Awards
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Even before his death on Sunday (Dec. 29) at age 100, Jimmy Carter already seemed a shoo-in to win his fourth Grammy at the 67th Grammy Awards on Feb. 2. But with his death, his victory seems even more certain. Final-round Grammy voting continues through Friday (Jan. 3).
But one thing has changed with the former president’s death. Carter had seemed likely to set a new record as the oldest Grammy winner in history. Now, if he wins, the award will be posthumous. Technically, the oldest recipient will continue to be blues pianist Pinetop Perkins, who was 97 years and 221 days old on Feb. 13, 2011 when he won best traditional blues album for Joined at the Hip, a collab with Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, a blues harmonica player. (Perkins died about six weeks later, on March 21, 2011.)
Carter is nominated for best audio book, narration and storytelling recording for Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration. The other nominees in the category are All You Need Is Love: The Beatles in Their Own Words (Guy Oldfield, producer), George Clinton’s …And Your Ass Will Follow, Dolly Parton’s Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones and Barbra Streisand’s My Name Is Barbra. (Oldfield, 55, is the only nominee in this category who’s under 75. Parton is 78, Streisand is 82 and Clinton is 83.)
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This will likely be Carter’s fourth win in this category, which will enable him to break out of a tie with poet Maya Angelou for the most wins in the category. Carter won in 2007 for Our Endangered Values, in 2016 for A Full Life: Reflections at 90 and in 2019 for Faith: A Journey for All. Angelou won in 1994 for On the Pulse of Morning, in 1996 for Phenomenal Woman and in 2003 for A Song Flung Up to Heaven.
Carter will also likely extend his record as the U.S. president with the most Grammy wins. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have each won two Grammys.
Carter was a late-comer to Grammy glory. He was 82 when he won his first Grammy. He had lost on his first three tries.
If you’re curious, the second-oldest person ever to win a Grammy is Tony Bennett, who was 95 years and 243 days old in 2022 when he won for best traditional pop vocal album for Love for Sale, a collab with Lady Gaga. (He died in 2023.) Third-oldest is comedian George Burns, who was 95 years and 31 days old in 1991 when he won best spoken word or non-musical recording album for Gracie: A Love Story, a salute to his wife and comedy partner Grace Allen. (He died in 1996.) Fourth-oldest is Carter, who was 94 and 132 days old in 2019 when he won best spoken word album for Faith: A Journey for All.
12/27/2024
Perry produced some of the biggest and best hits on the Hot 100 in the ’70s and ’80s.
12/27/2024
Kendrick Lamar was rap’s undoubted MVP of 2024 and Billboard‘s Greatest Pop Star of the Year, and Eminem thinks his epic run is going to continue into 2025. While Em and Lamar will be facing off in the best rap performance category at the 2025 Grammy Awards, Eminem believes that K. Dot is going to […]
Robbie Williams’ song “Forbidden Road” was removed from the 2025 Oscar shortlist for best original song on the grounds that song incorporates material from an existing song that was not written for the film in which it appears, Better Man (Paramount Pictures). Williams co-wrote the song with Freddy Wexler and Sacha Skarbek.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will not replace the song on the shortlist. Members of the music branch will choose the five nominees from a shortlist of 14 songs, rather than the customary 15.
The song is nominated for a Golden Globe for best original song. It is still listed on the Globes site as a nominee, though it has already been removed from the list of shortlisted songs that appears on the Oscars site.
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Here’s the text of a letter sent to Academy’s music branch members from the branch’s executive committee, explaining the decision:
“Dear Music Branch members,
The shortlisted Original Song achievement, “Forbidden Road,” from the film BETTER MAN, incorporates material from an existing song that was not written for this film.
The Music Branch Executive Committee has met and reviewed materials. It was determined the achievement does not meet the 97th Awards Rules criteria for eligibility in the Original Song category: An original song consists of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the motion picture. [Rule Eighteen, Section 1-B].
Therefore, the song has been deemed ineligible for award consideration for the 97th Oscars and will be removed from the Academy’s shortlist in the Original Song category.
This is a decision that both honors our rules and protects the special nature of the Original Song and Score categories.
Sincerely,
The Music Branch Executive Committee”
The Oscars run a very tight ship. Eleven years ago, a nominated songwriter, Bruce Broughton, was overzealous in promoting his song, running afoul of Academy regulations. The Academy rescinded the nomination. The explanation of what happened still appears on the Oscar site all these years later: “After the nominations were announced on January 16, 2014, it was determined that Mr. Broughton had taken actions in promoting the song that were inconsistent with the Academy’s campaign regulations. The Board of Governors voted to rescind the nomination on January 29, and only four songs were included on the final ballot.”
Better Man will have a limited release opening on Christmas Day. It will go wide on Jan. 10. Williams is portrayed by a computer-generated monkey in this film about his life which was co-written, produced and directed by Michael Gracey.
Charli XCX and Post Malone each received an additional nomination for the 2025 Grammys as art directors of their albums Brat and F-1 Trillion, respectively, on Friday (Dec. 20). The albums were included in the best recording package category when the nominations were announced on Nov. 8, but the artists weren’t credited as art directors. […]
12/20/2024
As the old saying goes, “it’s not where you start. It’s where you finish.”
12/20/2024
Prince, The Clash and Frankie Valli are among the artists who were selected to receive lifetime achievement awards from the Recording Academy in 2025. The awards will be presented at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony on Feb. 1 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles.
The event, always one of the most memorable and musical of Grammy Week, will also honor the recipients of trustees awards (which go to non-performers) and a Technical Grammy Award recipient.
The other lifetime achievement award recipients are Frankie Beverly, Dr. Bobby Jones, Taj Mahal and Roxanne Shante. The trustees award recipients are Erroll Garner, Glyn Johns and Tania León. Dr. Leo Beranek is the Technical Grammy Award honoree.
Several of the awards will be presented posthumously. R&B singer Beverly just died three months ago; Prince and Dr. Beranek both died in 2016; Joe Strummer of The Clash died in 2002; and Garner, the composer of the pop standard “Misty,” died in 1977.
Several of this year’s recipients have already received major honors. Prince was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, received a lifetime achievement award at the BET Awards in 2010, and was honored by the Songwriters Hall of Fame in July (he had been voted in while he was alive, but scheduling the presentation proved difficult).
Valli was voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of the Four Seasons) in 1990, followed by The Clash in 2003 and producer Glyn Johns in 2012. Maze featuring Frankie Beverly received a lifetime achievement award at the BET Awards in 2012. León received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2022.
“It’s an amazing privilege to honor this eclectic group of music icons during the year’s biggest week in music,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy said in a statement. “Each of this year’s Special Merit Award recipients has left an indelible mark on music, from paving the way for others to innovation that forever has changed the trajectory of the musical landscape. We can’t wait to celebrate this group and their achievements in February.”
Lifetime Achievement Awards are presented to performers who have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.
Trustees Awards are presented to individuals who have made significant contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording.
Technical Grammy Awards are presented to individuals, companies, organizations or institutions who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.
Here’s a complete list of the 2025 Special Merit Award recipients.
Frankie Beverly (Lifetime Achievement Award)
Alicia Keys is set to receive the 2025 Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the fourth annual Recording Academy Honors Presented by the Black Music Collective, to be held at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles on Thursday, Jan. 30. The award was established in 2023 to recognize artists whose influence extends far beyond music. It also takes into account entrepreneurial achievements, philanthropic efforts and global impact.
Dre received the inaugural award on the Grammy telecast in 2023. Jay-Z received on the telecast earlier this year, where he memorably called out Grammy voters for not yet honoring his wife, Beyoncé, in the album of the year category.
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Keys is a current Grammy nominee for best musical theater album for Hell’s Kitchen. The musical, based on Keys’ early career story and featuring her songs, opened at the Shubert Theatre in New York on April 20 and is still playing. It received 13 Tony nominations and won two – best performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical (Maleah Joi Moon) and best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical (Kecia Lewis).
“From her timeless music to her unwavering dedication to uplifting others, Alicia has made an indelible impact on the world,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “Alicia embodies everything the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award represents – her artistry knows no bounds, her advocacy inspires meaningful change, and her influence has profoundly shaped culture. We are honored to celebrate her extraordinary legacy and the transformative contributions she continues to make in music and beyond.”
Keys is a 16-time Grammy-winner. She won five Grammys in 2002, including best new artist and song of the year for “Fallin’.” She was just 21, which made her the youngest song of the year winner to that point.
Keys has amassed four No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and five No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200.
Returning for the fourth consecutive year to produce the Recording Academy Honors event is MVD Inc, with Adam Blackstone also returning as music supervisor for the evening. Blackstone won a Primetime Emmy in 2022 as the music director of The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent. He has received five Grammy nods, including one this year for working with Keys on the Hell’s Kitchen cast album.
Twenty-five films have been selected for the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 2024 “due to their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance to preserve the nation’s film heritage.” They include two that had Billboard 200-topping soundtracks, Beverly Hills Cop and Dirty Dancing; one (Dirty Dancing) that featured an Oscar-winning song, “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life”; and one (The Social Network) that featured an Oscar-winning score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
The selections span 115 years, from a silent film created to entice audiences at the dawn of cinema in 1895, Annabelle Serpentine Dance, to the newest selected film from 2010, The Social Network, a drama about social media.
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Popular Hollywood releases selected this year include the first Star Trek film added to the registry – 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, as well as Eddie Murphy’s first feature film on the registry, Beverly Hills Cop.
Two films selected this year, American Me and Up in Smoke, were produced by Lou Adler, a music industry legend who produced Billboard 200-topping albums by the Mamas and the Papas and Carole King. Adler, 91, was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 and received a trustees award from the Recording Academy in 2019. Adler has several other films on the registry including Monterey Pop, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and 20 Feet From Stardom, in which he made an appearance.
The 2024 selections feature diversity both in the filmmakers and in the stories depicted on screen.
Five films selected this year include prominent Hispanic artists or themes – American Me, Mi Familia, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Spy Kids and Up in Smoke.
Mi Familia and American Me both feature actor Edward James Olmos, who is now featured in eight films on the registry. American Me marks his first appearance as a director on the registry.
With this year’s addition of Mi Familia, director Gregory Nava now has three explorations of the Hispanic experience on the registry. Mi Familia joins previous selections El Norte and Selena.
Two films this year, Up in Smoke and Spy Kids, feature Cheech Marin. These are Marin’s first films on the registry. Up in Smoke is also the first Cheech & Chong film on the registry.
Several films this year were made by Black directors, including Ganja and Hess (1973, Bill Gunn); Uptown Saturday Night (1974, Sidney Poitier), Will (1981, Jessie Maple) and Compensation (1999, Zeinabu irene Davis). Will is considered to be the first independent, feature-length film directed by a Black woman.
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, an Academy Award-winning documentary selected this year, tells the story of the National AIDS Memorial Quilt, and an important period in LGBTQ history.
Deaf characters and culture are represented in two films this year: The Miracle Worker from 1962 and Compensation from 1999. In The Miracle Worker, director Arthur Penn depicted the Helen Keller story in a direct and unsentimental manner that was unusual for its time.
The selection Powwow Highway from 1989 stands out as one of the first indie films to treat Native Americans as ordinary people, navigating the complexities of everyday life, departing from long-perpetuated stereotypes.
“Films reflect our nation’s history and culture and must be preserved in our national library for generations to come,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement. “We’re honored by the responsibility to add 25 diverse new films to the National Film Registry each year as we work to preserve our cultural heritage.”
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will host a TV special on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 8 p.m. ET to screen a selection of films named to the registry this year. Hayden will join TCM host and film historian Jacqueline Stewart, who is chair of the National Film Preservation Board, to discuss the films.
Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act, each year the Librarian of Congress names 25 motion pictures to the National Film Registry that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. The films must be at least 10 years old. The Librarian makes the annual selections after conferring with the members of the National Film Preservation Board and a cadre of Library specialists.
This year’s selections bring the number of titles in the registry to 900. Also considered were 6,744 titles nominated by the public. Nominations for next year will be accepted through Aug. 15, 2025, at loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/nominate/.
Here’s a complete list of the 25 films that were selected as 2024 additions to the National Film Registry. They are listed in chronological order.
Annabelle Serpentine Dance (1895)KoKo’s Earth Control (1928)Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)The Pride of the Yankees (1942)Invaders from Mars (1953)The Miracle Worker (1962)The Chelsea Girls (1966)Ganja and Hess (1973)The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)Uptown Saturday Night (1974)Zora Lathan Student Films (1975-76)Up in Smoke (1978)Will (1981)Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (1982)Beverly Hills Cop (1984)Dirty Dancing (1987)Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989)Powwow Highway (1989)My Own Private Idaho (1991)American Me (1992)Mi Familia (1995)Compensation (1999)Spy Kids (2001)No Country for Old Men (2007)The Social Network (2010)
There were snubs and surprises aplenty in the Oscar shortlists that were announced on Tuesday (Dec. 17). Every year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences releases shortlists in 10 categories, including best original song, best original score and best documentary feature. These shortlists constitute an early holiday present for those who made it, […]