State Champ Radio Grammy Nominations
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It seems Diddy will stay away from the public eye much longer than many expected. He will not be attending the 2024 Grammy Awards despite being nominated.
Digital Music News is reporting that the Bad Boy Entertainment mogul will not be in the house for the 66th edition of the ceremony that will honor the best in music. The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively confirmed this with one of Diddy’s representatives. His decision to bow out seems to stem from the multiple allegations of sexual assault made against the New York City native. While the Board of Trustees of the Recording Academy have not formally rescinded his invite, they told Radar Online on Dec. 11 that they are “taking very seriously and we are in the process of evaluating it with the time and care that it deserves.”
Diddy’s latest effort, The Love Album: Off The Grid, was nominated for Best Progressive R&B album along with SZA’s SOS, Janelle Monáe’s The Age Of Pleasure, 6LACK’s Since I Have A Lover and Nova by Terrence Martin and James Fauntleroy. This nod marks Diddy’s first Grammy Award nomination since 2004 when he won for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for “Shake Ya Tailfeather” with Nelly and Murphy Lee.
In the past, the Recording Academy has faced criticism for including talent facing scandal. Last year, Dave Chappelle, Dr. Luke and Louis CK were all respectively nominated for awards. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, they made it clear that the nominations do not necessarily reflect the feelings of the Academy. “Our job is to evaluate the art and the quality of the art. The thing that we can control is making sure that people that attend our events feel safe … and don’t feel threatened by anyone,” Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said.
Diddy has denied all the allegations against him.
Tyla, the 21-year old South African singer/songwriter, has exquisite timing.
She has broken big just as the Recording Academy added a new category this year, best African music performance. Her global hit “Water” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart on Oct. 21, one day after first-round voting for the 66th Grammy Awards ended. On Nov. 10, “Water” was announced as one of the nominees in that category. This week, just two weeks before final-round voting begins, that hit breaks into the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. (Final-round voting extends from Dec. 14 to Jan. 4, 2024.)
Tyla couldn’t have timed her breakthrough, and her song’s emergence as a top 10 hit, better if she had done it all specifically with Grammy deadlines in mind.
Does having a hit right as Grammy voters are making their final selections make a difference? Let’s just say it never hurt.
And Tyla isn’t alone. Here are other songs in this week’s top 40 on the Hot 100 that are nominated for Grammys this year (or are from albums that are Grammy-nominated). We also included two artists with hits in the current top 40 who are nominated for best new artist (Jelly Roll and Noah Kahan).
The numbers shown are the song’s ranking on the Hot 100 dated Dec. 2.
3. Doja Cat, “Paint the Town Red.” Best pop solo performance
5. SZA, “Snooze.” Best R&B song, album of the year and best progressive R&B album (SOS).
6. Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves, “I Remember Everything.” Best country duo/group performance, best country song, best country album (Zach Bryan)
10. Tyla, “Water.” Best African music performance
14. Morgan Wallen, “Last Night.” Best country song (Note: Wallen isn’t nominated because he didn’t co-write the song.)
18. Luke Combs, “Fast Car.” Best country solo performance
21. Jelly Roll, “Need a Favor.” Best new artist
22. Jelly Roll with Lainey Wilson, “Save Me.” Best new artist, best country duo/group performance
23. Olivia Rodrigo, “Vampire.” Record of the year, song of the year, best pop solo performance, album of the year and best pop vocal album (Guts)
27. Chris Stapleton, “White Horse.” Best country solo performance, best country song
30. Miley Cyrus, “Used to Be Young.” Album of the year and best pop vocal album (Endless Summer Vacation)
31. Dua Lipa, “Dance the Night.” Song of the year, best song written for visual media, best score soundtrack for visual media (Barbie: The Album)
36. Billie Eilish, “What Was I Made For.” Record of the year, song of the year, best pop solo performance, best music video, best song written for visual media, best score soundtrack for visual media (Barbie: The Album)
37. Noah Kahan, “Stick Season.” Best new artist
Last week, the Recording Academy added Mick Jagger and Keith Richards as arrangers of the classical-shaded treatment of The Rolling Stones’ rock classic “Paint It Black,” which was recorded for a memorable cello scene in the first episode of Netflix’s Wednesday. Jagger and Richards are now listed alongside Esin Aydingoz, Chris Bacon and Alana Da Fonseca, who had been listed as the arrangers of the track when the nominations for best arrangement, instrumental or a cappella were announced on Nov. 10.
Wednesday, which debuted on Netflix in November 2022, has also aired cello renditions of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” and Dua Lipa’s “Physical.”
This is the first Grammy nomination as arrangers for Jagger and Richards. The rock legends have shared 15 nods over the years; Jagger has achieved two more on his own. Jagger and Richards are also nominated this year for best rock song for co-writing “Angry,” which was the lead single from Hackney Diamonds, the band’s first studio album of new material in 18 years.
The Stones’ original version of “Paint It Black” was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1966. (The title was originally shown as “Paint It, Black,” apparently due to a typo.)
This is the second time Jagger and Richards have been nominated for a Grammy on account of a new recording that borrowed from a Stones classic. At the 41st Grammy Awards in February 1999, they were nominated for best rock song for The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” which was based on a sample from a version of The Stones’ “The Last Time” by The Andrew Oldham Orchestra. “Bitter Sweet Symphony” reached No. 12 on the Hot 100 in April 1998.
The Verve had obtained rights to use the sample of “The Last Time” from the copyright holder, Decca Records, but were denied permission from The Stones’ former manager, Allen Klein. Following a lawsuit, The Verve relinquished all royalties, and Jagger and Richards were added to the songwriting credits, alongside The Verve’s Richard Ashcroft. In 2019, a decade after Klein’s death in 2009, Jagger, Richards and Klein’s son ceded the rights to Ashcroft. The Grammy nods for Jagger and Richards (alongside Ashcroft) remain, however.
The Stones’ original versions of “The Last Time” and “Paint It Black” weren’t nominated for Grammys. In fact, The Stones weren’t nominated for a Grammy in any category until 1978, when their Billboard 200-topping album Some Girls was nominated for album of the year. How to explain the Grammys snubbing such all-time classics as “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” “Honky Tonk Women” and “Brown Sugar”? The Grammys were resistant to rock in the 1960s, and didn’t have genre categories exclusively dedicated to rock until 1979. The Academy attempted to make amends with the band in 1986 when it presented them with a lifetime achievement award.
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What constitutes a new artist? It’s a question that’s likely on the minds of many who have pored over the list of best new artist nominees at next year’s Grammys.
Indeed, this year’s crop — announced along with the rest of the nominees on Friday (Nov. 10) — includes several acts with notably deep discographies. Jelly Roll — one of 2023’s biggest breakthroughs — started releasing a long string of albums more than a decade ago. Victoria Monét put out her debut EP way back in 2015. And prior to releasing this year’s Lover’s Game, Americana duo The War and Treaty already had three albums under their belt and years of experience outside the band before that.
This is far from a new phenomenon. Chance the Rapper, who won best new artist in 2017, had released three albums prior to winning the award. Lizzo had also put out three full-lengths, including her breakthrough smash Cuz I Love You, prior to her 2020 nomination in the category. And the category’s 2011 winner, Esperanza Spalding, had likewise put out a trio of albums prior to taking home the award.
Some of this is the result of The Recording Academy changing the eligibility criteria over the last decade-and-a-half. After Lady Gaga was deemed ineligible for best new artist in 2010 because she’d been nominated for a Grammy for best dance recording the year prior, the academy updated its rules to allow previous nominees to be nominated for best new artist — just as long as they hadn’t actually won a Grammy, or released an entire album.
Six years after that, the academy again updated the eligibility requirements “to remove the album barrier given current trends in how new music and developing artists are released and promoted.” It also required artists to have “released a minimum of five singles/tracks or one album, but no more than 30 singles/tracks or three albums” in order to qualify.
In 2020, the academy updated the requirements once more by declining to specify the “maximum number of releases” an artist could put out before being deemed ineligible. Instead, it stated that “screening committees will determine whether the artist had attained a breakthrough or prominence prior to the eligibility year.” Today, the academy officially describes the category as recognizing “an artist whose eligibility-year release(s) achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape.” In sum, the definition of “new” has become more open-ended than ever.
That may be why this year’s group of nominees is arguably one of the most head-scratching in Grammys history. Below, we take a look at just how “new” this year’s best new artist nominees really are.
The 2024 Grammy Awards ceremony will be telecast live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Feb. 4.
Gracie Abrams
Image Credit: Danielle Neu
The 2024 Grammy Awards nominations were released today (Nov. 10), with SZA, Victoria Monet and Phoebe Bridgers among the artists receiving the most nods for the Feb. 4 awards. For the fourth time in the past six years, Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA) artists racked up the most nominations among labels in the “Big Four” categories of record, album and song of the year and best new artist.
IGA artists accumulated 13 nominations among those top categories, more than doubling the next-highest label tally. They include Jon Batiste (Verve/Interscope), boygenius, Olivia Rodrigo (Geffen) and Lana Del Rey, all of whom landed multiple nominations. Billie Eilish also scored two, for record and song of the year for her track “What Was I Made For?” off the Barbie soundtrack album. (Eilish is a Darkroom/Interscope artist, though that soundtrack was released by Atlantic Records; in this case, those nominations are being counted for both Interscope and Atlantic. Warner Records artist Dua Lipa’s contribution to that soundtrack, “Dance The Night,” was also nominated for song of the year and is also counted for both labels.)
Notably, three of those Interscope artists — Eilish, Rodrigo and Bridgers, who is a member of boygenius — were nominees for best new artist within the past four years, with both Eilish (in 2020) and Rodrigo (in 2022) winning the honor. This year, Interscope has another artist, Gracie Abrams, nominated in the category.
Behind IGA, both Atlantic and RCA picked up five nominations among the Big Four categories, tying for second place among labels. Atlantic has three from the Barbie soundtrack, as well as an album of the year nomination for Janelle Monae’s The Age Of Pleasure and a best new artist nod for dance act Fred Again… SZA led the way for RCA, with her hit “Kill Bill” earning record and song of the year noms and album SOS picking up an album of the year nod, while Victoria Monet was recognized for record of the year for “On My Mama” as well as best new artist for the Sony-owned label.
Beyond those three labels, Taylor Swift’s three nominations in the Big Four — record and song for “Anti-Hero” and album for Midnights — led the way for Republic, which also saw Noah Kahan (Mercury/Republic) pick up a best new artist nomination to round out its total of four nods. Meanwhile, Miley Cyrus’ three Big Four nominations — record and song for “Flowers,” album for Endless Summer Vacation — accounted for all nods in the Big Four for Columbia, which led all labels in Big Four nominations last year. Other labels whose artists received Big Four nominations include Capitol (Ice Spice, best new artist, in collaboration with 10K Projects), BBR Music Group (Jelly Roll, best new artist), Def Jam (Coco Jones, best new artist), UMG Nashville (The War and Treaty, best new artist) and Warner Records (Dua Lipa’s “Dance The Night,” song of the year).
Broken out by label group, Universal Music Group led the way with 20 nominations in the Big Four categories, while Sony Music Entertainment picked up eight, Warner Music Group accounted for five and BMG, which owns BBR Music Group, received one.
Gracie Abrams was one of the buzziest names on the figurative list of contenders for best new artist at the 2024 Grammys — releasing an acclaimed debut album and touring with Taylor Swift will do that to you.
Still, the 24-year-old singer-songwriter insists that she truly wasn’t anticipating seeing her name pop up as a nominee on the Recording Academy’s annual broadcast, something she’s watched every year since they started livestreaming it. “I was very alone, in my bedroom with my heating pad on, expecting absolutely nothing at all except just to support my friends who might be in the running,” she tells Billboard, still in her PJs. “My name was the first that they listed, and it was like I couldn’t feel my body.”
In between freaking out with her family and going out for celebratory french toast and mimosas with her best friend, Abrams says that one of the first people she heard from was one of her fellow nominees. “Noah [Kahan] FaceTimed me immediately, and he’s just the f–king best ever,” she gushes of the “Stick Season” artist, who rounds out the new artist category with Ice Spice, Fred Again, Jelly Roll, CoCo Jones, Victoria Monét and The War and Treaty. “We kind of were just screaming at each other on the phone like, ‘Let’s pregame and sit with our moms at the awards!’”
For the “I Miss You, I’m Sorry” singer, the nod is the “cherry on top” of her biggest year yet, which was set into motion in February with the release of Good Riddance. In addition to becoming a mainstay on Swift’s Eras Tour, Abrams embarked on her own sold-out trek through North America and topped Billboard‘s Emerging Artists chart in June. In September, she and Dessner played a string of intimate acoustic shows across the country, and on Tuesday (Nov. 14), she’ll perform on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Many of her heroes — some of whom are also her friends and tourmates — are nominated for Grammys in 2024 as well, with Swift up for song, album and record of the year, and Phoebe Bridgers tying for the second-most nominations with seven nods total.
“I talked to Taylor and we were just screaming at each other over text like, lots of all-caps: Holy f–king s–t,” Abrams says of Swift. “And obviously she just deserves all of it, all of it, all of it. In moments of career celebration or any personal crisis, I text her, so to be able to celebrate this one mutually felt so wild.”
The rising pop star’s nomination doubles as a punctuation mark on her breathtaking debut as well as an introduction into her next era, which is already underway. Without sharing details, Abrams says she’s back in the studio working on her next project with Dessner, who she says is “the only reason” she was in the running for a Grammy this year.
“This stage of my career is, I so deeply hope, just the very beginning. My head recently has been so deeply in the next album and finishing up songs,” she says, noting that she’s “never felt so connected to anything” she’s made previously. “The honor of being nominated at this stage is such a wild thing, and I just think I really do not believe it.”
Harvey Mason jr., the Recording Academy’s CEO, is pleased overall with this year’s Grammy nominations, which were announced on Friday (Nov. 10), but he’s aware that some, especially in the Latin and country fields, will be disappointed.
No Latin artists made the Big Four categories – album, record and song of the year plus best new artist. And in a startling move, there are only three nominations, rather than the standard five, for best música urbana album. That’s because Grammy rules specify that “each category shall have at least 40 distinct artist entries. If a category receives between 25 and 39 entries, only three recordings will receive nominations in that year.” Best música urbana album just missed that threshold – it had 37 entries.
Such country format leaders as Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen and Lainey Wilson were bypassed in the Big Four categories. Country’s only representation in the Big Four is the presence of Jelly Roll and the Americana duo The War and Treaty in the best new artist category.
Mason knows the Academy needs to do better in outreach to those communities – and said as much in this interview with Billboard on the eve of the announcement of the nominations.
This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
What impressed you about the nominations?
I’m really excited about the diversity – all the different genres. These nominations are inspirational and aspirational. A lot of times you see people on this list that the next generation of music people is going to look at and say, “Oh, that person looks like me.” Or “I like that type of music and I make that kind of music. Maybe I can be on the Grammy stage one day.”
Every media outlet will report on snubs and surprises. What surprised you?
I’m pleasantly surprised about the different types of things we’re seeing. [For example], the different types of [people who were nominated for] songwriter of the year, non-classical and producer of the year, non-classical.
Some of the things that also surprised me that weren’t huge positives — I felt that we didn’t have as many Latin artists and creators as I would have liked to have seen.
I agree with you about Latin music in the Big Four. And country, too. I was shocked that Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” wasn’t up for record of the year.
And that song, and country in general, had such a great year. [There were] so many really good records and great artists, so it was a surprise.
Are you determined to bring in more country and Latin voters? Do you see it as a weak spot where you need to do better?
We always feel like we can do better. We have to do more outreach in Latin communities, making sure that we’re representing the music accurately. We’re hearing from them things that we can do; making sure we have the right amount of membership and representation. Same goes for country. So, we have to make sure that we’re getting the right membership, which is something we have to talk about every year. When we look at the results of any given year, we always look and see where we can do better; where do we need to balance; where do we need to grow and evolve our membership. … It’s something that we pay close attention to, so we’ll continue to do work on our membership.
I was surprised Lainey Wilson wasn’t nominated for best new artist. She has won seven CMA Awards in the last two years.
I listen to a lot of the music that you’re talking about and I’m a huge fan of a lot of these records. I totally wish more people were nominated. There are great country artists I wish had been nominated, but we have a certain finite number of slots. I really like our 12,000 voters and the way they’re approaching this. They’re really voting with their ears. But they pick what they pick. I get my one vote, I can tell you that. I probably voted for some other things that maybe didn’t make it.
How did you think the drop from 10 nominees to eight in each of the Big Four categories worked out?
I supported it. We’ve gone from five to eight to 10 and back to eight [trying to hit the right number].
Do you like eight better?
I’m not going to say I like it better. I’m going to say I’m happy with it at eight. I think it will make for a great final round of voting. It’s something we’ll continue to look at.
Did you take a peek to see what finished No. 9 and No. 10 in the voting in the Big Four categories – that you missed out on by going with eight nominees?
I didn’t. I don’t want to torture myself. [laughs] I would be so frustrated [if they were records that would have been good to have.]
SZA is the leader in the nominations and also landed her first album of the year nod as a lead artist. What do you make of her ascendency?
It’s really spectacular. She obviously had a banner year. Extremely, hyper-creative project. She’s extremely talented. The music really resonated with our voters. I’m excited for her.
I was also happy to see Miley Cyrus do well, with nominations for record, album and song of the year. I don’t think anybody took her seriously 15 years ago, but she has proved herself a unique talent and unique singer.
Something about what she’s done this year definitely moved the voters. I’m really happy for her. This is going to be a really interesting shoot-out here in the next go-round. There are some great artists, great records, so we’re going to be excited to see what happens.
I was also surprised that “All My Life” by Lil Durk featuring J. Cole wasn’t up for record of the year. It’s the kind of hip-hop record that Grammy voters love.
I think the type of records that Grammy voters like is probably evolving as our membership is evolving. And we really intentionally got into a lot of communities – Black music, hip-hop. The membership has really evolved over the last two or three years. So, I think the outcomes in those types of music is going to continue to change and evolve. It will be hard to determine what is going to be a Grammy style of hip-hop record.
A lot of people will be surprised that there weren’t enough entries for best música urbana album to have five nominees in the category.
It felt like the dominance of Latin music is continuing. It had another massive year. Maybe there’s something to be said [for the fact] that the Latin Grammys are doing really, really well. Maybe some of the Latin creatives are feeling that they’re excited to be represented there as well.
Are you saying that the Latin Grammys have taken some of the shine off the Latin categories in the regular Grammys?
I wouldn’t say they’ve taken some of the shine. I would just say there’s probably a focus on the Latin music people to submit music in the Latin Grammys.
Victoria Monét has nominations in two of the Big Four categories. I would guess that there are going to be a lot of Internet searches on Friday so people can find out more about her. She’s probably the least broadly-known nominee in the major categories.
She’s extremely talented. She will be somebody who will come out of this with a whole new audience. This is what is cool about it. Sometimes the Academy celebrates these artists that no one knows about. I believe that to be a really cool feature of these awards and this process. People are going to learn about a great new artist and maybe even discover their favorite new artist.
Like Samara Joy winning best new artist last year.
There are always those stories were someone is like “Wait, who is that?” and then the next thing you know they’re playing that music as they’re driving in their car.
Barbie music did very well, with two of the four song of the year nominations and four of the five nominations for best song written for visual media.
Great artists. Great writers. You’re seeing some incredible names there on those records, both on the production side, writing side and artist side, so it’s exciting.
The only down note is that Barbie The Album was passed over for an album of the year nod. It’s really hard for a soundtrack to crack that category.
You could make an argument that it could be there based on how many great songs and all the great music that came off of it. But that’s how voting works: 12,000 voters listen and they decide.
As he watched from a suite while Karol G performed at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on Sept. 8, Ovy on the Drums was nostalgic and teary-eyed. Over 70,000 fans were chanting the Colombian reggaetón star’s biggest hits at the top of their lungs — the majority produced by him.
“I cried that day because there were no words,” he recalls, slouched on a couch in his Miami-area home a few days later. “One day, we are working with the hopes of making it big, that our music will go around the world, and life itself makes sure things happen. God himself has given us these blessings, and it’s because we have worked with love, with dedication, without stopping. We are dreamers and unstoppable.”
After accompanying Karol G on most of her shows during her Mañana Será Bonito summer stadium tour, Ovy (real name: Daniel Echavarría Oviedo) is finally back at his three-story corner house in Doral, Fla., where he resides with his personal manager, Alejandro Muñoz, and his aunt Gloria. He’s relaxed, wearing a neon-green Nigeria soccer jersey and black Nike shorts, and his signature spiky, blond dreadlocks are tamed. It’s a typically hot summer Florida day, but inside, the 32-year-old’s aunt is cooking lunch while he catches up on laundry and sips homemade hibiscus tea. “This is amazing for your health. I drink it every day to stay hydrated,” he says, offering a glass.
As Karol’s longtime producer, Ovy is behind her biggest hits, including “Tusa,” with Nicki Minaj; “Provenza”; “TQG,” with Shakira; “Mi Ex Tenía Razón”; and the Peso Pluma-assisted “QLONA” — which all hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart. But his road to success has not been, as he puts it, “llegué y pegué” (“I came, and I conquered”). In fact, Ovy says he never knew music would be his calling.
Fifteen years ago, Ovy, then 17, was working at a plaza in Medellín carrying bags of chicken and selling disposable party supplies when he realized he had to find a passion if he wanted to succeed in life. His first taste of music production came a few years later, in 2012, when a cousin’s friend offered to install the digital audio workstation FL Studio on his laptop and give Ovy a beat-making crash course.
“From that moment, my life changed. Look, I even have the [company’s] fruity logo tattooed,” he says, flaunting the mango-strawberry ink on his right forearm. “I didn’t know what a melody was, I didn’t know anything [about making music], but when he showed me that program, that was where I, Daniel Echavarría Oviedo, discovered a new planet.”
Devin Christopher
As he practiced each day and sold his first beats for only $5 each, Ovy made headway in the Colombian music scene, working with artists such as Landa Freak, Lorduy and DVX. He also connected with producers Ronald El Killa and La Compañía (the production group of Mr. Pomps, DJ Maff, Migueman and Gotex), whom he credits as the first people to give him an opportunity in the music industry. The latter, which produced Karol G’s 2013 Nicky Jam collaboration, “Amor de Dos,” ultimately connected Ovy with Karol.
“The first day we met, I overheard her talking to her father about needing a DJ for a presentation, and I respectfully offered myself,” he remembers. “At first, she didn’t take me seriously. But about a month later, my friends at La Compañía called me to share the news that Karol wanted me as her DJ.”
After a successful debut performance together at a local university, the duo embarked on a “school tour” across the country while also promoting themselves on local TV and radio. Along the way, Ovy decided to play Karol some of his beats, and they immediately began creating music. The first song they worked on together was “Ricos Besos,” a flirtatious reggaetón track released in summer 2014.
“She was happy because I was the only person who understood what she wanted to express with her sound,” he says. “I remember that we were on a balcony one day when I proposed that we become a team — just like The Rudeboyz with Maluma, Sky Rompiendo with J Balvin — and she told me, ‘Let’s do it!’ ”
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Since then, Ovy — whose style is characterized by minimalist urban-fusion beats backed by edgy keyboards, dramatic violins and hard-hitting drums — has produced a handful of Karol’s bangers, such as “Tusa,” which earned him his first No. 1 as a producer on the Hot Latin Songs chart, and the EDM-fueled “Cairo,” which marked his first Billboard Hot 100 entry.
His work on Karol’s studio albums Unstoppable (2017), Ocean (2019), KG0516 (2021) and the historic Mañana Será Bonito (2023) — the first all-Spanish-language album by a female artist to top the Billboard 200 — ultimately has kept him at No. 1 on the Latin Producers chart for 25 nonconsecutive weeks since February 2020, the third-longest reign atop that chart, following Tainy and MAG. He was less involved on Karol’s latest, Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season), released in August, but still produced three of its 10 songs: “S91,” “QLONA” and “Dispo.”
“I’m taking time for myself,” he says as Gloria serves warm picadillo (ground beef), rice, salad and noodle soup. “It hurts me because I want to be making new music with Karol like the old days. But it’s not a bad thing — it’s just that now I want to focus on my project.”
Inspired by the multihyphenate Dr. Dre, Ovy wears many hats: he produces; he composes; he develops artists under his record label, Big Ligas; and at one point, he even had a singing career — though after releasing music with Mike Bahía, TINI and Danny Ocean, he decided to quit because “Ovy on the Drums has respect as a producer, not as a singer.”
At the dining table, where Muñoz and Gloria join him, Ovy says that moving to Miami in 2020 was the best decision of his life, mainly because it allowed him to grow as a producer. “I got to a point where I asked myself, ‘What am I doing in Medellín?’ I felt like there was nothing more to do. Other than enjoying my country, my family and relaxing, I wasn’t being productive,” he explains. “Once I moved to Miami, I started creating and creating more, and establishing more relationships.”
Ovy on the Drums photographed on September 12, 2023 in Miami.
Devin Christopher
And while he’s best known for his work with Karol G, he has now worked with numerous other artists, including Enrique Iglesias, Zion y Lennox, Camilo, Ozuna, Prince Royce and Peso Pluma. When he hits the studio with those other acts, he prepares thoroughly, studying them, observing their musical styles and making sure to arrive with the best energy.
“He is a master of his craft,” says Leslie Ahrens, senior vp of creative, Latin America at Kobalt Music, where Ovy signed in December 2018. “He can create an entire song by himself — production, lyrics and melody — and 99% of the time, they are hits! Beyond that, when you meet him, you want to be his best friend and confidant. He also has a great sense of humor, and all that is a part of his magic.”
Now, as he shifts his focus to his personal musical projects, Ovy is also planning his next move: expanding to work with mainstream artists.
“I’ve had opportunities. Producers like London on Da Track who has worked with Drake have written to me, but nothing has happened yet because I feel that I need to learn to speak English first,” he says. “If I speak the language very well, I will get along with the mainstream producers and artists and even create a solid friendship like the one I have with artists in the Latin music world. I’m on it right now.”
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In the meantime, he’s preparing his debut album as artist-producer, titled Dr. Drums, which will include features from Karol G, Quevedo, Sech, Ryan Castro and Blessd.
As we finish lunch, he reminds me that his trajectory hasn’t been “llegué y pegué” but rather working hard for his dreams with the hope of one day inspiring others.
“Tomorrow, when I’m not in this industry or in this world anymore, people will simply remember me because I created different music from everything that has ever existed, and hopefully, they will be inspired by the music I made. That’s my goal,” he says with a smile. “Every day I wake up with that hope — with the purpose of leaving a legacy.”
This story will appear in the Oct. 7, 2023, issue of Billboard.
At the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 5, Viola Davis could become the 18th person to achieve the EGOT. The Oscar, Tony and Emmy winner is nominated for a Grammy for the first time for best audio book, narration, and storytelling recording.
The other four nominees in the category are all past Grammy winners. Questlove, nominated for Music Is History, is a six-time Grammy winner. Mel Brooks, nominated for All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks, is a three-time Grammy winner – as is Lin-Manuel Miranda, nominated for Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World. Jamie Foxx, who rounds out the category with Act Like You Got Some Sense, has won one Grammy.
In 2001, Brooks became the eighth individual to become an EGOT winner.
Davis has won a Primetime Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a dramatic series for How to Get Away With Murder (2015), an Oscar for best supporting actress for Fences (2016) and two Tonys – featured actress in a play for King Hedley II (2001) and lead actress in a play for Fences (2010).
If Davis wins the Grammy – and it’s by no means certain, given that strong field – she would become the third Black woman to complete the EGOT, following Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Hudson.
At 57, Davis would be the seventh-youngest EGOT recipient. Robert Lopez was just 39 when he completed the awards sweep, followed by John Legend (also 39, but closer to 40), Hudson (40), Rita Moreno (45), Goldberg (46) and producer Scott Rudin (53).
Final-round voting for the 65th annual Grammy Awards closes on Wednesday (Jan. 4) at 6 p.m. PT. At that point, Grammy nominees can relax. They will no longer have to worry that an ill-considered tweet may go viral and hurt their chances. No matter what happens between now and Feb. 5 when the awards are presented at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, voting will be locked.
That means it’s time to predict the likely winners in the Big Four categories. This little game has never been easy, but it’s gotten considerably harder in recent years for two reasons. The Recording Academy membership is undergoing rapid change. And we’re all still trying to figure out how the expansion of the number of nominees in each of the Big Four categories from five to eight and now 10 is affecting the dynamics of these races.
The Academy welcomed a new member class of “nearly 2,000 diverse music creators and professionals” in September. This was the fourth new member class since the Academy transitioned to a “community-driven and peer-reviewed annual cycle” to create, in its words, “a more diverse and engaged membership base representative of the evolving musical landscape.” Since implementing the new model, the number of women members has increased by 19%, while membership among “traditionally underrepresented communities” (read: nonwhite members) has increased by 38%.
This is the second year in a row that there are 10 nominees in each of the Big Four categories. That’s a lot, so we started by dividing the contenders into three categories: little chance of winning (entries that were lucky just to be nominated), long-shots (entries that have a shot at winning, but probably won’t) and front-runners. Within these three categories, the nominees are listed alphabetically.
RECORD OF THE YEAR
Little chance of winning: ABBA’s “Don’t Shut Me Down,” Mary J. Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous,” Brandi Carlile featuring Lucius’ “You and Me on the Rock”
Long-shots: Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” Doja Cat’s “Woman,” Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5”
Front-runners: Adele’s “Easy on Me,” Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit,” Lizzo’s “About Damn Time,” Harry Styles’ “As It Was”
Notes: All 10 nominees are also nominated in their respective performance categories, which is another indication of support. There are no fluke nominations here.
This is the eighth nomination in the category (an all-time record) for Beyoncé; the fourth for Adele; the third for Carlile, Doja and Lamar; the second for ABBA, Blige and Lizzo; and the first for Lucius, Lacy and Styles.
Adele is a two-time winner in the category. If she were to win for the third time, she would tie Paul Simon and Bruno Mars for the most wins in the history of the category. None of the other nominees have won in this category before.
Five of the nominees were No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 – “Easy on Me,” “Break My Soul,” “Bad Habit,” “About Damn Time” and “As It Was.” A sixth, “Woman,” cracked the top 10 (peaking at No. 7).
Many will want to see Beyoncé finally win in this category. As was widely reported, “Break My Soul” became her first solo No. 1 on the Hot 100 since “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” 14 years ago. But the presence of Lizzo’s similarly ebullient “About Damn Time” in the category may cause these hits to split their votes. Besides, Beyoncé has a better chance in album of the year.
“Bad Habit” manages to sound progressive, but also familiar enough to not put off more traditional Grammy voters. Lacy’s smash ranked No. 1 on the Billboard staff’s list of the 100 best songs of 2022. In his assessment of the song for that list, Andrew Unterberger called it “the perfect pop song for 2022, and more crucially, just a perfect pop song in general. Kicking in partway through its opening chorus, ‘Bad Habit’ has a casualness to its liquid grooves and ping-ponging vocals that almost makes it feel tossed off, spontaneous. But the craft on display here is actually impossibly high-level.”
Lizzo and Styles are both proven Grammy favorites. Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” won best pop solo performance three years ago – resulting in Billie Eilish’s only loss on her big night, where she became the first artist in 39 years to sweep the Big Four categories. Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” won in that highly-competitive category the following year. Styles’ smash inexplicably wasn’t nominated for record of the year, but in that performance category, it beat three records that were – including the eventual winner, Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted.” You could make a good case that both Lizzo and Styles are overdue for a record of the year win.
“As It Was” topped the Hot 100 for 15 weeks, setting a new record for the longest run at No. 1 by a U.K. artist. Styles achieved success on other fronts, too, with lead roles in two movies (the consensus: he’s no Daniel Day-Lewis, but he didn’t embarrass himself) and a highly successful tour in which he proved to be both a showman and a charmer. The song runs just 2:47, which would make it the shortest record of the year winner (by playing time) since the 5th Dimension’s sunshine pop classic “Up, Up and Away” 55 years ago.
“As It Was” also ranked No. 3 on the Billboard staff’s aforementioned list of the 100 best songs of 2022. Melinda Newman noted of the smash: “If you looked up ‘bop’ in Webster’s, this song would be there — but the propulsive, bouncy beat deceives. … Coming in at a lean 2:47, ‘As It Was’ serves as a broader anthem about how nothing is ‘the same as it was’ before the pandemic, but on a micro level, it turns out Styles isn’t the same either as he grapples with fame and the realization that ‘he’s no good alone’ when left to his own devices and pills.”
Likely winner: “As It Was”
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Little chance of winning: ABBA’s Voyage, Blige’s Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe), Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres
Long-shots: Carlile’s In These Silent Days, Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, Lizzo’s Special
Front-runners: Adele’s 30, Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti, Beyoncé’s Renaissance, Styles’ Harry’s House
Notes: Similar to record of the year, all 10 nominees are also nominated in their respective genre album categories.
This is the fourth album of the year nomination for Beyoncé and Lamar; the third for Adele and Coldplay; the second for Carlile and Lizzo; and the first for ABBA, Bad Bunny, Blige and Styles.
Adele has won with her last two studio albums. If she wins again this year, she’ll equal Stevie Wonder’s hallowed record as the only artist to win in this category with three consecutive studio albums.
None of the other nominees have won in this category before. Beyoncé has earned more album of the year nominations than any other woman of color. Lamar is the first rapper to be nominated for album of the year with four consecutive studio albums.
Though Adele has never lost in this category, it seems unlikely she’ll win again this time. In her magnanimous acceptance speech last time, she was so generous to Beyoncé that she left the impression that even she thought Beyoncé should have won the award. That will likely work to Bey’s benefit here.
Bad Bunny’s album is the first Spanish-language album to receive an album of the year nod. It topped the Billboard 200 for 13 nonconsecutive weeks, longer than any other album this year. He won artist of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards in August. Bunny gave his acceptance speech in Spanish – which added to his reputation for authenticity.
In recent years, the Academy has aggressively recruited voters of color, and especially Black voters. Speaking at a Recording Academy online membership meeting in September, CEO Harvey Mason, jr. noted that while there has been a 38% increase in people of color in the Academy over the past four years, there has been a 100% increase in the number of Black members.
Some of them might chafe if a white pop artist, such as Styles or Adele, beat Beyoncé in this category for what would be the fourth time, following her previous losses to Taylor Swift, Beck and Adele. There would probably be less friction if Bunny won, though it would likely be noticed that a Latin artist won on his first album of the year nomination while Beyoncé just keeps getting passed over.
Here’s another factor that’s working in Beyoncé’s favor: Many album of the year winners have a thematic unity that gives them a sense of importance. They’re usually more than just collections of 10 or 12 worthy tracks. Beyoncé’s first post-pandemic studio album was a celebration of dance music, honoring its Black and gay roots.
Beyoncé’s album ranked No. 2 on the Billboard staff’s list of the 50 best albums of 2022, just behind Bad Bunny, but ahead of Lamar at No. 4, Styles at No. 6 and Lizzo at No. 11. As Gail Mitchell wrote in her assessment of the album: “This time around, Beyoncé set her sights on dance music, paying homage to its various iterations, from the house-burning anthem ‘Break My Soul’ to infusions of disco, techno and go-go. … As the album’s fitting title conveys, Beyoncé proves once again that she can always be counted on to pinpoint the cultural zeitgeist, reinvent it and take it to the next level.”
Likely winner: Renaissance
SONG OF THE YEAR
Little chance of winning: “abcdefu” (Gayle), “God Did” (DJ Khaled featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy)
Long-shots: “Break My Soul” (Beyoncé), “Just Like That” (Bonnie Raitt), “The Heart Part 5” (Lamar)
Front-runners: “About Damn Time” (Lizzo), “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film)” (Taylor Swift), “As It Was” (Styles), “Bad Habit” (Lacy), “Easy on Me” (Adele)
Notes: “God Did” and “The Heart Part 5” are both nominated for best rap song. “Just Like That” is nominated for best American roots song. There is no equivalent award for the other seven contenders, which all come from the pop and dance fields, in which there is no song category.
In the unlikely event that “God Did” wins, it will set a new record as the song of the year winner with the most credited songwriters (nine). The current record is held by Bruno Mars’ “That’s What I Like,” with eight songwriters.
“Just Like That,” which brought Raitt her first song of the year nomination, is a lovely and subtle song about a mother whose son’s organs were harvested to save other lives. The song is a long-shot to win, but then many (including me, I must admit) considered her 1989 album Nick of Time a long-shot to win. It not only won, but made Raitt a star overnight. “Just Like That” is the first song of the year nominee written by just one songwriter since Taylor Swift’s “Lover” three years ago. If it wins, it would become the first song of the year written by a solitary songwriter since Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” 15 years ago.
This is Swift’s sixth song of the year nomination, which puts her in a tie with Paul McCartney and Lionel Richie for the most nominations in the history of the category. Unlike those two songwriting masters, she has yet to win in this category. So, she’s overdue. And if everybody who has called her “the songwriter of her generation” votes for her, she just may take it. But her update of “All Too Well” was passed over for nods for record of the year and best pop solo performance, which seems to show some weakness. Four of its rivals here – “Easy on Me,” “Bad Habit,” “About Damn Time” and “As It Was” – were nominated in both of those categories. Also, Swift’s “Anti-Hero” is already a front-runner for record and song of the year nods a year from now. Some voters may have decided, “Let’s hold off. She’ll probably win next year.”
Beyoncé, The-Dream and Chris “Tricky” Stewart shared the award 13 years ago for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).” If they win again, they’ll join D’Mile as the only writers of color to win twice in this category. But again, this song is competing with the stylistically similar “About Damn Time.”
“About Damn Time” and “Bad Habit” are formidable contenders here for the same reasons they are front-runners for record of the year.
Adele and Kurstin won in this category six years ago for “Hello.” Adele also won in this category with “Rolling in the Deep,” which she co-wrote with Paul Epworth. If she wins again, she’ll become the first three-time winner in the category’s history. Adele had a big year, and not just on the charts. Her TV special Adele One Night Only won five Primetime Emmys. And her Las Vegas residency has gotten rave reviews, including this one from Billboard’s Katie Atkinson.
“Easy on Me” ranked No. 14 on the Billboard critics’ list of the 100 best songs of 2021 (it has been out awhile). In assessing the song, Atkinson (our in-house expert on all things Adele) wrote: “The expectations heading into Adele’s first new music in nearly six years were as sky-high as one of the British singer/songwriter’s patented power notes. But instead of going the bombastic route with 30‘s lead single ‘Easy on Me,’ Adele sent this vulnerable musical message to her son, setting the tone for a beyond open post-divorce project and reintroducing the peerless vocal delivery fans had desperately missed.”
Likely winner: “Easy on Me”
BEST NEW ARTIST
Little chance of winning: DOMi & JD Beck, Tobe Nwigwe
Long-shots: Omar Apollo, Samara Joy, Molly Tuttle, Wet Leg
Front-runners: Anitta, Muni Long, Latto, Måneskin
Notes: This is the first time in six years that none of the best new artist nominees were nominated in any other Big Four category. Lacy, a top contender for both record and song of the year, wasn’t eligible because he had received two previous nominations for what is now called best progressive R&B album – one as a member of The Internet and one solo. If he had been eligible for best new artist, he most likely would have won. Gayle, a song of the year nominee, was eligible for best new artist but was passed over for a nod.
Four of these contenders are nominated for genre album awards. Wet Leg’s Wet Leg is up for best alternative music album; Tuttle’s Crooked Tree for best bluegrass album; Joy’s Linger Awhile for best jazz vocal album; and DOMi & JD Beck’s Not Tight for best contemporary instrumental album.
Apollo and Wet Leg both made the top 10 on the Billboard staff list of the 50 best albums of 2022.
Måneskin has doggedly climbed its way to success in America and is a leading contender here. The band would be the first Italian act to win a Grammy as a lead artist in a Big Four category since Domenico Modugno, the winner for record and song of the year at the very first Grammys for the lounge-lizard classic “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare).”
The five female solo artists in the race – Anitta, Long, Joy, Latto and Tuttle – may have the inside track. Since 2000, female solo artists have won in this category 14 times. (By way of comparison, in that same period, three male solo artists, five groups and one duo have taken home the prize.)
Latto’s “Big Energy” was by far the biggest hit single from any of these contenders. It reached No. 3 on the Hot 100 in April and ranks No. 7 on the year-end Hot 100. Mariah Carey, the winner in this category 32 years ago, gave “Big Energy” a boost by hopping on a remix. (“Big Energy” and Carey’s “Fantasy” both interpolate Tom Tom Club’s 1982 classic “Genius of Love.”)
Latto would be the third female rapper to win in this category, following Lauryn Hill and Megan Thee Stallion.
Likely winner: Latto
