Grammys
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Sabrina Carpenter‘s road to Grammy-nominated pop star wasn’t short — but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been sweet. In a new interview with People published Wednesday (Jan. 8), the 25-year-old pop star opened up about the long road she had to take before she was ever considered for best new artist by the Recording Academy, […]
Nominees: André3000’s New Blue Sun, Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet, Charli XCX’s BRAT, Jacob Collier’s Djesse Vol. 4, Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft, Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department
Analysis: All of these contenders were nominated in their “genre album” categories except for Collier’s album, which was passed over for a nod for best pop vocal album. That’s not a good sign: No album has won album of the year without at least being nominated in its genre album category since the introduction of genre album categories in the mid-1990s.
Cowboy Carter, which is nominated for best country album, would be the first country album to win album of the year since Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour six years ago. BRAT, nominated for best dance/electronic album, would be the first album from that genre to win album of the year since Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories in 2014. New Blue Sun, nominated for best alternative jazz album, would be the first jazz album to win album of the year since Herbie Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters in 2008.
Swift has won four times in this category. She won most recently just last year for Midnights. If she wins again, she’ll become the first five-time winner in this category and just the third act in Grammy history to win back-to-back awards in this category, following Frank Sinatra (1966-67) and Stevie Wonder (1974-75).
Eilish and André 3000 have each won once in this category, André 3000 as a member of OutKast. If he wins, he’ll become the third former member of a group or duo to win for a solo debut album, following George Michael (Faith, 1989) and Lauryn Hill (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, 1999).
Roan would be the first artist to win for their first studio album since Billie Eilish won five years ago for When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Cowboy Carter features a large and diverse cast of featured artists, including pop legends Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder and country greats Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton. Other artists featured on the album include Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Shaboozey, Jon Batiste, Gary Clark Jr., The-Dream, Rhiannon Giddens, Pharrell, Nile Rodgers and Raphael Saadiq. If those artists, and people in their camps, vote for Cowboy Carter, that could help make the difference in a close race.
On Christmas Day, midway through the final-round voting period (Dec. 12-Jan. 3), Bey headlined the halftime show at a Texans-Ravens NFL game in her hometown of Houston, Texas. This marked the first time she had performed songs from Cowboy Carter in front of a live audience. Millions watched the performance live on Netflix and millions more streamed it afterwards.
This is the second time Swift and Beyoncé have gone head-to-head in this category. In 2010, Swift’s Fearless beat Bey’s I Am…Sasha Fierce. For the record, Bey’s subsequent losses in this category were to Beck, Adele and Harry Styles.
Few consider Cowboy Carter to be Beyoncé’s best album, but she’s overdue for a win in this category. Many would howl if Swift won a record-extending fifth award in this category before Beyoncé won her first. It would probably be in Swift’s best interest to lose this year and to be seen graciously applauding and cheering for Beyoncé. Eight years ago, Adele probably would have been better just off winning record and song of the year for “Hello” (as she did) and losing album of the year to Beyoncé’s Lemonade. When she swept all three awards for the second time, while Bey was passed over for album of the year for the third time, it was an uncomfortable moment – though Adele’s graciousness and generosity in that moment was heartening to see.
If Swift loses on Feb. 2, she just might have dodged a bullet. Would a record-extending fifth win be worth the aggravation of a thousand pieces saying “Beyoncé was robbed – again”?
Prediction: Beyoncé, Cowboy Carter
The Recording Academy made Beatlemaniacs happy on Nov. 8, when The Fab Four’s “Now and Then” was nominated for two awards – record of the year and best rock performance. But only the two living Beatles — Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr — are nominated for those awards. John Lennon, who died in 1980, and George Harrison, who died in 2001, are not.
Because Lennon and Harrison have each been dead for more than five years, they cannot meet the Grammy test for “new recordings” – “material that has been recorded within five years of the release date.” There is precedent for this. Nat “King” Cole was not nominated when daughter Natalie Cole won record of the year and best traditional pop performance in 1992 for their studio-created duet “Unforgettable.” He had died in 1965.
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Lennon’s last Grammy nomination was at the 1985 ceremony – best spoken word or non-musical recording for Heart Play (Unfinished Dialogue), a collab with Yoko Ono. The album, which reached No. 94 on the Billboard 200, consisted of excerpts from a Playboy magazine interview done shortly before Lennon’s death.
Harrison’s last Grammy nominations were at the 2004 ceremony, where Brainwashed, his posthumously released 12th and final studio album, was nominated for best pop vocal album. Two tracks from the album were also honored. “Marwa Blues” won best pop instrumental performance, while “Any Road” was nominated for best male pop vocal performance.
McCartney co-produced “Now and Then” with Giles Martin, the son of legendary Beatles producer George Martin, who produced the band’s four previous record of the year nominees, “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Yesterday,” “Hey Jude” and “Let It Be.” Martin also produced McCartney’s one post-Beatles record of the year nominee, “Ebony and Ivory,” a 1982 collab with Stevie Wonder.
Both McCartney and Giles Martin are nominated for record of the year as producers of the single, as are eight engineer/mixers and a mastering engineer – but not John and George.
Bonus factoid: If “Now and Then” wins record of the year, McCartney will complete his sweep of the Big Four awards, though it will have taken him longer to do so than any other act in Grammy history. He won best new artist in 1965 (with The Beatles), song of the year in 1967 for “Michelle” (in tandem with Lennon) and album of the year in 1968 for The Beatles’ landmark Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Even before his death on Sunday (Dec. 29) at age 100, Jimmy Carter already seemed a shoo-in to win his fourth Grammy at the 67th Grammy Awards on Feb. 2. But with his death, his victory seems even more certain. Final-round Grammy voting continues through Friday (Jan. 3).
But one thing has changed with the former president’s death. Carter had seemed likely to set a new record as the oldest Grammy winner in history. Now, if he wins, the award will be posthumous. Technically, the oldest recipient will continue to be blues pianist Pinetop Perkins, who was 97 years and 221 days old on Feb. 13, 2011 when he won best traditional blues album for Joined at the Hip, a collab with Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, a blues harmonica player. (Perkins died about six weeks later, on March 21, 2011.)
Carter is nominated for best audio book, narration and storytelling recording for Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration. The other nominees in the category are All You Need Is Love: The Beatles in Their Own Words (Guy Oldfield, producer), George Clinton’s …And Your Ass Will Follow, Dolly Parton’s Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones and Barbra Streisand’s My Name Is Barbra. (Oldfield, 55, is the only nominee in this category who’s under 75. Parton is 78, Streisand is 82 and Clinton is 83.)
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This will likely be Carter’s fourth win in this category, which will enable him to break out of a tie with poet Maya Angelou for the most wins in the category. Carter won in 2007 for Our Endangered Values, in 2016 for A Full Life: Reflections at 90 and in 2019 for Faith: A Journey for All. Angelou won in 1994 for On the Pulse of Morning, in 1996 for Phenomenal Woman and in 2003 for A Song Flung Up to Heaven.
Carter will also likely extend his record as the U.S. president with the most Grammy wins. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have each won two Grammys.
Carter was a late-comer to Grammy glory. He was 82 when he won his first Grammy. He had lost on his first three tries.
If you’re curious, the second-oldest person ever to win a Grammy is Tony Bennett, who was 95 years and 243 days old in 2022 when he won for best traditional pop vocal album for Love for Sale, a collab with Lady Gaga. (He died in 2023.) Third-oldest is comedian George Burns, who was 95 years and 31 days old in 1991 when he won best spoken word or non-musical recording album for Gracie: A Love Story, a salute to his wife and comedy partner Grace Allen. (He died in 1996.) Fourth-oldest is Carter, who was 94 and 132 days old in 2019 when he won best spoken word album for Faith: A Journey for All.
Kendrick Lamar was rap’s undoubted MVP of 2024 and Billboard‘s Greatest Pop Star of the Year, and Eminem thinks his epic run is going to continue into 2025. While Em and Lamar will be facing off in the best rap performance category at the 2025 Grammy Awards, Eminem believes that K. Dot is going to […]
In this, the last week of 2024, CBS will air two Grammy Greats specials, both co-hosted by CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King. Both shows will also stream on Paramount+. Here are details.
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Grammy Greats: The Stories Behind the Songs
Air date: Friday, Dec. 27, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
Co-hosted by King and four-time Grammy nominee Mickey Guyton, this two-hour special dives into the stories behind the winners of the Grammy for song of the year. The show will feature newly recorded interviews, previously aired performances and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage.
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Featured songwriters and songs include Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald – “What a Fool Believes” (the 1980 winner), Sting’s “Every Breath You Take” (1984), Alicia Keys’ “Fallin’” (2002), John Mayer’s “Daughters” (2005), Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” (2008), Adele’s “Hello” (2017, co-written with Greg Kurstin), Billie Eilish and Finneas’ “Bad Guy” (2020) and Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That” (2023).
Grammy Greats: The Most Memorable Moments
Air date: Sunday, Dec. 29, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
Co-hosted by King and five-time Grammy winner Jimmy Jam, this two-hour special celebrates some of the most memorable moments in Grammy history. The show combines newly recorded interviews and previously aired performances and promises “a behind-the-scenes look at how the Grammy team responds to unexpected events.”
Featured artists include Brandi Carlile, Dua Lipa, Keith Urban, St. Vincent and Chris Martin.
The 67th annual Grammy Awards are set to air/stream on Sunday, Feb. 2, at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on CBS and Paramount+.
Charli XCX and Post Malone each received an additional nomination for the 2025 Grammys as art directors of their albums Brat and F-1 Trillion, respectively, on Friday (Dec. 20). The albums were included in the best recording package category when the nominations were announced on Nov. 8, but the artists weren’t credited as art directors. […]
12/20/2024
As the old saying goes, “it’s not where you start. It’s where you finish.”
12/20/2024
Prince, The Clash and Frankie Valli are among the artists who were selected to receive lifetime achievement awards from the Recording Academy in 2025. The awards will be presented at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony on Feb. 1 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles.
The event, always one of the most memorable and musical of Grammy Week, will also honor the recipients of trustees awards (which go to non-performers) and a Technical Grammy Award recipient.
The other lifetime achievement award recipients are Frankie Beverly, Dr. Bobby Jones, Taj Mahal and Roxanne Shante. The trustees award recipients are Erroll Garner, Glyn Johns and Tania León. Dr. Leo Beranek is the Technical Grammy Award honoree.
Several of the awards will be presented posthumously. R&B singer Beverly just died three months ago; Prince and Dr. Beranek both died in 2016; Joe Strummer of The Clash died in 2002; and Garner, the composer of the pop standard “Misty,” died in 1977.
Several of this year’s recipients have already received major honors. Prince was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, received a lifetime achievement award at the BET Awards in 2010, and was honored by the Songwriters Hall of Fame in July (he had been voted in while he was alive, but scheduling the presentation proved difficult).
Valli was voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of the Four Seasons) in 1990, followed by The Clash in 2003 and producer Glyn Johns in 2012. Maze featuring Frankie Beverly received a lifetime achievement award at the BET Awards in 2012. León received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2022.
“It’s an amazing privilege to honor this eclectic group of music icons during the year’s biggest week in music,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy said in a statement. “Each of this year’s Special Merit Award recipients has left an indelible mark on music, from paving the way for others to innovation that forever has changed the trajectory of the musical landscape. We can’t wait to celebrate this group and their achievements in February.”
Lifetime Achievement Awards are presented to performers who have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.
Trustees Awards are presented to individuals who have made significant contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording.
Technical Grammy Awards are presented to individuals, companies, organizations or institutions who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.
Here’s a complete list of the 2025 Special Merit Award recipients.
Frankie Beverly (Lifetime Achievement Award)
Chappell Roan is a favorite to win big at the 2025 Grammys — and if she does, she plans to stir a little controversy.
On A Carpool Karaoke Christmas with Zane Lowe, which premiered first thing Monday (Dec. 16) on Apple TV+, the 26-year-old pop star revealed that she has some complicated feelings about the awards show, hinting that she will probably do a little disrupting if she wins any of her six nominations at the 2025 ceremony.
“It’s such a double-edged sword for me, because I’m like, ‘Yes, it is a talent show for the popular kids,’” she began of the Grammys. “That’s one side.
“But the other side is, ‘Oh my God, how amazing is it that a gay artist wrote a gay song that went No. 1, with a gay writer who did not grow up in the industry, did not have an in, has been busting her a– for like a decade?’” Roan continued. “That’s honorable to me. It’s an honor to be nominated with some of the other artists.”
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The Missouri native is in the running for all of the “big four” Grammy categories next year, including best new artist, album of the year for The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, and song and record of the year for her Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit “Good Luck, Babe!” When asked whether she has remarks ready to go if she’s called onstage, Roan replied, “I don’t have a speech yet, but you know me. I’m going to say something controversial.
“Why not? Girl, what do I have to lose?” the “Pink Pony Club” artist added. “The fearlessness comes from in my heart knowing I’m always going to be OK.”
Grammy nominations went live in November, revealing that Roan is tied with Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift for six nods each in 2025. Beyoncé has the most nominations going into next year ceremony with 11, while Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar and Post Malone are tied for second-most with seven apiece.
In addition to the Big Four categories, Roan is also up for best pop solo performance for “Good Luck, Babe!” and best pop vocal album for Midwest Princess, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in August. The project — and Roan’s career, for that matter — has been steadily snowballing since its release in September 2023, with the star finishing out 2024 as Billboard‘s Top New Artist.
And while the VMA winner has been open about her excitement regarding her Grammy nominations, she’s also previously expressed mixed feelings. “I’m kind of hoping I don’t win [a Grammy],” she told The Face in September. “Because then everyone will get off my a–: ‘See guys, we did it and we didn’t win, bye!’ I won’t have to do this again!”