Awards
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Audible received a total of 19 nominations for this year’s Podcast Academy Awards, with the Audible Original series Moriarty — based on the villain in the Sherlock Holmes universe — receiving a total of three nods, including in the top category of podcast of the year.
The narrative fiction series that stars Dominic Monaghan as Professor Moriarty will compete against Chameleon: Wild Boys (Campside Media), Design Matters with Debbie Millman (Design Matters Media, Inc.), Direct Deposit (Audible), Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis (Audible), Gay Pride & Prejudice (Gimlet), Pink Card (ESPN 30 for 30), Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till Mobley (ABC Audio), The Outlaw Ocean Podcast (CBC Podcasts and the L.A. Times) and The Prince (The Economist) for the top prize.
The award last went to Pineapple Street Studios, Amazon Music and Wondery’s 9/12 during the 2022 ceremony.
Other individual shows tied with Moriarty for the most nominations include Bone Valley and Last Known Position, as well as Direct Deposit, Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis and Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till Mobley.
This year’s awards ceremony, which will be streamed live on Amazon Music’s Twitch channel, will take place on March 7 in Las Vegas with host Larry Wilmore.
The full list of nominees is below.
Podcast of The Year (Sponsored by Tenderfoot TV)
Chameleon: Wild Boys
Design Matters with Debbie Millman
Direct Deposit
Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis
Gay Pride & Prejudice
Moriarty
Pink Card
Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till Mobley
The Outlaw Ocean Podcast
The Prince
Best Business Podcast:
An Arm and a Leg
Business Wars
Lead Balloon – Public Relations, Marketing and Strategic Communications Stories
The Heist Season 2: The Wealth Vortex
The New Way We Work, featuring 4-part Ambition Diaries mini series
What’s Your Problem? with Jacob Goldstein
Work Check
Best Comedy Podcast:
Funny Cuz it’s True
I Love a Lifetime Movie
Scam Goddess
Summer In Argyle
The fckry with Leslie Jones and Lenny Marcus
Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!
Why Won’t You Date Me? with Nicole Byer
Best DIY Podcast:
Allyship is a Verb
Poetry for All podcast
Proud Stutter
Queer News
Stitch Please
Teddy Goes to the USSR
They Knew Which Way to Run
Best Documentary Podcast:
Bone Valley
Collapse: Disaster in Surfside
Finding Tamika
I Will Not Grow Old here (short series)
Imperfect Paradise: The Forgotten Revolutionary
The Greatest Menace: Inside the Gay Prison Experiment
We Were Three
Best Entertainment Podcast (Sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter):
Even the Rich
MUBI Podcast
Object of Sound
Pop Paranormal
Queue Points
Reality with The King
Scamfluencers
Best Fiction Podcast
Birds of Empire
Bone, Marry, Bury
Jane Anonymous
Last Known Position
Moriarty
Newts!
The Big Lie
Best History Podcast:
Against The Odds
Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis
History Daily
One Year: 1986
Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till Mobley
Slow Burn: Roe v. Wade
SNAFU with Ed Helms
Best Indie Podcast (Sponsored by Stitcher):
Blind Landing
Ghosthoney’s Dream Machine
Imaginary Worlds
In Those Genes Podcast
Inner West Icons
SOL Affirmations with Karega & Felicia
The Nocturnists
Best Interview Podcast:
9 to 5ish with theSkimm
Design Matters with Debbie Millman
Direct Deposit
Rethinking
The Assignment with Audie Cornish
The Lede
Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast
Best Knowledge, Science or Tech Podcast:
Climate of Change
In Machines We Trust
IRL: Online Life is Real Life
Ted Radio Hour
Threshold
Unexplainable
Why It Matters
Best News Podcast:
Collapse: Disaster in Surfside
Foundering: The Amazon Story
Imperfect Paradise: The Sheriff
Post Reports
Ukrainecast
VICE News Reports
What Next
Best Original Score and Music Supervision:
Culpable Podcast – Dirt Poor Robins, Dayton Cole
Disgraceland – Jake Brennan, Matt Beaudoin, Ryan Spraker, Bryce Kanzer
Fed Up – Scott Velasquez
Gay Pride & Prejudice – Chris Ryan, Jonathon Roberts, Liz Fulton
Kabul Falling – Arson Fahim
Last Known Position – Deron Johnson, David Levita
Spark & Fire – Ryan Holladay
Best Performance in Audio Fiction
#Matter – Amin Joseph
Borrasca (Season 2) – Cole Sprouse, Sarah Yarkin
Dark Sanctum – Bethany Joy Lenz, Clive Standen, Michael O’Neill
Moriarty – Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Phil LaMarr, Lindsay Whisler
Outliers – Rory Culkin
The Madness of Chartrulean – Aud Andrews
The Story Pirates Podcast – Cecily Strong, Eric Austin
Best Personal Growth / Spirituality Podcast:
A Slight Change of Plans
Allyship is a Verb
Back From Broken
How God Works
How To Be A Better Human
In the Arena with Leah Smart
The Mel Robbins Podcast
Best Podcast for Kids:
A Kids Book About: The Podcast
Forever Ago
Million Bazillion
Pinkalicious & Peterrific
Smash Boom Best
Tai Asks Why
The Arthur Podcast
Best Podcast Host or Hosts:
Anderson Cooper – All There is with Anderson Cooper
Casey Wilson – Fed Up
Chad Sanders – Direct Deposit
Gilbert King, Kelsey Decker – Bone Valley
Heather McGhee – The Sum of Us
JB Smoove – Funny My Way
Leah Wright Rigueur – Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till Mobley
Best Politics or Opinion Podcast:
Crossing The Line
It’s Political with Althia Raj
Post Reports
Strict Scrutiny
Teaching Texas
The Prince
The State of: Women
Best Production and Sound Design:
Batman: The Audio Adventures – Chris Gibney, Julie Larson
Birds of Empire – Randy Torres, Ben Milchev, Ryan Walsh, David Tatasciore, Gabe Burch
Cupid – Randy Torres, Ben Milchev, Ryan Walsh, David Tatasciore, Sarah Ma
Maejor Frequency – Richard Riegel
Marvel’s Wastelanders: Doom – Mark Henry Phillips
The Big Burn – E. Scott Kelly
Twenty Thousand Hertz – Jai Berger
Best Reporting:
Bone Valley – Gilbert King, Kelsey Decker
Chameleon: Scam Likely – Yudhijit Bhattacharjee
Conviction: The Disappearance of Nuseiba Hasan – Habiba Nosheen
Taking on Putin – John Sweeney
The Greatest Menace: Inside the Gay Prison Experiment – Patrick Abboud
The Outlaw Ocean Podcast – Ian Urbina
Who Killed Daphne? – Stephen Grey
Best Scriptwriting, Fiction:
American Hostage – C.D. Carpenter
I Hear Fear – Jenny Deiker Restivo, Nathalie Chicha
Impact Winter – Travis Beacham
Last Known Position – Luke Passmore
Power Trip – Mary Hamilton, Cara Horner
The End Up – Will Weggel, Danny Luber
The Story Pirates Podcast – Minhdzuy Khorami, Mike Cabellon, Meghan O’Neill, Peter McNerney, Lee Overtree, Rachel Wenitsky, Ned Riseley
Best Scriptwriting, Nonfiction:
12 Years That Shook the World – Erin Harper
Chameleon: Wild Boys – Sam Mullins
Death of an Artist – Helen Molesworth
Ídolo: The Ballad of Chalino Sánchez – Erick Galindo, Alejandro Mendoza
Into America – Trymaine Lee, Aisha Turner, Isabel Angell, Max Jacobs, Josh Sirotiak
MUBI Podcast – Rico Gagliano
We Were Three – Nancy Updike
Best Society and Culture Podcast:
Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis
Ídolo: The Ballad of Chalino Sánchez
In Those Genes Podcast
Into America
Love Right Now
The Sum of Us
Truth Be Told
Best Sports Podcast:
Choosing Sides: F1
Deep Left Field
Pink Card
Sports History This Week
The Lead
The Longest Game
Torched
Best True Crime Podcast
Conviction: The Disappearance of Nuseiba Hasan
Dateline: Missing in America
Death of an Artist
Queen of the Con
The Paddlefish Caviar Heist
Up and Vanished- The Trial of Ryan Duke
Wrongful Conviction
Best Wellness or Relationships Podcast:
Are You Sleeping?
Back From Broken
Chiquis and Chill
Come As You Are
Dear Headspace
Navigating Narcissism
Room 5
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
The Grammy Awards’ best new artist category, also known as one of the Big Four awards of the night, often has lasting effects on an artists’ career. In fact, eight of the last 10 best new artist winners at the Grammy Awards have gone on to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. But what is the criteria for being nominated for best new artist, and who are some of the past winners in the category? The latest episode of Billboard Explains breaks it down.
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The best new artist category is almost as old as the Grammys itself. Introduced at the second annual Grammy Awards on Nov. 29, 1959, Bobby Darin was the first artist to ever receive the award. The category has been present at every single Grammy Awards since, with the exception of the 1967 ceremony.
Billboard’s Awards Editor Paul Grein summed up the purpose of the best new artist award for Billboard Explains. “What the best new artist nomination does is it puts a spotlight on people, for the vast Grammy audience, which consists of music fans, but also people who are maybe just casual music fans,” he said. “They’re probably being introduced to these artists.”
As for the award’s requirements, the original rules stated that a nominee must be an artist who has released a minimum of five tracks or one album, must not have submitted for the category more than three times and has made a significant breakthrough during a year’s eligibility period. These rules, however, have changed over the years. A notable instance was Gaga’s lack of nomination in the best new artist category because her single “Just Dance” was nominated in best dance recording in 2009. The rules were changed to state that an artist may be nominated as long as that artist has not previously released an entire album or won a Grammy.
The most recent winner of the best new artist was Olivia Rodrigo due to the success of her debut album SOUR and its hit single, “Drivers License.” Billie Eilish won in 2020, and became the second person and the youngest person to ever win all big four categories in the same year. Other winners include Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion, Sam Smith, Adele and Mariah Carey. Going home with a best new artist award often sees the artist earning a boost in streams, album sales and/or performance on the Billboard charts.
After the video, catch up on more Billboard Explains videos and learn about the evolution of girl groups, BBMAs, NFTs, SXSW, the magic of boy bands, American Music Awards, the Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Hot 100 chart, how R&B/hip-hop became the biggest genre in the U.S., how festivals book their lineups, Billie Eilish’s formula for success, the history of rap battles, nonbinary awareness in music, the Billboard Music Awards, the Free Britney movement, rise of K-pop in the U.S., why Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albums, the boom of hit all-female collaborations, how Grammy nominees and winners are chosen, why songwriters are selling their publishing catalogs, how the Super Bowl halftime show is booked and why Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” was able to shoot to No. 1 on the Hot 100.
Diane Warren is getting up there on the all-time list of top Oscar nominees for best original song. Her nod this year for “Applause,” sung by Sofia Carson in Tell It Like a Woman, is her 14th — a tally equaled by only seven other songwriters in the 89-year history of the category).
Moreover, this is the sixth year in a row she has been nominated, the longest continuous run streak of nominations in this category since Alan Bergman and his late wife Marilyn Bergman were nominated six years running from 1968-73. (Their streak was bookended by two winners – “The Windmills of Your Mind” and “The Way We Were.”)
Only two other songwriters in Oscar history have had six or more consecutive nods. Mack David, the older brother of Hal David (of Bacharach & David fame), was nominated every year from 1961-66. He never won. Sammy Cahn holds the all-time records both for the most consecutive years with a best original song nod (eight, from 1954-61) and most total nods in that category (26). Cahn won a record-tying four Oscars in the category.
If you’re looking for a common denominator among Warren’s best original song nominees – besides quality – good luck. Three of them reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, but several others didn’t even crack the chart. Three are from blockbuster action films, but several others are from smaller indie films that barely made a dent at the boxoffice.
Four of the 14 songs, including the current one, are from films directed by women. That’s far higher than the industry-wide percentage of films directed by women. The only director Warren has worked with on two nominated songs is Michael Bay. She wrote songs for his blockbusters Armageddon (“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”) and Pearl Harbor (“There You’ll Be”).
Warren received an honorary Oscar in November. She’s only the fifth person in Oscar history – and the first person from the world of music – to receive an honorary Oscar and a competitive Oscar nomination in the same awards year. Warren, 66, has the work ethic of a songwriter half her age, one still trying to make her mark. That could be her secret.
Let’s take a closer look at Warren’s best original song nominees. The films’ worldwide box-office receipts are taken from boxofficemojo.com (rounded off to the nearest million). In two cases where the film grossed less than $1 million, we show the exact tally.
The Billboard Women in Music Awards are returning March 1, 2023, with Billboard honoring today’s most influential female powerhouses who are shaping the music landscape.
Emmy-winning writer/actress Quinta Brunson will host the 2023 ceremony, which will take place at the YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park in Los Angeles, Calif. The event will honor Becky G with the Impact Award presented by American Express, Doechii with the Rising Star Award presented by Honda, Ivy Queen with the Icon Award, Kim Petras with the Chartbreaker Award, Latto with the Powerhouse Award, Lainey Wilson with the Rulebreaker Award, Lana Del Rey with the Visionary Award, and TWICE with the Breakthrough Award.
More performances and talent — including the 2023 Woman of the Year recipient — will be announced at a later date. Sponsors for the ceremony include American Express, presenter of the Impact Award; Honda, presenter of the Rising Star Award; Mugler; and Nationwide.
“We’re thrilled to recognize these groundbreaking artists across genres and generations who are defining today’s sound – and paving the way for tomorrow’s women in music,” said Billboard Editorial Director Hannah Karp. “With the inspiring Quinta Brunson as our host, this year’s Billboard Women in Music Awards is going to be an incredible night.”
Tickets to attend the Women in Music Awards are available to the public. American Express card members can take part in the ticket presale taking place Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, before the public on-sale Friday, Feb. 3, at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, at billboardwomeninmusic.com. Prices range from $85 to $275.
The 2023 Women in Music Awards will also stream live with more details about the livestream to be announced soon.
For the second time, Flume has won triple j’s Hottest 100 countdown.
The Australian electronic producer came in at No. 1 on the annual countdown with “Say Nothing” featuring MAY-A, one of 57 homegrown entries in the top 100.
The Hottest 100 poll is an institution Down Under, one that triple j, a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), has called the “world’s biggest musical democracy.”
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Though it no longer coincides with Australia Day, on Jan. 26 — a controversial date in the minds of a growing number of Australians — more than 2.4 million votes were cast for the countdown.
Flume (real name Harley Streten) becomes just the second artist to win the Hottest 100 twice, having nabbed top spot in 2017 with “Never Be Like You” (Brisbane rockers Powderfinger did the double back-to-back with 1999’s “These Days” and 2000’s “My Happiness”).
The Sydney artist shared a picture of himself enjoying a hug with songwriter Sarah Aarons in the studio. “Can’t believe we made it to #1, thank you to everyone who voted,” he writes.
And with his win, he’s chalked up 17 total tracks since his 2012 debut on the countdown. He’s the only act to rank a song in every position of the top 5, according to triple j reps.
Flume is a guy for the big occasion. A Grammy Award winner (for 2020’s best dance/electronic album category with Skin), he collected six nominations for the 2022 ARIA Awards, and “Say Nothing” is shortlisted for song of the year at 2023 APRA Music Awards.
“Say Nothing” is lifted from Flume’s third studio album, Palaces, which debuted at No. 3 on the ARIA Chart in 2022.
Meanwhile, Eliza Rose’s “B.O.T.A.” with Interplanetary Criminals, and Spacey Jane “Hardlight” respectively completed the podium for the Hottest 100, which ranks listeners’ favorite songs from the previous year and reached its climax on Saturday evening, Jan. 28..
Also noteworthy is iconic Adelaide hip-hop trio Hilltop Hoods, which landed two entries in the latest poll, for a career total of 23 songs — an all-time record (Foo Fighters and the now-defunct Powderfinger both have 22).
This time, 10 songs from First Nations artists made the tally, easily beating the previous record of six. And 23 entries were from debutants.
See the full list here.
Harry Styles will perform on the 2023 Grammy Awards, set for Sunday, Feb. 5. The announcement was made on Sunday (Jan. 29) during the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs. The game aired on CBS, the Grammys’ network since 1973.
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Styles is nominated for six Grammys, including album, record and song of the year. These are his first nominations in Big Four categories.
The Recording Academy made its first performers announcement on Wednesday (Jan. 25) – Lizzo, Bad Bunny, Mary J. Blige, Brandi Carlile, Luke Combs, Steve Lacy and Sam Smith & Kim Petras.
All of these are artists are nominated in Big Four categories this year except for Smith & Petras and Combs. “Unholy” by Smith & Petras would almost certainly have been nominated for record and song of the year, but the single was released just eight days before eligibility closed on Sept. 30, 2021 – a bit too late to fully register with Grammy voters. As it is, it is nominated for best pop duo/group performance.
The Grammys are getting a jump on the Brit Awards, which will be telecast from the O2 in London six days later (on Feb. 11). The Brits have also booked Styles, Lizzo and Smith & Petras, among other acts.
Styles performed “Watermelon Sugar” on the Grammy telecast two years ago. He also won his first Grammy for the track – best pop solo performance.
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 be 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 the team for the first time as director. Eric Cook is co-executive producer with Tabitha Dumo, Tiana Gandelman, Patrick Menton. David Wild is producer.
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. Randy Rainbow, a first-time Grammy nominee this year for best comedy album for A Little Brains, A Little Talent, is co-hosting the show. His co-host has yet to be named.
Elvis was a double winner at AARP The Magazine’s 21st annual Movies for Grownups Awards, which were presented at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Saturday (Jan. 28). The movie won best time capsule, while Baz Luhrmann won best director.
In presenting the award to Luhrmann, the film’s star Austin Butler said: “No matter what the subject is, his intent is to create art for audiences of all ages to enjoy together. The stories are specific, and his messages are universal.”
Elvis was nominated for eight Oscars last week, one of the heftiest tallies for a musical biopic in Oscar history. Luhrmann was nominated for best picture as a producer of the film; Butler is nominated for best actor.
Top Gun: Maverick won the AARP Award for best picture/best movie for grownups, the evening’s top honor. The award was presented by Glen Powell, a co-star in the film, and was accepted by Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the film alongside star Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie and David Ellison. Top Gun: Maverick was nominated for six Oscars, including best picture.
The AARP event was hosted by Alan Cumming, who performed a parody of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic “My Favorite Things” tweaked to include his favorite “binge-worthy things.”
The show will be broadcast on PBS’ Great Performances on Feb. 17 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Jamie Lee Curtis received this year’s Career Achievement Award, which was presented by Brian Tyree Henry, an Oscar nominee for Causeway.
“At the end of the day, what I love most about grownups is that we are more alike than different,” Curtis said. “Grownups suit up and show up each day, regardless of the way our cards were dealt. It’s the beauty of grownups and I’m honored to be considered one because it’s a badge of honor that I wear proudly on my face, on my body, in my mind and in my soul and I’m grateful for AARP tonight for this beautiful recognition.”
Curtis received her first Oscar nod last week for best supporting actress for her performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once. That film led the Oscar nominations with 11 nods. Its only win at the AARP awards was Michelle Yeoh’s win for best actress. (Yeoh is also nominated in that category at the Oscars.)
The only double winner on the TV side was FX’s The Old Man, which won best TV series and best actor (TV) for its star, Jeff Bridges. The show debuted on June 16, 2022, after the close of eligibility for last year’s Primetime Emmys, but is likely to be a player in this year’s nominations.
Sheryl Lee Ralph, who won a Primetime Emmy last year for her supporting role on ABC’s Abbott Elementary, won here for best actress (TV). Ralph thanked “AARP for shining a light on aging.”
For more than two decades, AARP’s Movies for Grownups program has advocated for the 50-plus audience, fought industry ageism, and encouraged films and TV shows that resonate with older viewers.
“We are delighted to celebrate and honor these talented filmmakers [who] made the 50-plus audience excited to stream the best that TV has to offer, or go back to the theatres and enjoy movies once again,” said Heather Nawrocki, VP of AARP’s Movies for Grownups program. “The older audience loves to be entertained, and this year’s awardees do not disappoint!”
Here’s the complete list of winners at the 2023 Movies for Grownups Awards:
Career achievement: Jamie Lee Curtis
Best picture/best movie for grownups: Top Gun: Maverick
Best actress: Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
Best actor: Brendan Fraser (The Whale)
Best supporting actress: Judith Ivey (Women Talking)
Best supporting actor: Judd Hirsch (The Fabelmans)
Best director: Baz Luhrmann (Elvis)
Best screenwriter: Kazuo Ishiguro (Living)
Best ensemble: She Said
Best intergenerational: Till
Best time capsule: Elvis
Best grownup love story: Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Best documentary: Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down
Best foreign film: The Quiet Girl (Ireland)
Best actress (TV): Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary)
Best actor (TV): Jeff Bridges (The Old Man)
Best TV series: The Old Man
Best TV movie/limited series: Black Bird
People attending the 65th Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 5, will have many options for post-show parties, but if they attend the Recording Academy’s official afterparty — dubbed the 2023 Grammy Celebration — they will see performances by headliner Flo Rida, as well as Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, who will perform in the Grammy Celebration Jazz Lounge.
The 2023 Grammy Celebration will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center, which is adjacent to Crypto.com Arena, where the Grammy telecast will be held. Michelle Pesce will return as the evening’s DJ.
Flo Rida is a five-time Grammy nominee. He was nominated for best rap song and best rap/sung collaboration for his breakthrough smash, “Low” featuring T-Pain; best rap album for R.O.O.T.S, album of the year as a featured artist on Lady Gaga‘s The Fame; and best rap/sung collaboration for “Wild Ones” with Sia.
O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra have won three Grammys for best Latin jazz album, and are nominated in that category again this year for Fandango at the Wall in New York. O’Farrill has won two additional Grammys for best instrumental composition.
The Recording Academy will produce the post-telecast Grammy Celebration, which is expected to draw more than 5,000 guests. “We’re excited to return to Los Angeles with a larger-than-life experience that truly captivates the last year in music,” Branden Chapman, COO & head of entertainment for the Recording Academy, said in a statement.
Following the event, the Recording Academy will once again partner with the charitable organization Musically Fed to repurpose leftover food to feed those in need in the local community. The Academy will also partner with that organization to repurpose leftover food from the MusiCares Persons of the Year event on Feb. 3 and the official telecast.
The 2023 Grammy Celebration is a private, ticketed event.
Though Beyoncé’s Renaissance was unanimously acclaimed and commercially successful, if it wins album of the year at the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 5 — as many observers (including me) expect — it will be at least in part because her previous studio album, Lemonade, was passed over in that category.
If you watched the 59th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 12, 2017, you doubtless remember the moment when Adele’s 25 prevailed over Lemonade. In her acceptance speech, a highly emotional Adele all but handed the Grammy to Beyoncé, who was standing in the front row with her husband, Jay-Z, as the audience rose to its feet to celebrate Adele’s win. Adele’s speech stands as one of the most selfless and gracious in awards show history.
After some introductory thanks, Adele addressed the issue of competing with a friend and an artist she greatly admires. “I can’t possibly accept this award and I’m very humbled and I’m very grateful and gracious, but my artist of my life is Beyoncé and this album to me – the Lemonade album – was so monumental.”
Addressing the singer directly, she continued: “Beyoncé, it was just so monumental and so well thought-out and so beautiful and soul-baring and we all got to see another side to you that you don’t always let us see, and we appreciate that. And all us artists here, we f–king adore you. You are our light. And the way that you make me and my friends feel – the way you make my Black friends feel – is empowering. And you make them stand up for themselves and I love you. I always have and I always will.”
While no one questions Adele’s talent, some wondered if it was fair that Adele won a second award in that category before Beyoncé won it even once. (I Am…Sasha Fierce had lost to Taylor Swift’s Fearless; Beyoncé had lost to Beck’s Morning Phase.)
Of course, it isn’t Adele’s “fault” that she won. Still, an impression remains that Beyoncé was wronged – and that Grammy voters have a chance to make it right this year.
Renaissance wouldn’t be the first album to win album of the year at least in part as a “make-up” award for a previous album or albums that had not been so awarded. Take a look at this list, shown in reverse chronological order. (All years shown are the Grammy year of record.)
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.