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      Elton John Secures EGOT With Emmy Win

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      Elton John secured an EGOT on Monday night, joining the select group who have won all four major entertainment awards — an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony — when he won an Emmy for outstanding variety special for his livestreamed farewell concert at Dodger Stadium.John has won five Grammys, a Tony Award for best original score for “Aida,” and two Oscars for songs in “The Lion King” (“Can You Feel the Love Tonight”) and “Rocketman” (“I’m Gonna Love Me Again”).With his Emmy for “Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium,” which streamed on Disney+, John became the 19th person to gain the title. The rather elite club includes Audrey Hepburn, Rita Moreno, Mel Brooks, Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson and Viola Davis.John, 76, was not present at the Emmys ceremony because of a knee operation, said Ben Winston, an executive producer of the show who accepted the award on John’s behalf.John said in a statement that he was “incredibly humbled” by the honor.“The journey to this moment has been filled with passion, dedication and the unwavering support of my fans all around the world,” he said in the statement. “Tonight is a testament to the power of the arts and the joy that it brings to all our lives. Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my career, I am incredibly grateful.”The live concert, which took place at the Los Angeles stadium in 2022, carried echoes of the pop star’s pair of shows at the same venue in 1975, when, in his late 20s, John played hits such as “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and “Bennie and the Jets” to a sold-out venue. More

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      Jelly Roll on the Grammys, Crying and His Rap Past

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      An interview with one of the year’s surprise success stories in the music industry, who’s become known as much for emotional openness as for hit songs.Few artists had a more unexpected 2023 than Jelly Roll, the face-tattooed former Southern rapper turned country singer who became one of the year’s most promising new crossover pop stars.His album “Whitsitt Chapel,” which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard all-genre chart in June, is a collection of pop-rock anthems with flourishes of country, and it spawned a pair of hits — the introspective “Need a Favor,” and the new version of his viral breakout “Save Me,” featuring Lainey Wilson. He is nominated for two 2024 Grammys at next month’s ceremony: best new artist, and best country group/duo performance.At 39, with many mixtapes under his belt, Jelly Roll (born Jason DeFord) isn’t a traditional new artist nominee, but his creative rebirth, and move from underground circles to the mainstream spotlight, makes him eligible by Grammy guidelines. His competition includes budding pop, rap, dance, R&B and country acts: Gracie Abrams, Fred again.., Ice Spice, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan, Victoria Monét, the War and Treaty. But Jelly Roll might have the most fascinating back story of them all.In addition to his radio and streaming success, he has also become something of a pop culture phenomenon. His Hulu documentary, “Jelly Roll: Save Me,” underscores the intense emotional connection that tethers him to his fans, who identify with his hardscrabble struggle tales. (Jelly Roll spent about a decade in and out of juvenile centers and prison beginning when he was 14.) When he won new artist of the year at the C.M.A.s in November, his acceptance speech — part Tony Robbins, part the Rock — went wildly viral. And he got to make an appearance alongside the returning W.W.E. favorite Randy Orton on “Monday Night Raw.”Jelly Roll recently appeared on the New York Times video show Popcast (Deluxe) to discuss his breakout year, and how he plans to build on it. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.JON CARAMANICA When you first started making music outside of Nashville in the 2000s, you were a rapper. Who were the people you were looking to for inspiration, coming up during this very rich era in Southern hip-hop?JELLY ROLL Cash Money Records dominated our mom and pop stores. No Limit. I mean, dude, I remember sitting in a state building where they transition you from one group home to another, shackled, and they have the TV on BET. It might have been the “Bling Bling” video. We were enamored by Southern rap like 8Ball & MJG, Three 6 Mafia, UGK, Outkast, the Dungeon Family, the Geto Boys. Even the earlier side of Swishahouse, Chamillionaire and Paul Wall. Of course, the locals like Haystak. We were just fixing to get our feet wet putting out mixtapes. So we were using every reference we could.CARAMANICA Were you listening to this stuff for the attitude or the storytelling?JELLY ROLL The lyrics, the storytelling and the feeling. I think about that whole 8Ball & MJG song [sings “Paid Dues”]: “Trapped in a trap till the mornin’ light/Ghetto ain’t left me no choices, I had to fight/ My mama and daddy was too young to raise me right.”COSCARELLI You were drawn to the bluesy stuff.JELLY ROLL I just felt it in my spirit. This is such a dramatic reference point, but it made me feel like when my mother would play “Coward of the County” or she would play Bette Midler’s “The Rose,” and we would all be in there just bawling and crying. I tell people, I think I ended up writing “Save Me” because I’ve been trying to write “The Rose” my whole life.COSCARELLI Was all of this music the soundtrack to your life as a teenager when getting into trouble with the law?JELLY ROLL The music always met me where I was. The streets — just to touch on this because I want to be open about it — I thought it was my only choice. I lived in a decently middle-class neighborhood, but I didn’t know one person on my street with a career. Everybody did drugs. People that had jobs were really blue collar. I just was like, I know it’s going to take money to get out of here. And the most obvious way to make money was what was happening in the neighborhood. And it’s no excuse. The music just followed Jason — wherever old Jelly Roll went, he just drug the music along like a Santa sack.COSCARELLI What did you bring from your rap life into your country music life that’s functioned as a secret weapon for you?JELLY ROLL That hip-hop hustle. They created DIY: J Prince, Tony Draper, Master P, Birdman. I feel like Southern hip-hop was my saving grace going into country music because I had built a business already. I had built a YouTube channel that had a billion views before I signed a record deal. Just walking into a building and going, Hey, man, I don’t want anybody’s money. What I want out of this building is resources. It was just a different mentality. I had a different negotiating power, and I really understood the importance of ownership.COSCARELLI You own your recent albums?JELLY ROLL 100 percent. I own every song I’ve ever released. I do not have a traditional record deal. I still get the lion’s share of my money on every single facet. I didn’t sign a publishing deal. I’m not bragging, but I’m proud of myself because I’m a kid that had zero education and didn’t get his GED till he was 24 in jail.COSCARELLI During the pandemic, “Save Me” started to go viral and you took a lot of meetings. Did you know you wanted to sign to a country label?JELLY ROLL I want to release music like a hip-hop artist. I want to write songs like a country music songwriter. And I want to tour like a rock ’n’ roll act. No label in town got it. I want to play the Grand Ole Opry, you know what I mean? And lucky for me, Morgan Wallen was bubbling at the time. He went on to be just the biggest star on earth, which is so deserved. I was like, I can sneak in right now. There’s a moment where I might be understood in this space. And that’s what happened.COSCARELLI You had these huge hits this year, but you crossed over in another way via your emotional speech at the CMAs, which became a meme.JELLY ROLL It’s the most viral moment of my whole life.COSCARELLI And then again on TikTok when you were nominated for the Grammys. How are you so comfortable baring your soul in that way when it’s the first time a lot of people are encountering you?JELLY ROLL To me, I’m just still me. So whatever’s actually happening in my life is what I’m putting out. I called my mother at the same time. It was me getting to call a woman I’ve called from jail. A woman I’ve called homeless, a woman I’ve called addicted. I got to call her and say I just got nominated for two Grammys. To me, that is the craziest call you can make.CARAMANICA In your documentary, there’s the really powerful scene with a young woman whose father had been killed. I’m struck by your willingness to be pained by other people, not simply sharing what you went through, but accepting what other people have gone through.JELLY ROLL Dude, I didn’t cry until I was 34 years old. I can’t quit crying now. I’m an empath for people, period. I genuinely felt that young lady. It’s the only scene I can’t watch in that documentary. I read an article about that scene and cried reading the article. I know what it feels like to be in the darkest moment of your life, man.To me that goes back to the Grammy post, because it’s like, I’m never going to be too cool to be a fan of something. I think it’s so important to still get excited about stuff.My wife asked me that day, “What’s this mean to you?” I was like, there is no more pinnacle in the music business than when you win a Grammy. Even just being nominated supersedes every award I’ve already won. That’s the headline the rest of my life — “Grammy nominated.” I’m lying there crying with my wife and we’re looking at all the other nominees. She was like, “You’ve got to post about this.” I was like, too emotional. She’s was like, “When has that stopped you?” And that’s just a good wife.CARAMANICA So much of this album is emotional bloodletting, but your life is evolving. When you go back for the next album, do you think that there’s a different emotional version of Jelly Roll that’s going to be in the music?JELLY ROLL I’m never letting what’s happening with the blessing of this thing working for me take me away from who I know I’m actually speaking to. As jovial as I am in real life, the music is a reflection of a very, very dark hallway between my ears. It’s the scariest place on earth for me. I dread going to sleep every night. The ghosts are there. But I’m going into my eighth year of marriage and I’ve never been more in love. I just want a wedding song — I’ve had so many funeral songs. I want to showcase that there are highs in life, too, and I want to figure out a way to incorporate them in the music. But ultimately, you know what I write about, and you know who I write for. More

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      Denny Laine, Founding Member of the Moody Blues and Wings, Dies at 79

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      He wrote “Mull of Kintyre” with Paul McCartney and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the Moody Blues.Denny Laine, a singer, songwriter and guitarist who co-founded two of the biggest British rock bands of the 1960s and ’70s, the Moody Blues and Wings, before embarking on a long solo career, died in Naples, Fla., on Tuesday — 50 years to the day after Wings released its most successful album, “Band on the Run,” in the U.S. He was 79.His wife, Elizabeth Mele-Hines, said the cause of death, at a hospital, was interstitial lung disease.Mr. Laine was part of the efflorescence of British rock music in the early 1960s, when many young musicians were still soaking up the influence of American blues. Performers like Eric Clapton, Spencer Davis and the Beatles became not just friends with Mr. Laine but also frequent collaborators with him.A native of Birmingham, England, he moved to London after his first band, Denny Laine and the Diplomats, broke up. In 1964, he joined four other Birmingham-area transplants, Graeme Edge, Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas and Clint Warwick, to form the M&B 5, a rhythm-and-blues band named after a Birmingham brewery. They soon changed their name to the Moody Blues.Mr. Laine was with the band for only two albums, but in 1964 he sang lead on its first No. 1 hit, “Go Now!” The success of that song, a cover of an R&B song recorded that same year by Bessie Banks, won the Moody Blues slots on a series of high-profile tours, opening for acts like Chuck Berry and the Beatles.Mr. Laine, right, with his fellow members of the Moody Blues in an undated photo. From left were Ray Thomas, Clint Warwick, Graeme Edge and Mike Pinder.Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesMr. Laine left the Moody Blues in 1966 over artistic differences and spent the next five years working on solo projects and with, among other bands, the short-lived jazz-rock ensemble Ginger Baker’s Air Force. It was while singing and playing guitar with that band that he caught the attention of Paul McCartney.By 1971, Mr. McCartney was more than a year out of the Beatles and looking to form a new band. One day, from his rural home west of Glasgow, he cold-called Mr. Laine.“He said, ‘Do you want to do something? Get on a plane, we’re in Scotland,’” Mr. Laine recalled in an interview with The Boston Globe in 2019. The two added Mr. McCartney’s wife, Linda McCartney, and the three — with a rotating cast of other bandmates — became Wings.Though Wings is often remembered as a McCartney vehicle — at times it went by the name Paul McCartney and Wings — Mr. Laine was an equal member.He appeared on all seven of the group’s studio albums, sang lead and played lead guitar on several prominent tracks and wrote or co-wrote a number of the band’s songs, including “Mull of Kintyre,” which reached No. 1 on the British charts and sold more than two million copies. (He also claimed to have had a hand in writing another No. 1 Wings hit, “Band on the Run,” although Paul and Linda McCartney are the only credited writers.)Mr. Laine received four Grammy nominations with Wings and won two: best pop vocal performance by a duo, group or chorus in 1975, for “Band on the Run,” and best rock instrumental performance in 1980, for “Rockestra Theme.”“Me and him had this kind of feel together musically,” Mr. Laine said about working with Mr. McCartney in an interview with Guitar World this year. “We slotted in well together. We could read each other, and that came from growing up on the same musical influences. Paul’s got a good sense of rhythm, and he doesn’t overplay, which I like.”Mr. Laine was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 as a founding member of the Moody Blues. In what many critics and fans consider one of the bigger snubs in the Hall of Fame’s history, Wings has yet to follow.Mr. Laine in 1972, a year after Paul McCartney cold-called him asking him to join a new band, Wings.Michael Putland/Getty ImagesBrian Frederick Hines was born on Oct. 29, 1944, in Birmingham. His parents, Herbert and Eva (Basset) Hines, worked in factories.Denny was a childhood nickname, and he later added the surname Laine as a nod to one of his sister’s favorite singers, Frankie Laine.He grew up listening to the so-called Gypsy jazz of musicians like Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli, as well as to Spanish guitar — a love he explored in between his time with the Moody Blues and Wings, when he lived in Spain and studied flamenco.After returning to Britain, he formed two bands, the Electric String Band and Balls, both of which fizzled — though the first, which featured a string section and lush orchestration, would greatly influence a similarly named band, the Electric Light Orchestra.He counted the McCartneys among his closest friends, but he left Wings in 1981 after Mr. McCartney was arrested in Japan for marijuana possession. Mr. Laine’s departure ended the band and put a strain on their relationship, though he later played on several of Mr. McCartney’s solo projects.Mr. Laine performing this March at the City Winery in Manhattan. He continued to record and tour regularly in the four decades after Wings split up.Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives, via Getty ImagesMr. Laine married Joanne Patrie in 1978; they divorced in 1981. He married Rosha Kasravi in 2003; they later separated and divorced in 2021. He married Elizabeth Mele this year. Along with her, his survivors include two children from his first marriage, Heidi and Laine Hines; three other children, Damian James, Ainsley Adams and Lucy Grant; his sister, Doreen; and several grandchildren.Even while he was with Wings, Mr. Laine kept up a spirited solo career, releasing two albums in the 1970s: “Ahh … Laine” (1973) and “Holly Days” (1977), a tribute to Buddy Holly.He continued to work and tour regularly in the four decades after the band split up, playing a mix of his own compositions and material from the Moody Blues and Wings. Often he would perform what he called “Songs and Stories,” a combination of music and tales from his rock life.“I can’t live without live work,” he told Guitar World. “There’s no substitute for playing live and getting the feeling of connecting with an audience.” More

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      Former Grammys Head Michael Greene Accused of Sexual Assault in Lawsuit

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      In a complaint, Terri McIntyre, who worked at the Recording Academy in the mid-1990s, says the organization’s then leader, Michael Greene, subjected her to ongoing misconduct.A woman who worked at the Grammys organization in the 1990s has accused its former chief executive, Michael Greene, of drugging and sexually abusing her nearly 30 years ago and of making sex a condition of her employment, according to a lawsuit filed in California on Wednesday.Terri McIntyre, a former executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of the Recording Academy, the nonprofit group behind the Grammy Awards, sued Mr. Greene in Los Angeles Superior Court, in the latest of a wave of lawsuits accusing powerful men in the music industry of past misconduct.In her suit, which also names the Recording Academy as a defendant, Ms. McIntyre says that from 1994 to 1996, Mr. Greene caught her in a “trap” in which he regularly pressured her into sexual contact, and forced sex on her against her will.Mr. Greene could not be immediately reached for comment but has previously denied allegations that he sexually harassed employees while an executive with the Grammys.In a statement, the Recording Academy said: “In light of pending litigation, the academy declines to comment on these allegations, which occurred nearly 30 years ago. Today’s Recording Academy has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to sexual misconduct and we will remain steadfast in that commitment.”In her lawsuit, Ms McIntyre says that while attending a Grammy board meeting in Hawaii in May 1994, soon after she got the job, Mr. Greene gave her Champagne in his hotel room. She “quickly began to feel unwell and began to lose control of her physical movements,” she says in the court papers. She later woke up nude in Mr. Greene’s bed and realized she had been “violated,” according to the suit.On another occasion, she says in the complaint, she was driving with Mr. Greene to a business meeting when he unexpectedly took her to his home near Malibu, Calif., and forced her to perform oral sex in his kitchen.Throughout her time at the Recording Academy, Ms. McIntyre says, Mr. Greene made it clear that enduring his harassment was part of a “quid pro quo proposition” in which she could succeed at the organization, and in the music industry, only if she had a sexual relationship with him. In her complaint, the woman said she was a single mother and needed the job to care for her young daughter.The suit was filed a month after another case in New York against Neil Portnow, Mr. Greene’s successor as the Grammys’ chief. In that suit, an unnamed woman accused Mr. Portnow of drugging and raping her in a New York hotel room in 2018. Mr. Portnow denied the accusations.Ms. McIntyre’s suit offers a new perspective on a tumultuous period in Grammys history. In 2002, Mr. Greene was forced out of the academy after 14 years at its helm, during which he was widely credited with expanding the organization and transforming its annual ceremony into a lucrative, must-see television event. At the same time, Mr. Greene was dogged by a series of scandals, including multiple accusations of sexual harassment and discrimination, and allegations that MusiCares, a Grammy charity founded under his watch, had spent less than 10 percent of its donations on its stated purpose of helping suffering and indigent musicians.The tipping point for Mr. Greene’s ouster was an accusation by the academy’s human resources officer that he had sexually abused her in a parking lot; he denied the accusation, and the academy said that an investigation had cleared Mr. Greene of wrongdoing. According to news accounts at the time, that woman was paid $650,000 to settle her allegation, a reported payment that Ms. McIntyre cited in her suit.According to reports in The Los Angeles Times in 2001 and 2002, the academy’s human resources department was created because of an earlier accusation against Mr. Greene. A spokesman for the Recording Academy did not answer a question about when the human resources department was created.In 1996, Ms. McIntyre says in her complaint, she left the academy and the music business overall because Mr. Greene had blackballed her in the industry. Ms. McIntyre’s lawyers gave The New York Times a copy of her resignation letter, which reads: “I am compelled to leave due to what I perceive to be serious problems in my work environment.”In her suit, Ms. McIntyre also says that years later, she became an anonymous source for Chuck Philips, then a reporter at The Los Angeles Times, whose articles investigating Mr. Greene’s conduct precipitated the executive’s ouster. In 1999, Mr. Philips and another Los Angeles Times journalist, Michael A. Hiltzik, shared a Pulitzer Prize in beat reporting for a series of articles about the music industry. The articles included discussions of Mr. Greene’s power and compensation at the Grammys; the problems at MusiCares; and complaints from Grammy insiders about the organization’s accounting practices.Mr. Philips could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.After leaving the Grammys, Mr. Greene — who began his career as a saxophonist — founded a company called Artist Tribe, which he has described as a “creative production, technology, education, database and philanthropic enterprise” that serves “creative and cultural communities.”A call on Wednesday to a number associated with Mr. Greene was answered by a man who said that Mr. Greene was on a plane and was not available to comment on the lawsuit.In her suit, Ms. McIntyre says that after her resignation, Mr. Greene and the Recording Academy offered to pay her severance money in exchange for signing a nondisclosure agreement, but she refused.Ms. McIntyre’s suit is the latest in a series that have accused powerful men in the music industry of sexual harassment and abuse. In addition to Mr. Portnow, those men have included the hip-hop mogul Sean Combs, Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and the producer L.A. Reid; Mr. Combs and Mr. Rose denied the allegations, while Mr. Tyler denied one accusation and did not respond to a second, and Mr. Reid did not respond.Many of the suits were filed under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law that gave a one-year window for people who say they were the victims of sexual abuse to bring a civil suit even if the original statute of limitations for their case had expired. That window expired last month. But a similar law in California, under which Ms. McIntyre brought her case, allows cases to be brought until the end of the year.Julia Jacobs contributed reporting. More

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      Popcast (Deluxe): What Is Going on With the Grammy Nominations?

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      Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTubeThis week’s episode of Popcast (Deluxe), the weekly culture roundup show on YouTube hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, includes segments on:The nominations for the 2024 Grammy Awards, which include multiple nods for the true pop stars Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, but also for the R&B sensualist SZA, as well as the loose-knit indie rock supergroup boygenius and the former talk-show bandleader and exuberant border-crosser Jon Batiste.“The Curse,” the new show on Showtime from Nathan Fielder that continues his philosophical and moral experimentation with the tropes of reality television.New songs from Dua Lipa and Jack HarlowSnack of the weekConnect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica. More

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      boygenius on Its First Grammy Nominations and Keeping Rock Fun

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      Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus earned six nods for their debut LP, “The Record.” Texts from fellow nominees Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish followed.For boygenius, the indie-rock supergroup with a penchant for neckties and introspective songs, this fall has held the kind of firsts that prove a rock band has turned into a phenomenon: its first arena show at a Madison Square Garden packed with fans chanting every lyric, its first performance at the Hollywood Bowl, and soon, its first feature on “Saturday Night Live.”On Friday, there was another first — and second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth — with boygenius’s debut Grammy nominations as a band, a haul that included nods for two of the biggest contests: record of the year (for the ethereal and anthemic “Not Strong Enough”) and album of the year (for “The Record”).The recognition has capped off a whirlwind period for Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, successful indie performers in their own right who turned an idea for a one-off collaboration in 2018 into a group that has captured the hearts of Gen Z fans and beyond, establishing a reputation for free-spirited onstage antics and the kind of wholesome bond not usually associated with touring rock stars.On a Friday afternoon video call, the trio discussed their nominations, songwriting and the future of their music from the basement of a New York City hotel where they were preparing for “Saturday Night Live” this weekend, a rack full of possible costume choices lined up behind them. It was in that hotel basement that they heard the good news, then, as Baker put it, “did a little screaming, hugging, jumping up and down,” before the texts started flowing — including notes from Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish, who also received six nominations each.“It’s like when kids cry on Christmas morning because I do feel so overwhelmed that I could just go to sleep,” Baker said.These are edited excerpts from the conversation.This has been a remarkable year of firsts for you. Has it changed your relationship to the album, playing in these large arenas?BAKER Not in a corny way you guys, but that’s the metric I return to. My relationship to it has stayed static, by making something that we preserved.BRIDGERS And it’s grown — I think of “True Blue” now as a kind of communal experience because that’s kind of the first moment in the set where the audience acts the same way every night. Lucy and I have pretty low voices and when people sing “True Blue,” they sing the octave up which is really funny.DACUS If I was doing “True Blue” for karaoke I would do the same thing.What about your relationships with each other? You’ve been around the world together at this point, in high-pressure situations — what’s different about your friendship?BAKER I’m proud of us. I think our communication has gotten better. We set out with a clear list of priorities in mind, and our excitement about the music and our genuine relationship with each other was at the top. That has stayed intact because we kept it as a priority. It’s being spoken into the project every day.BRIDGERS When you guys hit me up to have dinner the other night before we actually had to go into work, seeing you not at work first, I was like, this is so nice. We just got to talk about people and hang out.DACUS I’m not sick of you guys.Why do you think “Not Strong Enough” rose to the surface for the Grammys? You’ve talked about how it’s about mental illness, about self-hatred — is it the darkness that connected with audiences?DACUS I think the four-on-the-floor kick pattern connected with audiences. For me writing above everything is important, but you could switch out the lyrics of the song and I think it would be just as much fun.BRIDGERS I was like, we need a song that could be played on the radio, can we make one that’s like, really fun? And you guys understood the assignment.DACUS But “Not Strong Enough” is not a typical radio song, so it both fails the assignment but weirdly succeeded because it’s on the radio. Finneas said this too, it’s like you trying to copy your idols and failing is who you are. Something like that.BAKER And also “fun” is deep. Like you could retroactively dissertation explain what is just implicitly communicated by us having fun and writing lyrics in the way that we do. We put a breakdown in “Not Strong Enough” because it rocks; I want to have a good time!Has this past year made you want to dig deeper into boygenius or are you feeling like it’s time to return to your independent careers?DACUS We decided before it all started what the limits were, and that has allowed us to dig the deepest that we were willing to up until this point. We’ve put all of our energy into this knowing that there’s kind of a cap on this era of boygenius. We’re all going to make our own solo records after this — that’s fair to say, probably.BRIDGERS Or try.So you have six nominations as a band, but Phoebe has one extra (for a collaboration with SZA, “Ghost in the Machine”). Are you lording it over the other two?BRIDGERS All day. No, but it was the first one announced and Lucy was like, it would be so funny if we were all watching and it was only that. But I’m so proud of SZA.DACUS [whispers Bridgers’s section of “Ghost in the Machine”] I’ve had it stuck in my head all day.This year’s nominees are led by women — did that stick out at you at all watching it?BRIDGERS I noticed a lot of music I love.DACUS We’re excited for more pals to be getting recognized and the fact that we’re women isn’t the cool part — the music is the cool part.Have you been batting around any ideas yet for a Grammys performance? Nirvana suits?DACUS I haven’t thought about this at all because I did not think it was going to happen, so now it just opens up a whole world of having to think about things. More

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      12 Grammy Nominees You Need to Hear

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      Some of the best competitions are the under-the-radar ones. Listen to nominated songs by Bettye LaVette, Molly Tuttle, Tainy and more.The soul survivor Bettye LaVette, who’s up for best contemporary blues album.Gioncarlo Valentine for The New York TimesDear listeners,I’m Jon Pareles, sitting in for Lindsay this week because while she’s on vacation, we couldn’t let the Grammy Awards nominations go by without a playlist.Like a lot of critics, in and out of music, I’m pretty skeptical about awards shows. That’s not just because they rarely agree with my own taste. Awards shows have conflicted agendas and contradictory incentives. They trumpet artistic integrity but crave star power. They claim accountant-verified objectivity but often appear cliquish and stuck in industry bubbles.The one thing that makes me indulge the Grammys is an aspect that infuriates some other Grammy observers: the chronic sprawl of awards categories. There are 94 this year. That’s a lot, but fine: Let a hundred flowers bloom. The Recording Academy is forever trying to trim and adjust those categories, consolidating or renaming or expanding the list. But music keeps eluding them, changing styles and constituencies, while little Grammy voter pools — hopefully specialists, realistically partisans — battle to boost their candidates.It’s complicated, fluid, arbitrary, far from perfect. What, exactly, is “alternative jazz,” one of this year’s new categories? But down in the trenches of concert bookings, “Grammy-winning” can make a bigger difference for someone on a club or college tour than for an act with radio hits and arena gigs. The Grammys can be good for something.I regularly watch the pre-Grammy, non-network, un-prime-time “Grammy Premiere” livestream — just go to live.grammy.com or YouTube — where the unsung majority of Grammy Awards are given out before the prime-time show. They’re dorky and unpolished; some winners read their thank-yous from their cellphones, and they don’t always have designer outfits. But the pre-Grammys also book niche-category performers who tear the roof off, because that’s what happens beyond the controlled sphere of pop. Music can upend everything we expect.Here are a dozen down-category Grammy nominees, who are unlikely to show up in prime time. They’re not necessarily popular — though some were huge hits — or fashionable. They just made recordings worth noticing.Listen along on Spotify as you read.1. Kylie Minogue: “Padam Padam” (pop dance recording)Kylie Minogue conquered dance floors, yet again, in 2023 with “Padam Padam,” her breezily confident assertion that “I know you wanna take me home.” The title is a heartbeat rhythm, the production uses reverb to play with space, and Minogue sounds quite amenable to a tryst. (Listen on YouTube)2. Killer Mike featuring André 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane: “Scientists & Engineers” (rap performance)Multifaceted ideas about creativity — as a calling, a compulsion and a career — unite Killer Mike and his guests in this ambitious, changeable track. Enfolded in restlessly blipping synthesizers and Eryn Allen Kane’s ethereal vocal harmonies, André 3000 and Future muse over past and present before Killer Mike arrives with a closing barrage. (Listen on YouTube)3. Allison Russell: “Eve Was Black” (American roots performance)Racism and misogyny are Allison Russell’s direct targets in “Eve Was Black,” which transforms itself from Appalachian toe-tapper to eerie rocker to jazz excursion to gospel incantation and asks the unflinching question, “Do you hate or do you lust?” (Listen on YouTube)4. Jason Isbell: “Cast Iron Skillet” (American roots song)A tangle of bleak, likely interconnected narratives — murder, death in prison, a family shattered by interracial romance — mingles with homey advice in “Cast Iron Skillet,” a modest-sounding but far-reaching ballad. (Listen on YouTube)5. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway: “El Dorado” (bluegrass album)The songwriter and flatpicking guitar virtuoso Molly Tuttle spins a brisk, minor-key chronicle of the Gold Rush. She sings about desperate characters and wonders, “Was it worth the blood and dirt to dig our lives away?” (Listen on YouTube)6. Bettye LaVette: “Hard to Be a Human” (contemporary blues album)The gritty-voiced, 77-year-old soul survivor Bettye LaVette embraces 1970s-style Nigerian Afrobeat, with its chattering saxophone and curlicued guitars, in “Hard to Be a Human,” as she wonders about humanity’s irredeemable flaws. (Listen on YouTube)7. Blind Boys of Alabama: “Work Until My Days Are Done” (roots gospel album)The Blind Boys of Alabama, a gospel institution since the 1940s, bring their vintage-style harmonies to a traditional song that’s more about diligence than worship. The arrangement is a two-parter, an easygoing shuffle that revs up midway through to something like sanctified honky-tonk. (Listen on YouTube)8. Tainy featuring Bad Bunny and Julieta Venegas: “Lo Siento BB:/” (música urbana)Tainy, the Puerto Rican producer who’s an architect of reggaeton, racked up a billion streams across various platforms with “Lo Siento BB:/” (“Sorry Baby”). Julieta Venegas and Bad Bunny sing about her infatuation and his refusal to commit, juxtaposing cushy electronics and a blunt beat. (Listen on YouTube)9. Natalia Lafourcade: “De Todas las Flores” (Latin rock or alternative album)The Mexican songwriter Natalia Lafourcade’s album “De Todas las Flores’ isn’t remotely rock. It’s richly retro pop that harks back decades, with acoustic instruments and some orchestral arrangements. The title track is a rueful, elegantly nostalgic lament for lost love. (Listen on YouTube)10. Davido featuring Musa Keys: “Unavailable” (African music performance)Davido is from Nigeria, but he has international aims. In “Unavailable,” he infuses Nigerian Afrobeats with a South African style, amapiano, and he’s joined by the South African singer Musa Keys. They’re both playing hard to get. (Listen on YouTube)11. Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society: ‘Dymaxion’ (large jazz ensemble album)The composer Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society is an 18-piece big band that stokes suspense with dissonance, pinpoint timing and an arrangement that gets denser and denser throughout most of “Dymaxion.” Even when it eases back, the piece stays ominous. (Listen on YouTube)12. Ólafur Arnalds: “Woven Song (Hania Rani Piano Rework)” (new age, ambient or chant album)“Woven Song” originally appeared on Ólafur Arnalds’s 2020 album, “Some Kind of Peace,” with an eerie, sliding, untempered vocal. The Polish pianist and singer Hania Rani makes it cozier and more consonant in her “rework,” but the ghost-waltz spirit of the original persists. (Listen on YouTube)And I’d like to thank the Academy …JonThe Amplifier PlaylistListen on Spotify. We update this playlist with each new newsletter.“12 Grammy Nominees You Need to Hear” track listTrack 1: Kylie Minogue, “Padam Padam”Track 2: Killer Mike featuring André 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane, “Scientists & Engineers”Track 3: Allison Russell, “Eve Was Black”Track 4: Jason Isbell, “Cast Iron Skillet”Track 5: Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, “El Dorado”Track 6: Bettye LaVette, “Hard to Be a Human”Track 7: Blind Boys of Alabama, “Work Until My Days Are Done”Track 8: Tainy featuring Bad Bunny and Julieta Venegas, “Lo Siento BB:/”Track 9: Natalia Lafourcade, “De Todas la Flores”Track 10: Davido featuring Musa Keys, “Unavailable”Track 11: Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, “Dymaxion”Track 12: Ólafur Arnalds, “Woven Song (Hania Rani Piano Rework)”Bonus TracksCaryn the editor here flagging the rest of our Grammy coverage that’s gone live so far today:Ben Sisario’s big look at the field, with a spotlight on the top competitions.Our always-entertaining snubs and surprises, examining which genres were conspicuously absent from the biggest categories, and a delightful showdown between Olivia Rodrigo and the Rolling Stones.The full list of nominees: yes, all 94 categories. Yes, I formatted this myself.An interview with Victoria Monét, who has seven nominations (the second-most), and one for her toddler.And an interview with the indie-rock trio boygenius, who picked up six nods. More

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      Victoria Monét on Her 7 Grammy Nods (and One for Her Toddler)

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      The pop and R&B singer and songwriter has long aspired to be a solo star. Now she’s landed the second-most nominations this year, and is “trying to wrap my head around it.”On the morning of this year’s Grammy Award nominations, Victoria Monét, the pop and R&B singer and songwriter, had the champagne ready no matter what.Up early and gathered at a hotel with her 2-year-old daughter, Hazel, some members of her team and other collaborators via video chat, Monét was hoping for some industry recognition but ready for anything. “Worst case scenario, I just would have been really tipsy,” she said.When all the categories had been announced, there were at least nine reasons to celebrate: Monét scored seven nominations, tied for second-most overall, including record of the year (“On My Mama”), best new artist, best R&B song and best R&B album, for “Jaguar II.” Her longtime collaborator and “Jaguar II” producer Dernst Emile II, known as D’Mile, was nominated for producer of the year, nonclassical, for the second year in a row. And Hazel became the youngest ever Grammy nominee for her feature appearance — alongside Earth, Wind & Fire — on the song “Hollywood,” which is up for best traditional R&B performance.Having long aspired to be a solo star, Monét, 34, had previously found most of her success as a songwriter for other artists on tracks like “7 Rings” and “Thank U Next” by Ariana Grande, “Do It” by Chloe x Halle, and “Ice Cream” by Blackpink and Selena Gomez. Even after the well-received release of “Jaguar II,” her debut full-length album, in August, Monét said she had been told that it was “too early” in her story to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards.In a phone interview shortly after the Grammy nominees were announced, Monét discussed the vindication of this moment, the health of R&B music, her daughter’s reaction to her record-setting recognition and how the music industry views motherhood. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.What a morning! How much did you allow yourself to get your hopes up?Honestly, I didn’t expect anything, because I know that the Grammys is such a prestigious awards academy. I knew we submitted a lot and I really felt strongly about the album, but I don’t think that always translates. I just wanted to watch it with my team in a really clean and serene environment. So we came to the hotel, we got the champagne and balloons as if we’d already been nominated. We could’ve definitely fell on our asses, but we came out really, really happy and emotional. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.The whole field is dominated by women across genres. What does that say about the music industry at the moment?I think it’s kind of a reflection of where the world is at, in addition to the music industry. Because I think women are realizing their power and the world is more in support of it, and we’re being more unapologetic and seeing the fruits of our labor. I think there’s a tide change in the world, and that’s definitely reflected in the Grammy nominations and in music in general.What about R&B in particular? We’ve been dealing, for a decade-plus now, with the tired “Is R&B dead?” conversation. And now here you are with SZA, Janelle Monáe and Coco Jones with many nominations.I feel like that conversation has always been null and void. I don’t know whose idea or statement that was. I’m aware of it, but it just feels like it was a rumor started by some ghost and everyone I talk to disagrees.They’re definitely, obviously wrong. But it almost feels like when people say that, people go harder for R&B to prove that it’s not, which I like. So I do value it for that reason. Clearly, because of the Grammy nominations, you can see it proven over and over again. Even across pop music and rap, you can see the R&B influences.Between the release of the “Jaguar” EP and “Jaguar II,” you had your first child. Did you have to deal with anyone questioning how becoming a mother would affect your career?Oh, 100 percent. People were scared. I even got a PowerPoint presentation from someone about reasons why it’s a bad idea and what it would cost. But it’s just a fear and an old way of thinking. When I first was introduced into the music industry, there was a strong opinion and narrative that you can’t do it if you’re an older woman, you can’t do it if you’re a mom and you can’t do it if you’re in a relationship. Weird, weird things that the music industry had hovering over women’s heads. But we’re consistently breaking those narrative down over the last few years and proving that they’re incorrect.Your daughter, Hazel, is also nominated for her feature on “Hollywood.” How does she feel?She’s 2 and a half now, but at the time of the feature she was 4 months old. She’s now the youngest Grammy nominated artist in history, which is crazy. Oh my God, I’m so proud. She just has no idea. She’s just on the phone watching “Baby Shark.” I’ll have to explain this to her later. I know she’ll appreciate it because she does love music — she’s getting that bug, wanting to be onstage and sing. She’s making up songs and doesn’t even realize that she’s writing already. So I’m excited to share that with her when she’s able to understand a bit more. But, you know, humble flex for her at school.You and Ariana Grande have been a huge part of each other’s journeys and she’s always been a champion of yours. Have you had a chance to speak to her yet?I haven’t spoken to her yet. I know she’s such a busy woman, but I’m sure we’ll share time about this. She’s always congratulatory and supportive on all things. Every bit of the way, she’s been wishing for the best for me. I know she’s been here as an artist, as well. So now we can relate and I’m excited to ask her for advice. Like, “going into it, how did you prepare your mind?” It’s good to have a friend who’s been where you are.D’Mile is a bit of a Grammys whisperer, having such success with Silk Sonic and H.E.R.Oh my, God, yes.What did he bring to “Jaguar II”?More than music, D’Mile has brought family energy into the studio. Companionship. Someone I really, really trust wholeheartedly. I moved to L.A. in 2009 and I didn’t have a place to live. I was in a girl group at the time. He offered his place so that we could stay. It’s bigger than just “Jaguar I” and “II.” We’ve been rocking for over a decade. We were on FaceTime together as he got his producer of the year nomination. I’m so excited and thankful that he’s on this journey.You had a moment earlier this year when you were told you weren’t ready for the V.M.A.s. Is this the sweetest vindication?It’s really, really awesome. I think my entire story has been leading up to this moment. I felt like an underdog for so long. There’s always been this narrative on Twitter that I’m underrated, which I’ve always appreciated because I thought of it as my fans seeing more for me than what I already have. But now, everyone who was rooting has been able to see things come to fruition and see me get what they thought I deserved. It just feels like, finally. This is big release, but also celebration. I’m in complete gratitude.Any big plans for the show?I definitely have plans and dreams to perform at the Grammys, if allowed. But my first thought was, “Oh my God, Hazel will need something to wear.” More