Grammys
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One of the ways in which the Grammy Awards are distinct from most other awards shows: There’s more than one top prize. The album of the year trophy has long been viewed as the most prestigious award of the yearly ceremony, yet artists have dominated the Grammys in past years by taking home both record and song of the year, like Silk Sonic did at the 2022 Grammys with “Leave the Door Open.” In other years — like in 2020, when Billie Eilish swept the Big Four — multiple major wins, including album of the year, helped define how that year’s ceremony was remembered.
Ahead of the 2023 Grammy Awards on Sunday night, it’s worth asking: Which artists could dominate the Grammys narrative this year, and what would it mean if they did? Nine artists have the chance to take home multiple Big Four awards, with generous overlap between the nominees for album of the year, record of the year and song of the year (the 10 best new artist nominees, strangely, do not have any other Big Four nods this year). Meanwhile, a 10th artist only has one Big Four nod… but a win would be groundbreaking enough that it’s worth including them into the list of artists who could shape how this year’s Grammys are remembered.
Those artists range from rising pop stars with brash hit singles to music industry institutions who have been earning acclaim for decades. And all of their legacies could be altered come Grammy night — some via an early coronation, others through long-awaited wins. There’s a lot at stake in every Grammy category, but the Big Four carry the most eyeballs and the greatest weight, with lasting impacts more than possible.
With that in mind, here are the 10 artists who could dominate the narrative of the 2023 Grammys, what they would need to win in order to do so, and what those dominant performances would mean.
The annual Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala will make its grand in-person return on Saturday night (Feb. 4) for the first time since 2020 due to the pandemic. And naturally, the legend promises it to be the most stellar, most star-studded one yet.
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The 2023 gala will honor Atlantic executives Craig Kallman, CEO and chairman of Atlantic Records, and Julie Greenwald, CEO and chairman of Atlantic Music Group. Atlantic Records’ roster includes Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Cardi B, Lizzo, Jack Harlow and more. The label scored 40 nominations at this year’s Grammys.
While speaking with Billboard days before his anticipated event, Davis reveals that two Atlantic superstars will perform. He also spoke of a duet between a “Latin superstar” and a “major rock hero” — which Davis first teased earlier this week at the Billboard Power 100 event, joking that “I’ve never followed Bad Bunny before.”
Davis also revealed how and when he begins to plan such an impressive party year after year, and shared the one thing he does right after each gala comes to an end.
“The demand for tickets is always intense,” he says. “And the challenge is to provide a show, not opportunities to quote ‘shmooze.’ It’s the show that everybody writes me of the memories.”
But regardless of who shows up and who performs this year, Davis has only one hope, “That it achieves what all the others did: that we have a celebration of music.”
The big conversation point for you this year is that this gala is coming back after three years. When did the planning start?
You know, you cannot plan until the Grammy nominations occur, because if you want someone who should be nominated — and you know that there have been surprises in recent years with people that should have been nominated and got no nomination — so nobody will commit to being in L.A. Grammy week. So we wait for the day that the Grammy Award nominations come out. However, we are no way whatsoever slaves to just have Grammy nominees perform. I mean, I’ve reached back. I thought eight years ago, “It’s time for Taylor Swift to see Johnny Mathis.” I brought out Johnny Mathis and I’m looking at Taylor from the stage and I’m saying, “Taylor, congratulations on all that you’re doing. You’ve probably never seen the next performer because he rarely tours, but he’s up there with Sinatra. The greatest of all time. And an album of his greatest hits was on the Billboard 200 for 10 consecutive years.” She did her trademark gasp and then I brought Johnny on to do his greatest hits. I have a version of that in mind for Saturday night. Something different, which I can’t talk about, but it’s a night that celebrates music.
Yes, Nancy Pelosi is coming for the 23rd consecutive year, and she’ll be there with her husband, Paul. Everybody will be touched that he is well enough to come. But the audience has every year the top leading people who run companies all over the world, music publishers but also networks and motion picture studios and sports representatives. I mean, Magic Johnson comes every year and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Chris Bosh, CC Sebathia… if you love music, you want to be there. So the demand for tickets is always intense. And the challenge is to provide a show, not opportunities to quote “shmooze,” it’s the show that everybody writes me of the memories. That they saw Whitney with Nat King Cole. That they saw Alicia Keys duet with Aretha Franklin. That they saw Rod Stewart at the height of the Great American Songbook sing with Lou Reed and Slash. As I mentioned, I didn’t know I’d be following Bad Bunny [at the Power 100 event]. So it did trigger [me discussing] Latin music, what has happened with him and Rosalia, with Anitta and so many others. I’m really pleased that we have a unique duet Saturday night of a major rock hero with a Latin superstar, and I was very pleased to point that out being in the position of following Bad Bunny. This came from the rock artist that his two songs he would like to do with the major Latin star. And I don’t know whether they ever worked together before. I had not heard of such, but it’s killer, as they say. A killer combo.
The gala is honoring Atlantic Records’ Craig Kallman and Julie Greenwald this year. You’ve known them for some time, do you have a favorite memory having worked together?
I don’t work with them. I compete with them. Because Craig is very close with two of my sons, Fred Davis and Doug Davis, we have gotten personally friendly. We are Jewish and we have Passover dinners and Craig has attended with his wife a few of my Passover dinners. So we are really good extended friends, extended family.
When making the guest list, how do you find the right balance between inviting legends and the newer artists that you’re always so good at spotting?
We have every year given the Icon winner an opportunity to pick two artists, and we have about nine artists that we show. So the Icon section usually does not take place until after five or six artists have appeared that have no relationship to the Icon. I can’t tell you right now, but there are definitely two very, very, very talented Atlantic artists performing and I believe that an Atlantic Records artist will introduce part of the segment verbally, which is a nice touch that we’ve never had before. So they’ll definitely be, performance wise, at least two Atlantic artists.
What’s exciting to you in music right now?
What hip-hop has become. My concern was and has been that hip-hop has so dominated not only its own genre but Top 40, that I worry where the next Bob Dylan, where the next Bruce Springsteen is going to come from. I wonder where the next Aretha Franklin or Whitney Houston is. It’s not easy, even for the biggest voices that are around, although I’m encouraged by what’s happening with SZA and Jazmine Sullivan and a few others. As I see hip-hop broadening its vision and combining with R&B or seeing artists of pop and folk and rock broaden their horizons, I’m seeing a broadening of musical influence. But we’ve got to make sure as exciting as Kendrick Lamar and Drake are and as wonderful as hip-hop stars are, that we don’t narrow the breadth of what contemporary music is all about.
After the gala, what is the first thing that you do?
We go to the Polo Lounge of the Beverly Hills Hotel and do the postmortem. You know when you have a party, whether it be a wedding or another event, that you want the postmortem to review what happened and get the reactions. You want to stew about it, gossip about it, enjoy it. So that’s what I do.
Is there one postmortem that stands out the most, where you all couldn’t believe what had just happened?
You know what’s surprising, and it happens every year, and maybe that’s why it’s lasted as long, is every year in a heartfelt, honest way, the postmortem is, “This was the best party ever.” I can’t believe how every year, with a straight face, so many say, “This was the best ever.” If you ask me now, reminiscing — we’re going to put together a documentary of the greatest hits of the greatest parties — it’s hard to evaluate which performance or memory was most special.
What is the most memorable or over the top thank you that you have received?
I was leaving Arista and I decided that there’d be only two artists performing at my Grammy party that year. There was Carlos Santana performing memorably with Rob Thomas and Wyclef doing “Black Magic Woman,” Oye Como Va” and “Evil Ways” from the first time I signed him and “Smooth” and “Maria, Maria” from the second. But then Whitney came on after two memorable speeches of what my work has meant to music. One was from Stevie Wonder and the other was from Lauryn Hill, and they were both incredibly touching. But the most touching was Whitney coming to the center of the stage and singing, “I Believe in You and Me,” just to me. And then singing “I Will Always Love You,” just to me. So it was a very vulnerable time in life and it was so touching to see her love. Neither of us thought that we’d be back together again two or so years later. But you can’t top that. You can’t top those songs sung by Whitney personally expressing her love.
Ahead of Saturday night’s gala, what is your one hope for this year’s event?
That it achieves what all the others did: that we have a celebration of music. That they see performances that are among the greatest that they would’ve seen. I’ve gotten so many personal emails from very celebrated people. I’ll give you examples of Tim Cook meeting David Hockney for the first time. Brandi Carlile meeting Joni Mitchell for the first time. Her hero. It was her first year in the audience and I got to know her because we were doing 10-20 interviews together and what emerged was what a unique heroine Joni was to Brandi. Well, I put her at the same table and it changed both [of their lives]. They are so close [now]. So meeting people that they would not otherwise meet, whether it be [Barbara] Streisand, Puffy or Pharrell. Trevor [Noah] is coming this year. Just hearing people when they attend the party saying how special it is for them.
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For Boi-1da, starting off his career in Canada was no walk in the park. In 2008, Toronto fans were even more brutally cold than the Ontario climate, earning the metropolitan center Boi-1da’s crown for “the worst place to perform.” The city was then known as “the Screwface capital” — a far cry from the overwhelming Drake-mania that exploded in years to come. “I remember we would go places at colleges to perform and everybody was hating on each other booing each other, except for us,” the 36-year-old explains. “We weren’t making gangsta rap, so it was really tough in Toronto.”
Instead, the Jamaica-born Boi-1da — alongside collaborators like Noah ‘”40″ Shebib and T-Minus –painstakingly plowed what was formerly infertile ground, cultivating a cross-cultural, genre-bending sound that would forever change rap. The feat was unprecedented, considering Canada was seldom taken seriously in the music space (save icons like Celine Dion and Shania Twain) and especially within hip-hop.
But now, everything is different — including the way Toronto receives its own musicians. Drake’s success alongside his homegrown team opened the doors for artists like The Weeknd, Partynextdoor, dvsn, Majid Jordan and Jessie Reyez. Boi-1da helped discover and usher in some of these acts, including bringing producers like Sevn Thomas and Vinylz into the fold, who have gone on to work with megastars like Rihanna, Travis Scott and Jay-Z.
Outside of his work with Drake, the mega-producer has brought the R&B and hip-hop genres some of their most iconic musical moments of the last decade, by way of artists like Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Jack Harlow, J. Cole, Cardi B and Chris Brown. He even took it back to his roots, tapping into Latin sounds with Romeo Santos, J Balvin and Maluma, as well as Jamaican artists like Popcaan.
“I’m so open to music and I make all different kinds of music,” he explains. “I’m going to give people different versions of myself and what I can do [in these new projects].”
Now celebrating nineteen Grammy nominations, including this year’s nomination for producer of the year (non-classical), the chart-topping producer is overwhelmed with gratitude. “It’s a blessing that people care about you or even think about your music,” he says, “because I remember at one point, nobody had any idea who I was. I had no listeners, I was just a kid making music. So I’m grateful for anything.”
Ahead of the Grammys, Boi-1da caught up with Billboard to reflect back on his 17-year-long career, the “terrible” state of hip-hop and what’s left for the multi-hyphenate to achieve.
You’ve been on every Drake project from Room for Improvement through Certified Lover Boy — what was that come up like?
It was the worst. It was literally a warzone in Toronto, nobody showed anybody love. I felt like the boy who cried wolf. I was like, “Yo, this guy’s really good!” and nobody believed me. Nobody wanted to take him seriously as the light-skinned guy from Degrassi.
What were your career goals at that time?
My head around those times was just in getting good at making music. I really wanted to impress people with with my music, that was my main goal. I would get joy [from] a reaction of anybody liking my music. I’m pretty sure every kid with a basketball is growing up wanting to be LeBron James or Steph Curry, so obviously you want to be the best. But really, truly, I was just thinking very small-scale at first. To just be locally good. Once I started making moves and winning competitions for beats, I started expanding my mind and realizing that I can go bigger with it.
What was the catalyst that began to change things?
Up until the co-sign by Lil Wayne, people were not [tapped in]. I don’t know why, because the music was so good.
Early on, what was the music that inspired you?
I was born in Jamaica, so all I heard in my household was dancehall and reggae… I remember we moved to a city called Scarborough. My older sister listened to a lot of R&B — I remember she would constantly play [Soul for Real’s] “Candy Rain” and Boyz II Men. We never had no Spotify and barely any radio. My mom listened to a lot of Ace of Base and Toni Braxton.
I know you’ve tapped into reggae and dancehall, which isn’t a far cry from reggaetón. Would you tap into any Latin genres?
Definitely. I’ve collabed with a few [Latin] artists. I worked with Romeo Santos, a really good friend of mine. I can’t even pronounce the song properly, it’s “Sin Filtro.” He’s the GOAT. We have a few unreleased songs together, as well as [me and] J. Balvin, and I’ve worked with Maluma.
You’re a 19-time Grammy nominated producer. Does that number carry weight for you?
The funny thing is — I just heard that two days ago. I didn’t even know I was 19-times Grammy nominated. So yeah, it definitely does. It’s just an honor to even be acknowledged by the Academy. It’s the highest form of respect. I would have never thought being a little kid that I would have this many nominations, or be doing anything I’m doing. So I’m just grateful.
You’ve already won twice at the Grammys. Would walking away with another win on Sunday change anything for you?
if anything, I’m just gonna go even harder. If I win on Sunday, that’s motivation for me to take it to another level. I think I have a great chance and I’m definitely more than deserving of it. If it’s in God’s grace for me to win, that’ll be a blessing. It’s only gonna make me go harder and make even better music — win or lose.
For someone of your stature, and level of accomplishment, it would be easy to get lost in that. What helps to keep you level-headed?
Having very honest friends and family around me constantly and keeping them very close. I don’t really have friends that are “yes people” around me. I have friends and family that definitely hold me accountable. I prefer that around me, than people just telling me I’m doing the right thing if I make a mistake.
My daughter, she keeps it pretty funky with me. I’ll play her music and she’ll be like, “This sucks.” My dad always taught me that you’re not better than anybody, regardless of whatever you do. I treat everybody with the same respect and put everybody on the same level.
Any picks for best new artist this year?
Definitely excited for Anitta. She’s super cool. Spoke to her a few times. Latto’s really dope and so is Muni Long. I’ve been meaning to work with Anitta, but we haven’t done anything just yet. Latto as well, I have a few friends who are connected with her, who are gonna connect us eventually. I don’t rush anything.
You were born in Jamaica and came to Canada as a four-year-old. Did you experience the typical child-of-immigrants pressure?
My parents grew up extremely rough. They grew up in Jamaica when it was literally the murder capital of the world. We actually moved to Canada because there was a lot of murder around where we lived. I’ve watched my dad work overtime, sacrifice every night, to live in the places we used to live [in Toronto]. And my mom worked extremely hard. When I came to Canada, it was without my my mom. Just me, my dad and my sister. I didn’t see my mom for two years.
So I’ve seen them work very hard. There was definitely a lot of pressure but they also gave me a lot of love and said, “No matter what, win or lose, we’re still family and we love you.”
There’s been a lot of conversation in the last year about the state of rap and where it is headed. Most recently, the genre lost a portion of its market share and there’s been some concern about its positioning. What are your thoughts on where rap is at today?
I’ll be completely honest with you. I think hip-hop is terrible right now, and one-dimensional. But I think it’s up to the people at the forefront — including myself — to start doing new things and taking risks. I feel like it’s been stuck at the same spot for a long time. Hip-hop always has its ups and downs. I just feel like it’s a little bit of a downward phase right now. And it’s gonna go back up eventually.
A lot of people thought that drill music would give the genre that boost, but it seems that the subgenre’s biggest hopefuls have been killed, imprisoned or had their careers hampered.
Yeah, that’s unfortunate. There’s still a lot of dope drill, and a lot of people doing it. I feel like a lot of creatives these days — they’ll see something as hot and just want to do that. Whereas the way I think about things is, I see something and I want to go in the complete opposite direction, at all times. I’m just gonna continue to do that, and try my best as a leader in music to bring something new to the table and shake it up a little bit.
What was it like working with Kendrick Lamar on Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, which is up for album of the year and best rap album?
I worked on “N95” and “Silent Hill.” It’s always dope to work with Kendrick. He’s just a creative free spirit and so am I. When we both connect, it’s just a bunch of ideas being shot out there. We did those songs a while ago on the spot here in California. I’ll work on [the songs] to a certain extent, because I trust Kendrick’s creative integrity — and then he took them and made them what he wanted.
How involved is Kendrick in the production of his music?
Extremely involved. He is almost a producer himself. He’s just moving things out the way, changing things. He’s literally a musical genius composer, artist, writer, visionary, everything. He’s really a gift from God to the world. I really appreciate that man and his art.
Another visionary you worked with — who is also up for album of the year — is Beyoncé. What was it like creating “HEATED?”
That was a record that I had originally worked on with Drake. It was an idea we started that he took over with Beyoncé. That’s another guy that I fully allow to be himself. There’s no point in telling Drake anything. He knows what he’s doing. I’m like [DJ] Khaled — I like what Drake likes. Whatever Drake wants to do, he can do, because he gets it right every single time.
Did you and Drake make “HEATED” with Beyoncé in mind?
Yeah, we had Bey in mind. We just wanted to do a song with the Queen.
You’ve had an almost two-decade long career as a producer so far. What’s left for you?
I think what’s left for my career is to start putting out projects of my own. I feel like I’ve been floating around and helping everybody else with their projects. I think it’s about time I do something creative that is completely my vision. I feel like I haven’t showed that to the world at all.
It’s in motion right now. I’m creating a lot for myself, and talking to artists about ideas that I’ve worked on. I’m working on a cool project right now that’s coming together slowly but tastefully. When it’s done, everybody’s gonna hear it. I don’t like putting release dates on things. I want it to be perfect.
Year after year, Spotify’s Grammy Week party delivers what no other party does: performances from every best new artist nominee on the same stage on the same night.
And sure, with 10 nominees, that does lead to a rather long evening as the sets spread out over nearly five hours, but that hardly stopped the closing act from delivering a headline-worthy rock show, prompting the first and only mosh pit of the night.
With a guest list full of future best new artist hopefuls such as Orville Peck, jxdn, Joshua Bassett, Role Model, Yung Gravy and more, past nominee Kid Laroi was also in attendance. Plus, a handful of stars showed up, including Machine Gun Kelly, Shawn Mendes, Charlie Puth, Diplo, Tove Lo, Aly & AJ and so many more.
After turning last year’s event into a first-of-its kind best new artist brunch – held at Encore Beach Club at Wynn in Las Vegas – 2023’s edition at Los Angeles’ Pacific Design Center was a welcome return to the party guests have come to know and love.
Below are the best moments from the night, courtesy of each best new artist nominee.
7:32: Instrumental jazz duo Domi and JD Beck opened the night with a captivating set that not only served as the perfect entry music, but also set a high bar for the acts to follow. Drummer JD Beck joked about playing “anti-party music” while Domi later took her shoes off and jokingly declared the duo to be the “Worst New Artist.”
7:52: Emerging bluegrass artist Molly Tuttle wowed the room with her quick and vibrant strumming, amplified by a four-piece string band. Tuttle sounded crisp and cutting, briefly transporting the captivated audience – which included an attentive Orville Peck – to a setting more akin to Newport Folk Festival.
8:11: Performing alongside a pianist, upright bassist and drummer, Samara Joy turned the sprawling tented venue into an intimate late-night club – think New York’s Blue Note. The jazz singer stunned with her soaring vocals, and caught even more of the room’s attention with her cover of Adele’s “Someone Like You.”
8:35: Muni Long became the first performer of the night to welcome backup dancers and a prop – in the form of a silver chaise lounge – to the stage. She not only upped the ante with her production value, but delivered bar-raising vocals to match. Her voice was a force, even battling it out briefly with an electric guitar. Before her set wrapped, she wished the crowd a happy Black History Month, plugged her upcoming show and fittingly ended with breakout hit “Hrs and Hrs.”
9:33: Following a surprise DJ set from the week’s most in-demand performer, DJ Pee Wee (Anderson .Paak), he introduced the celebrated Italian rockers Maneskin to the stage. “Hello everybody, we’re Italian rockers and we play rock n’ roll – at least, we try,” quipped frontman Damiano David. Wearing matching all white suits, the Eurovision winners shredded through “Begging,” “I Wanna Be Your Slave” and more, delivering a stadium-worthy rock show. In the absence of any pyro or other rock show staples, David settled for sprinkling water over the front row to cap off the set.
9:53: Nearly three hours in, Latto took the stage at the perfect time to bring the “big big energy,” performing her hit “Big Energy.” Supported by her DJ and flanked by backup dancers, Latto genuinely seemed to be having a blast on stage, engaging with the audience and smiling through each move.
10:03: Opening her set in a denim trench to perform “Lobby,” Anitta soon after joked, “Good thing the votes are already counted.” Yet she still delivered an expectedly fiery set, including some signature twerking as an appetizer to “Envolver,” which continued to stand out as a party starter.
10:31: As the stage spins around to reveal Tobe Nwigwe, the first thing to stand out is the set fit for Architectural Digest, with two ivory arched structures on either end framing Nwigwe and his backup vocalists in the center. The singer-rapper treated the audience to a moment of all-consuming zen, momentarily making the otherwise fast-paced party seem to slow down and tune in.
11:03: The crowd thickened for Omar Apollo’s anticipated set, for which he asked, “Is everybody drunk right now? What’s the vibe here?” As the second-to-last performer, Apollo left quite the impression, performing fan favorites including “Go Away” and Endlessly” before warning the crowd his closer is “really f–king sad.” He told no lie, as he finished with the still-growing ballad “Evergreen.”
11:28: Following an epic flute introduction, indie-rock duo Wet Leg took the stage for the evening’s grand finale, and judging by the floor that began to shake from all the jumping, the act was a perfect choice. The rockers treated the brief set the same as their own headlining shows, letting their instruments do most of the talking. The performance included “Wet Dream” and, of course, ended with the song that started it all, “Chaise Lounge.” As a mosh pit began to pick up steam, the pair grinned, as if to say even they couldn’t believe this quirky song started it all.
The 2023 Grammy Awards are nearly upon us! Though the ceremony takes place on Sunday, Feb. 5, artists who are preparing to make their appearance at the ceremony have touched down in Los Angeles in advance for a series of both public and private events for the period dubbed Grammy Week. And while fans may not be able to attend them all, Billboard has you covered with this gallery of photos that features snaps of music stars who showed up to the Grammys pre-parties.
Thursday (Feb. 2) saw Warner Music Group host a star-studded party at the Hollywood Athletic Club in Los Angeles. Saweetie was among the stars to pose for photos on the carpet. During the event, Anderson .Paak — who showed up in his now-signature shiny bowl cut and sunglasses combo — gave the turntables a spin as DJ Pee Wee. Best new artist nominee Omar Apollo took to the stage to perform, and Nile Rodgers cleared the dance floor to bust a move.
The Recording Academy Honors presented by The Black Music Collective also took place on Thursday. Ciara and Lil Wayne posed for photos while sitting at the tables, Dr. Dre accepted the Recording Academy Global Impact Award that night, and attendees were treated to entertaining performances from Busta Rhymes (“Put Your Hands Where Your Eyes Can See,” “I Know What You Want”) as well as Chlöe, who dazzled with covers of songs by Aaliyah and Missy Elliott (“One in a Million” and “One Minute Man”).
Young stars such as Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter and GAYLE also turned up at the many Grammy Week events. See photos of the stars at the various gatherings.
There’s a reason the Grammy Awards are called Music’s Biggest Night. Since the first ceremony in 1959, musicians, singers, songwriters, producers, recording engineers, executives and more have united annually to celebrate and recognize outstanding achievements in the industry.
Although it’s the awards that bring everyone together, the Recording Academy’s annual ceremony has grown to become a major musical showcase of its own. Now, performances can be just as headline-making as winners — especially when two or more acts take the stage for a surprise team-up. For instance, Prince and Beyoncé stole the show in 2004 when they performed a medley of hits that included “Purple Rain” and “Crazy In Love.” Elton John and Eminem’s performance of “Stan” at the 2001 Grammys still has people talking today. And back in 1980, Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond stole the show by singing “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” live for the first time together.
With over half a century of show-stopping sets, there are likely dozens of acts you may not remember having taken the stage together. Some pairings are more surprising than others (Metallica and Lady Gaga’s 2017 team-up surely had heads turning), but all of them captivated audiences, bringing together artists both old and new to make history live on stage.
Ahead of the 2023 Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 5) — which will feature performances from Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder, Brandi Carlile, Luke Combs, Steve Lacy, Lizzo, Kim Petras and Sam Smith and more — Billboard rounds up 11 epic duets and collaborations you may have forgotten about, in no particular order, below.
DJ Khaled is set to appear on the 2023 Grammy Awards telecast with collaborators Fridayy, Jay-Z, John Legend, Lil Wayne and Rick Ross to perform “God Did,” which is nominated for song of the year, best rap song and best rap performance.
DJ Khaled is also nominated for album of the year and best rap album for the album of the same name. “Beautiful,” another track from the album, is up for best melodic rap performance.
Jay’s participation in the collaboration means he is sure to be in the house for what is expected to be a big night for his wife, Beyoncé. Bey is up for nine awards, more than any other artist this year. If she wins three of them, she will tie the late classical conductor Sir Georg Solti for the most Grammys ever. If she wins four, she’ll set a new record.
Jay-Z is nominated for five awards, including double nominations for song of the year. He is nominated in that marquee category for co-writing both “God Did” and Bey’s “Break My Soul.” If he wins even one of his five nominations, he’ll surpass Kanye West as the most-awarded rap artist in history. The two rap stars are currently tied for that distinction with 24 wins each.
This year’s Grammys will have a strong hip-hop emphasis. On Thursday (Feb. 2), the Academy announced a star-studded salute to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. LL Cool J will host the segment, which will include performances by Big Boi, Busta Rhymes with Spliff Star, De La Soul, DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Missy Elliott, Future, GloRilla, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Mele Mel and Scorpio/Ethiopian King, Ice-T, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, The Lox, Method Man, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Rahiem, Rakim, RUN-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa and Spinderella, Scarface, Swizz Beatz and Too $hort.
Lizzo and Mary J. Blige, the longtime queen of hip-hop soul, are also set to perform on the show. In addition, Quavo will be joined by Maverick City Music for a performance of Quavo’s sentimental ballad “Without You” to honor Takeoff, who died on Nov. 1 at just 28.
The 65th Annual Grammy Awards will air live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and will be hosted for the third year in a row by Emmy-winning comedian Trevor Noah. The show will be broadcast live on Sunday, Feb. 5, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS, and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
The Recording Academy made its first performers announcement on Wednesday (Jan. 25), revealing a slate of Lizzo, Bad Bunny, Blige, Carlile, Luke Combs, Steve Lacy, and Sam Smith and Kim Petras. Harry Styles was announced as an addition to the lineup on Sunday (Jan. 29) during the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship game.
On Wednesday (Feb. 1), the Academy announced that the In Memoriam segment at the 2023 Grammy Awards will include breakout tributes to three diverse artists who died last fall — Loretta Lynn, Christine McVie and Takeoff.
Kacey Musgraves will perform Lynn’s 1970 classic “Coal Miner’s Daughter” in tribute to the country legend, who died on Oct. 4 at age 90; Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood and Bonnie Raitt will team to perform “Songbird” from Fleetwood Mac’s album of the year-winning Rumours to honor McVie, who died on Nov. 30 at age 79.
Earlier Friday, the Academy announced that Stevie Wonder would be performing in a spot that features his longtime Motown colleague Smokey Robinson as well as country star Chris Stapleton.
The 65th Annual Grammy Awards are produced by Fulwell 73 Productions for the Recording Academy. Kapoor serves as showrunner and executive producer, alongside Winston and Jesse Collins as executive producers. Phil Heyes joins the team for the first time as director. Eric Cook is co-executive producer with Tabitha Dumo, Tiana Gandelman, Patrick Menton and David Wild as producers.
Prior to the telecast, the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony will be broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater at 12:30 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on live.Grammy.com. Randy Rainbow, a first-time Grammy nominee this year for best comedy album for A Little Brains, A Little Talent, is co-hosting the show. His co-host has yet to be named.
Latto opened up about her prediction for best new artist, who she plans to bring to the Grammys and more during her interview with Billboard News. Sporting a fire-engine red pantsuit, the “Big Energy” rapper discussed her two nominations — best new artist and best melodic rap performance — saying that despite her start in 2016, she still categorizes herself as a new artist.
“Every month I feel like I’m constantly evolving,” she explains. “Especially the content I’m about to roll out — it’s a whole fresh new me.”
Latto recently released one of her raciest leaked tracks, “Another Nasty Song,” after the snippet gained traction online and was demanded by fans, including fellow rapper Cardi B. The song came on the heels of her collaborative single “FTCU” alongside GloRIlla and late rapper Gangsta Boo.
One of 10 best new artist nominees — including Muni Long, Anitta, Omar Apollo and DOMi & JD Beck — Latto bet on herself as the winner of the category. That is, before she found out that in an earlier Billboard News interview, fellow nominee Anitta said Latto would come out on top. “I don’t want her to say that or think that,” Latto said before changing her prediction. “I think Anitta is gonna win!”
When it comes to who the burgeoning star is bringing to music’s biggest night, it’s a no-brainer. Latto, who is extremely family-oriented, recruited her mother, Misti, and sister Brooklyn Nikole to be by her side, win or lose. “My mama, she too humble. So I’m telling her take my card, go get you something, she’s like, ‘No!’” Latto shares. “I’m like, ‘Girl, this is the Grammys!’”
The rapper is understandably excited for her Grammy nominations, sharing that she’ll be documenting every moment of the night. “I’m gonna have to tell my kids about me going to the Grammys for the first time,” she adds.
The 2023 Grammys will take place at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, and broadcasts live on CBS while streaming live and on-demand on Paramount+ on Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
The Recording Academy held is second annual Black Music Collective event Thursday (Feb. 2) at the Hollywood Palladium, where Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott, Lil Wayne and Epic Records CEO Sylvia Rhone were this year’s honorees during an evening honoring hip-hop and the past, present and future of Black music.
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Established in 2020, the Black Music Collective “is a hub for power players in Black music, across all genres, under the Grammy roof, bringing together creative geniuses and business leaders to set unified goals, align on a shared agenda, and build community.” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told Billboard on the black carpet that he hopes this event, which was first held in Las Vegas last year, “continues to be a place people want to gather and want to celebrate Black excellence. I want this to be known as a place where we honor and respect Black music, and I hope that people will realize that the Academy is paying close attention to what’s happening in our music industry in every genre, but specifically in Black music.”
There were as many examples of Black excellence in the audience as there were on stage, including Lil’ Kim, Lucky Daye, Joey Bada$$, Ebonie Ward and many more, who were all deliciously treated to a menu dedicated to the honorees’ craft, including the “Carter III (Triple C’s)” (cornbread with crab and caviar), “Up in Smoke” (free range chicken with truffle BBQ sauce and pineapple), “California Love” (crispy cauliflower with BBQ miso glaze and benne) and “Sock It 2 Me” (chocolate wavy waffle with roasted plantain gelato). Among all the glitz and glam, Swizz Beatz praised “Queen” “Sylvia Rhone the Great” before commanding the audience to give her a standing ovation and twirling the executive on stage before presenting her with the Recording Academy Global Impact Award.
“It’s been a lot of years for me in hip-hop, and it’s even more special to me amongst this elite group of artists with Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott, Lil Wayne, each of whom I’ve had the privilege of working with throughout my career,” she said, adding how she was “excited for the future of Epic Records. And yes, that includes Future, but Future’s not in his seat yet, but I must say Future has had an amazing year…. And then along with Travis Scott and 21 Savage, we are starting to build a really strong hip-hop roster. But it’s nights like these that keep me revitalized. They serve as a powerful reminder that hip-hop was a calling. As we celebrate its 50th anniversary, it’s gratifying to see how far we actually have come. Rising from the embers of the Civil Rights Movement, hip-hop emerged as a revolutionary art form. What was once thought to be a momentary effect is now embedded in the fabrics of our daily lives, from fashion and shoes to film to fine art to television to technology and beyond. We have made history. We have changed lives. We are mighty. And we are worldwide.”
Busta Rhymes praised Rhone for believing in his vision when it came to filming outrageous, multimillion-dollar music videos and encouraged everyone at the Palladium to “f–k the cool sh–” and “undo your little bowtie” as he performed “Put Your Hands Where Your Eyes Can See,” “I Know What You Want,” his verse from Chris Brown‘s “Look at Me Now” and “Pass the Courvoisier, Part II” with Jermaine Dupri on stage.
Ciara and Mona Scott-Young then introduced Missy, with Ci Ci hailing her as “the true definition of a legend, an icon, an ultimate rockstar” and Scott-Young recalling a phone call she received from Rhone 26 years ago about managing Missy, a fruitful relationship that continues to this day. “You have changed the world, changed the way we see ourselves, changed the way we experience music. And for that, I thank you,” she said before the “Work It” MC tearfully accepted her award on stage while Wayne bowed down to her in the audience.
“This will never get old to me. I’ve won a lot of awards and I feel the same way,” she said while choking back sobs. “People don’t understand that this is a Global Impact Award. It’s not just neighborhood, it’s global. So it hits different when you stand up here, knowing that when you get something like this, you gotta know that you’ve been through a lot.”
Chloe Bailey paid homage to Missy’s production credits by performing a cover of Aaliyah‘s “One in a Million” as well as “One Minute Man,” while Tweet sang “Oops (Oh My)” and Ciara returned to the stage to perform double duty on their hit singles “1, 2 Step” and “Lose Control.”
Mason Jr. then introduced Dr. Dre, whom he called “one of the founding fathers of modern music” and a super producer he looked up to. “To tell you the truth, I was a little bit nervous when Harvey called me about this award because I was wondering if he knew something I didn’t. I was thinking to myself that they usually give this type of sh– to dead people,” he wisecracked, the venue erupting with laughter and later applause when prompted by Dre to “make some noise for hip-hop” in honor of the genre’s 50th anniversary. “The birth of hip-hop completely changed the course of my life. Just imagine where a lot of Black men, including myself, would be without hip-hop. I was in junior high school when I had ever heard hip-hop for the first time. I heard mixing and scratching, I couldn’t get enough of that sound. And once I got my hands on the turntables, I knew I had found my wings and I was determined to know how to fly.”
Snoop Dogg took it back to the ’90s with a performance of Dre’s debut solo single “Deep Cover” and continued the West Coast hip-hop celebration by bringing up Kurupt for “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang” and Ty Dolla $ign, who was wearing a Nate Dogg T-shirt, for “Ain’t No Fun (if the Homies Can’t Have None).”
DJ Khaled repeatedly proclaimed, “They didn’t believe in us, but Lil Wayne did!” as a revised mantra from their three-time Grammy-nominated song “God Did.” He proceeded to tell the story about how he witnessed Wayne meet Birdman at Odyssey, a record store in New Orleans that Khaled used to work at and DJ behind the counter. “The reason why I want to tell you that story is the consistency is Lil Wayne. The word ‘winner’ is Lil Wayne,” he said, exalting him for signing the next generation of superstars Drake and Nicki Minaj, the former of whom appeared via video and took a subtle dig at the Recording Academy by falsely presenting the Global Impact Award to Ed Sheeran.
“Good evening, Grammys. Wow, I haven’t said that since about 2016. My name’s Drake and I’m here tonight on behalf of the Black Music Collective,” he smirked while pulling his glasses down to wink at the camera, “to present the Global Impact Award to Ed Sheeran.” Then a man appears to Drake’s right and whispers in his ear. “Lil Wayne? Lil Wayne. Oh, makes sense,” Drizzy corrects himself sarcastically. “My brother — that’s a lot better, by the way — I love you so much. And I don’t want to make this personal because the Global Impact Award would be about how you affected everybody not just me. I know I probably get annoying with saying how much you mean to me and my family. I speak on behalf of everybody when I say our careers, our cadences, our melodies, maybe our face tats or our outfits or our decisions in general would not have been the same without your natural gift to just be yourself.”
Wayne’s daughter Reginae Carter contributed to the outpouring of love for Wayne, telling Billboard on the carpet earlier that evening, “I’ve been texting my daddy like every other day like, ‘I’m so proud of you. Congrats.’ You see the rapper, you don’t see the father much,” she explained. “He’s always been big on my education, big on just how I carry myself. I thank him and my mom for the woman that I became today.”
But while 2 Chainz performed their “Duffle Bag Boyz” collab, Swizz got back on the mic to rap their “Uproar” joint and former Young Money signee Tyga paid tribute to him by performing “A Milli” with a full band courtesy of the night’s musical director Adam Blackstone, Wayne remained in disbelief at the recognition.
“I want y’all to know that I don’t get honored. Where I’m from, New Orleans, you’re not supposed to do this,” the “Lollipop” rapper cautioned the audience sincerely before running down a long list of thank you’s, including his children and their mothers, his manager and Young Money Entertainment president Mack Maine, his former manager and Blueprint Group CEO Cortez Bryant and Cash Money Records. “Coming from New Orleans, Cash Money Records was if you was from Dallas and you just got signed to the Cowboys. They signed me when I was 12. I put out my first album when I was 13. This man Khaled had to tell you about that record store. The reason why I would be in that record store was because we didn’t have a picture on the front of the album cover, so to prove to my homies and to my friends at school that it’s really me, we had to go to the record store, I have to show them the album, flip it around and show them it says ‘Dwayne Carter.’ That man Khaled was in there every time, he witnessed that. Ladies and gentlemen, again, we don’t get honored.”