Grammys
Page: 10
Along with the awards handed out throughout the night, the Grammy Awards always deliver star-studded performances — and this year is no different.
The 2025 Grammy performers announced so far include Benson Boone, Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, Cynthia Erivo, Doechii, Stevie Wonder, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Lainey Wilson, Herbie Hancock, Brittany Howard, Brad Paisley, Teddy Swims, Janelle Monáe, John Legend, Sheryl Crow, St. Vincent, Jacob Collier, Raye, Sabrina Carpenter and Shakira.
Six of the performers — Boone, Roan, Doechii, Raye, Carpenter and Swims — are all nominated for best new artist. The other two nominees, Shaboozey and Khruangbin, have not been announced as performers.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Additionally, there will be a salute to the late Grammy legend Quincy Jones, who died in November at age 91, as well as tributes to the city of Los Angeles and the annual In Memoriam performance.
Trending on Billboard
Let us know by voting here and below. The 2025 Grammy Awards, which will be hosted by Trevor Noah are set to return to Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, Feb. 2. The show, which will help to raise funds for those who were affected by the Los Angeles wildfires, will broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS and will be available to stream live and on demand via Paramount+.
If you haven’t noticed, this year’s lineup of major Grammy contenders is unspeakably loaded: The biggest names in music, from the long-dominant superstars to the quick-rising new faces to the most compelling comeback artists in recent memory, will have a presence at the 67th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held on Sunday night (Feb. 2) at Crypto Arena in Los Angeles. Sure, there are a few left-of-center nominees in the Big Four general categories (album of the year, record of the year, song of the year and best new artist), but the large majority of the bolded names will sound familiar — and they’ll all be competing for the same hardware.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
A handful of artists not only stand to collect the top prizes come Grammy night, but to dominate the narrative around the ceremony, owning the chatter that follows in the hours and days once all the stars shuffle out of the arena. And while some artists could win multiple Big Four awards but not the album of the year trophy — like Kendrick Lamar, who could win both record of the year and song of the year with “Not Like Us” — only six artists (all women!) have a chance to win the top prize, album of the year, as well as at least one other Big Four award. In doing so, they would take hold of the headlines post-ceremony, and claim Grammy night as their own.
Trending on Billboard
With that in mind, here are the 6 artists who could dominate the narrative of the 2025 Grammys, the awards they would need to win in order to do so, and what those dominant performances would mean, big-picture.
Billie Eilish
What She’d Need To Win: Album of the year for Hit Me Hard and Soft, plus record of the year and/or song of the year for “Birds of a Feather”
What It Would Signify: An awards-show force continuing her unstoppable pace. Five years after becoming the second artist in Grammys history to sweep the Big Four categories, Eilish is back as a contender in album of the year, record of the year and song of the year; if anyone doubted her staying power following her dominance of the 2020 ceremony, Eilish has put those concerns to bed by earning multiple Big Four nods in four of the last five years, as well as follow-up wins in record of the year (for “Everything I Wanted” in 2021) and song of the year (for “What Was I Made For?” last year). Of course, it’s not just the Recording Academy that has lavished praise upon the pop superstar — Eilish owns multiple Academy Awards for Best Original Song, a 23-year-old with more Oscars to her name than Leonardo DiCaprio or Al Pacino.
Eilish could keep up her astonishing success rate on Sunday night thanks to “Birds of a Feather” — one of the biggest mainstream hits of her career, still squarely in the top 10 of the current Hot 100 more than eight months into its chart run — and Hit Me Hard and Soft, another acclaimed full-length that made her three-for-three with album of the year nominations. We witnessed a scorching-hot run like this in the 2010s from Adele, who took home a pair of album of the year trophies in 2012 and 2017, respectively. If Eilish takes home the top prize on Sunday night, she will have basically replicated that run for a new decade.
Taylor Swift
What She’d Need To Win: Album of the year for The Tortured Poets Department, plus record of the year and/or song of the year for “Fortnight” (featuring Post Malone)
What It Would Signify: History books being quickly rewritten. Thanks to her 2024 album of the year for Midnights, Swift already owns the all-time record for most wins in the category, with four (she previously won for Fearless, 1989 and Folklore). That total could stand for exactly one year if Swift once again emerges victorious in the category, this time for The Tortured Poets Department — which she happened to announce on the Grammys stage last year, and proceeded to give Swift the biggest first-week debut of her career last April.
However, album of the year might not be the most meaningful category at this year’s ceremony for Swift, who is up for six awards. The superstar also owns the record for career nominations in song of the year, with eight — but has yet to take home the award. “Fortnight,” her TTPD chart-topper with Post Malone, could change that on Sunday night, achieving what songs like “You Belong With Me,” “Lover” and “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” could not. So regardless of what happens in album of the year, Swifties could be very pleased with the outcome of Grammy night, then turn their attentions toward rooting like hell for Kansas City in the Super Bowl next Sunday.
Charli XCX
What She’d Need to Win: Album of the year for Brat, plus record of the year for “360”
What It Would Signify: A dramatic Grammys comeback narrative that somehow allows us to compare Charli XCX to… Santana! Prior to 1999’s Supernatural album, Carlos Santana had existed outside of the mainstream and top 40 radio for several years, but mega-smashes like “Smooth” and “Maria Maria” returned him to the Billboard charts and eventually resulted in an album of the year win in 2000. A quarter-century later, Charli — who was nominated for record of the year as the guest on Iggy Azalea’s No. 1 smash “Fancy” in 2015, then didn’t show up in the Big Four for years, in spite of consistent output — has a chance to similarly dominate Grammy night with Brat, an album that transformed the British pop star from cult hero to arena headliner.
Brat earned Charli both the best reviews of her career and the most success of any of her albums, a triumphant (and expertly marketed) project that served as the new highlight of for longtime fans and an introduction to a new generation of listeners. This campaign has already been a whirlwind success for Charli, and any wins across her seven nominations would be gravy. But the moment could be the exclamation point on an unexpected mainstream return if Charli emerges from Grammy night as the biggest winner and paints the ceremony Brat-green.
Chappell Roan
What She’d Need to Win: Album of the year for The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, plus record of the year and/or song of the year for “Good Luck, Babe!,” or best new artist
What It Would Signify: The rare first-album co-sign by the Recording Academy. In the 21st century, only two debuts have walked away with the album of the year trophy: Come Away With Me by Norah Jones in 2003, and When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, by current album of the year competitor Billie Eilish, in 2020. That list could grow this weekend if The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, Chappell Roan’s spectacular pop debut, takes home the top prize — an unthinkable outcome 16 months ago, when the album was released to little fanfare in September 2023. With Roan gaining steam while opening for Olivia Rodrigo’s 2024 tour, then scoring the first top 10 hit of her career with the non-album single “Good Luck, Babe!” however, the album became a late-blooming chart smash, and the singer-songwriter earned nominations in all of the Big Four categories.
Midwest Princess winning album of the year would certainly be a cool outcome, akin to the Recording Academy giving Eilish the Big Four clean sweep five years ago; both Eilish and Roan crafted debut albums that challenged pop norms, and promoted them with outspoken, singular identities that were embraced by younger listeners. Even if Roan wins album of the year but misses the Big Four sweep, any general category victory would be a clear sign that the Academy views her as pop’s future, and deserves to be acknowledged immediately.
Sabrina Carpenter
What She’d Need to Win: Album of the year for Short n’ Sweet, plus record of the year for “Espresso,” song of the year for “Please Please Please,” or best new artist
What It Would Signify: The completion of a breathtaking rise to the A-list. A year ago, Sabrina Carpenter was a veteran recording artist beloved by pop diehards but still searching for a true crossover hit. Now, she’s had three top 10 smashes on the Hot 100 — “Espresso,” her spring breakthrough up for record of the year; “Please Please Please,” the summer chart-topper up for song of the year; and “Taste,” the fall radio mainstay — as well as a No. 1 album with Short n’ Sweet, an arena headlining tour, a Hollywood romance, and enough brand deals to keep her in regular rotation on most commercial breaks.
A major night at the Grammys would be the cherry on top of a whirlwind year for Carpenter, who released five full-lengths prior to Short n’ Sweet but never came close to this level of awards recognition. Like Roan, she is a presence in all of the Big Four categories; unlike Roan, she has different singles nominated in record of the year and song of the year, a testament to her power as a hit-maker in 2024. Carpenter is going to be a mainstream presence for a very long time whatever happens on Grammy night, but multiple general category wins would nudge a remarkable upward trajectory even higher.
Beyoncé
What She’d Need to Win: Album of the year for Cowboy Carter, plus record of the year and/or song of the year for “Texas Hold ’Em”
What It Would Signify: Queen Bey checking off the one remaining box. Beyoncé currently owns the records for most Grammy nominations and most Grammy wins, but famously has not been able to take home the album of the year prize, despite four previous nods for her solo albums. Cowboy Carter, her chart-topping foray into country and Americana, was not the most critically lavished or commercially successful project of Bey’s career, but its conceptual boldness and sky-high execution helped Beyoncé earn the most nominations of any artist at the 2025 Grammys, with 11.
Some could view Cowboy Carter becoming the project to finally give Beyoncé an album of the year trophy as a lifetime-achievement win for a relatively lesser work; others could claim that Cowboy Carter is the most audacious album that Bey has ever released, and that she pulled off the genre-hop masterfully. Regardless, a win would allow the BeyHive to finally exhale, after years and multiple ceremonies of their favorite superstar going home without the top award. And while No. 1 hit “Texas Hold ’Em” winning record of the year or song of the year would signify a nice victory, all eyes will be on the album prize.
The Recording Academy awarded Jack Antonoff one additional 2025 Grammy nomination this week – as one of 11 engineers on Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet, which is nominated for best engineered album, non-classical. This is Antonoff’s first nomination in an engineering category and brings his career nominations total to an even 30.
Final-round Grammy voting ended on Jan. 3, so Antonoff’s name didn’t appear on the ballot in that category, but he will take home a Grammy on Sunday (Feb. 2) if the album wins in that category.
Trending on Billboard
Antonoff has five other nominations this year – record of the year for producing the Taylor Swift/Post Malone collab “Fortnight,” two for song of the year for co-writing “Fortnight” and Carpenter’s “Please Please Please,” and two for album of the year for his contributions to Short N’ Sweet and Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department.
Antonoff’s 2024-25 Grammy season got off to a surprisingly rough start. His failure to land a nomination for producer of the year, non-classical, a category he had won the last three years running, was widely considered the biggest snub in this year’s nominations – and is hard to reconcile with his bounty of nominations in other marquee categories. He’s the only producer with credits on two album of the year nominees this year. It appears that the members of the National Craft Nominating Committee, which selected the five nominees for producer of the year, non-classical, just decided that Antonoff has been rewarded enough in this category, at least for now.
The 67th Grammy Awards Rules & Guidelines handbook says “the first round of voting [in this category] is in the hands of the general voting membership via the first ballot. The second round of voting, however, takes place in a national craft nominating committee. The top 30 selections from the general voting membership…appear on the ballot for the national craft nominating committees, made up of 25-35 voting members representing all the chapters, to vote by confidential ballot to select the five nominations.”
Antonoff’s six nominations this year are evenly split between his work with Swift and Carpenter – three for work with each artist. Over the course of his career, he has received 11 nominations specifically for his work with Swift; six with fun., the pop trio in which he rose to fame; four with Lana Del Rey; three with Carpenter; two with St. Vincent; and one apiece with Lorde and Zayn. (The former One Direction star teamed with Swift for the duet “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” from Fifty Shades Darker, which was nominated for best song written for visual media.)
By category, Antonoff has received 10 album of the year nominations; six for song of the year; five for producer of the year, non-classical; three for record of the year; two for best pop vocal album; and one each for best new artist, best pop duo/group performance, best song written for visual media, best rock song and best alternative music album.
Antonoff, 40, has won 11 Grammys.
Here’s the updated list of nominations for best engineered album, non-classical. The artist’s name at the end of each listing is shown just for identification purposes.
AlgorithmDernst Emile II, Michael B. Hunter, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Rachel Keen, John Kercy, Charles Moniz & Todd Robinson, engineers; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer (Lucky Daye)
Cyan BlueJack Emblem, Jack Rochon & Charlotte Day Wilson, engineers; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer (Charlotte Day Wilson)
Deeper WellCraig Alvin, Shawn Everett, Mai Leisz, Todd Lombardo, John Rooney, Konrad Snyder & Daniel Tashian, engineers; Greg Calbi, mastering engineer (Kacey Musgraves)
EmpathogenBeatriz Artola, Zach Brown, Oscar Cornejo, Chris Greatti, Mitch McCarthy, Adam Schoeller & Willow Smith, engineers; Joe LaPorta, mastering engineer (WILLOW)
i/oTchad Blake, Oli Jacobs, Katie May, Dom Shaw & Mark “Spike” Stent, engineers; Matt Colton, mastering engineer (Peter Gabriel)
Short n’ SweetJack Antonoff, Bryce Bordone, Julian Bunetta, Serban Ghenea, Jeff Gunnell, Oli Jacobs, Ian Kirkpatrick, Jack Manning, Manny Marroquin, John Ryan & Laura Sisk, engineers; Nathan Dantzler & Ruairi O’Flaherty, mastering engineers (Sabrina Carpenter)
The 67th annual Grammy Awards are here at last. A few weeks ago, the thought of an awards show in Los Angeles, where entire neighborhoods went up in flames, seemed unthinkable. But the Recording Academy withstood considerable pressure to postpone or even cancel the show in light of this month’s devastating wildfires, so here we are.
Live from Crypto.com Arena in L.A. and hosted by Trevor Noah, Music’s Biggest Night will be broadcast live on Sunday (Feb. 2) at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS. The show will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
This year’s show will put a spotlight on new artists. Six of this year’s best new artist nominees – Benson Boone, Chappell Roan, Doechii, Raye, Sabrina Carpenter and Teddy Swims – are set to perform. (The other two best new artist nominees, Shaboozey and Khruangbin, have not been announced as performers.)
Trending on Billboard
Other performers on the telecast include Billie Eilish (who won best new artist five years ago), Charli XCX and Shakira.
The Recording Academy usually reserves one or two really big names to announce closer to the show. Among the top nominees not yet announced as performers are: Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift (with or without Post Malone) and Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars.
Beyoncé, who led this year’s nominations with 11 nods, last performed on the Grammys in 2017. Swift, who received six nods, last performed on the show in 2021. A promo for the show which aired on CBS confirmed that they will be in attendance at the show, but not that they will perform. Gaga and Mars, whose twice-nominated “Die With a Smile” is in its fourth week atop the Billboard Hot 100, have performed on the telecast separately many times.
Lamar, who has seven nods, last performed on the Grammy telecast in 2018, when he opened the show in tandem with U2 and comedian Dave Chappelle. A Grammy performance this year is unlikely: Lamar is set to headline the Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 9.
This year’s telecast will carry an added sense of purpose: raising funds to support L.A. wildfire relief efforts and honoring the bravery and dedication of first responders. A series of special performances will highlight the show, including a salute to the life and legacy of Grammy legend Quincy Jones, tributes to the spirit of Los Angeles, and the annual In Memoriam segment.
Swift, who won album of the year at the 2024 Grammy Awards, and Victoria Monét, who won best new artist on that show, are set to present on this year’s show. Other presenters, announced Friday, are Anthony Kiedis & Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cardi B, Gloria Estefan, Olivia Rodrigo, Queen Latifah, SZA and Will Smith.
Smith will introduce the salute to Jones. Jones was executive producer of the hit sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air which ran from 1990-96 on NBC and propelled Smith to stardom.
Jones, who died in November at age 91, won 28 Grammys across six different decades, from the 1960s to the 2010s. He was a friend and mentor to generations of talented artists, including Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, John Legend and Jacob Collier, all of whom are set to appear on the show.
This is the fifth consecutive year that Noah has hosted the show. He will become the first comedian to host the Grammys five times. He’s also a Grammy nominee for best comedy album for Where Was I. If he wins, he’ll become just the second Grammy host to win on a night that he or she hosted. Kenny Rogers was the first, in 1980.
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.
This year’s premiere ceremony, where the vast majority of Grammys are presented, will stream live at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on the Grammy website. The show will be held at Peacock Theater in the LA Live complex in Los Angeles (which also encompasses Crypto.com Arena). Justin Tranter, a Grammy nominee for song of the year for co-writing Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe,” is set to host the premiere ceremony for the second year in a row.
Check out the full list of performers and presenters on the main Grammy telecast below. For a summary of performers and presenters on Premiere Ceremony, go here.
Performers
Benson Boone
Billie Eilish
Chappell Roan
Charli XCX
Doechii
RAYE
Sabrina Carpenter
Shakira
Teddy Swims
Performers, Tribute Segments
Brad Paisley
Brittany Howard
Chris Martin
Cynthia Erivo
Herbie Hancock
Jacob Collier
Janelle Monáe
John Legend
Lainey Wilson
Sheryl Crow
St. Vincent
Stevie Wonder
Presenters
Anthony Kiedis & Chad Smith
Cardi B
Gloria Estefan
Olivia Rodrigo
Queen Latifah
SZA
Taylor Swift
Victoria Monét
Will Smith
We all knew that Taylor Swift would be in the house for the 2025 Grammys, which are set for Sunday (Feb. 2), because she was named in a CBS promo for the show. But now we learn that she will have an official role on the show – as a presenter. Swift is the first presenter to be announced for the show. More are expected on Friday (Jan. 31).
Swift, of course, may also win one or more Grammys on the show, which is being held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. She is nominated in six categories, including the top three awards – album, record and song of the year. She is vying to win album of the year for what would be a record-extending fifth time with her smash album The Tortured Poets Department, which topped the Billboard 200 for 17 nonconsecutive weeks.
Of the 14 previous years where Swift has been a Grammy nominee, she has headed home with at least one award exactly half the time. And in years where she has gone into the show with six or more nominations, as she has this year, she has never been shut out. In 2010, when she had eight nominations, she won four. In 2015, when she had seven nominations, she won three. In 2021, when she had six nominations, she won one. And last year, when she had six nominations, she won two. Here’s a mind-blowing fact: In all four of the previous years where she had six or more nods, she won album of the year.
Trending on Billboard
Swift’s other nominations this year are record and song of the year and best music video for “Fortnight,” a collaboration with Post Malone; best pop vocal album for The Tortured Poets Department, and best pop duo/group performance for Gracie Abrams’ “us.,” on which she is featured.
Live from Crypto.com Arena in L.A. and hosted by Trevor Noah, the 67th annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live on Sunday (Feb. 2) at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS. The show will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
This year’s telecast will carry an added sense of purpose: raising funds to support L.A. wildfire relief efforts and honoring the bravery and dedication of first responders.
A series of special performances will highlight the show, including a salute to the life and legacy of Grammy legend Quincy Jones, tributes to the spirit of Los Angeles, and the annual In Memoriam segment.
This is the fifth consecutive year that Noah has hosted the show. He will become the first comedian to host the Grammys five times. He’s also a Grammy nominee for best comedy album for Where Was I. If he wins, he’ll become just the second Grammy host to win on a night that he or she hosted. Kenny Rogers was the first, in 1980.
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.
This year’s Premiere Ceremony, where the vast majority of Grammys are presented, will stream live at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on the Grammy website. The show will be held at Peacock Theater in the LA Live complex in Los Angeles (which also encompasses Crypto.com Arena). Justin Tranter, a Grammy nominee for song of the year for co-writing Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe,” is set to host the Premiere Ceremony for the second year in a row.
We’re just days away from the 2025 Grammys Awards, which means one of today’s biggest hits will be crowned song of the year. This year’s nominees include Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather,” Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ’Em,” Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!,” Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” Lady Gaga and […]
Charli XCX is riding the Brat wave all the way to this year’s Grammys, where she’s nominated for seven awards — and she’s fully aware that she owes it all to the album that made her a household name. In a W Magazine cover story published Thursday (Jan. 30), the pop star reflected on picking […]
While the Los Angeles wildfires have all but silenced the many parties and performances that were slated to precede the Feb. 2 Grammy Awards ceremony, legendary record man Clive Davis says his annual pre-Grammy gala — which he is calling his 50th — will still take place on Feb. 1, this time for a cause greater than celebrating the music industry.
“Seeing the ongoing devastation that has been caused by the wildfires in Los Angeles, we feel strongly that the pre-Grammy gala should be a fundraising event to provide needed funds for all those affected, including many in the music community,” Davis says. “We are working closely with our longtime partners at the Recording Academy and will help support their MusiCares Los Angeles Fire Relief effort through fundraising at our event. We want to ensure that the evening will not only be a memorable night of music but will also provide impactful support for those very much in need.”
A week before Davis, 93, made the decision to convert the gala into a philanthropic event, he spoke to Billboard about its origins in 1976 and some of the more memorable experiences he’s had at his soiree — which he calls “one of the most exciting aspects of my life” — over the last five decades. One of Grammy Week’s most coveted invitations, the gathering attracts a cross-section of celebrity that in previous years has included former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Kim Kardashian, Caitlyn Jenner, Beck, Serena Williams, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Dave Grohl, St. Vincent, Quincy Jones, Clarence Avant, Dua Lipa, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and “Weird Al” Yankovic. They come to mingle and watch musical performances by an unannounced lineup of acts that have included Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick, Lainey Wilson, Jelly Roll, Gladys Knight and Green Day, to name just a few.
Trending on Billboard
Clive Davis and Whitney Houston onstage at the 2011 event
Lester Cohen/WireImage
Davis says a documentary about the gala’s history by producers Jesse Collins and Rob Ford is in the works and will include never-before-seen footage from the event over the years.
Now that invitations have gone out, what kind of response are you getting in light of the fires?
The response is the strongest ever. But beyond that, the paramount concern is safety, health and getting out of this disaster.
Your first gala was in 1976. What led to your decision to throw a party?
I started Arista. Obviously, you can only hope that your first record goes straight to the top of the charts, and that’s what happened [with Barry Manilow’s “Mandy”]. Barry then gets two Grammy nominations. He comes to me and says, “Where’s our party? Every label has a party the night of the Grammys.” I said, “You’re right, but Barry, we just formed. At best we’ll have one table at Chasen’s.”
I thought, “I’ve got to come up with a different idea.” I decided to have our party the day before the Grammys. I invited everybody, and Stevie Wonder showed up, Elton John showed up and John Denver showed up. I said to myself, “My God, I think I’ve landed on a really compelling idea to celebrate the night before.” And that began the tradition.
Barry Manilow (left) and Clive Davis at the 2016 Pre-Grammy Gala and Salute to Industry Icons.
Lester Cohen/WireImage
The evening always includes a budding star and at least one classic performer who blows the audience away. Where did that idea come from?
In 2001, for the first time, I was going to introduce a best new artist category, and I told Alicia Keys, “I’ve got good news and bad news. I’m going to invite you to sing ‘Fallin’ ’ at my party.” This was before she broke. She said, “What could be the bad news?” I said, “Well, right before I introduce you, Angie Stone and Gladys Knight [are] singing ‘Neither One of Us,’ and I can’t let Gladys leave the stage without singing ‘Midnight Train to Georgia.’ ” I love that one of the great old-time performances will be followed by the introduction of a brand-new artist.
Will the 50th anniversary be reflected in the party?
There will be elements. We have some great performers who will show why over the 50-year period this evening is so unique.
You will present Universal Music Publishing Group chairman/CEO Jody Gerson with the Industry Icon Award. Does she choose any of the performers?
Yes, she’ll have one performer sing in her honor.
If you could only pick one favorite memory from the gala, what would it be?
At the height of Arista Records, there was a short-lived attempt to stop my earning capacity, which had been very considerable. I had to leave Arista and form J Records, which would mean I would no longer be working with Whitney Houston or Santana 30 years after signing him initially. That was the only year [2000] I had only two artists perform: Santana on the birth of Supernatural [the massive hit album Arista released in 1999] and Whitney Houston. The emotion I felt with her singing “I Believe in You and Me” and “I Will Always Love You” to me can never be duplicated.
Have you thought that 50 years is a good number to step away from the party on a high note?
We’ll deal with the future afterward. This evening is my paramount consideration.
Carlos Santana and Alicia Keys onstage at the 2005 gala.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
The 2025 Grammy Awards are just around the corner, which means a new hit will be crowned record of the year. This year’s star-studded nominees include The Beatles’ “Now And Then,” Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso,” Charli xcx’s “360,” Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather,” Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” Chappell Roan’s “Good […]
As fans and artists alike gear up for this Sunday’s Grammys, Chappell Roan is taking a beat to share some gratitude for her fans. In a post to her Instagram on Wednesday (Jan. 29), Roan shared a series of selfies while writing a lengthy note of appreciation to her fans. “Good morning booboos. It’s Grammy […]