Grammys
Forever No. 1: B.J. Thomas’ ‘Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head’
“When the film was released, I was highly critical — how did the song fit with the film? There was no rain,” Redford told USA Today in 2019, a half-century later. “At the time, it seemed like a dumb idea. How wrong I was.” “Raindrops…” was hardly the most sophisticated song that Burt Bacharach and Hal David — the duo who’d penned many of the most pristine and affecting pop songs of the late ’50s and ’60s, including most of Dionne Warwick’s signature smashes — ever wrote. But it may have been their most universal, a song that everybody who has ever had a bad day or a rough patch could relate to. David’s lyric has a dash of whimsical humor (“So, I just did me some talkin’ to the sun/ And I said I didn’t like the way he got things done...
New Grammy Award Rules Include Update to Dance/Electronic Category
Amid transformative times for the Grammy Awards, The Recording Academy has announced a slew of rule changes to be implemented in 2022. Following criticism of the organization’s controversial Nominations Review Committee, the metamorphosis of the Grammys took another step forward today after The Recording Academy shared a laundry list of updates to the award ceremony’s annual guidelines, including a change to the Dance/Electronic category. Billboard reports that the category formerly known as Best Dance Recording has now been renamed Best Dance/Electronic Recording. The change was reportedly made to align with its corresponding category related to albums, which has been called Best Dance/Electronic Album. Kaytranada won the Grammy Awards for Best Dance Recording and Best Da...
Recording Academy Announces More Grammy Rule Changes Affecting Album of the Year, Dance/Electronic Music & More
Here’s a summary of approved rule changes which go into effect immediately: Album of the year: Expanding eligibility Moving forward, if an album is up for album of the year, all credited featured artists, songwriters of new material, producers, recording engineers, mixers and mastering engineers who worked on that album are automatically nominated. Previously, the rule stated that all of these pros had to be credited with 33 percent or more of playing time to be nominated. This is a retreat on the Academy’s part. Colbie Caillat received a Grammy for album of the year because she was featured on one track (“Breathe”) on Taylor Swift’s Fearless, the 2009 album of the year winner. The Grammys subsequently tightened up their rules to make Grammys a little harder to get. They now are going back...
9 Memorable Moments From Clive Davis’ Grammy Museum Benefit With Elton John, H.E.R. & More
Yes, the Grammy Awards took place two months ago, but in the topsy-turvy world of the last 14 months, the sequel to part one of the Pre-Grammy party didn’t take place until now. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Davis’s annual Pre-Grammy gala, traditionally held the night before the Grammy Awards, went online in 2021 and Davis decided to break it into two events. The first edition, benefitting MusiCares, was held Jan. 30, which would have been the night before the Grammys, but the Grammys got postponed to March 14. Then, the second edition, benefitting the Grammy Museum, was slated to take place on March 13 — the night before the rescheduled Grammys — but Davis contracted Bell’s palsy and postponed the event until May 15. Still with us? Saturday night’s event followed the same temp...
The Grammy Award Nomination Process is Changing
Harsh criticism toward the Grammy Awards ceremony from pop superstar The Weeknd has led the Recording Academy to reconsider its nomination process. After The Weeknd—the world’s second most-streamed artist on Spotify—was snubbed at last year’s ceremony, the artist called for increased transparency around the organization’s nomination process. The Recording Academy has taken that criticism into consideration and will now forgo using anonymous review committees to determine its nominees. The Academy has also changed the number of categories in which Academy members can vote, and added two additional award categories. With the changes, the Academy seeks to “reflect its ongoing commitment to evolve with the musical landscape and to ensure that the GRAMMY Awards...
The Weeknd Doubles Down on Grammy Boycott After Recording Academy Axes Nomination Review Committees
As Billboard reported in March, rank-and-file Grammy voters determine the final nominees in just 12 of 84 categories. In 59 categories, however, nominations review committees had the final say in determining the nominees. (The final nominations in the remaining 13 categories are determined by so-called “craft committees.”) The decision to end the committees paves the way for rank-and-file Grammy voters to have final say. In a statement to Variety, The Weeknd expanded on his break with the academy, describing the decision as a move forward, but not a solution. “The trust has been broken for so long between the Grammy organization and artists that it would be unwise to raise a victory flag,” he told the magazine, again saying he would not offer his music up for the awards...
Grammy Museum Marks Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month With Programs & Exhibits
Programs: Daniel Ho & Tak Matsumoto Henry Kapono Anoushka Shankar Yoshiki Mele Mei in L.A.: Honoring The Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Tradition – featuring Hawaiian artists Charles Brotman, Amy Hanaiali’i, Raiatea Helm, Jeff Peterson, Makana, and more Music of Waikiki – featuring Hawaiian artists Melveen Leed, Kawaikapuokalani Hewett, Danny Couch (of the Alii’s), Jay Larrin, Nathan Aweau (from the Don Ho Show), Bobby Moderow (of Maunalua), Kawika Kahiapo, Streetlight Cadence, Kimie Miner, and Na Hoa Mele Mei in L.A.: A Salute to Hawaii’s Grammy Nominees – featuring Kimie Miner, Kathryn Schulmeister, and Amy Hanaiali’I, plus Kalani Pe’a, Bobby Moderow Jr., Streetlight Cadence, Jeff Peterson, and more. Exhibits: Kī Hō’alu – Honoring the Hawaiian Slack Key Guita...
What New Grammy Rules Mean for Latin Music & The Latin Grammys: Analysis
The notion of a Latin committee was born precisely from the desire to showcase material that was exquisite but perhaps not commercial, and to avoid a default win for big crossover names. But as Latin music has become increasingly mainstream in the United States — and let’s remember that the Grammys honor U.S. releases — the need for a small committee to determine the fate of the music is less urgent. What remains to be seen is how this empowered voting body will act with Latin releases. Will they take the easy way out, voting primarily for those names they recognize? Our hope is that those who end up voting in the Latin categories are those who work within the genre and know its players. The reduction in the number of categories that can be voted on — from 15 to 10 —...
Recording Academy Votes to End Grammy Nomination Review Committees
“It’s been a year of unprecedented, transformational change for the Recording Academy, and I’m immensely proud to be able to continue our journey of growth with these latest updates to our Awards process,” said Harvey Mason Jr., chair & interim president/CEO of the Recording Academy. “This is a new Academy, one that is driven to action and that has doubled down on the commitment to meeting the needs of the music community.” Ruby Marchand, the Academy’s chief industry officer, added: “As we continue to build a more active and vibrant membership community, we are confident in the expertise of our voting members to recognize excellence in music each year.” The biggest change is the elimination of nominations review committees in general and genre fields. (The gener...
Grammy Museum to Salute Blue Note Records to Mark Jazz Appreciation Month
Other programs in April will feature veteran artists Richie Furay, Tower of Power and Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. The latter couple won six Grammys as part of the Fifth Dimension and an additional award on their own with “You Don’t Have to Be a Star (to Be in My Show),” a No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 in 1977. Here is the Grammy Museum’s April schedule for Collection:Live. All programs feature interviews and/or performances: April 8Celebrating Jazz Appreciation MonthEmmet CohenJulian Lage April 22The Beat FarmersRichie FurayT Bear aka Richard T BearTower of Power April 29Adam Ezra GroupMarilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr.Michigander Spotlight Saturdays Series takeover by Elektra Music Group: April 3 – Chloe MoriondoApril 10 – LivingstonApril 17 – Brynn CartelliApr...
Grammy Awards Move to Monday for 2022 Awards Show
The Grammys have often aired on Sundays for the past 20 years, occasionally switching to Wednesday night, which was frequently when the awards ceremony took place in the ’90s. Incidentally, Jan. 31 was the original date of the 2021 Grammys before it was postponed to March 14 amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles in January. This year’s Grammys hit an all-time low in ratings, with just 9.23 million viewers and a 2.28 rating among adults 18-49 in Nielsen’s final same-day ratings. Viewership was down sharply from 2020’s edition of the music awards ceremony, falling 51 percent in terms of total viewers (from 18.69 million) and 58 percent in the 18-49 demographic (from 5.4 million). This story was originally published in The Hollywood Reporter. You...
The Weeknd, Drake, Nicki Minaj & More Artists Who Have Called Out the Grammys
Below, find 26 artists who’ve been critical of the Grammy Awards in recent history. The Weeknd The Weeknd decided to boycott the Grammys moving forward following his highly controversial shutout at the 2021 ceremony. The R&B superstar was thought to be a strong contender in the Big Four categories, including album of the year for his fourth LP After Hours, which spent four consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, as well as record of the year and song of the year for his blockbuster hit “Blinding Lights,” which broke Billboard chart records a year after its release. But on the morning of Nov. 24, 2020, when the 2021 Grammy Award nominations were revealed, The Weeknd’s name was nowhere ...
