Awards
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Lizzo did the thing. And “the thing,” of course, is the viral rap Ariana DeBose performed at the BAFTA Awards on Feb. 19, part of which the “About Damn Time” singer recreated at a recent concert.
In a Thursday night (Feb. 23) TikTok video from one of Lizzo’s recent shows, the four-time Grammy winner — looking radiant in a glittering leotard — talks to her audience onstage in between songs. “Let’s shake it off,” she says, before taking a stab at the line from DeBose’s rap that the internet is probably the most obsessed with: “Angela Bassett did the thing.”
Lizzo even did her own version of the shoulder shimmy the West Side Story film reboot actress did while performing at the BAFTAs, opening the awards show with an original rap in honor of some of the female nominees. “Angela Bassett did the thing/ Viola Davis my ‘Woman King’/ Blanchett Cate you’re a genius/ Jamie Lee you are all of us,” DeBose sang in a clip from the show that quickly set Twitter ablaze, as many of the actresses she mentioned stared blankly.
Like so many viral moments, it’s hard to pinpoint why exactly DeBose’s earnest number has been amplified and passed around as much as it has been by the internet in the past few days — evidenced by the loud cheers Lizzo received immediately after referencing it in concert — but between the clunky lyrics, campy dance moves and the camera cutting to Jamie Lee Curtis jamming out, one of the first iconic memes of 2023 was born. Some viewers’ responses to the Oscar winner’s performance were a little harsh, however, and DeBose has since deactivated her Twitter account.
People got so carried away, BAFTAs producer Nick Bullen later felt the need to come to DeBose’s defense. “I think it’s incredibly unfair, to be frank. I absolutely loved it,” Bullen told Variety after the show. “Everybody I’ve spoken to who was in the room absolutely loved it. She’s a huge star, she was amazing.”
Watch Lizzo recreate Ariana DeBose’s viral BAFTAs rap below:
Billboard compiled a list of things we observed at the 2023 Premio Lo Nuestro — whether on the magenta carpet, backstage at the media center or during the show — that were not aired on TV.
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Read on for what viewers at home didn’t get to see:
1. Yahritza y Su Esencia won their first-ever Premio Lo Nuestro award for Regional Mexican – Sierreña Song of the Year for their 2022 hit “Soy El Unico.” Backstage at the media center, an emotional Yahritza hugged her brother Jairo and shed tears of excitement. She said she never had faith in the song because she was only 13 years old when she wrote it, and finally, dedicated the award to her older brother Mando, who’s currently living in Mexico.
2. Before winning their award, Yahritza y Su Esencia shared some exciting news with Billboard on the magenta carpet. The Mexican-American siblings not only announced their plans to tour in 2023, but also revealed a collaboration with Grupo Frontera is in the works. “It’s going to make you dance,” Yahritza says.
3. When receiving the award for Regional Mexican – New Artist, Carin León surprised the press by singing an unreleased song. “A la semanas de iniciar con la aventura/ Se nos hizo miel la luna y un concierto pa’ tijuana/ Era prohibido, era imposible pero hicimos lo que se nos dio la gana,” the artist passionately sang.
4. After receiving the coveted Premio Lo Nuestro a la Trayectoria (Trajectory Award), Victor Manuelle headed to the press room, where he gushed over his first and newborn granddaughter, and said his award is dedicated to her. He then expressed he will display his trophy in her pink and flower-themed room.
5. Backstage, Grupo Firme, who was the evening’s biggest winner with six awards, surprised the press when lead singer Eduin Caz confirmed his separation from his wife and the mother of his kids. “I want to dedicate these awards, more than anything, to my wife, who’s been a real support in my life and she deserves them. I’m always going to love you,” the artist shared.
6. Prince Royce keeps all of his awards in his closet! When receiving the award for Tropical – Collaboration of the Year for his Maria Becerra-assisted “Te Espero,” the Dominican artist admitted to having all of his awards in his “very nice and very spacious closet.” Royce collected his 21st Premio Lo Nuestro Award at the ceremony.
7. Serenatas galore! Many artists stopped by the Billboard spot on the magenta carpet to not only talk about upcoming projects, but also sing for us! Artists such as Fuerza Regida, Gusi, Grupo Frontera, and La Adictiva, to name a few, sang some tunes.
The 2023 Premio Lo Nuestro — themed “El Mundo Es Lo Nuestro” (or The World Is Ours) — was co-hosted by Colombian pop star Sebastian Yatra, Mexican TV presenter and actress Alejandra Espinoza, Mexican superstar Paulina Rubio and Adrián Uribe of Univision’s late-night show De Noche Pero Sin Sueño. Grupo Firme was the night’s biggest winner with six awards, followed by other top winners such as Sebastian Yatra and Karol G.
We’ve all lived in Harry’s House in recent times, as Grammy Awards, Brit Awards and now a special IFPI Award go the way of Harry Styles.
The British pop star’s megahit “As It Was” is crowned with IFPI’s Global Single Award for 2022, an honor that recognizes the top performing single across all platforms, and all markets.
Lifted from Styles’ third solo studio album Harry’s House, “As It Was” racked up 2.28 billion global equivalent streams last year, according to the trade association, an impressive distance ahead of Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” (1.75 billion streams) and The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” (1.74 billion), which respectively complete the podium.
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The IFPI Global Single Award is presented each year to the act with the world’s “best-selling” single across all digital formats — including paid subscription streaming, ad-supported platforms, and single-track downloads.
Following its release April 1, 2022, “As It Was” made its home at the top of sales charts on both sides of the Atlantic and across the globe.
In the U.K., it logged 10 weeks at No. 1, as Styles went on to sweep all four Brit Awards for which he was nominated — artist of the year, Mastercard album of the year, song of the year and the fan-voted pop/R&B act.
The single led the Billboard Hot 100 chart for an astonishing 15 weeks, helping Styles to win Grammys for album of the year and best pop vocal album, both for Harry’s House.
Styles even won the fan-voted best international artist at the 2022 ARIA Awards, after “As It Was” reigned over the national Australian chart for six weeks.
The Brit is no stranger to IFPI silverware. He first received an IFPI Award as part of One Direction when the association first launched the IFPI Global Recording Artist Chart 10 years ago.
Frances Moore, CEO of IFPI, congratulates the former 1D star and remarks: “It’s wonderful to see such a diverse mixture of songs in the Global Singles Chart this year – some familiar tracks from the previous year that continued to grow in 2022, amongst plenty of new tracks and some reimagined older tracks – all going to show that record companies are working hard to find new ways to ensure music fans around the world have access to such a wide range of music year on year.”
Earlier in the week, the IFPI anointed Taylor Swift as the global recording artist of the year, winning for an unprecedented third time, having already topped the tally in 2014 and 2019.
Styles came in at No. 8 on that official list, which ranks acts’ worldwide performance across digital and physical music formats during the year, from streams to vinyl, and covers their entire body of work.
IFPI Top 10 Global Singles 2022
Harry Styles- As It Was (2.28bn)
Glass Animals – Heat Waves (1.75bn)
The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber – STAY (1.74bn)
Elton John and Dua Lipa – Cold Heart (PNAU Remix) (1.34bn)
The Weeknd – Save Your Tears (1.32bn)
Imagine Dragons & JID- Enemy (1.26bn)
Ed Sheeran – Shivers (1.23bn)
GAYLE – abcdefu (1.22bn)
Bad Bunny & Chencho Corleone – Me Porto Bonito (1.21bn)
Ed Sheeran – Bad Habits (1.20bn)
Bad Bunny – Tití Me Preguntó (1.14bn)
Dua Lipa – Levitating (feat. DaBaby) (1.11bn)
Adele – Easy On Me (1.03bn)
The Weeknd- Blinding Lights (1.01bn)
Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow – INDUSTRY BABY (1.01bn)
Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) (1.00bn)
Encanto Cast – We Don’t Talk About Bruno (0.95bn)
Farruko – Pepas (0.94bn)
Jack Harlow – First Class (0.92bn)
Karol G – PROVENZA (0.92bn)
*Global subscription streams equivalent
The trend in songwriting is toward ever-larger collectives of writers collaborating. But some writers do very well – and maybe even better – on their own. Diane Warren has been the sole scribe on 10 of her 14 Oscar-nominated songs – including “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman, which is vying for the award at the 95th Oscars on March 12. Only one songwriter in Oscar history has been the sole writer of more than 10 Oscar-nominated songs.
Warren worked with a collaborator, Albert Hammond, on her first Oscar-nominated song, the propulsive “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” from Mannequin (1987). She later collaborated with Lady Gaga, Common and Laura Pausini on Oscar-nominated songs.
Warren’s roster of solo-written songs includes three of her signature hits – “Because You Loved Me” from Up Close and Personal (1996), “How Do I Live” from Con Air (1997) and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” from Armageddon (1998), all of which also received Grammy nominations for song of the year.
Twelve songwriters in Oscar history have received two or more nominations for best original song for songs they wrote all by themselves. Six of these writers have only been nominated for solo-written songs. These include two of the foremost writers of the Great American Songbook, Irving Berlin and Cole Porter, and four top contemporary writers – Dolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen, Randy Newman and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Here are all songwriters who have received two or more Oscar nods for best original song for pieces they wrote entirely by themselves.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, 2
Image Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage
Miranda is the sole writer of both of his nominated songs to date – “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana (2016) and “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto (2021). In the photo above, Miranda is joined by his mother, Dr. Luz Towns-Miranda, at the Oscars the first time he was nominated. Listen to Miranda talk about the songs from Encanto on the Pop Shop Podcast in early 2022.
Bruce Springsteen, 2
The Boss is the sole writer of both of his nominated songs to date – “Streets of Philadelphia” from Jonathan Demme’s Philadelphia (which won, 1993) and “Dead Man Walkin’” from Tim Robbins’ Dead Man Walking (1995).
Dolly Parton, 2
Parton is the sole writer of both of her nominated songs to date – “Nine to Five” from the hit comedy of the same name in which she co-starred with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin (1980) and “Travelin’ Through” from Transamerica (2005).
Phil Collins, 2
Collins is the sole writer of two of his three nominated songs to date – the striking torch ballad “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” from Against All Odds (1984) and “You’ll Be in My Heart” from Tarzan (which won, 1999). Collins had a co-writer – Motown legend Lamont Dozier – on his other nominated song, “Two Hearts” from Buster (1988).
Lionel Richie, 2
Richie is the sole writer of two of his three nominated songs to date – “Endless Love” from the movie of the same name (1981) and “Say You, Say Me” from White Nights (which won, 1985). Richie collaborated with Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton on his other nominated song – “Miss Celie’s Blues (Sister)” from The Color Purple, which lost to “Say You, Say Me.”
Leslie Bricusse, 2
Bricusse was the sole writer of his first two nominated songs – “Talk to the Animals” from Doctor Dolittle (which won, 1967) and “Thank You Very Much” from Scrooge (1970). He worked with collaborators on his last three nominated songs. He teamed with Henry Mancini on “Life in a Looking Glass” from That’s Life (1986) and with John Williams on both “Somewhere in My Memory” from Home Alone (1990) and “When You’re Alone” from Hook (1991). Bricusse died in 2021 at age 90.
Johnny Mercer, 2
Mercer was the sole writer of two of his near-record 18 nominated songs. (Only Sammy Cahn amassed more nominations in the category – 26). Mercer was the sole writer of “Something’s Gotta Give” from the Fred Astaire/Leslie Caron film Daddy Long Legs (1955) and “The Facts of Life” from the Bob Hope/Lucille Ball movie of the same name (1960). He collaborated on his other nominated songs with Henry Mancini (five songs), Harold Arlen (four), Harry Warren (two) and Jimmy McHugh, Artie Shaw, Jerome Kern, Hoagy Carmichael and Marvin Hamlisch (one each). Mercer died in 1976 at age 66. Here’s more about the songwriter for whom the Songwriters Hall of Fame named their top award.
Frank Loesser, 3
Loesser teamed with composers Lou Alter and Arthur Schwartz for his first two nominated songs, but was the sole writer of his last three – “I Wish I Didn’t Love You So” from The Perils of Pauline (1947), “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” from Neptune’s Daughter (1949) and “Thumbelina” from Hans Christian Andersen (1952). “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is one of the most enduring songs from the 1940s, though the storyline of seduction, once viewed as charming, is now seen as problematic by some. Loesser died in 1969 at age 59.
Cole Porter, 4
Image Credit: Underwood Archives/GI
Porter was the sole writer of all four of his nominated songs – “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” from Born to Dance (1936), “Since I Kissed My Baby Goodbye” from You’ll Never Get Rich (1941), “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” from Something to Shout About (1943) and “True Love” from High Society (1956). “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” is one of Frank Sinatra’s signature hits. “True Love” was a smash collab in 1956 for Bing Crosby & Grace Kelly. Porter, pictured here at the piano in 1956 with his dog beside him, died in 1964 at age 73.
Irving Berlin, 7
Berlin was the sole writer of all seven of his nominated songs – “Cheek to Cheek” from Top Hat (1935), “Change Partners” from Carefree (1938), “Now It Can Be Told” from Alexander’s Ragtime Band (also 1938), “I Poured My Heart Into a Song” from Second Fiddle (1939), “White Christmas” from Holiday Inn (which won, 1942), “You Keep Coming Back Like a Song” from Blue Skies (1946) and “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep” from White Christmas (1954). “Cheek to Cheek” came in second in the Oscar voting for 1935. The winner that year was “Lullaby of Broadway.” Both songs are famous to this day. And wouldn’t it be great if the Academy revealed the runner-up nowadays, as they did that year? Berlin died in 1989 at age 101.
Diane Warren, 10
Warren is the sole writer of 10 of her 14 nominated songs to date. Warren teamed with Albert Hammond, best known for his 1972 smash “It Never Rains in Southern California,” to write her first Oscar-nominated song, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” from Mannequin (1987). She later teamed with Lady Gaga on “Til It Happens to You” from The Hunting Ground (2015), Common on “Stand Up for Something” from Marshall (2017) and Laura Pausini for “Io Sì (Seen)” from The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se).
She has been the sole writer of her other 10 nominated songs – “Because You Loved Me” from Up Close and Personal (1996), “How Do I Live” from Con Air (1997), “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing “ from Armageddon (1998), “Music of My Heart” from Music of the Heart (1999), “There You’ll Be” from Pearl Harbor (2001), “Grateful” from Beyond the Lights (2014), “I’ll Fight” from RBG (2018), “I’m Standing With You” from Breakthrough (2019), “Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days (2021) and “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman (2022).
Here’s a closer look at Warren’s 14 Oscar-nominated songs.
Randy Newman, 13
Image Credit: Arturo Holmes/ABC/GI
Newman is the sole writer of all 13 of his nominated songs to date, including a song from each of the four Toy Story movies. He was nominated for “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story (1995) and “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story 2 (1999), won for “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3 (2010) and was nominated for “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from Toy Story 4 (2019). In the photo above, Newman is performing the latter song on the Oscar telecast.
Newman’s first Oscar winner was “If I Didn’t Have You” from Monsters, Inc. (2001). Newman is the only writer in Oscar history to win twice for solo-written songs.
His other nominees are “One More Hour” from Ragtime (1981), “I Love to See You Smile” from Parenthood (1989), “Make Up Your Mind” from The Paper (1994), “That’ll Do” from Babe: Pig in the City (1998), “A Fool in Love” from Meet the Parents (2000), “Our Town” from Cars (2006), and “Almost There” and “Down in New Orleans” from The Princess and the Frog (2009).
Ariana DeBose did her homework before taking the stage to open the 2023 BAFTA Awards on Sunday night. The Oscar-winning singer/actress faced an avalanche of snarky criticism and memes after she performed a bit that mixed a high-energy version of a 1985 Eurythmics/Aretha Franklin collaboration with an original rap ticking off some of the famous and nominated women in the room.
And though some commenters dinged DeBose for what they deemed clunky bars, ever the professional, Ariana definitely had the routine down before hitting the stage, as evidenced by a 35-second TikTok video shared by Broadway music director Benjamin Rauhala on Wednesday (Feb. 22).
In the clip, the actress smiled and shimmied in place as her received her final makeup touches, with the on-screen graphics reading, “We did the thing… backstage with Ariana getting ready to… do the thing… We had SO much fun celebrating the brilliant female nominees at the BAFTAs. It was an honour to give love to all these iconic women and to get the party started.”
In fact, DeBose was bristling with energy as she put some extra on certain names and lines, still at it just before going on stage as her team adjusted the tear-away sections of her voluminous magenta gown. And though DeBose has not made an official public statement about the blowback, Rauhala’s TikTok ended with a suggestion that all fair in love and memes.
“We are giggling at everyone who has our campy little number stuck in their head. Thank you for the love and hilarious memes,” read one of the final captions. “She did the thing.”
The producer of Sunday night’s show, Nick Bullen, told Variety magazine earlier this week that the pile-on was unwarranted. “We wanted to open the show with some energy, some fun, and also lay out straight away that this was hopefully going to feel like a different night, but with a familiarity as well, and what Ariana did was exactly that,” producer Bullen said the morning after the telecast. He said that DeBose and her team put the entire bit together in close consultation with the show’s musical director and choreographer and that he didn’t think she deserved the biting reaction.
The highly choreographed bit opened with DeBose singing “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” as a group of dancers pulled at her dress and removed long pieces of fabric. The performance then flipped into a solo rap in which DeBose did call-outs to a variety of actresses in the audience.
It was the latter bit — specifically her awkward Angela Bassett and Viola Davis shout-outs — that got the Twitterverse revved up. “Angela Bassett did the thing/ Viola Davis my ‘Woman King’/ Blanchett Cate you’re a genius/ Jamie Lee you are all of us,” rapped DeBose in a clip that quickly went viral after the show thanks to what looked like less-than-enthusiastic looks on the faces of some of the actresses she mentioned.
“I think it’s incredibly unfair, to be frank. I absolutely loved it,” Bullen told Variety of the criticism. “Everybody I’ve spoken to who was in the room absolutely loved it. She’s a huge star, she was amazing. The songs she was singing are very familiar songs, the room was clapping, and people were sort of dancing to the music. That rap section in the middle, mentioning the women in the room, was because it’s been a great year for women in film, and we wanted to celebrate that. And here is a woman of color who is at the absolute top of her game.”
DeBose deactivated her Twitter account after the online backlash.
Watch the TikTok below.
You may have noticed that Rihanna didn’t include “Lift Me Up” in her halftime performance at the Super Bowl on Feb. 12. Turns out she was just saving it for the Oscars. Rihanna will perform the Oscar-nominated ballad from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever at the Academy Awards on Sunday, March 12.
Fans will be watching to see if Rihanna’s baby bump has grown in the month between these high-profile gigs. The star’s previously undisclosed pregnancy made her Super Bowl halftime performance one of the most talked-about in years.
Rihanna’s upcoming performance was announced on Thursday (Feb. 23) by Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner, executive producers and showrunners of the 95th Oscars. The producers will continue to announce talent on the show in the coming weeks.
The “Umbrella” singer won’t be the first person to perform on the Oscar telecast and at the Super Bowl Halftime Show in the same calendar year. Phil Collins played both high-profile gigs in 2000, though he wasn’t the sole headliner of the Super Bowl Halftime Show on Jan. 30, but part of a multi-artist package that also featured Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias and Toni Braxton. Collins performed “Two Worlds” from Tarzan at the Disney-produced halftime show. Two months later, on March 26, Collins performed “You’ll Be in My Heart,” also from Tarzan, at the Academy Awards. The song (which Collins wrote by himself) went on to win the Oscar.
“Lift Me Up” — with music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Göransson and lyrics by Tems and Ryan Coogler — is nominated for best original song. This is Rihanna’s first Oscar nomination.
The other nominees for best original song are “Applause” from Tell It like a Woman (music and lyrics by Diane Warren); “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick (music and lyrics by Lady Gaga and BloodPop); “Naatu Naatu” from RRR (music by M.M. Keeravaani, lyrics by Chandrabose) and “This Is a Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once (music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski; lyrics by Ryan Lott and David Byrne).
The announcement of Rihanna’s Oscar performance was expected. When Oscar calls, even the biggest stars usually say yes. Beyoncé opened last year’s show with a memorable performance of “Be Alive” from King Richard. Such other superstars as Adele, U2, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd, Sam Smith, Justin Timberlake, Sting, Elton John and Billie Eilish with Finneas have performed nominated songs on the Oscars in the past decade.
Rihanna attended the Golden Globes ceremony on Jan. 10 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., but that show doesn’t include performances of best original song nominees. “Lift Me Up” lost the award to “Naatu Naatu.” Even so, she attracted much attention, a sign of her star power even amid the high-wattage film and TV stars in attendance.
“All the Stars” from the first Black Panther film was likewise Oscar-nominated for best original song four years ago, but Kendrick Lamar and SZA didn’t perform it on the Oscar telecast, a move blamed on “logistics and timing.”
A nine-time Grammy winner, Rihanna has eight multiplatinum albums, and 14 singles that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Final round Oscar voting extends from March 2 to 7. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the 95th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 12, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood, and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.
Less than three weeks after she won a Grammy for her audiobook Finding Me (and by doing so, clinching EGOT status), Viola Davis is nominated for two 2023 Audie Awards – audiobook of the year and narration by the author(s).
The Audie Awards, which are presented by The Audio Publishers Association, recognize distinction in audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment. This year’s finalists also include Paul Simon, Billy Porter, Kevin Hart, Lucy Liu, Thandiwe Newton, Malcolm Gladwell, Molly Shannon and BD Wong.
Finding Me was one of six projects to receive two nominations. Others are Coraline by Neil Gaiman; Good Omens by Gaiman & Terry Pratchett; Hello, Molly! by Shannon; The 1619 Project, created by Nikole Hannah-Jones and The New York Times Magazine; and War and Peace, narrated by Newton.
There are 26 competitive categories, including two that are gendered – best female narrator and best male narrator. Winners will be revealed at the Audie Awards Gala on March 28. The ceremony will be streamed from Chelsea Piers’ Pier Sixty in New York City.
“The Audio Publishers Association congratulates all of this year’s finalists,” Ana Maria Allessi, president of the APA, said in a statement. “This year’s finalists are representative of the immense talent in the audiobook community and beyond. From the recently crowned EGOT recipient Viola Davis to Grammy winner Paul Simon to audiobook luminaries like Soneela Nankani and Edoardo Ballerini, we’re proud of these multi-hyphenates who are helping shape the medium. We look forward to celebrating all of them at the March 28 gala.”
The Audio Publishers Association is a not-for-profit trade organization. Since 1986, the APA has worked to bring audio publishers together to increase interest in audiobooks. For more information about the APA, visit audiopub.org.
Here are nominees in four key categories:
Audiobook of the Year
The 1619 Project, created by Nikole Hannah-Jones and The New York Times Magazine; edited by Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman, and Jake Silverstein; various narrators; published by Penguin Random House Audio
Finding Me, written and narrated by Viola Davis; published by HarperAudio
Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon, by Malcolm Gladwell and Bruce Headlam; narrated by Paul Simon, Malcolm Gladwell, and Bruce Headlam; published by Pushkin Industries
Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt; narrated by Marin Ireland and Michael Urie, published by HarperAudio
Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts, adapted by Tyler English-Beckwith, based on the graphic novel by Rebecca Hall and Hugo Martínez, various narrators; published by Podium Audio
Autobiography/Memoir
The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man, by Paul Newman; edited by David Rosenthal; foreword by Melissa Newman; afterword by Clea Newman Soderlund; narrated by Jeff Daniels, Melissa Newman, Clea Newman Soderlund, Ari Fliakos, January LaVoy, John Rubinstein, and Emily Wachtel; published by Penguin Random House Audio
Hello, Molly!, written and narrated by Molly Shannon; published by HarperAudio
Left on Tenth, written and narrated by Delia Ephron; published by Hachette Audio
Safe, Wanted, and Loved: A Family Memoir of Mental Illness, Heartbreak, and Hope, by Patrick Dylan; narrated by Raúl E. Esparza; published by Snow Anselmo Press with Girl Friday Productions
Unprotected: A Memoir, written and narrated by Billy Porter, published by Recorded Books, a division of RBmedia
Humor
Happy-Go-Lucky, written and narrated by David Sedaris; published by Hachette Audio
Let’s Catch Up Soon, by Sarah Cooper; narrated by Sarah Cooper and Felip Jeremic, published by Audible Originals
The Office BFFs, written and narrated by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey; published by HarperAudio
Who Do I Think I Am?, written and narrated by Anjelah Johnson-Reyes; published by Hachette Audio
The Wilder Widows, by Katherine Hastings; narrated by Pamela Dillman; published by Flyte Publishing
Narration by the Author(s)
Apparently There Were Complaints, written and narrated by Sharon Gless; published by Simon & Schuster Audio
Finding Me, written and narrated by Viola Davis; published by HarperAudio
Hello, Molly!, written and narrated by Molly Shannon; published by HarperAudio
Ten Steps to Nanette, written and narrated by Hannah Gadsby; published by Penguin Random House Audio
Waypoints, written and narrated by Sam Heughan; published by Hachette Audio
To learn more about the 2023 finalists visit https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/audies.
When the 35th edition of Premio Lo Nuestro airs tonight (Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. ET) on the Univision network, some 1,300 people will be working under the baton of Ulises Chang, the network’s vp and executive producer for Live Event Tentpoles.
In the Univision-verse, the role includes purview over the network’s four music award shows: Premio Lo Nuestro, Premios Juventud, Latin Grammys and its most recent addition, the Latin AMAS. Among them, Lo Nuestro is not only the network’s highest-rated, but, according to Nielsen, it’s also been the “No. 1 program on all of television for the third consecutive year among adults 18-49 and adults 18-34,” with over six million viewers tuning in last year.
On set at the Miami-Dade arena, Chang is, as ever, preternaturally calm. He’s had this position since 2017, and if the tumult caused by four hosts, 21 musical numbers and nearly 30 artists (not to mention dancers and musicians) fazes him, he doesn’t let it show.
“Ulises has played an instrumental role in shaping the success of our live events and tentpoles. His passion and unwavering commitment to excellence are a reference in the industry,” says Ignacio Meyer, president of the Univision Television Networks Group.
Between rehearsals by the likes of Maluma, Ozuna, Ricardo Montaner, Ivy Queen, Sebastian Yatra, Grupo Firme and Tini, we managed to ask Chang five questions about tonight’s show:
1. How is this year’s show different from other years?
Every year is a challenge. Balancing budgets, venue, timing, artist relations, the amount of artists that are out there now. This show has such a long history and such prestige, people really want to be here. That’s one of the biggest challenges: Being able to somehow fit everybody which always is hard. But also, if people come to us early on with a pitch or a plan, we can say, maybe it’s not the right fit for this show, but we can work out a plan where it fits more organically somewhere else.
2. You oversee four music award shows. What is Premio Lo Nuestro?
This is tradition and celebration of music, of our music. Celebrating our history in this country, and what we’ve contributed musically. And the slogan this year is incredible: El mundo es lo nuestro (The world is ours). Because of where are we nowadays. Where did Bad Bunny take us a year ago when, for the first time a Hispanic artist wins [artist of the year] at the VMAs and gives his speech in Spanish and says I don’t have to change who I am. Going out on tour, who breaks the record for most tickets sold? Bad Bunny’s tour. We’re taking over in a way.
3. My understanding is this is your top-rated show. What do you attribute the high ratings to?
Yes, this is our highest rated show. The goals we’re given are higher than for any other, so, it’s a big responsibility. I don’t know if the ratings have to do with it being at the beginning of the year. Also, we take a lot of risks and we have a lot of freedom to do things in this show
4. What is the Ulises Chang imprint on a music show?
Overall, to be able to make people happy at home when theyr’e watching, and to be able to transport them to another place. Music is so beautiful. Music takes us to places we’re no longer at, it reminds us of our parents. When we had Roberto Carlos, for example, that tribute took me back to my youth. If it takes me, imagine people at home who don’t have the capability of experiencing this the way we do. We feel very fortunate and at the same time very powerful with what we are able to give.
5. It seems to me like you’re really creating a multi-generational show. Is that how you view it?
Yes. And that’s how we always prepare it. We think that people at home –that co-viewing with different generations– is what Univision is. It’s what Hispanics are. We still sit at home with our parents to watch especially these types of shows. These types of shows do do that; they do bring the multi-generational co-viewing. I don’t know if it happens in other networks, but in Univision, the research we’ve done indicates co-viewing is very present.
Kane Brown will return as co-host of the CMT Music Awards this year with previously announced co-host Kelsea Ballerini, as he expands his footprint at CBS.
The CMT Music Awards air live from Austin, Texas’ Moody Center on April 2 via CBS. In addition to his co-hosting duties, Brown and his wife, Katelyn, will perform their No. 1 Country Airplay hit “Thank God” for the first time on broadcast television.
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Five days later on April 7, Brown will make his acting debut on the network’s top-rated new series, Fire Country, where he will play Robin, an outlaw on the run who helps injured patients at a train crash.
CMT
This will be the fourth year in a row that Brown has co-hosted the show, making him the first four-time host. He co-hosted in 2020 with Sarah Hyland and Ashley McBryde. He and Ballerini first co-hosted together in 2021. She participated remotely last year after testing positive for COVID-19 ahead of the show. Jeff Foxworthy hosted the show from 2005-07. Kristen Bell hosted or co-hosted from 2012-14.
“Thank God,” the first duet from Kane and Katelyn, is Brown’s ninth trip to the top of the Country Airplay chart and his wife’s first. The Browns mark the second married couple to top Country Airplay with a duet; Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s “It’s Your Love” led the chart for six weeks in 1997. (Plus, Blake Shelton’s “Boys ‘Round Here,” featuring Pistol Annies – with his then-wife Miranda Lambert – and Friends, reigned for a week in 2013.)
It’s the third Country Airplay leader from Brown’s LP Different Man. “One Mississippi” ruled for a week last March, and “Like I Love Country Music” led for a week in August. Starting with Brown’s “Famous Friends” duet with Chris Young, which led for one frame in July 2021, he has rolled up four No. 1s in a row.
This year marks the second time the CMT Music Awards have aired on CBS following the ACM Awards’ move to Amazon’s Prime Video. The fan-voted awards show will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. The CMT Awards have aired live since 2005. Last year’s ceremony, also co-hosted by Anthony Mackie, featured the last television performance by The Judds. They sang their 1991 hit “Love Can Build a Bridge.”
—Assistance on this story provided by Paul Grein
Barba Streisand is already the proud owner of EGOT status. But the pop icon will add another landmark piece of hardware to her awards shelf in April when she receives an honor named for one of her heroes.
“I am deeply honored to receive this award named after one of the iconic and pathbreaking Justices ever to serve on the Supreme Court,” Streisand wrote in a tweet announcing that she will be the recipient of the 2023 Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award at the Library of Congress on April 22.
A Washington Post story about the award noted that Ginsburg was a huge Streisand fan and that late in her life when she invited her friend philanthropist Julie Opperman to her chambers to discuss establishing an award in her name for women striving to change society in positive ways, Barbra’s name quickly came up.
“She wanted to honor women of great passion and achievement,” Opperman told the paper about the March 2019 conversation that came 18 months before Ginsburg’s death. “She wanted it to be women in the RBG tradition. I’m pleased to say Barbra Streisand was among them.”
“Women everywhere have benefited from the brilliance and courage of the Hon. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” Streisand, 80, said in a statement to the Post. “She is an inspiration to us all. She devoted her life to advancing equality and justice, and the world is a better place for it. I am so deeply honored to receive an award in the name of such an extraordinary woman, American hero and an icon to the world.”
Streisand is the fourth recipient of the award, joining arts patron Agnes Gund, fashion designer Diane von Furstenburg and the late Queen Elizabeth II. The singer/actress/director is being recognized for her “advocacy of a variety of causes, including voting rights, climate change research and racial and gender equality,” the paper reported, additionally citing Streisand’s establishment of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
“It’s fair to say that for Barbra Streisand, it was shortest deliberation we’ve ever had,” Opperman said.
See Streisand’s post below.
I am deeply honored to receive this award named after one of the iconic and pathbreaking Justices ever to serve on the Supreme Court. https://t.co/1QDV0obPAV— Barbra Streisand (@BarbraStreisand) February 22, 2023