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      How Billy Joel Returned to Pop Music

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      Billy Joel’s first new pop song in nearly two decades was sparked by someone miles from the record business: a Long Island doctor.Joel, 74, has long made it known that he isn’t interested in making more albums. He released 12 studio LPs between 1971 and 1993 — most platinum several times over — and retired from the format, though he never stopped tinkering with classical music, or playing live.But new songs? “I have this fear of writing something that’s not good,” he said in an interview last month at his estate in Oyster Bay, N.Y. “I have a very high bar for myself. And the work to get there is intimidating. I don’t want to go through it anymore.”Joel’s influence as a songwriter has endured, drawing in new generations. (“He is everything,” Olivia Rodrigo, 20, who referenced him in her song “Deja Vu,” said last summer.) Over the years, the list of people who’d tried to cajole him back into writing and recording grew legion: Clive Davis. Rick Rubin. Elton John. Yet when Joel’s family doctor urged him to meet “a kid” interested in discussing music near his place out east in Sag Harbor, he agreed to a lunch.The eager man across the table two years ago was Freddy Wexler, now 37, a Los Angeles-based songwriter and producer who grew up in New York and sure knew a lot about Billy Joel. He’d been trying to track down his idol via industry channels with little luck, but his wife — secretly devoted to keeping this dream alive — found an improbable connection.Joel ordered clams on the half-shell and a BLT to go, Wexler recalled, so he knew he had to move fast: “I said, I don’t believe that you can’t write songs anymore or that you won’t write songs anymore. And he said something like, ‘OK, believe whatever you want.’” More

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      Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs Gave America a Rare Gift: Harmony

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      Culture can too often drive us apart. At the Grammys on Sunday, two artists delivered something different.When a beloved artist who has not performed live in some time returns to the stage, we often expect them to appear fragile, unsteady, ill at ease. But during Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, when the camera first pulled back from a tight shot of a woman’s fingers picking a familiar riff on an acoustic guitar and revealed the face of the great, elusive folk singer Tracy Chapman, what you noticed was the joy radiating from her face. Her contented smile. The unwavering tone and rich steadiness of her voice.It was a genuine moment of warmth and unity, the sort seldom offered these days by televised award shows — or televised anything, really. Singing her rousing 1988 hit “Fast Car” live for the first time in years, duetting with the country star Luke Combs — whose faithful cover of the song was one of last year’s defining hits — and taking in the rapturous applause of her musical peers, Chapman gave off the feeling, in the words of her timeless song, that she belonged.Thirty-five years ago, at the 1989 Grammy Awards, Chapman stood alone onstage and performed a wrenching rendition of “Fast Car” accompanied by only her own acoustic guitar.What made Sunday night’s performance feel different wasn’t just the time that had passed, or the gray hair that now elegantly frames Chapman’s face. It was the presence of Combs, born a year after that Grammy performance, regarding Chapman with an awe-struck reverence. He seemed to be a stand-in for the many, many people over the years — of all races, genders and generations — who have heard their deepest desires reflected in this song and wished to pay Chapman their gratitude.They traded a few lines and harmonized beautifully on the chorus — her tone opalescent, his bringing some grit — but Combs never overshadowed Chapman. He knew that in that moment, no one could. Something about the way he looked at her said it all: His eyes shone with irrepressible respect. Here was a grown man, an assured performer who sells out stadiums, visibly trembling before the sight and the sound of the folk singer Tracy Chapman.He was hardly alone in that: The few crowd shots during the performance revealed some of music’s major stars, including Brandi Carlile, on their feet, thrilled, before a standing ovation. More

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      The Grammys Aim for a Big Tent, but Not Everyone Feels at Home

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      The most awarded artists were diverse on Sunday night. How those winners received their honors, however, differed mightily.Sunday night at the 66th annual Grammy Awards, Jay-Z accepted the Dr. Dre global impact award, a sort of éminence grise prize. He’s previously won 24 Grammys, but he did not treat the moment like a homecoming.Instead, he used his speech to alternately nudge and excoriate the Recording Academy, the body that awards the Grammys, for its mistreatment and short-shrifting of Black artists: “We want y’all to get it right. At least get it close to right.” He mentioned his wife, Beyoncé, winner of the most Grammys ever, yet never a winner for album of the year. “Think about that,” he said, as he scrunched up his face with distaste.By this point, the room seemed to understand what was happening — Jay-Z was rinsing the Grammys on its own stage. Beyoncé, in the audience, appeared to be somewhere near tears. “When I get nervous,” Jay-Z said, “I tell the truth.” He reached out and grabbed the hand of his daughter Blue Ivy for support before urging those who have been overlooked and slighted to persevere “until they give you all those accolades you feel you deserve.”Jay-Z’s speech took a moment of acclaim and turned it into a moment for reflection, and maybe a lecture. Over the past few years, several Black artists have effectively been boycotting the Grammys by declining to submit their music for consideration, frustrated with how hip-hop and R&B are treated, particularly in the biggest all-genre categories.This year was no different — album, record and song of the year were won by white artists, though broadly speaking, the most awarded artists were diverse: three each for SZA, Killer Mike and Victoria Monét; four for Phoebe Bridgers (three of which came as part of boygenius) and two each for Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Miley Cyrus.How those artists received those honors, however, differed mightily.In their speeches, Monét and SZA emphasized how long and roundabout their paths to this moment had been. During her acceptance for best new artist, Monét called the prize the endpoint of “a 15-year pursuit.” She’s primarily been known for her songwriting, particularly her work with Ariana Grande. And while she’d released music independently through the 2010s, her 2023 album, “Jaguar II,” was her first major-label LP. “My roots have been growing underneath ground, unseen for so long,” she said. “And I feel like today, I’m sprouting.” More

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      Celine Dion, Coping with Neurological Disorder, Presents the Album of the Year Grammy

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      Celine Dion, the Canadian pop superstar who announced in 2022 that she has a rare neurological disease that makes it difficult for her to sing, appeared at the Grammy Awards to present the final award of the night, album of the year.Walking out to “The Power of Love,” Dion looked moved by the standing ovation, saying, “When I say that I’m happy to be here I really mean it from my heart.”“Those who have been blessed enough to be here,” she went on, “must never take for granted the tremendous love and joy that music brings to our lives and to people all around the world.”Dion, 55, first announced over a year ago that she has a condition called stiff person syndrome, which causes progressive stiffness in the body and severe muscle spasms, leading her to cancel a scheduled world tour. A five-time Grammy winner — including album of the year in 1997 — Dion has maintained a legion of fans around the world, and before the diagnosis, she was an active performer, delivering soaring hits such as “Because You Loved Me” and “My Heart Will Go On” alongside her newer music.Last week, Dion announced a documentary following her battle against the disorder. Dion indicated in the announcement that she was aiming to return to singing, saying in a statement, “As the road to resuming my performing career continues, I have realized how much I have missed it, of being able to see my fans.” More

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      Grammys 2024 Takeaways: Taylor Swift Makes History in a Big Night for Women

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      Women thoroughly dominated the 66th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, with a history-making album of the year win by Taylor Swift and victories by Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, SZA, Lainey Wilson, the Colombian pop star Karol G and the band boygenius.The wins capped a year when women were extraordinarily successful in pop music, and also signified a change for the Grammys, which have frequently been criticized — as recently as five years ago — for overlooking female artists on the show.In addition to the wins, the show featured powerful performances by SZA, Eilish, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo and even Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman — two godmothers of modern songwriting who have made only rare public appearances in recent years.In taking album of the year for “Midnights,” Swift became the first artist to win the Grammys’ top prize four times, beating a trio of male legends — Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon — who had three.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Killer Mike Arrested After Winning 3 Grammys

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      Shortly after winning three Grammys, the rapper Killer Mike was arrested at the awards show on Sunday in connection with a physical altercation at the Los Angeles arena where the ceremony took place, the police said.In a post on social media, the Los Angeles Police Department said that Killer Mike, who was born Michael Render, was booked on a misdemeanor battery charge and that he was being released.Representatives for the rapper did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Recording Academy, which presents the awards, referred questions to the police.Less than an hour before the Grammys telecast began, video posted on social media by a journalist for The Hollywood Reporter showed Killer Mike, in handcuffs, being led through the Crypto.com Arena by a police officer.To fans and observers, the footage seemed like whiplash. The rapper had just been on the Grammys stage waving a gramophone trophy and celebrating the three awards he had won at the preshow, which is not televised, for his work “Michael,” his first solo album in more than a decade. In addition to best rap album, he received Grammys for best rap song and best rap performance for “Scientists & Engineers,” a collaboration with André 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane.“You cannot tell me that you get too old, you can’t tell me it’s too late,” said Killer Mike, 48, a prolific musician from Atlanta who is also an activist and organizer.Not long after, he was being escorted through the arena, according to the video. As fans wondered on social media about the reasons for his detainment, his X and Instagram accounts remained active, celebrating the Grammy wins.Ben Sisario contributed reporting. More

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      Miley Cyrus Wins Grammy for Record of the Year for ‘Flowers’

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      Miley Cyrus won the Grammy for record of the year on Sunday for the kiss-off anthem “Flowers,” her first win in the category.The husky-voiced former Disney Channel star — and daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, himself a record of the year nominee in 1993 for “Achy Breaky Heart” — had never won a Grammy before Sunday night. She also won for best pop solo performance, also for “Flowers.”During a performance of “Flowers” at the ceremony, Cyrus ad-libbed several times, shouting, “Don’t act like you don’t know this song!” and “I just won my first Grammy!”Cyrus bested nominees from several other prominent female stars for record of the year, including Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero,” Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” and SZA’s “Kill Bill.” More

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      Taylor Swift Wins 4th Grammy for Album of the Year, Breaking a Record

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      Taylor Swift already has more No. 1 albums than any other woman (12), as well as the highest-grossing tour in history (an estimated $1 billion and counting).Now she can count another major achievement: four Grammy Awards for album of the year — more than any other artist in the 66-year history of the prize.“Midnights,” Swift’s most recent LP of new material, beat out entries from SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, boygenius, Lana Del Rey, Miley Cyrus, Jon Batiste and Janelle Monáe to take the Grammys’ top album prize on Sunday. It was her second win of the night.Earlier in the night, as she accepted the Grammy for best pop vocal album for “Midnights,” Taylor Swift announced that she would be releasing her new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” on April 19. It was Swift’s sixth nomination for the prize, and fourth win, after her previous victories for “Fearless” in 2010, “1989” in 2016, and “Folklore” in 2020. With her latest win, she moves past three beloved stars who had each won the category three times: Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon.In 2014, Swift’s “Red” lost the award to Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memories,” and in 2022 “Evermore” lost to Batiste’s “We Are.”Last year, Beyoncé won her 32nd Grammy, more than any other artist in history. (Take that, Quincy Jones and Sir Georg Solti!) With 14 lifetime wins so far, Swift would need another 18 to match Beyoncé. More