Awards
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Music’s big night is finally here. Hosted by Michelle Buteau, the 2024 Billboard Music Awards are airing live Thursday (Dec. 12) at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX and Fire TV Channels.
Zach Bryan, Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen and Sabrina Carpenter are the leading finalists for the BBMAs, with Bryan sitting atop the pack with 18 nods. Swift follows with 16, Wallen is close behind with 15, and first-time finalist Carpenter has nine. Other first-time finalists to keep an eye on include Tyla and Teddy Swims tied at eight nods, Benson Boone and Shaboozey locked in at six each, and Chappell Roan with two. See the full list of finalists here.
Don’t want to miss a moment? We’ve compiled everything you need to know to watch the BBMAs on TV and online from the comfort of your home. Check out all the streaming options available below.
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How to Watch & Stream the 2024 Billboard Awards
The awards show presented by Marriott Bonvoy will broadcast live on FOX and Fire TV channels on Thursday, Dec. 12, at 8 p.m. ET/PT and on-demand on Paramount+, with performances also rolling out across Billboard.com and via @BBMAs and @Billboard social channels.
No cable? No problem. You can stream the Billboard Music Awards live on DirecTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV or Fubo TV, all of which offer a live feed of FOX. DirecTV is currently running a five-day free trial, as well as a limited-time $15 discount on your first two months. Use it to livestream the Billboard Music Awards online for free. You can cancel before your free trial is up to avoid being charged.
Hulu + Live TV streaming plans start at $82.99/month for access to 90+ live channels, plus Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+.
Another great way to watch the awards show online for free is through Fubo. The service is offering a seven-day free trial here that you can use to stream the 2024 BBMAs online free through your phone, laptop, tablet or smart TV.
Paramount+ streaming plans start at $7.99/month after a one-week free trial. To stream with with no ads, upgrade to Paramount+ with Showtime for access to CBS live, Showtime original programming, and download features to watch your favorite shows and movies offline.
2024 Billboard Music Awards Performers
The 2024 BBMAs will feature many must-see acts, including Tyla bringing the party to a London pub, an electric showing from Linkin Park, and a special Shaboozey performance from W Hollywood.
Other performances include rock band Coldplay; country stars Jelly Roll and Megan Moroney; K-pop stars SEVENTEEN and Stray Kids; blue-eyed soul singer Teddy Swims; and regional Mexican band Fuerza Regida.
Swift and Drake are leading candidates in many categories, and there’s one historic record that either could break during the 2024 show. The artists are currently tied for the most wins in BBMAs history with 39 each. With a combined 24 nods at the 2024 show, including the Top Artist award, their tie could be broken this year.
Watch the 2024 Billboard Music Awards live online for free with a free trial to DirecTV Stream here.
Stray Kids perform “S-Class” and “LALALALA” at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards, giving “LALALALA” its debut performance at an awards show. Stray Kids are a finalist for Top Global K-Pop Artist and Top K-Pop Album at the 2023 BBMAs. The 2023 BBMAs feature performances from artists whose music dominated the Billboard charts between November 19, […]
Morgan Wallen accepts the awards for Top Male Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Streaming Songs Artist, Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist, Top Country Tour, Top Billboard 200 Album for “One Thing At a Time,” Top Country Album for “One Thing At a Time,” Top Hot 100 Song for “Last Night,” Top Streaming […]
The nominees have been announced for the Country Music Association’s CMA Touring Awards, which honor behind-the-scenes industry members within country music’s touring industry in categories including crew of the year, coach/truck driver of the year, manager of the year, touring musician of the year, and many more.
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The CMA Touring Awards ceremony will be held Monday, March 3, in Nashville, with final-round voting opening Monday, Jan. 6, and closing Thursday, Jan. 16. All balloting is tabulated by the professional services organization Deloitte.
Keith Urban will return for a third year as host of the ceremony. Longtime country music concert promoter Ben Farrell will be posthumously celebrated with the CMA touring lifetime achievement award, which is given to an individual who has positively impacted and contributed to the growth of touring throughout the years.
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“Taking the time to honor the outstanding work of our touring community is one of our most proud nights of the year,” Sarah Trahern, CMA chief executive officer, said in a statement. “Our road warriors are the ones who take the soul of Nashville on the road and share it with the rest of the world in creative and exciting ways. Country music’s growth simply would not be possible without each and every one of our nominees and we are so excited to celebrate them this coming March.”
The CMA Touring Awards were originally known as the SRO (Standing Room Only) Awards and were launched by the CMA’s board of directors in 1990 to honor professional achievement within the touring industry. The first awards were presented at a black-tie gala hosted by K.T. Oslin and Roger Miller during CMA’s Entertainment Expo, also known as the Talent Buyers Entertainment Marketplace. Ten awards were presented at the first gala, and the number has grown over the years to its current 20 categories. The SRO Awards were renamed the CMA Touring Awards in 2016.
See the full list of nominees below:
Crew of the year
The Beautifully Broken Tour Crew – Jelly RollCountry’s Cool Again Tour Crew – Lainey WilsonGravel & Gold Tour Crew – Dierks BentleyGrowin’ Up And Gettin’ Old Tour Crew – Luke CombsNo Bad Vibes Tour Crew – Old DominionOne Night At a Time Tour Crew – Morgan WallenQuit!! Tour Crew – HardySun Goes Down Tour Crew – Kenny Chesney
Backline technician of the yearDerek Benitez – Chris StapletonDalton Brown – Lainey WilsonWilliam Coats – Eric ChurchAllen Cothran – Jason AldeanTerry Fox – Kenny ChesneyDave Graef – Tim McGrawHunter Lamb – HardyBrian Love – Luke Combs
Business manager of the year
Stephanie Alderman – Farris, Self & Moore, LLCRenee Allen – Arnie Barn, Inc.Julie Boos – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.Kris Wiatr – Wiatr & Associates, LLCDwight Wiles – Wiles + Taylor & Co., PC
Coach/truck driver of the year
Chad Allison – HardyJosh Easter – Morgan WallenToby Eaton – Old DominionRhett Evens – Thomas RhettTerry Ford – Kenny ChesneyCaleb Garrett – Luke BryanWendy Holt – Lainey WilsonChris Sims – Jelly Roll
FOH (front of house) engineer of the year
Ryan Dell – Lainey WilsonRon Gardner – Jelly RollTodd Lewis – Luke CombsDavid Loy – Kane BrownEvan Owen – HardyJeff Parsons – Blake SheltonRobert Scovill – Kenny ChesneyIan Zorbaugh – Old Dominion
Lighting director of the year
Zac Coren – Morgan WallenTrevor Drawdy – HardyPhilip Ealy – Kenny ChesneyAndy Knighton – Jason AldeanMitch Mueller – Lainey WilsonKevin Northrup – Luke CombsChris Reade – Dierks BentleyAlec Takahashi – Thomas Rhett
Manager of the year
Elisabeth Ashley – Borman EntertainmentEnzo DeVincenzo – 377 ManagementMartha Earls – Neon CoastKerri Edwards – KP EntertainmentClint Higham – Morris Higham ManagementTroy “Tracker” Johnson – Big Loud Mountain ManagementChris Kappy – Make Wake Artists
Monitor engineer of the year
Beau Alexander – Morgan WallenBrad Baisley – Blake SheltonCory Benson – Tyler ChildersSamuel Ferry – HardyLogan Hanna – Brothers OsborneJimmy Nicholson – Thomas RhettDean Studebaker – Old DominionMichael Zuehsow – Luke Combs
Production manager of the year
Chris Alderman – Blake SheltonJeff Greeninger – Jon PardiChad Guy – Morgan WallenMeesha Koscioleck – Eric ChurchEarl Neal – Jason AldeanJerry Slone – Luke CombsEmily Waller – Lainey WilsonEd Wannebo – Kenny Chesney
Publicist of the year
Janet Buck – Essential Broadcast MediaCarla Sacks – Sacks & Co.Jessie Schmidt – Schmidt RelationsJensen Sussman – Sweet Talk PublicityWes Vause – Press On PublicityJennifer Vessio – 1220 Entertainment Publicity
Stage manager of the year
Sam “Sambo” Coats – Eric ChurchDonnie Floyd – Morgan WallenMatt Hornbeck – Luke CombsJosh “Dude” Marcus – Jason AldeanTom Nisun – Kenny ChesneyAllison Noah – Carly PearceRichard Rossey – Old DominionFred Yanda – Dan + Shay
Support services company of the year
Bandit LitesDega CateringMaster Tour By EventricMoo TVPioneer CoachRichards & SouthernRising Star TravelSpectrum Sound
Talent agent of the year
Mike Betterton – Wasserman MusicRod Essig – CAABecky Gardenhire – WMEMeredith Jones – CAAAustin Neal – The Neal AgencyBraeden Rountree – WMEAdi Sharma – The Neal AgencyElisa Vazzana – UTA
Talent buyer/promoter of the year
Todd Boltin – Variety AttractionsBrad Garrett – Police ProductionsBradley Jordan – Peachtree EntertainmentBrian O’Connell – Live Nation NashvilleAaron Spalding – Live Nation NashvilleEd Warm – Joe’s BarAdam Weiser – AEG Presents
Tour manager of the yearMatt Anderson – Old DominionDavid Farmer – Kenny ChesneyJeff Gossett – Morgan WallenJason Hecht – Chris StapletonMike McGrath – Tim McGrawEthan Strunk – Luke CombsTaylor Watson – Hardy
Touring musician of the year
Kurt Allison (Guitar) – Jason AldeanNick Buda (Drums) – Kenny ChesneyJerry Flowers (Bass Guitar) – Keith UrbanAslan Freeman (Guitar) – Lainey WilsonKurt Ozan (Guitar) – Luke CombsMickey Raphael (Harmonica) – Chris StapletonTyler Tomlinson (Guitar) – Morgan WallenCharlie Worsham (Guitar) – Dierks Bentley
Tour videographer/photographer of the year
Mason Allen – Old DominionAlex Alvga – Kane BrownAndy Barron – Chris StapletonBecky Fluke – Little Big TownTanner Gallagher – HardyJeff Johnson – Carrie UnderwoodDavid Lehr – Morgan WallenJill Trunnell – Kenny Chesney
Tour video director of the year
Josh Clark – Miranda LambertJay Cooper – Kenny ChesneyHouston Creswell – Dierks BentleyRon Etters – Chris StapletonTyler Hutcheson – Luke CombsJordan Karow – HardyMike Tinsley – Tim McGrawJake Zobrist – Cody Johnson
Venue of the year
Ascend Amphitheater – NashvilleBankNH Pavilion – Gilford, N.H.Billy Bob’s Texas – Fort Worth, TexasBridgestone Arena – NashvilleGrand Ole Opry House – NashvilleJoe’s on Weed St. – ChicagoRyman Auditorium – Nashville
Unsung hero of the year
Holly Atherton – Chris StapletonKayla Carter Greear – Luke BryanMindy Grabowski – Live Nation EntertainmentJeff “Bean” Griffin – HardyLolo Kinser – Tim McGrawRobin Majors – Kenny ChesneyMel Murphy – Live Nation NashvilleKatie Wilkinson – Chris Stapleton
Linkin Park is set to perform on Thursday’s 2024 Billboard Music Awards.
They’ll join an eclectic roster of performers on the show, which is set to air Thursday (Dec. 12) at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX. Previously announced performers include fellow rock band Coldplay; country stars Jelly Roll, Megan Moroney and Shaboozey; K-pop stars SEVENTEEN and Stray Kids; blue-eyed soul singer Teddy Swims, South African singer Tyla, and regional Mexican band Fuerza Regida.
Linkin Park has amassed six No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, including Collision Course, the band’s 2004 collab with Jay-Z that was influential in breaking down walls between genres. The band has had three top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 – “In the End” (No. 2 in 2002), “What I’ve Done” (No. 7 in 2007) and “New Divide” (No. 6 in 2009).
The band released its eighth studio album, From Zero, in November. It was the band’s first album with vocalist Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain following the death of vocalist Chester Bennington in 2017 and the departure of drummer Rob Bourdon the following year. The album debuted and peaked at No. 2.
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A tour in support of the album, the “From Zero World Tour,” began in September and is set to conclude in November 2025. A book about the band, IT STARTS WITH ONE: The Legend and Legacy of Linkin Park, by Jason Lipshutz, Billboard‘s executive director of music, was published by Hachette Books on Oct. 1.
Hosted by actress and comedian Michelle Buteau, the 2024 BBMAs presented by Marriott Bonvoy is set to air on Thursday, Dec. 12, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX and Fire TV Channels, and on-demand on Paramount+, with performances also rolling out across Billboard.com and via @BBMAs and @Billboard social channels.
As previously announced, Zach Bryan, Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen and Sabrina Carpenter are the leading finalists for the 2024 Billboard Music Awards.
This marks the show’s return to FOX, which carried the show from its 1990 inaugural broadcast through 2006. In addition, Paramount+ will provide on-demand streaming of the show, while the free Fire TV Channels app will provide one-click access to fans using Amazon devices (Fire TV smart TVs and streaming media players and Fire Tablets).
The BBMAs will celebrate music’s greatest achievements with exclusive original performances, artist interviews, and award celebrations taking place from global locations and in the midst of sold-out tours.
The BBMAs honors the year’s biggest artists, albums, songs, producers and songwriters across multiple genres, as determined by year-end performance metrics on the Billboard charts. The eligibility dates for this year’s awards are aligned with Billboard’s Year-End Charts tracking period, which measures music consumption from the charts dated Oct. 28, 2023 through Oct. 19, 2024.
The Billboard Music Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Corporation. PMC is also the parent company of Billboard.
The show is presented by Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International’s travel program and portfolio of more than 30 hotel brands. For more information, visit MarriottBonvoy.com
Taylor Swift and Drake are currently tied for the most wins in the history of the Billboard Music Awards – 39 each. That tie may well be broken this year: Swift is a finalist for 17 awards this year. Drake is up for eight. Hosted by actress and comedian Michelle Buteau, the 2024 BBMAs show […]
For the first time since the Oscars were first televised in 1953, the 2025 edition of the granddaddy of all award shows will stream live on Hulu for all subscribers, in addition to airing live on ABC. Many award shows, even those still airing on broadcast networks, have taken on streaming partners in recent years. […]
Country crossover sensation Shaboozey and regional Mexican band Fuerza Regida are set to perform on the 2024 Billboard Music Awards, which is set to air Thursday, Dec. 12, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX and Fire TV Channels.
They will join SEVENTEEN, Teddy Swims, Tyla, Coldplay, Jelly Roll, Megan Moroney and Stray Kids, who were previously announced as performers on the show.
Shaboozey is a finalist for six BBMA awards: top new artist, top song sales artist and four awards for his megahit “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” That smash, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-tying 19 weeks, is a finalist for top Hot 100 song, top streaming song, top selling song and top country song.
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Shaboozey will deliver a special performance from W Hollywood, part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio. The crossover star’s third studio album, Where I’ve Been Isn’t Where I’m Going, debuted and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 in June.
Fuerza Regida’s seventh studio album Pa Las Baby’s y Belikeada entered the Billboard 200 at No. 14 in November 2023 and has been a fixture on the chart for 58 weeks. Its follow-up, Pero No Te Enamores, debuted and peaked at No. 25 in August. The group has amassed 11 Hot 100 hits, including three that have made the top 30 – “Bebe Dame,” a collab with Grupo Frontera, “Sabor Fresa” and “Tu Boda,” a collab with Óscar Maydon.
Hosted by actress and comedian Michelle Buteau, the 2024 BBMAs presented by Marriott Bonvoy is set to air on Thursday, Dec. 12, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX and Fire TV Channels, and on-demand on Paramount+, with performances also rolling out across Billboard.com and via @BBMAs and @Billboard social channels.
As previously announced, Zach Bryan, Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen and Sabrina Carpenter are the leading finalists for the 2024 Billboard Music Awards.
This marks the show’s return to FOX, which carried the show from its 1990 inaugural broadcast through 2006. In addition, Paramount+ will provide on-demand streaming of the show, while the free Fire TV Channels app will provide one-click access to fans using Amazon devices (Fire TV smart TVs and streaming media players and Fire Tablets).
The BBMAs will celebrate music’s greatest achievements with exclusive original performances, artist interviews, and award celebrations taking place from global locations and in the midst of sold-out tours. Additional performers and special guests will be announced soon.
The BBMAs honors the year’s biggest artists, albums, songs, producers and songwriters across multiple genres, as determined by year-end performance metrics on the Billboard charts. The eligibility dates for this year’s awards are aligned with Billboard’s Year-End Charts tracking period, which measures music consumption from the charts dated Oct. 28, 2023 through Oct. 19, 2024.
The Billboard Music Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Corporation. PMC is also the parent company of Billboard.
The show is presented by Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International’s travel program and portfolio of more than 30 hotel brands. For more information, visit MarriottBonvoy.com
BMI honored Graham Lyle with the BMI Icon Award at the 2024 BMI London Awards. The private event, held at The Savoy in London on Monday, Dec. 9, was hosted by BMI president and CEO Mike O’Neill.
As part of the tribute, Rich Soul Ensemble performed a medley of some of Lyle’s most popular songs including “What’s Love Got to Do With It” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero,” both originally performed by Tina Turner, and “Just Good Friends,” originally performed by Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder.
Upon receiving the award, which was previously announced, Lyle thanked people who have supported him over the years, including his longtime co-writer Terry Britten; his former McGuinness Flint bandmates Hughie Flint and Tom McGuinness; and Paul McCartney. He then played acoustic renditions of “Heart on My Sleeve,” originally performed by Ringo Starr, and “Something Beautiful Remains,” originally performed by Turner.
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“Creepin,” written by Enya, Nick Ryan, Roma Ryan, Carlos “Lo” Jones and Mario Winans, was named London song of the year. This award is given to the most performed song of the previous year in the BMI repertoire by UK or European writers.
“Creepin,’” performed by Metro Boomin, The Weeknd and 21 Savage, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart in December 2022 and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 2023. The song is a partial remake of Winans’ 2004 hit “I Don’t Want to Know,” featuring Enya.
During the ceremony, BMI Million-Air Awards were presented to the songwriters and publishers whose works have achieved the rare feat of surpassing one million broadcast performances on U.S. radio, or multiples thereof. Among the hit songs honored were “Every Breath You Take” written by Sting with 19 million performances, “Another One Bites The Dust” by Queen (10 million), “Here I Go Again,” by Bernie Marsden of Whitesnake (9 million), “I Melt With You” by Modern English (8 million), “Listen to Your Heart,” by Roxette (7 million), “Islands in the Stream” written by Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb (6 million) and “Someone You Loved,” written by Tom Barnes and Sam Roman (5 million).
Awards for the most-performed pop, film, television, cable and streaming songs were also presented throughout the ceremony. For pop, LiTek and whYJay accepted an award for “Doja” performed by Central Cee; Blush Davis and Chris James were honored for “Like Crazy” by Jimin of BTS; and Ari PenSmith, Believve, Jack LoMastro, Olmo, rayo and Sammy SoSo were presented an award for “Water” by Tyla.
Among the composers honored, Atli Örvarsson won six BMI Network Television Awards for his work on Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago P.D., FBI, FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted. Tom Howe received three awards for his work in streaming in both film and TV series categories for The People We Hate at the Wedding and Apple’s Shrinking and Ted Lasso, respectively.
A complete list of 2024 winners will soon be available on the BMI London Awards’ website.
Honoring the Grateful Dead without including co-founder Jerry Garcia, which the Kennedy Centers Honors program is doing this year, would be like honoring Earth, Wind & Fire without including Maurice White. Oh wait – the Kennedy Center did that too, in 2019, when they honored three members of the groundbreaking R&B group, but not its principal architect.
It’s not that the Kennedy Center is unaware of what a crucial role Garcia and White played in those groups. It’s just that they reserve their honors for artists who are living. Garcia died in 1995, 29 years before the group was chosen for the Kennedy Center Honors. White died in 2016, three years before EWF got the nod.
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This year’s Kennedy Center Honors were presented on Sunday Dec. 8 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. The show, hosted by Queen Latifah, will air on CBS on Sunday Dec. 22 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT.
The members of Grateful Dead who are being honored are drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, bass guitarist Phil Lesh and rhythm guitarist Bobby Weir. Lesh died on Oct. 25, three months after this year’s honorees were announced. (The Kennedy Center allows posthumous inductions if the honorees were selected before they died.)
Two other groups received Kennedy Center Honors without key members who had died by the time the groups were included. The Who was honored in 2008, but without drummer Keith Moon, who died in 1978, or bassist John Entwistle, who died in 2002. Led Zeppelin were honored in 2012, but drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980, was not posthumously included.
The Kennedy Center Honors’ site makes plain that the awards “provide recognition to living individuals (emphasis added) who throughout their lifetimes have made significant contributions to American culture through the performing arts.” (Here’s a link to the site’s list of previous inductees.)
Eagles were selected for the Kennedy Center Honors in 2015, but founding member Glenn Frey was too ill to attend, so the honor was postponed one year. By that time, Frey had died, but the Center included him as a recipient anyway – on the grounds that the group was selected before he died. I’ll take it, but a better reason to honor him would have been that he co-founded the genre-bridging group with Don Henley and it wouldn’t have been what it was without him.
Mercifully, all four members of U2 were alive when the band received the honors in 2022. So were both members of The Nicholas Brothers, a popular dance duo of the 1930s to the 1950s. But if one of them had passed away, should that have precluded them from receiving the honor?
The Beatles, the GOAT of all pop and rock groups, are conspicuous by their absence on the roster of Kennedy Center Honors recipients. Paul McCartney was honored as an individual in 2010. A century from now, people looking over the list of Kennedy Center Honors recipients will find it strange that McCartney was honored but the group in which he did his best and most lasting work was not. Why haven’t they been? John Lennon died in 1980, followed by George Harrison in 2001. Their deaths are tragic losses, but why should those deaths keep the group from receiving an award it undisputably deserves?
Bee Gees were never honored. Instead, Barry Gibb got a solo nod in 2023, after the deaths of his brothers Maurice in 2003 and Robin in 2012. Even Barry Gibb would probably say it would have made more sense for him to be saluted alongside his brothers. Almost all of their successes as recording artists were as a unit.
The Beach Boys were never honored. Instead, Brian Wilson got a solo nod in 2007. He was unquestionably the group’s resident genius, but the quintet was one of the most iconic American groups of all time. Unfortunately, Wilson’s brother Dennis died in 1983, followed by Carl in 1998.
There are a few cases where it’s debatable whether it would have made more sense to honor an individual or the entire group. The Kennedy Center honored R&B great Mavis Staples in 2016. Two other members of The Staple Singers had died by that point – Pops Staples (in 2000) and Cleotha Staples (in 2013). In similar fashion, Gladys Knight was honored in 2022. Two other members of the mighty Gladys Knight & the Pips had died at that point – Edward Patten (in 2005) and William Guest (in 2015). There are arguments to be made on both sides about whether it made more sense to honor Staples and Knight as individuals or with the groups in which they had most of their greatest successes, but the fact that group members had died should not be the deciding factor.
When the Kennedy Center Honors finally get around to The Rolling Stones (and what are they waiting for?) it would be nice if they included drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021. Other groups that are (or should be) on their list of future inductees which have both living and dead members include Fleetwood Mac, Chicago, Pink Floyd and Queen.
It’s a sad fact of life that artists die. But with our greatest artists, their work lives on. The Kennedy Center should modify its rules so all key members of groups and duos are honored, whether they’re still living at the time of their inductions or have taken their final earthly bows.
The Kennedy Center Honors has become perhaps the most prestigious honor in American arts and entertainment. Who they choose to honor matters. That’s why they should take a close look at this limiting policy.
If they start to honor group members who have died, should they also change their rules and honor individuals who have died – maybe one per year? I certainly wouldn’t object. They could start with Elvis Presley and Bing Crosby, who died in 1977, the year before the Kennedy Center Honors got underway. And they could catch up to some other great artists they missed, including Prince, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Burt Bacharach.
This year’s other honorees, in addition to the Dead, are Bonnie Raitt, jazz musician Arturo Sandoval; director and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola; and The Apollo, which will receive a special Honors as an iconic American institution.