State Champ Radio magazine
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It’s a perennial question that dominates the discourse every year when the Recording Academy votes to recognize musical excellence. In a world where success can be measured with streaming figures, tour tickets sold, social media followers — and, yes, Billboard chart placements — what significance do those classic golden trophies still have?
For these 18 past winners, all nominated again in 2024, plenty, from keeping the music community vibrant to facilitating future hits to simply boosting morale.
Jon Batiste
Past wins: Album of the year (We Are), best score soundtrack for visual media (Soul), best music video (“Freedom”), best American roots song (“Cry”), best American roots performance (“Cry”) (all in 2022).
Nominated this year: Album of the year (World Music Radio), record of the year (“Worship”), song of the year (“Butterfly”), best pop duo/group performance (“Candy Necklace”), best jazz performance (“Movement 18’ (Heroes)”), best American roots performance (“Butterfly”).
Jon Batiste
Douglas Mason/Getty Images
Why does democracy matter? Why does recognition matter? Why does acknowledgment matter? Why does the idea that someone who exists in a narrow corridor of humanity, creating music and songs and videos and performances — why does the acknowledgment of that matter, in a democratic process through peer recognition and achievement? If we throw all that out — if that doesn’t matter — there are greater questions of what matters and doesn’t that we need to address.
It’s important for us as a community to acknowledge each other and our achievements, even if we don’t all agree on what they are or what the metrics of that should be. Ultimately, I encourage communities of artists who disagree. It’s important. There’s room for us to have debate about what deserves recognition and [how that’s measured]. But at the end of the day, we need a democracy, and we need to back the achievements of folks. That’s a ritual that goes back millennia, and that’s part of how we continue to build and understand what’s important and signify to future generations what we deem important. —AS TOLD TO REBECCA MILZOFF
Dan Wilson
Past wins: Song of the year (“Not Ready To Make Nice,” 2007), album of the year (21, 2012).
Nominated this year: Song of the year (“Butterfly”), best country song (“White Horse”).
Dan Wilson
Shervin Lainez
The Grammys are a great way to put the music-making community front and center. They are a good reminder of how a great pop song can create a shared experience for people of widely diverging backgrounds and beliefs. The show’s performances are often pretty inspiring and powerful. I also like the fact that the final voting is done by the musicians and artists themselves.
My first Grammy win, for “Not Ready To Make Nice” by The Chicks, did make a big difference, mostly in ways that I appreciate. That win was a vindication of a kind for the band — in the aftermath of all The Chicks’ political troubles, the Recording Academy voters sent them a strong message of support. That felt really good. Secondly, that record was loved by the songwriters and artists. I think that made artists, in particular, more comfortable with the idea of working with me. I think Adele, for example, would’ve been far less likely to do the “Someone Like You” sessions with me if I hadn’t worked with The Chicks and helped them make that body of work. Adele loved that album, and I think it gave her confidence that she and I could do something great together.
I’ve been at this music thing for a long time, and to be nominated in four different decades is a very rare honor. I think whether or not I’m a good songwriter has been determined by now, and the Grammys don’t affect that. Mostly, what these nominations signal to me is that I’m a very fortunate person. I’m very grateful for that. —AS TOLD TO LYNDSEY HAVENS
Mark Ronson
Past wins: Producer of the year, non-classical (2008), best pop vocal album (Back to Black, 2008), record of the year (“Rehab,” 2008), best pop duo/group performance (“Uptown Funk!,” 2016), record of the year (“Uptown Funk!,” 2016), best dance recording (“Electricity,” 2019), best song written for visual media (“Shallow,” 2019).
Nominated this year: Song of the year (“Dance the Night [From Barbie: The Album]”), best compilation soundtrack for visual media (Barbie: The Album), best song written for visual media (“I’m Just Ken [From Barbie: The Album]”), best song written for visual media (“Dance the Night [From Barbie: The Album]”), best score soundtrack for visual media (Barbie).
Mark Ronson
Justin Shin/Getty Images
The first Grammys [I attended] in 2008 was so incredible… I was actually with my mother — like a good Jewish boy on Grammy night. And then [in] 2013 we were nominated for “Locked Out of Heaven,” and we lost to some French robots who very much deserved it. Then a few years later, being back with Bruno [Mars] for “Uptown Funk!,” that was another fantastic year. There’s Kendrick [Lamar] in front of you and George Clinton and all these people that you love and respect so much, and you love their work and everybody’s there together… [The Grammys] are these wonderful nights, whether you win or lose, where you’re there with the people that you came up with.
A win on Grammy night is always incredibly rewarding. It’s the top honor in the field that we all work so hard in. I’ve already gotten so much further than I ever thought I would and much more than I ever could have really dreamed of… I used to probably be a little more competitive about it. Now it really is, without sounding cliché, just nice to be recognized. A win would certainly be the icing on the cake — but I’m just happy to be at the party. —AS TOLD TO L.H.
Lauren Daigle
Past wins: Best contemporary Christian music album (Look Up Child), best contemporary Christian music performance/song (“You Say”) (both in 2019).
Nominated this year: Best contemporary Christian music album (Lauren Daigle), best contemporary Christian music performance/song (“Thank God I Do”).
Lauren Daigle
Jeremy Cowart
Time has passed since I got my [first] Grammys, but the rooms that I am now able to sit in, with some of the most incredible writers, producers and performers on the planet, is truly the greatest gift of all. I’m very grateful for the types of doors that have opened for me.
When I was told about the nominations this time, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of joy. Other incredible artists and peers in the business reaching into my world and saying my music matters is something that humbles me. Another win would be like adding oil to the lantern… It would give me a chance to honor all of the amazing people who made this record with me [and] would hopefully give them a chance to have their dreams take flight, too. —AS TOLD TO L.H.
Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter
Past wins: Best rap performance by a duo or group (“You Got Me,” 2000), best musical theater album (Hamilton, 2016).
Nominated this year: Best rap performance (“Love Letter”).
Tarik “Black Thought” Trotter
Joshua Kissi
I remember when we [The Roots] won our first Grammy. We were sitting in the audience. I was kicking it with Lenny Kravitz and Zoë [Kravitz]. Zoë was like 11 or 12, and I remember sitting there being like, “Yo, that’s so dope that he brought his daughter. When my daughter is old enough, I’m going to bring her to the Grammys.”
I remember being lost in that moment. There was no doubt in my mind that we were just nominated and weren’t going to win. We were up against the titans, and it was everybody with all of the joints that year. So for us to win, it just felt surreal. I felt like we arrived. It was definitely a validation within that moment. That was really for Philly. Once you’re stamped, once you have that credential, it’s a different certification. It definitely holds weight. It makes a huge difference. When you’re recognized by any academy, it’s a huge stamp as far as branding, businesswise, achievementwise and in every regard.
What the Grammy means to people, fans and artists is ever-evolving. The earlier Grammys [win] was more monumental because it was my first and did represent that arrival. Winning a Grammy in recent years, it’s a different sort of validation. It speaks to the decades of hard work that I’ve put in. It’s a different certification and gives you a certain boost of confidence to continue in your creative journey. —AS TOLD TO CARL LAMARRE
Carlos Vives
Past wins: Best traditional tropical Latin album (Déjame Entrar, 2002), best tropical Latin album (Más + Corazón Profundo, 2015).
Nominated this year: Best tropical Latin album (Escalona Nunca Se Había Grabado Así).
Carlos Vives
Del Vecchio
I never dreamed that something like this could happen to me in the Latin world, much less did I think that I could ever be honored by the American Recording Academy. Winning my first Grammy is unforgettable because it left me with that taste of hope that I’ve connected with others. When the academy values the work of a Latino who sings in Spanish, it is a special and important sign for me.
Winning a Grammy still matters today. It’s a dream, actually. It has become an aspiration of a musician who wants to make an impact in the industry. A musician aspires to a Grammy, and for the academy to look at that musician and say, “This is original, this is authentic, this deserves a Grammy” — that’s everything. It matters today because when the academy nominates a body of work, [like it did] this year [with] Escalona Nunca Se Había Grabado Así, it validates the local musicians who identify with vallenato. There’s a strong message there to all young musicians who want to make a living from music. —AS TOLD TO GRISELDA FLORES
Lecrae
Past wins: Best gospel album (Gravity, 2013), best contemporary Christian music performance/song (“Messengers,” 2015).
Nominated this year: Best contemporary Christian music album (Church Clothes 4), best contemporary Christian music performance/song (“Your Power”).
Lecrae
Artimio Black
Unlike winning an NBA or NFL championship or something along those lines, there’s not a direct correlation between the work you put in and the reward or award. But there is a sense of appreciation from your respected peers who validate the hard work and effort that you put into your art. So it’s really like the highest compliment you can receive for your art from your peers, whether you’re being nominated or being voted for to win. If you’re Michelangelo and have Picasso saying, “Man, that looks amazing…,” that’s a very high form of praise. And that’s what I appreciate the most. —AS TOLD TO GAIL MITCHELL
Rhiannon Giddens
Past wins: Best traditional folk album (Genuine Negro Jig, 2011), best folk album (They’re Calling Me Home, 2022).
Nominated this year: Best Americana album (You’re the One), best American roots performance (“You Louisiana Man”).
Rhiannon Giddens
Ebru Yildiz
Winning is amazing because, for the rest of your career, you’re like, “I have a Grammy, and I’m grateful to have won.” I am always holding a banner for what I’m representing, so if you win, it’s like, “We get another chance to talk about [fiddler] Joe Thompson’s music.”
Awards for art are very complicated, and I know I’m not the only one that has complicated feelings about them. On one hand, how do you give awards for something that’s so subjective? [Singer-songwriter] Allison Russell, she’s always clear-minded about the idea of what the Recording Academy is: Ideally, it’s a group of your peers. The Recording Academy has been aggressive in making internal changes that mean more of the diversity that has already existed in our country for a long time is represented in the Grammys. I see all the good work that’s being done while also acknowledging that the whole system is problematic. But it’s the system we have, and people are trying to make it as fair as possible. Saying all of that, it feels good to be regarded by your peers as someone worthy of notice. They are saying, “We see what you’re doing, and we want you to keep doing it.”
It’s hard to say if [my Grammy wins and nominations directly created opportunities for me]. There hasn’t been any kind of “I saw you were nominated or won a Grammy and we’ll give you this.” That almost never happens. I think it’s more of an accumulative effect. In [the] folk and Americana categories, it’s still more back to the basics of who’s coming to see you — not the song that they heard on TikTok. —AS TOLD TO JESSICA NICHOLSON
Alex Lacamoire
Past wins: Best musical show album (In the Heights, 2009), best musical theater album (Hamilton, 2016; Dear Evan Hansen, 2018), best compilation soundtrack for visual media (The Greatest Showman, 2019).
Nominated this year: Best musical theater album (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street).
Alex Lacamoire
Bruce Glikas/Getty Images
I remember being conscious of the Grammys when I was working on Wicked. I played piano on the original cast album, and I remember the Grammy win and being proud, but it was a different thing when Heights was nominated and we eventually won. That show was scrappy in the best way, and here was some shine on it — like, “Oh, wow! People know about us!”
Cast albums in general are vital, particularly because that’s how a lot of people learn about musicals. When you do the math and you take a Broadway house that fits somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 people per performance, there’s only a certain degree of reach you’re going to have. When you record a cast album, suddenly everyone across the world can learn about what you’ve been up to. Most people become familiar with the album before they see the show — case in point was Hamilton. [When] the album came out, the number of people that had seen the show was in the tens of thousands — and then we suddenly make the jump to millions of streams.
The fact that the Grammys acknowledge our medium, it gives more clout to what we do. It says what we do has a place. It makes us feel like we have a home in the community of artists and musicians. What I love about the Grammys is that it’s community-based: It’s voted on by peers, it’s nominated by peers, and that group keeps growing. And working to make the voting base more diverse brings more diversity to the kind of records nominated. Being Cuban-American, working on the things I’ve worked on, that helps put light on things that may not have gotten it before.
Those of us who work in musical theater, we always talk about how we’re a bunch of misfits, we’re laughed at. But we’re strong, we’re resilient, and we’re passionate about what we do. To be welcomed in categories alongside people who are so well known, it gives us a little pep in our step. —AS TOLD TO R.M.
Andrew Watt
Past wins: Producer of the year, non-classical (2021), best rock album (Patient Number 9, 2023).
Nominated this year: Best rock song (“Angry”).
Andrew Watt
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
I won the producer of the year Grammy during COVID-19, and I was in my own house when I found out. I was just sitting on my couch with a couple of friends, and it was like, “Holy f–king sh-t!” I’m a behind-the-scenes guy, and I’m doing 12- to 15-hour days sometimes, and to be recognized by your peers is just a beautiful thing. It’s not why you do it, but when it happens, it makes your heart full. I don’t care who you are — people say, “I don’t give a f–k about the Grammys,” and that’s OK. But when you win one, it’s the greatest feeling ever.
I woke up this year [after nominations were announced], and it said, “Best rock song: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Andrew Watt.” Like, are you f–king kidding me? Mick and Keith were so excited and happy, too. It’s the coolest thing ever, just to be nominated. Of course you want to win, but it’s great to feel like people took notice of the stuff that you worked so hard on. You don’t make music for people to not hear it! —AS TOLD TO JASON LIPSHUTZ
PJ Morton
Past wins: Best traditional R&B performance (“How Deep Is Your Love,” 2019), best R&B song (“Say So,” 2020), best gospel album (Gospel According to PJ, 2021), album of the year (We Are, 2022).
Nominated this year: Best traditional R&B performance (“Good Morning”).
PJ Morton
Richard Bord/Getty Images
Years ago, as an independent, I would’ve never been mentioned alongside the names of major artists at the Grammys. But around 2017, with my Gumbo album, the playing field started to even [out]. Now it’s amazing to see more independent artists being nominated. I see Emily King [a current best R&B album nominee] and my friend Kenyon Dixon [also a best traditional R&B performance nominee] — true independents that I’ve watched fight this fight with me. It says a lot about where we are today musically and the efforts the Grammys has made to prioritize craft over sales and radio.
A Grammy still matters because you can’t take sales or the number of hits with you. What stands as a legacy is the art that you made. I got into music for the sake of my friends and girls. (Laughs.) And I think [musicians] are still that adult version of wanting to make things that our friends think are cool. It’s different when your peers vote for you. It’s a beautiful thing; an indicator that you’re at least on the right track.
When Gumbo was nominated [for best R&B album], I was up against Bruno Mars. I had an idea that I might lose. (Laughs.) But the nomination was a gift in disguise. Just my name being mentioned next to Bruno made people [curious] to see who I was. The Grammy thing is still real as far as having an impact on how people view you — and then, in turn, on what you’re able to do as a result of that. —AS TOLD TO G.M.
Juanes
Past wins: Best Latin pop album (La Vida…Es un Ratico, 2009; MTV Unplugged Deluxe Edition, 2013), best Latin rock or alternative album (Origen, 2022).
Nominated this year: Best Latin rock or alternative album (Vida Cotidiana).
Juanes
Andrés Sierra
When I won my first Grammy, I was in disbelief. Overwhelmed with joy and gratitude toward the academy, I found myself reminiscing about the long journey to that moment. It was an incredibly beautiful and memorable time. The Grammys not only open doors but also serve as a crucial catalyst in garnering recognition for artists within the industry and among the public. Winning a Grammy has a significant importance because it acknowledges not just an individual, but an entire team whose collaborative efforts bring to life music that resonates with and captivates the audience. It’s more than just songwriting; it involves talented engineers, musicians and many others. The recognition of the collective artistry in an album has become even more vital than in the past. —AS TOLD TO G.F.
Hit-Boy
Past wins: Best rap song (“N—s in Paris,” 2013), best rap performance (“Racks in the Middle,” 2020), best rap album (King’s Disease, 2021).
Nominated this year: Producer of the year, non-classical, best rap album (King’s Disease III).
Hit-Boy
@warrengee
Winning my first Grammy with Jay-Z and Kanye [West] was something you could only dream about. Listening and studying them before I could even make music myself and [ending] up making a song that impacted all the artists on that level was like, “Damn. You got it. Just keep going.”
“N—s in Paris” was cool, but winning best rap album in 2021 was a different level. That was dope because I made the beats on Nas’ album. King’s Disease was like, “Man, I put a lot more man hours into this than ‘N—s in Paris.’ ” I took it to that next level, but [those wins] all are equally important.
I didn’t expect the producer of the year nomination this year. This year, I did two of my albums, put out a project with my dad, put Nas’ albums [out] and did a couple of one-off joints, but my main primary focus was stuff I could control. The Musiq Soulchild album came out under my imprint. Everything I was doing was everything I owned, put my heart and soul into and invested money in to make these things come to reality. Sometimes, you might be like, “Damn, I’m not on top of Rap Caviar every day; I’m not the top streamer. But I’m still making something that’s having an impact.”
Everybody that’s the top people in music, they’re the ones getting nominated. To be in that conversation alone is ill. —AS TOLD TO C.L.
Tobias Forge (Of Ghost)
Past wins: Best metal performance (“Cirice,” 2016).
Nominated this year: Best metal performance (“Phantom of the Opera”).
Tobias Forge (of Ghost)
Jordi Vidal/WireImage
When you’re working with art, you normally do not have a whole lot of the sort of moments that you have within sports. In sports, the win is very momentary: Either you win or you lose. Whereas an artistic career is usually over the course of time. Even if you’re somewhat successful as an artist, it’s very, very rarely happening overnight. When you’re nominated for awards, that’s the closest you can get [as an artist] to that “One second ago, I didn’t have it, and now I have it.” [Winning a Grammy] is one of the few moments I’ve had throughout my professional career where I really felt [how things] could have felt very different had I not achieved what happened 10 seconds ago. The rings on the water meant a lot of things professionally in terms of quote-unquote “being taken seriously.”
Radio, promoters — if you for some reason might be looking for a new label — all of a sudden, when you’re nominated, it’s a stamp of approval that will automatically make potential collaborators, partners, what have you, give you more chances. That is not to say that you can come in and be a dick. You just automatically get a bit more of a gravitas in maneuvering within the different aspects of your career in a way that you might not have, had you not had the stamp of approval of getting a Grammy nomination — or, even better, winning it. But as with most things, what you’re getting is a bag of tools. And you can choose not to use them. Over the course of many, many decades of artists getting awards, there are many that have gotten an accolade and then just faded into nothingness. Because it’s all about momentum. You should see it as a steppingstone. It’s part of your journey, not the end of it. —AS TOLD TO ERIC RENNER BROWN
Dan Nigro
Past wins: Best pop vocal album (Sour, 2022).
Nominated this year: Producer of the year, non-classical; album of the year (Guts), record of the year (“vampire”), song of the year (“vampire”), best rock song (“ballad of a homeschooled girl”).
Dan Nigro
Shervin Lainez
When I was playing in a band, and in the beginning of my songwriting-production career, winning a Grammy seemed like such an unattainable thing. So it didn’t necessarily hold importance [to me], mainly because I never thought I would be nominated for one, let alone win one! But in 2014, my friend Ariel [Rechtshaid] was nominated for producer of the year, and I remember being so excited that someone I worked so closely with was nominated. I think it was in that moment that I realized that a Grammy was something I could actually have a shot at being nominated for.
[Winning] holds a great amount of significance mainly because it’s based on voting by my peers in the music community and not simply on stats alone, which a lot of awards nowadays are. That’s a critical element [of] these awards that others don’t have [that] helps make it feel even more special. —AS TOLD TO R.M.
Arooj Aftab
Past wins: Best global music performance (“Mohabbat,” 2022).
Nominated this year: Best global music performance (“Shadow Forces”), best alternative jazz album (Love in Exile).
Arooj Aftab
Ebru Yildiz
[Musicians] work hard, and we’re really sensitive people. It’s really difficult to translate the state of the world and the current human condition into this thing that is music that holds so much of people’s emotions together. The Grammys are important because they give you this giant accolade for that. It’s a really special thing to be there among all your peers, to be nominated among incredible albums, to even submit among everybody and then to perhaps win. It’s a beautiful thing.
Since I won, when somebody’s introducing me before a performance or if it’s on a prospectus or any type of thing, it now says, “Grammy Award-winning artist Arooj Aftab.” Whether it’s a performing arts center programmer or it’s a festival programmer or it’s grant organizations or just the audience as a whole, and even musician peers, it has had a very significant impact. There has been an undeniable shift since I won. What that means? I’m not sure. (Laughs.) But what I can say is that it definitely does something — something positive.
It opens you up to an audience that may not have otherwise found your record. I always watch the [Academy Award]-nominated animated shorts because I don’t really know about that [area of film] that much. There are people who like music in that way and are like, “OK, I’m going to check out all the Grammy-nominated albums in this new jazz category that I like.”
It’s thrilling; it’s the highest accolade of music. At the end of the day, it’s awesome to win a Grammy — it really just is. —AS TOLD TO E.R.B.
Michael Romanowski
Past wins: Best immersive audio album (Soundtrack of the American Soldier, 2021; Alicia, 2022), best engineered album, classical (Chanticleer Sings Christmas, 2022; Bates: Philharmonia Fantastique – The Making of the Orchestra, 2023).
Nominated this year: Best immersive audio album (multiple category nominations): God of War Ragnarök (Original Soundtrack), The Diary of Alicia Keys, Blue Clear Sky, Act 3 (Immersive Edition).
Michael Romanowski
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
The Grammys are the only peer award in music. They are voted on only by people who are currently active in the music community, and I think that’s huge. It meant the world to me to be nominated and feel like a peer in a very overwhelming industry…
I’ll be honest: [Since winning] my business hasn’t really changed, more or less. I’m busy. I’m a workaholic. I keep doing records. I love the people I’m working with, and I get to work with some amazing folks and heroes. The fact that I get to continue to do that work is all that matters to me. I didn’t change my rates, and I didn’t farm out the work to somebody else… I still believe very, very much in handcrafted-ness and doing it myself. That’s my reputation and my name, so [winning a Grammy] hasn’t changed my business in a time or dollar sense. What it has changed is my perception. The perception of me being a peer. The perception of me being an authority figure or someone that makes a difference in this world and is known. It is very powerful and moving. —AS TOLD TO KRISTIN ROBINSON
Jason Isbell
Past wins: Best Americana album (Something More Than Free, 2016; The Nashville Sound, 2018), best American roots song (“24 Frames,” 2016; “If We Were Vampires,” 2018).
Nominated this year: Best Americana album (Weathervanes), best American roots song (“Cast Iron Skillet”), best Americana performance (“King of Oklahoma”).
Jason Isbell
Erika Goldring/Getty Images
I was certainly honored and very much surprised [when I won my first Grammy]. When I was a kid, I dreamed of winning a Grammy, but as I got older, I started to see the music I made as more of a boutique style. For a while there, I truly didn’t believe it would be possible for an artist like me to have mainstream appeal. The first Grammy wins gave me some hope that there might be more space for my kind of music than I had previously thought.
There’s certainly some sense of validation that comes with winning Grammy awards, and I have no doubt it’s caused my audience to grow. Also, it gives you something to say to the person sitting next to you on a plane when they ask, “Have I ever heard any of your songs?” More importantly though, it gave me more confidence to continue down the path of independence and make the music I want to make. It’s really nice when you do it your way and it pays off.
To be honest with you, I think the Grammys do a better job of being inclusive and open-minded than the other major award shows. The playing field still isn’t level by any means, but when it comes time to make nominations and give out the trophies, I prefer the Recording Academy’s methods and decisions over those of similar organizations. —AS TOLD TO E.R.B.
This story will appear in the Dec. 16, 2023, issue of Billboard.
After Harvey Mason Jr. embarked on a series of trips to Africa in 2022 that were “guided by curiosity,” the Recording Academy CEO and the organization at large were determined to become an “effective collaborator” for the creative communities across the continent. The first step arrived this year, when the category of best African music performance was unveiled. “Artists throughout the U.S., Africa and worldwide see this as a pivotal acknowledgment by the academy that African music has achieved extraordinary impact [and] influence throughout the globe,” chief awards and industry officer Ruby Marchand says. The academy’s African music genre manager, Shawn Thwaites, agrees, noting that the addition not only reflects the current music landscape but also “Africa’s profound influence on music history.” As Mason says, it is “the beginning of our journey to serve global music creators even more ambitiously.”
Here, each of the nominees discuss the historic new category — and what it means for African music’s future.
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How did you feel when you heard about the new best African music performance category?
Asake: I felt excited and grateful at the same time because African music and traditions have been a direct influence on the world for far too long to not have its own category. It is a great moment to be a part of.
What was your reaction to your collaboration, “Amapiano,” being nominated?
Olamide: Watching all the hard work pay off after our team has dominated the African continent and the world over the years is a blessing and a huge win already.
What do you think of this first class of nominees?
Asake: It is a brilliant, diverse and very necessary first class of nominees. Thank you to the team at the Recording Academy for coming up with this and giving us the reach we deserve.
How do you think this first year of the category will positively affect the industry?
Asake: Every young artist coming up out there can now relate to the fact that their dreams are valid and can now be showcased on the biggest stage in music.
Olamide: The category will greatly impact the industry. African music has exploded globally over the years and will now be exposed on a large scale to the rest of the world.
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How did you feel when you heard about the new best African music performance category?
It’s a significant milestone, not only for me, but for the entire African music industry. It’s a testament to the global recognition and appreciation of the diverse and rich musical traditions coming out of Africa, which I am a part of. This category symbolizes a bridge connecting the world to our continent. [It is] something I have believed in and pushed for, so I couldn’t be prouder to see it come to fruition.
What is it like to be nominated in the category’s historic first class?
It’s an immense honor. It’s like being part of history in the making. This category represents a platform for the incredible diversity and talent within the landscape of African music. It’s a moment of celebration for every African artist who has contributed to our vibrant music scene.
How do you think this first year of the category will positively affect the industry?
[It] is a game-changer for African musicians. It opens up a new world of opportunities for African artists to gain global recognition and reach wider audiences. It will also encourage more collaborations and cultural exchanges within the music industry. This category not only celebrates African talent but also fosters a sense of pride and achievement within the community. It certainly makes the Grammys more accessible to African artists.
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How did you react to “Unavailable,” which features Musa Keys, being nominated?
I was so happy. I feel like this moment was a long time coming for me, and I’m extremely grateful.
How does it feel to not only be nominated but be included in the category’s historic first class?
It feels like further breaking the glass ceiling into the mainstream. Step by step, African influences and artists are getting more shine within the industry, and this feels like another win toward being acknowledged. To be a part of this historic moment is an honor.
What do you think of this first class of nominees?
I think it’s a well-curated group. Obviously, there’s so much talent in the African music community and definitely some other names I’d include, but I look forward to seeing future nominees in this category. And hopefully, more categories specifically for African music will be created in the future, too. This first year will definitely set the tone.
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How did you feel when you heard about the new best African music performance category?
I was quite elated because it shows inclusivity. Beyond being African artists, this category shows that the world is watching and seeing the effort we put in and does not mind giving us our flowers to smell.
How does it feel to not only be nominated for “Rush” but be represented in this category’s historic first class?
It feels iconic. To be doing this at 21? Whew! [It’s so] mind-blowing for me that I sometimes have to pinch myself that it’s all real and I’m not dreaming.
What do you think of this first class of nominees?
I think everyone in this category is badass, and I can only imagine the amount of tough work it took to put together these incredible artists in a category, all truly amazing artists I look up to and I’m proud to be nominated alongside.
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How did you feel when you heard about the new best African music performance category?
Hearing about the new category was very exciting because growing up, I watched the Grammys every year and watched all my favorite artists get awarded and nominated. It was something that I always imagined, and now that there’s a whole category dedicated to African artists, it means so much. I feel like it’s going to open so many more doors for us African artists and introduce our sound and artists to the world.
What is it like to not only be nominated but be included in this category’s first class?
Being nominated for a Grammy is such an honor, but the fact that I’m nominated for the first time in a category that’s an African category [in the year it has] been introduced, I couldn’t have asked for a better moment. I just feel super blessed, happy and excited to attend and enjoy the evening no matter what the outcome is. It’s such a huge moment for Africa, and I’m so happy I get to be a part of it.
Whom will you bring to the Grammys?
You know me. If I could, I would bring all of South Africa — but I’m sure my mama and papa will be there.
This story will appear in the Dec. 16, 2023, issue of Billboard.
When the Recording Academy announced the new songwriter of the year category in 2022, the move was widely praised — and considered a rare win for the songwriting community, which has faced major economic challenges in the streaming and TikTok era.
“With the visibility brought by this award comes power,” says Justin Tranter, one of the five nominees for the honor this year. “The more that people know we exist, the more we can make sure the next generation is taken care of.”
Along with the new category, the academy created a new Songwriters & Composers Wing, helmed by hit-maker and Seeker Music CEO Evan Bogart, to continue expanding its outreach to the songwriter community. “The underpinning of what we do as an academy is built on songs,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr., said when announcing the new award and wing. “I started out as a songwriter myself, so the idea of honoring someone who is truly a professional songwriter and craftsperson is special.”
Though producers and artists often play a role in the songwriting process, the songwriter of the year award has specific rules to ensure that it honors the career songwriters who spend their days working primarily on melodies and lyrics, making it the rare space that formally honors the craft.
“As a songwriter, your job is to serve the artist,” the honor’s inaugural winner, Tobias Jesso Jr., told Grammy.com after his victory. “To have this symbol of ‘Hey, you can be creative as a songwriter and just be a songwriter who doesn’t sing and doesn’t produce, and you can get this prestigious symbol of your gifts that the world will now recognize’ — I think that’s a wonderful thing.”
When Billboard convenes this year’s nominees — a remarkably diverse sampling of today’s foremost hit-makers comprising Tranter, Jessie Jo Dillon, Shane McAnally, Edgar Barrera and Theron Thomas — the five songwriters express similar sentiments to Jesso’s and have an immediate camaraderie in conversation stemming from their shared vocation. “Songwriting is the most important part of a song,” Barrera says, “and it always will be.”
Every Billboard Hot 100 hit starts with the work of songwriters and producers. Though there has been a producer of the year, non-classical award at the Grammys since 1975, songwriters didn’t have their own category until last year. Why is it important that there’s a separate category to specifically honor songwriters?
Edgar Barrera: I do a lot of production, but I start my songs on guitar, and I produce after I have the song. Having a songwriter of the year award is super important because songwriting is the most important thing. Without a song there’s no touring, there’s no production, there’s no artists. There’s nothing.
Theron Thomas: I’ve never seen anybody sing along to a beat. I’m sorry. They don’t. They sing the words. Those lyrics touch people.
Justin Tranter: People say [of] awards that “Oh, it’s just an honor to be nominated.” Sometimes I think that’s bullsh-t, but with these four other nominees, I mean it. These are some of my favorite songwriters, period. To be in this company? Holy f–k!
Justin Tranter, 43. Nominated for: “Gemini Moon” (Reneé Rapp), “Honey! (Are U Coming?)” (Måneskin), “I Want More” (Marisa Davila and the Cast of Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies), “Jersey” (Baby Tate), “A Little Bit Happy” (TALK), “Pretty Girls” (Reneé Rapp), “River” (Miley Cyrus)
Jenna Peffley
Have you all followed your fellow nominees’ work over the years? If so, is there anything you particularly admire?
Barrera: I’ve actually worked with Theron a lot. He’s the only one I’ve worked with from here. I wish I could work with everyone soon. I’ve been a fan of everyone here. Justin has been a huge inspiration to me, just hearing him talk about songwriters’ rights and everything. Hats off to you, Justin. You’re standing up for all of us. I wish we could all hang out. We all need to get together during Grammy week.
Thomas: Oh, we 100% have to. We got to write a song together.
Shane McAnally: That would be so amazing.
Barrera: That would be pretty interesting, having all the Grammy nominees write together. All different genres.
What moment made you feel like you had made it as a songwriter? Was this songwriter of the year nomination one of those career-defining moments?
McAnally: I don’t think I’ve had that “made it” moment. (Laughs.) I’m kidding. When I was 33, almost 20 years in at that point, I lost my house, lost my car. I was really done. Finally, I had a song recorded by Lee Ann Womack [2008’s “Last Call”], and it gave me this moment of like, “OK, I have a thread to hang on to.” But for me, I really exhaled for the first time when I won a Grammy with Kacey Musgraves [best country album and best country song for 2013’s Same Trailer Different Park and its single “Merry Go ’Round,” respectively]. I remember thinking, “How did this happen? It has fallen apart so many times.” I rode on that wave for a while, but this nomination? I mean, this is really special. This is a moment for me.
I feel so outside of things. Country music is dominating right now, but it’s the artists I don’t work with — Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Zach Bryan — so for this nomination to come now is a big deal. There’s a gap in political views for me, with Morgan specifically, and they’re just from a different group. I don’t want to stereotype or lump everyone together, but sometimes you just feel outside while other people are killing it, and to be acknowledged this year, when [my work] wasn’t maybe as commercially obvious as some of my past years, feels amazing. I also feel really good about the integrity of this group of [nominees]. I think I’m really good at this, and I’ve worked my ass off, but it feels really nice to be acknowledged right now.
Tranter: I’m beautifully delusional, and at 15, I was like, “I am the best,” even though that didn’t mean my songs were good; at 15, they were actually quite unlistenable. (Laughs.) But I’ve always been delusionally positive.
There was a moment when my band [Semi Precious Weapons] was ending, and I was considering going back to work in retail. I was with Tricky Stewart, the legendary producer, and he was like, “You’re a really good songwriter. I don’t think you should give up on music just yet.” I was 33, and if you’re in the music business at 33 without any success, it’s starting to look like maybe it is time to pack it up. Having someone like Tricky say that to me was a turning point. I’ll never forget when my first hit, “Centuries” by Fall Out Boy, went No. 2 on iTunes in 2014. I was like, “That’s it. I’ve made it. If this is my life and this is all the success there was, then I am OK with that.”
This year, it has been really special because I intentionally worked on newer artists and wanted to push myself and work on projects where I could really shine lyrically, which is my favorite part of songs. To see that the bulk of my submissions for songwriter of the year are very new artists that the general population is not aware of yet is special.
Jessie Jo Dillon: My dad [Dean Dillon] is a songwriter. He’s in the Country Music Hall of Fame, so I always had a huge complex about him. I was massively insecure. In my first publishing deal, I wrote with Mark Nesler, who wrote many songs I grew up loving. We were leaving the write and he said, “Hey, I just want to tell you something. You’re supposed to be doing this. You just have to trust yourself and keep doing it.” I’ll never forget him saying that. Shane is also one of the first people that told me I was any good, too, and I loved so much of his writing. It has all been other writers that made me feel like I was going to make it.
Jessie Jo Dillon, 36. Nominated for: “Buried” (Brandy Clark), “Girl in the Mirror” (Megan Moroney), “Halfway to Hell” (Jelly Roll), “I Just Killed a Man” (Catie Offerman), “Memory Lane” (Old Dominion), “Neon Cowgirl” (Dan + Shay), “screen” (HARDY), “The Town in Your Heart” (Lori McKenna), “Up Above the Clouds (Cecilia’s Song)” (Brandy Clark)
Noah Needleman
Jessie Jo, your father came up in a very different time in the music business than you. Have you ever talked about the differences in being a songwriter from his generation to yours?
Dillon: I honestly don’t know how to give advice to newer songwriters. It used to be that you’d show up to a publisher and say, “Hey, I’ve been writing these songs. What do you think?” It feels like such a different game to break into now. I worry all the time that true, blue-collar songwriters who are writing every day in Nashville are going away. My dad says the money was much better in, say, the ’90s. Now because of streaming and everything, it’s hard to make ends meet. Maybe I’m being dramatic…
Tranter: No, I think you’re completely right. For me, fighting for songwriters’ rights is so easy because it’s not about me. I’ve had songs that have hit the top five at pop radio, which means my life is fantastic. Because I’m the lucky one, I need to fight for the next generation of songwriters.
I know a few young songwriters who are so talented. Their catalogs have a couple billion streams cumulatively, but one of them is still driving Uber. One is doing OnlyFans. They are doing whatever it takes to survive. If a song doesn’t go to radio, you don’t have much of anything. I think it’s very fair to say that the middle class of songwriters is going to be decimated — and it already is.
Barrera: It is looking really bad. In Latin, there are managers who get songwriting credits [despite not contributing to the songwriting] like it’s normal. It’s disrespectful to us because we write songs as our only source of income, but managers have a lot of other sources. I know a lot of big writers are still struggling. I feel bad for the next generation. I’m 33 years old, and I’ve been looking at all of this transition. Getting a radio single is really one of the only ways to make real money.
Dillon: It makes me sad to think about the next Diane Warren or Bernie Taupin, moving to Los Angeles or Nashville or Miami or New York or wherever, and that they maybe wouldn’t even get a publishing deal or be able to sustain themselves. Sometimes it takes a writer years of development to reach their full potential.
Barrera: There should be a songwriter fee, like there is for a producer. It’s not fair that the producer is the only one to make money from day one.
Thomas: Us talking like we are right now and standing up for each other is so important. I do have some producer friends who stand up for me, too, which I appreciate. They are like, “Yo, make sure you take care of Theron.” Communicating with each other, sticking up for the next generation and setting the standard high for ourselves can make things better. I think [fear of missing out] on a big record is the reason why a lot of executives get away with giving songwriters almost nothing. A lot of us fear missing out on being in the writing room on a big song because we speak up.
Theron Thomas, 41. Nominated for: “All My Life” (Lil Durk featuring J. Cole), “I’ve Been Thinking” (Tyla), “Cheat- back” (Chlöe and Future), “How We Roll” (Ci- ara and Chris Brown), “Make Up Your Mind” (Cordae), “Pretty Girls Walk” (Big Boss Vette), “Seven” (Jung Kook and Latto), “Told Ya” (Chlöe and Missy Elliott), “You and I” (Sekou)
Christopher Ayme
Edgar, what moment made you feel like you had made it as a songwriter?
Barrera: Getting nominated for this Grammy. For me, that’s huge coming from the Latin market. Just getting to make it with Spanish songs. I was like, “What’s going on?” That’s when I realized that music almost has no language, no barriers. We’re a minority part of the music business, and we are changing the game for the Latin community. That’s why it was such an important moment.
Regional Mexican music had an especially big year in 2023, and you played a role in propelling its success. What is it like to be nominated during this pivotal year for the genre in particular, Edgar?
Barrera: I’ve worked with a lot of big names in Latin music, and this year was different because I decided to go back to my hometown [of McAllen, Texas] and support a local act, Grupo Frontera. We grew up together. Where we are from, on the border of Mexico and the U.S., being a songwriter and producer is not even a thing to be in life, you know? Getting the opportunity to support local acts and having them on a song with Bad Bunny, it just doesn’t happen every day. They’re so humble and for me, that’s what I enjoyed the most.
Before this, [Grupo Frontera’s] singer was making fences in McAllen, Texas. The accordion player was selling cows. The percussion player was selling cars. I met all those guys when they performed at a local tire shop for 20 people. Nobody was paying attention to them. They said, “We love what you write. Can you help us out?” And I said, “Of course, why not?” It has been life-changing. This is what is truly important — being part of a movement for regional Mexican with people I grew up with. It’s so full circle.
Edgar Barrera, 33. Nominated for: “Cuestion de Tiempo” (Don Omar), “Falsa Alar- ma (En Vivo)” (Grupo Firme), “Gucci los Paños” (Karol G), “La Despedida” (Christian Nodal), “Mi Ex Tenía Razón” (Karol G), “Que Vuelvas” (Carín León and Grupo Frontera), “Un Cum- bión Dolido” (Christian Nodal), “un x100to” (Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny), “yo pr1mero” (Rels B)
Natalia Aguilera
Theron, what moment made you feel like you had made it as a songwriter?
Thomas: I moved here with $35 from St. Thomas [in the U.S. Virgin Islands]. I went to Miami, slept on the floor, moved to Atlanta. I [have] never felt like I made it because I always feel like I’m one hit away from having to tell my wife and kids, “It’s over. We’re going back to our first apartment with three kids and two bedrooms.” I am doing really well and money is no issue, but you know what I mean? I don’t want to lie and make something up. I don’t know if I’ve necessarily had [that moment]. I’m just minding my business and continuously working every day.
A couple of you mentioned what an honor it is to be nominated based on true passion projects. How do you balance taking on sessions with big names with great chances at commercial success — but that may not be as creatively fulfilling — and sessions with smaller artists that bring you creativity and joy but likely won’t result in a commercial hit?
McAnally: I’ve done the years of trying to get in every commercial room, and now I really like going with something I’m passionate about. Nobody has any idea what’s going to happen with songs nowadays. New artists can go viral in seconds. Old songs can, too. You just never know.
I have always had the most fun and the most success with things that I saw through from the beginning. I was there right when Kacey Musgraves came to Nashville. I was there when Sam Hunt came to Nashville. I was so enamored with what we were making because it was new, and we didn’t know if they were ever going to have success. I’m trying to get back to that.
Tranter: I was just looking at the Instagram account @indiesleaze, which is all photos from the era my band came up in. It was punk as f–k and gay as f–k. And I thought to myself, “25-year-old me would be so embarrassed [by] half of my catalog,” but hey, I got to make music the whole world has heard and my parents got to retire. I could not be more grateful for the songs that 25-year-old me would be talking sh-t about.
I am in a place now where I want to get back to “Do I f–king love this song?” And listen, I have my hits that I am so proud of, but now I want every single song that comes out from here on out to be something 43-year-old me is proud of and 25-year-old me is proud of, too.
Barrera: I’ve always been involved with artists that are up and coming. Working with big names is enjoyable, too, but for me, giving another song to a big-name artist is not that life-changing. I try to be involved from the beginning. For example, I met Maluma way before he was famous. We started off together. I helped him mold his music. I’ve done that with Christian Nodal and Camilo. I’ve always been involved from the very beginning because I feel like I can experiment a lot more with up-and-coming artists.
Shane McAnally, 49. Nominated for: “Come Back to Me” (Brandy Clark), “Good With Me” (Walker Hayes), “He’s Never Gunna Change” (Lauren Daigle), “I Should Have Married You” (Old Dominion), “Independently Owned” (Alex Newell and Original Broadway Cast of Shucked), “Never Grow Up” (Niall Horan), “Start Somewhere” (Sam Hunt), “Walmart” (Sam Hunt), “We Don’t Fight Anymore” (Carly Pearce and Chris Stapleton)
Robby Klein
You’re an extremely diverse group, hailing from different genres, nationalities, races, genders and sexual orientations. Why is writers’ room diversity important?
Tranter: I just think it’s the right thing to do for humanity, but the way to really understand how important diversity in the writers’ room is [is] to show that it’s great for business. We are trying to make music that the whole world loves. The more diverse your writing room is, the more diverse the audience is going to be that enjoys that music.
I have a rule that I don’t write songs for women without a woman writer in the room. This is not because I’m trying to be a great person; it’s because I know it’s going to be a better song when a woman is writing, capturing her real lived experiences in the world.
How will you be celebrating on Grammy night?
Barrera: I’m going, and I want to see all these guys there. It is not a matter of winning or not. That night, for me, is to meet Shane, Justin, Jessie Jo and hang out with Theron. I’m just here for fun. I think we all deserve a night of fun… or a week, maybe. (Laughs.)
McAnally: I’ll be there this year to celebrate. I bought a suit for the Tonys that wasn’t ready in time, and now I have the perfect place to wear it.
Tranter: I am going for sure. We worked so hard to get nominated. I will be there with my mom and dad. I will look unbelievable. I’m going to have a f–king blast.
Thomas: I’m definitely going. Last year, I won record of the year with Lizzo for “About Damn Time,” [but] they [had] put me in the nosebleeds. I couldn’t go up onstage. When we won, I just cried. Not because I couldn’t go up there, but because I wanted to win so badly. I was so happy, but this year? We’re going to have better seats in that thing! Don’t tell on me, but I might need to sneak a little drink in there, too.
McAnally: I mean, I hope they get us better seats.
Thomas: Honestly, I’m just looking forward to meeting everyone. Last year was the first year they had this award, and I remember saying to myself that I wanted to be in the songwriter of the year category someday. Here I am this year — I’m in it, and I’m in it with you guys. Words can’t really express how this moment feels as a songwriter. To be celebrated on one of the most important nights in music, chosen by our peers. I’m excited about that, period.
This story will appear in the Dec. 16, 2023, issue of Billboard.
In 1970, a genre-bending band from Long Beach, Calif., called War teamed up with Eric Burdon, former singer for The Animals. Eric Burdon Declares “War” included the No. 3 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Spill the Wine,” and the May 2, 1970, Billboard declared Burdon was officially “now a full-fledged soul singer.” After one more album, Burdon collapsed onstage and then left the group, leaving War’s future uncertain. The band’s next album, as well as its first for United Artists (UA), only advanced to No. 190 on the Billboard 200.
The group proved it wasn’t a Cold War when its next album, All Day Music, hit No. 16 on the album chart in 1972. That same year, The World Is a Ghetto established the group — which still performs today with founding member Leroy “Lonnie” Jordan — as a musically fearless funk group that soared even higher without the burden of a famous frontman. The album topped the Billboard 200 on Feb. 17, 1973 — a half-century ago this year.
War Effort
After Burdon left, War waged a marketing blitz — the March 13, 1971, Billboard reported that the campaign “included saturation of trade and underground press with ‘War Is Coming’ ads,” as well as “distribution of 10,000 plastic war helmets to disk jockeys, music writers and key record dealers across the country.”
War Is Declared
The “Soul Sauce” column in the Nov. 11, 1972, Billboard hailed War’s The World Is a Ghetto as the “best new album of the week.” “Sparked by their current single and title cut, War have come up with [an] excellent package that is destined for big sales,” predicted a review in the same issue, citing the 13-minute “City, Country, City” as an “excellent example of talent in the group.”
War Cry
“War is a dynamic act in person and its single of ‘World Is a Ghetto’ on UA continues its quest toward the top,” read a “Hot Chart Action” dispatch in the Feb. 3, 1973, issue. The single would eventually reach No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on what is now the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. War didn’t stop there — the April 21, 1973, Billboard reported that “The World Is a Ghetto has gone gold for War together with their other United Artists single, ‘Cisco Kid’ ” — which eventually hit No. 2.
Spoils of War
The World Is a Ghetto became “the top pop album of the year,” according to the Dec. 29, 1973, issue, beating out Seals & Crofts’ Summer Breeze, Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book and Carly Simon’s No Secrets. “The well-made AM [radio] hit of today must have impeccable production and great energy,” read an analysis of the album’s success in the same issue. “This War LP was a sterling example of crossover and of the increasing demand for danceable records with free-form Latin rhythms.”
This story originally appeared in the Dec. 9, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Whenever Ed Sheeran has toured Australia and New Zealand, he has partnered with Frontier Touring, the live division of the dominant independent music company, Mushroom Group. And he breaks records with almost monotonous regularity.
He did it with his Divide tour in 2018, which sold more than 1 million tickets in the market, according to Frontier, breaking Dire Straits’ record that had stood since the 1980s. And Sheeran did it again with his most recent trek, The Mathematics Tour, which filled stadiums across the country earlier this year, smashing the all-time ticket sales record on consecutive nights (March 2-3) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, according to Frontier.
But this year’s tour was different. Mushroom Group’s legendary founder, Michael Gudinski, was not waiting at the airport to greet Sheeran. No Michael to see him off, either, or run amok on the adventures for which the good friends were famous.
“The reason I’m here right now,” Sheeran told the 105,000-strong Melbourne audience on March 2, “is because of an idea that he formed about eight years ago, and said, ‘Ed, you need to play in the round, in the MCG, with a band.’ I’d only started playing stadiums at this point, and I was like, ‘That place is really big. I’ve never played with a band.’ ” But Gudinski “convinced” him, he says, after his Divide tour ended. “I really wish he was here tonight,” Sheeran added.
Michael, the larger-than-life chairman and founder of Mushroom Group, which includes Frontier Touring and more than 20 music company brands, died March 2, 2021, at age 68.
The Mushroom Group and its staff was a family under Michael, and it remains so under his son, Matt, who now helms the company as chairman/CEO.
Michael (left) and Matt Gudinski in 2019.
Mushroom Creative House
Matt, 38, steered the business and its 300 staffers through the pandemic that crushed the live industry. Now Mushroom’s touring and agency activities have bounced back, and business is booming. As the company celebrates its 50th anniversary, Matt has taken the opportunity to look ahead and to remember the company’s achievements and challenges.
Matt had little time to grieve the death of his father. With his appointment to the top job confirmed in April 2021, he hit the ground running. He was at the helm when Mushroom announced its new talent management division, Mushroom Management; a multilayered international pipeline deal with Universal Music’s Virgin Music; the realignment of Frontier Touring; the launch of new booking agency MBA and events/touring company MG Live; and a partnership with hip-hop specialist Valve Sounds.
In 2021, he navigated Mushroom’s break with Harbour Agency, following claims from former staff of past management misbehavior at the agency.
On Nov. 26, dozens of Australia’s leading artists performed at Mushroom’s 50th-anniversary concert at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena — a venue where a statue of Michael, holding aloft his finger in the familiar No. 1 gesture, stands outside the entrance. Such Mushroom family acts as Jimmy Barnes, The Teskey Brothers, Amy Shark, The Temper Trap, Vika & Linda, DMA’S, Paul Kelly, Ross Wilson, Kate Ceberano and Missy Higgins joined the event that aired on the Seven Network, performing a mix of originals and classics from across the Mushroom catalog, including “Working Class Man,” “Holy Grail,” “Sweet Disposition,” “Riptide,” “It’s Only the Beginning,” “Before Too Long” and “Living in the 70s.”
The countdown to the concert included the Nov. 24 release of an all-star covers collection, Mushroom: 50 Years of Making Noise, and the theatrical release in August of Ego, The Michael Gudinski Story, a documentary on the executive whose death was mourned by many of the superstars he worked with, from Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen to Dave Grohl and Sheeran.
Veteran Mushroom artist Paul Kelly was among those on the bill of a Nov. 26 televised concert to mark the company’s anniversary.
Tim Lambert/Mushroom Creative House
In 1972, when Michael was just 20, he launched Mushroom Records, which soon became Australia’s indie music juggernaut. The company has shaped the country’s music culture like no other brand. Today, Mushroom Group embraces touring, booking agencies, publishing, merchandising/marketing services, venues, exhibition/events production, neighboring rights, branding, labels, talent management and more. (Warner Music acquired and absorbed the Mushroom Records label in Australia over a decade ago.)
“To survive 50 years as an independent music entertainment company is something we’re extremely proud of,” Matt says. “And throughout this year, we’ve tried to celebrate not only the history of the company, but the future.”
What were the first business challenges you took on when your father died?
We were still deep within the pandemic. And there were a lot of unknowns about how the music industry and the wider entertainment industry would move forward and recover from that. Without live music, it was an extremely challenging time for Mushroom Group and its survival. I’m really proud to be sitting here two-and-a-half years on from that, and I can confidently say that the Mushroom Group as a whole is in its best shape it has ever been.
What is your earliest memory of your father at work at Mushroom?
I’d always come into the office from a very young age, after school or even on holiday. We’d be going on tours together, whether it be Jimmy Barnes or Billy Joel. Before I’d even hit double [digits], I had a real passion for it. I was a budding concert promoter and entrepreneur, similar to my dad at a young age.
What was your first job in the music business?
When I was around 12 years old, I started trying to run some different events at different town halls, mostly for [those] under 18 and promoting bands. The first event I did wasn’t that successful; thenI started to hit my stride and was pretty much hooked. When I was about 16, I started getting involved with managing some upcoming artists and began to have influence in the A&R side of the group.
Your father was such a boisterous individual. What’s your management style?
It’s always an open-door policy and very collaborative. My dad was obviously a larger-than-life figure, and maybe some people out there thought that Mushroom was all about him, a one-man band. It was never that, never will be. Now there’s an opportunity for so many great people who’ve been part of the Mushroom Group for a long period of time to build up their profiles and really make a mark on this company and its future. Bringing their vision to life is something I’m very passionate about.
A U.S. No. 1 hit was high on your father’s wish list. What’s on yours?
At the time he had that dream, Australian artists having success [in] the biggest music market, the U.S. — outside of a very select few — was a foreign concept. Now there are so many artists that are making noise, having success globally. International success is a big priority, a big goal of mine. We have some artists who are doing really well, but we’d like them to go even further.
Michael Gudinski in 1979.
Mushroom Group Archive
You’ve recently had Robbie Williams, Paul McCartney, Sam Smith and Paramore tour Australia with Frontier Touring. Foo Fighters are next up. How would you describe the live business right now?
We’ve definitely had the biggest touring period in our history since the return to live. More artists are wanting to come here than ever before, and so many artists are selling more tickets than ever. But there’s still so many challenges to deliver these tours, whether it’s rising costs, economic challenges or just the competitiveness in the market. Everyone’s selling more tickets, but it’s more competitive than ever.
Your father was very proud of you for landing a Drake tour. How did that come about?
Drake was an artist that I was following from quite early and had been trying to get to come to Australia for many years before we finally landed his tour in 2015. It was a coup to get such a global superstar like Drake to tour Australia when we did. And we’ve had a few successful tours with him since then. Bruno Mars was another artist I brought to Australia very early.
Taylor Swift’s last tour in Australia was with Live Nation. Now Frontier Touring is producing her tour, which is scheduled for February.
We’ve worked with Taylor many times before. She loves Australia. And we’re looking forward to hosting her again. To get her back working with Frontier is something that we’re really excited about. I know it would have meant a lot to my dad, who had a great relationship with Taylor. I don’t think we’ve ever seen that demand for a tour like this, not just for Frontier, but for any promoters. For every one person who has bought a ticket to her tour, there are probably another 20 in Australia who want a ticket.
Your father was a relentless traveler and loved it. Is that something you enjoy?
My dad loved getting out there and building relationships, showing up anywhere in the world to see an artist that we worked with or that we wanted to work with. I definitely do the same. Travel in our industry coming out of the pandemic has probably changed a little bit, and the technology has evolved, but that’s how you create, maintain and grow great relationships.
How has Mushroom survived as an independent while so many other indies have gone belly up or been absorbed by multinationals?
The core of Mushroom is to invest in supporting Australian talent and to take it to the world. My dad was big on the saying of being a leader, not a follower. We’ve continued to evolve and adapt; it’s why we sit here with so many different business arms to the Mushroom Group, because we’re not reliant on one. If we were just a record label, we would have struggled to survive to this point. [We’ve been] able to continually evolve and ensure that we’re looking for the next thing, not the current thing. And investing in great people and other great entrepreneurs has really allowed us to stay successful over such a long period of time. Part of what makes us unique is the fact that it is a family affair. So many people at Mushroom have been there a long time. And we’re really an extension of our family. That’s what else has made us survive.
How did your father prepare you to take the reins at Mushroom?
It’s all about reputation in our business. He just instilled into me those key fundamentals: how to ensure that the business moves forward and all the foundations that he’d laid go on for a long time. Mushroom’s success is really down to amazing people, great artists, loyalty and strong overall values. I was lucky enough that for a number of years my dad and I were working closely together, and the Mushroom Group expanded so much over the past 10 years. A lot of the areas we moved into were things that not only were we driving together, but that I was driving and really taking the reins on. I was well prepared to take on the greater responsibility. I’ll always say it: My dad and I love what we did so much because we did it together. It’ll never be the same doing it without him.
Overcoming the Tyranny of Distance
A restructured Frontier touring continues to bring superstars to Australia.
Dion Brant was named CEO of Frontier in 2022.
Ian Laidlaw
Australian promoter Frontier Touring has come roaring back from the 2021 death of founder Michael Gudinski and a pandemic that hobbled the live industry.
“We’ve completed around 160 tours since the restart of touring in mid-2022,” Frontier CEO Dion Brant says. “It has been a strong 18 months,” he adds, noting the company had 44 tours on sale as of early November. According to year-end Billboard Boxscore data, Frontier ranks as the No. 7 promoter worldwide for 2023.
Founded by Gudinski in 1979, Frontier was established on the core value of prioritizing artists and fans. The company has continued to channel this ethos since touring restarted following the health crisis.
In recent months, Ed Sheeran, Paul McCartney, Billie Eilish, Sam Smith and Luke Combs have played stadiums and arenas across Australia as part of Frontier-produced tours. Sheeran’s Mathematics Tour sold over 830,000 tickets across 12 shows in Australia and New Zealand and left excess demand, Brant says.
The heat isn’t dissipating from the market anytime soon.
Throughout the Southern Hemisphere summer, Frontier will promote treks for Robbie Williams, Foo Fighters and Taylor Swift, whose Eras Tour has sold out seven 2024 stadium shows across Sydney and Melbourne, Australia’s most populous cities.
The so-called “tyranny of distance” — a phrase coined in 1966 by Australian historian Geoffrey Blainey — makes the country a challenging touring market. “It is more expensive” post-COVID-19, Brant says. The cost to “move people and freight is much higher than pre-COVID. An already marginal business is even more marginal.”
Even the price of replacement turf has soared. “Artists and their agents are working harder than ever to make touring viable, to get their artists in front of audiences in a way that still stacks up financially,” Brant continues. “We all play our part in that.”
Brant was promoted in March 2022, heading up a new leadership team, part of wider restructuring designed to help the “legacy, mission and culture” of Frontier to flourish following Gudinski’s death in March 2021.
Brant reports to the Frontier board, which includes Michael’s son, Mushroom Group chairman/CEO Matt Gudinski; Jay Marciano, chairman/CEO of AEG Presents, which has a joint venture with Frontier; and AEG Presents Asia Pacific president/CEO Adam Wilkes, who was appointed Frontier chairman as part of the restructuring.
Legendary Australian concert promoter Michael Chugg, executive chairman of Chugg Entertainment, reunited with former business partner Michael Gudinski to form a joint venture in 2019. More recently, Chugg joined the Frontier leadership team alongside Matt, Frontier senior promoter Gerard Schlaghecke and others.
As live entertainment returned, Frontier has welcomed a new golden age of stadium shows, promoting gigs by Billy Joel, Foo Fighters and Elton John. In years past, Australia would host “two to three stadium tours a summer for all promoters, if we had a big summer,” Brant says. “That seems to have changed.”
“Twenty years ago, people were lamenting what would happen to the business when The Rolling Stones, Eagles and Neil Diamond-type acts stopped filling stadiums,” he says. Not anymore. Brant points to the evolution in stage production and the quality of new artists now making their mark.
Adds Brant: “To be in stadiums eight times over a couple of summers is big for Frontier.”
This story originally appeared in the Dec. 9, 2023, issue of Billboard.
In February, Fred again.., Skrillex and Four Tet turned New York’s Madison Square Garden into a sweaty rave, performing a body-rattling five-hour show that had sold out in two minutes and, in some ways, set the tone for dance music in 2023. The demand proved the trio to be a perfect replacement for Frank Ocean as Coachella’s Sunday night headliner on its second weekend. And by October, Fred again.. had sold 42,300 tickets and grossed $2.9 million across a three-night residency in New York, according to Billboard Boxscore, later playing an eight-night run in Los Angeles.
“We been practising for monthssss to try n make this show a level up and to like really push ourselves to make it as musical and dynamic and LIVE as possible,” Fred again.. posted on Instagram.
Fred again.., now nominated for a best new artist Grammy, became a bigger star in 2023, but he was far from the only one cashing in on the post-pandemic return to live events. In June, future bass star Illenium played Denver’s Mile High Stadium, selling 47,300 tickets and grossing $3.9 million. Meanwhile, Beyoncé toured the globe on her dance album, Renaissance, selling 2.8 million tickets worldwide. And live electronic maestros ODESZA led the festival circuit, headlining Bonnaroo, Governors Ball and Outside Lands.
“There have been all these moments where I realized that electronic music from a live standpoint is in an incredibly healthy place,” says Lee Anderson, executive vp/managing executive at Wasserman, who represents electronic acts including Skrillex, Zedd and Disclosure. “It might be bigger than it has ever been, including the EDM boom.”
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This surge has origins in the pandemic, when dancefloors were vacant. Prior to 2020, dance shows had declined “from the late 2010s from a ticket-buying standpoint and on the live side,” Anderson says. This was the same era in which house music was replacing EDM as the mainstream dance genre of choice in the United States.
But as artists turned to livestreaming during lockdown, dance music became particularly accessible, given the ease of streaming DJ sets. The sound proliferated on Twitch and other platforms at the same time that a new generation of fans were coming of age — and when live events returned, they wanted to dance. “You had a whole new generation of kids that were like, ‘Oh, my God. What is this? I want to get out of the house and go,’ ” says Anderson.
The pent-up demand drove ticket sales at dance shows across the United States, and by 2022, Anderson says, “I was talking to people at Live Nation and AEG like, ‘The electronic stuff is selling really well.’ We looked at the data and realized this genre was heating back up.”
Contributing to the rise was the general expansion of the U.S. dance market. While there used to be roughly a dozen cities in which techno artists could play, Anderson says there are now 30. Beyond major markets like Miami, New York and Los Angeles, there are now thriving U.S. hubs for bass, commercial dance, trap, house and other styles in cities including Denver and Phoenix. (Anderson says that artists’ social engagement is the best indicator of where they’ll be able to sell tickets.) Meanwhile, festivals that were formerly booking three or four dance acts are now booking four times that many.
While the current dominance of house music has delivered greater levels of live success to veteran artists — Anderson cites Chicago legend Green Velvet as a prime example, saying he is “probably bigger than he has ever been” — fresh acts are also rising. After playing their first major shows earlier this year, San Diego bass producers ISOxo and Knock2 performed four sold-out shows at The Shrine in L.A. in November.
“Between the two of them, the highest-streamed song has about 13 million plays,” Anderson says. “These are not huge numbers, but they sold out 20,000 tickets in L.A. as fast as the cart could process transactions — and we had enough people in the queue that if the venue was available, we could have done another four [nights].”
Such residencies and one-offs are also indicative of the newly preferred style of touring for dance acts, with teams often putting on a small number of shows that feel special — and which fans are more likely to travel for — rather than grinding it out on the road. Illenium’s stadium show demonstrated the viability of this model (the act will play two more at SoFi Stadium in L.A. in February 2024), as did a set by FISHER and Chris Lake in October, when they shut down a stretch of Hollywood Boulevard and drew 12,000 fans. (Anderson calls the show “one of the biggest stories in dance music this year.”) Pretty Lights’ comeback tour featured a series of short residencies, with 27 shows across nine venues. And on Dec. 16, John Summit will headline the 22,000-capacity BMO Stadium in L.A. — a type of show that Kx5 proved viable last December, when it played for 46,000 people at the L.A. Coliseum.
“When you had the [EDM bubble] era of, ‘Can it ever be that big again?,’ did you see electronic artists selling out stadiums as headline acts?” Anderson asks. “Because that’s happening today, and you’re going to see that continue happening. And that has never happened before. That’s new.”
This story originally appeared in the Dec. 9, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Hidden behind a white sheet and sunglasses, an anonymous music-maker called Ghostwriter logged on to TikTok in April to post his first video. In it, he announced his debut single, “Heart on My Sleeve” — and signaled a seismic shift in the music business. Using an artificial intelligence voice filter that disguised Ghostwriter’s own timbre behind that of Drake and The Weeknd, “Heart on My Sleeve” was the first song to show just how far AI music had come already and what novel challenges and opportunities it would present to artists.
The song also proved that artists would struggle to control how their voice and likeness are used in the age of AI — even superstars like Drake and The Weeknd who have the resources to fight back. Universal Music Group (UMG) issued a strongly worded statement soon after the song’s posting, condemning “infringing content created with generative AI,” and the song was quickly taken down from most platforms. But fans continued to post it to TikTok and YouTube every time it was removed. As Ghostwriter later put it in his Billboard cover story: “The genie can’t be put back in the bottle.”
“Heart on My Sleeve” forced the industry to reckon with the limitations of existing “right of publicity” laws that protect artists from having their voices and likenesses commercially exploited without their authorization. The strength of this right varies from state to state, and at the time the song was released, there wasn’t a precedent for issuing takedown notices for these types of violations, like there is for copyright infringement claims.
Likely as a result of the song and other AI concerns, UMG general counsel/executive vp of business and legal affairs Jeffrey Harleston went to Capitol Hill to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in July, asking for a “federal right of publicity” to be created to help protect artists. Streaming services also voluntarily entered talks with the major labels to form a system so that labels can request takedowns for right of publicity concerns.
Still, some artists consider Ghostwriter to be a revolutionary. Artist-producer Grimes took to X (formerly Twitter) after the release of “Heart on My Sleeve” to write, “I think it’s cool to be fused w a machine, and I like the idea of open sourcing all art.” Shortly after, she launched GrimesAI, a voice model trained on her recordings that lets fans shape-shift their voice into hers at the click of a button. She also collaborated with TuneCore to allow fans to distribute their resulting songs to streaming services under the tag “GrimesAI” to distinguish it from her own catalog.
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YouTube recently built on this same idea with the experimental program Dream Track. It lets fans use voice models of Charlie Puth, John Legend, Sia, T-Pain, Demi Lovato, Troye Sivan, Charli XCX, Alec Benjamin and Papoose with the approval of partners UMG and Warner Music Group (WMG).
Songwriters and publishers have also started using AI voice technology. This summer, Billboard reported that AI voice models were used to help writers pitch song ideas to artists. The AI-altered pitch records had been used as an internal reference for the writers to gauge if the track sounded appropriate for a particular singer while composing, and sometimes the records with the AI voice applied were also sent to the artist’s team in hopes that they would increase their chance of landing the song.
In a recent interview with Billboard, pop artist Lauv said he has seen that usage firsthand with one of his songwriter friends who was pitching a track to Nicki Minaj using AI. Lauv himself is also leaning into the new technology: In November, he partnered with AI voice startup Hooky — one of many startups in the space — to translate his new single, “Love U Like That,” into Korean. After getting Korean American songwriter Kevin Woo to translate the lyrics and sing a Korean version, Hooky applied Lauv’s AI voice model to map Lauv’s signature sound over Woo’s.
Ghostwriter’s manager previously said he also believes that artist estates and catalog owners could use AI voice models to market their music. WMG is now experimenting with the catalog of late French singer Édith Piaf. The company is creating AI models to resurrect her voice and likeness for a controversial new biopic called EDITH to “further enhance the authenticity and emotional impact of the story,” according to a press release.
“Heart on My Sleeve” represents just one of many burgeoning areas of AI that can transform the music business in the future. Concurrently, as startups like Kits.AI, mayk.it, Hooky, Voice-Swap, Supertone and Lingyin Engine hope to capture the AI voice model market, AI-generated beats and loops promise to upend production music libraries and the overall creation process. AI “functional music,” soundscapes designed to fit user needs for sleep, focus or relaxation, also promise an evolution in wellness and ambient music. And as AI stem separation unlocks possibilities for remixing, synch licensing and restoring old audio files (the new Beatles song, “Now and Then,” used the technology to restore John Lennon vocal recordings), there are surely even more use cases for AI that are yet to be discovered.
While legal and logistical questions remain with the technology, Ghostwriter’s team is pressing on. He has teased a second single (“Whiplash” featuring the AI voices of Travis Scott and 21 Savage) while expressing his desire to collaborate with other artists. As such, Ghostwriter’s manager believes it is of the utmost importance for the music business to band together to “define an equitable arrangement for all stakeholders” when using AI. As he previously told Billboard, “We had an opportunity [with “Heart on My Sleeve”] to show people the value in AI and music … I like to say that everything starts somewhere.”
This story originally appeared in the Dec. 9, 2023, issue of Billboard.
In a September interview with The New York Times, Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner was asked why The Masters: Conversations With Dylan, Lennon, Jagger, Townshend, Garcia, Bono, and Springsteen, his book interviewing rock icons, didn’t include the perspectives of women or people of color. The media mogul responded bluntly: “None of them were as articulate enough on this intellectual level.” Condemnation came swiftly, even from the publication that Wenner had founded. Critics pointed to his comments as yet another example of the strident gatekeeping that has held rock music back, making it harder for anyone but straight white men to succeed.
Yet one of the biggest rock albums of 2023 has served as an antithesis to Wenner’s claim, as the indie-rock supergroup boygenius dominated the space this year. Formed by Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, the trio’s cult-favorite 2018 self-titled EP made an impact on the artists’ respective fans, leading to bigger gains for their subsequent solo albums and building even more anticipation for their long-awaited reunion this year.
Aptly titled The Record, the band’s first full-length debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and scored top spots on the Top Rock Albums and Adult Alternative Airplay charts. A sold-out arena tour, prominent Coachella slot, Saturday Night Live performance and six Grammy nominations followed. As Bridgers told Billboard earlier this year, “Sh-t keeps happening to us where you are then confronted with each other or other people being like, ‘How sick is that?!’ ”
The band’s big year stands in stark contrast to its introduction: While its debut EP earned rave reviews and a fervent fandom, the project never broke onto the Billboard 200 and peaked at No. 24 on the Top Alternative Albums chart. Yet for Jeff Regan, senior director of music programming at SiriusXM and host of Alt Nation’s Advanced Placement, The Record was always destined to dominate the rock scene. “When you hear that this amazing [group] is getting ready to present new music, your ears perk up immediately,” he says. “With boygenius, you have three authentic artists who are bringing not just three fan bases together, but three distinct styles and bodies of work together.”
Regan is quick to point out that the band’s achievements in 2023 cannot simply be qualified as three previously successful artists uniting their fans. While Bridgers’ profile has exponentially grown since the group formed in 2018 — her 2020 album, Punisher, helped her earn a best new artist Grammy nomination and even secured her an opening slot on Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour — Regan says it’s the quality of boygenius’ output, and its fans’ appreciation for it, that made The Record such a standout hit. “A lot of the boygenius fans understand that we had to carve out the time for this,” Dacus told Billboard earlier this year. “People know this is a rarity and that there’s no guarantee that it’ll continue. Like, we will continue to be boygenius and be friends, but we also will get back to our own things.”
Focal single “Not Strong Enough” ruled the Adult Alternative Airplay chart for seven weeks. The song has since earned a Grammy nomination for record of the year — boygenius is the only band, and only rock artist, in the running this year.
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Regan credits its success to the band’s eagerness to be vulnerable with its audience; throughout The Record, the three members of boygenius share a holistic view of their internal life, processing every emotion from grief to anger to joy.
“We all love a catchy song that grabs your ear and rattles around in there for a while, and those things come and go and that’s great,” Regan says. “With boygenius, there is this connection point with their fans and just a genuine approach to the music itself. They’re not doing this because they need to. They’re doing this because they found something in each other — and that is a very healthy thing for music.”
Boygenius is directly playing to a historically underserved market in the music business: the LGBTQ+ community. As Billboard reported in a 2022 study with Luminate, LGBTQ+ audiences regularly outspend their straight-identifying counterparts on music, including merchandise, live shows and especially physical sales. Of The Record’s first-week sales, a whopping 67% were vinyl purchases, helping score the group a No. 1 debut on Billboard’s Vinyl Albums chart. Beyond boygenius, Demi Lovato’s Revamped (which reimagined her biggest hits as rock epics) made a top 10 entry on the Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums charts, while queer-fronted rock group Greta Van Fleet notched its third No. 1 on Top Rock Albums with Starcatcher.
As Regan says, it’s about time that queer artists and queer fans begin taking up space in the genre. “I mean, shame on us, the alternative rock space, for taking so long to come around,” he says. “We’re supposed to be the ones on the cutting edge — we’re supposed to be the ones taking the sounds, the culture that historically would be on the fringe and bring them into the middle of the dancefloor. It sucks that it took all this time to do it, but when it’s done by artists like this, they get to hold up a mirror to the audience and say, ‘It’s safe. You can be yourself with us because we’re being ourselves with you.’ ”
Despite what self-proclaimed sentinels like Wenner might say, boygenius spent 2023 definitively showing that women and queer artists can be just as “articulate” and “intellectual” as any other straight, white, male master of rock music — and in this case, they can open the door for even more articulate, intellectual rock stars to come.
This story originally appeared in the Dec. 9, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Noah Kahan has had a nonstop year — and as a result, the artist has enjoyed a never-ending string of successes. Below, we chart the milestones that propelled the singer-songwriter through a breakout 2023.
Jan. 6: Kahan’s Stick Season summer tour sells out.
March 31: Kahan begins an 11-night opening run on the U.K. dates of Dermot Kennedy’s Sonder tour.
May 25: Kahan announces The Busyhead Project, which supports and funds mental health organizations that provide care to underserved communities.
June 9: Kahan releases Stick Season (We’ll All be Here Forever), the deluxe edition of his 2022 third album.
June 24: Stick Season hits a new peak of No. 3 on the Billboard 200 (after debuting at No. 14); Kahan makes his Billboard Hot 100 debut with “Dial Drunk,” which enters the list at No. 43.
July 8: Kahan teams with Ranger Station on a Stick Season candle.
July 17: Kahan releases the “Dial Drunk” remix featuring Post Malone, which they later live debut during one of Post’s tour stops.
Sept. 9: Kahan earns his first No. 1 on a Billboard airplay chart as “Dial Drunk” climbs to the top of Adult Alternative Airplay.
Sept. 13: Kahan hits 1 million followers on Instagram.
Sept. 15: Kahan releases a new version of “Call Your Mom” featuring Lizzy McAlpine.
Sept. 20: Kahan announces his We’ll All be Here Forever World Tour, including stops at the Hollywood Bowl, Madison Square Garden and Fenway Park.
Sept. 22: Kahan features on Zach Bryan’s Boys of Faith EP, guesting on the track “Sarah’s Place.”
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Oct. 2: Olivia Rodrigo covers Kahan’s hit “Stick Season” on BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge.
Oct. 6: Kahan teams with Kacey Musgraves for a new duet rendition of “She Calls Me Back.”
Oct. 10: The Busyhead Project announces it has raised $1.9 million for mental health services.
Nov. 10: Kahan earns his first Grammy nomination, for best new artist; a “Northern Attitude” remix with Hozier arrives.
Dec. 1: Kahan and Gracie Abrams team up for a new version of the former’s “Everywhere, Everything.”
Dec. 2: Kahan makes his musical guest debut on Saturday Night Live.
This story originally appeared in the Dec. 9, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Something unusual happened at the 2023 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards: A song written over three decades ago won the award for song of the year.
While Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” first became a pop hit in 1988 — when it reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 — the song experienced a renaissance over the past year thanks to country singer Luke Combs’ faithful cover. Combs released his rendition to pop radio in April and country radio in June, helping it became a juggernaut that ultimately reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 and spent five weeks atop the Country Airplay chart.
“The success of ‘Fast Car’ is mind-blowing. But should it be?” asks Combs’ manager, Chris Kappy. He calls Combs’ connection to the song (the artist has said that it reminds him of his father) and his ability to deliver it to a new generation of fans “the perfect chemistry to create this moment.”
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The fact that Combs scored one of the biggest hits of his career with a cover is illustrative of the unconventional success stories that defined country music in 2023 — all of which helped propel the genre to one of its most prominent years in Billboard chart history. Jason Aldean’s politically charged “Try That in a Small Town”; outlier Oliver Anthony’s out-of-nowhere hit, “Rich Men North of Richmond”; and Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves’ somber duet, “I Remember Everything” all ruled the Hot 100. Along with Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night,” which spent 16 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1, 2023 marked just the second time in Hot 100 history that four country songs reached the chart’s summit in a calendar year. And for the first time since the chart launched in 1958, country hits occupied the top three spots (“Small Town” at No. 1, “Last Night” at No. 2 and “Fast Car” at No. 3) in a single week on the Hot 100.
Yet in the same way that a decades-old single winning the song of the year CMA Award (a feat that also made Chapman the first Black songwriter to win that honor) marked an uncommon achievement, the biggest wins of country’s huge year all contained atypical wrinkles in their narratives. The success of “Try That in a Small Town” — and in particular, the song’s accompanying music video — was mired in controversy. Footage of Black Lives Matter protests was seemingly edited out of the original clip, while critics noted the performance itself was filmed in front of the site of a 1927 lynching. CMT ultimately pulled the video from its rotation — a move that led many to view the clip on YouTube and stream the song, some out of curiosity alone, which helped push it to No. 1 on the all-genre Hot 100.
In late August, independent artist Anthony broke through with one of the year’s most unexpected hits, the polarizing “Rich Men North of Richmond.” The song — with lyrics centering on greedy politicians, inflation, rising taxes and welfare abuse — was uploaded to YouTube out of the blue. And a little more than 10 days later, it debuted atop the Hot 100, making him the first artist to enter at No. 1 without any prior Billboard chart history. The video has been viewed over 98 million times on YouTube.
“Rich Men North of Richmond” stayed atop the Hot 100 for two weeks, during which time it became a lightning rod of controversy for political pundits on both the right and left. “The most special thing about it being on the chart at all is that it made it [there] without some big, corporate schmucky schmuck somewhere pumping a bunch of money into making it get there,” Anthony recently told Billboard. “It actually got to the top of the [Hot 100] because people genuinely wanted to listen to it and support it.”
As Country’s Radio Coach owner/CEO John Shomby says, “Now he’s going on a 40-plus-city tour next year. That tells you a lot.”
Then there’s the alternative, genre-fluid Bryan, who prior to signing with Warner Music in 2021 built a fan base with his independent releases and constant touring, and has a history of shucking industry expectations. He capped 2022 with a live album titled All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster and throughout his breakout 2023 has largely avoided press. In September, he and Musgraves each earned their first Hot 100 No. 1 with “I Remember Everything” off his self-titled album. The duet became the first song to simultaneously debut atop the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs charts — proving Bryan’s wide appeal.
A surplus of country artists have experienced similar crossover success, with hits that have both topped country charts and entered the upper echelon of the Hot 100. Jelly Roll’s “Need a Favor” hit No. 13 on the Hot 100, Bailey Zimmerman’s “Rock and A Hard Place” entered the chart’s top 10, and Lainey Wilson’s “Watermelon Moonshine” reached No. 21 — and all three songs were Country Airplay No. 1s. Meanwhile, a few Hot 100 first-timers included rising stars like Hailey Whitters and Warren Zeiders along with Americana stalwart Tyler Childers.
“This year has shown us that the genre is not as painted into a corner as it was years ago,” says Shomby, who credits a younger generation of programmers moving into decision-making roles at radio stations as a driving factor in the span of country music sounds dominating charts in 2023. “The bigger companies, it’s going to take a little while, but some of these smaller organizations, you can see it already, with people taking chances on songs like the Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves duet, or Tyler Childers or the Post Malone song [titled “Pickup Man,” off HARDY’s HIXTAPE and featuring the late Joe Diffie, which debuted on Country Airplay in November]. They look at it as, ‘It sounds good, so I’m going to play it.’
“I come from the generation where we couldn’t care less whether it was rock or pop or country,” Shomby adds. “Then we started putting people into lanes. Thankfully, it’s starting to open up a little more. I’m not saying we’re there, but it’s the beginning of it.”
This story originally appeared in the Dec. 9, 2023, issue of Billboard.
