GRAMMYS

The Grammys Have Changed Their Rules About Album Of The Year Nominations

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After an especially rough year when it came to criticism, The Recording Academy is changing a number of things about the Grammys. They recently announced some changes, including the elimination of “secret committees” that decide on award nominees (The Weeknd is still boycotting regardless). Now, in the newly published rules and guidelines for next year’s 64th Annual Grammy Awards, the Academy has unveiled a number of other changes, including a significant one for the Album Of The Year category.

The “Rule Updates” section of the new rules and guidelines document notes that at this year’s 63rd Grammys, the “award credited artists, features artists, songwriters, producers, mixers, engineers with 33% playing time of the album.” Next year, though, the “33% playing time rule” has been removed, which means that more people who were involved in making an Album Of The Year winner will be recognized as Grammy winners.

For example, if these new rules had been in effect for the 2021 Grammys, Bon Iver would have won an Album Of The Year Grammy, as they were featured on “Exile” from Taylor Swift’s Folklore. Another historical example: In 2014, Pharrell Williams, Julian Casablancas, and Panda Bear also would have gotten Album Of The Year trophies for their work on Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories.

There are more changes than that for next year, including the establishment of two new categories: Best Global Music Performance and Best Música Urbana Album. Find the full revised rules and guidelines document here.

Seth Rogen Shared A Hilarious Story About His Disastrous Attempt To Meet Beyonce

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Seth Rogen is one of the most famous people on earth, but you know who’s even more famous? Beyonce. The actor and filmmaker has been making the rounds, promoting his new tome, Yearbook, and he’s done everything from telling behind-the-scenes stories to slamming Ted Cruz (again). On top of it all he also has a pretty hilarious Beyonce story.

Rogen spilled the beans on E! News’ Daily Pop (as per Entertainment Weekly), recounting the time he saw her while presenting at the Grammys. (It appears to be the 2011 edition.) He saw her with Gwyneth Paltrow and he likely figured it wouldn’t be too big a deal if he just walked up to her, unannounced.

“And I charged over. Instinct took over,” he said. But one of her employees wasn’t having it. “I was hit so hard by her security guard that I spilled a drink. I was drinking a screwdriver, which is a bad drink. I deserved what I got.” He added, “I was humiliated and I didn’t get to meet Beyonce.”

What’s worse, he still had to present an award. And so he held his arms in what he called “a very weird position,” to obscure the spilled screwdriver on his clothes.

It’s a tale Rogen’s told before, both on Jimmy Kimmel back in 2019 and again in Yearbook, which is a collection of anecdotes and personal essays. When telling the tale to Kimmel, he said he’d learned his lesson about storming up to other famous people, especially if they’re Beyonce Knowles.

“So I was wary of going near her because I look like someone who you would want to keep away from Beyoncé in general,” Rogen said. “I waited for her to approach me, which they teach you. She was very nice and my beard actually got stuck in her sequin a little bit. If you look closely, you’ll see some gray hair on her shoulder.”

The two would eventually share the screen, sort of: They both appeared as voices in the 2019 “live-action” (but still CGI) remake of The Lion King.

(Via EW)

Village People’s Victor Willis Tells The Weeknd To ‘Lighten Up’ With His Grammys Criticism

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Ever since his No. 1 album After Hours was snubbed of a 2020 Grammy Award, The Weeknd has not been shy about his criticism of The Recording Academy, even promising to boycott the organization going forward. But The Weeknd isn’t the first singer to publicly call out The Recording Academy for their problematic practices. Village People’s Victor Willis (aka the cop) has a long history of outing the Grammys’ discriminatory practices — and he’s now telling The Weeknd to “lighten up.”

Back in 2017, Willis was outspoken about his disdain for the Grammys. He even reportedly send a letter to The Recording Academy’s president claiming there were “secret committees” that existed to “override the decision of Grammy voters in the event the select committee does not like who the Grammy voter has chosen” for the biggest awards. Willis also cited the controversy around Adele beating out Beyonce in every major category that year. “If certain people at the Grammys don’t like who the voters have chosen,” he wrote, “a Grammy committee will simply override the voters and subsequently select who they think should win. Like Adele, maybe?”

But now, Willis has turned his attention to The Weeknd’s recent comments about the Recording Academy. Penning an open letter to The Weeknd on Facebook, Willis claimed The Weeknd stayed silent when he was “benefiting from those secret committees” in the past. The Village People singer also applauded the work of The Recording Academy’s interm CEO Harvey Mason Jr.:

“Pssst, ‘The Weeknd,’ lighten up on the Grammys already why don’t cha!? I know a thing or two about attacking the Grammys, and their once secret committees. I must say you’re not handling this in the spirit of Black protest of this important issue. You see, while Black artists like me were making honest complaints about the secret committees, you were busy racking up one Grammy after another under those secret committees.

I don’t recall you complaining about the secret committees when you were benefiting from those secret committees. But on the one occasion the secret committees didn’t benefit you, the Grammys are suddenly corrupt, and it’s off with their heads? Under the circumstances, you’re much too talented to be pouting about the Grammys. And it seems you’re out for blood despite the secret committees being eliminated. Negative.

This important American institution known as the Grammys has an African American in there (Harvey Mason) that’s making real, meaningful and historic changes that will likely benefit the music business for decades to come. Cut the brotha some slack!”

Lil Nas X Admits He Thought Billie Eilish Winning A Grammy Over Him Wasn’t ‘Fair’

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At the 2020 Grammy Awards, Lil Nas X was nominated for six awards and he ended up winning a couple, taking home the prizes for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video (both for “Old Town Road”). Of the four losses, the one that hurt him the most was Record Of The Year, which went to “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish (who notably won all four major Grammys that year) instead of his own “Old Town Road.” In a new cover story for British GQ Style, the rapper admits that initially, he was jealous of Eilish for her win and thought it wasn’t “fair” that his record-breaking single didn’t get the award.

He said that as Eilish accepted the award, he thought, “Damn, but how? I have the biggest song. That isn’t fair.” Months later while in lockdown, though, he reflected on that evening and found a different point of view. He said, “I put all that energy I was feeling onto her. It became jealousy that wasn’t warranted. You have the longest-running number one song, why the f*ck are you jealous about this award? We are already so blessed. Even if you don’t have these things, you’re here. You’re still alive. You exist. You shouldn’t have any reason to be jealous.”

Read the full feature here.

The Weeknd Is Still Boycotting The Grammys Despite Their Recent Changes

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The Weeknd may never be nominated for another Grammy, but not because the quality of his work is about to drop off: After somehow being completely snubbed at the 2021 Grammys, the artist declared that he is boycotting the awards and will no longer submit his music for consideration. The Recording Academy has faced a ton of criticism over the past year-plus, but a few days ago, they announced “significant changes” to their voting process, including the elimination of “secret committees.” While The Weeknd thinks that’s cool, he says he’s still going to stick to his boycott.

In a statement to The New York Times, The Weeknd said, “Even though I won’t be submitting my music, the Grammys’ recent admission of corruption will hopefully be a positive move for the future of this plagued award and give the artist community the respect it deserves with a transparent voting process.”

Interim Recording Academy president/CEO Harvey Mason Jr. also offered a statement, saying the changes come as part of “a year of unprecedented, transformational change,” adding, “This is a new academy, one that is driven to action and that has doubled down on the commitment to meeting the needs of the music community.”

Meanwhile, The Weeknd doesn’t need the Grammys to lock down award nods: A few days ago, he racked up an impressive 16 Billboard Music Awards nominations.

The Grammys Opt To Eliminate ‘Secret Committees’ And Make ‘Significant Changes’ To Their Voting Process

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Last fall, the Grammys were dealt a heavy dose of criticism about their nominations. Many were upset with some of The Recording Academy’s choices, or lack thereof, such as failing to nominate The Weeknd in any category despite having the acclaimed album After Hours. Months later, the Grammys announced they’re making “significant changes” to their voting process according to Billboard. This includes the elimination of “secret committees,” who were originally tasked with reviewing nominations in the general and genre-specific categories.

With this removal, nominations in these categories will now be selected by a majority, peer-to-peer vote from The Academy’s members. They also chose to reduce the number of categories voters can make selections in from 15 to 10. The Grammys created two new categories for the award show, Best Global Music Performance and Best Música Urbana Album, and added an extra month to the eligibility period for next year’s award show. The time frame of eligibility is now September 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021. The changes will go into effect immediately for next year’s show, which is set for January 31, 2022.

“It’s been a year of unprecedented, transformational change for the Recording Academy, and I’m immensely proud to be able to continue our journey of growth with these latest updates to our Awards process,” Harvey Mason Jr., chair and interim president/CEO of the Recording Academy, said. “This is a new Academy, one that is driven to action and that has doubled down on the commitment to meeting the needs of the music community.”

A Republican Congressman Complained About Cardi B On The Floor Of The House Of Representatives

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Cardi B often incorporates risqué elements into her music, videos, and performances, which rubs some observers the wrong way. Cardi seems to derive great enjoyment from that, though, like when she recently laughed off the 1,000-plus complaints the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) received regarding her and Megan Thee Stallion’s 2021 Grammys performance. The performance also bothered at least one high-profile politician in the House Of Representatives.

While speaking on the House floor this morning, Republican Representative Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin cited Cardi’s performance while criticizing the FCC and partially blaming them for “the moral decline of America.” He said, “I received complaints in my office, and rightfully so, about Cardi B and the Grammys. They wonder why we are paying the FCC if they feel that this should be in living rooms across the nation. I realize that Kamala Harris has used her fame to promote this performer, but I assure the FCC that millions of Americans would view her performance as inconsistent with basic decency. Wake up, FCC, and begin to do your job! The moral decline of America is partly due to your utter complacency.”

This news is still fresh, so Cardi has yet to respond to it, but based on her past reactions to this sort of criticism, it seems unlikely she will lose any sleep over it.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Cardi B Laughs Off Reports That Her Grammys ‘WAP’ Performance Sparked Over 1,000 FCC Complaints

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It’s been a few weeks since Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s racy performance of their hit song “WAP” at the 2021 Grammys, but the performance is still causing controversy among more conservative viewers. While it was previously reported that the performance drew a number of FCC complaints, yesterday, Rolling Stone turned up a more exact number — over 1,000 angry emails from viewers who compared it to porn and packed their long-winded missives with plenty of slut-shaming and melodrama.

Of course, Cardi herself has been the target of conservative complaints ever since she helped Bernie Sanders with his 2020 presidential campaign, so she’s used to the histrionics. She remained unbothered when the complaints were brought to her attention quote-tweeting a fan account’s screenshot and adding a .gif of a smug-looking Wendy Williams smirking at the camera to an eye-roll emoji and several laughing ones.

Maybe Cardi is unfazed because she sees through the disingenuous intentions behind such complaints, as she pointed out a few hours later. Commenting on conservative voices’ apparent silence after a Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police officer shot and killed resident Daunte Wright — on camera, no less — Cardi noted the glaring hypocrisy. “Where the f*ck are you Twitter blue-check Republicans at?” she wondered. “Y’all are the loudest in this motherf*ckin’ app. Y’all not saying nothing, y’all not complaining. Y’all blame everything with what’s wrong with America beside the police! Y’all have been very silent! What’s going on?”

Check out Cardi’s responses to the FCC complaints above, and read more of them here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Doja Cat ‘Cried Like A Baby’ After Her 2021 Grammys Performance

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Doja Cat provided one of the highlights of this year’s Grammys ceremony with her futuristic performance of “Say So.” It turns out that was a special moment for her, since she “cried like a baby” (in a good way) after she left the stage.

She spoke about it with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, describing the post-performance scene:

“So I performed, it was the first time that I’d ever performed and then cried like a baby after. And I don’t do that, I don’t cry. I just get off stage and I’m like, ‘Yeah, we did it, yeah.’ But for this, literally the director for the whole thing, he came up to me and I was walking off stage and he was like, ‘Thank you so much. You were amazing.’ And I’m like, ‘[sobbing] Thank you.’ And we were rushing out and I couldn’t talk to him. And I was just dying. […] [It was] ugly, ugly. Everybody was holding each other’s shoulders and looking at each other. It was really, really corny, but it was the sweetest, greatest, most intimate moment I’ve ever had.”

She also talked about preparing for the performance, saying:

“I feel like when you think of a Grammy performance, it’s like, three months of rehearsal and like it’s a huge deal, blah, blah, blah. And it is, but we had two weeks to put this together. So we had the two weeks of rehearsal for choreography, but I think that the concept was definitely something that we had for two months, three months. So visually, all that was kind of locked in by the time we started dancing. So I rehearsed for two weeks and then it was really, really difficult at first. Look: we tried different prototypes. I did the boots at the end, but we were trying to do heels. Heels were like… it was scary, but I really wanted to try. It looked so good, it had such a good silhouette.”

Watch Doja speak about her Grammys performance (and her new song with SZA) above.

Beyonce Congratulates Taylor Swift On Her 2021 Grammys Success With Flowers

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There were a lot of winners (and losers and surprises) at this year’s Grammys, with two prime examples being Taylor Swift and Beyonce. Swift’s Folklore picked up the trophy for Album Of The Year while Beyonce snagged some awards as well, which helped her get more all-time Grammy wins than any singer ever. Now the pair have gotten in touch and recognized each other for their achievements, as Swift revealed today that this morning, she woke up to flowers from Beyonce.

Swift shared photos of the gift on Instagram today. With the flowers was a note, which reads, “Taylor, Congratulations on your Grammy. It was great seeing you on Sunday night. Thank you for always being so supportive. Sending love to you and your family. B.” Sharing the letter, Swift wrote, “Woke up to flowers from the queen of grace & greatness @beyonce and suddenly it’s the best Friday EVER. Thank you B and congratulations on your epic achievement Sunday night!!”

Reflecting on the Grammys after the fact, Swift collaborator Aaron Dessner had only kind things to say about Swift, as he wrote in an extensive message, “I am constantly humbled by and grateful for our friendship and collaboration. It’s such a strange thought that this time last year, we hadn’t even begun our journey together, since you are now such a big part of my life. You have restored my faith in music and the ways in which it can help me and others. In a year of such uncertainty and fear, I’m eternally grateful for the music we made. You generously shared your songwriting genius with me and others on these records — and made everyone involved feel appreciated and confident in their work. I can’t say enough positive things about you as an artist and a person.”

Check out Swift’s posts below.

@taylorswift/Instagram
@taylorswift/Instagram