donna summer

N.W.A, Donna Summer, And Other Icons Will Receive 2024 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards

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Ice Cube
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In November, the Recording Academy unfurled its nominees for the 2024 Grammys, but it saved the best for last. This morning, January 5, the Recording Academy announced this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipients as Laurie Anderson, the Clark Sisters, Donna Summer, Gladys Knight, N.W.A., and Tammy Wynette. Summer, Wynette, and Eazy E of N.W.A. are posthumous honorees.

“The Academy is honored to pay tribute to this year’s Special Merit Award recipients — a remarkable group of creators and industry professionals whose impact resonates with generations worldwide,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement. “Their contributions to music span genres, backgrounds, and crafts, reflecting the rich diversity that fuels our creative community. We look forward to honoring these music industry trailblazers next month as part of our week-long celebration leading up to Music’s Biggest Night.”

The 2024 Grammys are scheduled for Sunday, February 4, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, with Trevor Noah returning as the host for the fourth consecutive year. The ceremony will broadcast live on CBS, stream live on Paramount+, and be available on-demand on Paramount+.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is under the umbrella of the 2024 Special Merit Awards, and The Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards Ceremony will take place on Saturday, February 3, at LA’s Wilshire Ebell Theatre.

HBO Reveals First Look At Donna Summer Documentary

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It’s hard to state just how big disco was at its peak. The Disco Boom of the 1970s fundamentally changed music and culture. Studio 54, the iconic New York club, became a household name on the back of the genre. But Disco was more than just music. It was light and aesthetic, and a complete and total disco “vibe”. However, there was widespread opposition to disco, especially those from the rock and roll community. A DJ famously destroyed a dumpster full of Disco records at a Chicago White Sox game in 1979

Born in Boston, Donna Summer (born LaDonna Gaines), was arguably the face of mainstream Disco music. She lived a fascinating life, including spending nearly a working and performing in Munich. However, she is best known for helping spearhead Disco’s rise in the late 1970s. Her catalog includes four #1 hits and all-time bangers like “I Feel Love” and “Love To Love You Baby”. Summer passed away in 2012 from lung cancer.

HBO Gives First Look At “Love To Love You, Donna Summer”

HBO is now telling the full story of Donna Summer. Love To Love You, Donna Summer will document her life and rise to the throne of Disco. Based on archival footage and interviews with both Summer and people who knew her best, the film will show Summer like never before. Everything from Munich to MTV will be on display.

That includes highlighting the toll fame took on her. The documentary will also delve into Summer’s propensity for secretive behavior. “My approach to singing, I approach it as an actress,” Summer is heard saying, “I don’t approach it as a singer. And it’s really acting. I’m not trying to be me.” The film will also go behind the music, looking at Summer’s struggles with fame and her attempts to balance her career with raising her family. Two of Summer’s children, Brooklyn and Amanda, have followed in her footsteps. Love To Love You, Donna Summer already holds a 71% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes following its debut at the Berlin Film Festival. You can see Love To Love You, Donna Summer for yourself starting on May 20 on HBO and Max.

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Chloe Says Kanye West, Kelis, And Imogen Heap Influenced Her Upcoming Debut Album

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Chloe Bailey SiriusXM Studios 2021
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On the heels of the release of her latest single, “Treat Me,” Chloe Bailey, who performs solo mononymously as Chloe, took some time to answer a few questions from fans. During her impromptu Q&A session, the Chloe x Halle half spilled some tea about her upcoming solo debut album.

When asked about her influences for her album, Chloe revealed “kanye, kelis, imogen heap, donna summer” were the ones “doing it” for her “in this very moment.”

This isn’t the first time Chloe has cited Heap or Kelis as influences. Last year, during a livestream on Instagram, she called Imogen Heap her “number one inspiration.”

“She a bad b*tch,” Bailey said of the “Hide And Seek” singer. “She produces and she writes all of her stuff.” Of Kelis, she said, “Every time I put on Kelis, I feel like the baddest b*tch.”

Also during her Q&A, she revealed that she has finalized the tracklist of her upcoming album, and also added that her verse on Fivio Foreign’s “Hello” was written and cut the night after the Grammys.

Though she didn’t announce a release date or title for her album, Chloe said fans can expect to see a more vulnerable side of her.

“…when i wrote it i was at the lowest moment and i was building myself back up,” she said. “you get everything.”