Awards
The 13 Best Things That Happened in Music This Week (August 28)
If you’re just waking up on this glorious Friday, you’re about to discover what much of Twitter already knows: Selena Gomez and Blackpink’s epic new collaboration “Ice Cream” has arrived. We know what we’ll be doing for the next few days: “Ice cream chillin’, chillin’, ice cream chillin’!” Plus, we’re heading into VMAs weekend, and you can brush up on your music video history ahead of the big night by checking out our list of the 100 greatest music video artists of all time. Take a look at all of that — and more of the week’s biggest music happenings — below. Taylor Swift’s Folklore ruled for a fourth week Swift’s latest set topped the Billboard 200 chart once again, with 101,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 20. Billboard’s...
Roddy Ricch Did Not Advance to Final Three in VMAs’ Push Best New Artist Category, Won’t Be Appearing on Show
Billboard reported earlier today that Ricch will not be performing on this year’s show, as originally announced. On July 30, when MTV announced the six semi-finalists for its PUSH Best New Artist award, presented by Chime Banking, Roddy Ricch seemed like sure thing to advance to the top three finalists. His breakthrough smash, “The Box,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 11 consecutive weeks, and he made it back to the top spot for seven more weeks as a featured artist on DaBaby’s “Rockstar.” The other semi-finalists were Doja Cat and Lewis Capaldi, who had also topped the Hot 100, as well as Jack Harlow, Tate McRae and YUNGBLUD. But when the three finalists were announced Monday (Aug. 24), Ricch was missing from the list. The three finalists are Doja Cat, Capaldi and YUNGBLUD. (Fans can vo...
iHeartRadio Music Awards Cancelled For 2020 — But Winners Will Still Be Announced
Eight months will have elapsed between the announcement of the nominees and the revelation of the winners. The 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards, originally scheduled to take place March 29 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, with Usher hosting, were officially cancelled on Monday (Aug. 24). But fear not, awards fans: The winners will still be announced over the Labor Day weekend (Sept. 4-7) on 840 iHeartRadio stations nationwide and via iHeart’s social platforms. The chain will even include acceptance speeches from the winners. This year’s nominations were announced on Jan. 8, which means eight months will have elapsed between the announcement of the nominees and the revelation of the winners. Billie Eilish and Shawn Mendes were this year’s top nominees, with seven nods each. Taylo...
Tasha Cobbs Leonard & Kirk Franklin Win Big at Stellar Gospel Music Awards: Here’s the Complete List of Winners
For the second year in a row, the show honored a legendary figure who died during the previous year. Last year it was Aretha Franklin; this year it was John Lewis. Tasha Cobbs Leonard took artist of the year at the Stellar Gospel Music Awards, which were presented in a virtual event that aired on BET on Sunday (Aug. 23). Leonard also won contemporary female vocalist of the year. But Kirk Franklin, who co-hosted the show with Jonathan McReynolds and Koryn Hawthorne, won more awards overall — five. He took male vocalist of the year and contemporary male vocalist of the year, album of the year and contemporary album of the year, and producer of the year. Donald Lawrence won four awards, including song of the year for “Deliver Me (This Is My Exodus).” John P. McKee won three aw...
How to Watch the Stellar Awards, Featuring CeCe Winans, Marvin Sapp & More
This will be the second year in a row that BET has aired the show. Gospel fans, rejoice! The Stellar Gospel Music Awards are set to air on BET Networks Sunday night (Aug. 23). Kirk Franklin, Jonathan McReynolds and Koryn Hawthorne are set to co-host the two-hour virtual special, which will air at 6:00 p.m. ET, with an encore airing at 9:00 p.m. ET. McReynolds and Hawthorne are also set to perform on the show. Other confirmed performers include CeCe Winans, J.J. Hairston & Youthful Praise, Travis Greene, Marvin Sapp, Tye Tribbett, Tauren Wells, Pastor Mike Jr., Anthony Brown, James Fortune, Kierra Sheard, Zacardi Cortez, DOE and Rich Tolbert Jr. This will be the second year in a row that BET has aired the show. This year’s special will also be simulcast on BET Her. The Stellar Awa...
Who Wore It Best: Miley Cyrus or Miss Piggy?
You decide. Not for nothing, but Miss Piggy is a fashion icon. And the O.G. Muppet proved it on Wednesday (Aug. 19) when she reminded Miley Cyrus who the true diva is, in case Hannah Montana forgot. “Moi is always in tune to the demands of modern fashion. As soon as I saw @MileyCyrus rocking this look, I thought, ‘When did she get that out of my closet?!’,” Miss P wrote alongside a picture of her rocking blonde braids, a giant foam finger and an outfit alarmingly similar to the skimpy one Miley wore during her iconic 2013 MTV VMA performance with Robin Thicke. “History will decide who was more iconic wearing it: Miley at the VMAs or moi on The Muppets series from 2015,” Piggy wrote. Cyrus, who recently released the single “Midnight Sky,”...
Lewis Capaldi, Passed Over for a Grammy Nod for Best New Artist, Lands His 2nd Top 10 Hit on the Billboard Hot 100
Capaldi was also bypassed for a performance slot on the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 26. Lewis Capaldi is having the last laugh. Nearly nine months after the Scottish singer/songwriter was, surprisingly, passed over for a Grammy nod for best new artist, he lands his second top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Before You Go.” The song follows “Someone You Loved,” which led the chart for three nonconsecutive weeks last November—and received a Grammy nod for song of the year. (Capaldi co-wrote the ballad with Tom Barnes, Pete Kelleher, Benjamin Kohn and Sam Roman.) Nominations in the Big Four categories—album, record and song of the year plus best new artist—are determined by a nominations review committee which reviews the top 20 vote-getters of rank-and-file voting members. While ...
Hank Williams Jr. & Sr., The Everly Brothers, Alabama & More Cases of Family Ties in the Country Music Hall of Fame
Hank Williams Jr.’s selection for the Country Music Hall of Fame, announced Wednesday (Aug. 12), had to be gratifying for the veteran entertainer. Williams’ father, the legendary Hank Williams, was one of the first three inductees in the Hall in 1961. This is just the third time that both father and son have been inducted into the Hall. The Williamses follow the Roses (Fred Rose and his son Wesley H. Rose) and the Bradleys (Owen Bradley and his son Jerry Bradley). Here are all of the acts with family ties to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. {“nid”:”9433105″,”type”:”post”,”title”:”Hank Williams Jr. Follows His Late Father Into Country Music Hall of Fame: Marty Stuart, Dean Dillon Also Named”,”relat...
Flying Lotus, FKA Twigs, Vince Clarke & More Win at 2020 AIM Awards
Electronic artist Flying Lotus, singer and songwriter FKA twigs, Anglo-Indian jazz drummer Sarathy Korwar and synth-pop master Vince Clarke were among the big winners as the indie community assembled Wednesday night (Aug. 12) for the 10th annual AIM Independent Music Awards, held virtually for the first time. Flying Lotus snagged best independent track (for “More” featuring Anderson .Paak) and Korwar’s More Arriving took out best independent album. “It feels like a true blessing to be able to receive an award and to be acknowledged in these times, when they make us feel like our work isn’t essential and what we do is just, whatever,” enthused Flying Lotus (real name Steven Ellison). “So, thank you for the reminder that what we do is very important.” {“nid”:”9343769&...
The VMAs Will Feature Outdoor Performances Around NYC; Barclays Center Must Wait Till 2021
The VMAs bowed to reality on Friday (Aug. 7) and announced that the VMAs will not be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, as originally planned. Instead, the Aug. 30 show, to be hosted by actress and singer Keke Palmer, will consist of “several outdoor performances around [New York] City with limited or no audience.” The show will return to Barclays Center (which hosted the VMAs once before, in 2013) in 2021. BTS, Doja Cat and J Balvin are the first artists announced who will perform on the show. Here’s the full statement from MTV: “The 2020 VMAs will be held on Sunday, August 30th and pay homage to the incredible resiliency of New York with several outdoor performances around the City with limited or no audience, adhering to all state and city guidelines. In close ...
Will the Grammys Classify Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’ as Pop or Alternative?
Last week, we asked whether Taylor Swift’s new album Folklore would put her back in the album of the year finals at the Grammys for the first time since she won for 1989. Most of you seem to think it will. Here’s a tougher follow-up question: Will the album compete for best pop vocal album, as Swift’s last three albums have, or best alternative music album? (Albums may compete in only one “genre album” category.) Unfortunately, we can’t just go by the charts: The album enters both the all-genre Billboard 200 and Alternative Albums at No. 1 this week. The album has strong alternative credentials. Aaron Dessner, who co-produced the album with Swift and her long-time collaborator Jack Antonoff, and who co-wrote nine songs on the album with Swift, won a Grammy in the alternative ca...
Are You Ready for the Djooky Music Awards? The Global Online Song Contest Is Accepting Applications
The judging panel includes Grammy nominees Patrice Rushen and Sacha Starbek. Music platform Djooky has launched a global online competition. The Djooky Music Awards (DMA), billed as the first global online song contest, is now accepting applications. Both amateur and professional songwriters and musicians are invited to participate. Brian Malouf, a co-founder of DMA, said: ‘The Djooky Music Awards is…an attempt to democratize and decentralize the music industry globally. We want to create fairer opportunities for musicians who are struggling to break through the power structures which currently exist. In DMA, the power is with the people who decide which song wins over their hearts.” Andrew Dakhovskyy, CEO at DMA, added: “We understand that the artists everywhere are going through un...
