Grammy Awards

Subterms

    More stories

    • 125 Shares189 Views

      in Music

      The Grammys Pay Tribute to Taylor Hawkins and Stephen Sondheim

      by

      The Grammy Awards took an extended moment to honor Taylor Hawkins, the Foo Fighters drummer who died just over a week ago while on tour with the band in Colombia.The show featured a compilation of photos and video footage from Hawkins’s career as a charismatic drummer known for his wide smile. Hawkins, who joined Foo Fighters in the ’90s, died at age 50. The band was scheduled to perform at the awards ceremony but pulled out after Hawkins’s death.Earlier in the night, Billie Eilish paid tribute to Hawkins when she performed in a T-shirt with the drummer’s image on it while singing her song “Happier Than Ever.”After the tribute to Hawkins, a quartet of musical-theater performers honored other musical luminaries who have died over the past year, including Stephen Sondheim, the iconic Broadway composer and lyricist who died in November. Singing a compilation of Sondheim songs, including “Send In the Clowns” and “Somewhere” were Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr. and Rachel Zegler, who played Maria in the recent Steven Spielberg-directed film adaptation of “West Side Story.”Those honored included Charlie Watts, the Rolling Stones drummer; Wanda Young, one of the lead singers of the Motown group the Marvelettes; DMX, the top-selling rapper; Meat Loaf, the “Bat Out of Hell” singer; and Biz Markie, the rapper and producer. More

    • 138 Shares149 Views

      in Music

      Silk Sonic Win Song of the Year at the 2022 Grammys

      by

      The first televised award of the night, following three elaborate performances, was a major one: “Leave the Door Open,” by the throwback soul and R&B duo Silk Sonic, won song of the year, a category with 10 total nominees and steep competition. The track peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.The Grammy, awarded to a track’s songwriters, went to the group’s members, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, along with Christopher Brody Brown and Dernst Emile II, known as D’Mile, who dedicated the win to his mother, who died on Wednesday.“Because of you guys, me and Andy gonna be singing this song forever,” Mars said at the microphone.Anderson .Paak, whose initial remarks were bleeped as he appeared to adjust the zipper on his pants, concurred: “For the rest of our lives! We love you!”“Leave the Door Open” topped an expanded field that also included Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License”; Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever”; Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More” (featuring SZA); Justin Bieber’s “Peaches” (featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon); Brandi Carlile’s “Right on Time”; Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)”; Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits”; Carlile and Alicia Keys’s “A Beautiful Noise”; and “Fight for You” by H.E.R., who won the prize last year for a protest anthem, “I Can’t Breathe.”The award was presented by Questlove, who won earlier at the preshow, for “Summer of Soul,” which was named best music film. Referring to the film’s win at the Oscars last weekend — a celebration that directly followed Will Smith smacking Chris Rock — Questlove said, “I trust that you people will stay 500 feet away from me.” More

    • 150 Shares129 Views

      in Music

      Glass Animals Miss the Grammys After Lead Singer Tests Positive for Covid

      by

      The lead singer of the British alternative-pop band Glass Animals — a nominee for best new artist — tested positive for the coronavirus, and all of its members have decided to not attend the awards show, the group said in an Instagram post on Sunday.Dave Bayley was the only one of four band members to test positive, but the entire group will stay back, the post said.“I am so overwhelmingly heartbroken,” Bayley wrote. “Not just within myself, but for everyone who has worked so insanely hard with us over the past couple of chaotic years, and for every one of you who supported and believed in this project enough to get us here through thick and thin.”The band’s song “Heat Waves” is currently the No. 1 song in the country, sitting atop Billboard’s singles chart for the past four weeks. More

    • 75 Shares149 Views

      in Music

      2022 Grammy Awards Winners: Updating List

      by

      The list of winners for the 64th annual Grammy Awards.Follow our live coverage of the 2022 Grammy Awards.The 64th annual Grammy Awards are back Sunday night after being delayed by the Omicron variant. The show is being held in Las Vegas for the first time at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and Trevor Noah will return as the host. The ceremony has began and is airing on CBS and Paramount+. A majority of the awards were presented at the premiere ceremony, held before the telecast.Jon Batiste, the bandleader from “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” who received 11 nominations — the most of any artist — won four awards at the premiere ceremony. The 19-year-old pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo, who is nominated for the four top awards — album, record and song of the year, and best new artist — will be closely watched during the telecast. Rodrigo is up against Billie Eilish — who swept the four top awards in 2020 — in three of those categories.Rodrigo, BTS, Lil Nas X with Jack Harlow, Silk Sonic, Eilish, J Balvin, Carrie Underwood, John Legend and Lady Gaga are all scheduled to perform. The presenters include Megan Thee Stallion, Questlove and Dua Lipa, as well as Joni Mitchell, who will make a rare televised appearance. The show will feature an in memoriam segment with songs of Stephen Sondheim by Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Ben Platt and Rachel Zegler, as well as a moment of observation for the war in Ukraine.The planning for the show hasn’t been without complications. Kanye West was asked not to perform at the ceremony because of troubling online behavior. Foo Fighters were also set to perform but canceled after the sudden death of the band’s drummer, Taylor Hawkins. Check back here for live updates on all the winners throughout the night.Song of the Year“Leave the Door Open,” Brandon Anderson, Christopher Brody Brown, Dernst Emile Ii and Bruno Mars, songwriters (Silk Sonic)Best Pop Solo Performance“Drivers License,” Olivia RodrigoBest Traditional Pop Vocal Album“Love for Sale,” Tony Bennett and Lady GagaBest Dance/Electronic Recording“Alive,” Rüfüs Du SolBest Dance/Electronic Music Album“Subconsciously,” Black CoffeeBest Alternative Music Album“Daddy’s Home,” St. VincentBest Contemporary Instrumental Album“Tree Falls,” Taylor EigstiBest Rock Performance“Making a Fire,” Foo FightersBest Metal Performance“The Alien,” Dream TheaterBest Rock Song“Waiting on a War,” Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Rami Jaffee, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear, songwriters (Foo Fighters)Best Rock Album“Medicine at Midnight,” Foo FightersBest R&B Performance“Leave the Door Open,” Silk Sonic“Pick Up Your Feelings,” Jazmine SullivanBest Traditional R&B Performance“Fight for You,” H.E.R.Best R&B Song“Leave the Door Open,” Brandon Anderson, Christopher Brody Brown, Dernst Emile II and Bruno Mars, songwriters (Silk Sonic)A Guide to the 2022 Grammy AwardsThe ceremony, originally scheduled for Jan. 31, was postponed for a second year in a row due to Covid and is now scheduled for April 3.Jon Batiste Leads the Way: The jazz pianist earned the most nominations with 11, including album and record of the year. Here’s his reaction.Performers: Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, BTS and Lil Nas X are among the first performers announced for the April 3 show, which will be available on CBS and Paramount+.Kanye West: The singer, who is nominated for five awards, was told he will not be allowed to perform during the ceremony due to his erratic public behavior. A Surprise Appearance: The Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, who suffered an aneurysm in 2015 and has spoken in public infrequently since, will present an award at the ceremony.Best Progressive R&B Album“Table for Two,” Lucky DayeBest Melodic Rap Performance“Hurricane,” Kanye West featuring the Weeknd and Lil BabyBest Rap Song“Jail,” Dwayne Abernathy, Jr., Shawn Carter, Raul Cubina, Michael Dean, Charles M. Njapa, Sean Solymar, Kanye West and Mark Williams, songwriters (Kanye West featuring Jay-Z)Best Rap Album“Call Me if You Get Lost,” Tyler, the CreatorBest Country Solo Performance“You Should Probably Leave,” Chris StapletonBest Country Duo/Group Performance“Younger Me,” Brothers OsborneBest Country Song“Cold,” Dave Cobb, J.T. Cure, Derek Mixon and Chris Stapleton, songwriters (Chris Stapleton)Best New Age Album“Divine Tides,” Stewart Copeland and Ricky KejBest Improvised Jazz Solo“Humpty Dumpty (Set 2),” Chick Corea, soloistBest Jazz Vocal Album“Songwrights Apothecary Lab,” Esperanza SpaldingBest Jazz Instrumental Album“Skyline,” Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette and Gonzalo RubalcabaBest Large Jazz Ensemble Album“For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver,” Christian McBride Big BandBest Latin Jazz Album“Mirror Mirror,” Eliane Elias With Chick Corea and Chucho ValdésBest Gospel Performance/Song“Never Lost,” CeCe WinansBest Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song“Believe for It,” CeCe Winans; Dwan Hill, Kyle Lee, CeCe Winans and Mitch Wong, songwritersBest Gospel Album“Believe for It,” CeCe WinansBest Contemporary Christian Music Album“Old Church Basement,” Elevation Worship and Maverick City MusicBest Roots Gospel Album“My Savior,” Carrie UnderwoodBest Latin Pop Album“Mendó,” Alex CubaBest Música Urbana Album“El Último Tour Del Mundo,” Bad BunnyBest Latin Rock or Alternative Album“Origen,” JuanesBest Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)“A Mis 80’s,” Vicente FernándezBest Tropical Latin Album“Salswing!,” Rubén Blades y Roberto Delgado & OrquestaBest American Roots Performance“Cry,” Jon BatisteBest American Roots Song“Cry,” Jon Batiste and Steve McEwan, songwriters (Jon Batiste)Best Americana Album“Native Sons,” Los LobosBest Bluegrass Album“My Bluegrass Heart,” Béla FleckBest Traditional Blues Album“I Be Trying,” Cedric BurnsideBest Contemporary Blues Album“662,” Christone “Kingfish” IngramBest Folk Album“They’re Calling Me Home,” Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco TurrisiBest Regional Roots Music Album“Kau Ka Pe’a,” Kalani Pe’aBest Reggae Album“Beauty in the Silence,” SojaBest Engineered Album, Non-Classical“Love for Sale,” Dae Bennett, Josh Coleman and Billy Cumella, engineers; Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone, mastering engineers (Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga)Producer of the Year, Non-ClassicalJack AntonoffBest Remixed Recording“Passenger” (Mike Shinoda Remix); Mike Shinoda, remixer (Deftones); track from: “White Pony” (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)Best Global Music Performance“Mohabbat,” Arooj AftabBest Global Music Album“Mother Nature,” Angelique KidjoBest Children’s Music Album“A Colorful World,” FaluBest Spoken Word Album“Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation From John Lewis,” Don CheadleBest Comedy Album“Sincerely Louis C.K.,” Louis C.K.Best Musical Theater Album“The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical,” Emily Bear, producer; Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, composers/lyricists (Barlow & Bear)Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media“The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” Andra DayBest Score Soundtrack for Visual Media“The Queen’s Gambit,” Carlos Rafael Rivera, composer“Soul,” Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, composersBest Song Written For Visual Media“All Eyes On Me [From Inside],” Bo Burnham, songwriter (Bo Burnham)Best Immersive Audio Album“Alicia,” George Massenburg and Eric Schilling, immersive mix engineers; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Ann Mincieli, immersive producer (Alicia Keys)Best Immersive Audio Album (for 63rd Grammy Awards)“Soundtrack of the American Soldier,” Leslie Ann Jones, immersive mix engineer; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Dan Merceruio, immersive producer (Jim R. Keene and the United States Army Field Band)Best Engineered Album, Classical“Chanticleer Sings Christmas,” Leslie Ann Jones, engineer (Chanticleer)Producer of the Year, ClassicalJudith ShermanBest Orchestral Performance“Price: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3,” Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor (Philadelphia Orchestra)Best Opera Recording“Glass: Akhnaten,” Karen Kamensek, conductor; J’Nai Bridges, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Zachary James and Dísella Lárusdóttir; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)Best Choral Performance“Mahler: Symphony No. 8, ‘Symphony of a Thousand,’” Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Grant Gershon, Robert Istad, Fernando Malvar-Ruiz and Luke McEndarfer, chorus masters (Leah Crocetto, Mihoko Fujimura, Ryan McKinny, Erin Morley, Tamara Mumford, Simon O’Neill, Morris Robinson and Tamara Wilson; Los Angeles Philharmonic; Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, National Children’s Chorus and Pacific Chorale)Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance“Beethoven: Cello Sonatas – Hope Amid Tears,” Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel AxBest Classical Instrumental Solo“Alone Together,” Jennifer KohBest Classical Solo Vocal Album“Mythologies,” Sangeeta Kaur and Hila Plitmann (Virginie D’Avezac De Castera, Lili Haydn, Wouter Kellerman, Nadeem Majdalany, Eru Matsumoto and Emilio D. Miler)Best Classical Compendium“Women Warriors – The Voices of Change,” Amy Andersson, conductor; Amy Andersson, Mark Mattson and Lolita Ritmanis, producers.Best Contemporary Classical Composition“Shaw: Narrow Sea,” Caroline Shaw, composer (Dawn Upshaw, Gilbert Kalish and Sō Percussion)Best Instrumental Composition“Eberhard,” Lyle Mays, composer (Lyle Mays)Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella“Meta Knight’s Revenge (From ‘Kirby Superstar’),” Charlie Rosen and Jake Silverman, arrangers (The 8-Bit Big Band featuring Button Masher)Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals“To The Edge Of Longing (Edit Version),” Vince Mendoza, Arranger (Vince Mendoza, Czech National Symphony Orchestra and Julia Bullock)Best Recording Package“Pakelang,” Li Jheng Han and Yu, Wei, Art Directors (2nd Generation Falangao Singing Group and the Chairman Crossover Big Band)Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package“All Things Must Pass: 50th Anniversary Edition,” Darren Evans, Dhani Harrison and Olivia Harrison, art directors (George Harrison)Best Album Notes“The Complete Louis Armstrong Columbia and RCA Victor Studio Sessions 1946-1966,” Ricky Riccardi, album notes writer (Louis Armstrong)Best Historical Album“Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967),” Patrick Milligan and Joni Mitchell, compilation producers; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer (Joni Mitchell)Best Music Video“Freedom,” (Jon Batiste); Alan Ferguson, video director; Alex P. Willson, video producer.Best Music Film“Summer of Soul,” (Various Artists); Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, video director; David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent and Joseph Patel, video producers. More

    • 163 Shares169 Views

      in Music

      Trevor Noah Returns to Host the Grammys After a Dust-Up With Kanye West

      by

      Trevor Noah, the comedian and face of “The Daily Show,” is returning to host the Grammy Awards for the second year in a row. For the 2021 show, Noah was front and center at an unconventional Grammys, with some performances pretaped and the bulk of the ceremony held outside the Staples Center (now known as the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. “On the whole, Noah made something that could have felt like several competing shows feel like one,” The New York Times pop music critic Jon Caramanica wrote.This year, for another pandemic-delayed show, the coronavirus is one of a few delicate topics Noah may broach in his monologue. In the weeks before the event, he had a highly publicized clash with Kanye West, who is up for five awards and until recently was slated to perform at Sunday night’s ceremony.Noah devoted a segment of his March 15 show to a nearly 10-minute long, reportedly unscripted monologue on what he characterized as West’s harassment of his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. West had released a Claymation video in which he appeared to kidnap and bury a figure resembling Pete Davidson, the “Saturday Night Live” comedian who has been dating Kardashian.“What she’s going through is terrifying to watch, and it shines a spotlight on what so many women go through when they choose to leave,” Noah said in the segment, comparing West’s behavior to the abuse he witnessed as a child. (Noah said from when he was 9 to 16 he witnessed his stepfather mistreat his mother; he later shot her.)Days after Noah’s monologue, West posted an image of Noah on his Instagram alongside a racial slur. Meta, which owns Instagram, soon banned West — who had also been posting long videos criticizing Kardashian and others — for 24 hours. Then, just two weeks before West was set to perform at the awards, organizers informed his team that he would not be allowed to take the stage.Noah appeared to object to the ban. “I said counsel Kanye, not cancel Kanye,” he tweeted.Noah is a Grammy nominee himself. His standup special “Trevor Noah: Son of Patricia” was nominated for best comedy album at the 2020 Grammys. He lost to Dave Chappelle’s “Sticks and Stones.” More

    • 138 Shares179 Views

      in Music

      Joni Mitchell Will Make a Rare Televised Appearance at the Grammys

      by

      The singer-songwriter, who has spoken in public infrequently since a 2015 aneurysm, will present an award live at the ceremony Sunday night in Las Vegas.Follow our live coverage of the 2022 Grammy Awards.When viewers tune in to the 64th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night, they will see some familiar celebrities at the microphone as presenters, including Megan Thee Stallion, Questlove, Dua Lipa, Lenny Kravitz and Jared Leto.And one surprising one: Joni Mitchell.It will be a rare public appearance for Mitchell, 78, the revered singer and composer from Canada who was one of the defining figures of the singer-songwriter movement of the 1960s and ’70s. Never one for the limelight, Mitchell has kept a very low public profile since she had an aneurysm in 2015, and spent subsequent years in gradual recovery.The last year or two has brought a wave of recognition for Mitchell. Her 1971 album “Blue,” which had little commercial impact upon its release but was long a connoisseur’s favorite, was widely celebrated last year, upon its 50th anniversary. In December, she was awarded a Kennedy Center Honor, and a sampling of her songs, like “Big Yellow Taxi” and “Both Sides Now,” were performed by Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard and Norah Jones. In a speech during the White House reception for the event, she addressed her health, saying, “I’m hobbling along but I’m doing all right.” She even joked in an on-camera interview on the red carpet, “I’m old enough to have been honored before.”In a taped interview last year, for a virtual Grammy gala hosted by the music executive Clive Davis, she gave an overview of her career, saying that the folk music world of the mid-1960s was “territorial” about repertoire, and that she learned “the only way around this dilemma is to begin to write your own songs.” She also told Davis that she had only recently realized the breadth of her influence; for years, she said, “all I was aware of were bad reviews.”Mitchell last released an album of new songs in 2007. In January, she asked Spotify to remove her music after Neil Young did the same, as a protest against the streaming service over its role in giving a platform to Covid-19 vaccine misinformation.On Friday, Mitchell will also be the honoree in a gala for MusiCares, a Grammy-affiliated charity that helps needy musicians, with Cyndi Lauper, Stephen Stills, Herbie Hancock, Jon Batiste, Sara Bareilles, Beck, Carlile and others performing her music. More

    • 100 Shares179 Views

      in Music

      Grammys 2022: How to Watch, Time and Streaming

      by

      A guide to everything you need to know for the 64th annual awards on Sunday night.It’s been a tumultuous few months for the Grammy Awards.First, at a meeting just 24 hours before the nominees were announced in November, the Recording Academy decided to expand the big four categories — album, record and song of the year, and best new artist — from eight to 10 slots, netting nominations for Taylor Swift and Kanye West. A few days later, Drake, without offering an explanation, dropped out of the two rap categories in which he was nominated.In mid-January, amid an uptick in coronavirus cases caused by the Omicron variant, the 64th annual Grammy Awards, originally scheduled for Jan. 31, were postponed and then moved to Las Vegas for the first time.Last month, Kanye West, who is up for five awards, was told he is no longer welcome to perform at the ceremony following troubling behavior on social media. Then, two of the seven members of the K-pop group BTS, which is up for best pop duo/group performance for the second straight year, tested positive for the coronavirus, leaving their performance status in limbo. And this week, Foo Fighters, who are up for three awards this year, also bowed out after their 50-year-old drummer, Taylor Hawkins, died on tour on March 25.While producers were juggling lineup changes, Covid protocols and the usual stresses of preparing three and a half hours of live network television, something else happened at the Oscars on Sunday night that likely got their attention.Obstacles aside, Sunday’s ceremony at the MGM Grand Garden Arena is a return to a large-scale production with a big audience following last year’s bare-bones, intimate, largely outdoor affair. The contenders include Tony Bennett, 95, who is nominated for his collaboration with Lady Gaga on the Cole Porter tribute album “Love for Sale,” and Olivia Rodrigo, 19, who is up for all four of the biggest trophies; Jon Batiste, perhaps best known as the bandleader for “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” leads all nominees with 11 nods.A Guide to the 2022 Grammy AwardsThe ceremony, originally scheduled for Jan. 31, was postponed for a second year in a row due to Covid and is now scheduled for April 3.Jon Batiste Leads the Way: The jazz pianist earned the most nominations with 11, including album and record of the year. Here’s his reaction.Performers: Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, BTS and Lil Nas X are among the first performers announced for the April 3 show, which will be available on CBS and Paramount+.Kanye West: The singer, who is nominated for five awards, was told he will not be allowed to perform during the ceremony due to his erratic public behavior. A Surprise Appearance: The Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, who suffered an aneurysm in 2015 and has spoken in public infrequently since, will present an award at the ceremony.Here’s how to watch — and what to expect at — Sunday’s ceremony.What time do the festivities start?The ceremony, which will air live on CBS and the streaming service Paramount+, will begin at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific. You can also watch on CBS.com or through the CBS app if you have a cable subscription.Cord cutters can watch the show on any live TV streaming service that offers CBS, including FuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, Paramount+, YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream, many of which are offering free trials. It will also be available on demand on Paramount+.If you want to pregame, you can check out the premiere ceremony, when about 76 of the 86 awards are handed out. That begins at 3:30 Eastern, 12:30 Pacific and will be available to watch on grammy.com and the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel. LeVar Burton will host, and Allison Russell, Jimmie Allen, Ledisi and Mon Laferte will perform.Is there a red carpet?Yes. E! will have red carpet coverage beginning at 4 p.m., and “Live From E!: Grammys” starts at 6 p.m. Arrivals will be streamed at grammy.com beginning at 6:30 p.m.Who will be hosting?Trevor Noah, of “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, is back for a second year.How is the competition shaping up?Batiste leads the pack with 11 nominations, covering American roots music, classical, jazz and R&B. He’s followed by Doja Cat, H.E.R. and Justin Bieber, all with eight nods. Billie Eilish (“Happier Than Ever”) and Rodrigo (“Sour”) earned seven nominations apiece, including for record, album and song of the year. (Rodrigo is also up for best new artist.)Joining Rodrigo in the best new artist category are the Kid Laroi, whose ubiquitous pop radio single “Stay” features Bieber; Saweetie (“Best Friend” featuring Doja Cat); and Finneas, Eilish’s producer brother. (Learn about all the best new artist nominees here.)Can we talk about Bruno?We regret to inform you that once again, we cannot. The Grammys, which are voted on by more than 11,000 members of the Recording Academy, recognize music released from Sept. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, meaning more recent smashes like Adele’s “30” or Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” will have to wait until next year.Who’s going to perform?The lineup includes J Balvin with Maria Becerra, Batiste, Brothers Osborne, Brandi Carlile, Eilish, Lady Gaga, H.E.R., John Legend, Lil Nas X with Jack Harlow, Rodrigo, Silk Sonic, Chris Stapleton and Carrie Underwood. As of now, whether BTS will take the stage is unclear. While Foo Fighters are no longer performing, producers have said they’re working on a way to honor Hawkins during the ceremony. Something else to look forward to, especially if you’re a musical theater fan: a tribute to the composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who died in November at 91, featuring Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Ben Platt and Rachel Zegler.Who will be presenting?Joni Mitchell — who was honored at the MusiCares Person of the Year tribute show, an annual pre-Grammys event, Friday night in Las Vegas — is making a rare public appearance on the Grammys stage. Other presenters include Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion, Questlove, Bonnie Raitt, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Lenny Kravitz, Billy Porter, Avril Lavigne and Ludacris, as well as Jared Leto and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez and the actor Anthony Mackie.What else is new this year?The expansion to 10 nominees in the big four categories isn’t the only change. The Grammys dropped nominating committees — expert panels that determined the ballot in many categories — after complaints from prominent artists, including the Weeknd, that they were unfair. The Grammys also removed the requirement for album of the year that writers play a role in at least a third of an LP to be recognized as contributors. Now, anyone who contributed to a single album, whether as a featured artist, engineer, producer or songwriter, is eligible — so if Bieber’s “Justice” wins, for instance, dozens of people will earn Grammys. There are also two new categories being awarded this year: best global music performance and best música urbana album.Who could make history?Rodrigo could become just the third artist, after Christopher Cross and Billie Eilish, to win all of the top four awards at a single ceremony. Taylor Swift could become the first artist to win album of the year four times, and BTS could become the first K-pop group to win a Grammy. Eilish, who won an Oscar with her brother, Finneas, for “No Time to Die” last week, could become the first person to win record of the year three times in a row.Who do we think will win?Our critics and pop music editor debated the 10 nominees up for record of the year … and didn’t come to much consensus. Grammys are famously hard to predict.Remind me again, what’s the difference between the record and song of the year categories?Record of the year, essentially the equivalent of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ best picture award and regarded as the top prize, recognizes the recording of a single track, focusing on both the artist’s performance and the efforts of audio engineers, mixers and producers. Song of the year also recognizes a single track, but it’s awarded solely for writing. (Think of it as the equivalent of the academy’s screenplay award.) More

    • 125 Shares199 Views

      in Music

      For Grammy Nominee Rogét Chahayed, Pop Isn’t Far From Mozart

      by

      Up for producer of the year, non-classical, on Sunday, a conservatory-trained collaborator focuses on “finding the simplicity, finding that golden chord progression.”Two very different kinds of education went into the music that has brought Rogét Chahayed a 2022 Grammy nomination for producer of the year, non-classical. One was traditional music school: the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where Chahayed studied classical music and jazz and earned a degree in piano performance. The second was a studio apprenticeship of late nights and split-second decisions: playing keyboards and building beats for the Los Angeles hip-hop mogul Dr. Dre.“The real me is a blend of classical music, jazz harmony and technique, everything together,” Chahayed said, speaking via video from his home studio in Los Angeles, where rows of electronic keyboards filled a wall of shelves, “So you’ll hear the voicings of Debussy and Ravel and stuff like that, that I really love, in my left hand, but maybe in the right hand I might be trying some Art Tatum. I love to try and see the connection between everything.”Chahayed’s huge catalog includes Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More”; Jessie Reyez’s “Far Away”; Halsey’s “Bad at Love”; Big Sean’s “ZTFO”; Miguel’s “Sky Walker”; Kali Uchis’s “I Want War (But I Need Peace)”; Nas’s “27 Summers”; and two Grammy-nominated songs from previous years, Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later” and Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode.” His nomination on Sunday is for songs with Kali Uchis, Doja Cat and Anderson .Paak, among others.Chahayed’s studio work draws on a store of music theory and music history along with instinct, attentiveness and luck. As a producer and songwriter, he can assemble complex harmonies and subtle multitracked orchestrations, reflecting his conservatory studies.But Chahayed can also come up with skeletal, arresting, earworm riffs that he often enriches, spatially and harmonically, as a track unfolds. He doesn’t mind repeating just two or three chords. “A lot of my composer and classical instrumentalist friends might look at that as like, ‘Oh, it’s so simple,’” he said. “Actually, producing music today reminds me a lot about the way Mozart would compose. Obviously a lot of Mozart’s music is very simple and very digestible, and it’s so open that if you make a mistake, you can hear everything. The difficulty is finding the simplicity, finding that golden chord progression.”Chahayed adeptly navigates the way songs are made in the 21st century: a process that’s at once musicianly, technological, intuitive and brutally Darwinist. Hooks and beats that were recorded in a few moments can sit for months on a hard drive, to be discovered, tweaked and augmented by collaborators who have never met. All that matters is whether someone hears that a track has potential, wants to finish it and finds something that works.“I enjoy working with the artists who let me cook from scratch,” Chahayed said.Michael Tyrone Delaney for The New York Times“If I have a philosophy, it’s that I want to be able to execute the vision of the artist first,” Chahayed said. “But also to do it in a way that’s innovative, that’s always finding a way to push the boundaries sonically.”The Colombian American songwriter Kali Uchis has only released a few tracks with Chahayed’s production — including “Aguardiente y Limón,” cited in his Grammy nomination — but they live near each other in Los Angeles, and she often visits his studio to work on music.A Guide to the 2022 Grammy AwardsThe ceremony, originally scheduled for Jan. 31, was postponed for a second year in a row due to Covid and is now scheduled for April 3.Jon Batiste Leads the Way: The jazz pianist earned the most nominations with 11, including album and record of the year. Here’s his reaction.The Full List: Pop stars like Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and Billie Eilish were recognized in several categories. See all the nominees.Snubs and Surprises: From a big shock to smaller slights, The Times music team breaks it all down.Performers: Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, BTS and Lil Nas X are among the first performers announced for the April 3 show, which will be available on CBS and Paramount+.A Major Change: The awards will be the first since the Recording Academy ended its heavily criticized anonymous nominating committees.“He just loves to just create, create, create,” she said by telephone from Los Angeles. “Just for the pure satisfaction of making things that are unique, and not for any type of ulterior capitalistic motives. If it so happens to end up being a big song, then great. But with me and Rogét, I’ve never gotten in the studio and felt any weird pressure to go in any direction. It was alway very organic, very natural and very, just, free.”After graduating from the conservatory in 2010, Chahayed moved back to Los Angeles, where he grew up; his mother is from Argentina, his father from Syria. He played jazz and chamber-music gigs and taught piano lessons; he also found a mentor: Melvin Bradford, better known as Mel-Man, one of Dr. Dre’s main producers since the 1990s.“I’d go to his house and make five to eight beats per day. From 1 p.m. all the way to sometimes 2, 3 or 4 in the morning,” he said. “We would send countless beats to Dre every day, just in hopes that maybe something would click.”He added, “It was definitely a big difference from sitting in a class learning about Bach chorales or ear training.”Chahayed also collaborated with others, including the producer Wesley Singerman. In 2013, they sold outright some tracks they had made; their music turned up, uncredited, on Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 album “To Pimp a Butterfly” in “For Sale?” and “U.”In 2014, Mel-Man surprised Chahayed one day by taking him to an unmarked building. It was Dr. Dre’s studio. “This door opens, and I just see a giant S.S.L. and Dre is sitting there turning knobs with his hands,” Chahayed said, referring to a Solid State Logic recording console. “He told me that he heard I was nice on the keys and he was going to put me to the test.”He passed muster and started working on Dre’s productions. “You have a responsibility to be the best you can be all the time and constantly portray musical excellence: technique, taste, flavor, rhythm,” he said. “I’ve had Dre right there, standing over everybody saying, ‘Hey, what you got?’ And when you have the biggest, most influential producer and rapper in the world telling you that, you’ve got to act.”One of Chahayed’s first blockbuster hits was “Broccoli” by Dram (who now goes by Shelley FKA Dram), featuring Lil Yachty, which has been streamed more than a billion times. Its steady-plinking piano chords, Chahayed said, were a happy accident. He had packed up his equipment after a session with Dram, only to receive a last-minute call that Lil Yachty was on his way to the studio. He unpacked and plugged in a keyboard, playing a few chords to test the connection; those chords became the song’s central loop.One of Chahayed’s first huge hits was “Broccoli” by Dram (who now goes by Shelley FKA Dram), featuring Lil Yachty.Michael Tyrone Delaney for The New York Times“Where and how I find most of my success as a producer and songwriter is, you know, just showing up,” Chahayed said. “Finding a sound and coming up with the progression, or a riff, or something identifiable that catches people’s attention.”“Kiss Me More,” the hit by Doja Cat featuring SZA that is nominated for record of the year (the recorded track), song of the year (the composition) and as part of album of the year, could have ended up as one more stray computer file. Chahayed was working with Yeti Beats, Doja Cat’s longtime executive producer, at what he called “a beat cook-up session.” Yeti Beats suggested some “keywords” — “anime music” and “cuteness” — with Doja Cat in mind.“I grew up with four younger sisters, and we all bonded a lot over anime and video game stuff,” Chahayed said. “This cute jazzy vibe from a lot of games kind of seeped in. So I tapped back into that realm that specific day, and we made a few ideas.”He chose a guitar-like sound and recorded a twinkly little riff that “just kind of came naturally in the moment,” he said. “I knew there was something special about that track.” Yeti Beats repeatedly presented the riff to Doja Cat, and at one session, he sped it up; it clicked.As Chahayed’s reputation has grown, so has his control over his music. He sometimes turns down requests to use his beats for particular songs. And, whenever possible, he tries to work alongside the main artist in real time.“For most people, a general procedure is have tons of beats and melodies and ideas and things of that sort ready. A lot of artists have a different kind of attention span, and maybe react better to things that are ready-made. But I’ve adapted more to the spontaneity of just showing up with the instruments. I enjoy working with the artists who let me cook from scratch.”He’s also looking ahead. “I always have a five-to-10-year plan,” he said. “Thankfully, I have been able to hit my last five-year goal: You know, get No. 1s, get Grammy nominated, accumulate tons of record sales and charting stuff. And it’s cool, but it only fuels me to go further. My real passion is that I want to score movies. I want to do what John Williams, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer and Bernard Herrmann do. Those guys are my true heroes.”He added, “I’ll never stop producing. I’ll never stop making beats. I’ll never stop working with artists. But I would love it if you’re watching a movie and seeing ‘Music by Rogét Chahayed.’ That’s my obsession.” More