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Just a short while after assisting Bruno Mars in a tribute to Los Angeles with a solemn “California Dreamin’” cover, Lady Gaga revealed her bombastic new dance-pop single, “Abracadabra.” Unveiled through a MasterCard commercial, Gaga treated her high-octane new single to an artsy music video that trades primarily in red, black and white hues. “The […]
English musician Morrissey has taken to his website to share his fondness of Loudon Wainwright III’s 1970 self-titled debut album.
Morrissey’s essay – published under the title Let Us Now Praise Famous Men – arrives as an 800+ word love letter to Wainwright’s record, complemented with lyrics and personal opinions in regard to its composition and release.
“Only the best singing voices can become the very sound and image of geographical places,” Morrissey wrote. “In Delaware when he was younger, Loudon Wainwright imagined his first ever LP, and unzipped it in 1970 to a narrowed public taste that left it chartless forever. On the sleeve he stood with no importance against a brick wall, in the way that classic art avoids fashion.
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“He needed nothing but his solo acoustic and his impressive palette of words,” he added. “Whoever else was offering musical dynamics in 1970 did not concern him. The voice was almost hayseed in its yearning, fully in the ‘now’ of 1969/70, saying everything whilst looking nothing, and how ridiculous it is to be afraid.”
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Originally released in 1970 via Atlantic Records, Loudon Wainwright III (occasionally referred to as Album I in keeping with the naming convention of his next two records) was an auspicious start to his career. Though it spawned no singles and didn’t chart (a feat Wainwright wouldn’t achieve until 1972’s Album III), it is still remembered fondly by supporters such as Morrissey as proof that Wainwright was simply ahead of his time.
“All political careers end in failure. All musical careers eventually go soft,” Morrissey continued. “Loudon Wainwright refused to become a sleeping-pill accident like similar dreamboats Phil Ochs, Tim Hardin, Tim Buckley. By the year 2000, singers are given awards for songs that weren’t worth writing in the first place; Loudon Wainwright missed all of that and stood clear of the three-ringed circus. It wasn’t the case that he followed 1970 with failure, but the scholastic pride of life is caught in a thought-smashing way on this irradiant debut, and like an old hang-dog hound it stays beside me – dolefully looking up occasionally to make sure that I’m still here and I’m still me. I am.
“Finally, victory. Sometimes it takes the rest of the world fifty years to catch up,” he concluded. “But they do.”
His 1970 debut marked something of a transitory period of Wainwright’s life. Released shortly after he had relocated to New York City and signed a record deal, its release occurred one year before his marriage to Canadian musician Kate McGarrigle, with whom he had two children. Wainwright and McGarrigle would later divorce in 1976.
Wainwright’s most recent album, Lifetime Achievement, was released in 2022. Morrissey, however, hasn’t released a new album since 2020’s I Am Not a Dog on a Chain, though he has since claimed that a war on “free speech” has left him unable to release further records. Planned albums include 2023’s Bonfire of Teenagers, and Without Music the World Dies, though the latter has yet to be given even a tentative release date.
The Grammys made sure to pay proper tribute to one of the most important figures in 20th century popular music — the late Quincy Jones — with a star-studded tribute performance recognizing the producer, composer and instrumentalist’s varied musical achievements throughout the decades. The performance was introduced by Will Smith, who acknowledged his career would […]
The boycott is over. The Weeknd made his surprise return to the 2025 Grammy Awards stage on Sunday (Feb. 2) with an electric performance of “Cry for Me” and “Timeless” featuring an assist from his upcoming tourmate Playboi Carti. After an extended broadcast tease, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. shocked viewers by introducing The […]
Shakira won her fourth Grammy award on Sunday (Feb. 2) — the day of her birthday — for Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, which took home the trophy for best Latin pop album. Jennifer Lopez presented the award to Shakira, who took the stage after hugging her two children. “Wow, this is incredible, thank you […]
Benson Boone, Doechii, Teddy Swims, Shaboozey and Raye showed off the sheer star power of this year’s best new artist nominees during a rousing performance medley at the 2025 Grammy Awards Sunday evening (Feb. 2). Boone kicked things off by singing his hit “Beautiful Things” from the floor of Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and […]
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars threw it back to the ’60s for their performance at the 2025 Grammys, singing The Mamas and the Papas’ iconic hit “California Dreamin” midway through the ceremony at Crypto.com Arena Sunday (Feb. 2). Taking the stage just after a video played highlighting the destruction in the Los Angeles area — […]
Chappell Roan has never been one to shy away from making a point, and she made sure to make her voice heard at the 2025 Grammys Sunday (Feb. 2) when she won best new artist at the annual ceremony.
After she was announced as the category’s winner, Roan — who was dressed in a conical princess hat and a satin gray dress — took to the stage at the Crypto.com Arena and immediately offered a series of shout-outs. “Thank you to my fellow nominees, whose music got me through this past year — Brat was the best night of my life this year,” she said with a laugh. “Thank you all who listened to get me here today, and Dan, and Island Records, Amusement Records, my friends and my family, and above all my papa Chappell, who I named myself after.”
Then, the “Pink Pony Club” singer steered her speech to ask the music labels watching to provide better healthcare and financial support for their artists. “I told myself if I ever won a Grammy and I got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and healthcare, especially for developing artists,” she said, reading out of a notebook.
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Roan shared her own experience with being dropped from a major label, and how the lack of support she received affected her. “I got signed so young … and when I got dropped, I had zero job experience under my belt, and like most people, I had a difficult time finding a job in the pandemic, and could not afford health insurance,” she said. “It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art and to feel so betrayed by the system and to be so dehumanized to not have healthcare. If my label would have prioritized artists’ health, I could have been provided care by a company I was giving everything to.”
In closing her speech, Roan left executives with a powerful note: “Labels, we got you — but do you got us?”
Roan was nominated in a stacked best new artist category, featuring stars including Sabrina Carpenter, Benson Boone, Doechii, Shaboozey, Teddy Swims and others. The “Femininomenon” singer also received five other nominations at the annual awards show, including in the other Big Four categories for album of the year (The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess), record of the year and song of the year (“Good Luck, Babe”).
Spiritbox vocalist Courtney LaPlante has expertly rolled with a red carpet mix-up at the Grammys this year, adopting the guise of fellow nominee Poppy after an interviewer confused the two artists.
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The high-profile case of mistaken identity occurred on LaPlante’s way into the ceremony, where she was nominated for Best Metal Performance with the rest of Spiritbox for their track “Cellar Door”.
The category was ultimately won by French band Gojira, whose performance of “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!)” (as heard at the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony) was a collaboration with Swiss soprano Marina Viotti and Victor Le Masne. Elsewhere in the nominations was Metallica’s “Screaming Suicide”, Judas Priest’s “Crown of Horns”, and Knocked Loose’s collaboration with Poppy, “Suffocation”.
However, confusion reigned during LaPlante’s appearance on the red carpet where she took part in an interview, only to be introduced as Poppy. Offering a slightly confused look to the off-camera interviewer, LaPlante decided instead to roll with it and continued the conversation as her fellow nominee.
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“I am Poppy, and I am really happy to be here, nominated with Knocked Loose,” LaPlante replied slyly. “I really hope we win.”
Noting she had just finished chatting to Judas Priest, the interviewer goes on to mention it’s not Poppy’s first time being nominated, referencing her nod for “Bloodmoney” in 2021.
“Really happy to be here again, would love to take home the Grammy for Knocked Loose and myself because I would be the first woman to win this award,” LaPlante added. “I actually haven’t looked at [how many women have been nominated previously] but I just always know that it’s time for one of us to win. I hope it’s me, or Spiritbox and Courtney.”
LaPlante then answered further questions under Poppy’s guise, referring to Knocked Loose’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! as a “huge moment for our scene”, and reflected on the lack of female representation in the metal category at the Grammys before handing back the microphone without incident.
Spiritbox formed in Canada in 2017 and released their debut album, Eternal Blue, four years later, with the record peaking at No. 13 on the Billboard 200 and topping the Top Rock Albums chart.
In 2023, they issued their fourth EP, The Fear of Fear, with opening track “Jaded” giving them their first Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance in 2024. Their recently-nominated track, “Cellar Door”, was also lifted from the same EP. The band are currently slated to release their second full-length album, Tsunami Sea, in March.
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter has won best country album at the 2025 Grammys ceremony on Sunday (Feb. 2). The triumph makes Beyoncé the first Black woman to win in the best country album category.
Taylor Swift presented the trophy for best country album, telling the audience, “They say you never forget where you came from, and I will never forget standing here right on this spot almost exactly 15 years ago, accepting the award for best country album. It’s an honor that has gone to great artists that I admire so much, like The Chicks, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, George Strait, Faith Hill, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss and Shania Twain.”
Swift announced Beyoncé as the winner, with the audience cheering as Beyoncé rose from her seat in the crowd, hugging her husband Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy, and then taking the stage to accept the honor.
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After greeting Swift, Beyoncé addressed the audience. “Wow. I want to thank God — oh my God — that I’m still able to do what I love after all these years. I’d like to thank all of the incredible country artists that accepted this album. We worked so hard on it. I think sometimes ‘genre’ is a cold word to keep us in our place as artists. I just want to encourage people to do what they are passionate about and to stay persistent.”
She thanked her family as well as her collaborators on Cowboy Carter. “This wouldn’t have been this album without you,” Beyoncé said, thanking God and her fans.
“I still am in shock, so thank you so much for this honor,” she concluded.
Cowboy Carter spent two weeks atop the all-genre Billboard 200 when it debuted in April. The project featured an array of artists including Country Music Hall of Famers such as Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, but also, crucially, the project paid homage to Black country trailblazers such as Linda Martell (who appears on the tracks “Spaghettii” and “The Linda Martell Show”), and put a spotlight on modern-day Black country artists. Shaboozey appeared on multiple songs on the project, including “Spaghettii” and “Sweet Honey Buckiin,” while Black women country artists Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts traded harmonies with Beyoncé on “Blackbiird.”
Earlier in the evening, Bey became the first Black female artist to win a country Grammy in the past five decades, when she took home the trophy for best country duo/group performance for “II Most Wanted,” her collaboration with Miley Cyrus. The Pointer Sisters had previously won a Grammy for best country vocal performance by a duo or group in 1975.
Beyoncé led the Grammy nominees this year with 11 nominations going into the ceremony. The 2025 Grammy Awards aired on CBS, live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
