Awards
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Listen to the 64 Grammy winners for album of the year, and they’ll tell the story of the last six decades of popular music. Except, well, not really, at all. Zoom out on all 64 and squint a little and you might be able to see a general progression from jazz and vocal standards to rock to pop and hip-hop, but the timeline traced by the album of the year winners is really more of a Jeremy Bearimy: constantly curving, skipping around and looping back unpredictably.
That’s part of the fun of the Grammys canon, though: The tale it tells isn’t always the most coherent, but it’s rich with moment-in-time pretzel logic that makes sense when viewed in totality — not to mention fascinating quirks forgotten in most enduring pop narratives of the past. And every so often, the Recording Academy gets it totally right, rewarding an album so undeniably essential that all voting roads lead back to it as the one and only answer. (And then the next year it might very well revert to an entirely WTF selection.)
So before we crown a victor for 2023, let’s look back at the 64 albums that brought home the biggest honor from Music’s Biggest Night so far — hits, misses, and all the many negotiations in between — to see how they stack up against one another. You might need a seatbelt to guard against the sheer whiplash caused by careening through some of these wildly disparate albums, but viewed all together they provide a pretty good representation of the wild ride that the Grammys have taken us on since 1959.
Funnyman Randy Rainbow is set to co-host the Premiere Ceremony prior to the 2023 Grammy Awards, where the vast majority of the 91 Grammy Awards are presented.
The Premiere Ceremony will return to the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, which is adjacent to Crypto.com Arena, where the Grammy telecast will return. The Premiere Ceremony will stream live on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on live.Grammy.com.
Rainbow received his first Grammy nomination this year for A Little Brains, A Little Talent, which is competing for best comedy album. Fans of his wickedly funny song parodies know that he actually has a lot of both.
The opening number will feature a performance by Blind Boys of Alabama, La Marisoul from La Santa Cecilia and additional performers. Other artists scheduled to perform include current nominees Arooj Aftab, Madison Cunningham, Samara Joy, Anoushka Shankar and Carlos Vives. Joy is a surprise best new artist nominee this year. Aftab was nominated in that category last year.
Presenters include current nominees DOMi & JD BECK (another surprise best new artist nominee this year), Babyface (who received a trustees award from the Recording Academy in 2021), Myles Frost, Arturo O’Farrill and Malcolm-Jamal Warner, as well as five-time Grammy winner Jimmy Jam, a former chair of the board of trustees of the Recording Academy.
Additional talent and Rainbow’s co-host will be announced in coming days.
Tammy Hurt, chair of the Recording Academy’s board of trustees, will provide opening remarks.
This year’s Premiere Ceremony is produced by Chantel Sausedo, a veteran of Grammy Awards telecasts, along with three top Recording Academy executives — Branden Chapman, chief operating officer; Ruby Marchand, chief awards & industry officer; and Rex Supa, vice president, production and event operations. Greg Fera is executive producer and Cheche Alara is music producer and musical director.
Hosts of recent Premiere Ceremonies have included Margaret Cho, Shaggy, Jhene Aiko and LeVar Burton.
City National Bank has signed on as the first-ever presenting sponsor of the Premiere Ceremony.
The 65th Annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live on CBS and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8-11:30 p.m. ET / 5-8:30 p.m. PT.
On Grammy Sunday, fans can access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, including performances, acceptance speeches, interviews from the Grammy Live red-carpet special, and more via the Recording Academy’s digital experience on live.GRAMMY.com.
It’s official: Tyler Johnson was the top producer on the planet in 2022, according to new data published by Jaxsta, the official music credits database.
Johnson, the studio whiz whose fingerprints are all over hits by Sam Smith, Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus, Cam and others, is ranked No. 1 on Jaxsta’s list of 100 most successful producers.
The U.S. producer “had a stellar 2022,” the credits specialist notes, during which he was nominated for three Grammy Awards including album of the year for his production work on Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, plus song of the year and record of the year for “As It Was,” the monster hit from the same album.
Harry’s House and “As It Was” achieved the chart double on both sides of the Atlantic.
During Styles’ hot streak, the former One Direction singer hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 Songwriters chart (dated June 4, 2022), while Kid Harpoon and Johnson tied atop Hot 100 Producers, thanks to their work on the Englishman’s third studio album.
Meanwhile Tainy (Rosalía, Sean Paul, Dua Lipa) and Kid Harpoon (Miley Cyrus, Harry Styles, Maggie Rogers) complete the podium, respectively.
Following the outstanding success of Taylor Swift’s tenth and latest studio album, Midnights, an album whose tracks swamped the entire top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, a record, the U.S. pop superstar comes in at No. 4 on the Jaxsta Honors List: Producers.
The top five is completed by Max Martin, the legendary Swedish record producer who kept the hits coming with his work alongside Pink, Lizzo and others.
“Congratulations to Tyler. His incredible achievements, and the achievements of all producers in the Top 100 and beyond resulted in 2022 being an amazing year for recorded music,” comments Jaxsta CEO Beth Appleton. “Jaxsta is proud to shine the light on all who create music, ensuring our official credits reflect accuracy and transparency. We will continue to use our unique database to highlight insights such as the Honors List.”
The tally is based on statistics provided by Jaxsta’s 340-plus official data partners (record labels, publishers, distributors, industry associations and charts providers) to pinpoint the world’s 100 most successful producers from January 2022 to December 2022.
Its rankings are based on a weighted algorithm that takes into account each producer’s chart performance, Spotify streams, Grammy wins and nominations, RIAA certifications, and other producer credits over the timeframe.
Jaxsta launched in open beta in 2019 and today boasts a growing database containing over 17 million producer credits.
Click here for the Jaxsta Honors List: Top 100 Producers of 2022.
When the nominations for the 2023 Oscars were announced on Tuesday (Jan. 24), just one Black woman was among the 10 women nominated in acting categories – Angela Bassett for best supporting actress for her role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Viola Davis in The Woman King and Danielle Deadwyler in Till were thought to have a strong chance of being nominated for best actress, but both were passed over – a fact that has stirred some controversy, such as this pointed commentary in The Los Angeles Times on Thursday (Jan. 26).
Black women fared much better in the marquee categories in the 2023 Grammy nominations, which were announced on Nov. 15. Three Black women were among the 10 lead artists nominated for album of the year, widely viewed as the most prestigious Grammy Award – Beyoncé for Renaissance, Lizzo for Special and Mary J. Blige for the deluxe edition of Good Morning Gorgeous.
Beyoncé is regarded as the front-winner to win in that category, after having lost in her three previous bids. I Am…Sasha Fierce lost to Taylor Swift’s Fearless; Beyoncé to Beck’s Morning Phase; and Lemonade to Adele’s 25.
Oscar and Grammy voters have not always been generous to Black women. Only one Black woman has won the Oscar for best actress – Halle Berry for Monster’s Ball (2001). Amazingly, you have to go back even further than that to find the last Black woman to win the Grammy for album of the year as a lead artist. It hasn’t happened since Lauryn Hill took the 1998 prize for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Black women have fared far better at the Oscars in supporting roles than in lead roles, with nine Black actresses winning best supporting actress – Hattie McDaniel in Gone With the Wind (1939), Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost (1990), Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls (2006), Mo’nique in Precious (2009), Octavia Spencer in The Help (2011), Lupita Nyong’o in 12 Years a Slave (2013), Davis in Fences (2016), Regina King in If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) and Ariana DeBose in West Side Story (2021).
It’s worth noting that Davis played the female lead in Fences. She had won the Tony for best lead actress in a play for the same role in 2010, but agreed to be slotted in the supporting category at the Oscars to boost her chances of winning. (The lead actress winner that year was Emma Stone – Davis’ former costar in The Help – for the blockbuster La La Land.)
If Beyoncé wins album of the year, she’ll become the fourth Black woman to take that award as a lead artist. Natalie Cole was the first for Unforgettable With Love, a tribute to her late father Nat King Cole (1991), followed by Whitney Houston two years later for The Bodyguard soundtrack and then Hill five years after that.
The perception of disrespect for Black women in this year’s best actress nominations will probably work to Bassett’s advantage in the voting. She is seen as the front-runner to win best supporting actress, 29 years after she was nominated for best actress for playing Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do With It. She would become the 10th Black woman to win best supporting actress; the eighth in the past two decades.
The way that Black women can fairly easily win Oscars in the supporting category, but have a hard time winning in the lead category, is analogous to a situation at the Grammys, where Black women (and men, for that matter) do very well in terms of numbers of overall awards, but less well in the vaunted Big Four categories.
Beyoncé is one of only three artists in Grammy history to amass 28 or more Grammys, but just one of those awards has come in a Big Four category – her 2009 song of the year win for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).”
At this year’s Grammys, she is likely to tie or surpass Sir Georg Solti for the most wins by anyone in Grammy history. (The late classical conductor won 31 awards.) While that statistic is likely to grab the headlines, her expected win for album of the year – the biggest of the Big Four categories – may be even more significant.
Archie Roach, the legendary Indigenous Australian artist whose song “Took the Children Away” was recognized with a Human Rights Medal, has been posthumously awarded in the Australia Day honors.
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Roach is appointed as a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for his service to the performing arts and to Indigenous rights and reconciliation, officials announced on Jan. 26 — Australia’s national day.
The Gunditjmara (Kirrae Whurrong/Djab Wurrung), Bundjalung senior elder, songman, prolific storyteller and First Nations champion contributed some of this country’s finest works, across a 30-year-plus career, spanning eight albums.
Few songs can touch quite like Roach’s 1991 song “Took The Children Away,” a heartbreaking tale of the enforced separation of First Nations children from their families.
The song received an international Human Rights Achievement Award, the first time that the honor had been bestowed on a songwriter.
Roach, or Uncle Arch as he was lovingly known, was celebrated on numerous occasions during his lifetime. He was made a Member of The Order of Australia (AM) (in 2015), and received the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music (in 2017).
The songsmith was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2020, marking the 30th anniversary of the release of Charcoal Lane, his debut full length album which carried “Took The Children Away.” The song is now preserved in the National Film And Sound Archive Of Australia.
Throughout his life, he dedicated himself to supporting others. In 2014, he founded The Archie Roach Foundation which established to “nurture meaningful and potentially life changing opportunities” for young First Nation artists.
When he died July 30, 2022 after a long illness, at the age of 66, prime minister Anthony Albanese led tributes.
Though Roach has left us, his music continues to resonate. At the 2022 ARIA Awards, Roach posthumously won best independent release for “One Song,” the final song he wrote.
“One Song” is one of 20 contenders for the coveted song of the year at the 2023 APRA Music Awards, set for April 27 at Sydney’s ICC.
See the complete Australia Day Honours List here.
Lady Gaga took to her Instagram on Wednesday (Jan. 25) to thank the Motion Picture Academy for her fourth Oscar nomination, for co-writing “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick with BloodPop. The power ballad is nominated for best original song.
“Thank you so much to the Academy for nominating my song ‘Hold My Hand’ for an Oscar this year!” Gaga wrote. “Writing this song for the film Top Gun: Maverick was a deep and powerful experience that I will never forget. So grateful for the magic of music and cinema. Love you my co-writer @bloodpop I’m on set filming now big love to little monsters!”
This is Gaga’s third nomination in the category. She and Diane Warren teamed to write “Til It Happens to You” from the 2015 doc The Hunting Ground. She teamed with Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt to write “Shallow” from the 2018 remake of A Star Is Born, which won the award. Gaga was also nominated that year for best actress for starring in the film alongside Bradley Cooper.
Gaga’s Instagram came one day after her friend and collaborator Tony Bennett issued a tweet congratulating her. “Congratulations to the amazingly talented @ladygaga on her 4th Oscar nomination! Today, Lady Gaga makes history as the first artist to receive three nominations in the Best Original Song category at the #Oscars. So proud of you!”
It’s unclear what Bennett meant by the comment about Gaga’s record-setting achievement. Other artists, such as Randy Newman and Lionel Richie, have received three or more nominations in that category.
“Hold My Hand” is one of six nominations that Top Gun: Maverick received, including best picture. The film fared better with Oscar voters than the initial Top Gun in 1986, which received four Oscar nods. It’s unusual for a sequel to outpace the original in the esteem of Oscar voters.
One year after Sebastián Yatra‘s moving performance at the Oscars, another artist with Colombian blood is hoping to perform at the Academy Awards ceremony: Sofia Carson.
The Florida-born actress and singer, whose parents hail from Barranquilla, is the voice of Diane Warren’s “Applause” from the movie Tell It Like a Woman, which received a nomination for best original song on Tuesday (Jan. 24.)
“We’re going to the Oscars @dianewarren,” Carson wrote in an Instagram post, sharing a sweet video of their reaction to the news.
Beautifully performed by the “Night Falls” singer, “Applause” is a ballad of empowerment and self-love that invites women to pause for a moment and celebrate their achievements.
“Recognize who you are/ Sometimes, I know it’s so hard/ But you shine/ You’re a supernova superstar,” the song says. “Give yourself some applause, you deserve it/ Give yourself some respect ’cause you’ve earned it/ Give yourself some love ’cause you’re worth it, you’re worth it.”
Last year at the Oscars, Yatra sang the sublime “Dos Oruguitas” from the Disney animated film Encanto in a colorful number that included a couple of dancers in Colombian costumes and elements such as yellow butterflies, alluding to the film and the South American country. Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, it was the first song in Spanish nominated to the award since Uruguayan Jorge Drexler won the trophy in 2005 for “Al Otro Lado del Río” from The Motorcycle Diaries. (That year, the Academy invited the better-known Antonio Banderas to sing Drexler’s song in a bittersweet moment for the composer and his Latin American fans.)
Warren, who now collects her 14th nomination in the category, also competed last year with “Somehow You Do,” from the movie Four Good Days. But the Academy Award went to Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell for “No Time to Die,” from the James Bond film of the same name.
This time around, the veteran songwriter — who has yet to win the prize — competes again with some music superstars. The contenders are: “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick, co-written by Lady Gaga; “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” with Rihanna among its composers; “Naatu Naatu” from RRR; and “This Is A Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once. (For a complete list of nominees, click here)
The Oscar for best original song goes to the songwriters, not to the performers. However, it is likely that Carson will take the stage of Hollywood’s Dolby Theater to sing “Applause” live, since it has become tradition that the nominated songs be presented at the ceremony — although the official program has yet to be announced and plans have changed from time to time.
The 95th annual Academy Awards will air live on ABC on March 12 at 8:00 pm ET.
In recognition of Víctor Manuelle’s impact and influence in Latin music, the 35th annual Premio Lo Nuestro will honor the salsa musician with the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award on Feb. 23.
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“The fact that I have been able to make a living from what I am so passionate about is very meaningful to me,” the Puerto Rican superstar tells Billboard Español. “It’s very exciting to know that the award ceremony, which is a very important platform, decided to give me this recognition. It fills me with pride, and it is a sign of the effort of what I have wanted to represent in the salsa genre throughout my entire career.”
“I still can’t believe that we are already celebrating 30 years of my career! When I grew up in my hometown of Isabela I just wanted to sing,” he muses. To his loyal fan base, he is endearingly known as El Sonero de la Juventud (or the Singer of Youths).
Widely recognized as a true sonero since his 1993 debut Justo A Tiempo, the Latin music icon helped globalize salsa romántica while boldly continuing to update the tropical formula for more modern times, as exemplified on his latest album. On his 19th conceptual release, 2022’s Lado A Lado B, Manuelle embraces his two trademark shades: his traditional salsa mastery and his tropical-charged fusions, where he embraces contemporary currents.
“For me it was important to capture in this album what have been my two facets throughout my career. Taking the risk of creating new sounds without abandoning the salsa genre, is one of the main reasons why I have been able to stay current and has allowed me to reach new generations,” he explains of the set, which includes features with urbano luminaries Miky Woodz and Farina, but also salsa traditionalists such as Marvin Santiago and La India.
Four-time winner of Premio Lo Nuestro awards, this year the celebrated musician is nominated in three tropical music categories: artist of the year, album of the year (Lado A Lado B) and collaboration of the year for “Vamo’ A Ver Si El Gas Pela,” featuring Miky Woodz and Marvin Santiago.
Manuelle began to make music in the mid ‘80s, but it wasn’t until the turn of the decade when his star rose to global prominence. In the ’90s, he helped usher in the salsa romántica boom — which first exploded in New York City — along with his genre peers Marc Anthony and La India. During this era, the Puerto Rican singer released timeless hits such as “Inconfundible,” “Pero Dile,” and “Que Habría Sido De Mi.” These and dozens more that followed solidified the salsa star as a Billboard chart-topping mainstay, to date.
From the 19 albums he has released so far, the salsa hitmaker managed to top the Tropical Albums chart 12 times — his seminal album Travesía (2004) cozied up in the top slot for nine consecutive weeks, and Decición Unámine (2006) remained there for seven. He also peaked the Tropical Airplay chart 29 times at No. 1.
Aside from tropical music-charting success, he entered the all-genre Billboard 200 10 times, and landed at the top of Latin Airplay three times, and twice in Hot Latin Songs for “Tengo Ganas” and “Si Tú Me Besas.” His 2022 release also appeared in both Tropical Albums and Tropical Airplay.
“Without a doubt, the greatest lessons this profession has taught me is that perseverance, effort and discipline always work,” he says of the secret to his lasting star power. “That combined with each individual’s talent makes way for success to come sooner or later. Anyone can apply this to his or her life, not just people from the industry.”
As per tradition for the Lifetime Achievement honorees, fans can anticipate seeing some of today’s biggest stars serenade Manuelle with his own hits at Premio Lo Nuestro. “The fact that artists from other genres and generations want to form part of [my] musical career is one of the greatest blessings that this profession can offer me,” he says.
The complete list of Premio Lo Nuestro nominations was announced Monday (Jan. 23), consisting of 192 artist nominees of diverse musical backgrounds across 39 categories. The ceremony will air live on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. ET via Univision; it will simulcast on Galavisión in the U.S. and Canal 5 in Mexico.
For 35 years, Premio Lo Nuestro has highlighted some of the best in Latin music. Previous Lifetime Achievement honorees include Gloria Trevi, Daddy Yankee, Intocable, Ricky Martin and Maná. The first prize was bestowed to Celia Cruz in 1990.
Víctor Manuelle plans to continue spreading the salsa gospel, and is plotting to tour the U.S. and Latin America this year.
On Sunday, Feb. 5, six days before they are set to perform at the Brit Awards, Kim Petras and Sam Smith, as well as Lizzo will perform at the 2023 Grammy Awards. Other Grammy performers announced on Wednesday (Jan. 25) are Bad Bunny, Mary J. Blige, Brandi Carlile, Luke Combs and Steve Lacy. Additional performers will be announced in the coming days.
All of these are artists are nominated in Big Four categories at the Grammys except for Combs, and Smith and Petras. “Unholy” by Smith and Petras would almost certainly have been nominated for record and song of the year, but it was released just eight days before eligibility closed on Sept. 30, 2022 – a bit too late to fully register with Grammy voters. As it is, it is nominated for best pop duo/group performance.
Combs received three nominations: best country duo/group performance (“Outrunnin’ Your Memory”), best country song (“Doin’ This”) and best country album (Growin’ Up).
The 65th Annual Grammy Awards will air live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and will be hosted for the third year in a row by Emmy-winning comedian Trevor Noah. The show will broadcast live on Sunday, Feb. 5, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS, and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
The 65th Annual Grammy Awards are produced by Fulwell 73 Productions for the Recording Academy. Raj Kapoor serves as showrunner and executive producer, alongside Ben Winston and Jesse Collins as executive producers. Phil Heyes joins for the first time as director, Eric Cook as co-executive producer with Tabitha Dumo, Tiana Gandelman, Patrick Menton, and David Wild as producers.
Prior to the telecast, the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony will be broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater at 12:30 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on live.Grammy.com.
Albums by Sampa The Great, Julia Jacklin, King Stingray and Tasman Keith are among the finalists for the 18th annual Australian Music Prize, details for which were announced this week.
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Also in the hunt are longplays by 1300, Body Type, Camp Cope, Laura Jean and Party Dozen.
The ultimate winner will be revealed March 1 in Sydney, when the champ will be presented with a A$30,000 ($21,000) bounty, courtesy of major sponsor Soundmerch.
Sales and chart positions have no bearing on the result. It’s the artistry of the entry that counts.
“Yet again we have a very strong list,” comments AMP founder and prize director Scott B. Murphy. “It’s incredibly diverse and truly captures another year of the world’s best music. I sincerely thank the Soundmerch AMP team of judges – their donation of time and passion is much greater than what most people would think.”
Sampa The Great has form with the AMP.
The Zambian-born, Botswana-raised, Melbourne-based hip-hop artist bagged the prestigious prize in 2017 for the mixtape Birds And The BEE9, and again in 2020 with The Return, to become the first and only artist to win the prestigious award twice. Sampa had another world-first in 2020, when she was named as the first-ever BET Amplified global artist.
The AMP is modeled on Britain’s Mercury Music Prize and Canada’s Polaris Prize, the goal of which is to identify and reward the outstanding creative Australian album of the past year.
The nine shortlisted recordings are drawn from a longlist of 490 eligible Australian albums released in 2022, all of which were individually reviewed by a panel of music experts.
This year, the domestic affiliates of EMI, Virgin and Island are on board to sponsor the shortlist by each contributing A$3,000 ($2,100) for a funding pool, which shortlisted artists can drawn on to ensure they can attend the winner announcement event.
Genesis Owusu’s lauded collection Smiling With No Teeth won the prize last time, beating out recordings by Nick Cave, Hiatus Kaiyote and others.
The shortlist of the 18th Soundmerch AMP:1300 – Foreign LanguageBody Type – Everything Is Dangerous But Nothing’s SurprisingCamp Cope – Running With The HurricaneJulia Jacklin – Pre PleasureKing Stingray – King StingrayLaura Jean – AmateursParty Dozen – The Real WorkSampa The Great – As Above, So BelowTasman Keith – A Colour Undone