Music News

04 Feb 2024

Stevie Wonder, Annie Lennox & Jon Batiste Honor Late Music Legends at 2024 Grammys

Stevie Wonder, Annie Lennox and Jon Batiste were among those honoring the lives and careers of late music icons during the Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 4) in Los Angeles.

Wonder honored the late, legendary performer Tony Bennett, who died July 21, 2023, at age 96. Wonder performed “The Best Is Yet to Come,” as well as “For Once in My Life,” the latter as a “duet” with Bennett, with footage of the late artist performing on a big screen. Bennett recorded “For Once in My Life” in 1967, with Wonder’s version of the song releasing in 1968.

Wonder celebrated Bennett’s “love for art, his love for peace, his love for unity, his love for civil rights.” He added, “Tony, I’m going to miss you forever.”

Lennox teamed with duo Wendy & Lisa to fete the late Sinead O’Connor with a rendition of her hit “Nothing Compares 2 You.” Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman were part of Prince’s band The Revolution (the late Prince wrote “Nothing Compares 2 U”). Lennox ended her performance by calling for a ceasefire and asking for world peace, another nod to O’Connor’s own activism. The Irish singer-songwriter died on July 26, 2023, at age 56.

As each musician performed, the names and photos of numerous artists, songwriters, performers and music executives who passed away in the past year scrolled across screens, as the Grammys honored Jimmy Buffett, Chita Rivera, Burt Bacharach, songwriter Cynthia Weil, rapper Magoo, as well as executives including country music radio executive Charlie Monk, A&M Records co-founder Jerry Moss, Sire Records’ Seymour Stein and more.

Lenny Kravitz appeared to honor Clarence Avant, known as “The Godfather of Black Music,” who died in August 2023 at age 92. Avant played key roles in labels including Venture Records and Sussex Records, and managed artists including Little Willie John and Jimmy Smith. Kravitz called Avant “a trusted mentor and believer in the likes of Quincy Jones and Bill Withers, just to name a few.”

The In Memoriam section continued as Batiste joined with Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and Ann Nesby and Cory Henry for a soulful, uplifting performance that included “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lean on Me” and “Optimistic,” featuring soul-searing vocals from Nesby. Later in the evening, Fantasia Barrino and Oprah Winfrey feted late entertainer Tina Turner.

04 Feb 2024

Billie Eilish Says She’s ‘Shocked Out of My Balls’ After Grammy Song of the Year Win

Billie Eilish won song of the year for “What Was I Made For? [From The Motion Picture Barbie]” at the 2024 Grammys Sunday night (Feb. 4).

The song won best song written for visual media earlier this evening. It also earned nominations for record of the year, best pop solo performance and best music video. Eilish first won song of the year in 2020 for “Bad Guy” and she was nominated for song of the year in 2021 for “Everything I Wanted” and in 2022 for “Happier Than Ever.” All three of those songs have also been nominated for record of the year, with “Bad Guy” and “Everything I Wanted” taking home the trophy. Her brother Finneas also won the award, which goes to the song’s songwriters, and he joined her onstage for their acceptance speech.

“That’s stupid guys,” Eilish said. “That was a crazy list of incredible people, incredible artists, incredible music. I feel crazy right now. I’m shocked out of my balls. Thank you to the members of the Recording Academy, thank you to my brother who’s my best friend in the world and makes me the person that I am today.”

She also thanked Greta Gerwig for making “the best movie of the year” with Barbie, which is up for eight Oscars. After she saluted the blockbuster Barbie film, the camera cut to Taylor Swift nodding in the audience.

“We’re so lucky. We just continue to be just deeply, deeply privileged, lucky people. And it’s hard to feel deserving ever, but we certainly don’t right now,” added Finneas. “We’re very humble, and we’re very grateful. Thank you so much.”

04 Feb 2024

Jay-Z Calls Out Grammys Over Beyoncé’s Album of the Year Snubs During Acceptance Speech

Jay-Z arrived to the 2024 Grammys Sunday (Feb. 4) to accept the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, bringing wife Beyoncè and daughter Blue Ivy with him.

Taking the stage at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles with Blue Ivy to make his speech, Jay-Z first thanked the award’s namesake — who was watching from the audience — acknowledging Dr. Dre, saying that “all the doors that you opened showed us we could be rock stars.”

Jay-Z then thanked the Grammys’ Black Music Collective for “all the work you guys do … how far we’ve come since Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff winning their first Grammy in ’89 and boycotting because [the award] wasn’t televised.” Jay then joked that Smith and Jeff “went to a hotel and watched the Grammys … it wasn’t a great boycott.” The camera then panned to Meryl Streep laughing hard in the audience.

Jay-Z’s speech then started to get spicy. “Then in ’98, I took a page out of their book. I was nominated for best rap album, and DMX had dropped two albums that year, they both were No. 1 — shout out to DMX — and he wasn’t nominated at all, so I boycotted, and” — he said with a laugh — “I watched the Grammys.”

Jay’s message then took a more serious tone as he continued, “I’m just saying, we want y’all to get it right. We love y’all; we love y’all; we want you to get it right, or at least get it close to right, and obviously it’s subjective … because it’s music and it’s opinion-based, but some things — I don’t wan to embarrass this young lady” — referring to Beyoncè — “but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year, so even by your own metrics that doesn’t work. Think about that. The most Grammys and never won an album of the year. That doesn’t work.

“Some of you are going to go home tonight and feel like you’ve been robbed,” he continued. “Some of you may get robbed, some of you don’t belong in the category — when I get nervous I tell the truth.

“But outside of that, we’ve gotta keep showing up. And forget the Grammys for a second, just in life — as my daughter sits and stares at me nervous as I am — just in life, you’ve gotta keep showing up and keep showing up. Forget the Grammys. You’ve got to keep showing up until they give you all those accolades you feel you deserve, until they call you ‘chairman,’ until they call you a ‘genius,’ until they call you ‘the greatest of all time.’ You feel me?”

04 Feb 2024

Lainey Wilson Reveals How She Ended Up Filling In for Ryan Gosling on ‘I’m Just Ken’ at Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala

On Sunday (Feb. 4), Lainey Wilson scored her first Grammy, taking home best country album for Bell Bottom Country. It previously won album of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards and at the Country Music Association Awards — becoming just the ninth album to win all three awards.

Wilson has had a busy Grammys week, performing alongside best new artist nominee Jelly Roll at Spotify’s Best New Artist party on Thursday night, and on Saturday, she delivered a surprise performance at Clive Davis’ annual Pre-Grammy Gala.

Deep inside the Beverly Hilton, Wilson happily filled in for Ryan Gosling to perform the hit Barbie song “I’m Just Ken,” accompanied by the song’s co-writer Mark Ronson. As she said backstage at the Grammys while celebrating her win: “First of all, I feel more like Ken than Barbie, for sure.”

“I believe it was Tuesday evening,” she recalled of how the performance came together in the Grammy press room at Crypto.com Arena. “We were on a flight over here, and Clive Davis called my booking agent, Austin Mullins. He was like, ‘Hey, I’ve got this opportunity. Would Lainey like to sing “I’m Just Ken” with Mark Ronson?’ And first of all, I mean, when Clive Davis asks you to go to a party, of course you’re gonna say yes. And then when you find out that it’s with Mark Ronson, you’re definitely gonna say yes. So I had just a few days to learn it, but it was so much fun. And it was stepping outside of my comfort zone, which I like to do – it was awesome.”

Ronson also shared some love for Wilson, writing on Instagram: “We were so flattered when @clivejdavis asked Ryan, Andrew and I to perform ‘i’m just ken’ last night. As Ryan couldn’t be there, he told us to make sure we got the baddest country voice in the land and boy did we get lucky with @laineywilson.”

Watch video from the performance below:

04 Feb 2024

Taylor Swift Surprise Announces ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ Album: Fans React

Taylor Swift opens the doors to the Tortured Poets Department on April 19, and fans are losing their minds.

“TAYLOR CALLING HERSELF ‘THE CHAIRMAN OF THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT?!?!?!?’ THERE IS NO BETTER DESCRIPTION FOR THE DEVASTATING MIX OF BEAUTY, ARTISTRY, AND GRUESOME SOUL BARING THAT SHE BRINGS TO EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF MUSIC SHE PENS,” one fan exclaimed in a tweet Sunday night (Feb. 4), soon after Swift stunned Swifties with the announcement of a new album coming out on April 19.

The pop icon made the reveal while accepting the award for best pop vocal album at the 2024 Grammys.

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“This is my 13th Grammy – which is my lucky number, I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that. I want to say thank you to the members of the Recording Academy for voting this way. I know the way the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans. So I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I’ve been keeping from you for the last two years,” she teased, “which is that my brand new album comes out April 19. It’s called The Tortured Poets Department. I’m gonna go and post the cover right now backstage. Thank you, I love you.”

“All’s fair in love and poetry,” Swift wrote on social media, where she posted the cover art and shared the following, signed “The Chairman of The Tortured Poets Department”:

And so I enter into evidence
My tarnished coat of arms
My muses acquired like bruises
My talismans and charms
The tick, tick, tick of love bombs
My veins of pitch black ink

Check out some of the best fan reactions to The Tortured Poets Department news below. See the full list of 2024 Grammy winners here.

04 Feb 2024

U2 Takes the 2024 Grammys to ‘Atomic City’ From Las Vegas’ Sphere

U2 took center stage at the 2024 Grammy Awards Sunday (Feb. 4) and performed “Atomic City” from Sphere in Las Vegas, where recording cameras were allowed inside the venue for the first time. 

The Sphere has been the home base for the legendary Irish rock group since September 2023, when they first began their residency. The group was in tip-top shape as they performed their latest record, “Atomic City,” which became their 14th No. 1 on Adult Alternative Airplay in November. Following their performance, U2 frontman Bono presented the best pop vocal album nominees, with Taylor Swift’s Midnights winning. 

As for the quartet’s upcoming string of performances for its U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere residency, the band will continue through the spring after announcing new dates in December. The show will now run through March 2. U2 will also be playing back-to-back shows during Super Bowl weekend. During an interview with Zane Lowe in December, the group gave fans a glimpse of what consisted of the Sphere. 

“Walking in and actually seeing our stage there and seeing our instruments and light and the finished building was quite a moment,” U2’s The Edge relayed to Lowe. “That’s when it really got real. When you’re actually imagining there’s going to be person in each one of these seats. The proximity is incredibly intimate that’s what so amazing. It’s only 18,000 (seats) but everyone is going to get this perfect view of the stage. Unfortunately, with this incredible visual we’re going to have our work cut out to get people’s attention. It’s like a throw down, how do you make this personal connection in this big venue?”

04 Feb 2024

Annie Lennox Calls on ‘Artists for Ceasefire’ During Sinéad O’Connor Tribute at 2024 Grammys

New wave icon Annie Lennox brought her advocacy to the state of Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night (Feb. 4) when she called for a ceasefire in Palestine and Israel.

During the in memoriam tribute to the late Sinéad O’Connor, Lennox appeared on stage with fellow ’80s icons Wendy & Lisa to give a moving performance of “Nothing Compares 2 U.” As the song came to a close, Lennox — who had a single glitter-encrusted tear painted on her face — raised her fist into the air and shouted, “Artists for ceasefire! Peace in the world!”

Lennox was one of the dozens of artists who signed an open letter to President Joe Biden in late October 2023, calling on him “to honor all of the lives in the Holy Land and call for and facilitate a ceasefire without delay – an end to the bombing of Gaza, and the safe release of hostages.” The president has yet to openly advocate for a ceasefire.

Over the last few months, Lennox has dedicated much of her social media output to advocating for a ceasefire. Earlier in the day on Sunday, Lennox posted a lengthy Instagram caption in which she expressed her outrage at the ongoing bombings in Gaza. “Is there ANY point in posting every day to keep calling for peace and ceasefire, while it’s perfectly obvious that the military objective is to bring about the total decimation of Gaza and her people?” she wrote. “I find it impossible to witness these appalling atrocities and just be indifferent or silent.”

Lennox was just one in a cast of superstar performers at Sunday’s ceremony. Fellow nominees — including Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Luke Combs and plenty more — took to the stage to help celebrate Music’s Biggest Night during the telecast.

04 Feb 2024

Ben Affleck Channels J. Lo to Mock His Viral 2023 Grammys Moment in Dunkin’ Commercial

Ben Affleck is entering his new era, and he’s taking some inspiration from his superstar wife, Jennifer Lopez. In a new ad for Dunkin’ that aired during the Grammys on Sunday (Feb. 4), the Oscar-winning star channels Lopez while mocking his viral moment at last year’s ceremony, during which he was spotted looking bored out of his mind.

In the clip, Affleck is watching a news segment about the “Bored Ben” memes from last year’s Grammys ceremony when he growls with an intensity worthy of Batman: “Keeeep laughing. ‘He’s bored.’ NO! He’s steady — always watching.”

He immediately kicks a plan to turn himself into a music star into action. “What’s going on, baby!” he says on a phone call. “I had this crazy dream — you’re gonna laugh. I had come up with, like, some beats, and you were like, ‘Maybe she’ll put that on the record.’ I even had a persona, like J. Lo, or like, B. Lo. That’s the bad version, obviously.” Unsurprisingly, he gets turned down by the person on the other end.

Undeterred, the star shows up at a studio with a burned CD in hand. “These are beats. Right here!” he says confidently, only to be deflated when the producer questions him about the medium he chose. “Big-time music expert, you don’t know where music comes from?!”

But Affleck soldiers on. In a recording studio, he wonders, “Does music have to rhyme?” The star also shows off some ideas for potential red-carpet looks, and works with Charli D’Amelio to learn some dance moves. But there’s one problem with that. “Who is TikTok?” he asks.

Despite hitting multiple bumps in his road to music glory, the director continues on. “They tell you you’re no good, you’re a goofy middle-aged white guy with no rhythm and you can’t sing on key. You’re not coordinated. That means I can’t be a pop star? Underestimate Boston … at your peril,” he warns before dropping a reference to J. Lo’s upcoming album. “This is me now.”

With a hefty chain featuring a giant blinged-out doughnut around his neck a la Flavor Flav’s massive clock necklaces, Affleck stares seriously into the distance, a determined look on his face, as a “To be continued” message appears.

Watch the new Dunkin’ ad starring Ben Affleck above.

04 Feb 2024

2024 Grammys: Best Photos From the Show

The 2024 Grammys took place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and was hosted by comedian Trevor Noah for a fourth consecutive year. For Music’s Biggest Night, the stars were out in force and dressed to the nines.

Taylor Swift – in a gorgeous white Schiaparelli gown and long black gloves that evoked Hollywood glam (and her Reputation era!) – stunned on the red carpet before strolling into the venue and making her way to her seat during Noah’s monologue, which led to the comedian joking about her improving the “local economies” as she made her way past.

The show also included stunning performances, including Dua Lipa, who opened the ceremony by debuting her new single “Training Season” as well as lead single “Houdini” off her upcoming album, a duet of “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs, SZA offering up “Kill Bill” and “Snooze,” Billie Eilish and brother Finneas delivering Barbie hit “What Was I Made For?” and earning a standing ovation, and more.

Miley Cyrus also took the stage for  the live performance debut of her hit “Flowers,” which also won the gramophone for best pop solo performance. The victory was Cyrus’ first-ever Grammy win. Other winners during the primetime included Karol G – who also won her first Grammy – for best musica urbana album for Manana Sera Bonita, SZA for best R&B song with “Snooze,” and Swift for best pop vocal album for Midnights. While accepting her 13th Grammy, the pop superstar also announced her upcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department, which arrives in April.

Keep scrolling for some of the best photos from the show, including presenters, performances and acceptance speeches.

04 Feb 2024

Miley Cyrus Performs ‘Flowers’ for the First Time on TV at 2024 Grammys

Miley Cyrus performed her hit single — and now Grammy-winning song — “Flowers” for the first time at the 2024 Grammys Sunday (Feb. 4).

She shimmied in her silver fringe dress like a ’70s diva and shook out her voluminous hair in the middle of Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena. “Why are you acting like you don’t know this song?” she sassily asked the audience mid-performance before revising one of her lyrics: “Started to cry, but then remembered I just won my first Grammy!”

Earlier in the evening, “Flowers” won best pop solo performance, marking Cyrus’ first-ever Grammy win. She’s earned nominations in five additional categories for the 66th annual Grammy Awards, including song and record of the year with “Flowers,” and album of the year with Endless Summer Vacation. “Flowers” spent eight weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 2023.

“The reason I’m so excited when I get to sing this song live is ’cause I’ve literally only sang it live twice,” she said in a pre-recorded video ahead of the performance. One of those performances was at Los Angeles’ Chateau Marmont in November. “Why I’m performing at the Grammys? So I can lay in bed on Feb. 5 and watch a video of myself performing at the Grammys. That is actually the most honest answer I can give you. I thought about it this morning when I was rehearsing for the Grammys. I thought, ‘Why am I doing this?’ And I was like, ‘Oh yeah, for me!’ When my future self looks back on this moment, she’s gonna say, ‘You look good.’”