Grammys
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Stevie Wonder, Fantasia Barrino, Annie Lennox and Jon Batiste are set to honor recently departed music icons at the 2024 Grammy Awards, set for Sunday (Feb. 4) at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Most have deep personal connections to the honorees. Wonder will pay tribute to Tony Bennett, with whom he teamed to perform “For […]
Who will win in the Latin categories at the 2024 Grammy Awards? Every year, Billboard’s Latin and Español teams gather to predict who we think will win in the Latin categories at the ceremony. Our predictions are based not only on our appreciation of the music, but also on our knowledge of the market and the understanding of the voting history of Academy members. Our predictions are not endorsements, but rather educated guesses.
Leading up to Sunday’s 66th annual Grammy Awards, we’ve gathered our Latin and Billboard Español editorial team and embarked on a lively discussion, with educated guesses based on the marketplace and past voting behavior (not endorsements). Our participants are Leila Cobo, Billboard’s Chief Content Officer, Latin/Español; Jessica Roiz, Billboard‘s assistant editor, Latin; Griselda Flores, Billboard‘s senior editor, Latin; Sigal Ratner-Arias, Billboard Español’s deputy editor; and Isabela Raygoza, Billboard Español’s associate editor.
The Grammy Awards will be held on Sunday, Feb. 4 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles beginning at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, and will stream live and on-demand on Paramount+. The ceremony will be hosted by Trevor Noah for the fourth consecutive year.
Below, our predictions of who should or who will win the Latin categories at the Grammys. Most of these categories are awarded during the Pre-telecast ceremony where more than 80 of the 94 Grammy categories are announced. The Premiere Ceremony, which will begin at 3:30pm ET can be streamed on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on live.GRAMMY.com.
Best Latin Pop Album
La Cuarta Hoja, Pablo AlboránBeautiful Humans, Vol. 1, AleMorA Ciegas, Paula ArenasLa Neta, Pedro CapóDon Juan, MalumaX Mí (Vol. 1), Gaby Moreno
SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS: I really like all the albums on this list, and I am having trouble predicting who will win. But I’m bidding on Maluma for Don Juan, an ambitious and eclectic 25-track set spanning different genres, with hot collaborations like “Según Quién” with Carin León, “Luna Llena” with Ryan Castro and “Ojitos Chiquiticos” with Don Omar. It is Maluma’s third Grammy nomination, and the third time may be the charm. By the way, neither of the Latin Grammy winners of the two pop album categories were nominated here (Julieta Venegas for Tu Historia, and Andrés Cepeda for Décimo Cuarto.)
GRISELDA FLORES: The album I think should win is Paula Arenas’ A Ciegas. It’s truly a touching and beautifully-produced set. So is Pablo Alborán’s La Cuarta Hoja. I think those two are the strongest contenders in this category. On the other hand, Maluma is a household name so voters may choose him. Although it may not seem fair given that Maluma’s set should perhaps have been nominated in the urban category, not pop because while it’s an eclectic set, it still leans more urban.
LEILA COBO: It’s hard to imagine that Maluma won’t win here for his Don Juan, especially in the wake of the recent success of his single “Según Quién” alongside Carin León. It’s not just the name recognition, which carries major weight for a Latin act in the Grammys, but also the fact that Don Juan features run of the mill perreo and reggaetón, but also, some solid, thoughtful hits. While the other nominees here are worthy, and four of them — Paula Arenas, Gaby Moreno, Pablo Alborán and Maluma himself — have been previously nominated for this award, the nod will likely go, finally, to the superstar of the group.
JESSICA ROIZ: Every singer-songwriter in this category is so deserving of the Grammy; however, I would like to see Pedro Capó win it this year. La Neta symbolizes a life-changing moment for Capó, one that he captures in this ultra-personal set, where he navigates emotions of honesty and vulnerability, and belts lyrics about love, happiness, loneliness, life and death. Recorded and produced entirely by him at his house during the pandemic, the Puerto Rican artist notes that the “silence was necessary for me to come back to my roots […] Very personal. It’s a pandemic album, a picture of everything that happened to me in my life,” he previously told Billboard.
ISABELA RAYGOZA: I appreciate the mix of straight Latin pop with more folky sounds in this category, and I would love to see Gaby Moreno take this one. There’s a whimsical quality that harkens back to the Great Latin American songbook on Moreno’s X Mí (Vol. 1), that channels the spirit of Victor Jara, or even Woody Guthrie if we’re thinking bilingual in general. There’s so much poetic depth in songs like “Fronteras” and “Luna de Xelajú” with Oscar Isaac, that also has a haunting quality to it. And that vibrato!
Best Música Urbana Album
Saturno, Rauw AlejandroMañana Será Bonito, Karol GData, Tainy
S.R.A.: Karol should take this Grammy home with Mañana Será Bonito. It already won the Latin Grammy for best música urbana album and was crowned, more importantly, as album of the year. With a contemporary, eclectic sound and empowering, honest songs like “Provenza,” “Mientras Me Curo del Cora” and “TQG” with Shakira, it should win, and I really hope it does.
G.F.: Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito should and will win. This is probably the only Latin category with an obvious winner. It’s a history-making set that was not only commercially and critically successful, having already won album of the year at the Latin Grammys, it was a groundbreaking album for Karol and Latin music in general becoming the first-ever Spanish-language album by a woman to top the Billboard 200. I have no doubt Karol will take this award home.
L.C.: Karol G already won this very category at the Latin Grammys, in addition to album of the year. That pedigree, alongside Mañana being hands down one of the best albums of the year, should clinch Karol G’s win, even in the face of daunting competition from Rauw Alejandro and hitmaker producer Tainy. Among the three contenders, only Karol G delivered not one, but a handful of global hits, including “TQG,” her top 10 Hot 100 smash alongside Shakira. The fact that Karol G is a woman and would be the first woman to snag this win, is a bonus, but should not for one second take away from the fact that this set is a tour de force.
I.R.: Uff, I have to say that these three albums are all fire, and it’s definitely a hard one to choose, because the three albums transcend the “música urbana” category. I think the easy choice is to give it to Karol G, because this album saw her rise to superstardom, while becoming a stadium performer. However, my personal favorite, admittingly, must be Tainy’s Data. Tainy not only lived up to the anticipation of his debut but surpassed it, transforming his abstract musical configurations into a dazzling journey with plenty of ethereal moments in technicolor well beyond the música urbana soundscape. Shout out to Saturno too for the freestyle reemergence, which was brilliant too. This was a bold move after coming off the success of the more mainstream sound of Vice Versa and the trap thump of his Eps.
J.R.: I must admit that Tainy’s debut studio album is a masterpiece that laces his unmatched skills, good music taste, and A-list artist friends such as Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, Wisin & Yandel, Julieta Venegas, and more. And though his creativity shines in various reggaetón bangers fused with synth-based dance and pop beats, I believe that Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito should and will win the award. After all, not only did La Bichota make Billboard history reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 but the set nabbed the coveted album of the year at the 2023 Latin Grammys. It only makes sense.
Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album
MARTÍNEZ, CabraLeche De Tigre, Diamante EléctricoVida Cotidiana, JuanesDe Todas Las Flores, Natalia LafourcadeEADDA9223, Fito Paez
S.R.A.: Vida Cotidiana. Grammy darling Juanes may add one more gramophone to his long list with this raw, emotional album, in which he reflects on his relationship with his wife and children and the problems that affect his native Colombia. With 11 songs including “Gris,” “Amores Prohibidos,” “Ojalá” and “Veneno,” and a return to his rock roots, it already won the Latin Grammy last November for best pop/rock album.
G.F.: This is a tough one because all albums are worthy of taking this award home. But to me there is one that stands out: De Todas Las Flores. Natalia Lafourcade is an artist who’s won multiple Latin Grammys through the years and, in November, won best singer/songwriter album for De Todas Las Flores. Deservingly so. The album — produced by Adan Jodorowsky — is a gorgeous project that cements Lafourcade as one of the best musicians and songwriters of this generation. She deserves all the flowers.
L.C.: Perhaps the most competitive category in the Latin field — one where every album was meticulously thought out as a cohesive body of work — but my bets are on Juanes and his much-acclaimed Vida Cotidiana, despite formidable opposition from Latin Grammy darling Natalia Lafourcade and icon Fito Páez. But Juanes has the historic pedigree of Grammy approved fare, not to mention he’s the one artist here who has actually performed at one of the ceremonies. Last but not least, Vida includes gems.
I.R.: Another category with more than one great albums, from Fito Paez reimagining this timeless songs from El Amor Después del Amor in EADDA9223, to Juanes’ rollicking but vulnerable Vida Cotidiana, and Natalia Laforcade’s De Todas Las Flores which she recorded live on analog tape — I also saw her perform this album live on its debut in Carnegie Hall and I was blown away. Although there are several Grammy darlings here, I’ll predict this one will go to Lafourcade for the reasons aforementioned. The classical strings, the jazzy playfulness, and her introspective songwriting make this one a winner.
J.R.: I think Juanes’ Vida Cotidiana should win — another ultra-personal album created during the pandemic. The set not only marks the Colombian artist’s return to his rock roots meshed with funk, son, and cumbia, but it’s also an homage to his everyday life, including the challenges and differences his family faced after spending 24 hours a day together in quarantine. I do believe, however, that Recording Academy sweetheart Natalia Lafourcade will win the Grammy with De Todas las Flores, a beautifully-crafted set with lyrics that delve deep into personal growth and self-love.
Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)
Bordado A Mano, Ana BárbaraLa Sánchez, Lila DownsMotherflower, Flor De ToloacheAmor Como En Las Películas De Antes, Lupita InfanteGÉNESIS, Peso Pluma
S.R.A.: Génesis. Peso Pluma didn’t get to see his breakthrough album nominated to the 2023 Latin Grammys, but it sure deserves the love of the Academy and his peers. A chart-topper on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums and Regional Mexican Albums, the 17-track set took the music world by storm, with hits like “Rosa Pastel” with Jasiel Nuñez, and “Lady Gaga” with Gabito Ballesteros and Junior H. It also made history on the Billboard 200 chart, where it became the highest ranked debut for a regional Mexican album at No. 3.
G.F.: As a woman, I would love to see a woman take home this category. Honoring genre veteran Ana Bárbara with this award for such a solid album would be beautiful to see. But in all fairness, this award should go to Peso Pluma. The Mexican corridos singer revolutionized the genre with Génesis, giving the decades-old genre a massive boost around the world. His global movement should be recognized.
L.C.: How very unlikely to find four women competing in any single category, much less this one. Although the gut reaction is to go for Peso Pluma — not just for his album but also for his global renown and chart prowess — this one may go to Ana Bárbara, in a nod to her 30 years of music and her exquisitely crafted Bordado a Mano (no pun intended), which includes Vicente Fernández’s last duet, a high bar. Ana Bárbara is also boosted by her recent BMI Icon award and the fact that she’s being honored at the upcoming Premio Lo Nuestro.
I.R.: I admit, Lila Down’s potent voice usually finds its way to the depth of my soul. I’ve been a fan of hers since my undergrad days. But Flor de Toloache’s Motherflower is truly riveting. It brims with passion and it fuses sounds from the frontier, a mariachi, bolero outing with cutting-edge production, and Mireya’s gut-wrenching rasp is chilling. I think they will win. But the album, admitingly, that received the most plays for me was Peso Pluma’s Genesis, while mega boosting corridos bélicos scene to the mainstream, and for that we applaud.
J.R.: My best bet is that one of the ladies will win the grammy for best música Mexicana (including Tejano) album — perhaps Ana Bárbara’s Bordado a Mano, which is the only set in this group that was nominated at the 2023 Latin Grammys for best ranchero/mariachi album. On the other hand, I also think Peso Pluma could potentially win his first career Grammy with Génesis. The historic set became only the fourth regional Mexican effort to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums this decade, following Alejandro Fernández’s Hecho en México (Feb. 29, 2020) and two Eslabon Armado albums: Vibras de Noche (Aug. 2020) and Desvelado (May 2023), and reached No. 3 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart.
Best Tropical Latin Album
Voy A Ti, Luis FigueroaNiche Sinfónico, Grupo Niche y Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de ColombiaVIDA, Omara PortuondoMIMY & TONY, Tony Succar, Mimy SuccarEscalona Nunca Se Había Grabado Así, Carlos Vives
S.R.A.: It is a tough category since it combines multiple tropical music styles all in one. Three of these nominees already received Latin Grammys in November: Grupo Niche for best salsa album, Carlos Vives for best cumbia/vallenato album, and Omara Portuondo for best traditional tropical album. Ruben Blades wasn’t nominated to the Latin Grammys neither this or last year, but he took the best pop latin album Grammy in 2023 for Pasieros with Boca Livre. So, anything could happen here.
G.F.: I loved Carlos Vives’ album, and I think it will win. His passion for vallenato beautifully translates in Escalona. After winning best cumbia/vallenato album at the Latin Grammys in November, I think it has a pretty good chance at winning this category.
L.C.: This competition among icons pits Ruben Blades, Carlos Vives, Grupo Niche and Omara Portuondo against each other, plus newcomer Luis Figueroa and Tony Succar in his poignant collab with his own mother. But Vives’ highly personal look at tradition and history is in a league of its own, a masterful fusion of cultural understanding and commercial execution that is hard to match.
I.R.: My prediction here goes to Carlos Vives’ Escalona Nunca Se Había Grabado Así, a heartfelt homage to the legendary Colombian composer, Rafael Escalona. The vallenato revivalist simply breathes new life into Escalona’s classics, and they sound as fresh as ever, preserving the beauty of Vives’ musical heritage and reinventing it for a new era.
J.R.: I believe Carlos Vives’ Escalona Nunca Se Había Grabado Así will win best Tropical album, but personally, I would like to see Niche Sinfónico by Grupo Niche and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia take the Grammy. The latter tributes some of the biggest compositions by the late Jairo Varela (Niche’s founder and director) and delivers elegant versions of timeless salsa tunes like “Mi Pueblo Natal” and “Cali Pachanguero.” Both Colombian acts already nabbed a Latin Grammy for their respective albums, which makes me believe this Grammy will stay in Colombia.
Few people had a bigger 2023 than Coco Jones — and she could very well turn 2024 into an even bigger year following Sunday night’s 2024 Grammys, where she’s nominated for a whopping five Golden Gramophones.
Ahead of Music‘s Biggest Night, Billboard staff writer Kyle Denis sat down with Jones to break down her whirlwind year and her feelings going into her first Grammy Awards as a nominee. At Sunday night’s telecast, Jones is nominated for best new artist, best R&B song (“ICU”), best R&B performance (“ICU”), best traditional R&B performance (“Simple,” with Babyface) and best R&B album (What I Didn’t Tell You – Deluxe).
“The Grammys are just a very respected group of people who earned their voice and their credits and credentials,” she says. “To me, I respect everyone who is nominated and decides because I just feel like the Grammys also help up-and-coming [artists and creatives]. For them to recognize the work that I’m doing, it just feels very affirming.”
The “Caliber” singer continues, “When I first learned I was nominated, I was on the plane. I definitely was asleep. My phone was vibrating so much, I was like, ‘This turbulence is crazy!’ But what I realized was, everyone was texting me congratulations.”
Last year, Jones earned her first Billboard Hot 100 entry with “ICU” (No. 62), which earned a remix featuring Justin Timberlake and also reached the top of Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and R&B Digital Song Sales. The success of “ICU” also gave way to a deluxe version of 2022 EP, What I Didn’t Tell You, which climbed to No. 6 on Heatseekers Albums — her first appearance on the chart in exactly a decade. In addition to her own music, Jones has lent her talents to collaborations with the likes of Brent Faiyaz (“Moment of Your Life”), Lil Tjay (“Grateful”), Adekunle Gold (“Make It Easy”) and Mean Girls movie musical star Reneé Rapp (“Tummy Hurts”).
“I have to say I really loved [working with] Reneé Rapp,” Jones gushes. “I think that was just so cool because it was mixing pop and R&B, and that’s something I want to do moving forward, so I like that. To me, it was kind of like foreshadowing.”
Like Rapp, Jones is also an acclaimed multi-hyphenate. She’s currently gearing up to film the forthcoming new season of Peacock’s Bel-Air, in which she portrays the ever-fashionable Hilary Banks. “I’m excited! A lot is still up in the air, we just ended the strike and I know everybody is getting back to work,” she says. “I’m not sure what’s in store for Hilary, I definitely want it to be surprising though, I’m like ‘Let’s up the stakes!’”
After spending 2023 on a major headlining tour, racking up R&B smashes and promoting season two of Bel-Air, Jones is ready to conquer the new year with the lessons she’s learned from those experiences. “Everything’s in seasons,” she muses. “Sometimes, people come into your life for a season, sometimes you have seasons where you don’t understand what’s going on, but seasons are the weather so they must change and they must evolve and they must go to something different. Don’t try to hold on to whatever has outlasted its season.”
Coco Jones talks about receiving five Grammy nominations, what’s next for her role as Hilary Banks in the show Bel-Air, her song for The Color Purple soundtrack, how she is planning to top the success she saw with her hit song “ICU,” performing in front of her hometown Nashville, why she loves her collab with Reneé Rapp and more!
Coco Jones:I guess, look at music creation from the standpoint of “What do you want the final world to be? Where do you want the songs to live, and how do you want to feel on stage?” because you’re going to do that every day. Hey, y’all, it’s Coco Jones, and you’re watching Billboard News.
Kyle Denis:First off, happy new year! How are you feeling now that we’re officially in 2024?
Coco Jones:I’m excited. I think I learned a lot in 2023. I just had a birthday, and I’m ready for whatever challenges are up.
Kyle Denis:What do the Grammys mean to you? And how does it feel to now have “Grammy nominated” in front of your name?
Coco Jones:Grammys are just a very respected group of people who earned their voice and earned their credits and their credentials. To me, I respect everyone who is nominated and who decides, because I just feel like the Grammys also help up-and-coming artists, help up-and-coming creatives. And so for them to recognize the work that I’m doing, it just feels very affirming.
Kyle Denis:You’re up for five awards, and I want to list them out because you deserve that. You’re up for best new artist, “ICU” is up for best R&B performance and best R&B song. What I Didn’t Tell You deluxe is up for best R&B album, and “Simple” with Babyface is up for best traditional R&B performance. Congratulations.
Coco Jones:Thank you.
Kyle Denis:Wow. Where were you when you first learned about those nominations?
Coco Jones:Oh, when I first learned I was nominated, I was on the plane. And I definitely was asleep. My phone was vibrating so much. I was like, “This turbulence is crazy.” But what I realized is everyone was texting me congratulations. So as soon as I landed, I was calling everybody back.
Watch the full video above!
Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz took center stage before a packed and cheering ballroom for The Recording Academy Honors presented by The Black Music Collective (BMC) Thursday evening (Feb. 1) in Los Angeles. The two music icons were saluted as this year’s Global Impact Award recipients — a CEO Merit Award “honoring the essence and evolution of Black excellence,” as Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. noted in his opening remarks.
And with Mason’s declaration, “Let’s get this party started,” a stellar array of music performances and emotion-packed acceptance speeches rocked the rafters of the Fairmont Century Plaza. Leading the charge was Davido with a spirited performance of “Mona Lisa” that that got the audience on its feet, dancing and waving napkins around the room.
That moment was just the first in a series of standing ovations setting the tone prior to the award presentations. Among the evening’s noteworthy performances, under the direction of the event’s music supervisor Adam Blackstone, was Andra Day’s powerful rendering of the Billie Holiday classic “Strange Fruit,” Gabby Simone’s insightful interpretation of Nina Simone’s “Four Women” and Erica Campbell’s soul-clenching take on the gospel standard “I Love the Lord.”
Just as stirring were the performances and speeches given on behalf of the honorees, beginning with H.E.R. paying tribute to singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Lenny Kravitz. Referencing one of his hits, she said, “’American Woman’ made me say to my dad, ‘I want to play guitar. I want to be a rock star like Lenny Kravitz’ … Thank you for breaking so many barriers and paving the way for artists like me. Thank you, Lenny Kravitz, for teaching us all to let love rule” — (a nod to the title of Kravitz’s 1989 debut studio album).
Kravitz began by sharing early musical memories that helped shape his legendary career, such as being a 5-year-old sitting on the lap of Duke Ellington in the Rainbow Room while the latter played “Take the A Train.” And Kravitz’s dad taking him to see the Jackson 5 at Madison Square Garden and afterwards “wanting to be the sixth brother.” The four-time Grammy winner further invoked a host of additional influences such as Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, James Brown, Nina Simone, Grandmaster Flash, Parliament-Funkadelic and Bob Marley.
Lenny Kravitz accepts the Global Impact Award onstage during the Recording Academy Honors presented by The Black Music Collective during the 66th GRAMMY Awards on February 01, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
“I could go on all night,” he continued. “I love this music because it feeds our hearts and strengthens our resolve to keep conveying hope and healing to a whole new world. To be a part of this lineage is a privilege I cherish. It is with deep gratitude that I thank you, knowing that music in every corner of the planet uplifts and expresses the goodness of God’s everlasting love.” Then fellow musicians Andrew Watt, Chad Smith, Verdine White, George Clinton and Quavo joined forces to perform “Fly Away” to roaring applause — and hearty hugs from Kravitz on stage.
More cheering ensued when Stevie Wonder took the stage to pay tribute to Mariah Carey in word and song. “Every time we meet and talk, it’s like having a brand new day,” he began. “I thank you for your friendship, your heart and the consistent spirit of love that you show … and I’m just going to say this …” That’s when Wonder segued into the choruses of two of his songs: “Knocks Me Off My Feet” (“I don’t want to bore you with it, but I love you, I love you”) and “All I Do” (“all I do is think about you”) and ad libbing at the end, “you are my hero.”
After thanking Wonder (“I will never not get excited to be in the company of your greatness!”), Carey drew plenty of audience laughter as she held the award and remarked that she hadn’t won a Grammy in a long time. She went on to thank Harvey Mason jr. and the Academy, congratulate fellow honoree Kravitz and wish everyone a happy Black History Month, the five-time Grammy winner said in part:
“When I first started in the music business, I was often told to conform to certain expectations. I wasn’t encouraged to focus on my love for Black music. It took countless arguments, endless tantrums and mostly unwavering determination. But eventually, I was able to reveal my authentic self, as they say, and create music that came from my heart … I discovered a newfound sense of freedom and fulfillment. As I accept this award, I do so with gratitude for all of you here and every person who has supported me along this journey; the fans that have stood by me through thick and thin.
“But most importantly,” she continued, “I accept this award on behalf of every person who has ever felt silenced or marginalized, who has ever been told their voice doesn’t matter. Your truth matters. We will continue to pave the way together for a future where authenticity is celebrated, diversity is embraced and music has the power to change the world.”
Additional performers feting Carey in song included Babyface (“Everytime I Close My Eyes”) Busta Rhymes (“I Know What You Want”), Tori Kelly (“Vision of Love”) and Yolanda Adams (“Make It Happen”). And among the Recording Academy executives who shared remarks were BMC chair Rico Love and Ryan Butler, the Academy’s vp of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Prior to the event — produced by MVD Inc. — guests were treated to striking black-and-white portraits of Jay-Z, Nipsey Hussle and other artists in the Icons Gallery curated by music executive and photographer Lenny S.
Media reports today that Taylor Swift won’t perform on the 2024 Grammy telecast, which is set for Sunday (Feb. 4), are a big blow to the Recording Academy, CBS and Swift’s many fans. Swift’s apparent decision also runs counter to the usual pattern when an artist dominates a year the way Swift owned 2023. Swift […]
Mariah Carey received the Recording Academy’s Global Impact Award at the 2024 Black Music Collective on Thursday night (Feb. 1), and the elusive chanteuse poked some fun at the Grammys during her speech. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Is this a real Grammy? I haven’t seen […]
The country contingent of this year’s Grammy Awards may be the closest that Nashville ever gets to time travel.
This year’s crop of nominees for the Feb. 4 ceremony includes best new artist candidates Jelly Roll and The War and Treaty, a Dierks Bentley collaboration with Billy Strings, best country album finalists Lainey Wilson and Zach Bryan, and Luke Combs’ remake of “Fast Car.”
Each of those nominations – and most of the other country contenders, too – manage to move in two different directions on the time continuum, pushing the genre into the future while still hanging onto something out of the past.
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The Grammys, according to John Carter Cash, are drawn to performances that are both “forward-thinking and connecting with the roots.” He should know: He’s nominated as an arranger on a new version of “Folsom Prison Blues” – most closely associated with his father, Johnny Cash – recorded by String Revolution featuring Tommy Emmanuel. The performance is an adventurous instrumental piece that wraps “Folsom” in folk and jazz ideals, absolutely widening the footprint of the song. Yet it remains significantly old-school: the original melody is intact during much of the recording, and it employs guitars that belonged to the Man in Black and his original guitarist, Luther Perkins.
The Grammys come under criticism every year among some country executives and broadcasters because the nominations don’t particularly line up with the biggest current projects in the genre. But that was never the intent of the awards, which are voted on by the creative class, rather than marketers and managers. Those creatives – including musicians, songwriters and producers – tend to reward the craft as much as the commerce, and the slate typically recognizes performances that build on bedrock influences while making a new statement. Sometimes, as in Bryan’s Kacey Musgraves Billboard Hot 100-topping collaboration “I Remember Everything,” that includes some of the most popular current music. But in others, such as Brandy Clark’s twice-nominated “Buried,” that means elevating music from outside the mainstream.
The nominations tend to honor artists and performances that respect the past without being bound by it. That is, to be sure, how the most original artists operate. “If you love country music, and you’re trying to do it, you love the old stuff,” Bentley notes. But “you can’t just go back and redo the old stuff. It’s already been done.”
There are exceptions. Combs’ revision of “Fast Car,” up for best country solo performance, is a faithful update of a classic, though the current circumstances are different: male singer Combs renders it from a different perspective than female originator Tracy Chapman, and it re-emerged in country instead of the folk/pop arena where she introduced it. Solo competitor Dolly Parton’s “The Last Thing on My Mind” is a reworking of a song she first cut with duet partner Porter Wagoner in 1967. And Vince Gill is a best country duo/group finalist with steel guitarist Paul Franklin for bringing attention to “Kissing Your Picture (Is So Cold),” an obscure Ray Price song re-recorded for a tribute album.
“When I first heard Vince Gill, I thought, ‘Whoa, this is so cool, so new,’ and it was, of course,” Bentley remembers. “Listening to Vince now, that’s nothing but traditional country music, but the way he did it, it felt new. It’s the same thing with Morgan Wallen now. A lot of his songs are super country. My daughter listens to him, she goes, ‘Oh my god, this is so cool and new and different.’ I’m like, ‘That’s pretty country: dobro, and Bryan Sutton on the acoustic.’ So you kind of kind of trick everyone a little bit.”
Carly Pearce’s ability to walk the line between old and new is one of the reasons her Chris Stapleton collaboration “We Don’t Fight Anymore” secured a best country duo/group performance nomination. The spare, acoustic arrangement builds on the genre’s origins, as does its mature lyrical portrait of a debilitated relationship. But the melody and the phrasing are notably modern.
“They’re looking for artistic expression,” Pearce suggests. “That song is one of the most authentic to me, so I think it resonates, obviously, in a commercial way, but more in an artistic way, which is what I love about the Grammys. They see the whole vision of an artist and not just what’s played on the radio. For it to have that marriage together is really [key].”
Even Kelsea Ballerini’s best country album entry Rolling Up the Welcome Mat has that forward-thinking, roots-respecting aura. Compiled as a series of songs that documents her emotional journey following a divorce from Morgan Evans, it mostly features a boundary-testing, pop-leaning sound, though mining her inner world for her art is very much an old-school Hank Williams kind of approach.
“In my brain, it’s like I made a movie,” she says. “It’s solely focusing and zooming in on the songwriting and the storytelling, and to me, that is honoring the genre that I dig my heels into every day. The sonic elements that accompany it, to me, don’t hold as much weight as the story that you’re telling.”
Even personal history can influence the artistic time-machine effect. Songwriter of the year nominee Jessie Jo Dillon (“Memory Lane,” “Halfway To Hell”) compares Jelly Roll’s rise from a prison background and drug abuse to Johnny Cash’s messages about forgiveness. And Wilson sees Jelly Roll’s willingness to mine his experiences as a major influence on the format moving forward.
“Everybody’s past and everything – none of that matters,” she says. “We’ve all done things, we’ve all messed up. It’s about what’s on the inside, and Jelly Roll is nothing but good.”
Ultimately, the creatives who vote for the Grammys all draw from the same musical past as the nominees, and the country finalists list is a qualitative statement about how the genre can continue to evolve.
“It’s very, very difficult to know where you’re going if you don’t know where you come from,” says The War and Treaty’s Michael Trotter Jr. “We like to pay respect, homage, pay a nod to the past — because it’s still our present.”
At the Grammys, that past dictates how country moves into its future.
The 2024 Grammys are almost upon us, which will provide the answer to this year’s biggest Grammy-related question — and we don’t mean whether Taylor Swift will make history as the first artist to win album of the year four times. We mean: Can you make it through the whole thing?
The telecast is scheduled to run three and a half hours, from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. ET, but veteran Grammy watchers know that the day actually begins at 3:30 p.m. ET with what the Recording Academy rather grandly calls the Premiere Ceremony, but what you probably call the pre-telecast awards. More than 80 of the 94 Grammy categories are announced on that show, which will stream on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on live.GRAMMY.com.
If you manage to make it through both shows, that’s eight hours – assuming the telecast doesn’t run over (which it often does). So, it’s not only Music’s Biggest Night, it’s Music’s Longest Day and Night.
As always, the telecast will have something for everybody. Performers range from 20-year-old superstar Olivia Rodrigo to music legend Joni Mitchell, who is still adding to her considerable legacy at 80.
The show will be held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, where it has been held for 21 of the past 25 years. U2 is set to take the stage from Sphere just outside Las Vegas, where the band’s acclaimed U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere show is playing. It will be the first live broadcast from the venue.
Billy Joel will perform his just-released single “Turn the Lights Back On.”
Luke Combs and Tracy Chapman will team to perform “Fast Car,” which Combs revived last year. His version, a pop and country smash, is nominated for best country solo vocal performance. Chapman’s original version won 35 years ago for best pop vocal performance, female. Chapman performed the song to close the 1989 telecast.
Other expected collaborations are Burna Boy (with 21 Savage and Brandy) and Mitchell (with Brandi Carlile).
Trevor Noah will host the Grammys for the fourth consecutive year. He received a nod for best comedy album for I Wish You Would, and is vying to become only the second Grammy host to win a Grammy that same night. The first was Kenny Rogers, who won best country vocal performance, male for “The Gambler” in 1980, when he hosted the show for the first of two times.
It is unknown whether Taylor Swift will perform, though CBS has promoted the fact that she will be “in the building” to accept any awards she may win. Any additional performers will be added to this report as they are announced.
Songwriter Justin Tranter will host the Premiere Ceremony live from Peacock Theater, which is adjacent to Crypto. Tranter is nominated for songwriter of the year, non-classical in recognition of their work with such artists as Miley Cyrus, Måneskin and Reneé Rapp. This is just the second year that that award has been presented and the first since the category was bumped up to the General Field, which also includes the Big Four categories – album, record and song of the year plus best new artist.
Producer of the year, non-classical was also bumped up to the General Field this year. Jack Antonoff is vying to become the first producer to take that award three years running since Babyface, who won it three in a row from 1996 to 1998.
Presenters on the main telecast include Samara Joy, last year’s surprise winner for best new artist, and Meryl Streep, who is nominated for best audio book, narration and storytelling recording for Big Tree. If she wins, it will be her first Grammy, after seven nominations. Streep has won three Oscars and three Primetime Emmys.
Performers on the Premiere Ceremony will include Harvey Mason (not the CEO of the Recording Academy – that’s Harvey Mason Jr.). The elder Mason, a highly regarded drummer, amassed 10 Grammy nominations between 1975 and 2009.
The 66th annual Grammy Awards will be held on Sunday, Feb. 4, live on both coasts beginning at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, and will stream live and on-demand on Paramount+. The show 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.
The Premiere Ceremony will stream live that same day, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on live.GRAMMY.com. This year’s Premiere Ceremony is produced by Branden Chapman, Ruby Marchand, Chantel Sausedo, and Rex Supa on behalf of the Recording Academy. Greg V. Fera is executive producer and Cheche Alara is music producer and music director.
Main Telecast
Host
Trevor Noah
Performers
Burna Boy (with 21 Savage and Brandy)
Luke Combs (with Tracy Chapman)
Billie Eilish
Billy Joel
Dua Lipa
Joni Mitchell (with Brandi Carlile)
Olivia Rodrigo
Travis Scott
SZA
U2
Presenters
Christina Aguilera
Samara Joy
Lenny Kravitz
Maluma
Lionel Richie
Mark Ronson
Meryl Streep
Taylor Tomlinson
Oprah Winfrey
Premiere Ceremony (pre-telecast awards)
Host
Justin Tranter
Performers
Adam Blackstone
Brandy Clark
Bob James
Gaby Moreno
Harvey Mason
J. Ivy, Larkin Poe, Pentatonix, Sheila E., Jordin Sparks (opening number)
Kirk Franklin
Laufey
Robert Glasper
Terrace Martin
Presenters
Carly Pearce
Jimmy Jam
Molly Tuttle
Natalia Lafourcade
Patti Austin
Rufus Wainwright
Justin Tranter is in the midst of a massive week. The renowned hitmaker is up for the songwriter of the year award at this Sunday’s Grammy Awards and will also host the Premiere Ceremony prior to the 2024 Grammys, live from Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
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Ahead of Grammys week, Billboard‘s senior music correspondent Katie Bain sat down with Tranter to talk about why the Grammys’ addition of the songwriter award is so important. 2024 marks the second year the songwriter of the year Grammy is being awarded and marks Tranter’s first nomination in the category. (They were previously nominated for song of the year in 2018 for Julia Michaels’ “Issues.”)
Tranter says they found out they were nominated when when they were out walking the dog and suddenly, 300 congratulatory texts came through.
“I think it’s important because we almost always get the short end of the stick in this business,” Tranter says of the Grammys acknowledging songwriters with the new-as-of-last-year songwriters category. “We’re always kind of thought of last; we’re always treated the worst, and I do think it is intentional because we are so powerful, that if we are allowed to recognize our power and flex our power, we would run the industry, and people don’t want that.
“So I think that this award is very important,” they continue, “because it lends visibility to songwriters, and without visibility we have no power, because we live in a world where if you can’t see something, you can’t hear something, it doesn’t exist.”
Tranter also shares stories of working on each of the songs they were nominated for in 2024, including Reneé Rapp‘s “Gemini Moon” (“She was mentioning her moon is in Gemini, and I’m a Gemini…and we Googled and that day the moon was also in gemini…”), Maneskin (“I DM’d them on Instagram when they won Eurovision and said ‘you are the coolest band I’ve seen since my band, we should work together’”), and Miley Cyrus (“we had one day together, and she was in the beginning of a new relationship and was feeling really sexy and fabulous and wanted to write something, in her words, pretty f—ing filthy and sexy”).
Tranter has worked with some the biggest superstars in modern pop music, and says building rapport with artists like Justin Bieber and Cardi B during the writing process is about sharing part of themselves.
“I can’t be afraid to ask slightly more personal questions than you’d usually ask someone you met an hour ago,” Tranter says. “But I think if you ask them with respect and also share at least a little bit about my life, then it feels like we are in this together. And I am very lucky too that I was just born pretty confident, and so I think me being a very femme queer person who is also very confident creates a space that’s [like] ‘if I can be confident in this, then you can be confident in what you’re in, what you’re living through.’”