2026 NATIONAL RECORDING REGISTRY

The latest twenty-five sound recordings have been selected and inducted into National Recording Registry. Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian of Congress, with advice from the National Recording Preservation Board, selects titles each year that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and are at least ten years old. This latest group brings the total number of recordings in the registry to 675.

Some of the recordings that have been honored include Beyoncé's chart-topping hit, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" from her third solo album, "I Am... Sasha Fierce"; the original Broadway cast recording of the Bob Fosse directed musical, "Chicago" that featured theater legends, Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera; the country music tale, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" that went on to become a crossover hit for the Charlie Daniels Band; Gladys Knight and the Pips' version of the country song, "Midnight Train to Georgia" which became the r&b group's first number one pop hit; Ray Charles' genre blurring album, "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" that features the soul music legend's versions of country music songs; the Byrds's cover of folk music singer and activist, Pete Seeger's song, "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" became an anthem during the social turmoil of the 1960's; the all-female new-wave rock band, the Go-Go's debut album, "Beauty and the Beat" that reached the top of the US album chart; José Feliciano's bilingual Christmas song, "Feliz Navidad" has gone on to become a holiday classic; Chaka Khan put an early hip-hop spin on a cover of Prince's song, "I Feel for You" and "1989", Taylor Swift's first foray into pop, after first achieving fame in country music, which launched her into becoming an even bigger star.

Here is the complete list of the twenty-five selections entered into the 2026 National Recording Registry:

"Cocktails for Two" – Spike Jones and His City Slickers (1944) (single)
"Mambo No. 5" – Pérez Prado and His Orchestra (1950) (single)
"Teardrops from My Eyes" – Ruth Brown (1950) (single)



"Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)" – Kaye Ballard (1954) (single)
"Put Your Head On My Shoulder" – Paul Anka (1959) (single)



"The Blues and the Abstract Truth" – Oliver Nelson (1961) (album)
"Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" – Ray Charles (1962) (album)
"Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" – The Byrds (1965) (single)



"Amen, Brother" – The Winstons (1969) (single)



"Feliz Navidad" – José Feliciano (1970) (single)
"The Fight of the Century: Ali vs. Frazier" (March 8, 1971) (broadcast)
"Midnight Train to Georgia" – Gladys Knight and the Pips (1973) (single)



"Chicago" Original Cast Album (1975) (album)



"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" – The Charlie Daniels Band (1979) (single)



"Beauty and the Beat" – The Go-Go’s (1981) (album)
"Texas Flood" – Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (1983) (album)
"I Feel For You" – Chaka Khan (1984) (single)



"Your Love" – Jamie Principle (1986) / Jamie Principle/Frankie Knuckles (1987) (singles)
"Rumor Has It" – Reba McEntire (1990) (album)



"The Wheel" – Rosanne Cash (1993) (album)
"Doom" Soundtrack – Bobby Prince, composer (album)(1993)
"Go Rest High On That Mountain"– Vince Gill (1994) (single)
"Weezer (The Blue Album)"– Weezer (1994) (album)
"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" – Beyoncé (2008) (single)



"1989" – Taylor Swift (2014) (album)

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

The first time I had heard of Durand Bernarr was when I saw the clip of him racing to the stage during this year's Grammys to accept the award for Best Progressive R&B Album and delivering a humorously exuberant speech of joyous gratitude. But I must shamefully admit that I had not heard of Bernarr's album, "Bloom" which won him the prize. So I immediately set about listening to his record and now understand completely why he was the recipient of this honor.  

The Cleveland, Ohio native was surrounded by music, raised by parents who were involved in the business with his mother being a music teacher and vocal coach and his father was an audio engineer. After learning production by working with his father, Bernarr began his professional career posting videos on YouTube and released a mixtape that featured his versions of popular songs of the day in 2009. Another mixtape that was covers of Erykah Badu songs lead to him working with her as a backing vocalist. Bernarr went on to record some EPs and collaborate with various other artists as a featured vocalist or providing background vocals. He received attention with "Wanderlust" in 2022 and "En Route" was Grammy nominated for Best Progressive R&B Album in 2024. Openly queer, Bernarr is an artist to watch who is boldly pushing r&b in exciting new directions.





Taylor Swift has released the music video for her single, "Opalite" which came together following her appearance on the British chat program, "The Graham Norton Show" and features the guests that was on her episode; Karyn White has finally returned to music with "You Gonna Want Me Back" that has the r&b vocalist, who made a splash with her self-titled debut back in 1988, delivering a fresh, midtempo groove; No Na is an Indonesian girl group that is receiving attention on this side of the world thanks to their latest single, "Work" and their energetic music video.

Another artist I slept on was Rochelle Jordan and her third studio album, "Through The Wall" released last year. This collection is an explosive mix of funky progressive soul and sleek electronic sounds that will leave you exhilarated as you are dancing through the night. Born in London and raised in Toronto, Jordan has been creating music since 2012, releasing her debut album, "1021" two years later which featured fairly traditional r&b. But it wouldn't be until almost seven years later when she would return with her follow-up, "Play with the Changes" which was due to some health issues and a battle with her former label over her artistic expression. With this album, Jordan was able to experiment further with underground dance and house, finding that she was in her element. A performer who is not sonically aggressive, Jordan prefers to keep her luxurious beats smooth and steady to help elevate the dance floor.

And I will close by paying tribute to Chuck Negron, one of the vocalists of the pop-rock group, Three Dog Night, who passed away on February 2nd at the age of eighty-three. Born and raised in New York, Negron (whose father was nightclub performer, Charles Negron) sang in local vocal groups as a teen. He headed to Los Angeles after being recruited to play basketball at CAL State. His interests soon returned to music and in 1967, Negron, along with fellow singers, Cory Wells and Danny Hutton came together to form a musical group called Redwood, They were briefly signed to the Beach Boys' imprint record label, Brother Records. But during recording sessions, Brian Wilson was producing their demos and not happy with their sound. The rest of the Beach Boys soon wanted him to concentrate on their band's next album so Redwood was dropped. Not long after, these vocalists assembled their own backing band with Ron Morgan on guitar, Floyd Sneed on drums, Joe Schermie on bass, and Jimmy Greenspoon on keyboards and became "Three Dog Night" which refers to the practice of using dogs for warmth in the outback with "three dogs" indicating a freezing night. 

Beginning with their 1968 self-titled debut album that featured their first pop hit, "One" which was a cover of Harry Nilsson's song, Three Dog Night went on to have twenty-one top-forty singles including three reaching number one. But legal battles, internal conflicts and drug abuse, the band imploded by 1976. Negron had his own struggles with serious drug addiction, even living for a period on Skid Row in Los Angeles, before seeking recovery and finally getting clean by 1991. He found his way back to music, recording four solo albums including "Negron Generations" from 2017 which featured him with two of his daughters. Here are a couple of Three Dog Night songs that Negron sang lead vocals on:

2024 GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

The 2024 Grammy Award nominations have been announced and once again, women are dominating in this year's race which includes, for the very first time, that no men were nominated for "Best Pop Vocal Album". And with eleven nominations, Beyoncé has become the most nominated artist in the history of the Grammys (breaking the tie with her husband, Jay-Z) for her alt-country album, "Cowboy Carter". This album is just one of eight competing for Album of the Year with the other nominees are the flute driven, instrumental album, "New Blue Sun" from André 3000 who has been best known as a hip-hop performer; "Short n’ Sweet", the breakthrough album by the latest pop sensation, Sabrina Carpenter; "Brat", the British pop artist, Charli XCX's first major hit on this side of the Atlantic; fellow Brit, Jacob Collier and his breakout collection of alternative jazz, "Djesse Vol. 4"; "Hit Me Hard and Soft", the latest from the edgy pop artist, Billie Eilish; the alt-pop debut from Chappell Roan, "The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess" and last year's winner of this prize, Taylor Swift for her album, "The Tortured Poets Department".

The 67th annual Grammy Awards will be presented live on Sunday, February 2, 2025 from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The ceremony will also stream on Paramount+. Here is a partial list of this year's nominations:

Album of the Year:

"New Blue Sun" – André 3000
"Cowboy Carter" – Beyoncé
"Short n’ Sweet" – Sabrina Carpenter
"Brat" – Charli XCX
"Djesse Vol. 4" – Jacob Collier
"Hit Me Hard and Soft" – Billie Eilish
"The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess" – Chappell Roan
"The Tortured Poets Department" – Taylor Swift

Record Of The Year:

“Now and Then” - The Beatles
“Texas Hold ‘Em” - Beyoncé
“Espresso”- Sabrina Carpenter
“360” - Charli XCX
“Birds of a Feather” - Billie Eilish
“Not Like Us” - Kendrick Lamar
“Good Luck, Babe!” - Chappell Roan
“Fortnight” - Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone

Song of the Year:

“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” - Sean Cook, Jerrel Jones, Joe Kent, Chibueze Collins Obinna, Nevin Sastry & Mark Williams, songwriters (Shaboozey)
“Birds of a Feather” - Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O'Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
“Die With a Smile” - Dernst Emile II, James Fauntleroy, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars & Andrew Watt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars)
“Fortnight” - Jack Antonoff, Austin Post & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone)
“Good Luck, Babe!” - Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, Daniel Nigro & Justin Tranter, songwriters (Chappell Roan)
“Not Like Us” - Kendrick Lamar, songwriter (Kendrick Lamar)
“Please Please Please” - Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter, songwriters (Sabrina Carpenter)
“Texas Hold ‘Em” - Brian Bates, Beyoncé, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bülow, Nate Ferraro & Raphael Saadiq, songwriters (Beyoncé)

Best New Artist:

Benson Boone
Sabrina Carpenter
Doechii
Khruangbin
Raye
Chappell Roan
Shaboozey
Teddy Swims

Best Pop Vocal Album:

“Short n’ Sweet” - Sabrina Carpenter
“Hit Me Hard and Soft” - Billie Eilish
“Eternal Sunshine” - Ariana Grande
“The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” - Chappell Roan
“The Tortured Poets Department” - Taylor Swift

Best Pop Solo Performance:

“Bodyguard” - Beyoncé
“Espresso” - Sabrina Carpenter
“Apple” - Charli XCX
“Birds of a Feather” - Billie Eilish
“Good Luck, Babe!” -Chappell Roan

Best Pop Dup/Group Performance:

“Us” - Gracie Abrams Featuring Taylor Swift
“Levii’s Jeans” - Beyoncé Featuring Post Malone
“Guess” - Charli XCX & Billie Eilish
“The Boy Is Mine” - Ariana Grande, Brandy & Monica
“Die With a Smile” -Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:

"À Fleur De Peau" - Cyrille Aimée
"Visions" - Norah Jones
"Good Together" - Lake Street Dive
"Impossible Dream" - Aaron Lazar
"Christmas Wish" - Gregory Porter

Best Dance/Electronic Album:

“Brat” - Charli XCX
“Three” - Four Tet
“Hyperdrama” - Justice
“Timeless” - Kaytranada
“Telos” - Zedd

Best Dance Pop Recording:

“Make You Mine” - Madison Beer
“Von Dutch” - Charli XCX
“L’Amour de Ma Vie [Over Now Extended Edit]” - Billie Eilish
“Yes, And?” - Ariana Grande
“Got Me Started” - Troye Sivan

Best Dance/Electronic Recording:

“She’s Gone, Dance On” - Disclosure
“Loved” - Four Tet
“Leavemealone” - Fred Again & Baby Keem
“Neverender” - Justice & Tame Impala
“Witchy” - Kaytranada Featuring Childish Gambino

Best R&B Album:

"11:11 (Deluxe)" — Chris Brown
"VANTABLACK" — Lalah Hathaway
"Revenge" — Muni Long
"Algorithm" — Lucky Daye
"Coming Home" — Usher

Best R&B Performance:

“Guidance” — Jhené Aiko
“Residuals” — Chris Brown
“Here We Go (Uh Oh)” — Coco Jones
“Made For Me (Live On BET)” — Muni Long
“Saturn” — SZA

Best Traditional R&B Performance:

“Wet” — Marsha Ambrosius
“Can I Have This Groove” — Kenyon Dixon
“No Lie” — Lalah Hathaway Featuring Michael McDonald
“Make Me Forget” — Muni Long
“That’s You” — Lucky Daye

Best Rap Album:

"Might Delete Later" — J. Cole
"The Auditorium, Vol. 1" — Common & Pete Rock
"Alligator Bites Never Heal" — Doechii
"The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)" — Eminem
"We Don’t Trust You" — Future & Metro Boomin

Best Rap Performance:

“Enough (Miami)” — Cardi B
“When The Sun Shines Again” — Common & Pete Rock Featuring Posdnuos
“Nissan Altima” — Doechii
“Houdini” — Eminem
“Like That” — Future & Metro Boomin Featuring Kendrick Lamar
“Yeah Glo!” — GloRilla
“Not Like Us” — Kendrick Lamar

Best Rock Album:

“Happiness Bastards” - The Black Crowes
“Romance” - Fontaines D.C.
“Saviors” - Green Day
“TANGK” - Idles
“Dark Matter” - Pearl Jam
“Hackney Diamonds” - The Rolling Stones
“No Name” - Jack White

Best Rock Performance:

“Now and Then” — The Beatles
“Beautiful People (Stay High)” — The Black Keys
“The American Dream Is Killing Me” — Green Day
“Gift Horse” — IDLES
“Dark Matter” — Pearl Jam
“Broken Man” — St. Vincent

Best Alternative Music Album:

"Wild God" — Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
"Charm" — Clairo
"The Collective" — Kim Gordon
"What Now" — Brittany Howard
"All Born Screaming" — St. Vincent

Best Alternative Music Performance:

“Neon Pill” — Cage The Elephant
“Song Of The Lake” — Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
“Starburster” — Fontaines D.C.
“Bye Bye” — Kim Gordon
“Flea” — St. Vincent

Best Country Album:

"Cowboy Carter" — Beyoncé
"F-1 Trillion" — Post Malone
"Deeper Well" — Kacey Musgraves
"Higher" — Chris Stapleton
"Whirlwind" — Lainey Wilson

Best Country Solo Performance:

“16 CARRIAGES” — Beyoncé
“I Am Not Okay” — Jelly Roll
“The Architect” — Kacey Musgraves
“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — Shaboozey
“It Takes A Woman” — Chris Stapleton

Best Country Duo/Group Performance:

“Cowboys Cry Too” — Kelsea Ballerini With Noah Kahan
“II MOST WANTED” — Beyoncé Featuring Miley Cyrus
“Break Mine” — Brothers Osborne
“Bigger Houses” — Dan + Shay
“I Had Some Help” — Post Malone Featuring Morgan Wallen

Best Americana Album:

"The Other Side" — T Bone Burnett
"$10 Cowboy" — Charley Crockett
"Trail Of Flowers" — Sierra Ferrell
"Polaroid Lovers" — Sarah Jarosz
"No One Gets Out Alive" — Maggie Rose
"Tigers Blood' — Waxahatchee

Best Folk Album:

"American Patchwork Quartet" — American Patchwork Quartet
"Weird Faith" — Madi Diaz
"Bright Future" — Adrianne Lenker
"All My Friends" — Aoife O’Donovan
"Woodland" — Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

Best Gospel Album:

"Covered Vol. 1" — Melvin Crispell III
"Choirmaster II (Live)" — Ricky Dillard
"Father’s Day" — Kirk Franklin
"Still Karen" — Karen Clark Sheard
"More Than This" — CeCe Winans

Best Jazz Vocal Album:

"Journey In Black" — Christie Dashiell
"Wildflowers Vol. 1" — Kurt Elling & Sullivan Fortner
"A Joyful Holiday" — Samara Joy
"Milton + Esperanza" — Milton Nascimento & Esperanza spalding
"My Ideal" — Catherine Russell & Sean Mason

Best Jazz Performance:

“Walk With Me, Lord (Sound/Spirit)” — The Baylor Project
“Phoenix Reimagined (Live)” — Lakecia Benjamin Featuring Randy Brecker, Jeff “Tain” Watts & John Scofield
“Juno” — Chick Corea & Béla Fleck
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Me” — Samara Joy Featuring Sullivan Fortner
“Little Fears”— Dan Pugach Big Band Featuring Nicole Zuraitis & Troy Roberts

Best Latin Pop Album:

"Funk Generation" — Anitta
"El Viaje" — Luis Fonsi
"GARCÍA" — Kany García
"Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran" — Shakira
"ORQUÍDEAS" — Kali Uchis

Best Comedy Album:

"Armageddon" — Ricky Gervais
"The Dreamer" — Dave Chappelle
"The Prisoner" — Jim Gaffigan
"Someday You’ll Die" — Nikki Glaser
"Where Was I" — Trevor Noah

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Includes Film And Television):

"American Fiction" — Laura Karpman, composer
"Challengers" — Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, composers
"The Color Purple" — Kris Bowers, composer
"Dune: Part Two" — Hans Zimmer, composer
"Shōgun" — Nick Chuba, Atticus Ross & Leopold Ross, composers

Best Song Written For Visual Media:

"Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma [From “Twisters: The Album”]" — Jessi Alexander, Luke Combs & Jonathan Singleton, songwriters (Luke Combs)
"Better Place [From “TROLLS Band Together”]" — Amy Allen, Shellback & Justin Timberlake, songwriters (*NSYNC & Justin Timberlake)
"Can’t Catch Me Now [From “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes”]" — Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters (Olivia Rodrigo)
"It Never Went Away [From “American Symphony”]" — Jon Batiste & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Jon Batiste)
"Love Will Survive [From “The Tattooist of Auschwitz”]" — Walter Afanasieff, Charlie Midnight, Kara Talve & Hans Zimmer, songwriters (Barbra Streisand)

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media:

"The Color Purple" — (Various Artists)
"Deadpool & Wolverine" — (Various Artists)
"Maestro: Music By Leonard Bernstein" — London Symphony Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Bradley Cooper
"Saltburn" — (Various Artists)
"Twisters: The Album" — (Various Artists)

Best Music Video:

“Tailor Swif” — A$AP Rocky
“360” — Charli xcx
“Houdini” — Eminem
“Not Like Us” — Kendrick Lamar
“Fortnight” — Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone

Songwriter Of The Year:

Jessi Alexander
Amy Allen
Edgar Barrera
Jessie Jo Dillon
Raye

Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical):

Alissia
Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II
Ian Fitchuk
Mustard
Daniel Nigro

2023 GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

The 2023 Grammy Award nominations have been announced and women dominate all the major categories with SZA and her sophomore alt-soul release, "SOS" received the most nominations with nine including Album of the Year. Indie rocker, Phoebe Bridgers (which includes her work with boygenius) and r&b vocalist, Victoria Monét each follow with a total of seven nods while Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, and Miley Cyrus, all received six.

Jon Batiste is the only male artist to be recognized for Album of the Year (who won the prize two years ago for "We Are") for his concept record, "World Music Radio". The debut studio album of boygenius, "The Record", an indie-rock supergroup which consists of Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus; Janelle Monáe's latest Afrobeat inspired collection, "The Age of Pleasure"; and Lana Del Rey's psychedelic-pop record, "Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd" fill out the Album of the Year category along with Swift's "Midnights", Cyrus' "Endless Summer Vacation" and Rodrigo's follow-up album, "Guts".

This is a record year for Swift, with an overall total of twelve wins and a career year-to-date of forty-six nominations, who now holds a Grammy record with her nomination for Song of the Year with "Anti-Hero", making this her seventh in the category, the most held by any songwriter. And the Recording Academy has added three new categories this year: Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Pop Dance Recording.

The 66th annual Grammy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 4, 2024 and can be viewed on CBS and Paramount+. Here is a partial list of the nominations of the 2023 Grammy Awards:

Album of the Year:

"The Record" - boygenius
"The Age of Pleasure" - Janelle Monáe
"World Music Radio" - Jon Batiste
"Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd" - Lana Del Rey
"Endless Summer Vacation" - Miley Cyrus
"Guts" - Olivia Rodrigo
"SOS" - SZA
"Midnights" - Taylor Swift

Record of the Year:

"Worship" - Jon Batiste
"Not Strong Enough" - boygenius
"Flowers" - Miley Cyrus
“What Was I Made For?" - Billie Eilish
"On My Mama" - Victoria Monét
"Vampire" - Olivia Rodrigo
"Anti-Hero" - Taylor Swift

Song of the Year:

"A&W"— Jack Antonoff, Lana Del Rey & Sam Dew, songwriters (Lana Del Rey)
"Anti-Hero" — Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
"Butterfly" — Jon Batiste & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Jon Batiste)
"Dance the Night" (From the Motion Picture, "Barbie") — Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Dua Lipa)
"Flowers" — Miley Cyrus, Gregory Aldae Hein & Michael Pollack, songwriters (Miley Cyrus)
"Kill Bill" — Rob Bisel, Carter Lang & Solána Rowe, songwriters (SZA)
"Vampire” — Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters (Oliva Rodrigo)
"What Was I Made For?" (From the Motion Picture "Barbie") — Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)

Best New Artist:

Coco Jones
Gracie Abrams
Fred Again..
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Noah Kahan
Victoria Monét
The War and Treaty

Best Pop Vocal Album:

"Chemistry" - Kelly Clarkson
"Endless Summer Vacation" - Miley Cyrus
"Guts"- Olivia Rodrigo
"- (Subtract)" - Ed Sheeran
"Midnights" - Taylor Swift

Best Pop Solo Performance:

"Flowers" - Miley Cyrus
"Paint the Town Red" - Doja Cat
"What Was I Made For?" - Billie Eilish
"Vampire" - Olivia Rodrigo
"Anti-Hero" - Taylor Swift

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:

"Thousand Miles" Miley Cyrus featuring Brandi Carlile
"Candy Necklace" - Lana Del Rey featuring Jon Batiste
"Never Felt So Alone" - Labrinth featuring Billie Eilish
"Karma" -Taylor Swift featuring Ice Spice
"Ghost in the Machine" - SZA featuring Phoebe Bridgers

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:

"To Steve with Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim" - Liz Callaway
"Pieces Of Treasure" - Rickie Lee Jones
"Bewitched" - Laufey
"Holidays Around the World" - Pentatonix
"Only The Strong Survive" - Bruce Springsteen
"Sondheim Unplugged (The NYC Sessions), Vol. 3" - Various Artists

Best Dance/Electronic Music Album:

"Playing Robots into Heaven" - James Blake
"For That Beautiful Feeling" - The Chemical Brothers
"Actual Life 3 (January 1 - September 9 2022)" - Fred Again..
"Kx5" - Kx5
"Quest For Fire" - Skrillex

Best Pop Dance Recording:

"Baby Don’t Hurt Me" - David Guetta, Anne-Marie and Coi Leray
"Miracle" - Calvin Harris featuring Ellie Goulding
"Padam Padam" Kylie Minogue
"One in a Million" - Bebe Rexha & David Guetta
"Rush" - Troye Sivan

Best Dance/Electronic Recording:

"Blackbox Life Recorder 21F" - Aphex Twin
"Loading" - James Blake
"Higher Than Ever Before" - Disclosure
"Strong" - Romy & Fred Again..
"Rumble" - Skrillex, Fred Again.. & Flowdan

Best R&B Album:

"Girls Night Out" - Babyface
"What I Didn’t Tell You (Deluxe)" - Coco Jones
"Special Occasion" - Emily King
"Jaguar II" - Victoria Monét
"Clear 2: Soft Life EP" - Summer Walker

Best R&B Performance:

"Summer Too Hot" - Chris Brown
"Back To Love" - Robert Glasper Featuring SiR & Alex Isley
"ICU" - Coco Jones
"How Does It Make You Feel" - Victoria Monét
"Kill Bill" - SZA

Best Traditional R&B Performance:

"Simple" - Babyface Featuring Coco Jones
"Lucky" - Kenyon Dixon
"Hollywood" - Victoria Monét Featuring Earth, Wind & Fire & Hazel Monét
"Good Morning" - PJ Morton Featuring Susan Carol
"Love Language" - SZA

Best Rap Album:

"Her Loss" - Drake & 21 Savage
"Michael" - Killer Mike
"Heroes & Villains" - Metro Boomin
"King's Disease III" - Nas
"Utopia" - Travis Scott

Best Rap Performance:

"The Hillbillies" - Baby Keem Featuring Kendrick Lamar
"Love Letter" - Black Thought
"Rich Flex" - Drake & 21 Savage
"Scientists & Engineers" - "Killer Mike Featuring André 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane
"Players" - Coi Leray

Best Melodic Rap Performance:

"Sittin' On Top of the World" - Burna Boy Featuring 21 Savage
"Attention" - Doja Cat
"Spin Bout U" - Drake & 21 Savage
"All My Life" - Lil Durk Featuring J. Cole
"Low" - SZA

Best Country Album:

"Rolling Up the Welcome Mat" - Kelsea Ballerini
"Brothers Osborne" - Brothers Osborne
"Zach Bryan" - Zach Bryan
"Rustin' In the Rain" - Tyler Childers
"Bell Bottom Country" - Lainey Wilson

Best Country Solo Performance:

"In Your Love" - Tyler Childers
"Buried" - Brandy Clark
"Fast Car" - Luke Combs
"The Last Thing on My Mind" - Dolly Parton
"White Horse" - Chris Stapleton

Best Country Duo/Group Performance:

"High Note" - Dierks Bentley Featuring Billy Strings
"Nobody's Nobody" - Brothers Osborne
"I Remember Everything" - Zach Bryan Featuring Kacey Musgraves
"Kissing Your Picture (Is So Cold)" - Vince Gill & Paul Franklin
"Save Me" - Jelly Roll with Lainey Wilson
"We Don't Fight Anymore" - Carly Pearce Featuring Chris Stapleton

Best Americana Album:

"Brandy Clark" - Brandy Clark
"The Chicago Sessions" - Rodney Crowell
"You're The One" - Rhiannon Giddens
"Weathervanes" - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
"The Returner" - Allison Russell

Best Rock Album:

"But Here We Are" - Foo Fighters
"Starcatcher" - Greta Van Fleet
"72 Seasons" - Metallica
"This Is Why" - Paramore
"In Times New Roman..." - Queens of The Stone Age

Best Rock Performance:

"Sculptures Of Anything Goes" - Arctic Monkeys
"More Than A Love Song" - Black Pumas
"Not Strong Enough" - Boygenius
"Rescued" - Foo Fighters
"Lux Æterna" - Metallica

Best Alternative Music Album:

"The Car" - Arctic Monkeys
"The Record" - boygenius
"Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd" - Lana Del Rey
"Cracker Island" - Gorillaz
"I Inside The Old Year Dying" - PJ Harvey

Best Jazz Vocal Album:

"For Ella 2" - Patti Austin Featuring Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band
"Alive At The Village Vanguard" - Fred Hersch & Esperanza Spalding
"Lean In" - Gretchen Parlato & Lionel Loueke
"Mélusine" - Cécile McLorin Salvant
"How Love Begins" - Nicole Zuraitis

Best Jazz Instrumental Album:

"The Source" - Kenny Barron
"Phoenix" - Lakecia Benjamin
"Legacy: The Instrumental Jawn" - Adam Blackstone
"The Winds of Change" - Billy Childs
"Dream Box" - Pat Metheny

Best Latin Pop Album:

"La Cuarta Hoja" - Pablo Alborán
"Beautiful Humans, Vol. 1" - AleMor
"A Ciegas" - Paula Arenas
"La Neta" - Pedro Capó
"Don Juan" - Maluma
"X Mí (Vol. 1)" - Gaby Moreno

Best Contemporary Blues Album:

"Death Wish Blues" - Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton
"Healing Time" - Ruthie Foster
"Live In London" - Christone "Kingfish" Ingram
"Blood Harmony" - Larkin Poe
"LaVette!" - Bettye LaVette

Best Gospel Album:

"I Love You" - Erica Campbell
"Hymns (Live)" - Tasha Cobbs Leonard
"The Maverick Way" - Maverick City Music
"My Truth" - Jonathan McReynolds
"All Things New: Live in Orlando" - Tye Tribbett

Best Global Music Album:

"Epifanías" - Susana Baca
"History" - Bokanté
"I Told Them..." - Burna Boy
"Timeless" - Davido
"This Moment" - Shakti

Best Reggae Album:

"Born For Greatness" - Buju Banton
"Simma" - Beenie Man
"Cali Roots Riddim 2023" - Collie Buddz
"No Destroyer" - Burning Spear
"Colors Of Royal" - Julian Marley & Antaeus

Best Comedy Album:

"I Wish You Would" - Trevor Noah
"I'm An Entertainer" - Wanda Sykes
"Selective Outrage" - Chris Rock
"Someone You Love" - Sarah Silverman
"What's In a Name?" - Dave Chappelle

Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording:

"Big Tree" - Meryl Streep
"Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder" - William Shatner
"The Creative Act: A Way of Being" - Rick Rubin
"It's Ok to Be Angry About Capitalism" - Senator Bernie Sanders
"The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times" - Michelle Obama

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (includes Film and Television):

"Barbie" - Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, composers
"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" - Ludwig Göransson, composer
"The Fabelmans" - John Williams, composer
"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" - John Williams, composer
"Oppenheimer" - Ludwig Göransson, composer

Best Song Written for Visual Media:

"Barbie World" (from "Barbie: The Album") - Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr. and Onika Maraj, songwriters (Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice featuring Aqua)
"Dance the Night" (from "Barbie: The Album") - Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Dua Lipa)
"I’m Just Ken" (from "Barbie: The Album") - Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Ryan Gosling)
"Lift Me Up" (from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — Music from and Inspired By") - Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Robyn Fenty and Temilade Openiyi, songwriters (Rihanna)
"What Was I Made For?" (from "Barbie: The Album") - Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)

Songwriter of the Year (Non-Classical):

Edgar Barrera
Jessie Jo Dillon
Shane McAnally
Theron Thomas
Justin Tranter

Producer of the Year (Non-Classical):

Jack Antonoff
Dernst "D’Mile" Emile II
Hit Boy
Metro Boomin
Daniel Nigro

THE SONGS AND SINGERS THAT GOT US THROUGH A YEAR OF ISOLATION

I know I don't need to remind anyone about the challenges we faced as a society last year but thankfully we had plenty of distractions to help get us through that incredibly difficult time. One preoccupation was with music. In the New York Times Magazine's annual Music Issue, they have selected nineteen songs that made a big impact on listeners in 2020. What is explored is not only how the pandemic has affected our relationship to music but how these songs stimulated us, helping to actually bring us closer together while separated.

Click below to read the article:

19 Songs That Matter Right Now

THE 63RD ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS

As the latest award show that has attempted to present their regularly scheduled program during the age of the pandemic, The 63rd annual Grammy Awards has come closest to date on delivering an entertaining celebration. It seems clear that the Recording Academy had been paying attention to what other awards had done (following with deeply declining ratings) and decided to step it up. Instead of being inside of their usual location at Downtown LA's, Staples Center, the awards were given out outside across the street from the venue. There were socially-distant tables set up were nominees sat, awaiting to hear the winner of each category. Trevor Noah was serving as host for the first time and while many of his jokes fluttered away in the open air, he was highly enthusiastic, bringing a good energy to the proceedings.

The show was done with a mix of live and pre-recorded performances with several special stages built in a circle for the in-person acts, allowing for a minimal crew and less risk of close contact. And with eighteen performances (and an "In Memoriam" presentation) over three hours, there was plenty of music. To be expected, the pre-recorded spots tended to be wildly over-the-top yet the live show's relatively low-key approach to simply having the performers just coming out and sing was surprisingly refreshing.

I'm going to mention just a few of my favorites of the night; I loved the opening of the show where we moved from Harry Styles, the sister trio, Haim, another family act, Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas and the psychedelic soul of Black Pumas, each performing solid versions of their nominated songs. I have to say I was surprisingly impressed by Styles, as I never gave the former boy-band member much thought, delivering a nice, laid-back version of "Watermelon Sugar" dressed like a classic rock god of the '70's, managing to pull off being shirtless under a leather jacket with a feathered boa wrapped around his neck. The '70's were also on the minds of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, together as Silk Sonic, as they gave us soul group chic with matching suits and slick choreography while performing their throwback slowjam "Leave the Door Open". The duo also came back to pay tribute to Little Richard doing respectable rock versions of "Long Tall Sally" and "Good Golly Miss Molly". Also during the tribute to some of the musicians we lost last year, Brittany Howard (accompanied by Coldplay's, Chris Martin who oddly only played piano) delivered an electrifyingly soulful version of the show-tune standard, "You'll Never Walk Alone" in honor of Gerard Marsden, the leader of the '60's rock band, Gerry and the Pacemakers. Lil Baby (with activist, Tamika Mallory and Killer Mike) appeared in a powerful and moving clip for his song, "The Bigger Picture" which showcased the ongoing issue of police brutality against African-Americans.

And there was Beyoncé, making an unexpected appearance while looking incredible in a black leather dress with whimsical gold fingernails on her gloves, as she was recognized as the artist with the most Grammy wins of any gender in history with twenty-eight trophies after receiving Best Music Video for "Brown Skin Girl" and Best Rap Performance for "Savage" with Megan Thee Stallion. And speaking of Megan, the winner of this year's Best New Artist was involved in probably the most mind-blowing performance of the night where she and Cardi B did their scandalous smash hit of last year, "WAP". Trust me, I'm no prude but the idea of doing this song on national television just wasn't appropriate. Since I'm sure many of you know what "WAP" is about, the song had to be heavily censored to the point that it didn't really make much sense, with the ladies spending most of the time on stage dancing than rapping. 

The 2021 Grammys were already mired in controversy long before a single award had been given out. Much like similar charges leveled at the Golden Globes, this was due to many musicians, particularly Black artists, criticizing the process of who receives nominations which are decided upon by secret committees. There have also been questions regarding gender and racial diversity in the award selections as well.

While I don't really believe the Recording Academy is inherently racist or sexist, I do think the voting bloc has remained woefully out of touch with what is considered excellence in contemporary music. I certainly wouldn't consider myself a big fan of The Weeknd but his music (which was highly successful last year) should have been recognized to some degree with at least a nomination or two. With ratings for this year's show slipping to an all-time low, I'm hoping that the Grammys will begin to address these issues, becoming far more transparent and make more of an effort of outreach to younger and diverse artists to become a part of the Academy.

Here is a partial list of winners from the 63rd annual Grammy Awards:

Album of the Year: "Folklore" - Taylor Swift
Record of the Year: "Everything I Wanted" - Billie Eilish
Song of the Year: "I Can’t Breathe" - Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas, songwriters (H.E.R.)
Best New Artist: Megan Thee Stallion
Best Pop Vocal Album: "Future Nostalgia" - Dua Lipa
Best Pop Solo Performance: "Watermelon Sugar" - Harry Styles
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: "Rain on Me" - Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande
Best R&B Album: "Bigger Love" - John Legend
Best Progressive R&B Album: "It Is What It Is" - Thundercat
Best R&B Performance: "Black Parade" - Beyoncé
Best Traditional R&B Performance: "Anything for You" - Ledisi
Best R&B Song: "Better Than I Imagine" - Robert Glasper, Meshell Ndegeocello and Gabriella Wilson, songwriters (Robert Glasper featuring H.E.R. & Meshell Ndegeocello)
Best Rap Album: "King’s Disease" - Nas
Best Rap Performance: "Savage" - Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé
Best Rap Song: "Savage" - Beyoncé, Shawn Carter, Brittany Hazzard, Derrick Milano, Terius Nash, Megan Pete, Bobby Session Jr., Jordan Kyle Lanier Thorpe and Anthony White, songwriters (Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé)
Best Country Album: "Wildcard" - Miranda Lambert
Best Country Solo Performance: "When My Amy Prays" - Vince Gill
Best Country Duo/Group Performance: "10,000 Hours" - Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber
Best Country Song: "Crowded Table" - Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby and Lori McKenna, songwriters (The Highwomen)
Best Rock Album: "The New Abnormal" - The Strokes
Best Rock Performance: "Shameika" - Fiona Apple
Best Rock Song: "Stay High" - Brittany Howard, songwriter (Brittany Howard)
Best Alternative Music Album: "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" -Fiona Apple
Best American Roots Performance: "I Remember Everything" - John Prine
Best American Roots Song: "I Remember Everything" - Pat McLaughlin and John Prine, songwriters (John Prine)
Best Metal Performance: "Bum-Rush" - Body Count
Best Latin Pop or Urban Album: "YHLQMDLG" - Bad Bunny
Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album: "La Conquista del Espacio" - Fito Paez
Best Song Written for Visual Media: "No Time to Die" from "No Time to Die" - Billie Eilish O'Connell and Finneas Baird O'Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media: "Jo Jo Rabbit"
Best Musical Theater Album: "Jagged Little Pill" - Kathryn Gallagher, Celia Rose Gooding, Lauren Patten and Elizabeth Stanley, principal soloists; Neal Avron, Pete Ganbarg, Tom Kitt, Michael Parker, Craig Rosen and Vivek J. Tiwary, producers (Glen Ballard and Alanis Morissette, lyricists) (Original Broadway Cast)
Best Spoken Word Album: "Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth" - Rachel Maddow
Best Comedy Album: "Black Mitzvah" - Tiffany Haddish
Producer of the Year (non-classical): Andrew Watt

2020 GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

When the Grammy Awards made the decision to make all categories gender-neutral in 2011, I was very concerned about the idea. With our society long being male-dominated, I was afraid that would be reflected in the nominations for music's highest honor. Initially, the nominations were fairly equal (much to my surprise) yet as time went on there began a shift with men gradually receiving far more recognition. This culminated in 2018 with women being barely acknowledged and receiving only seventeen awards out of eighty-six categories. And when this was called out, the then-President of the Recording Academy essentially told women that if they wanted to be a part of the industry they needed to "step up".

But with the recent announcement of the Grammy Award nominations for 2020, there was a notable shift in who received recognition. Women dominated this year in all categories and made historical firsts in the nominations. Beyoncé leads the pack with nine nominations which includes the single that celebrated Black culture and activism, "Black Parade" while Dua Lipa (for her dance-pop collection, "Future Nostalgia") and Taylor Swift (for the indie-rock album, "Folklore" created during quarantine) both followed with six each. In addition to Swift and Lipa, Jhené Aiko, with her alt-soul collection, "Chilombo" and the sister trio, Haim for their pop-rock album, "Women in Music Pt. III" also received nominations for Album of the Year. Other women who did well include alt-rocker, Brittany Howard with five for her debut solo album, "Jamie" along with Phoebe Bridgers, Billie Eilish and one of the hottest artists of the year, hip-hop performer, Megan Thee Stallion who all received four. And in the Best New Artist category, six of the eight performers nominated are women and in a major first, there are only females recognized for Best Rock Performance and the Best Country Album category has only female-led acts. 

Men weren't ignored entirely with Post Malone for his album, "Hollywood's Bleeding", alt-rockers, Coldplay's "Everyday Life", psychedelic soul act, Black Pumas and their self-titled debut album and (a bit of a head-scratcher), Jacob Collier, the twenty-six year old, British multi-instrumentalist and his jazz-pop collection, "Djesse Vol. 3" round out the Album of The Year category. Roddy Ricch, with his breakout hip-hop track, "The Box", received six nominations while Justin Bieber and DaBaby follow with four each. 

The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards will be held on January 31, 2021  March 14, 2021 under COVID-19 restrictions. The comedian, Trevor Noah will serve as host for the first time. 
 

Here is a partial list of the nominations for the 2020 Grammy Awards: 

Album of the Year:

"Chilombo" - Jhene Aiko
"Black Pumas (Deluxe)" - Black Pumas
"Everyday Life" - Coldplay
"Djesse Vol. 3" - Jacob Collier
"Women in Music Pt. III" - Haim
"Future Nostalgia" - Dua Lipa
"Hollywood’s Bleeding" - Post Malone
"Folklore" - Taylor Swift

Record of the Year:

"Black Parade" - Beyoncé
"Colors" - Black Pumas
"Rockstar" - DaBaby and Roddy Ricch
"Say So" -Doja Cat
"Everything I Wanted" - Billie Eilish
"Don’t Start Now" - Dua Lipa
"Circles" - Post Malone
"Savage" - Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé

Song of the Year:

"Black Parade" - Denisia Andrews, Beyoncé, Stephen Bray, Shawn Carter, Brittany Coney, Derek James Dixie, Akil King, Kim “Kaydence” Krysiuk & Rickie “Caso” Tice (Beyoncé)
"The Box" - Samuel Gloade & Rodrick Moore (Roddy Ricch)
"Cardigan" - Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift (Taylor Swift)
"Circles" - Louis Bell, Adam Feeney, Kaan Gunesberk, Austin Post & Billy Walsh (Post Malone)
"Don’t Start Now" - Caroline Ailin, Ian Kirkpatrick, Dua Lipa & Emily Warren (Dua Lipa)
"Everything I Wanted" - Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell (Billie Eilish)
"I Can’t Breathe" - Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. & Tiara Thomas (H.E.R.)
"If the World Was Ending" - Julia Michaels & JP Saxe (JP Saxe & Julia Michaels)

Best New Artist:

Ingrid Andress
Phoebe Bridgers
Chika
Noah Cyrus
D Smoke
Doja Cat
Kaytranada
Megan Thee Stallion

Best Pop Solo Performance:

"Yummy" - Justin Bieber
"Say So" - Doja Cat
"Everything I Wanted" - Billie Eilish
"Don’t Start Now" - Dua Lipa
"Watermelon Sugar" - Harry Styles
"Cardigan" - Taylor Swift

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:

"Un Día (One Day)" - J. Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny and Tainy
"Intentions,” Justin Bieber and Quavo
"Dynamite" - BTS
"Rain On Me" Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande
"Exile" -Taylor Swift and Bon Iver

Best Pop Vocal Album:

"Changes" - Justin Bieber
"Chromatica" - Lady Gaga
"Future Nostalgia" - Dua Lipa
"Fine Line" - Harry Styles
"Folklore" - Taylor Swift

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:

"Blue Umbrella" - Burt Bacharach and Daniel Tashain
"True Love: A Celebration of Cole Porter" - Harry Connick Jr.
"American Standard" - James Taylor
"Unfollow the Rules" - Rufus Wainwright
"Judy" - Renee Zellweger

Best Rock Performance:

"Shameika" - Fiona Apple
"Not" - Big Thief
"Kyoto" - Phoebe Bridgers
"The Steps" - Haim
"Stay High" - Brittany Howard
"Daylight" - Grace Potter

Best Rock Song:

"Kyoto" - Phoebe Bridgers, Morgan Nagler and Mashall Vore (Phoebe Bridgers)
"Lost In Yesterday" - Kevin Parker (Tame Impala)
"Not" - Adrianne Lenker (Big Thief)
"Shameika" - Fiona Apple (Fiona Apple)
"Stay High" - Brittany Howard (Brittany Howard)

Best Rock Album:

"A Hero’s Death" - Fontaines D.C.
"Kiwanuka" - Michael Kiwanuka
"Daylight" - Grace Potter
"Sound & Fury" - Sturgill Simpson
"The New Abnormal" - The Strokes

Best Alternative Album:

"Hyperspace" - Beck
"Fetch the Bolt Cutters" - Fiona Apple
"Punisher" - Phoebe Bridgers
"Jaime" - Brittany Howard
"The Slow Rush" - Tame Impala

Best Dance Recording:

"On My Mind,” Diplo & Sidepiece
"My High" - Disclosure Featuring Aminé & Slowthai
"The Difference" - Flume featuring Toro y Moi
"Both Of Us" - Jayda D
"10%" - Kaytranada featuring Kali Uchis

Best Dance/Electronic Album:

"Kick I" - Arca
"Planet’s Mad" - Baauer
"Energy" - Disclosure
"Bubb" - Kaytranada
"Good Faith" - Madeon

Best R&B Performance:

"Lightning and Thunder,” Jhené Aiko Featuring John Legend
"Black Parade" - Beyoncé
"All I Need" - Jacob Collier Featuring Mahalia & Ty Dolla $ign
"Goat Head" - Brittany Howard
"See Me" - Emily King

Best Traditional R&B Performance:

"Sit On Down" - The Baylor Project Featuring Jean Baylor & Marcus Baylor
"Wonder What She Thinks of Me" - Chloe X Halle
"Let Me Go" - Mykal Kilgore
"Anything For You" - Ledisi
"Distance" - Yebba

Best R&B Song:

"Better Than I Imagine" - Robert Glasper, Meshell Ndegeocello & Gabriella Wilson (Robert Glasper Featuring H.E.R and Meshell Ndegeocello)
"Black Parade" - Denisia Andrews, Beyoncé, Stephen Bray, Shawn Carter, Brittany Coney, Derek James Dixie, Akil King, Kim “Kaydence” Krysiuk & Rickie “Caso” Tice (Beyoncé)
"Collide" - Sam Barsh, Stacey Barthe, Sonyae Elise, Olu Fann, Akil King, Josh Lopez, Kaveh Rastegar & Benedetto Rotondi (Tiana & EARTHGANG)
"Do It" - Chloe Bailey, Halle Bailey, Anton Kuhl, Victoria Monét, Scott Storch & Vincent Van Den Ende (Chloe X Halle)
"Slow Down" - Nasri Atweh, Badriia Bourelly, Skip Marley, Ryan Williamson & Gabriella Wilson (Skip Marley & H.E.R.)

Best Progressive R&B Album:

"Chilombo" - Jhene Aiko
"Ungodly Hour" - Chloe X Halle
"Free Nationals" - Free Nationals
"F*** Yo Feelings" - Robert Glasper
"It Is What It Is" - Thundercat

Best R&B Album:

"Happy 2 Be Here" - Any Clemons
"Take Time" - Giveon
"To Feel Loved" - Luke James
"Bigger Love" - John Legend
"All Rise" - Gregory Porter

Best Rap Performance:

"Deep Reverence" - Big Sean featuring Nipsey Hustle
"Bop" - Da Baby
"What’s Poppin" - Jack Harlow
"The Bigger Picture" - Lil Baby
"Savage" - Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé
"Dior" - Pop Smoke

Best Melodic Rap Performance:

"Rockstar" - Da Baby feat. Roddy Ricch
"Laugh Now, Cry Later" _ Drake feat. Lil Durk
"Lockdown" - Anderson.Paak
"The Box" - Roddy Ricch
"HIGHEST IN THE ROOM" - Travis Scott

Best Rap Album:

"Black Habits" - D Smoke
"Alfredo" - Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
"A Written Testimony" - Jay Electronica
"King’s Disease" - Nas
"The Allegory" - Royce Da 5’9”

Best Rap Song:

"The Bigger Picture" - Dominique Jones, Noah Pettigrew & Rai’shaun Williams (Lil Baby)
"The Box" - Samuel Gloade & Rodrick Moore (Roddy Ricch)
"Laugh Now, Cry Later" - Durk Banks, Rogét Chahayed, Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Ron LaTour & Ryan Martinez (Drake featuring Lil Durk)
"Rockstar" - Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, Ross Joseph Portaro IV & Rodrick Moore (Da Baby featuring Roddy Ricch)
"Savage" - Beyoncé, Shawn Carter, Brittany Hazzard, Derrick Milano, Terius Nash, Megan Pete, Bobby Session Jr., Jordan Kyle Lanier Thorpe & Anthony White (Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé)

Best Country Solo Performance:

"Stick That In Your Country Song" - Eric Church
"Who You Thought I Was" - Brandy Clark
"When My Amy Prays" - Vince Gill
"Black Like Me" - Mickey Guyton
"Bluebird" - Miranda Lambert

Best Country Duo/Group Performance:

"All Night" - Brothers Osbourne
"10,000 Hours" - Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber
"Ocean" - Lady A
"Sugar Coat" - Little Big Town
"Some People Do" - Old Dominion

Best Country Song:

"Bluebird" - Luke Dick, Natalie Hemby & Miranda Lambert (Miranda Lambert)
"The Bones" - Maren Morris, Jimmy Robbins & Laura Veltz (Maren Morris)
"Crowded Table" - Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby & Lori McKenna (The Highwomen)
"More Hearts Than Mine" - Ingrid Andress, Sam Ellis & Derrick Southerland (Ingrid Andress)
"Some People Do" - Jesse Frasure, Shane McAnally, Matthew Ramsey & Thomas Rhett, songwriters (Old Dominion)

Best Country Album:

"Lady Like" - Ingrid Andress
"Your Life is a Record" - Brandy Clark
"Wildcard" - Miranda Lambert
"Nightfall" - Little Big Town
"Never Will" - Ashley McBryde

Best Americana Album:

"Old Flowers" - Courtney Marie Andrews
"Terms Of Surrender" - Hiss Golden Messenger
"World On The Ground" - Sarah Jarosz
"El Dorado" - Marcus King
"Good Souls Better Angels" - Lucinda Williams

Best Jazz Vocal Album:

"Ona" - Thana Alexa
"Secrets Are The Best Stories" - Kurt Elling Featuring Danilo Pérez
"Modern Ancestors" - Carmen Lundy
"Holy Room: Live at Alte Oper" - Somi With Frankfurt Radio Big Band
"What’s The Hurry" - Kenny Washington

Best Latin Jazz Album:

"Tradiciones" - Afro-Peruvian Jazz Orchestra
"Four Questions" - Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
"City of Dreams" - Chico Pinheiro
"Viento y Tiempo: Live at Blue Note Tokyo" - Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Aymée Nuviola
"Trane’s Delight" - Poncho Sanchez

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media:

"A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" - Various Artists
"Bill & Ted Face the Music" - Various Artists
"Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga" - Various Artists
"Frozen 2" - Various Artists
"JoJo Rabbit" - Various Artists

Best Music Video:

"Brown Skin Girl" - Beyoncé
"Life Is Good" - Future Featuring Drake
"Lockdown" - Anderson.Paak
"Adore You" - Harry Styles
"Goliath" - Woodkid

Producer of the Year (Non-Classical):

Jack Antonoff
Dan Auerbach
Dave Cobb
Flying Lotus
Andrew Watt

NEW SOUNDS

TAYLOR SWIFT

While Taylor Swift had planned to spend the summer on a worldwide tour to promote her last album, "Lover" released last year, a nasty virus got in the way of her concert plans. With plenty of time on her hands (much like the rest of us), the singer spent the last few months creating new music and what came out of that is her eighth studio album, "Folklore". This collection does not feature the inflated, synth-pop production of her previous records. Yet it is also not a clear return to her early country music roots. 

The album offers something a little different; low-key and mature songs that look at our complicated, turbulent times that plays best to her strengths which is vivid songwriting. Swift uses classic folklore, which are stories that blur the lines between truth and fiction, to create songs that are far less self-referential than her music in the past. I must admit I've never been a huge fan of Swift's (more of an admirer) but I must say that I really enjoyed "Folklore" and think this is the thirty-year old superstar's strongest album to date. 

And clearly many others seem to agree. "Folklore" has broken streaming records with Swift having the biggest opening day for an album by a female artist on Spotify and the album has sold 1.3 million copies globally on its first day on July 24th. Swift has stated that the album "started with imagery" so the videos are just as important to express her ideas as the music for "Folklore". She even got behind the camera to direct the clip for the first single, "Cardigan".

KYLIE MINOGUE

After dipping her toes in to some down-home, country-pop with her last album, "Golden" in 2018, Kylie Minogue seems ready to get back to what she's best known for; dance-flavored, pop music. And the title of her upcoming fifteenth studio album says it all: "Disco". The fifty-two year old, down-under pop diva has just dropped the first single, "Say Something" and it is definitely a shimmering dance floor banger. The song (co-written by Minogue with Ash Howes and producers, Jonathan Green and Richard "Biff" Stannard) is about the never-ending quest for love and is just what we need to hear right now. Minogue worked on the album (due out on November 6th) while in quarantine and even learned how to record and engineer her vocals on her own using music software in order to help get the record completed.

And here are a few videos of new music I'm enjoying right now:

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

I'm sure many of you are well aware of Mark Wahlberg, the Oscar-nominated movie star who appeared in such films as "Boogie Nights", "The Departed", "The Italian Job", "The Fighter" and "Ted". But how many of you remember when Wahlberg was Marky Mark and a part of the Funky Bunch? Back in 1991, a twenty-year old Mark released the rap hip-house single, "Good Vibrations" (co-written and produced by his older brother, Donnie who was a member of New Kids On The Block at the time) with his group which went to number one of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. While Wahlberg would release two albums with the Funky Bunch and a project with the late reggae performer, Prince Ital Joe, this million-selling song would be the highlight of his music career. Let's go back and listen to Marky Mark's hit as well as the 1980 disco single, "Love Sensation" by Loleatta Holloway which a sample is used as the hook on his song :





I guess country rap is now officially a genre. Following the incredible success of Lil Nas X's, "Old Town Road", Blanco Brown has brought us "The Git Up", another country-flavored hip-hop tune.  Brown, an Atlanta-raised producer who has worked with Chris Brown, Fergie and Pitbull, has been a big fan of hip-hop and country music and decided the time was right to merge the two vastly different genres. "The Git Up" has become a crossover sensation and managed to achieve what Lil Nas X could not; Brown's track reached the top of the Hot Country Songs chart. There is even a dance created for the song so check out music video so you can learn the moves:



Here are a few new tunes I'm in to right now:











And finally, here is an obscure musical pairing I never would have imagined but it absolutely works. While going down the YouTube rabbit hole, I stumbled upon the Welsh sex-symbol, Tom Jones and Broadway star turned r&b vocalist, Stephanie Mills singing together on a sensual cover of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway's "The Closer I Get To You". I have no idea when or where this was done beyond it must have been performed sometime in the '80's. Their vocals are on fire and it's really a great version of the song:

NEW SOUNDS

MADONNA

One of the biggest pop stars of all-time is back with new music. After teasing with video clips and images since the beginning of the year, Madonna has finally dropped the first single from her upcoming fourteenth studio album called "Madame X". This Latin pop tune, "Medellín" features Colombian singer, Maluma and takes it's title from the city in Colombia where he was born. A second single, "I Rise" has followed and it's an uplifting anthem about surviving and rising up against adversity. Emma González, the gun control activist and survivor of the Parkland high school shooting, is heard with a spoken intro on the track and the song is also being dedicated to the LGBTQ communities in celebration of the the 50th anniversary of Pride. Be on the look out for two more song releases from the Queen of Pop with "Future" featuring Quavo on May 17th and "Dark Ballet" on June 7th before the album is out on June 14th. Have a listen to the two songs with Madonna and Maluma performing live on the recent Billboard Music Awards and the clip for "I Rise":





TAYLOR SWIFT

And the current Princess of Pop, Taylor Swift has also just dropped some new music. Swift had been teasing the release of the song on her social media since April 13th and "Me!" was finally delivered on April 26th along with the music video Swift co-directed with Dave Meyers. The song is a bubbly confection that features Brendon Urie, the lead singer of Panic! at the Disco and the video is a explosion of vivid color and wild visual wonderment. The video for "Me!" has broken the record for the most views by a female artist in the first twenty-four hours with 65.2 million viewers and the fastest video to reach 100 million views in seventy-nine hours. But the song hardly seems worthy of all this fuss and if it had been released by any artist other than Swift, nobody would have paid any attention due to the weak and juvenile lyrics. "Me!" is a surprisingly underwhelming effort by the twenty-five year old pop superstar. No word on a release date of an upcoming album but let's hope it more promising than this first single:

TAYLOR SWIFT'S LATEST DISS TRACK

After the incredible success of her 2014 album, "1989" and the following world tour which was the highest-grossing of 2015 that placed her into global superstar status, Taylor Swift decided to lay low for a while. During this time, she made a couple of musical collaborations (most notably with a One Direction member she didn't date) but her most news-worthy events were spent fighting for artist's rights against Apple Music and Spotify and winning a legal battle against a grabby DJ.

At the stroke of midnight on August 25th, Swift has reemerged with new music. She has been known to use her music as a way to express her unpleasant experiences with people she has known while paying them back for perceived or actual slights. Yet with her newest single, "Look What You Made Me Do", the singer seems to have taken an even darker turn.

Co-written and produced by the busy Jack Antonoff (who also produced tracks on "1989"), the song uses elements from an unlikely source of Right Said Fred's 1991 hit, "I'm Too Sexy" while Swift goes on a rampage about someone who has wronged her. It also ignites plenty of speculation on who she may be referring to as her recent bouts include Katy Perry and Kanye West along with his wife. This intriguing bit of dance-pop presents Swift in a different light. Gone is the sweet and good-natured singer and now we have an edgy and angry persona. But is this the new Taylor Swift? For in the middle of this record, she boldly announces that the old Taylor Swift is dead. From the tone of this song, I'm not quite sure I really like this new version of the singer.

Taylor Swift's sixth album is called "Reputation" and will out on November 10th.

2015 VMAS

Since when has a MTV Video Music Award been worth fighting over?

First, Nicki Minaj was offended that her video wasn't nominated for Video of The Year (despite earning three other noms) and complained that it was because she wasn't skinny or white enough. Then, Taylor Swift (rightfully assuming Minaj was referring to her) took the bait and publicly defended her honor against the rapper's slam for her receiving a nomination. Recently, this year's host, Miley Cyrus scolded Minaj (through the New York Times, of all places) about her comments while alluding to the performer's well-known unpleasantness.

All this childish drama over nothing has lead to this year's VMAs. It was another spectacle of raunchy irreverence, wacky excess and some old-fashioned weirdness. The one and only Nicki Minaj kicked off the show with a performance of "Trini Dem Girls" and "The Night is Still Young" and guess who made a surprise appearance during the number? The one and only Taylor Swift, proving to the world that they have squashed their fifteen minutes of beef. However, it appears a new one has started after Minaj's win for Best Hip-Hop Video when she calls Cyrus out on stage for her NYT comments. I'm not sure if this bit was staged but if not, I strongly urge Cyrus to watch her flat backside.

The evening had a few other solid musical moments with my favorites include a video recreation on the streets of downtown L.A. by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis of their new single, "Downtown", The Weeknd worked the crowd with a fiery take of his hit, "Can't Feel My Face" and an amped-up version of "Should've Been Us" by rising talent and vocal powerhouse, Tori Kelly. I have never been a fan of Justin Bieber with a performance of his comeback single, "What Do You Mean" and an overly emotional outburst at the end still left me feeling unimpressed. But I will admit that the boy can dance.

And then there was Kanye. He's the recipient of this year's Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award and guess who presented the volatile artist with this honor? The one and only Taylor Swift who gave a touching tribute, proving to the world that they're on good terms after the rapper drunkenly interrupted her award victory six years ago. West, who virtually issued a public apology to Swift without ever uttering the words, gave a semi-coherent speech that went on about his career and impact as an artist before ending with an announcement of a future run for president. In the age where Donald Trump is considered a serious candidate, why not?

I nearly got whiplash over the rapid speed of how Miley Cyrus went from a sweet, Disney pop princess to a pot smoking, tongue wagging, profanity-laced, sexually outlandish provocateur. I'm not really buying this act. Her wild antics don't feel organic. I seem to recall when Cyrus mentioned Jay Z in her hit, "Party in The U.S.A.", it was revealed that she had never even heard his music. Now, the hardcore stoner is hanging out with Snoop Dogg and other rappers. The whole thing comes across more like another costume, like her previous Hannah Montana one. Perhaps the real Cyrus falls somewhere in the middle or perhaps we will meet another "Miley Cyrus" sometime down the road.

Our host closed out the show with a extravaganza of a performance. It was a new song (part of a free album that Cyrus is giving away to her most fervent fans) that featured a parade of colorful drag queens made famous on RuPaul's talent show. Although the constant sight of Cyrus' tongue got on my nerves, it was fun, bizarre and over-the-top. Just exactly how you expect an evening of the VMAs to be.

Oh, and Taylor Swift took home Video of The Year, proving to the world that she was actually skinny and white enough to win.