s current, three-year contract with the Academy runs through July 31. Mason won’t say what’s going to happen after that. “I don’t think either side has made a commitment yet or firm decision as to what’s going to take place after July,” he says.
Jay-Z criticized the Academy’s voting processes in accepting the Global Impact Award from the Black Music Collective on this year’s telecast. Billboard’s headline, typical of the way the speech was characterized in the media, read: “Jay-Z Calls Out Grammys Over Beyoncé’s Album of the Year Snubs During Acceptance Speech.”
What did Mason think of the speech? “I’ll just say that when someone that we respect speaks out you always are going to listen,” he said. “Jay is one of the most prolific, most talented and most influential people in our industry. We respect his art and we respect his opinion … We listen and we try to take it in as constructive criticism and get better from it.”
Four-time Grammy nominee Kelsea Ballerini will return as the solo host of the 2024 CMT Music Awards, marking the fourth consecutive year Ballerini has led the fan-voted country music awards show. Ballerini will pull double duty during the show, serving as not only host but as a performer during the broadcast. Explore Explore See latest […]
K-pop reigns over the IFPI’s year-end albums chart, as the genre scoops five of the top 10 spots, led by SEVENTEEN with FML.
Announced today (Feb. 27), FML is the boy band’s first IFPI Global Album Award, tallied by the trade association using worldwide sales across streaming, download and physical music formats during the calendar year 2023.
Released in April 2023, FML was the most pre-ordered LP in K-pop history, landing at No. 1 in South Korea and Japan, and debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Following its hot start in the U.S. (the album also led the World Albums list), SEVENTEEN reentered the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated May 13, 2023) at No. 1 – becoming the seventh K-pop group to rule the ranking.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
SEVENTEEN’s followup, the October release SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN, finishes at No. 8 on the IFPI Global Album Chart 2023.
Meanwhile, Stray Kids make it a K-pop one-two as 5-STAR appears at No. 2 on the IFPI list, and ROCK–STAR rocks in at No. 9. NCT DREAM land their first appearance in an IFPI Global Charts with ISTJ at No. 6, while, further down the chart, K-pop acts ZEROBASEONE (YOUTH IN THE SHADE at No. 18) and IVE (I’ve IVE at No. 20) make their presences felt.
Trending on Billboard
Also, BTS star Jung Kook earns his first solo appearance on the IFPI Global Album Chart with GOLDEN, appearing at No. 14.
The global appeal of K-pop “continues to extend and S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Migyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon and Dino continue to push the boundaries with their concepts, performances and talent,” comments Lewis Morrison, director of global charts & certifications at IFPI. “FML and SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN were both huge hits across continents and our congratulations go to the group, their team and of course CARATs all over the world.”The rankings provide an insight into the “dynamic nature” of recorded music today, Morrison continues, “with artists – and their record labels – finding success across genres and geographies, and by leveraging both streaming and physical formats to delight their fans.”Taylor Swift was crowned last week as IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year, scooping the top honor for a record fourth time. Though she doesn’t own the global albums chart, the U.S. pop superstar does score two of the top 10 best-sellers, with Midnights (No. 4) logging a second consecutive year in the top five and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) appearing at No. 5 following its release in October 2023.Earlier this week, IFPI separately named Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” as the biggest single of 2023.
The IFPI’s charts capture streaming, downloads and physical formats in every country directly from the participating record labels. That data is then converted using the association’s “unique” methodology to a single, global chart figure.
Top 20 IFPI Global Album Chart 2023:
PositionArtistAlbum1.SEVENTEENFML2.Stray Kids5-STAR3.Morgan WallenOne Thing At A Time4.Taylor SwiftMidnights5.Taylor Swift1989 (Taylor’s Version)6.NCT DreamISTJ7.SZASOS8.SEVENTEENSEVENTEENTH HEAVEN9.Stray KidsROCK-STAR10.Travis ScottUTOPIA11.Taylor SwiftLover12.Taylor SwiftSpeak Now (Taylor’s Version)13.Taylor Swiftfolklore14.Jung KookGOLDEN15.The WeekndStarboy16.Metro BoominHEROES & VILLAINS17.Bad BunnyUn Verano Sin Ti18.ZEROBASEONEYOUTH IN THE SHADE19.Miley CyrusEndless Summer Vacation20.IVEI’ve IVE
Ryan Gosling is set to perform “I’m Just Ken” live at the 2024 Oscars on Sunday, March 10. Variety was first to report the news.
It had been uncertain if Gosling would agree to perform the song, which is a comic highlight of Barbie. He and Emma Stone declined to perform “City of Stars” from La La Land on the Oscar telecast seven years ago — and “City of Stars,” a loping, easy-tempo ballad, is a much easier song to sing live than “I’m Just Ken,” a dynamic, comic showcase.
When Gosling and Stone passed on performing “City of Stars,” Oscar producers enlisted John Legend, who also appeared in La La Land, to perform the song – and also a second nominated song from the film, “Audition (The Fools Who Dream).” “City of Stars” went on to win the Oscar for best original song.
Gosling is nominated for best supporting actor for Barbie. Robert Downey Jr. is widely expected to win in that category for his performance in Oppenheimer, but Gosling has the opportunity to bring the house down.
Trending on Billboard
In a Variety cover story in early February, Gosling said that the Academy hadn’t yet asked him to perform. “It might be too much of a risk to have me do it,” he said. “I don’t know how that would work. But I’m open to it.”
Mark Ronson, who wrote the song with Andrew Wyatt, told Variety at the Grammys that he wasn’t interested in any other singer subbing for Gosling on the Oscars. When asked if he’d consider a sub, Ronson said, “No. I think if Ryan doesn’t do it then we’re not doing it.”
“I’m Just Ken” is one of two Barbie songs that received an Oscar nomination for best original song. The other is “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish and Finneas. Barbie might very well have received a third nomination in that category for “Dance the Night,” which Ronson and Wyatt co-wrote with Dua Lipa and Caroline Ailin, but Oscar rules limit films to two nominations in that category.
In a conversation on Billboard’s Pop Shop podcast, Ronson agreed that the exclusion of “Dance the Night” made his nod for “I’m Just Ken” feel “bittersweet.”
“It is because Dua’s song is still the biggest song from the soundtrack and Dua was really the first artist of anywhere near her stature that committed to the film. It really set the bar for what the whole soundtrack could be,” he said. “So Dua definitely deserves all the credit for that, and it would have been lovely to have her as well.”
The 96th Oscars will air live on ABC and broadcast outlets worldwide on March 10 at the new, earlier time of 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Jimmy Kimmel is hosting the show for the fourth time. It will be held at its usual home, the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.
While the Academy hasn’t officially confirmed Gosling’s booking, they have announced the first presenters for the Oscar telecast, including Zendaya and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Mahershala Ali, Nicolas Cage, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser, Jessica Lange, Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyong’o, Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ke Huy Quan, Sam Rockwell, Michelle Yeoh and Zendaya will present at the 2024 Oscars, which are set for Sunday, March 10. All are previous Oscar winners except for Pfeiffer, a three-time nominee, and Zendaya, who […]
It’s official: Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” towered over all others in 2023, completing the year as the biggest-selling single on the planet, the IFPI reports.
Cyrus is presented with the IFPI Global Single Award, which each year recognizes the artist with the top-selling single across all digital formats – including paid subscription streaming, ad-supported platforms, and single-track downloads.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The trade body today (Feb. 26) counts down the top 10 singles for 2023, with Cyrus marking her first appearance on the list.
The success of “Flowers” was a truly global one, as the single simultaneously locked up No. 1 spots in 29 markets around the world, and finished at No. 1 on the year-end charts for the U.K., France and Australia.
Trending on Billboard
In the U.S., “Flowers” showed serious staying power with an eight-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Those commercial muscles were rewarded at the 2024 Grammy Awards, where Miley performed the song and “Flowers” won for best pop solo performance and record of the year – her very first Grammys.
Cyrus can make it a week to remember at the 2024 BRIT Awards, set for Sunday, March 3 at The O2 in London, where she’s shortlisted for international artist of the year and “Flowers” is up for international song.
[embedded content]
Presenting the latest award on behalf of the trade body, Lewis Morrison, director of global charts and certifications at IFPI, remarks, “Topping the charts in so many countries simultaneously, the song – along with its message of empowerment -resonated across the world and is the definition of a truly global hit. Congratulations to Miley and her team for this incredible achievement.”
Meanwhile, the reigning, four-time IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year Taylor Swift is the only artist to double up in the IFPI top 10, doing so with “Cruel Summer” at No. 7 and “Anti-Hero” at No. 9.
There are first-time appearances for artists from Nigeria (Rema’s “Calm Down” with Selena Gomez at No. 2) and Mexico (Yng Lvcas and Peso Pluma’s “La Bebe” at No. 6), reflecting the border-crossing phenomenon of Afrobeats and Regional Mexican music.
All told, artists representing 10 nationalities (Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, South Korea, U.K., and U.S.) impact the top 20, up from six nationalities in 2022.
“It is also fantastic to see so many nationalities and genres represented in the IFPI Global Single Chart,” remarks Morrison. “It is a wonderful reflection of the wide range of extraordinary artists that – working in partnership with their record labels – are finding international success.”
The IFPI’s charts capture streaming, downloads and physical formats in every country directly from the participating record labels, which is then converted using the trade body’s “unique” methodology to a single, global chart figure.
The previous winner of the IFPI’s Global Single Award was Harry Styles’ “As It Was.”
Top 20 IFPI Global Singles Chart 2023:
1Miley CyrusFlowers2.702Rema, Selena GomezCalm Down1.893SZAKill Bill1.844The Weeknd, Ariana GrandeDie For You1.785Harry StylesAs It Was1.466Yng Lvcas, Peso PlumaLa Bebe1.457Taylor SwiftCruel Summer1.398Morgan WallenLast Night1.379Taylor SwiftAnti-Hero1.3110Jung KookSeven (feat. Latto)1.2411David Guetta, Bebe RexhaI’m Good (Blue)1.2312Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, 21 SavageCreepin’1.2013The WeekndSave Your Tears1.1914Stephen SanchezUntil I Found You1.1815Karol G, ShakiraTQG1.1816Sam Smith, Kim PetrasUnholy1.1717SZASnooze1.0618Tom OdellAnother Love1.0119YOASOBIIdol1.0120The WeekndStarboy1.00