RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Lizzo is back with a new sound and a new look. Following some unpleasant allegations and lawsuits made against her, the singer took some time away from the spotlight. But Lizzo has reemerged fully energized and in fighting shape, having recently achieved significant weight loss although she has made it clear she still continues to advocate for body positivity. And she has new music with the release of the title track off of her upcoming fifth studio album, "Love in Real Life". This rock-inspired song looks back at a time before social media when people connected face-to-face. The music video for "Love in Real Life" was influenced by 90's style and features Lizzo decked out in black leather and doing some moves with back-up dancers that Michael Jackson would envy. And the video for another song,the dance-pop track, "Still Bad" continues where the other clip ended. Lizzo will be hit the road this month for some shows in New York, LA and Minneapolis.





Here are some new songs that I'm feeling which includes "Taste", the latest from Coco Jones which samples Britney Spears' "Toxic";  Haim returns with the sisters getting funky while bemoaning "Relationships"; the Canadian singer, Tate McRae talks about her need for speed with her single, "Sports Car"; Sam Smith returns with a lovely ballad, "Love is a Stillness", rising British artist, Bishop Briggs has dropped a new single with the positivity anthem, "Woman is King" and Lil Nas X is back, embracing the pink, with a new single, "Hotbox".

Roy Ayers, a pioneer of jazz-funk whose music would be one of the most sampled in hip-hop, passed away on March 4th at the age of eight-four. The LA-born Ayers came from a family of musicians and began learning to play the vibraphone at the age of five. After playing with several bands and recording solo projects, he formed his own acid-jazz group in 1972, Roy Ayers Ubiquity, which he chose because "ubiquity" means "a state of being everywhere at the same time". Ayers worked on the soundtrack for the Pam Grier film, "Coffy" and released the 1976 album, "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" which the title track would go on to find great popularity later by being heavily sampled, with the song used at least two hundred times on various recordings. Some of his other music was also sampled and he returned the favor by performing the vibraphone as a session musician for albums of many neo-soul, jazz and hip-hop artists. During his career, Ayers would record thirty studio albums as a solo artist and with his band.

NEW SOUNDS

LIL NAS X

Over the last week, Lil Nas X has been using social media to draw attention to his upcoming new music. Now the song, "J. Christ" is out along with a controversial music video that is certain to draw the ire of the religious faithful. The clip begins with a long line of people, which includes dubious look-alikes of Oprah, Taylor Swift and former President Barack Obama, preparing to ascend to heaven. Nas, dressed throughout in stylish, gender-fluid fashion, straddles between heaven and hell before playing a game of hoops with the devil. He uses biblical imagery but places his own provocative, queer spin on them. This song, which Nas dedicates to "the man who had the greatest comeback of all time", is far less intriguing than the video, with the young artist seeming to be more interested in whipping folks up into a wild frenzy than being musically adventurous. Regardless, I have to say I admire him greatly for pushing boundaries and fearlessly pursuing his artistic vision to make his point. And to dive further into this and the rest of his new music, there will be a documentary released on January 27th called "Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero" on HBO and MAX.





ARIANA GRANDE

Also using social media during the last month to tease footage of her working in a recording studio, Ariana Grande has dropped a surprise new single on Friday. "Yes, And?" is a beat heavy, dance-pop tune that the singer has made her career with, reuniting with long-time producers, Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh who helped to co-write the track. The song deals with people criticizing and commenting on her personal life while encouraging listeners to ignore the negative chatter. The music video for the song drives the point home with a bunch of jaded critics arrive to a location to hear Grande's new music. Bringing to mind the Fosse inspired Paula Abdul video for "Cold Hearted", Grande shows off impressive dance moves which must have been sharpened since filming the upcoming movie musical, "Wicked". "Yes, And?" is the first release from Grande's upcoming seventh studio album entitled, "Eternal Sunshine" with no exact release date set at this time.



And we have Jennifer Lopez and the release of the video for her new single, "Can't Get Enough". From the upcoming album, "This Is Me... Now" (due out on February 16th) which is a sequel of sorts to her 2002 release, " This Is Me... Then", this clip is a spoof of the many wedding movies Lopez has made (and perhaps the numerous weddings she has had in real-life) and shows her dancing during her marriages with three different grooms. This dance-pop song is fun and perhaps will help Lopez find her way back up the charts.

2021 VMAS

It was forty years ago this year that MTV was launched and delivered to the world the music video, a perfect blend of energized visuals with hard-driving music that completely changed how we were exposed to new songs. I was drawn to the channel immediately as it combined my great love of cinema and music and I would spend as much time as I possibly could watching my MTV. There is no denying MTV helped create pop stars, aiding these musicians by promoting their songs through the rotation of their videos which also defined these performers with a distinctive image. Sure, some of these artists probably would have been fine without the music channel but there is no doubt that many were able to achieve incredible global success with the far-reaching assistance of MTV.

The 2021 Video Music Awards celebrates the legacy of MTV and while the channel doesn't really show these clips anymore, they still enthusiastically honor the artistry behind the music video. Held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Doja Cat was this year's host and while she might be one of the hottest pop acts at the moment, the singer didn't leave much of an impact. As a host, she was barely on stage, didn't say anything meaningful and never made much of an impression beyond her progressively weird outfits (which included some sort of worm-like contraption and a literal chair on her head). Even Madonna, who showed up just to kick off the show, was able to make more of a significant impression in her brief appearance where the still rebellious sixty-three year old highlighted her completely covered yet fully exposed, oddly enhanced backside.

And the Queen of Pop was just one of several musical artists from MTV's glory days that appeared throughout the evening to present awards. There was Madonna's "rival", Cyndi Lauper; Tommy Lee of the metal band, Motley Crew; AJ McLean of Backstreet Boys, Lance Bass of N'Sync and Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees who represented the "Boy Band" era and the still very witty, David Lee Roth of Van Halen. Busta Rhymes appeared on the show (along with his hype-man, Spliff Star) to do a melody of many of his hits from the '90's and '00's but the hip-hop legend was largely out-of-breath and low-energy.

Even though Nicki Minaj and Lorde (due to a "change in production elements") decided to drop out at the last moment, there were still plenty of big names that turned up live on stage. Some highlights included Justin Bieber appearing with The Kid Laroi to do their hit, "Stay" and then Biebs did his newest single, "Ghosts"; Ed Sheeran took to a stage at the Brooklyn Bridge Park to deliver his latest single, "Shivers"; lovebirds, Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes appeared separately to perform their songs, "Don't Go Yet" and "Summer of Love" respectively; and our host, Doja Cat had to get on stage, doing a mash-up of "Been Like This" and "You Right" while soaring high above the audience in the air. A few of my favorite appearances included a fierce Chlöe performing (without her sister, Halle) her first solo song, "Have Mercy"; Normani bringing her hit, "Wild Life" to life with a sizzling performance; Kacey Musgraves brought a touch of country-pop while encircled by a ring of fire with the title track of her new album, "Star-Crossed" and the always welcome, Alicia Keys delivering a new song and a tribute to New York City with "Empire State of Mind". And Global Icon Award winners, Foo Fighters did a roaring set of their songs that reminded us that rock & roll is far from dead.

As for the awards, Lil Nas X and Olivia Rodrigo were the big winners of the night, each receiving three awards with Rodrigo winning Song of the Year for "Drivers License" and Best New Artist while Nas took the big Video of the Year award for his controversial clip, "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)". These young entertainers each had a moment on the show to make their presence felt with big, splashy production numbers surrounded by a small army of dancers. But this was were their inexperience as live performers came in to sharp focus. Nas and Rodrigo both looked slightly uncomfortable on stage while struggling to stand out from their massive productions.

This points out a glaring problem with some of today's musicians who manage to get a hit record yet never paid any dues by learning to perform their music in front of an audience. Lil Nas X and Ms Rodrigo are appealing pop stars and have made some great records but are they artists that will still be around in ten years? Five years? No one really knows as talent alone is not necessarily enough to keep people interested. Yet I think the era of "American Idol" insta-pop-stars has done a great disservice to young singers who think skipping much of the long, hard work involved and jumping straight to fame is enough to maintain a career.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Normani is back with some new music and she's got Cardi B along for the ride. "Wild Side" is a smooth r&b ballad, backed-up by a sample of the classic 1996 song, "One in a Million" by the legendary Aailyah, that gives off a 90's trip-hop vibe yet still feels very modern. The song is enhanced further by an astonishing music video. With an incredible array of sexy outfits, stunning wild imagery throughout the clip and slick, sensuous choreography by Sean Bankhead, the former Fifth Harmony member finally has the perfect showcase to display her bountiful skills as a musician and performer, certainly helping to enable the artist reach a new level of success.



Speaking of the 1990's, enjoy a sampling of a few hits by r&b girl groups from the era:







Here is a random collection of recent songs and videos I'm digging right now:









And we have Lil Nas X back with his latest song, "Industry Baby". Despite the controversy involving the video for "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" and the promotional "Satan Shoes", Nas is not backing down and pushes the envelope even further with the video for this song. It is set in a men's prison with Nas being sentenced for being gay. What we get is a very queer version of "The Shawshank Redemption" including a semi-censored naked shower dancing scene (which is choreographed by Sean Bankhead) and a guest rap verse by Jack Harlow:

MONTERO (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME)

Lil Nas X had been teasing a song called "Call Me By Your Name" since last summer, playing snippets on TikTok videos. The complete song, now called "Montero" (which is Nas X's first name), has finally been released but that's not what has gotten people buzzing.

It is the music video for the song that has stirred up plenty of controversy with it's provocative use of Biblical symbolism. This has raised the ire of several right-wing commentators, claiming that the homoerotic imagery will cause harm to their precious children. But the openly queer, twenty-one year old artist has pushed back, stating he's not catering to kids and what's presented in this video won't hurt anybody.

As for the video (directed by Lil Nas X and Tanu Muino), we first see Lil Nas X (playing all the characters) in a futuristic Garden of Eden cavorting with a male serpent before moving on to a him being imprisoned, dressed in a modern, French neoclassical style, and then executed. Next we see Nas X ascending to heaven before grabbing a stripper pole (with an obvious nod to FKA Twigs' video for "Cellophane") and dropping to the depths of Hell. Nas X confronts Satan, giving him a lusty lap dance, with the video ending with a new Lord of the Underworld. It's been a little while since a pop artist has gotten under the skin of religious groups, especially an out-and-proud gay performer. But Lil Nas X has stated he mainly hopes his video will inspire other queer artists to express themselves, openly and honestly. And I agree wholeheartedly that is absolutely important. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM . . .

DOLLY PARTON 

It's been over thirty years since country music legend, Dolly Parton has released a Christmas album and her latest collection features the cute title,  "A Very Dolly Christmas". The singer had actually began working on the project back in 2009 when she released the single, "Comin' Home for Christmas" but I guess it took some time before the busy Parton was able to complete the album. "A Very Dolly Christmas" features mostly original songs by Parton and there are several guests on board which includes Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus, Michael Bublé, Willie Nelson and "Tonight Show" host, Jimmy Fallon on a cover of Mariah Carey's now-holiday classic, "All I Want For Christmas". Enjoy a couple of fun songs from the album:





LIL NAS X 

Lil Nas X  seems to be in the holiday spirit and has dropped a new song in celebration. The twenty-one year old hip-hop performer born Montero Hill has released "Holiday" but it's really more about his incredible, rapid success with his country-rap hybrid, "Old Town Road" and his fame  than about Santa Claus. I find it unlikely that the song itself will become a holiday classic but it's really the music video for the track which implies a Christmas theme. This clip is a visual wonder (directed by Gibson Hazard and Nas X) and features Lil Nas X in a futuristic setting taking over as ole Saint Nick.

CARLY RAE JEPSEN 

The Canadian pop singer, Carly Rae Jepsen has taken a different approach to the holidays with her recently released single, "It's Not Christmas Till Somebody Cries". Jepsen, who co-wrote the song with Benjamin Romans, CJ Baran and James Flannigan, examines the rarely discussed difficulties with family dysfunction during Christmas that can almost ruin the festivities. Despite the dark subject matter, this ditty is cute and playful, humorously showing another side of the celebration that most people try to forget about.

25 SONGS THAT MATTER NOW

For the annual New York Times magazine music issue, the focus is on twenty-five songs that matter right now. People are well known to be notoriously fickle; a hot song can swiftly become an inescapable earworm that reaches the top of the global pop charts by a compelling, newly discovered artist who is considered "the real deal". But that song and the performer can just as quickly be easily forgotten by a mass audience in a matter of a year. Sometimes even less.

The songs that have been selected for this issue which range from wildly popular ("Truth Hurts", "Hot Girl Summer", "Old Town Road") to far more obscure ("Ricky", "Stupid Horse", "953") all have something in common. Each track is from musicians who are less concerned about mainstream success (which some of them still have managed to find) and much more centered on creating fresh, bold sounds which clearly express their unique vision. I think it's safe to say that many of these artists will be around for quite awhile.

With this year's edition, you will not only be able to read about these songs but you can now listen to them at the same time. All you will need to do is open Google Lens on your phone, pointing your camera at each tune in this issue and you will be able to hear the music as well as see video and animation. Or you can also click below for the NYT music issue interactive experience online:

NYT magazine: 25 Songs That Matter Now

THE 62ND ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS

With the messy scandal and controversy involving the Recording Academy and their now-ousted president along with the tragic and shocking passing of the legendary basketball star, Kobe Bryant and his teenage daughter, the 2020 Grammy Awards had a dark and heavy cloud to lift before the ceremony even began. But thankfully the show had host, Alicia Keys, appearing for the second time, to deliver a healing voice and positive energy to the somber audience. After asking everyone to hold Bryant in their hearts, she sang A cappella an incredibly moving version of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" along with Boyz ll Men who had a hit in 1991 with their cover.

The Grammys have always been about spectacle and big musical numbers and on that front, the show did not disappoint. Dedicating her performance to Kobe, Lizzo opened the show with the fiery ballad, "Cuz I Love You" and then put on display body positivity with an army of ballet dancers and her flute skills during her live version of "Truth Hurts".

Tyler The Creator may have started with a traditional r&b sound with assistance from Boyz ll Men and Charlie Wilson on "Earfquake" before he shifted to a lively punk/new wave energy while performing "New Magic Wand" with fellow bewigged blonde, male back-up dancers. And I loved his speech and his proud, teary-eyed mother who joined her son on stage to accept his win for Best Rap Album. Gary Clark Jr. brought fire and rage during his performance of "This Land", the title track of his Grammy-winning album which makes a compelling statement about his experience with racism in America.

I would have preferred to have seen less of Lil Nas X and his novelty country/rap hit, "Old Town Road" with his performance of the song extended beyond what was necessary with K-pop group, BTS, YouTube sensation, Mason Ramsey, DJ/producer, Diplo and Billy Ray Cyrus all brought on stage to join him. Aerosmith, the legendary rock group who received this year's MusiCares Person Of The Year award, struggled to bring vigorous life to their time on stage even with Run DMC joining them on their shared hit, "Walk This Way". The odd couple, country star, Blake Shelton and pop-punk singer, Gwen Stefani may have looked truly in love but their ballad, "Nobody But You" lacked actual passion.

And to promote an upcoming Grammy special to celebrate the music of Prince, Usher appeared to perform a number of the late funk master's songs. While he did a fair job on "Little Red Corvette", "When Doves Cry" and "Kiss", FKA Twigs. a Grammy nominee this year, joined him on stage but was shamefully regulated simply as a back-up dancer. This British pop-art performer should have definitely been given an opportunity to have done at least one song, perhaps bringing a more intriguing spin to this tribute to the Purple One.

But the highlights for me were the small yet emotional moments like Tanya Tucker, accompanied by Brandi Carlile, bringing depth and grit with her comeback country single, "Bring My Flowers Now"; Camila Cabello had nearly everyone in tears with the touching ballad, "First Man", dedicated to her father which she sang directly to him and Demi Lovato, who delivered a powerhouse vocal on "Anyone" , a heartbreaking song about her struggles with addiction, yet was so overcome before she even began that she had to start over.

And our fifteen time Grammy-winning host did not let anyone forget that she's still a vital musical artist. Early in the evening, Keys did an original song using the melody of Lewis Capaldi's hit, "Someone You Loved" which she name-checked some of the musicians who made an impact last year before returning later to perform her new single, "Underdog" which had Britney Howard joining her with a too short appearance on guitar.

Billie Eilish was the big winner of the evening, taking all four of the major categories with the eighteen year old being only the second artist ever to accomplish this feat (Christopher Cross was the first back in 1981). And Eilish surprised everyone with her low-key performance on the show by showing off her vocals with the ballad, "When The Party's Over" instead of the more expected frenetic energy we usually see from the artist.

Here is a partial list of winners of the 62nd annual Grammy Awards:

Album of the Year: Billie Eilish, "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?"
Record of the Year: Billie Eilish, "Bad Guy"
Song of the Year: "Bad Guy" - Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O'Connell; songwriters (Billie Eilish)
Best New Artist: Billie Eilish
Best Pop Vocal Album: Billie Eilish, "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?"
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Elvis Costello & The Imposters, "Look Now"
Best Pop Solo Performance: Lizzo, "Truth Hurts"
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus, "Old Town Road"
Best Rap Album: Tyler the Creator, "Igor"
Best Rap Song: "A Lot" - Jermaine Cole, Dacoury Natche, 21 Savage & Anthony White; songwriters (21 Savage featuring J. Cole)
Best Rap Performance: Nipsey Hussle featuring Roddy Ricch & Hit-Bo, "Racks in the Middle"
Best Rap/Sung Performance: DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend, "Higher"
Best R&B Album: Anderson .Paak, "Ventura"
Best Urban Contemporary Album: Lizzo, "Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)"
Best R&B Song: "Say So" — Pj Morton; songwriter (Pj Morton Featuring Jojo)
Best R&B Performance: Anderson .Paak & André 300, "Come Home"
Best Traditional R&B Performance: Lizzo, "Jerome"
Best Rock Album: Cage The Elephant, "Social Cues"
Best Rock Song: "This Land" — Gary Clark Jr.; songwriter (Gary Clark Jr.) Best Rock Performance: Best Rock Solo Performance: Gary Clark Jr., "This Land"
Best Country Album: Tanya Tucker, "While I'm Livin'"
Best Country Song: "Bring My Flowers Now" - Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth and Tanya Tucker; songwriters (Tanya Tucker)
Best Country Solo Performance: Willie Nelson, "Ride Me Back Home"
Best Country Duo/Group Performance: Dan + Shay, "Speechless"
Best Comedy Album: Dave Chapelle, "Sticks & Stones"
Best Dance/Electronic Album: The Chemical Brothers, "No Geography"
Best Dance Recording: The Chemical Brothers, "Got To Keep On"
Best Music Video: Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, "Old Town Road (Official Movie)"
Best Music Film: Beyoncé, "Homecoming"
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, "A Star Is Born"
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media: Hildur Guðnadóttir, "Chernobyl"
Best Song Written for Visual Media: "I’ll Never Love Again" - (Film Version), Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey & Aaron Raitiere (Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born)
Best Remixed Recording: "I Rise (Tracy Young’s Pride Intro Radio Remix)" - Tracy Young (Madonna)
Best Instrumental Composition: "Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Symphonic Suite" — John Williams; composer (John Williams)
Best Spoken Word Album (includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling): Michelle Obama, "Becoming"
Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical): Finneas O'Connell

MY FAVORITE MOMENTS IN MUSIC IN 2019

2019 seemed to highlight the further fragmenting of pop music with the growing emphasis on the song and less on the singer. In this Spotify generation, endless playlists filled with disconnected songs by a variety of artists have increasingly replaced a focused collection of work by a singer/songwriter with specific thoughts on life and love. Even the way music is created has moved back in time to the days when a factory of songwriters and producers put together a track and then find the right singer to fill in the rest. While it has become much more difficult for performers to maintain enduring careers after their initial burst of success, there were certainly some promising new artists who broke out and made fresh, memorable works last year who look like the real deal.

Here are a few more favorite songs that I didn't get chance to share previously throughout last year:

2019 GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

After years of the Recording Academy being accused of being way out of touch by giving familiar veteran performers most of the major nominations for the Grammy Award while the music of contemporary artists were largely being shut out, this year the nominations for one of the highest honors in music seem to have gotten closer in closing that gap. Artists that are creating exciting cutting edge music like Bon Iver, Lana Del Rey and Vampire Weekend each received multiple nominations in the top categories while women have finally made strides in getting recognized for their work with five of the eight Album of The Year nominees are by female artists.

R&B/hip-hop sensation, Lizzo leads the pack with the most nominations with eight for her breakout single, "Truth Hurts" and third album, "Cuz I Love You". For the first time in Grammy history, there are two artists to receive nominations in the top four categories, Album of The Year, Song of The Year, Record of The Year and Best New Artist with Lizzo being one and alt-rocker, Billie Eilish being the other performer. The seventeen year old had a great year with her debut studio album, "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" becoming a critical hit and major seller. She follows with the most nominations with six along with another new artist, Lil Nas X who merged hip-hop and country to have the crossover smash, "Old Town Road" with a little assist from Billy Ray Cyrus. Ariana Grande, H.E.R. and Finneas O'Connell, Eilish's brother who co-wrote and produced her album, all received five nominations.

The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards will air Sunday, January 26, 2020 at Staples Center in Los Angeles with Alicia Keys returning as host. Here is a partial list of the 2019 Grammy Award nominations:

Album of The Year:

"I, I" — Bon Iver
"Norman Fucking Rockwell!" — Lana Del Rey
"When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" — Billie Eilish
"Thank U, Next" — Ariana Grande
"I Used to Know Her" — H.E.R.
"7" — Lil Nas X
"Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)" — Lizzo
"Father of the Bride" — Vampire Weekend

Record of The Year:

"Hey, Ma" — Bon Iver
"Bad Guy" — Billie Eilish
"7 Rings" — Ariana Grande
"Hard Place" — H.E.R.
"Talk" — Khalid
"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas X Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
"Truth Hurts" — Lizzo
"Sunflower" — Post Malone & Swae Lee

Song of The Year:

"Always Remember Us This Way" — Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey and Lori McKenna, songwriters (Lady Gaga)
"Bad Guy" — Billie Eilish O'Connell and Finneas O'Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
"Bring My Flowers Now" — Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth and Tanya Tucker, songwriters (Tanya Tucker)
"Hard Place" — Ruby Amanfu, Sam Ashworth, D. Arcelious Harris. H.E.R. and Rodney Jerkins, songwriters (H.E.R.)
"Lover" — Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)
"Norman Fucking Rockwell" — Jack Antonoff and Lana Del Rey, songwriters (Lana Del Rey)
"Someone You Loved" — Tom Barnes, Lewis Capaldi, Pete Kelleher, Benjamin Kohn and Sam Roman, songwriters (Lewis Capaldi)
"Truth Hurts" — Steven Cheung, Eric Frederic, Melissa Jefferson and Jesse Saint John, songwriters (Lizzo)

Best New Artist:

Black Pumas
Billie Eilish
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
Maggie Rogers
Rosalía
Tank and the Bangas
Yola

Best Pop Solo Performance:

"Spirit" — Beyoncé
"Bad Guy" — Billie Eilish
"7 Rings" — Ariana Grande
"Truth Hurts" — Lizzo
"You Need to Calm Down" — Taylor Swift

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:

"Boyfriend" — Ariana Grande and Social House
"Sucker" — Jonas Brothers
"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
"Sunflower" — Post Malone and Swae Lee
"Señorita" — Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello

Best Pop Vocal Album:

"The Lion King: The Gift" — Beyoncé
"When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" — Billie Eilish
"Thank U, Next" — Ariana Grande
"No. 6 Collaborations Project" — Ed Sheeran
"Lover" — Taylor Swift

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:

"Sì" — Andrea Bocelli
"Love (Deluxe Edition)" — Michael Bublé
"Look Now" — Elvis Costello and The Imposters
"A Legendary Christmas" — John Legend
"Walls" — Barbra Streisand

Best Dance Recording:

"Linked" — Bonobo
"Got to Keep On" — The Chemical Brothers
"Piece of Your Heart" — Meduza featuring Goodboys
"Underwater" — RÜFÜS DU SOL
"Midnight Hour" — Skrillex & Boys Noize featuring Ty Dolla $ign

Best Dance/Electronic Album:

"LP5" — Apparat
"No Geography" — The Chemical Brothers
"Hi This Is Flume (Mixtape)" — Flume
"SOLACE" — RÜFÜS DU SOL
"Weather" — Tycho

Best Rock Performance:

"Pretty Waste" — Bones UK
"This Land" — Gary Clark, Jr.
"History Repeats" — Brittany Howard
"Woman" — Karen O and Danger Mouse
"Too Bad" — Rival Sons

Best Rock Album:

"Amo" — Bring Me The Horizon
"Social Cues" — Cage The Elephant
"In The End" — The Cranberries
"Trauma" — I Prevail
"Feral Roots" — Rival Sons

Best Alternative Music Album:

"U.F.O.F." — Big Thief
"Assume Form" — James Blake
"I,I" — Bon Iver
"Father Of The Bride" — Vampire Weekend
"Anima" — Thom Yorke

Best R&B Performance:

"Love Again" — Daniel Caesar and Brandy
"Could've Been" — H.E.R. featuring Bryson Tiller
"Exactly How I Feel" — Lizzo featuring Gucci Mane
"Roll Some Mo" — Lucky Daye
"Come Home" — Anderson .Paak featuring André 3000

Best Traditional R&B Performance:

"Time Today" — BJ The Chicago Kid
"Steady Love" — India.Arie
"Jerome" — Lizzo
"Real Games" — Lucky Daye
"Built For Love" — PJ Morton featuring Jazmine Sullivan

Best R&B Album:

"1123" — BJ The Chicago Kid
"Painted" — Lucky Daye
"Ella Mai" — Ella Mai
"Paul" — PJ Morton
"Ventura" — Anderson .Paak

Best Urban Contemporary Album:

"Apollo XXI" — Steve Lacy
"Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)" — Lizzo
"Overload" — Georgia Anne Muldrow
"Saturn" — NAO
"Being Human In Public" — Jessie Reyez

Best Rap Performance:

"Middle Child" — J. Cole
"Suge" — DaBaby
"Down Bad" — Dreamville featuring J.I.D, Bas, J. Cole, EARTHGANG and Young Nudy
"Racks In The Middle" — Nipsey Hussle featuring Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy
"Clout" — Offset featuring Cardi B

Best Rap/Sung Performance:

"Higher" — DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend
"Drip Too Hard" — Lil Baby and Gunna
"Panini" — Lil Nas X
"Ballin" — Mustard featuring Roddy Ricch
"The London" — Young Thug featuring J. Cole and Travis Scott

Best Rap Album:

"Revenge of the Dreamers III" — Dreamville
"Championships" — Meek Mill
"I Am > I Was" — 21 Savage
"Igor" — Tyler, The Creator
"The Lost Boy" — YBN Cordae

Best Country Solo Performance:

"All Your'n" — Tyler Childers
"Girl Goin' Nowhere" — Ashley McBryde
"Ride Me Back Home" — Willie Nelson
"God's Country" — Blake Shelton
"Bring My Flowers Now" — Tanya Tucker

Best Country Duo/Group Performance:

"Brand New Man" — Brooks and Dunn with Luke Combs
"I Don't Remember Me (Before You)" — Brothers Osborne
"Speechless" — Dan + Shay
"The Daughters" — Little Big Town
"Common" — Maren Morris featuring Brandi Carlile

Best Country Album:

"Desperate Man" — Eric Church
"Stronger Than The Truth" — Reba McEntire
"Interstate Gospel" — Pistol Annies
"Center Point Road" — Thomas Rhett
"While I'm Livin'" — Tanya Tucker

Best Jazz Vocal Album:

"Thirsty Ghost" — Sara Gazarek
"Love & Liberation" — Jazzmeia Horn
"Alone Together" — Catherine Russell
"12 Little Spells" — Esperanza Spalding
"Screenplay" — The Tierney Sutton Band

Best Jazz Instrumental Album:

"In The Key Of The Universe" — Joey DeFrancesco
"The Secret Between The Shadow And The Soul" — Branford Marsalis Quartet
"Christian McBride's New Jawn" — Christian McBride
"Finding Gabriel" — Brad Mehldau
"Come What May" — Joshua Redman Quartet

Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album:

"X 100PRE" — Bad Bunny
"Oasis" — J Balvin & Bad Bunny
"Indestructible" — Flor De Toloache
"Almadura" — iLe
"El Mal Querer" — Rosalía

Best Americana Album:

"Years to Burn" — Calexico And Iron & Wine
"Who Are You Now" — Madison Cunningham
"Oklahoma" — Keb' Mo'
"Tales of America" — J.S. Ondara
"Walk Through Fire" — Yola

Best Bluegrass Album:

"Tall Fiddler" — Michael Cleveland
"Live In Prague, Czech Republic" — Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
"Toil, Tears & Trouble" — The Po' Ramblin' Boys
"Royal Traveller" — Missy Raines
"If You Can't Stand The Heat" — Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen

Best Traditional Blues Album:

"Kingfish" — Christone "Kingfish" Ingram
"Tall, Dark & Handsome" — Delbert McClinton and Self-Made Men
"Sitting On Top Of The Blues" — Bobby Rush
"Baby, Please Come Home" — Jimmie Vaughan
"Spectacular Class" — Jontavious Willis

Best Gospel Album:

"Long Live Love" — Kirk Franklin
"Goshen" — Donald Lawrence Presents The Tri-City Singers
"Tunnel Vision" — Gene Moore
"Settle Here" — William Murphy
"Something's Happening! A Christmas Album" — CeCe Winans

Best World Music Album:

"Gece" — Altin Gün
"What Heat" — Bokanté and Metropole Orkest conducted by Jules Buckley
"African Giant" — Burna Boy
"Fanm D'ayiti" — Nathalie Joachim with Spektral Quartet
"Celia" — Angelique Kidjo

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media:

"The Lion King: The Songs" — Various artists
"Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" — Various artists
"Rocketman" — Taron Egerton
"Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse" — Various artists
"A Star Is Born" — Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media:

"Avengers: Endgame" — Alan Silvestri
"Chernobyl" — Hildur Guðnadóttir
"Game Of Thrones: Season 8" — Ramin Djawadi
"The Lion King" — Hans Zimmer
"Mary Poppins Returns" — Marc Shaiman

Best Music Video:

"We've Got To Try" — The Chemical Brothers
"This Land" — Gary Clark, Jr.
"Cellophane" — FKA twigs
"Old Town Road (Official Movie)" — Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus
"Glad He's Gone" — Tove Lo

Producer of The Year (Non-Classical):

Jack Antonoff
Dan Auerbach
John Hill
Finneas O'Connell
Ricky Reed

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Fresh off his Oscar win for co-writing with Lady Gaga, "Shallow" from the musical-drama, "A Star Is Born", Mark Ronson has returned to creating his own music. "Late Night Feelings" is the British producer/musician's fifth album and he has rounded-up an eclectic group of all female artists to contribute to the project. Some of the talent includes Alicia Keys, Camila Cabello, Angel Olsen and Miley Cyrus who was a part of the first single, "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart", a country-disco track released late last year. The latest single is the title song and features the Swedish vocalist, Lykke Li. It is a shimmering dance track that is elevated by Li's sensual delivery. Look at to the music video for the track and here is Ronson and Cyrus live on "SNL" performing their song:





The one and only Cher was on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon last week which spent the entire show paying tribute and honoring her amazing career. The musical based on her life, "The Cher Show" was recently on Broadway and the three actresses who played her plus the real deal came together to perform one of Cher's biggest hits, "If I Could Turn Back Time". It is an epic battle of the Chers and I'm sure I don't have to tell you who is the victor. Take a look:



I wasn't aware that "country rap" was actually a thing but Lil Nas X, at one point, impressively had his twangy trap tune, "Old Town Road" on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Country and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop song charts all at the same time. However, Billboard removed the song from the country chart due to it "not having enough elements of today's country music". This move has ignited a serious conversation about what exactly makes something "country music" and how much did race play a part in this decision to remove the song from the chart? Anyway, Miley's daddy, Billy Ray Cyrus loved the song and teamed-up with Lil Nas X for a remix of the track. Have a listen:

Finally I had heard a song on the radio which I thought was a new Adele single. During further investigation, I was surprised to discover that this song, "You Say" was actually from contemporary Christian singer, Lauren Daigle. This song became her third number one on the Hot Christian Songs chart and Daigle's first crossover pop hit. While I do really like the song and admire the inspirational message, it still bothers me how Ms Daigle copies much of Adele's vocal style and production on this record. I guess that's nothing new in the music business but this is just a little too blatant for my taste. Have a listen and judge for yourself: