Awards
Page: 44
Nominees: Take It Easy (Collie Buddz); Party With Me (Vybz Kartel); Never Gets Late Here (Shenseea); Bob Marley: One Love – Music Inspired By The Film (Deluxe) (Various Artists); Evolution (The Wailers)
Technically, there are only two original reggae albums nominated here this year. Incredible.
Vybz Kartel and Shenseea scored their first career nominations for their own music this year with Party With Me and Never Gets Late Here, respectively, both dancehall records. Reggae legend Bob Marley is represented through the One Love soundtrack, which features covers of Marley classics from several artists, including Grammy winners Kacey Musgraves, Daniel Caesar, Leon Bridges and Wizkid.
Collie Buddz’s Take It Easy and The Wailers’ Evolution are the remaining nominees. This is Buddz’s second nod in this category in as many years, while Take It Easy features contributions from Caribbean music giants such as Bounty Killer, B-Real and Demarco. The Wailers — formed by former members of Bob Marley’s backing band — are nominated with Evolution, which hit No. 5 on Reggae Albums.
As previous nominees, Shenseea and The Wailers are likely the frontrunners here, but keep an eye out for Vybz Kartel. Last summer (July 31, 2024), the King of Dancehall walked out of prison a free man after serving 13 years of a now-overturned life sentence for the murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams. By New Year’s Eve, the legendary deejay mounted Freedom Street — his first performance since his release, and the biggest concert the country had seen in nearly 50 years. Though Party With Me lacks an all-out smash à la “Fever” and “Clarks,” Kartel’s narrative may prove too irresistible for any of his competitors to put up a fight. The Freedom Street concert dominated social media, but it happened near the very end of the voting period (Jan. 3), when many voters had presumably cast their ballots already.
Shenseea is probably his stiffest competition here. Never Gets Late Here reached No. 4 on Reggae Albums and incorporates notes of pop-dancehall, R&B, rap, Afrobeats and, most importantly, reggae. With Grammy-approved producers like Di Genius, Tricky Stewart, Ilya, Stargate and London On Da Track in tow, Never Gets Late Here could muster up enough support to pull ahead of Worl’ Boss.
Nonetheless, there’s also a scenario in which Marley’s legend and the film’s box office success lifts the One Love soundtrack to a victory — even if the more exciting win would be Buddz’s project. Traditional reggae projects tend to triumph here anyway, which counts against Kartel and Shenyeng despite their strengths elsewhere.
Prediction: Vybz Kartel, Party With Me
Look Out For: The Wailers, Evolution
The 2025 Grammy Awards are just around the corners, which means one of this year’s breakthrough stars will be crowned best new artist. This year’s nominees include Benson Boone, Sabrina Carpenter, Doechii, Khruangbin, RAYE, Chappell Roan, Shaboozey and Teddy Swims. Carpenter and Roan join an impressive club of artists who have been nominated in all […]
When the Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday (Jan. 23), Diane Warren found herself nominated for best original song for the 16th time. Warren, never one to rest on her laurels, is already back with a song that may be put her back in the running at the 2026 Oscars – “Dear Me,” sung by Kesha in the new the documentary Diane Warren: Relentless.
Warren was already a hit-making songwriter when Kesha was born in 1987. Little-known fact: Kesha’s mother, “Pebe” Sebert, was a member of the songwriting community as Warren was breaking in (though the two writers never collaborated). Sebert co-wrote Joe Sun’s 1978 single “Old Flames (Can’t Hold a Candle to You),” which reached No. 14 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. A cover version by Dolly Parton reached No. 1 in 1980.
Trending on Billboard
“We all know that Diane Warren is one of the most iconic songwriters of our time, but many people don’t know that my connection with her is multigenerational,” Kesha said in a statement. “My mom used to write songs alongside Diane Warren in the ’80s. I’ve heard her name in our home growing up since I was a baby. Once my music broke into the scene in 2008, we have worked on projects together … but none of them ever were publicly released.”
“I’ve written a lot of songs for movies but this is the first time I’ve ever written a song for a movie that’s about me,” Warren said in a statement. “This song isn’t just about me though, it’s for anyone who’s ever wished they could have a conversation with their younger self and tell them no matter what they’re going through that it’s going to get better. When I was thinking who would be the perfect artist for this, I could think of no one better or more authentic than Kesha. I felt that not only is she a great artist who would sing the song magnificently which of course she did, but that this would also speak to her and her fans on a very deep level.”
Diane Warren: Relentless, directed by Bess Kargman, is currently in theaters and streaming exclusively on MasterClass.
It’s fairly rare for a song from a documentary to receive an Oscar nomination for best original song, but it does happen. Just this year, “Never Too Late” from the Disney + doc Elton John: Never Too Late was nominated, where it is competing with Warren’s “The Journey” from the Netflix film The Six Triple Eight. Elton John co-wrote “Never Too Late” with Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin.
Billboard’s Stephen Daw wrote warmly about “Dear Me” (released on Kemosabe/RCA Records) in his Queer Jams of the Week column. “For her contribution to the new documentary Diane Warren: Relentless, Kesha decided to strip back the artifice and sing from the heart. The result is “Dear Me,” a Warren-penned, Guy Roche-produced ballad where Kesha looks back on her younger self and offers some salient advice — primarily, to know that she can get through whatever pain comes her way. It’s no surprise that Kesha sounds as good as she does here; it is surprising, though, to get such a poignant song in a week when so many of us need to hear this.”
A new CBS promo for the 67th annual Grammy Awards confirms that Beyoncé and Taylor Swift are set to attend – but not necessarily perform on – Music’s Biggest Night. The other artists named in the promo – Benson Boone, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter – were confirmed as performers on Jan. 24, as were Doechii, Raye, Shakira and Teddy Swims, who were not named in the 11-second promo.
The promo also promises an appearance by “a very special guest.”
Trending on Billboard
Beyoncé leads all nominees for the 67th annual Grammy Awards, with 11 nods. Swift has six. The two megastars are competing for album, record and song of the year. All eyes will be on album of the year, where Beyoncé is looking for her first win in the category (following four losses), while Swift is looking for a record-extending fifth win in the category.
Beyoncé last performed on the Grammys in 2017, when she sang “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles,” two songs from her critically lauded Lemonade album. Swift last performed on the Grammys in 2021, when she sang “Cardigan” and “August,” both from Folklore, and “Willow,” from Evermore.
Additional performers will be announced in the coming days.
Live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and hosted by Trevor Noah, the show will be broadcast live on Sunday, Feb. 2, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS, and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
As announced last week, this year’s Grammy telecast will carry a renewed sense of purpose: raising additional funds to support Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts and honoring the bravery and dedication of first responders who risk their lives to protect others.
The 67th Annual Grammy Awards will be produced by Fulwell 73 Productions for the Recording Academy for the fourth consecutive year. Ben Winston, Raj Kapoor and Jesse Collins are executive producers.
Prior to the telecast, the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony will be broadcast live from the Peacock Theater at 12:30 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on the Grammys website.
Watch the teaser, as captured by a fan:
Nominees: “After Hours” (Diovanna Frazier, Alex Goldblatt, Kehlani Parrish, Khris Riddick-Tynes & Daniel Upchurch); “Burning” (Ronald Banful & Temilade Openiyi); “Here We Go (Uh Oh)” (Sara Diamond, Sydney Floyd, Marisela Jackson, Courtney Jones, Carl McCormick & Kelvin Wooten); “Ruined Me” (Jeff Gitelman, Priscilla Renea & Kevin Theodore); “Saturn” (Rob Bisel, Carter Lang, Solána Rowe, Jared Solomon & Scott Zhang)
Analysis: It’s always a good sign when a song earns nominations in both songwriting and performance categories, which means Coco Jones (“Here We Go”) and SZA (“Saturn”) have particularly strong chances at taking this one home. Jones won best R&B performance last year with “ICU,” but lost best R&B song to SZA’s “Snooze.” “Saturn,” though a hit, wasn’t as big of a smash as “Snooze,” but SZA’s seemingly unstoppable momentum and forthcoming co-headlining North American stadium tour with Kendrick Lamar (a seven-time nominee this year), could help her win the trophy.
Nonetheless, the frontrunner across the R&B field is probably Muni Long. Revenge didn’t exactly light the charts on fire (it missed both the Billboard 200 and genre-specific album rankings), but the record spawned three consecutive top three Adult R&B Airplay singles, including the chart-toppers “Ruined Me” and “Make Me Forget.” With “Ruined Me” earning a lot of love from R&B circles and Long remaining a consistent cultural presence via performances and candid music industry revelations, this could very well be the Year of Muni Long.
Kehlani earned three nods this year, and this is her first nomination in this category. “After Hours” was one of the few uptempo R&B hits from the last year, which could help its chances in a songwriting category. Tems‘ “Burning” probably has the same chance of winning as “After Hours”; it’s a poignant track that finds the crossover star soaring in a leading role after being a key featured player on Grammy-approved hits like Future‘s “Wait For U” and Wizkid‘s “Essence.”
We’ll call this category for Muni Long; “Ruined Me” is fresh, commercially successful, critically acclaimed, and features the most-nominated R&B artist of the night.
Prediction: Muni Long, “Ruined Me”
Look Out For: SZA, “Saturn”
The Americana Music Association and Americana Music Foundation announced its annual AMERICANAFEST Pre-Grammy Salute for 2025 in celebration of John Hiatt. The event will be held at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, Calif. on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. PT. General public tickets will be available through the Troubadour’s website on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 10 a.m. PT.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
This year’s salute will serve as a benefit to MusiCares and its aid to those in need during the Los Angeles wildfires.
“Americana has hosted its annual Pre-Grammy Salute every year since 2013 and this year, in light of the incredible devastation brought to California by the recent fires, our only thought was, ‘How can we help?’,” Jed Hilly, executive director of the Americana Music Association said in a statement. “We’re turning our Troubadour show into a fundraiser, with proceeds going to MusiCares. We hope a sold-out show will help, even in a small way, those who have lost everything.”
Trending on Billboard
Previous AMERICANAFEST Pre-Grammy salutes have paid tribute to the songs of Paul Simon (2024), Lucinda Williams (2023), Willie Nelson (2020), John Prine (2019), Emmylou Harris (2018), Loretta Lynn (2017), Glenn Frey (2016), Phil Everly (2014), and Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell & Friends (2013). The Troubadour hosted all evenings except for 2018, when the Grammys were held in New York City.
Co-presented by Vector Management and the Americana Music Association and Foundation, all Pre-Grammy Salutes have been produced by Michelle Aquilato and Americana Music Association executive director Jed Hilly.
Hiatt, 72, is a 10-time Grammy nominee, with nominations spanning country, rock, contemporary folk and Americana/American roots categories. He has yet to win a Grammy.
Hiatt has placed 16 albums on the Billboard 200, with 11 of them making the top half of the chart.
Current Grammy nominees Benson Boone, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Doechii, RAYE, Sabrina Carpenter, Shakira, and Teddy Swims are the first performers announced for the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. Additional performers will be announced in the coming days. Live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and hosted by Trevor Noah, the show will be […]
Cynthia Erivo is defying gravity with her Oscars nomination.
The Academy unveiled its 2025 nominees on Thursday (Jan. 23), with Erivo snagging a nod in the best actress in a leading role category for her portrayal of Elphaba in Jon M. Chu’s Wicked. To celebrate, the star took to Instagram to share a series of photos from the film, along with a heartfelt caption expressing her gratitude for the honor. “Moments like this don’t come along very often, and when they do, it is sacrilege to let them pass by without a moment of gratitude. I am grateful, grateful to @theacademy, grateful to be a part of something that makes people feel seen, grateful to be a cog in the wheel of a piece that makes us believe in magic, grateful to have experienced a dream come true, and deeply deeply grateful for this unbelievable recognition,” she wrote.
Erivo continued, “I often get asked what I would say to my younger self. Well today there’s nothing to be said. She is smiling, beaming, glowing from ear to ear. That speaks volumes.”
She went on to congratulate her co-star Ariana Grande, who received her first-ever nomination for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Glinda. “To my sister, @arianagrande, what a joy it is to be here with you watching as you ascend and amaze and become the actress you were meant to be. Congratulations first time nominee, I’m so so proud of you!! There is no one in the world I would have wanted to do this with more than you.”
Trending on Billboard
Erivo also thanked Chu, who she deemed, “our fearless leader whose kindness provided us with the room to play,” adding, “you are deserving of all good things and I’m lucky to call you my brother.”
See her full post here. The actress was previously nominated for best actress in 2020 for her role in Harriet, as well as best original song for the film’s “Stand Up.”
Erivo is up against Emilia Pérez‘s Karla Sofía Gascón, Anora‘s Mikey Madison, The Substance‘s Demi Moore and I’m Still Here‘s Fernanda Torres. Earning 10 nods total this year, Wicked ties with The Brutalist for second-most nominated project at the 2025 Oscars. Only Emilia Pérez has more, scoring 13 total.
Boq is proud of his Glinda. Shortly after 2025 Oscar nominations were announced Thursday (Jan. 23) — revealing that Ariana Grande is in the running for best supporting actress for her Wicked performance — Ethan Slater shared a sweet photo on Instagram celebrating his superstar girlfriend’s success.
Allowing the picture to speak for itself, the Broadway actor simply uploaded a captionless snap of the “Yes, And?” singer standing by a window in what appears to be a hotel room, holding a bundle of pink balloons. Slater also tagged Grande — who reshared the post on her Story — and the Academy as well as the film.
The Spongebob Squarepants: The Musical star’s post comes shortly after the R.E.M. Beauty founder shared her own post reacting to the Oscar news, gushing that she “cannot stop crying” over receiving her first-ever nod. “i’m humbled and deeply honored to be in such brilliant company and sharing this with tiny ari who sat and studied Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow just before the big, beautiful bubble entered,” the pop star wrote. “i’m so proud of you, tiny.”
Trending on Billboard
Slater and the two-time Grammy winner have been dating since 2023 after meeting on the set of Wicked. Grande was previously married to luxury realtor Dalton Gomez for three years; the pair finalized their divorce in March last year. Slater was previously married to therapist Lilly Jay, with whom he shares a young son; they settled their divorce in September.
Grande and Slater have largely kept their relationship private, but both have previously spoken about the backlash they faced when their relationship first came to light. In a September cover story interview with Vanity Fair, Grande said that “the most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version” of events.
“No one on this Earth tries harder or spreads themselves thinner to be there for the people that he loves and cares about,” Grande added at the time. “There is no one on this Earth with a better heart, and that is something that no bulls–t tabloid can rewrite in real life.”
In October, Slater reflected to GQ, “It’s really hard to see people who don’t know anything about what’s happening commenting on it and speculating, and then getting things wrong about the people you love … I’m just really, really proud of Ari and the work she’s done.”
In addition to Grande’s best supporting actress nod, Wicked received nine other nominations ahead of the 2025 Oscars, tying it with The Brutalist for second-most nominated. Emilia Pérez takes the lead this year with 13 nods total.
The Victorious alum’s co-leading lady Cynthia Erivo is also nominated, earning a best actress recognition, while Wicked is up for best picture, best original score and more.
01/23/2025
Kendrick Lamar, Ariana Grande and The Beatles are among artists who either did better or worse than expected.
01/23/2025