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In March, Tennessee became the first state to modernize its laws for the age of artificial intelligence. The ELVIS (Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security) Act — which updates the state’s right of publicity and likeness rights to prevent AI companies from creating unauthorized deepfake vocal imitations — represented the culmination of efforts from across the industry, including those of record labels and music publishers. But it was Todd Dupler, Recording Academy vp of advocacy and public policy, who gave the law its distinctly rock’n’roll name.
Coming up with catchy titles for laws is something of an extreme sport in legislative circles — think of the DREAM Act (for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors), or, in music, the CLASSICS (Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society) Act, which became part of the Music Modernization Act. Like these subjects, AI is complicated, so getting positive attention helps. And “in Tennessee, there’s no better way to capture attention than Elvis,” says Dupler, who has worked in the academy’s policy department since 2012 and was promoted to his current position in September 2023.
Dupler’s role in pushing for the Tennessee law is just one prominent example of how the Recording Academy is increasingly taking its lobbying work for music creators beyond Washington, D.C., to various state capitals. “The ELVIS Act became a model that state legislators and members of Congress looked at,” Dupler says. (Sometimes state laws lead to change in D.C.) “Our focus is to be a high-impact organization, to be a thought leader on issues that matter.”
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Right now, AI is the biggest issue of all. “It’s the issue that most of the community feels the most concern about,” Dupler says. It also involves a range of laws, including both federal copyright law (under which the major labels are suing generative AI companies Suno and Udio for using their recordings to train their software) and state law likeness rights (the legality of creating a “Fake Drake” or a similar vocal imitation). That’s why the academy, along with other music rights-holder organizations, is pushing for stronger statutes in statehouses, plus backing the federal NO FAKES (Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe) Act. (The bill, which has been introduced in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, now has widespread support; there will be attempts to attach it to must-pass legislation in the current “lame duck” session before Christmas, but it seems more likely that it will be reintroduced next year.)
By the beginning of this year, AI loomed so large that the House Judiciary Committee had a “field hearing” about it in Los Angeles two days before the 2024 Grammy Awards, where country singer Lainey Wilson and Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. testified. “We wanted to use the spotlight of the show to draw attention to the issue,” Dupler says. “We embraced this idea of protecting human creativity.” The hearing helped raise the visibility of the Tennessee law, which in turn became a model for other bills around the country.
In February, Mason spoke at a House Judiciary Committee field hearing in Los Angeles on artificial intelligence.
Maury Phillips/Getty Images
The academy’s other two advocacy priorities are banning the use of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal trials and regulating the secondary ticketing market, especially to mandate transparency. Unlike copyright law, which is federal, both of these issues involve a mix of federal and state legislation. The admissibility of lyrics as evidence can be a matter of federal or state law, depending on the charges; ticketing laws have come from statehouses, as well as Washington, D.C.
The academy launched its advocacy division in the late ’90s, and what began as a modest attempt to help shape policy for the digital age has grown into a significant operation that lobbies for creators, often along with the RIAA and the National Music Publishers’ Association, which represent the recording and publishing businesses, respectively. The academy now runs an annual Grammys on the Hill event to recognize artists and legislators (including, this past year, Sheryl Crow and Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and John Cornyn, R-Texas), and a Music Advocacy Day in which academy members visit the regional offices of national legislators to talk to them about their policy ideas. (This year drew 2,100 members.) In 2024, the academy also organized seven State Capitol Advocacy Days, twice as many as in past years, reflecting the importance of state law to its priorities.
Although the nature of procedural rules for criminal cases isn’t a core issue for the music industry, the academy and other music organizations have pushed to limit the use of lyrics as evidence on free expression grounds. “We engage in issues that affect the music business,” Dupler says, “and members and local chapters bring issues to us.”
In September 2022, California became the first state to limit the use of lyrics as evidence in its Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act, after the practice gained attention in Young Thug’s RICO trial. But bills in other states have stalled, and the federal RAP (Restoring Artistic Protection) Act, which would apply to trials for federal offenses, has yet to pass. “That has to be reintroduced,” Dupler says. “And we’ll continue to focus on both AI and lyrics on a federal level.”
Ticketing — the other big issue for the academy — has become controversial and seems likely to remain so, especially now that Donald Trump’s election has thrown into doubt the future of the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Live Nation. (The new attorney general will decide if and how to continue that case.) The state ticketing bills the academy is lobbying for are simpler and have more to do with requiring secondary sellers to disclose extra charges and refrain from offering tickets they do not yet own. There’s similar federal legislation, known as the Fans First Act in the Senate and the TICKET (Transparency In Charges for Key Events Ticketing) Act. Dupler didn’t come up with that name — but he’s prepared to spread the word once the bill is reintroduced in 2025.
This story appears in the Dec. 7, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Five years ago, the Recording Academy put forth a new membership model committed to “fostering diversity and inclusion while encouraging the music industry to reexamine and reinvent their own long-standing practices.” Its recently released membership report revealed just how far it’s come in meeting that goal — adding 3,000 women voters (a 27% increase since 2019) and seeing a 65% increase in voting members who identify as people of color.
The record 2,800-plus new members who accepted invitations to join the academy in 2024 — including the artists and creatives interviewed here — exemplify that transformative, ongoing shift.
Kaash PaigeSinger-rapper, 23
What sparked your interest in becoming a Recording Academy member?
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I think what sparks a lot of interest in the Recording Academy is boom, you see the Grammys. Then you really get involved and see it’s a community of creatives that are excited to build their career and network. I think that sparked my interest more when I started to be part of email threads and got invited to stuff. I realized this isn’t just the Grammys — this is a whole thing.
What was your opinion of the academy before joining?
I thought about it in a sense of “If you join, you’re going to win a Grammy.” I was really naive. It’s not about that at all. As you build and grow within the community, you’re like, “This is family.” I plan on staying with the Recording Academy for the rest of my life.
Why did you ultimately accept the invite?
It’s kind of like, who wouldn’t accept the invite to be a part of it? Leaving Def Jam last year and coming back out to Los Angeles this year, I needed to dive deep into what I want in my life right now. Being accepted felt like affirmation to me of like, this is where you need to be and these are going to be the rooms that you’re put in to help facilitate growth in your life, because you never know who you might meet.
Shirley SongComposer, 34
Why did you accept the invite?
When you’re a composer for film and TV, you’re immersed in that and don’t always get to hang with the songwriters, composers, and mixing and mastering engineers on the pop side. I think more and more inspiration [for film and TV scores] is drawn from the pop and hip-hop worlds — it’s no longer just your typical John Williams orchestral score. To be able to meet more musicians, songwriters and engineers from that world, I am able to learn and improve my production chops.
Prior to being invited to join, what if any experience did you have with the academy?
Honestly, I didn’t know much. I just thought they did the Grammys. I realized it was a lot more. They are always offering invaluable learning opportunities — panels, discussions — and these experiences keep me informed and inspired. The academy has given me a deeper sense of purpose within this industry and motivates me to also want to contribute meaningfully and advocate for changes.
When it comes to diversity, what do you hope to see the academy improve in the future?
What they are doing now is the biggest step — mentoring, opening this up and inviting people who look like me. Fostering this sense of community is what is going to help champion diversity and support emerging talent.
I am just excited to be able to vote and have my little voice heard. Voting allows me to champion work that pushes boundaries and ensure genres and voices from often underrepresented [communities] get the acknowledgment that they deserve. I know the countless hours and creativity that were put into making this music. It’s nice to be able to support that.
Tara FineganCOO of Cutting Edge Group, a Grammy-winning music financier, record label and publisher, 37
Tara Finegan
Madeleine Farley
Why did you want to join?
I felt really motivated to learn more about the Recording Academy when it added a category to recognize video-game soundtracks a few years ago. [That] has had a big impact — already, all kinds of video-game companies across the board are more focused on music because they want to run a Grammy campaign and receive that accolade. It actually does have a ripple effect where it brings more focus and resources to video-game composers.
I was even more motivated to take a role in the Recording Academy’s year-round community of professionals when [artificial intelligence] innovations, and dangers, started to come up. I straddle the line between film, television, video games and music, so AI is something that has been very, very present in what we’ve been thinking about over the last year or so. It was one of the central points in the Hollywood strikes last year, and that just really highlighted to me how important these types of organizations are. The Recording Academy is an important advocate for making sure that whatever happens next is done thoughtfully and with real consideration to the human beings behind the art.
If you could create a new Grammy category, what would it be?
There’s been a real resurgence in pop culture of film soundtracks, with these unbelievable soundtracks that have been put together from scratch, and in my dream world we would have an all-original-music soundtrack [category], like for something like Barbie, in a separate category than a compiled soundtrack of preexisting songs, like Guardians of the Galaxy.
What are your Grammy week plans?
My label is nominated in the [best score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media] category for Pinar Toprak’s score for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. She’s absolutely phenomenal. Up until voting closes, we will be campaigning for her. Then, come Grammy week, hopefully enjoy the week, attend the awards and try not to get too anxious.
Andre MerrittSongwriter (Chris Brown, Kelly Rowland, Rihanna)
Andre Merritt
Remy
What if any experience did you have with the academy, and why did you join?
I did a few meet-and-greets [with them] where I would come and speak to people about what I did [in] music. I wanted to be around my peers and around people who feel and think about music the way I do.
What does the recognition that comes with a Grammy mean to you?
You put so much into being an artist and working on ways to get yourself seen and heard — to be rewarded with a Grammy, it lets other people know, “Oh, this guy really means business.”
What do you hope to see the academy help improve in the industry?
I would like them to get [further] involved in the pay for streaming. The biggest thing is creating a livable wage for people to continue to create and give us new art. When you have an organization like the academy that’s backing you, it gives you a lot more to fight with.
Do you have go-to Grammy-watching plans?
I get with some of my fellow songwriters because we like to talk crap about everything, like who we think is going to win. We get some food and drinks. I enjoy that.
Lil Mexico BeatzLatin Grammy-nominated producer (Roddy Ricch, Arcángel, Marshmello), 25
What if any experience did you have with the Recording Academy before joining?
I had a lot of friends who were part of the academy and they told me about it. But the thing was that the past couple of years, it seemed more like a closed circle to me. I never really heard how you were able to get signed up to join or be a part of it. I had no idea how to get involved. From the outside, it seemed like it was only a select couple of people. [But] now they’re expanding to more musicians, producers, songwriters.
How did the invitation to become a member come about, and why did you decide to join?
My friends who were in the academy were telling me things like, “Honestly, you’ve done a lot already in the music industry. You should join the academy. They’re looking for new people.” One of those friends was Paul Wall. He’s been a member for a while now, and he told me that I had to join. “It’s a big thing to be a part of this,” he said. So that’s part of the reason I was motivated to join. I grew up watching the Grammys, and it really had an influence on me. Now someone like me talking about being part of the academy, that will light a fire in the new generation.
As a producer, you’ve worked in the trap scene with both Latin and non-Latin artists. Do you think that duality will shape your role as a member?
Definitely. The one thing I really wanted to push, especially this year, was to get more spotlight on the Latin genre. English and Latin trap share similar issues, including getting overlooked constantly, mainly if you’re an indie artist. And I know we have Latin Grammys, but to be on a global stage like the Grammys, even in the Latin categories — that’s huge.
Joshua MosleyComposer-producer, 44
Why did you accept the invite to join the academy?
The [recommendation to be a member] came from Justin “Henny” Henderson. He was the president of the Atlanta chapter; now he’s a national trustee. We’re old friends from sixth grade, and we had a rap group back in 1991 at school. We both loved music then, and it’s really cool to see where our paths have led us to this point in our lives. To have that recommendation coming from him, and then also from a good friend, Gilde Flores — who has done work with me on a lot of film scores and productions — just made it really special.
The best score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media category is still a recent addition to the Grammys. As someone with plenty of experience crafting music for video games, why do you think the category is important?
Some of the greatest music is written for video games. It’s long overdue for it to be recognized; there are a lot of great writers. It exposes music to a different type of audience. It was really cool to see Gordy Haab win [with Stephen Barton in February for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor], a friend of mine and extremely talented gentleman that deserves recognition.
A best score for an animated feature or series [category] would be cool. I would start with connecting with the film and TV parts of the L.A. chapter, get people talking there and see if we can push it out there and get people exposed to that [idea].
What do you hope to see the Recording Academy improve in the future?
I think [the academy] is on a good track with making sure different voices are being heard. I’m a fairly new member, and so far, I’m liking what I’m seeing. I know [the academy] is a big advocate, too, in Washington [D.C.], as far as music rights, publishing and all that stuff goes, forging ahead with making sure that artists are taken care of and represented.
Sarah SchachnerComposer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, 36
Sarah Schachner
Moog Music
What issues are most important to you right now within the Recording Academy?
The work the academy does on Capitol Hill to protect artists’ rights is so crucial. If no one is out there fighting for us, music-makers could lose ownership and sustainable income. The Grammy Museum’s work in keeping music education in schools is super important, and if we’re going to encourage kids to pursue music as a career, we need to continue to find ways to protect artist rights.
Any thoughts on the video-game music composers nominated in 2025?
It’s awesome to see my peers get recognition. Game music is truly a unique and intricate art form, and it’s about time it gets acknowledged.
Alana LinseySinger in R&B duo GAWD, 29
Alayna Rodgers and Alana Linsey of GAWD
Mancy Gant
How did you feel about the academy prior to joining?
I felt a sort of distance, [like] there was a veil over the process of how people win Grammys. Who votes? Who’s in the community that’s making these decisions? Then I [performed at] two Grammys as a background vocalist. It really felt like a community, and it lifted the veil. [Since] joining, I’m starting to see that it really is the people deciding.
Why did you accept the invitation?
It was an honor to be invited. I also noticed that my friends who were members had different resources, and they were more involved and connected to the community that makes decisions. It was important for me to help broaden the scope of what a Recording Academy member looks and sounds like because I know sometimes, historically, [Black artists] have been or felt left out of a lot of these conversations and moments.
How do you two feel about how the academy is handling R&B?
I think that R&B is really growing, and they’re leaving room for that growth in places like the progressive R&B category. There’s room for different types of R&B artists to exist, which I really appreciate. We’re R&B artists mainly because we sing, but our music is [more similar to] OutKast or Teezo Touchdown. It’s very nuanced where people get inspiration from. To be categorized as R&B is an honor and a blessing, but the progressive moments create a whole other space for people to be free in their art.
This story appears in the Dec. 7, 2024, issue of Billboard.
On Sept. 13, 1988, the media assembled at the United Nations for a press conference. Representatives for the nonprofits Greenpeace, Cultural Survival and Rainforest Action Network sat before them, alongside the U.N. Environment Programme’s director and three, less expected emissaries: the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, Bobby Weir and Mickey Hart.
The band was about to begin a multinight fall run at Madison Square Garden and had decided to make the ninth and final concert of the stint a rainforest benefit. Garcia, Weir and Hart weren’t at the U.N. as rock stars; they were there as activists.
“Somebody has to do something,” Garcia told the assembled crowd, before adding wryly, “In fact, it seems pathetic that it has to be us.” As the audience applauded and Hart and Weir voiced their agreement, Garcia cut through the din: “This is not our regular work!” Eleven days later, in a more familiar setting, the band invited Bruce Hornsby, Hall & Oates and Suzanne Vega, among other artists, onstage at the sold-out benefit show, which grossed $871,875, according to an October 1988 issue of Billboard.
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At the press conference, Garcia had said, “We hope that we can empower our own audience with a sense of being able to do something directly and actually having an effect that’s visible in some way.” But he’d also expressed the Dead’s trepidation concerning activism.
“We don’t want to be the leaders, and we don’t want to serve unconscious fascism,” he said. “Power is a scary thing. When you feel that you’re close to it, you feel like you want to make sure that it isn’t used for misleading. So all this time, we’ve avoided making any statements about politics, about alignments of any sort.” While Garcia’s comment wasn’t entirely accurate — the ’88 benefit was far from the first time the Dead had aligned itself with a cause — its sentiment was honest: He understood the influence his beloved band wielded.
“As a young fan, I really learned about the issue in the rainforest from the Grateful Dead when they did that press conference,” recalls Mark Pinkus, who started seeing the band in 1984 and was a college student in 1988. “If a band like the Grateful Dead took the time to care about a cause, it definitely got our attention as young fans.”
From left: Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart outside San Francisco’s New Potrero Theatre in 1968.
Malcolm Lubliner/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
For a then-17-year-old David Lemieux, who had started seeing the Dead the year before and whose father worked at the U.N. from 1953 to 1973, “it added this huge level of legitimacy to this band I was following around” for his parents. “It certainly had me go out and learn more about [the issue],” he reflects. “To this day, the way I view the world is very much what I learned from my days on tour — and seeing the Dead take a stance that was so big … meant a lot to me.”
At the time, Pinkus and Lemieux were impressionable young Deadheads. Today, they’re central to the Dead’s present and future business. Pinkus is president of Rhino Entertainment, the Warner Music Group branch that publishes the Dead’s archival releases, and Lemieux, the band’s legacy manager and archivist, is intimately involved in the curation of those releases.
It’s telling not just that the Dead’s business is shepherded by members of the very community it fostered, but that the band’s philanthropic work in particular resonated with Pinkus and Lemieux from the jump. The Dead’s members haven’t merely been philanthropically active since the band’s 1965 formation in the Bay Area — they have been forward-thinking, reimagining the potential of the good works musicians can do and inspiring other artists to follow in their footsteps. All the while, their activism has fed on — and been fed by — their passionate fans.
“We’re part of a community, and so the better the community is doing, the better we’re doing,” Weir says today. “Jerry always used to say, ‘You get some, you give some back.’ It just makes sense.” And since the beginning, “that’s been our mode of operation,” the Grateful Dead’s Bill Kreutzmann says. “We help people and give them stuff. It’s just a good way to live life. I wish that more people in the world lived life that way, instead of wars and bombings.”
From left: Randy Hayes of Rainforest Action Network (seated), Dr. Jason Clay of Cultural Survival, Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Peter Bahouth of Greenpeace and Bob Weir at a New York press conference in 1988.
Marty Lederhandler/AP
Since Garcia’s death in 1995, the Dead’s surviving members have continued to tour — and continued to advocate for the causes that matter to them. That’s why MusiCares, the charitable organization that the Recording Academy founded in 1989 to support the music community’s health and welfare, is recognizing the Grateful Dead as its 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year.
“It all follows in that tradition of teaching the industry what it should know about,” Hart says. “That’s that Grateful Dead kind of style, where we just did it because we knew it was the right thing to do. If we wanted to do this the rest of our lives was the idea, we have to do these things, because people support us — and we reciprocate.”
“Everybody had everybody’s back in the Haight-Ashbury, and we were a big functioning organism,” Weir recalls. “And we had roles within the community.”
It’s a crisp, mid-November evening in Chicago, where Weir, 77, has just spent the afternoon doing what he does best: playing Grateful Dead music. He’s in town for two shows at the Auditorium Theatre with the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, which will accompany him and Wolf Bros, his current solo project, and after rehearsing “Weather Report Suite” and “Terrapin Station” — two of the Dead’s densest, most ambitious compositions — he’s back on his tour bus, reminiscing about the band’s early days.
Even then, philanthropy was core to the group. It began performing as The Warlocks in mid-1965, and while accounts differ about when, exactly, it changed its name later that year, many believe it debuted its famed moniker on Dec. 10 — at Mime Troupe Appeal II, the second in a series of benefits for a satirical San Francisco theater troupe that often clashed with local law enforcement over free speech.
From left: Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart onstage at the Oakland (Calif.) Auditorium in 1979.
Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty Images
The first decade or so of the Dead’s philanthropy “is an incredibly eclectic mix,” Lemieux says. In San Francisco, the band gigged for radical activists, arts spaces, spiritual centers (a Hare Krishna temple, a Zen monastery) and music education. As the band grew, it played for hippie communes and music venues, for striking radio workers and bail funds, for the Black Panthers and the Hells Angels. It performed with the Buffalo (N.Y.) Philharmonic Orchestra in 1970 to support the ensemble; in a concert that became one of its most revered live recordings, the Dead played in Veneta, Ore., on Aug. 27, 1972, to save the local Springfield Creamery.
“We saw something in need, and we would just write a check,” Hart, 81, remembers today. “The Grateful Dead, we never thought of business. We just wanted to play, play, play.”
“That was really delicious for us, to make everybody happy,” says Kreutzmann, 78. “Because that’s the goal: Make everyone happy, not just the band.”
But as the band’s following grew throughout the ’70s, that charitable approach — guided by the band’s generous attitude, which meant lots of “yeses” and not many “nos” — became untenable. It needed to streamline its operation. “We had always been given to community service, but we just wanted to get organized about it,” Weir says, alluding to the tax burden of the band’s initial model.
So the Dead did something that was then novel for a musical act: It started a foundation. In 1983, the band’s early co-manager Danny Rifkin (who held a number of roles in the group’s orbit over the years) helped it launch The Rex Foundation, named for Rex Jackson, a roadie and tour manager for the band who had died in 1976. The foundation eliminated the need for the Dead to do the types of one-off, cause-based benefits it had done previously, instead directing earnings from its charitable initiatives into the foundation, which then disbursed that money — after approval by its board, which included the band’s members and others in its inner circle — to various grant recipients. By refusing to accept unsolicited grant proposals (applications were, and still are, submitted by the Rex board and those in the Dead’s extended community) and focusing its grants on organizations with small, sometimes minuscule, budgets, the Dead retained the homespun feel of its earlier charitable efforts.
The Rex Foundation quickly became the primary beneficiary of the Dead’s philanthropy. The band played its first Rex benefits in San Rafael, Calif., in spring 1984 and made a point of staging multishow Rex benefit runs — generally in the Bay Area or nearby Sacramento — annually for the rest of its career. “They were just regular gigs, there was no other fanfare, but the money would go to The Rex Foundation,” Lemieux says. “We all thought that was pretty darn cool. It wasn’t like the Dead played any less hard because it was a benefit gig. The Rex Foundation mattered to them.”
From left: Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre in 1985.
Richard McCaffrey/ Michael Ochs Archive/ Getty Images
Over the next decade, the Dead played upwards of 40 Rex benefits. Without the requirement that a given show benefit a specific charity — and with the larger grosses Dead shows now earned — “it allowed the money to be spread a lot more,” Lemieux explains. A beneficiary “wouldn’t be like a multi-multimillion-dollar organization that needed $5,000. It was a $10,000 organization that needed $5,000. That makes a huge difference.” (Weir, Hart and Garcia’s widow, Carolyn, and daughter, Trixie, are among the present-day board members of Rex, which still holds benefits and disburses grants; in July, Dark Star Orchestra, which re-creates classic Dead shows, played a benefit at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, Calif., to celebrate the foundation’s 40th anniversary.)
During this period, the Dead also continued to play non-Rex benefits for specific causes, including AIDS research and eye-care organization Seva. The 1988 rainforest benefit was a hybrid — the rare Rex benefit with pre-announced beneficiaries in Greenpeace, Cultural Survival and Rainforest Action Network. “Those were all people that we had already funded to in their infancy,” says Cameron Sears, who managed the band in the late ’80s and ’90s and is today Rex’s executive director. (As it happens, Sears’ entrée into the Dead’s world as a recent college grad in the early ’80s was through philanthropy: He’d pitched the band on getting involved in California water politics.) As Garcia put it at the U.N., “We’ve chosen these groups because we like that direct thing … We don’t like a lot of stuff between us and the work.”
The model continues to reverberate through a music industry where it’s now common for major artists to have charitable foundations. “The fact that all these bands now have looked to that model and replicated it, [the Dead] don’t need to take credit for it, even though it may rightly belong to them,” Sears says. “They’re just happy that people are doing it. Their vision has had a multiplier effect now around the world. What Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam are into might be different than what Phish is into and is maybe different than what Metallica is into. But together, the amount of philanthropy that’s being generated through all these different people makes an incredible difference.”
Pull up just about any bootleg of a Phil Lesh show from 1999 through his death in October, and you’ll see a track between the end of the second set and the start of the encore, usually called “Donor Rap.” Lesh received a life-saving liver transplant in 1998; henceforth, he used his platform to encourage Deadheads to turn to their loved ones and say that, if anything happened to them, they wanted to be an organ donor.
After Garcia’s death, the Dead’s surviving members remained active musically — and philanthropically. When The Other Ones — the first significant post-Garcia iteration of the Dead comprising Weir, Lesh, Hart and a cast of supporting musicians — debuted in 1998, it did so with a benefit, raising more than $200,000 for the Rainforest Action Network. They all championed causes important to them: Weir with the environment and combating poverty, Hart with music therapy and brain health, Kreutzmann with ocean conservation, Lesh with his Unbroken Chain Foundation, which benefited a litany of things including music education. The Rex Foundation has also remained active, supporting a range of organizations across the arts, education, social justice, Indigenous peoples’ groups and the environment.
And, over the years, the band members began to work more closely with MusiCares. Early in the pandemic, Dead & Company — the touring group formed in 2015 by Weir, Hart and Kreutzmann and rounded out by John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti — and the Grateful Dead launched weekly archival livestreams that raised $276,000 for the organization’s COVID-19 Relief Fund. Dead & Company expanded the affiliation to epic proportions on May 8, 2023, when the band kicked off its final tour at Cornell University’s Barton Hall in Ithaca, N.Y., where it played one of its most revered gigs 46 years earlier to the day; the 2023 show raised $3.1 million, with half going to MusiCares and half to the Cornell 2030 Project, a campus organization dedicated to sustainability.
“If you want to talk about making a statement in modern times,” Pinkus says, “here they return to the venue of arguably the most famous Grateful Dead show ever, play the tiniest show that they play on a farewell tour, which is all stadiums, and then they turn around and do it as a fundraiser. It really spoke to everything about the Grateful Dead and Dead & Company’s commitment to giving back.”
“The industry is a very dangerous place at times,” Hart says. “When you get engulfed with the harder side of the business and fall through the cracks or stumble and you need some help getting your mojo back, that’s really what MusiCares does.”
From left: Bruce Hornsby, Jeff Chimenti, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Phish’s Trey Anastasio, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann at one of the band’s Fare Thee Well shows at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.,
on June 28, 2015.
Jay Blakesberg/Invision for the Grateful Dead/AP
Over the last decade, Activist Artists Management has helped guide the band members’ philanthropic efforts. The company is both the manager of record for the Grateful Dead — a status conferred by Grateful Dead Productions, an entity comprising the band’s living members and representatives of Garcia’s and Lesh’s estates — and co-manages Dead & Company alongside Irving Azoff and Steve Moir of Full Stop Management. (Kreutzmann toured with Dead & Company from 2015 to 2022 but did not appear with the group on its final tour in 2023 or during its 2024 Las Vegas Sphere residency. On Dec. 4, Dead & Company announced it will play 18 shows at Sphere in spring 2025; a representative for the band confirmed the lineup will not include Kreutzmann.)
“There was this mosaic of incredible good works that this band was doing, and there was a feeling that we could help amplify those good works and those dollars by putting a little more structure and support around it and a little bit more intentionality around it, which is what Activist came in and did,” Activist founding partner Bernie Cahill says.
When discussing the Dead’s activism with the band and its affiliates, words like “apolitical” and “nonpartisan” come up often. As Kreutzmann puts it, “It’s much more fun to see all the people smiling, not half the people bickering at the other half.”
“These are objective things that I think everyone will agree with,” Lemieux says of causes ranging from rainforest preservation to AIDS research. “And that’s what the Dead were kind of getting on board with and raising awareness.”
Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Bob Weir, Tom Constanten (with a cut-out standee of Jerry Garcia) and Vince Welnick of the Grateful Dead at the 1994 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.
Steve Eichner/WireImage
But while it’s true that, both before and after Garcia’s death, the Dead’s members have avoided the strident political rhetoric some other artists favor, the band has still advanced progressive causes. In the ’60s, it rubbed shoulders with radical groups in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury. In the ’80s, when AIDS was a stigmatized topic, it headlined a relief show for Northern California AIDS agencies.
That has continued in recent years. Dead & Company’s Participation Row — an area it allots at its shows for nonprofit and charitable partners — has featured entities like the voter registration organization HeadCount and the sustainable-touring group Reverb, among other social justice, environmental and public health organizations, helping the band to raise more than $15 million since its 2015 debut. But Dead & Company have not shied from using their touring to platform more contentious causes. The summer following the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting, Dead & Company included the gun control group March for Our Lives on Participation Row. And after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, the band displayed pro-choice messages at its shows and even sold a “Save Our Rights” shirt benefiting women’s health organizations.
“We support artists being authentic,” Cahill says. “If an artist feels called to speak out … our job is to make sure they have all the information so that they can speak intelligently on the matter. I think we’ve done a really good job with that over the years. We have both protected our clients and amplified their positions.”
And the Dead’s members have, judiciously, supported political candidates. Weir, Lesh and Hart played a February 2008 benefit dubbed “Deadheads for Obama,” and that fall, Kreutzmann joined them for another pro-Barack Obama gig. This fall, both Weir and Hart publicly endorsed Kamala Harris. While “you don’t want to tell people what to do,” Hart explains, “there are some issues you must speak out [about] if you feel right about it and if you’re really behind it.”
Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart backstage at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco at a rally for Barack Obama in 2008.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
As the Dead nears its 60th anniversary in 2025 and adds its MusiCares honor to a lengthy list of accomplishments — induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, recipients of Kennedy Center Honors, a recording included in the Library of Congress, among numerous others — its surviving members are emphatic that this is far from a denouement.
“Obviously, they’re quite humbled and honored by it all,” Cahill says. But “they always see these things as something that you get at the end of your career, when you’re done. And of course, these guys don’t feel like that’s where they are in their career. They feel like they have a lot more ahead of them, and I believe they do.”
Rhino continues to mine the Dead’s vault for new releases — its ongoing quarterly archival Dave’s Picks series helped the band break a record earlier this year previously held by Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley for most top 40 albums on the Billboard 200 — and orchestrate merchandising partnerships from Igloo coolers to Nike shoes that ensure the ongoing omnipresence of the band’s iconography. (“We’re always open for business — if it feels right,” Pinkus says.)
Most importantly to Deadheads, Weir, Hart and Kreutzmann are all resolute that they’ll remain on the road as long as they can; in 2024, Weir toured with Wolf Bros and, along with Hart, staged Dead & Company’s 30-show Sphere residency, while Kreutzmann kept his livewire Billy & The Kids act alive with Mahalo Dead, a three-day November event near his home in Kauai, Hawaii. Last year, Weir toured supporting Willie Nelson, whom he’s shared bills with for decades — and who at 91 is 14 years his senior. “His hands don’t work as well as they used to,” Weir says. “Nor do mine. But as the years go by, you learn to help the music happen through force of will. And Willie is as good as he’s ever been.”
Willpower is something the Dead’s surviving members have in spades. “These guys have always been the outsider,” Cahill says. “They’ve flourished by being the outsider and by being a maverick and doing things their own way. Because they’ve written their own rules, they’re not beholden to anybody. They’re not looking for anyone’s approval, and they continue to write their own rules and to do things that inspire them.”
That core ethos is what has driven, and continues to drive, the Dead’s approach to both its business and its philanthropy — two things that, as the band is still proving to the industry at large, need not be mutually exclusive.
“I would like to be able to have people who disagree with me still be fans of the music or the art that I make,” Weir says. “But at the same time, I’ve got to be true to myself, and I expect that they have to be true to themselves as well.”
This story appears in the Dec. 7, 2024, issue of Billboard.
In 2025, the Grateful Dead will celebrate 60 years since its inception. But even after six decades, the long, strange trip continues — and business is still booming. Founding members Bobby Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart are all resolute: They’re not retiring anytime soon, and the Dead’s world is very much alive and kicking.
In January, Weir will stage the second edition of “Dead Ahead,” the destination concert event in Riviera Cancun, Mexico, that features different lineups of supporting musicians; this year, he’ll be joined by his Dead & Company compatriots Jeff Chimenti and Oteil Burbridge, his Wolf Bros bandmates Don Was and Jay Lane and other guests including Sturgill Simpson, Brandi Carlile and Goose’s Rick Mitarotonda.
And, on Dec. 4, Dead & Co. — the touring ensemble formed by Weir, Kreutzmann and Hart, alongside Chimenti, Burbridge and John Mayer — announced it will reprise its Dead Forever residency at Las Vegas’ Sphere in 2025. The 18 shows, slated to take place from March to May, follow the band’s 30-date run at Sphere in 2024, which grossed $131.8 million. (Kreutzmann played with Dead & Co. from 2015 to 2022 but sat out its 2023 final tour and 2024 Sphere residency; a representative for Dead & Co. confirmed Kreutzmann will not perform with the band at Sphere in 2025.)
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“It’s a marvel in terms of what you can do visually with it during a show,” Weir tells Billboard. “It was an interesting challenge for us — but I thought we met it.”
“Very cool, very cool, Sphere, very cool,” Hart says with excitement. “It’s an overpowering sensory experience.” The venue, which can incorporate haptic feedback into its seats, was a revelation for the longstanding “Drums/Space” segment of Dead shows that he leads: “I’m going down to 16 [Hz] cycles, 17, 18 — that’s where the Lord lives,” says Hart, who has long studied the connections between music and neurological function, referencing a frequency of brain waves. “That raises consciousness. That’s where the good stuff is.”
Meanwhile, Kreutzmann has reinvigorated the Dead’s catalog — and mixed in tunes by artists from Talking Heads to Little Feat — in recent years by enlisting rotating crews of exciting younger talent in ensembles Billy & The Kids and Mahalo Dead, including Billy Strings, Tom Hamilton (Joe Russo’s Almost Dead), Daniel Donato (Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country) and Aron Magner (The Disco Biscuits).
“Why do I like the younger musicians?” he posits, before answering himself with a hearty laugh: “They’re more alive than I am!”
Here’s what else fans can potentially expect from the band’s members in the near future.
A Bittersweet Reunion?
Weir, Lesh, Hart and Kreutzmann honored the Dead’s golden anniversary in 2015 with five Fare Thee Well stadium shows that were billed as the final time the four would perform together. (They were accompanied by Bruce Hornsby, Jeff Chimenti and Phish’s Trey Anastasio.) But Weir reveals that before Lesh’s October death, they were considering doing it again: “We had some plans,” he says. “We were talking about the possibility of reconvening and playing, just the four of us. It would have been real interesting, when Phil was still with us, to try to do that.” Kreutzmann says he’d still “do that 60th in a second,” though he adds, “Phil wanted to do it, too. He had a dream that he was going to get to play with us three one more time. And that didn’t happen — but that’s how it goes.”
A ‘Special’ Anniversary Release
Rhino Entertainment — which celebrated the band’s 50th anniversary in 2015 with an 80-disc 30 Trips Around the Sun box set that collected 30 unreleased Dead shows, one from each year it was active — has a surprise in store for GD60. “We’ve been working on something that we feel is special and commensurate with an anniversary as big as this,” says David Lemieux, the Grateful Dead’s legacy manager and archivist. “Mark [Pinkus, Rhino president] and I got on the call about a year ago [to begin working on it], and when we started talking about it, we both couldn’t contain our joy.”
Publishing (In) House
Amid the recent spate of publishing catalog sales by rock legends, “I haven’t even thought about” selling the Dead’s, Weir says. “I’m not entirely sure I’m anxious to sell it. But at the same time, if the price was right and somebody with that amount of financial wherewithal had that amount of motivation to buy it, I’d have to talk to him.” Reveals Activist Artists Management founding partner Bernie Cahill: “We’ve been approached and that’s been a conversation, but it’s not something the band’s pursuing at all.”
Still Truckin’
“What great musician ever retires?” Weir says when asked if he’d ever quit the road. “Do it as long as you can. Never give it up ever, ever,” Hart says. And Kreutzmann is even bolder: “I’m going to play forever.”
This story appears in the Dec. 7, 2024, issue of Billboard.
When it comes to pop music track records, Cirkut’s illustrious résumé in the genre speaks for itself.
As a sought after electro-pop producer and songwriter, the 38-year-old artist born Henry Walter has spent the last two decades churning out hits for artists like The Weeknd (“Starboy, “Die For You”), Rihanna (“Where Have You Been”), Katy Perry (“Roar,” “Dark Horse”), Miley Cyrus (“Wrecking Ball”), Charli XCX (“360”) and dozens of others. But as he explains to Billboard, he goes out of his way to not get too comfortable with his success.
“I never want to rest on my past accomplishments, and that vibe of ‘Oh, do you know all my work? Do you know all my hits?’” he explains. “That doesn’t mean anything to me. Whether I’m working with the biggest star in the world or the newest artist, you have to prove yourself over and over again.”
By his own definition, Cirkut has done just that: Over the last month, the producer has helped launch two artists into the upper echelons of the Billboard Hot 100. His work with veteran hitmaker Lady Gaga on her dark pop single “Disease” sent the song to a No. 27 debut on the chart. Meanwhile K-pop sensation ROSÉ earned her highest-charting solo single with “APT.,” featuring Bruno Mars, arriving at No. 8, thanks in no small part to Cirkut’s catchy production. He earned writing credits on both tracks as well.
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The producer attributes the successes of both Gaga and ROSÉ to their singular ideas of what they want in their music — a trait he looks for in all the artists he works with. “When an artist doesn’t really know what they want to say, or is like, ‘I don’t know, just make me a song,’ that doesn’t interest me,” he says. “The best artists always have some kind of vision, whether it’s how they see the visuals coming together, how they want the guitar to sound, or how hard the kick drums hit.”
Below, Cirkut breaks down the writing processes for both “Disease” and “APT.,” why Lady Gaga stands out in a crowded field of pop stars, how an ad-libbed drinking game inspired ROSÉ’s hit song, and what he envisions for the future of pop music.
Let’s go all the way back to the beginning — when and how did you first get involved with Gaga and her team for this project?
It happened sometime last year — I had been working with [“Disease” co-writer/co-producer] Andrew Watt for a while. We [had] worked on a few different things together, and one day he called me and said, “What do you think about working with Gaga?” He said that we would be a great fit to do this project together. So, I met Gaga for the first time in the studio, and it was amazing. I was really excited to work with her, we were off to the races as soon as we met.
What immediately appealed to you about the prospect of working with Gaga?
I’ve been a fan over the years, she is just a legendary artist. There’s only one Gaga, and she has influenced so many of the artists who are out now. I think her music paved the way for so many people. Selfishly, I did want to see what I could accomplish with her. Just the thought of wondering what a Gaga record would sound like if I produced it was really exciting from the get-go.
When you look back on the inception of “Disease,” was there a stated goal with that song? What were you aiming to accomplish?
It was just one song in a collection that we worked on together, but fairly early in the process, we all loved it and knew that it would be some kind of cornerstone of this body of work. “Disease” [is] a daring record to me. It’s very aggressive. I wouldn’t say it’s a safe, “nice” song to ease you into things. I was spending some time with my mom the other day and she asked what I’d been working on — I threw on the music video for “Disease,” and she was just stunned and saying “oh my God” a lot. It’s a very in-your-face kind of record.
I do all kinds of music, but I love aggressive electronic music. When Watt and I get together, something just kind of happens — with his rock background, we end up bringing in a lot of heavy guitars, and I wanted to make it this cool, industrial synth dance record. When you listen to the final result, I’m pretty happy with how we melded those two things.
What do you remember from the studio sessions with Gaga here — were there any particular moments where it felt like things really locked in for you?
We all huddled up at the beginning to see if we had any common ground when it came to taste in music and the places we wanted to go with the sound. She was very instrumental in leading that discussion. We all wanted to make something that still felt like it was decidedly Gaga, but always asking the question of “What does that sound like today?” That’s always a challenge, especially with artists who have established themselves so firmly in pop culture, to figure out that balance. Do you do something so different that you move away from the things that you are known for? But if you just do the same thing that you’ve been known for, does that end up feeling like a “more-of-the-same” type situation? I wanted to make sure that we brought the essence of Gaga into this song and all of the things that are so great about her — the drama, the theatrics, that in-your-face sound — but still putting a fresh spin on it. That said, you also cannot overthink things too much on something like this. Ultimately, you just have to get in there and have fun.
We definitely had a synergy in the studio. In the beginning, it is kind of a trial run [with a new collaborator]. It felt a little bit like she was feeling me out, trying to figure out where I was coming from when it came to production. But then there was kind of a breakthrough moment — I had been working through something over my headphones, and when I played it out loud, she was just like, “Oh my God, Cirkut, that’s crazy.” And as soon as that happened it was like, “Great, I got through to her.” It’s not like she was difficult to impress, but I wanted us to be on the same page. I treat every project I work on like that — you have to approach it from the mind of being a student always, rather than a know-it-all. I’m always learning from new people.
You’ve worked on massive hits from artists like The Weeknd, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Kesha and Charli XCX. As someone who has been in the room with so many of these major pop stars, how does Gaga stand out amongst that pack?
I think something all the great artists that I’ve worked with have in common is that they all have a vision. Whether it’s fully realized or not doesn’t matter — there is always intention and direction behind the art that they’re making. Even if that’s not fully fleshed out, I find that to be really important. There is always an opinion.
Gaga is very much like that — she is very interested in the sonics of everything. She would say, “Maybe try a different drum here,” or she would hop on the synths and start playing things. She’s a musician and a visionary, and she knew all about the attack, decay, sustain and release settings on a synth. She is all about the details, which definitely sets her apart from a lot of artists. Also, the passion that she puts into her work is amazing. She really lives and breathes and eats and sweats and bleeds this music.
“Disease” is not the only track of yours currently on the Hot 100 — ROSÉ’s “APT.,” featuring Bruno Mars debuted at No. 8 debut earlier this month. Tell me a little bit about how you got involved on that song, and what ROSÉ and Bruno were like to work with?
I don’t try to say, “Oh, I knew this would be a hit,” because I simply do not have that kind of foresight. But I thought this one was a really great, fun, catchy song, and I really loved working with Rosie. I was so excited when she had played the song for Bruno and I heard that he was getting involved, because I genuinely feel like he took it to another level.
We worked together probably three days in a row in the studio, and I think [“APT.”] was one of the last ideas we started. It was the end of the night, we had just done a song or two, and we were like, “Might be time to go home.” And Rosie was sitting there and just sort of chanting to herself, “apateu, apateu.” I think it was [co-writer] Theron [Thomas] who stopped her and asked what it was. She said, “It’s just a Korean thing, it’s basically a drinking game.” All of us were immediately like, “Why is that not a song?” We took that and put together a very quick hook. It was kind of random — I love it when stuff like that happens! It’s not always planned. It’s not always, “We’re going to get in the studio and make a mega hit featuring Bruno Mars.” Sometimes it’s a spontaneous session based on a drinking game. Sometimes somebody is whispering something in the corner, and it becomes this incredible hook.
As someone who has been as vital as you are in creating these massive pop moments throughout your career, how do you view the direction pop music is headed today? What are you seeing in the pop space right now that feels like something that will continue on into the future?
More than ever, almost anything goes. Nowadays, because there’s so much music out there, listeners are so discerning. They like what they like, and it is up to us — creators, producers, songwriters, artists — to show people fresh, new things that they haven’t heard 1,000 times already. Sure, there are trends that go in and out of style, but sometimes, it can be about just changing one thing, and all of a sudden you’ve got a fresh new sound.
Honestly, I try not to think about all of this too much because it can be a little overwhelming. The “next sound” could literally be anything. I really try to just create and not think about the future because that can ultimately remove the spontaneity of it. Messing around and stumbling upon something you love is kind of the random magic that happens. In the age of [artificial intelligence], I think that’s a tool that is here to stay, whether people like it or not, and I do think it could help when it comes to creativity in the studio. But, at the end of the day, it’s the human element of production and songwriting that succeeds. People care about authenticity, they want something that’s real, and listeners are not stupid.
A version of this story appears in the Nov. 16, 2024, issue of Billboard.
When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences releases its Academy Award shortlists in 10 categories on Dec. 17, the most immediately obvious change from past years will be that the number of shortlisted scores will jump from 15 to 20. The best song shortlist will remain at 15.
Nominations-round voting runs Jan. 8-12, and nominations will be announced Jan. 17. Final-round voting runs Feb. 11-18, and the 2025 Oscars will be held March 2. Billboard highlights some of the potential nominees in the best original song and best original score categories below.
“Forbidden Road”Sacha Skarbek, Freddy Wexler, Robbie WilliamsBetter Man, Paramount
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Better Man is a biographical film about British pop star Williams, who is portrayed as a chimpanzee through use of motion capture. All three co-writers are past Grammy Award nominees. Skarbek was nominated for song of the year for co-writing James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful”; Wexler for album of the year for his songwriting contributions to the deluxe edition of Justin Bieber’s Justice; and Williams for a pair of music videos.
“Winter Coat”Nicholas Britell, Steve McQueen, Taura StinsonBlitz, Apple Original Films
Stinson was previously nominated in this category for co-writing “Mighty River” from Mudbound. If she’s nominated again, she’ll tie Siedah Garrett as the Black woman with the most nods in this category. Britell is a three-time nominee for best original score. Blitz director McQueen won a best picture Oscar as a producer on his film 12 Years a Slave in 2013.
“Never Too Late”Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt, Bernie TaupinElton John: Never Too Late, Walt Disney Pictures
John is a two-time winner of best original song for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King and “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from Rocketman. Taupin was a co-winner on the latter. Carlile has received four Grammy nods for song of the year, John has received two and Watt one. John’s victory lap also includes an EGOT-clinching Emmy win for Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium.
“El Mal”Clément Ducol, Camille Dalmais, Jacques AudiardEmilia Pérez, Netflix
Ducol and his personal and professional partner, Dalmais, composed the score and collaborated on the songs for this film. Audiard, the film’s writer, director and co-producer, joined them in writing this song. The film premiered in May at the Cannes Film Festival, where the couple won the soundtrack award. In addition to her film work, Dalmais has recorded five albums in her native France.
“Mi Camino”Clément Ducol, Camille DalmaisEmilia Pérez, Netflix
Emilia Pérez is one of three films with a reasonably good chance of placing two songs on the best original song shortlist. Piece by Piece and Twisters could also do it. Last year, three films had multiple songs on the shortlist: Barbie led with three (two of which went on to be nominated), and The Color Purple and Flora and Son each had two.
“Beautiful That Way”Miley Cyrus, Lykke Li, Andrew WyattThe Last Showgirl, Roadside Attractions
Wyatt won in this category in 2019 for co-writing “Shallow” from A Star Is Born. He was nominated at this year’s Oscars for co-writing “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie. Wyatt has received three Grammy nods for song of the year for co-writing “Shallow,” Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” and Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night.” Cyrus was nominated in that category at the 2024 ceremony for “Flowers.” This would be her first Oscar nod.
“Beyond”Abigail Barlow, Emily BearMoana 2, Walt Disney Pictures
Songwriter-composer duo Barlow & Bear won a Grammy in 2021 for best musical theater album for The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical. This would be the first song by an all-woman team to be nominated in this category since the Diane Warren-Laura Pausini collaboration “Io sì (Seen)” from The Life Ahead four years ago. Lin-Manuel Miranda was nominated in this category for writing “How Far I’ll Go” from the first Moana, released in 2016.
“I Always Wanted a Brother”Lin-Manuel MirandaMufasa: The Lion King, Walt Disney Pictures
Miranda has been just an Oscar away from an EGOT since 2014, when he won his first Primetime Emmy. He has been Oscar-nominated twice for writing “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana and “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto. None of the songs from the 2019 reboot of The Lion King were nominated, but three were from the 1994 original, all written by Elton John and Tim Rice.
“For Real”Pharrell WilliamsPiece by Piece, Focus Features
Piece by Piece is an animated film co-produced and directed by Morgan Neville, who won an Oscar for best documentary (feature) in 2014 for directing 20 Feet From Stardom. It follows the life and career of Williams, who stars in the film, through the lens of Lego animation. The movie also features the voices of Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg.
“Piece by Piece”Pharrell WilliamsPiece by Piece, Focus Features
Williams was nominated for best original song for “Happy” from 2013’s Despicable Me 2. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks after he performed it at the 2014 Oscars. He received a second Oscar nod three years later as a producer of best picture nominee Hidden Figures. Williams has amassed 39 Grammy nods, including one for song of the year for co-writing Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright.”
“The Journey”Diane WarrenThe Six Triple Eight, Netflix
If Warren is nominated, she’ll tie midcentury lyricist Sammy Cahn for the longest streak of consecutive nominations (eight) in the history of the category. (Cahn was a contender every year from 1954 to 1961.) This would be Warren’s 16th overall nod in this category, more than any other woman. Among women, she’s currently tied with the late Marilyn Bergman.
“Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma”Jessi Alexander, Luke Combs, Jonathan SingletonTwisters, Universal
All three co-writers have received Grammy nods for best country song — Alexander for co-writing Blake Shelton’s “Mine Would Be You” and Lee Brice’s “I Drive Your Truck,” Combs for co-writing his own hit “Doin’ This” and Singleton for co-writing Tim McGraw’s “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools.” Twisters: The Album reached No. 3 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and No. 7 on the Billboard 200.
“Out of Oklahoma”Lainey Wilson, Luke Dick, Shane McAnallyTwisters, Universal
McAnally is a two-time Grammy winner for best country song for co-writing the Kacey Musgraves hits “Merry Go ’Round” and “Space Cowboy.” Last year, he received a Grammy nod for songwriter of the year, non-classical. Dick was nominated for best country song for co-writing Miranda Lambert’s “Bluebird.” Wilson’s Bell Bottom Country won a Grammy for best country album in February.
“Kiss the Sky”Delacey, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack, Ali TamposiThe Wild Robot, DreamWorks Animation
Pollack received a Grammy nod for song of the year for co-writing Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers.” The Johnson brothers were nominated in that category for co-writing the Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey smash “The Middle”; Tamposi for co-writing Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You).” Morris has received five Grammy nods for best country song. Singer-songwriter Delacey has written such hits as Halsey’s “Without Me,” which topped the Hot 100 in 2019.
“Harper and Will Go West”Sean Douglas, Kristen Wiig, Josh GreenbaumWill & Harper, Netflix
Wiig was an Oscar nominee for best original screenplay for co-writing the 2011 smash Bridesmaids. She co-wrote four songs for the 2021 film Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. Douglas received a Grammy nod for best country song for co-writing the Thomas Rhett hit “Die a Happy Man.” Greenbaum directed and co-produced this film, which stars Will Ferrell and Harper Steele.
Alien: Romulus (20th Century Studios)Benjamin Wallfisch
This would be Wallfisch’s first Oscar nod. He received Grammy and Golden Globe nods for Hidden Figures and BAFTA and Grammy nods for Blade Runner 2049. Alien: Romulus is part of the Alien franchise, set between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986). Fun fact: Wallfisch was born less than three months after the release of the first Alien.
Blitz (Apple Original Films)Hans Zimmer
Zimmer has received 12 nominations in this category across five decades. He won for The Lion King (1994) and Dune (2021). Steve McQueen wrote, produced and directed Blitz, a historical war drama. The film stars four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan, Harris Dickinson and Elliot Heffernan in his film debut. Following a theatrical run, Blitz is set for a streaming release on Apple TV+ on Nov. 22.
The Brutalist (A24)Daniel Blumberg
This would be the first nomination for Blumberg, an English artist, musician, songwriter and composer. The Brutalist stars Adrien Brody as Hungarian Jewish architect László Tóth, who survives the Holocaust and constructs a new life in America. The film, which also stars Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce, is scheduled to be released in the United States on Dec. 20.
Challengers (Amazon MGM)Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Reznor and Ross have received three nominations in this category, winning for The Social Network (2010) and Soul (2020), the latter a collaboration with Jon Batiste. In addition, they have jointly won an Emmy, two Grammys and two Golden Globes for their scoring work. Luca Guadagnino directed Challengers, about the love triangle between a tennis coach (Zendaya), her tennis player ex-boyfriend (Josh O’Connor) and her tennis champion husband (Mike Faist).
Conclave (Focus Features)Volker Bertelmann
Bertelmann won in this category for 2022’s All Quiet on the Western Front. He was previously nominated for Lion, on which he collaborated with Dustin O’Halloran. Conclave is a mystery-thriller directed by Edward Berger, who also directed All Quiet on the Western Front. In this film, a cardinal played by Ralph Fiennes organizes a papal conclave to elect the next pope. The film also stars Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini.
Emilia Pérez (Netflix)Clément Ducol, Camille Dalmais
Emilia Pérez premiered in May at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and its stars (Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz and Zoe Saldaña) jointly won the best actress award. Pathé released the film theatrically in August. It was selected as the French entry for best international feature film at the upcoming Oscars.
The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM)Tamar-kali
This would be the first nod for Tamar-kali, whose previous scores include Mudbound and the documentaries John Lewis: Good Trouble and Little Richard: I Am Everything. The Fire Inside, which tells the story of professional boxer Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (played by Ryan Destiny) as she trains for the 2012 Summer Olympics, is set for release on Christmas Day. The film marks Rachel Morrison’s feature directorial debut.
Gladiator II (Paramount Pictures)Harry Gregson-Williams
This would be Gregson-Williams’ first nod. Hans Zimmer was nominated for scoring the original 2000 film, which won five Oscars including best picture. Ridley Scott directed both the original movie and this long-awaited sequel, which stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington — but not Russell Crowe, who won the best actor Oscar for the first film. Gladiator II is scheduled to be released in the United States on Nov. 22.
The Goat Life (Netflix)A.R. Rahman
Rahman won for scoring Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and was nominated again two years later for 127 Hours. The Goat Life was written, directed and co-produced by Blessy. The film is an international co-production involving companies in India and the United States. It’s an adaptation of the 2008 Malayalam novel Aadujeevitham, which is based on the real-life story of Najeeb, a Malayali immigrant laborer in the Gulf.
Here (Sony Pictures)Alan Silvestri
Silvestri was nominated for scoring 1994’s Forrest Gump, that year’s best picture winner. This film reunites the director (Robert Zemeckis), screenwriter (Eric Roth) and stars (Tom Hanks and Robin Wright) of that film. Silvestri was also nominated for best original song for co-writing “Believe” from yet another Hanks film, The Polar Express. Here depicts a single home and its inhabitants over time.
From left: Ryan Reynolds in IF, Inside Out 2, Zendaya in Challengers, Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie à Deux and The Wild Robot.
illustrations by Klawe Rzeczy
IF (Paramount Pictures)Michael Giacchino
Giacchino was nominated for scoring Ratatouille (2007) and won two years later for Up. John Krasinski wrote, directed, co-produced and co-starred in IF, which combines live-action and animation. The cast also features Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds and Fiona Shaw. The film’s soundtrack includes a pair of pop classics, Tina Turner’s “Better Be Good to Me” and Nat “King” Cole’s “L-O-V-E.”
Inside Out 2 (Pixar)Andrea Datzman
With this release, Datzman became the first woman to score a Pixar feature film. This would be her first Oscar nomination. Datzman previously composed the music for the Pixar short Carl’s Date (2023) and co-scored the studio’s animated-shorts series Dug Days (2021) with Curtis Green. The first Inside Out (scored by Michael Giacchino) received two Oscar nods but was passed over in this category.
Joker: Folie à Deux (Warner Bros.)Hildur Guðnadóttir
Hildur won for scoring the first Joker. This sequel bombed at the box office and critics generally panned it, but the film’s music earned praise. If Hildur’s score is nominated, she would become the third woman to receive two or more nods in scoring categories, following Rachel Portman (who leads with three) and Angela Morley (who had two nods in the defunct original song score or adaptation score category).
Nickel Boys (Amazon MGM/Orion)Alex Somers, Scott Alario
This would be the first nomination for Somers and Alario, who were members of the Icelandic experimental duo Parachutes that recorded two albums and an EP in the 2000s. Nickel Boys is based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Colson Whitehead. RaMell Ross directed and co-wrote the film, which follows two African American boys, Elwood and Turner, who are sent to an abusive reform school in 1960s Florida.
Nosferatu (Focus Features)Robin Carolan
This would be Carolan’s first nod. Nosferatu is a gothic horror film written and directed by Robert Eggers. It’s a remake of a 1922 German film, which was in turn based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. The film stars Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin and Willem Dafoe. Nosferatu is scheduled for theatrical release in the United States on Christmas Day.
The Piano Lesson (Netflix)Alexandre Desplat
Desplat has amassed 11 nominations in this category, winning for The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and The Shape of Water (2017). The Piano Lesson is an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1987 play by August Wilson. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington and Erykah Badu. Washington is the brother of the film’s director, Malcolm Washington (who is making his feature directorial debut). Their father is two-time Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington.
Queer A24Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
If Reznor and Ross are nominated for both Challengers and Queer, it would be the second time they were double-nominated in this category. They were in contention for both Soul and Mank four years ago. Luca Guadagnino directed Queer, which is based on a 1985 novel of the same name by William S. Burroughs. Set in 1950s Mexico City, the film stars Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey.
The Room Next Door (Sony Pictures Classics)Alberto Iglesias
Iglesias has garnered four nominations in this category for The Constant Gardener (2005), The Kite Runner (2007), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) and Parallel Mothers (2021). The Room Next Door marks his 14th collaboration with director Pedro Almodóvar. This film is Almodóvar’s first full-length feature in the English language and scheduled for a limited release in the United States on Dec. 20.
Saturday Night (Sony Pictures)Jon Batiste
Batiste won in this category for 2020’s Soul, a collaboration with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. He was nominated for best original song last year for co-writing “It Never Went Away” from American Symphony. Saturday Night, directed by Jason Reitman, recounts the night of the 1975 premiere of NBC’s Saturday Night (as Saturday Night Live was originally called). In addition to scoring the film, Batiste plays Billy Preston, who performed on that first episode.
The Wild Robot (DreamWorks Animation)Kris Bowers
Bowers has received two Oscar nominations but not in music categories. He was nominated for best documentary short film for A Concerto Is a Conversation (2020) and won in that category for The Last Repair Shop (2023). Chris Sanders, a three-time Oscar nominee for best animated feature film, wrote and directed The Wild Robot, which features the voices of Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal and Catherine O’Hara.
Additional reporting by Melinda Newman.
This story appears in the Nov. 16, 2024, issue of Billboard.
On Christmas Eve in 2019 — while most music business executives were headed out to holiday parties or completing last-minute shopping — Warner Records quietly finalized a label deal with Jaten Dimsdale, a former member of a hair metal cover band outside of Atlanta who had also tried his hand at hardcore and hip-hop.
Dimsdale had posted a handful of viral YouTube covers: In his version of Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You,” uploaded earlier in 2019 on the 10th anniversary of the artist’s death, his buttery tone contrasted shockingly with his grizzled beard, gauge earrings and the hourglass tattoo stamped on the side of his head. Aaron Bay-Schuck and Tom Corson, Warner Records’ then-recently appointed co-chairmen, had been scavenging for stars to revitalize the faded label — so as the rest of the world hunkered down for the night and wrapped gifts, they inked a deal with Dimsdale, who had started performing under a different name: Teddy Swims.
Fast-forward four Christmases. At the end of 2023, Teddy Swims still lacked a signature hit, but Bay-Schuck spotted some encouraging data surrounding the singer’s single that had been hovering in the middle of the Billboard Hot 100. “I remember over the holiday break, ‘Lose Control’ was taking a positive turn,” he recalls of the singer’s single released in June 2023, “so we knew that was going to be a key song for us going into ’24.”
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During that same holiday downtime, Bay-Schuck also noted some positive numbers on TikTok for another relatively new Warner signing, singer-songwriter Benson Boone: The teasers for his unreleased “Beautiful Things” were gaining traction, so the label posted more snippets before the end of the year to further fuel its growth. “And also,” Corson adds of that particularly busy December, “our A&R team had identified [country singer] Dasha and [folk artist] Michael Marcagi, who were trending [on social media] significantly. We closed those deals, essentially, over Christmas.”
With that hectic holiday season, Warner set the stage for what would become an enormous 2024. In January, “Beautiful Things” rocketed to a startling No. 15 debut on the Hot 100 upon its official release. Dasha’s country clap-along “Austin” started morphing into a viral hit following its late-2023 arrival, and Marcagi’s wistful anthem “Scared To Start” gained immediate traction when unveiled in mid-January. As for “Lose Control,” Teddy Swims’ first Hot 100 hit has become a year-defining smash: It reached the chart’s top 10 during the week of Jan. 20, went to No. 1 the week of March 30 and now, in its 64th week on the Hot 100, remains in its upper reaches — and will likely finish quite high on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 chart. Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” which eventually peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and logged 27 weeks in the chart’s top 10, likely won’t be far behind “Lose Control” on the year-end list. And as the year drew to a close, Boone and Teddy Swims both notched best new artist Grammy nominations in November.
Going into 2024, Bay-Schuck and Corson had recognized it would be a pivotal year for their regime at Warner Records, even if they might not have predicted the exact way it would unfold. After all, Zach Bryan and Dua Lipa, two of the label’s flagship artists, were expected to release new music — but Teddy Swims’ raspily belted soul-revival pop anthem and Boone’s existential ballad with its out-of-nowhere wailed chorus out-charting any new song by those superstars was less expected.
When reflecting on Warner’s surprising year, Corson offers some wisdom from the Roman philosopher Seneca: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” The startling triumph of relative unknowns like Teddy Swims and Boone, along with strong performances from the label’s A-list roster of talent, has made Warner much healthier than its fallow period in the mid-2010s.
Neither Corson nor Bay-Schuck expected this resurgence would sound like “Lose Control” or “Beautiful Things,” but when the moment arrived, they had already been working overtime to meet it. Unabashed music geeks with complementary talents — Corson the master marketer, Bay-Schuck the A&R whiz — the two label leaders can easily rattle off empirical and emotional takeaways from even their roster’s tiniest artists, and they’re hustling both on and off the clock, studying market inefficiencies and, as Seneca may have wanted, placing the label in a position to scoop up potential wins. “These songs didn’t sound like anything else that you were hearing on top 40 [radio],” Bay-Schuck points out. “That’s a big part of our brand at Warner Records. We aren’t trying to do what everybody else is doing — we’re trying to take risks and stand out.”
From left: Dasha, Dua Lipa, Zach Bryan, Benson Boone, Mike Shinoda and Billy Strings.
Illustration by Israel Vargas
As slow-burning smashes with 10-figure streaming numbers, “Lose Control” and “Beautiful Things” headline a year for Warner that has also included country-rock virtuoso Bryan graduating to stadiums and scoring another hit album with The Great American Bar Scene, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200; Lipa earning her highest-charting album and best sales week yet with her third full-length, Radical Optimism; and eclectic acts like Linkin Park, Warren Zeiders, Billy Strings and Rüfüs Du Sol yielding success stories in rock, country, bluegrass and dance, respectively. As a result, Warner Records’ market share soared to third among individual labels (behind Republic and Interscope Geffen A&M) in Billboard’s 2024 midyear report, its highest ranking since Bay-Schuck and Corson were named CEO and COO of Warner, respectively, in 2018.
“Aaron, Tom and the team focus on signing and carefully nurturing original artists, and the result is a diverse roster of established superstars and emerging talent,” says Robert Kyncl, CEO of Warner Music Group. “At the same time, they’ve pioneered new ways of breaking through the clutter and grown their market share in an ultra-competitive environment.”
When Max Lousada, former WMG CEO of recorded music, recruited Corson from RCA Records and Bay-Schuck from Interscope to run Warner Records, both executives understood they had their work cut out for them. Outside of Lipa, who took home the best new artist Grammy Award in 2019, Warner ended the 2010s with an aging, rock-focused roster and a severe lack of new star power. “I’m going to quote Lyor [Cohen], a mentor of mine over the years,” Bay-Schuck says. “When we got this opportunity, he was like, ‘You better make sure they’re giving you five to seven years. That’s how long it takes.’ And I think he was spot-on, when you’re taking on a challenge like we did. We had a really unhealthy company that we inherited, and so the first couple of years were about the culture and getting the right people working here.”
In addition to bringing in deputies like executive vp/head of A&R Karen Kwak, senior vp of digital marketing Dalia Ganz and CFO Michele Nadelman, Corson and Bay-Schuck took a divide-and-conquer rebuilding approach that incorporated their personal expertise. Corson, a former president/COO of RCA Records, was tasked with maximizing the potential of Warner’s existing roster and catalog upon arrival, allowing Bay-Schuck, who previously ran A&R at Interscope, the necessary time to discover and develop new artists.
For Corson, the situation “was a combination of understanding roster catalog and needing to find revenue to buy us enough time.” Fortunately, the Warner catalog was filled with legendary artists — from Prince to Tom Petty to Fleetwood Mac to Madonna — even if, Corson says in disbelief, “there wasn’t anything strategic being done with them by the label.”
Short term, there was plenty of new revenue to uncover. Initiatives included responding to significant album anniversaries with glossy vinyl box sets for classics like Green Day’s Nimrod and Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory, strengthening relationships with the estates of artists like the Ramones and Mac Miller for special releases and also prioritizing new material from still-viable veterans like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Gorillaz. “Developing a high standard helped create a higher flow of product coming out of the catalog department,” Warner executive vp of promotion and commerce Mike Chester says. “And it really carried us. It allowed us to sign and develop Benson Boone and many others, because you need time to do that.”
With the exception of Lipa — whose 2020 album, Future Nostalgia, yielded hit after hit and also bought the new Warner regime more time to retool its roster — the label’s biggest new names are long-term development projects. Boone, a former American Idol contestant with a strong TikTok following but no original songs, signed with Warner in 2021; Bryan joined the same year, while he was still serving in the Navy and had yet to perform a proper concert. As Teddy Swims puts it nearly a half-decade removed from his own signing, “I speak for more than myself when I say just how thankful we are to [Bay-Schuck and Corson] for having the grace and patience to give artists like me the time and space to develop into what we are meant to be.”
Bay-Schuck points out that “Lose Control” and “Beautiful Things” first became hits outside of the United States, dominating parts of Europe and the United Kingdom before igniting on the Billboard charts this year — but that similarity aside, they required wholly different strategies. “ ‘Beautiful Things’ was viral as f–k — I think that’s an industry term,” Corson says with a laugh, nodding to the dedicated social following and streaming activity that helped unlock radio and tidily set up Boone’s April album, Fireworks & Rollerblades.
On the other hand, Warner had to grind out “Lose Control” with old-school radio promotion, then harness digital marketing to widen its footprint. “It’s one of the most interesting records I’ve ever worked because it’s an eight-format record,” Corson says of the single, which has, in fact, charted on eight different genre-based charts, from Adult Pop Airplay to Rock Airplay to R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, and has topped three of them in addition to the Hot 100.
As for Bryan, whose singular mix of country and rock has also transcended genre lines, the label’s executives say that his sound, release rate and social media presence all come straight from the singer-songwriter, and they just fill in any of the necessary details. “It is entirely Zach’s vision,” Bay-Schuck says. “And the legacy of this label is exactly that. No one was telling Prince what to do, no one was telling Madonna what to do. You give them advice, you challenge them, you insert your opinions where you can. But ultimately, those artists thrive because the label understood how to let them grow and mature and take swings on their own.”
As they’ve settled into their respective roles, Bay-Schuck and Corson have also clicked personally. They didn’t know each other prior to working together at Warner, but in conversation now, they often finish each other’s thoughts, thank each other for specific achievements and describe developing a friendship “off the field” while sharing a philosophy in the office. “Tom is this masterful operator, and Aaron is serious but in a very nuanced way,” Chester explains. “You have two people working full tilt to keep everything aligned, and the more wins, the greater proof of concept, just doubles down on the relationship.”
The dynamic has impressed the roster’s newer additions. Dasha, whose “Austin” peaked at No. 18 on the Hot 100, remembers meeting with Warner prior to other labels and feeling like her mind was made up before any further conversations. “Tom has been such an angel since day one. He is like my dad — he’s so funny and so kind,” she says. “Aaron, the same thing. He has so much passion for what he does and so much drive that it makes me want to work harder.”
And the label’s veteran artists, too, have met Warner’s efforts to revitalize catalogs and mine new opportunities with open arms. After working with Bay-Schuck and Corson on multiple anniversary reissues, Linkin Park set up its next chapter with new co-vocalist Emily Armstrong under cover of darkness, working with Warner to plan a global livestream, arena tour dates and the Nov. 15 release of its latest album, From Zero. “The Emptiness Machine,” the lead single from the album, debuted at No. 21 on the Hot 100 — Linkin Park’s biggest hit in 15 years and one of fall’s hottest new rock singles. The band’s Mike Shinoda says that Bay-Schuck and Corson were “instrumental” in Linkin Park’s comeback. “They helped us choose ‘The Emptiness Machine’ as a first single before it was completed,” he says.
Next, Bay-Schuck and Corson are focused on building the profiles of Warner’s new stars beyond their breakthrough hits. Teddy Swims’ uptempo follow-up single, “The Door,” has peaked at No. 24 on the Hot 100, and a new album — billed as a “second part” of his debut, I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy — is slated for a January 2025 release. Meanwhile, Boone’s “Slow It Down” reached No. 32, and he spent the year touring the globe (including a few dates opening for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour).
The executives also rattle off a dozen rising prospects on their roster — from pop singer CIL to viral country artist Maddox Batson to drum’n’bass revivalist Kenya Grace — and stress a greater focus on hip-hop and R&B in 2025, including with the impending arrival of a new head of its urban A&R division.
Meanwhile, Bay-Schuck and Corson have recently begun overseeing Warner Music Nashville, taking a more hands-on approach with artists like Bailey Zimmerman, Gabby Barrett and Cole Swindell and providing Warner Records’ global resources to help broaden those artists’ international footprints. The move was part of the summertime shake-up at WMG that resulted in Lousada’s departure, as well as the installation of a new regime at Atlantic Music Group, with Julie Greenwald departing as chairman/CEO and 10K Projects founder and CEO Elliot Grainge taking her place.
“We’re getting to know Elliot and [new COO] Zach [Friedman] and [new GM] Tony [Talamo] in real time — so far, great experience,” Bay-Schuck says. “They’re young, they’re energetic, they’re fearless. They’re going to come up with some new ways of doing business that I’m sure will prove to be really great for Warner Music Group.”
Another more subtle change followed the WMG restructuring: Bay-Schuck and Corson now report directly to Kyncl, after previously reporting to Lousada. While both executives say that Lousada’s leadership proved invaluable to their current run of success, they’re happy to be ending a momentous 2024 with a bigger seat at the table.
“We now have visibility into things that we didn’t before,” Bay-Schuck says. “With the greatest respect to those who came before us.”
Corson adds, “We’ve earned this.”
This story appears in the Nov. 16, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Lisa looks stumped. She raises her eyebrows slightly and purses her lips, staring out from underneath her immaculate, walnut-brown bangs. She is trying to answer a question that for most people qualifies as Small Talk 101, but for her is a Sphinx-level riddle: “Where do you live?”
“I can’t really tell where I’m based,” she says, breaking into a giddy giggle. As one-quarter of the record-setting, superlative-defying K-pop girl group Blackpink, she called Seoul home. But now? She’s all over the place: Los Angeles, where we’re meeting and where she’s been spending a lot of time recording new music; her native Thailand, where she also filmed the highly anticipated third season of HBO’s The White Lotus; and Paris, where you can find her front row at fashion shows as a new house ambassador for Louis Vuitton. “I don’t even know which time zone I’m living now,” says Lisa, clad in a Kith track jacket and baggy Celine jeans, as she sips orange juice in a tucked-away booth of the star-friendly Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel.
In her rare downtime, 27-year-old Lisa (also known as Lalisa Manobal) likes to hit up Pop Mart, the international toy-store chain whose adorable characters she can’t get enough of. (She once visited three different Paris locations in a single day in search of a rare figurine, and she jokes that she has more collectibles than furniture: “I have no space to walk anymore!”) Or she’ll seek out the best Thai food wherever she may be. Everyone in L.A. tells her to go to Anajak or Jitlada, two local culinary institutions, “but it’s not the OG taste for me,” she says. “It doesn’t taste like home. It tastes different.” She prefers Ruen Pair.
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“I just randomly walk in. I don’t really do any makeup, so I just go in like this” — she pulls her hair over her face — “and they barely notice me.” When people do recognize her in public, they usually play it cool, at least in America. “They come to you like, ‘I just want to say I love your music, I just want to say hi!,’ and leave,” she says in a chirpy faux-American accent. And if they don’t? “Well, of course, I always have him,” Lisa says, nodding toward the burly tattooed man at the next booth over who, I now realize, is her bodyguard.
Welcome to the totally fabulous, totally exhausting, jet-setting life of one of pop’s most exciting stars. On her fast and furious recent single “Rockstar,” she recites airport codes like they’re her ABCs (“Been MIA, BKK so pretty!”), flexes her multilingual skills (“ ‘Lisa, can you teach me Japanese?’ I said, ‘Hai, hai!’ ”) and name-drops her designer partnerships (“Tight dress, LV sent it!”) with the casual ease of someone describing their sock drawer. She’s the rare pop star for whom bone-rattling bangers about life in the fast lane and personal, autobiographical material are one in the same. As Lisa embarks on a solo career outside the girl group that made her famous, this world-building has been one of her biggest joys. “At first, I was scared and nervous because I never really come out here to do my own stuff,” she says, before lowering her voice as if she’s not supposed to say what comes next. “And now I’m having fun,” she whispers. “When [my singles] came out, the reaction from the fans, it’s healing me. It’s like, ‘Oh, my God. Yeah — I did a great job!’ ”
Diesel dress
Joelle Grace Taylor
Success in a pop group is no guarantee of success as a solo artist, but then again, Blackpink is no ordinary group. With its multinational members, onomatopoeic hooks and blockbuster music videos, the quartet was practically engineered for world domination. Since 2016, Blackpink has racked up 40 billion official on-demand global streams, according to Luminate; scored nine Billboard Hot 100 hits; and played some of the world’s biggest stages. The act was the first Korean girl group to play Coachella in 2019 and the first Korean act of any kind to headline the festival in 2023. By the end of Blackpink’s 2022-23 Born Pink world tour, named for its first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, the group was selling out stadiums in the United States — one of only a handful of K-pop acts to have done so.
Alongside peers like BTS, Blackpink helped dismantle the lingering walls between “K-pop” and the American mainstream, making regular appearances on morning and late-night shows, recording music in English and teaming with U.S. hit-makers, eased by a partnership between YG Entertainment, the group’s Korean home, and Interscope Records.
Though all of Blackpink’s members have star power in spades — Jennie’s unbothered cool, Rosé’s singer-songwriter smarts and Jisoo’s sly humor and older-sister elegance — Lisa is an unmissable force in the group. She raps with the big, bouncy energy of the Pixar lamp, and her swaggering flows have made her a compelling face of hip-hop’s globalization. Her 2021 solo track “Money,” released through YG and built around a brassy beat worthy of Hot 97, reached No. 36 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart — making her the first K-pop artist to enter its top 40 — and she fit right in next to Megan Thee Stallion and Ozuna on that year’s DJ Snake team-up, “SG.” As Lisa has been recording solo music, she has realized genre-fluency is her ace: “I kind of… kill it in every single thing?” she says sheepishly, twirling her hair. “So I’m like, ‘Oh, why not!’ ”
In the past, K-pop’s brightest breakout stars have typically pursued solo careers either independently (like rapper-singer CL of YG girl group 2NE1) or through the company behind their groups (such as the members of BTS, whose home base, HYBE, has a global partnership with Universal Music Group). Lisa, however, is pursuing a different model with the creation of her own management company and label, Lloud, and a partnership with RCA Records in which she will own her masters.
“It was very clear that she wanted to go for global domination as one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, and we’re right there with her,” RCA COO John Fleckenstein says. K-pop companies — typically one-stop shops that combine management, label, agent and other functions under one roof — “work in a certain way in terms of how they market, promote and A&R everything, and over the years, they’ve established this architecture that the fan base is really used to,” he says. “It’s pretty rare for someone to go from one architecture to another.”
Area jacket, Coperni boots.
Joelle Grace Taylor
And Lisa’s not the only one learning how — so are her bandmates, as they all simultaneously launch their next phases. Jennie released the sun-kissed bop “Mantra” in October through Columbia Records and her own Odd Atelier company. Rosé will release her debut album in December through Atlantic Records; her first single, the punky Bruno Mars duet “APT.,” debuted at No. 8 on the Hot 100 — a record high for a female K-pop soloist. Jisoo, meanwhile, has focused on acting in Korean TV shows and movies, but she unveiled her own company, Blissoo, in February, and Lisa thinks she’ll eventually do music, too. Coming from the world of K-pop idols — where stars are not exactly known for their agency and the quasi-diplomatic pressures on their shoulders can be immense — it’s a whole new competitive landscape.
As Lisa finishes her debut solo album against the ticking clock of Blackpink’s planned 2025 reunion, can she transform herself from a K-pop queen into a global girl boss? She’s up for the challenge. Technically, she’s the CEO of Lloud, though she squirms at the title. “I don’t want to say that,” she says, grinning. “Call me boss — call me Boss Lisa.”
When Blackpink wrapped its yearlong, globe-traversing, 66-date Born Pink world tour in September 2023, sleep was low on Lisa’s list of priorities. “I was super tired,” she says, “but I don’t know, I feel guilty when I’m not working. It’s like, I need to do something. It was weird. My body is sending me a sign: ‘Beep! Beep! Beep! Don’t rest too much!’ ”
She had already been thinking a lot about her future. Blackpink celebrated its seventh anniversary that summer — a critical milestone for K-pop groups, as seven years is a common contract length in the industry. (K-pop fans even speak of the “seven-year curse” to describe groups’ tendency to break up at this juncture.) For years, Blackpink’s trajectory had had a clear outline. But now, as its members pondered a contract renewal, they had to make decisions about an uncertain future — including what exactly they wanted from it, both together and individually. “Of course we want to do more, because Blackpink, it’s part of our lives. We still want to accomplish more,” Lisa says. “But on the other side, we also wanted to do something for our solo careers.”
They decided on an unusual arrangement: The members re-signed with YG for group activities but became free agents for their individual projects (though Rosé ultimately signed with The Black Label, which YG has had a stake in, for solo management). It was time for Lisa to chart her own course, and to do that, she needed her own team.
The first person she reached out to was Alice Kang, who had spent five years on the management team at YG’s L.A. branch, where she touched a bit of everything — marketing, merchandise, label relations — and got to know Lisa well. Joojong “JJ” Joe, who headed North American operations for YG for several years, had assigned Kang to be Lisa’s point person on staff. “Both of them have easygoing and fun personalities, so I think that’s why they have worked perfectly [together] so far,” he says. After spending a lot of time away from home on tour with Blackpink, Kang had left her job in late 2023 and was looking forward to some quiet time off as she figured out what was next. “I’m like, ‘Holidays are coming up, it’s the end of the year — family time!’ ” Kang says, laughing. “And then Lisa was like, ‘Hey!’ ”
Vaillant coat, Coperni dress.
Joelle Grace Taylor
Lisa pitched her on starting what would become Lloud. “She’s had this drive to really make her presence known in this U.S. music market,” recalls Kang, Lloud’s head of global business and management. Though Lloud brings to mind other artist-founded, multipronged companies like Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment, Lisa says she hasn’t thought about eventually signing other artists, and she doesn’t cop to having any Rihanna-level empire-building aspirations. “I feel like Lloud is like my safe zone that always focuses on Lisa, supports Lisa,” she says. “I was just thinking about what I want to achieve this year, [taking it] year by year. So this year, what I wanted to do is work on new music and focus on that.”
As Lisa and Kang mapped out the steps they would need to take, they also brought in Joe, who had left YG as well, as an adviser. (He has a brand consultancy, ABrands, and an artist management and consulting company, The Colors Artists Group.) Much of Joe’s job at YG had been networking and relationship-building in the United States, and he helped Lisa construct her core team and set up meetings with major labels.
Lisa clicked with RCA right away. “As soon as I got in the car [after meeting with them], I was telling Alice, ‘I kind of love them!’ ” she says. It was mostly a gut feeling, but Lisa appreciated that they had done their homework: Lisa has five cats, and RCA made her a gift basket with cat-themed paraphernalia like stickers and plushies. “They made the meeting very, very personalized to Lisa specifically,” Kang says, “and they had already thought out plans on what they were going to do to help support Lisa and make her a bigger star than she already is.”
The gist of their pitch: amplify Lloud’s work and complement Lisa’s strengths. “K-pop is kind of a defined universe in terms of what the fan base expects and what people are going to do, and for Lisa, it was a very conscious choice to work with someone like us, because of the resources and connections that we have,” says Fleckenstein, who notes, for instance, that terrestrial radio play is one area where acts from the K-pop world “struggle a bit.” “She’s very clear on where this is going and what it should feel like, but we help her fill in the gaps about how to get there.”
RCA also made some key introductions — like connecting her to choreographer Sean Bankhead, who’s worked with Normani and Tate McRae and collaborated with Lisa on videos and live performances, including her fiery MTV Video Music Awards medley in September. Bankhead calls Lisa a “robot” when it comes to picking up choreography and says she mastered much of the “Rockstar” routine on location in Bangkok the day before filming started. “Which is really unheard of,” he says. “She’s a trouper.”
Mugler dress, Paris Texas shoes.
Joelle Grace Taylor
For Lisa, directing this phase of her career has been eye-opening. Does being the boss of her own company mean she now enjoys such corporate thrills as, say, budgets and expense reports? “Oh, of course,” Lisa says. “Nothing is boring yet because everything is so new. It’s like, ‘Oh, my God. I have to do this too?’ OK!
“Now I know how much it all costs,” she continues. “I’ve been under YG, and everyone was taking care of that, so I never really knew what’s going on or how much we spent for our music videos or photo shoots or hotels. But now I do kind of know about it, so I was like, ‘Oh, OK — no first class anymore,’ ” she says with a laugh as she mimes poring over a spreadsheet. (“The worst boss would be the one who doesn’t make decisions,” Joe says. “She makes decisions, so that’s great.”)
Compared with a giant company like YG, Lloud feels “like a family business,” Lisa says. It has fewer than 10 employees right now, and in true startup fashion, department responsibilities are porous. “We’ve been just so busy, so we haven’t had time to hire people,” Joe says of the biggest challenges facing Lloud. They’re building the car as they’re driving to the destination. “We’re shooting a music video and discussing the next music video at the spot,” he says. “We’re always doing the next one when we’re doing something [else].”
Which, at least for now, is how Lisa likes it. “These days, when I go to a restaurant to have a meal with Alice and my team, we just can’t stop talking about work. Even though it’s like, ‘OK, for this dinner, we’re just going to celebrate’ — we can’t do that. There’s no line,” Lisa says. “There’s so much stuff going on, so when I think about something and it’s popping into my head, I just have to say it right away. Otherwise, I’ll forget.” She pauses. “Yeah, I need to fix that.”
Success for Lisa is in her name. Born Pranpriya Manobal, she auditioned for YG when she was 13 years old. When she didn’t hear back, her mother took her to a fortune teller who recommended she change her name for good luck — a common practice in Thai culture. “We really wanted to get it,” Lisa told me in 2021, when we were speaking about her YG solo tracks. According to Lisa, the week after she rechristened herself “Lalisa,” which roughly means “one who is praised,” YG invited her to train in Seoul.
K-pop’s trainee system is like an artist-development program on steroids. Aspiring stars — chosen through global auditions as tweens and teens — spend years studying music and dance as they vie for a spot in a group. It is a grueling, pressure-cooker environment, with long hours, few days off, frequent evaluations and the constant threat of being cut. For Lisa, who spoke some English but didn’t know any Korean when she started, it could be isolating. “They wanted me to focus on speaking Korean more, so they told all the girls who trained with me: ‘No English with Lalisa,’ ” she recalls. But for Lisa, there was no other path. “I feel like I’m born to be onstage,” she says. (Her future bandmates agreed: “Lisa would always get As for everything,” Jennie told Billboard in 2019.)
Joelle Grace Taylor
Now, in her solo career, Lisa has made her own artist development a guiding priority. One of the first things Joe did last fall was help set up recording sessions. “She’s been working with one producer,” Joe says, referring to Teddy Park, who is credited as a writer or producer on the majority of Blackpink’s songs. “So I’m like, ‘Maybe you should just work with a different producer to see who can work together well.’ ”
Unlike many pop-group alums, Lisa has not felt particularly stifled in Blackpink. She and her bandmates have always credited Park with encouraging their input, and though Lisa has started co-writing some of her new material, she won’t be racking up credits just to prove a point. “I’m not like, ‘OK, I’m going to sit down and write the whole thing,’ ” she says. Still, she had her defined role in the group and has played it dutifully. “In Blackpink, I’m a rapper, so I always rap,” she says. “But now it’s a chance for me to show the world that I’m capable of [so much more].”
With its pummeling beats and Tame Impala-esque breakdown, “Rockstar” bridged her Blackpink sound and her next chapter. “We knew on launch we really wanted to come correct with her existing core fan base,” Fleckenstein says. Subsequent singles gave Lisa more room to experiment and play with new textures in her voice. “New Woman” is a bilingual team-up with Rosalía that features a dizzying beat switch and credits from Swedish hit-makers Max Martin and Tove Lo. The syrupy “Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me)” interpolates Sixpence None the Richer’s “Kiss Me” and is of a piece with recent disco-lite hits like Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and Doja Cat’s “Say So.” “I feel like I have more creative freedom with everything,” Lisa says.
Diesel dress, Paris Texas boots.
Joelle Grace Taylor
That includes the freedom to be a little edgier. When pop stars go solo after starting in a group, they usually break from their youthful pasts with strong statements of adult independence. But the rules are often different for K-pop stars, who have historically been expected to maintain squeaky-clean images by abstaining from dating and partying (at least publicly). Although those norms are evolving, they still shape the industry: Seunghan, a member of the SM Entertainment boy band RIIZE, was suspended from and, this year, ultimately left his group after photos and videos of him kissing a woman and smoking leaked online.
Lisa has been growing up gradually. When Blackpink headlined Coachella, she took the stage for a pole-dance routine before launching into a new, explicit version of “Money” packed with F-bombs — and fans noted online how gleefully she seemed to deliver them. (“I was waiting for that moment to sing that version,” Lisa tells me, though she notes that the occasion was Jennie’s idea: “She was like, ‘Lisa, just do it. It’s Coachella. Everybody’s doing it at Coachella.’ ”) Today, there’s a palpable maturity to Lisa’s new era, from her October performance at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show alongside lingerie-clad models to some bolder lyrics. It’s hard to imagine a double entendre as blatant as “I’m a rock star … Baby, make you rock hard” fitting neatly into Blackpink’s brand of playful sensuality.
“It’s a little looser [now],” Lisa says of her image, but she feels she has earned it. “We’re not rookies anymore. I’m 27 and headed toward 30. Of course I’m still young, yes, but I feel like it’s more flexible for us. And it’s nothing crazy,” she adds. “I feel like I’m just doing whatever I want, and it doesn’t hurt anyone. As long as it doesn’t hurt anyone’s feelings.” (As for her dating life, when I gently tease her about the “green-eyed French boy” she sings about in “Moonlit Floor,” Lisa — who is rumored to be dating LVMH heir Frédéric Arnault — looks over her shoulder, delivers an expert hair-flip and says coyly, “Well, I didn’t write that [song].”)
Bankhead says she’s navigating her evolution in real time. “I’ve always had those performances or music videos that have shock value, whether it’s Lil Nas X dancing naked in the shower or Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion doing a scissor move at the Grammys,” he says of his previous work. With Lisa, “There are a couple of times that I will push the envelope, and she’s like, ‘I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that yet.’ And then other times, like when I had this idea to do a more sexy breakdown for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, she was like, ‘I think I want to do more.’ ” For now, any growing pains are primarily physical. Says Bankhead: “She had a little bit of a groin injury because we kept doing that split move in those heels.”
The best part of a Blackpink show isn’t the explosive pyrotechnics or glittering costume changes, but the encores: The four singers, dressed in their own merch, skip their usual windmill-limb choreography and just goof around with one another. They seemed like the rare girl group who, at the height of their powers, were not sick of one another. And their close bonds go way back. Lisa recalls that during trainee breaks, when most students would go home to visit their families, Jisoo — who grew up just outside of Seoul — would stay behind to keep her company.
Today, and as the members unveil their solo projects, they are among one another’s biggest supporters on social media.
“We know each other so well and know how much energy we have to put into every single project,” Lisa says. “So we want to support and say, ‘You did really well!’ Like, Jennie and Rosie just released their own songs, and we’re on texts, we’re on FaceTime. They’re like family. I’m just so happy that they’re releasing something. This is what we all wanted to do, so I just wanted to say that I really do love their songs.”
She confirms the group will reunite in 2025 — “I can’t wait,” she says — though exactly what form the reunion will take appears to be up in the air. YG announced earlier this year that the group would have an official comeback as well as a world tour next year. But when I mention the tour to Lisa, she squints. “That’s what they say?” she responds, in a voice that conveys some skepticism. (“I don’t know,” Kang tells me later. “We’ll have to wait and see what YG confirms.”)
How Lisa will juggle her own career with her group obligations going forward is something “we’re going to figure out as we go,” Fleckenstein says. “My gut feeling is, it will be a benefit to everybody. There really aren’t rules, and I don’t see why there should be any kind of rules around this either.”
Joelle Grace Taylor
Lisa currently doesn’t have plans to tour on her own, and she doesn’t think she can until she has a finished body of work. So for now, she’s full speed ahead on the album. “It’s so embarrassing to say this,” she says when I ask what music she has been enjoying lately, “but I listen to my album. I’m trying to figure it out, the track list and everything, what I can change in there.” Some unfinished songs her team plays for me evoke British iconoclast M.I.A. and Loose-era Nelly Furtado. Will there be ballads? “Everything’s there,” she says. “I think they’re going to be shocked at how capable I am [at] doing so many things.”
When I first met Lisa in 2019, on the band’s first proper stateside trip here in L.A., she seemed excited to take on the world — she bounded toward the window when she spotted the Hollywood sign — but also nervous about all the expectations on the group’s shoulders. The looser, wise-cracking Lisa of today seems like she is genuinely enjoying the ride. What advice would she give the Lisa of nearly six years ago?
“I’m not going to tell her anything,” she says, wide-eyed. “That’s not fun! It’s like when the fortune teller tells you something, and you have that stuck in your head. If someone says, ‘You’re going to win this thing,’ and you’re like, ‘Oh, well, I’m going to win that thing anyway, so I’m not going to do anything now,’ then you’re not going to achieve that. So I guess I will not say anything to my old self.” She leans back in the booth. “ ‘Whatever you’re doing right now? Just keep going.’ ”
This story appears in the Nov. 16, 2024, issue of Billboard.
When rumors of a lingering rift between two of KATSEYE’s six members reached the girl group this summer, they quickly turned the chatter into a viral moment. “We’re literally fine lol,” read the caption on a photo of Lara and Manon holding hands and posing on a backdrop of dolphins and rainbows, playing into a then-current TikTok trend around Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson’s “Symphony.”
“One thing I love about this group is how Gen Z we are,” says Manon. “We saw all of that and were like, ‘Okay, funny. Let’s do this TikTok and put an end to this.’” The 11-second post has since compiled more than 5.4 million views.
The savvy social media approach is just one of the effective strategies that the rising group and their team at HxG (HYBE x Geffen Records, which represents a joint venture between the Korean-entertainment conglomerate and Universal Music Group) employ to hook new fans. Another, naturally, has been with the music: KATSEYE’s latest single, “Touch,” packs crisp drum-and-bass production, twinkling electro-pop flourishes and a swirl of pop-R&B harmonies into two minutes and ten seconds. Co-produced by Cashmere Cat (Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Charli XCX), the hit has latched onto U.S. radio and helped to build the group’s following stateside.
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Sophia
Austin Hargrave
Megan
Austin Hargrave
KATSEYE was formed from HYBE and Geffen Records’ ambitious Dream Academy competition in 2023. The YouTube series sought to create a genuinely “global” girl group, and of a reported 120,000 applicants from around the world, 20 were selected to head to Los Angeles and prepare in the style of the infamously rigorous K-pop training methods before competing for a spot in the group. The multiweek contest concluded that November, with the six final members representing a culturally diverse lineup: Manon, 22 (from L.A.); Lara, 19 (Zurich); Daniela, 20 (Atlanta); Megan, 18 (Honolulu); Sophia, 21 (Manila, Philippines); and Yoonchae, 16 (Seoul, South Korea).
A subsequent Netflix series, Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE, documented the behind-the-scenes journey of whittling down the 20-person training camp into its final form — including all of its biggest trials and tribulations — and creating a natural curiosity for viewers to check out the group’s music. Wisely, in the days leading to the eight-episode competition series’ premiere on the streaming service in August, KATSEYE released its debut EP, SIS (Soft Is Strong). The five-track project has writing contributions from HYBE chairman Bang Si-Hyuk, Ryan Tedder and Justin Tranter (with the former two earning production credits as well), debuted at No. 6 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, and appeared on the Billboard 200.
The group’s aptly titled first single “Debut” arrived in late June to kick-start the project’s rollout, but even then, the members were even more excited for their next release, the alt-pop smash “Touch.” “It was all of our favorite when we first heard it,” says Daniela. “We just had that gut feeling.” Adds Manon: “Our creative director Humberto [Leon] kept telling me, ‘‘Touch’ is the one, just wait and see.’”
From left: Sophia, Daniela, Manon, Megan, Lara and Yoonchae of KATSEYE photographed October 29, 2024 in Los Angeles.
Austin Hargrave
Manon
Austin Hargrave
The group made a strong push on social media for the song when it arrived on streaming services on July 26. In hopes of creating a viral dance trend, KATSEYE executive creator Son Sungdeuk crafted choreography designed to be both simple and memorable. Small, TikTok-friendly moves — like the chorus’ pinky-to-thumb touching gestures — were intentional hooks meant to attract fan engagement. “I feel like it’s not so hard for people to learn,” says Daniela, adding that the “little booty pop” — which Sophia interjects is “my favorite!” — was another move to draw in listeners. “I was like, ‘People are going to gag.’ It’s so cute.”
KATSEYE’s multi-pronged digital focus for the song included partnering with fan bases in the K-pop world, such as a TikTok post of Manon and Yoonchae dancing to “Touch” with Heeseung and Ni-ki of ENHYPEN (a boy band under HYBE sublabel Belift Lab). The video has 27 million views to date, while three other clips showcasing “Touch” on the group’s account have more than 15 million. Importantly, such success helped prove that KATSEYE was ready to thrive in more traditional stateside promotions.
“We had our eye on radio but knew we needed key levers to feel confident it was the right time to go,” says Mitra Darab, president of HxG at HYBE America. “We would see significant growth weekly not only at DSPs [digital service providers], but in TikTok and Reels creates and their social growth. We also knew we needed a big cultural moment to bring awareness to the group, which we achieved with the Netflix documentary. Once that was released, all our goals started to fall into place.”
Daniela
Austin Hargrave
From left: Lara, Daniela, Megan, Manon, Yoonchae and Sophia of KATSEYE photographed October 29, 2024 in Los Angeles.
Austin Hargrave
To gauge their appeal in the U.S., KATSEYE held a meet-and-greet and performance at Minneapolis’ Mall of America in October to connect with the growing fandom, collectively known as EYEKONS. Thousands of fans showed up. “Mall of America proved to us that this isn’t just about ‘Touch,’” says Darab.
“I think we built a fanbase that is just like us,” Lara adds. “EYEKONS are so funny; they have the same humor as all of us. I feel like they are the types of people that we would be friends with in real life.”
By October, “Touch” had appeared on several of Billboard’s international charts, including in the Philippines, Canada, Taiwan and Malaysia and cracked the upper half of the Billboard Global 200. It also reaches a new No. 32 high on the U.S.-based Pop Airplay chart dated Nov. 16, and the song has 229.9 million official on-demand global streams through Nov. 7, according to Luminate. “We couldn’t help but put so much heart into it,” says Sophia. “We really could feel that this was going to bleed through to the fans.”
Yoonchae
Austin Hargrave
Lara
Austin Hargrave
While planning is already in full swing for 2025, KATSEYE is now preparing for a performance, which will feature the Los Angeles Rams cheerleaders, at the 2024 MAMA Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 21 — marking the first time the eminent K-pop awards show will take place in the U.S. — and slots on iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball tour (visiting Dallas and Boston in December). “We don’t want to move on from ‘Touch’ just yet, but we’re never not working,” Manon says, true to her word as they talk to Billboard over a Zoom video call from their L.A. rehearsal studio. “A black box with a white light where we spend most of our days,” they crack, all in dance gear.
For KATSEYE, that drive is for a greater good. The young women see KATSEYE’s multicultural makeup as a starting point to shake up the sound of pop worldwide. “It’d be so nice to incorporate that within our music so it’s something different than we’ve been hearing before,” says Megan. “It’s such a superpower that we all come from different parts of the world.”
A version of this story appears in the Nov. 16, 2024, issue of Billboard.
By the time surging newcomer Zach Top released his debut country album, Cold Beer & Country Music, in April, the 27-year-old singer-songwriter was already seeing a groundswell of support from fans and his fellow artists. With his unabashed devotion to traditional country sounds on songs like “Bad Luck” and “There’s The Sun,” matched with his unmistakably country drawl, the singer-songwriter from Sunnyside, Wash., has drawn comparisons to such ’90s country luminaries as Alan Jackson, Doug Stone and one of his musical heroes, Keith Whitley.
Top, who is signed with label Leo33 and managed and published by Major Bob Music, has been on tour with reigning CMA entertainer of the year Lainey Wilson since May. He was a guest at Dierks Bentley’s early September headlining show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena and most recently teamed with bluegrass luminary Billy Strings to release a trio of collaborations for Apple Music.
As Top’s “Sounds Like the Radio” continues to grow on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart, reaching a new No. 16 high on the Nov. 9-dated list, another track from Cold Beer & Country Music has also grown into a chart hit: “I Never Lie.” After the slow grooving, sarcastic song became his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 in September (it has since reached a No. 68 high), his team pushed “I Never Lie” to country radio. It debuted on Country Airplay in late October, giving Top two songs simultaneously on the ranking — a feat more typically reserved for arena- and stadium-headlining stars in the genre.
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He’s up for new artist of the year at the CMA Awards later this month, and his rising career has led to additional dates to his 2025 Cold Beer & Country Music Tour, which launches Jan. 16 in Nebraska, with openers Jake Worthington and Cole Goodwin.
Billboard caught up with Top to discuss “I Never Lie” reaching new chart heights, as well as his thoughts on his upcoming CMA Award nomination for new artist of the year and who he thinks will take home the entertainer of the year honor.
“I Never Lie” was included on your debut studio album, Cold Beer & Country Music. How did the song come together?
I wrote it with Carson Chamberlain and Tim Nichols. I have one of my more clever rhymes on there, with the “Angel” and “April” rhyme in the first verse [“You still look like an angel/I heard you’re doin’ fine, got promoted back in April”]. We cut it pretty old-school with the band, and I sang and tracked the vocals as they were playing. They never hear the song until the day we record it. I’ll have an acoustic recording of it on my phone, and they hear it once or twice, and that’s it. It’s two or three takes and we play it like we feel it. We might overdub a thing or two or add some fills, but it’s all played live, nothing computerized about it. Carson produced it and [engineer] Matt [Rovey] mixed it up.
What has been your reaction to it connecting with fans on this level?
It may be the countriest song on the record. It sticks out and there’s nothing but steel guitar on there — you haven’t heard a song like that, sonically, in a long time. I think people have had an appetite for my kind of country for a little while, and we’re getting a dose of it. Songs like “Sounds Like the Radio” and “Cold Beer & Country Music,” you would expect those to be hits because they are up-tempo. This song goes in the face of what’s out there right now.
When did you first realize the song was a hit?
We had been playing it in live shows, so people already knew it. Around April 5, we had our album release show, and over the last four months, it has really taken off. Our fans know every word of every song on the album — they are not just waiting to hear one song. It gives me chills every night when we play that first riff [of “I Never Lie”]. They don’t need to hear no words, they know it from that first note.
“I Never Lie” debuted on Country Airplay in late October, giving you two current hits on the Billboard chart, including the top 20 hit “Sounds Like The Radio.” How does that feel?
I’m excited, because you don’t see that a lot with an artist as new as me. I’m proud to have the success so far and not be just a one-hit wonder.
You’ve also gained traction on TikTok with “I Never Lie.” What is your approach to social media?
I don’t get on social media much. There is a girl named Cheyenne in my band who has TikTok and she’ll tell me about videos that have “I Never Lie” or other songs in them. I was never very into social media — it was just a tool to get music out there. Early this year, I turned it all over [to my team]. I don’t have the apps on my phone, and I don’t think I have the logins. It can suck you in, scrolling through, and I think it’s probably healthy for me to stay off it.
You are nominated for new artist of the year at the CMA Awards on Nov. 20. What do you remember about finding out about your nomination?
It’s funny because I got a couple of texts that said, “Congratulations,” and I was like, “It’s not my birthday. What’s going on?” They sent me screenshots and filled me in. There are a bunch of big artists on that list, and I’m proud to be in this group.
Who do you think will win entertainer of the year at the CMA Awards?
I think Lainey [Wilson] would be a good pick. She puts on a hell of a show and is a great entertainer. And [Chris] Stapleton, I saw his show at [Nashville’s] Nissan Stadium, and I had not seen his show before and it’s pretty old-school with the band up there. He sings and captivates people with his voice and music, so he gets my vote, too.
A version of this story appears in the Oct. 26, 2024, issue of Billboard.