Awards
What the 2021 Grammys Could Look Like
With a confirmed date for the 2021 ceremony, the Recording Academy is now focused on pandemic-proofing the show. The show will go on. That’s the word from Recording Academy chair and interim president/CEO Harvey Mason Jr. about the 63rd annual Grammy Awards, slated to take place Jan. 31, 2021. Less certain, in the age of the coronavirus, are all of the other particulars, including whether the ceremony will air live from Los Angeles’ Staples Center as planned. Mason says he is in “constant communication” with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office, medical advisers, network partner CBS, the venue and executive producer Ben Winston regarding the latest updates that inform the reopening process. California is currently in stage two — and concert venues in the state do not reopen until ...
Grammy, Emmy, Golden Globes Sites Commemorate Black Out Tuesday
Both the Grammy and Emmy sites urged visitors to support Color of Change and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. The lead stories at the sites tied to the Grammy Awards and the Emmy Awards on Tuesday (June 2) didn’t have anything to with awards or nominations, but with social justice. Visitors to www.Grammy.com were greeted with this announcement, set against a stark black background: “The Recording Academy stands with our members, colleagues, creators and the entire music community as we observe ‘Black Out Tuesday’ on June 2. We will use this day to reflect, as we know we can all be better…do better. “We recognize and embrace the responsibility that we all have in the fight against racial injustice. The Academy will join our colleagues in the music industry t...
Grammy Watch: Summer Walker, Doja Cat & More Likely Nominees for Best New Artist
Roddy Ricch has a good chance of landing Grammy nominations for both record and album of the year. His smash “The Box” headed the Billboard Hot 100 for 11 weeks, longer than any other single this year. His album Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial led the Billboard 200 for four weeks. But you can scratch Ricch off your list of likely Grammy candidates for best new artist. He won a Grammy last year (best rap performance for his featured role on Nipsey Hussle‘s “Racks in the Middle”), which makes him ineligible. Several other artists who might have had a good shot at best new artist nods are also probably going to be ruled ineligible when the Grammy Screening Committee meets (either in-person or by Zoom) this fall. Megan Thee Stallion had released ...
Miley Cyrus, Swizz Beatz, Timbaland & More Accept Webby Awards With 5-Word Thoughts
The Webby Awards hosted their first ever WFH: Webby From Home celebration on Wednesday (May 19) in honor of the winners announced earlier in the day. Patton Oswalt hosted the event, which featured the characteristic Webby five-word speeches from the winners. “Stay lit in dark times,” Miley Cyrus, who received the Webby Special Achievement Award from her old Disney pal, Demi Lovato, said. “What is Miley Cyrus up to? Seriously, though,” Lovato said in her speech. “As we’ve made our way through this unprecedented time, any way to connect and communicate with people to laugh, share stories, sing with friends, any chance for us to come get together joyfully has become vitally important. And my friend Miley has provided an outlet for millions of people to do just...
Megan Thee Stallion & Beyoncé Could Make Grammy History With ‘Savage’
This would be Beyoncé’s first nomination for best rap performance. With Megan Thee Stallion‘s “Savage” (featuring Beyoncé) jumping from No. 4 to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, the track is a serious contender for a Grammy nomination for best rap performance. This would be the first time in 23 years that an all-female collab was nominated in that category (or one of its forerunner categories, best rap solo performance or best rap performance by a duo or group). It last happened when “Not Tonight” by Lil’ Kim featuring Da Brat, Left Eye, Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott and Angie Martinez was nominated for the 1997 award for best rap performance by a duo or group. This would be Beyoncé’s first nomination for best rap performan...
Little Richard Never Won a Grammy, But He Brought Down the House at the 1988 Grammy Awards
Richard’s tone was genial and good-natured, but you can bet that it reflected a genuine sense that his role as a rock’n’roll pioneer had been under-appreciated. Little Richard never won a Grammy in competition, but he provided one of the most memorable moments at the 30th annual Grammy Awards, held on March 2, 1988 at Radio City Music Hall in New York. That was a strong Grammy show to begin with. It was the year Michael Jackson gave one of the most captivating performances in Grammy history, and U2 won album of the year for the first time. Little Richard and David Johansen, former leader of the New York Dolls (who recorded solo as Buster Poindexter), walked onstage to present the award for best new artist. Richard pointed out that Johansen’s hair was styled in a pom...
With Little Richard’s Death, Only Two Members of the Inaugural Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class Are Still Living
Rock’n’roll really does keep you young. But not immortal, sad to say. With Little Richard‘s death today (May 9) at age 87, now just two members of the inaugural class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are still living — Jerry Lee Lewis, who is 84, and Don Everly, the older of The Everly Brothers, who is 83. The other members of the first class, from 1986, have all died. Three of them were inducted posthumously: Buddy Holly had died way back in 1959 (at age 22), Sam Cooke in 1964 (at age 33) and Elvis Presley in 1977 (at age 42). But all of the other members of the inaugural class lived to see their inductions and in fact made it into the 2000s, which suggests that rock’n’roll really does keep you young. But not immortal, sad to say: Ray Ch...
Patton Oswalt Promises to Host Virtual Webby Awards While ‘Sitting Around in Pajamas’
This will be Oswalt’s fourth time hosting the show, which extends his record as the Webbys’ most frequent host. Patton Oswalt will host the 24th Annual Webby Awards on May 19. The show, typically held in New York City, will instead be an Internet celebration with a focus on those using the Internet to respond to the impact of COVID-19. This year’s show has been dubbed WFH: Webbys From Home. In a statement, Oswalt joked: “It’s going to be the same as every other night lately — sitting around in my pajamas, marveling at amazing stuff on the Internet — except I won’t even have to find it myself.” “No one on this planet gets the Internet and can make it funny quite like Patton Oswalt,” said Claire Graves, executive director of t...
