Indie

Dionne Warwick Lovingly Paid Tribute To Burt Bacharach, Her Frequent Collaborator Who Is Dead At 94

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Earlier today (February 9), it was revealed that yesterday, music legend Burt Bacharach died at 94 years old. Bacharach was a premiere songwriter for decades, and one of his most celebrated professional relationships with with Dionne Warwick. Bacharach and songwriting partner Hal David penned a lot of songs for Warwick, including all of her early-career top-10 hits in the 1960s: “Anyone Who Had A Heart,” “Walk On By,” “Message To Michael,” “I Say A Little Prayer,” “This Guy’s In Love With You,” and “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again.”

Now, Warwick has addressed her collaborator’s death. She said in a statement shared with the Los Angeles Times today:

“Burt’s transition is like losing a family member. These words I’ve been asked to write are being written with sadness over the loss of my Dear Friend and my Musical Partner. […] On the lighter side, we laughed a lot and had our run-ins, but always found a way to let each other know our family-like roots were the most important part of our relationship. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family, letting them know he is now peacefully resting and I too will miss him.”

In a 2022 interview with Vulture, Warwick spoke about her creative partnership with Bacharach and David:

“I had come in to do a background session of ‘Mexican Divorce,’ a song for the Drifters that Burt had written with another songwriter, Bob Hilliard. And after the session was over, Burt approached me and asked if I would be interested in doing demonstration records and more background work on songs he’d be writing with a new songwriting partner named Hal David. And I said, ‘As long as it doesn’t interfere with my education because my mother would kill you and me, so let’s get that understood right away.’ And that’s how we kind of got together.

Burt, Hal, and I grew into what came to be known throughout the industry as the triangle marriage that worked. We each felt that we had something to offer and made it all work together. But musically, of course, Burt’s musicianship is — I don’t think anybody can surpass it. Hal David? I don’t consider him a lyricist. I consider him a poet. And I was the interpreter of both. So we brought what we had to the table and it worked.”

President Joe Biden Pushed Back Against Those Pesky Concert ‘Junk Fees’ In His State Of The Union Speech

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President Joe Biden continued his push back against airlines, concert promoters, and other companies that embed “junk fees” into their service as he expressed his intentions for proposed legislation during last night’s (February 7) State Of The Union address.

Biden’s plan for the Junk Fee Prevention Act would also include extra resort fees, credit card late fees, and any other hidden charges toward customers — no matter what industry.

“For example, we’re making airlines show you the full ticket price upfront and refund your money if your flight is canceled or delayed,” Biden said. “Baggage fees are bad enough — they can’t just treat your child like a piece of luggage. Americans are tired of being played for suckers.”

On February 1, he also tweeted, “You shouldn’t have to pay an extra $50 to sit next to your child on the plane, pay a surprise ‘resort fee’ for a hotel stay, pay $200 to terminate your cable plan, or pay huge service fees to buy concert tickets. It’s time for Congress to pass the Junk Fee Prevention Act.”

Back in October, the White House released a statement that defined junk fees as “mandatory fees that often hide the full price” and “surprise fees that consumers learn about after purchase.” This would include those pesky service fees that companies like Ticketmaster tack on to your ticket at checkout.

“These fees can also create an uneven playing field for businesses, making firms that price in a fair and transparent manner seem more expensive than their rivals,” it read.

This continued discussion comes after months of debate over Ticketmaster’s monopoly and fans having more trouble than ever getting tickets for Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, and other popular acts.

What’s The Difference Between Song Of The Year & Record Of The Year?

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The “big four” categories brought the fireworks at the 2023 Grammys. Harry Styles claimed Album Of The Year, leading to widespread dismay that it didn’t go to Beyoncé for Renaissance. Nobody could believe that Bonnie Raitt emerged victorious in the Song Of The Year category, including Bonnie Raitt. Lizzo, in host Trevor Noah’s words, was the embodiment of dopamine while accepting Record Of The Year for “About Damn Time,” and Samara Jay was named Best New Artist.

The confusion over Raitt winning out over monster songs by Adele, Beyoncé, DJ Khaled, Gayle, Styles, Kendrick Lamar, Lizzo, Steve Lacy, and Taylor Swift led to some tweeters differentiating between Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year.

But the official website for the Grammys offered an explainer in December 2017. To sum it up, Record Of The Year “goes to the artist(s), producer(s), and engineer(s) involved in crafting the specific recording (hence ‘record’) of a song,” and Song Of The Year “goes to the songwriter(s) (hence ‘song’) of new material (not including sampled or interpolated material) of a song.”

Raitt won Song Of The Year for “Just Like That,” which she produced and wrote herself. Lizzo shared her “About Damn Time” Record Of The Year victory with producers Ricky Reed and Blake Slatkin, engineers/mixers Patrick Kehrier, Bill Malina, and Manny Marroquin, and mastering engineer Emerson Mancini.

See the full list of 2023 Grammys winners here.

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

The Biggest Winners, Losers, And Surprises Of The 2023 Grammys

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The Grammys: They sure are long! Shout out to my fellow East Coasters who watched the 2023 Grammys until midnight yesterday and got 45 quality minutes of sleep before getting ready for work this morning.

Within all the length of last night’s show, a lot of things happened. Some awards went to their expected recipients, others went to nominees viewers probably forgot were even up for consideration. Some artists put on spectacular performances, others were certainly at least on stage performing music. Some people got their flowers, others would have settled for just a glimpse of a dried-out petal.

With the dust settling now, all of these events can be generally placed into three categories: winners, losers, and surprises. In fact, the highlights of these goings-on have been categorized thusly… by me… below.

Winner: Beyoncé

Beyoncé took a slight L when she got stuck in traffic and consequently showed up late to the Grammys. That was profoundly overshadowed, though, by one of the biggest moments of Bey’s career: Renaissance won the Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album. In a vacuum, that’s kind of neat, but zoom out: That Grammy was the 32nd of Beyoncé’s career, which is the new all-time Grammy record. The ever-composed Beyoncé was clearly emotional while accepting the award, which goes to show how major the win was not just in music history, but to her personally.

Surprise: Bonnie Raitt/Samara Joy

Beyoncé’s big win wasn’t a shock. You know what was, though? Half of the Grammys in the “big four” categories.

The Best New Artist field was strong and the winner ended up being Samara Joy, a jazz singer who’s a relative unknown when compared to competitors like Anitta, Latto, and Wet Leg.

Then came Song Of The Year.

Up for consideration were songs by Adele, Beyoncé, Bonnie Raitt, DJ Khaled, Gayle, Harry Styles, Kendrick Lamar, Lizzo, Steve Lacy, and Taylor Swift. Looking at that list, clearly, there’s one artist that stands out, and not favorably in terms of contemporary acclaim and pop culture relevance: Raitt. Just like that, though, “Just Like That” won.

Raitt is a legend and a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, but even she was left scratching her head: When her name was called, she gave an open-mouthed look around the room like she just won $100K on a gas station scratcher. That was a fair reaction: “Just Like That” currently has under half a million streams on Spotify. Last year, around 9.5 million people watched the Grammys. So, if those numbers remain similar for this year’s broadcast, that means about 20 times as many people watched “Just Like That” win the award than had actually heard the song before (and that’s being generous by assuming every Spotify listener has only played the song one time).

The Grammys aren’t supposed to be a popularity contest, but cultural relevance should have been a bigger consideration here.

Loser: In Memoriam segment

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Every year, the Recording Academy honors esteemed deceased musicians with its In Memoriam portion of the show. Also every year, they find a way to piss people off. Fans were quick to notice that artists like Gangsta Boo and Aaron Carter weren’t mentioned during the broadcast, which rubbed some viewers the wrong way.

To the Recording Academy’s credit, in a post shared ahead of the show, they shared an In Memoriam list featuring more names than made it onto the broadcast, noting that “some” of them would be included in the video tribute. Carter was on that list, but not the broadcast. They also note that the people on the list all died between January 1, 2022 and December 6, 2022; Boo died on January 1, 2023.

So, the Recording Academy technically has some plausible deniability here, but maybe policies that exclude people who should obviously be named could use some reconsidering.

Winner: Wet Leg

Previously, leg was dry. At the Grammys, though, leg was wet: Emerging rock favorites Wet Leg was up for five awards and they took home two of them: Best Alternative Music Performance for “Chaise Longue” and Best Alternative Music Album for Wet Leg.

Winner: Harry Styles, studio musician

Harry was one of the evening’s most-nominated artist with seven total nods. He ended the night with a strong winning percentage, too, taking home three awards, most notably picking up Album Of The Year for Harry’s House. That said…

Loser: Harry Styles, live performer

…boy was his performance during the show dull and weird.

He started his rendition of “As It Was” with some backing dancers, all spinning slowly on a rotating platform, like the song’s music video. It was an extremely low-energy environment for a minute or so, all while the relentlessly upbeat song charged on in defiant tonal contrast. It looked as though Styles and company had the stage set up to perform an Adele ballad before switching to “As It Was” seconds before going on. Things didn’t really improve after the intro, either. Styles’ current tour has obviously gone well, as the banner he has hanging in Madison Square Garden indicates, but the watermelon sugar high appears to have worn off since his last arena show.

Winner: Viola Davis

Congratulations are in order for Viola Davis: She e-got her EGOT! She’s now one of only 18 people to ever do it and it’s thanks in part to last night’s win in the Best Audio Book, Narration, And Storytelling Recording category, for her Finding Me memoir.

Winner: Kendrick Lamar

Beyoncé was the evening’s leading nominee with nine total nods, but Lamar was right behind her with eight of his own. Despite getting shut out of the main categories, Lamar did well in the hip-hop categories, winning in Best Rap Performance (“The Heart Part 5”), Best Rap Song (“The Heart Part 5”), and Best Rap Album (Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers). Furthermore, he did it all while dressed like Goodwill Kid, M.A.A.D. City.

Surprise: Muni Long

In the Best R&B Song category, Beyoncé came out on top with “Cuff It.” Another Renaissance track, “Virgo’s Groove,” was up for Best R&B Performance, and while that may have felt like an obvious pick there, Muni Long actually pulled off the upset with “Hrs & Hrs.”

That’s not to say, of course, that Long’s win (her first Grammy victory) is inexcusable. “Hrs & Hrs” is an accomplished track, as it was only the second song by an independent artist to top the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart, it’s certified platinum, and it achieved a No. 16 peak on the Hot 100. Beating Beyoncé for a Grammy is a tall mountain to scale, so congrats to Long!

Winner: 50th Anniversary Of Hip-Hop Tribute Performance

The Recording Academy put a major focus on honoring hip-hop in 2023, since this year marks the half-century anniversary of the genre’s inception. They went all out with a gargantuan 10-minute performance that spanned eras, featuring stage time from Grandmaster Flash, Rakim, RUN-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa, Future, GloRilla, Lil Baby, Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, Missy Elliott, Method Man, Nelly, and Too Short, among others. If you’re looking for a hip-hop history lesson, the setlist is a terrific starting point.

Surprise: Brandi Carlile

To her name, Brandi Carlile has racked up 24 Grammy nominations in her lifetime. She’s usually firmly in the Americana and country categories, but this year, she earned her first rock nominations. She actually dominated on that front, with “Broken Horses” winning Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance. While on the surface, Carlile getting rock Grammys might read as off, she performed the track during the broadcast and it was very clearly a rock song, and a pretty good one, too.

Loser: “God Did”

Last night, a lot of songs did, but “God Did” was not among them. The DJ Khaled, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend, and Fridayy song was nominated for Song Of The Year, Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song. It won none of those awards.

Then, Khaled and company had to close the show with a performance of the song, which featured Khaled spouting his classic substance-free motivational nuggets. His loud claims of “we the best” or whatever while actual musicians were performing around him fell especially flat, since the Recording Academy just finished declaring on national television that he is in fact not the best.

Loser: Benny Blanco

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Benny Blanco wore that to the 2023 Grammy Awards.

Find the full list of this year’s Grammy nominees and winners here.

Fans Are Mad After The Grammys Left Aaron Carter, Modest Mouse’s Jeremiah Green, And Others Out Of Its ‘In Memoriam’ Tribute

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The 2023 Grammys were last night (February 5), and watching the broadcast, the event appeared to go off without incident. However, during the “In Memoriam” segment, some fans couldn’t help but notice a few notable musicians were not mentioned during the show.

Some, for instance, wondered why Aaron Carter, who died last November, wasn’t included in the tribute.

Others noted that late rockers like Jeremiah Green of Modest Mouse and Mimi Parker of Low didn’t make the cut either.

Some also noticed that Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins wasn’t mentioned, but since he died shortly before last year’s show, he was honored then.

Hours before the program started, the Recording Academy actually published an In Memoriam post on its website. In the introduction, they explain, “The following is a list of artists and industry professionals the music community lost from Jan. 1, 2022 to Dec. 6, 2022. The 2022 Grammys telecast on CBS featured an In Memoriam segment highlighting some of these individuals via a video tribute, and all of these individuals who died prior to its print date are included in the official 2023 Grammys program book.”

Many of the artists missing from the broadcast are included on this list, but not Green, who died on December 31, 2022, outside of the apparent eligibility window for the list. That also explains the absence of Gangsta Boo, whose death was on January 1, 2023.

Harry Styles Won Album Of The Year At The 2023 Grammys

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The most coveted of the “big four” Grammy Awards — Album Of The Year, New Artist Of The Year, Record Of The Year, and Song Of The Year — is pretty unanimously the award for Album Of The Year. This year, the field faced some pretty staunch competition, with selections from a wide variety of genres and both contemporary and legacy artists vying for the prestige that comes with a win.

The nominees included ABBA, nominated for their new album Voyage; Adele, nominated for 30, won with her last release, 25, in 2015; Bad Bunny, who has the first Spanish-language album ever to be nominated for the award in Un Verano Sin Ti; Beyoncé for Renaissance, whose album Lemonade was nominated alongside 25; Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres; Harry Styles, whose third album Harry’s House marks his first-ever Album Of The Year nomination; Kendrick Lamar, nominated for his comeback album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers; Lizzo’s Special; and Mary J. Blige, whose album Good Morning Gorgeous garnered the R&B mainstay’s first nomination since 2014 (and second overall).

And while all are worthwhile entries, only one can win. So, the 2023 Album Of The Year is Harry’s House by Harry Styles.

You can see the full list of winners for the evening here.

Loretta Lynn And Christine McVie Got Touching Tributes From Kacey Musgraves, Sheryl Crow, And Mick Fleetwood At The Grammys

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The Grammys delivered here in 2023 when it comes to musical performances during the broadcast: Performers during the show include Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, Mary J. Blige, Steve Lacy, Lizzo, Kim Petras, Sam Smith, Brandi Carlile, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Chris Stapleton, DJ Khaled, and Luke Combs. Some performances were bittersweet, though: Kacey Musgraves, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, Mick Fleetwood, and Migos’ Quavo performed in honor of Loretta Lynn, Christine McVie, and Takeoff as part of an In Memoriam tribute.

Musgraves started with an acoustic rendition of Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter” as names and photos of late music figures were displayed on the giant screens behind her. After a few more names were shown, Quavo performed “Without You,” the song he wrote in Takeoff’s memory, while wearing a Phantom Of The Opera-style half-mask. Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, and Mick Fleetwood then took the stage as a trio to perform McVie’s “Songbird.”

Crow had herself a nomination this year, as “Forever” was up for Best American Roots Song, although Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That” ended up winning. Raitt had a few other nominations beside that one: “Just Like That” is up for Song Of The Year, Just Like That… is up for Best Americana Album, and “Made Up Mind” is nominated for Best Americana Performance.

Find the full list of this year’s Grammy nominees and winners here.

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

Stevie Wonder Led A Rollicking Motown Tribute Alongside Chris Stapleton And Smokey Robinson At The 2023 Grammys

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Aside from the handing out of awards, the other major reason to watch the Grammys is for the performances, as the Recording Academy routinely recruits the brightest stars in music to take the stage. They nailed it this year, with performers including Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, Mary J. Blige, Steve Lacy, Lizzo, Kim Petras, Sam Smith, Brandi Carlile, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Chris Stapleton, DJ Khaled, and Luke Combs. There’s also a terrific cross-generational performance that just went down: Stevie Wonder took the stage with a number of guests.

“Thank you, but stop,” Wonder said to start his time on stage as the audience applauded. He then introduced his band and kicked off with a rendition of The Temptations’ “The Way You Do The Things You Do.” Smokey Robinson then joined in for his own “Tears Of A Clown” before Chris Stapleton joined in on “Higher Ground.”

Neither Wonder nor Stapleton are nominated for any Grammys this year, but both artists certainly have a history with the show. Wonder is one of the most decorated winners in Grammy history, in fact: He’s been nominated an amazing 75 times and has won 25 of them, first in 1973 with “Superstition” and “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” winning awards in 1973, and most recently in 2006, when his and Tony Bennett’s “For Once In My Life” won the Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.

Stapleton, meanwhile, has a strong Grammys winning percentage, as he’s won eight of the 17 awards for which he’s been nominated. He won three awards last year, all for material from his 2020 album Starting Over.

Find the full list of this year’s Grammy nominees and winners here.

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

The Full List Of 2023 Grammy Award Winners

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The 65th Annual Grammy Awards could prove to be historical, with a number of firsts for the award show. The Album Of The Year category has its first Spanish-language album nomination in Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti, while the BTS song “Yet To Come” is the first Korean-language song to be nominated for a Grammy (it’s up for Best Music Video).

Meanwhile, Beyoncé — the most-nominated artist at this year’s Grammys with nine nods — has matched her husband Jay-Z for most nominations ever, as well as the opportunity to become the most-awarded artist ever with just four wins.

Check out our predictions for who we think will win (and should win) in both the Big Four and Rap categories, as this list will be updated as winners are announced.

Album Of The Year

ABBA — Voyage
Adele — 30
Bad Bunny — Un Verano Sin Ti
Beyoncé — Renaissance
Brandi Carlile — In These Silent Days
Coldplay — Music Of The Spheres
Harry Styles — Harry’s House
Kendrick Lamar — Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Lizzo — Special
Mary J. Blige — Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe)

Best New Artist

Anitta
Domi & JD Beck
Latto
Måneskin
Molly Tuttle
Muni Long
Omar Apollo
Samara Joy
Tobe Nwigwe
Wet Leg

Record of the Year

ABBA — “Don’t Shut Me Down”
Adele — “Easy on Me”
Beyoncé — “Break My Soul”
Brandi Carlile Featuring Lucius — “You and Me on the Rock”
Doja Cat — “Woman”
Harry Styles — “As It Was”
Kendrick Lamar — “The Heart Part 5”
Lizzo — “About Damn Time”
Mary J. Blige — “Good Morning Gorgeous”
Steve Lacy — “Bad Habit”

Song of the Year

Adele — “Easy on Me”
Beyoncé — “Break My Soul”
Bonnie Raitt — “Just Like That”
DJ Khaled — “God Did” Feat. Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy
Gayle — “ABCDEFU”
Harry Styles — “As It Was”
Kendrick Lamar — “The Heart Part 5”
Lizzo — “About Damn Time”
Steve Lacy — “Bad Habit”
Taylor Swift — “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film)”

Best Pop Solo Performance

Adele — “Easy on Me”
Bad Bunny — “Moscow Mule”
Doja Cat — “Woman”
Harry Styles — “As It Was”
Lizzo — “About Damn Time”
Steve Lacy — “Bad Habit”

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

ABBA — “Don’t Shut Me Down”
Camila Cabello Featuring Ed Sheeran — “Bam Bam”
Coldplay & BTS — “My Universe”
Post Malone & Doja Cat — “I Like You (A Happier Song)”
Sam Smith & Kim Petras — “Unholy”

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

Diana Ross — Thank You
Kelly Clarkson — When Christmas Comes Around…
Michael Bublé — Higher
Norah Jones — I Dream of Christmas (Extended)
Pentatonix — Evergreen

Best Pop Vocal Album

ABBA — Voyage
Adele — 30
Coldplay — Music of the Spheres
Harry Styles — Harry’s House
Lizzo — Special

Best Rap Performance

DJ Khaled Featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy — “God Did”
Doja Cat — “Vegas”
Gunna & Future Featuring Young Thug — “Pushin P”
Hitkidd & Glorilla — “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)”
Kendrick Lamar — “The Heart Part 5”

Best Melodic Rap Performance

DJ Khaled Featuring Future & SZA — “Beautiful”
Future Featuring Drake & Tems — “Wait for U”
Jack Harlow — “First Class”
Kendrick Lamar Featuring Blxst & Amanda Reifer — “Die Hard”
Latto — “Big Energy (Live)”

Best Rap Song

DJ Khaled — “God Did” Feat. Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy
Future Featuring Drake & Tems — “Wait for U”
Gunna & Future Featuring Young Thug — “Pushin P”
Jack Harlow Featuring Drake — “Churchill Downs”
Kendrick Lamar — “The Heart Part 5”

Best Rap Album

DJ Khaled — God Did
Future — I Never Liked You
Jack Harlow — Come Home The Kids Miss You
Kendrick Lamar — Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Pusha T — It’s Almost Dry

Best Dance/Electronic Recording

Beyoncé — “Break My Soul”
Bonobo — “Rosewood”
David Guetta & Bebe Rexha — “I’m Good (Blue)”
Diplo & Miguel — “Don’t Forget My Love”
Kaytranada Featuring H.E.R. — “Intimidated”
Rüfüs Du Sol — “On My Knees”

Best Dance/Electronic Music Album

Beyoncé — Renaissance
Bonobo — Fragments
Diplo — Diplo
Odesza — The Last Goodbye
Rüfüs Du Sol — Surrender

Best Instrumental Composition

Danilo Pérez Featuring The Global Messengers — “Fronteras (Borders) Suite: Al-Musafir Blues”
Geoffrey Keezer — “Refuge”
Miguel Zenón, José Antonio Zayas Cabán, Ryan Smith & Casey Rafn — “El País Invisible”
Tasha Warren & Dave Eggar — “African Tales”
Tasha Warren & Dave Eggar — “Snapshots”

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella

Armand Hutton Featuring Terrell Hunt & Just 6 — “As Days Go By (An Arrangement of the Family Matters Theme Song)”
Danny Elfman — “Main Titles”
Kings Return — “How Deep Is Your Love”
Magnus Lindgren, John Beasley & The SWR Big Band Featuring Martin Auer — “Scrapple From the Apple”
Remy Le Boeuf — “Minnesota, WI”

Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals

Becca Stevens & Attacca Quartet — “2 + 2 = 5 (Arr. Nathan Schram)”
Cécile McLorin Salvant — “Optimistic Voices / No Love Dying”
Christine McVie — “Songbird (Orchestral Version)”
Jacob Collier Featuring Lizzy McAlpine & John Mayer — “Never Gonna Be Alone”
Louis Cole — “Let It Happen”

Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical

Amy Allen
Laura Veltz
Nija Charles
The-Dream
Tobias Jesso Jr.

Best Latin Pop Album

Camilo — De Adentro Pa Afuera
Christina Aguilera — Aguilera
Fonseca — Viajante
Rubén Blades & Boca Livre — Pasieros
Sebastián Yatra — Dharma +

Best Música Urbana Album

Bad Bunny — Un Verano Sin Ti
Daddy Yankee — Legendaddy
Farruko — La 167
Maluma — The Love & Sex Tape
Rauw Alejandro — Trap Cake, Vol. 2

Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album

Cimafunk — El Alimento
Fito Paez — Los Años Salvajes
Gaby Moreno — Alegoría
Jorge Drexler — Tinta y Tiempo
Mon Laferte — 1940 Carmen
Rosalía — Motomami

Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)

Chiquis — Abeja Reina
Christian Nodal — EP #1 Forajido
Marco Antonio Solís — Qué Ganas de Verte (Deluxe)
Natalia Lafourcade — Un Canto por México — El Musical
Los Tigres del Norte — La Reunión (Deluxe)

Best Tropical Latin Album

Carlos Vives — Cumbiana II
Marc Anthony — Pa’lla Voy
La Santa Cecilia — Quiero Verte Feliz
Spanish Harlem Orchestra — Imágenes Latinas
Tito Nieves — Legendario

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media

Various Artists — Elvis
Various Artists — Encanto
Various Artists — Stranger Things: Soundtrack From the Netflix Series, Season 4
Lorne Balfe, Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga & Hans Zimmer — Top Gun: Maverick
Various Artists — West Side Story

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (Includes Film and Television)

Germaine Franco — Encanto
Hans Zimmer — No Time to Die
Jonny Greenwood — The Power of the Dog
Michael Giacchino — The Batman
Nicholas Britell — Succession: Season 3

Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media

Austin Wintory — Aliens: Fireteam Elite
Bear McCreary — Call of Duty: Vanguard
Christopher Tin — Old World
Richard Jacques — Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Stephanie Economou — Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök

Best Song Written for Visual Media

Beyoncé — “Be Alive”
Carolina Gaitán, La Gaita, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz & Encanto, Cast — “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”
Jessy Wilson Featuring Angélique Kidjo — “Keep Rising (The Woman King)”
Lady Gaga — “Hold My Hand”
Taylor Swift — “Carolina”
4*Town, Jordan Fisher, Finneas O’Connell, Josh Levi, Topher Ngo & Grayson Villanueva — “Nobody Like U”

Best Comedy Album

Dave Chappelle — “The Closer”
Jim Gaffigan — “Comedy Monster”
Louis C.K. — “Sorry”
Patton Oswalt — “We All Scream”
Randy Rainbow — “A Little Brains, a Little Talent”

Best R&B Performance

Beyoncé — “Virgo’s Groove”
Jazmine Sullivan — “Hurt Me So Good”
Lucky Daye — “Over”
Mary J. Blige Featuring Anderson .Paak — “Here With Me”
Muni Long — “Hrs & Hrs”

Best Traditional R&B Performance

Adam Blackstone Featuring Jazmine Sullivan — “’Round Midnight”
Babyface Featuring Ella Mai — “Keeps on Fallin’”
Beyoncé — “Plastic Off the Sofa”
Mary J. Blige — “Good Morning Gorgeous”
Snoh Aalegra — “Do 4 Love”

Best R&B Song

Beyoncé — “Cuff It”
Jazmine Sullivan — “Hurt Me So Good”
Mary J. Blige — “Good Morning Gorgeous”
Muni Long — “Hrs & Hrs”
PJ Morton — “Please Don’t Walk Away”

Best Progressive R&B Album

Cory Henry — Operation Funk
Moonchild — Starfuit
Steve Lacy — Gemini Rights
Tank and the Bangas — Red Balloon
Terrace Martin — Drones

Best R&B Album

Chris Brown — Breezy (Deluxe)
Lucky Daye — Candy Drip
Mary J. Blige — Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe)
PJ Morton — Watch the Sun
Robert Glasper — Black Radio III

Best Music Video

Adele — “Easy on Me”
BTS — “Yet to Come”
Doja Cat — “Woman”
Harry Styles — “As It Was”
Kendrick Lamar — “The Heart Part 5”
Taylor Swift — “All Too Well: The Short Film”

Best Music Film

Adele — Adele One Night Only
Billie Eilish — Billie Eilish Live at the O2
Justin Bieber — Our World
Neil Young & Crazy Horse — A Band a Brotherhood a Barn
Rosalía — Motomami (Rosalía TikTok Live Performance)
Various Artists — Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story

Best Alternative Music Performance

Arctic Monkeys — “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball”
Big Thief — “Certainty”
Florence and the Machine — “King”
Wet Leg — “Chaise Longue”
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Featuring Perfume Genius — “Spitting Off the Edge of the World”

Best Alternative Music Album

Arcade Fire — We
Big Thief — Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
Björk — Fossora
Wet Leg — Wet Leg
Yeah Yeah Yeahs — Cool It Down

Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album

Cheryl B. Engelhardt — The Passenger
Madi Das, Dave Stringer & Bhakti Without Borders — Mantra Americana
Mystic Mirror — White Sun
Paul Avgerinos — Joy
Will Ackerman — Positano Songs

Best Children’s Music Album

Alphabet Rockers — The Movement
Divinity Roxx — Ready Set Go!
Justin Roberts — Space Cadet
Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band — Los Fabulosos
Wendy and DB — Into the Little Blue House

Best Recording Package

Fann — Telos
Soporus — Divers
Spiritualized — Everything Was Beautiful
Tamsui-Kavalan Chinese Orchestra — Beginningless Beginning
Underoath — Voyeurist

Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package

Black Pumas — Black Pumas (Collector’s Edition Box Set)
Danny Elfman — Big Mess
The Grateful Dead — In and Out of the Garden: Madison Square Garden ’81, ’82, ’83
They Might Be Giants — Book
Various Artists — Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined

Best Album Notes

Andy Irvine & Paul Brady — Andy Irvine / Paul Brady
Astor Piazzolla — The American Clavé Recordings
Doc Watson — Life’s Work: A Retrospective
Harry Partch — Harry Partch, 1942
Wilco — Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition)

Best Historical Album

Blondie — Against the Odds: 1974 — 1982
Doc Watson — Life’s Work: A Retrospective
Freestyle Fellowship — To Whom It May Concern…
Glenn Gould — The Goldberg Variations: The Complete Unreleased 1981 Studio Sessions
Wilco — Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition)

Best Improvised Jazz Solo

Ambrose Akinmusire — “Rounds (Live)”
Gerald Albright — “Keep Holding On”
John Beasley — “Cherokee/Koko”
Marcus Baylor — “Call of the Drum”
Melissa Aldana — “Falling”
Wayne Shorter & Leo Genovese — “Endangered Species”

Best Jazz Vocal Album

The Baylor Project — The Evening : Live at Apparatus
Carmen Lundy — Fade to Black
Cécile McLorin Salvant — Ghost Song
The Manhattan Transfer & The WDR Funkhausorchester — Fifty
Samara Joy — Linger Awhile

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride & Brian Blade — LongGone
Peter Erskine Trio — Live in Italy
Terri Lyne Carrington, Kris Davis, Linda May Han Oh, Nicholas Payton & Matthew Stevens — New Standards, Vol. 1
Wayne Shorter, Terri Lyne Carrington, Leo Genovese & Esperanza Spalding — Live at the Detroit Jazz Festival
Yellowjackets — Parallel Motion

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

John Beasley, Magnus Lindgren & SWR Big Band — Bird Lives
Remy Le Boeuf’s Assembly of Shadows — Architecture of Storms
Ron Carter & The Jazzaar Festival Big Band Directed by Christian Jacob — Remembering Bob Freedman
Steve Gadd, Eddie Gomez, Ronnie Cuber & WDR Big Band Conducted by Michael Abene — Center Stage
Steven Feifke, Bijon Watson & Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra — Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra

Best Latin Jazz Album

Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra Featuring The Congra Patria Son Jarocho Collective — Fandango at the Wall in New York
Arturo Sandoval — Rhythm & Soul
Danilo Pérez Featuring The Global Messengers — Crisálida
Flora Purim — If You Will
Miguel Zenón — Música de las Américas

Best Reggae Album

Kabaka Pyramid — The Kalling
Koffee — Gifted
Protoje — Third Time’s the Charm
Sean Paul — Scorcha
Shaggy — Com Fly Wid Mi

Best Global Music Performance

Arooj Aftab & Anoushka Shankar — “Udhero Na”
Burna Boy — “Last Last”
Matt B & Eddy Kenzo — “Gimme Love”
Rocky Dawuni Featuring Blvk H3ro — “Neva Bow Down”
Wouter Kellerman, Zakes Bantwini & Nomcebo Zikode — “Bayethe”

Best Global Music Album

Angélique Kidjo & Ibrahim Maalouf — Queen of Sheba
Anoushka Shankar, Metropole Orkest & Jules Buckley Featuring Manu Delago — Between Us… (Live)
Berklee Indian Ensemble — Shuruaat
Burna Boy — Love, Damini
Masa Takumi — Sakura

Best American Roots Performance

Aaron Neville & The Dirty Dozen Brass Band — “Stompin’ Ground”
Aoife O’Donovan & Allison Russell — “Prodigal Daughter”
Bill Anderson Featuring Dolly Parton — “Someday It’ll All Make Sense (Bluegrass Version)”
Fantastic Negrito — “Oh Betty”
Madison Cunningham — “Life According to Raechel”

Best Americana Performance

Asleep at the Wheel Featuring Lyle Lovett — “There You Go Again”
Blind Boys of Alabama Featuring Black Violin — “The Message”
Bonnie Raitt — “Made Up Mind”
Brandi Carlile Featuring Lucius — “You and Me on the Rock”
Eric Alexandrakis — “Silver Moon [A Tribute to Michael Nesmith]”

Best American Roots Song

Anaïs Mitchell — “Bright Star”
Aoife O’Donovan & Allison Russell — “Prodigal Daughter”
Bonnie Raitt — “Just Like That”
Brandi Carlile Featuring Lucius — “You and Me on the Rock”
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss — “High and Lonesome”
Sheryl Crow — “Forever”

Best Americana Album

Bonnie Raitt — Just Like That…
Brandi Carlile — In These Silent Days
Dr. John — Things Happen That Way
Keb’ Mo’ — Good to Be…
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss — Raise the Roof

Best Bluegrass Album

The Del McCoury Band — Almost Proud
The Infamous Stringdusters — Toward the Fray
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway — Crooked Tree
Peter Rowan — Calling You From My Mountain
Yonder Mountain String Band — Get Yourself Outside

Best Traditional Blues Album

Buddy Guy — The Blues Don’t Lie
Charlie Musselwhite — Mississippi Son
Gov’t Mule — Heavy Load Blues
John Mayall — The Sun Is Shining Down
Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder — Get on Board

Best Contemporary Blues Album

Ben Harper — Bloodline Maintenance
Edgar Winter — Brother Johnny
Eric Gales — Crown
North Mississippi Allstars — Set Sail
Shemekia Copeland — Done Come Too Far

Best Folk Album

Aoife O’Donovan — Age of Apathy
Janis Ian — The Light at the End of the Line
Judy Collins — Spellbound
Madison Cunningham — Revealer
Punch Brothers — Hell on Church Street

Best Regional Roots Music Album

Halau Hula Keali’i o Nalani — Halau Hula Keali’i o Nalani (Live at the Getty Center)
Natalie Ai Kamauu — Natalie Noelani
Nathan & The Zydeco Cha-Chas — Lucky Man
Ranky Tanky — Live at the 2022 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Sean Ardoin & Kreole Rock and Soul Featuring The Golden Band From Tigerland — Full Circle

Best Orchestral Performance

Berlin Philharmonic & John Williams — “John Williams: The Berlin Concert”
Los Angeles Philharmonic & Gustavo Dudamel — “Dvořák: Symphonies Nos. 7-9”
New York Youth Symphony — “Works by Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, Valerie Coleman”
Various Artists — “Sila: The Breath of the World”
Wild Up & Christopher Rountree — “Stay on It”

Best Opera Recording

Boston Modern Orchestra Project & Odyssey Opera Chorus — Anthony Davis: X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & The Metropolitan Opera Chorus — Blanchard: Fire Shut Up in My Bones
The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & The Metropolitan Opera Chorus — Eurydice

Best Choral Performance

The Crossing — “Born”
English Baroque Soloists & Monteverdi Choir — “J.S. Bach: St. John Passion, BWV 245”
The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, The Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Ailyn Pérez, Michelle DeYoung, Matthew Polenzani & Eric Owens — “Verdi’s Requiem: The Met Remembers 9/11”

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

Attacca Quartet — “Caroline Shaw: Evergreen”
Dover Quartet — “Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 2 – The Middle Quartets”
Neave Trio — “Musical Remembrances”
Publiquartet — “What Is American”
Third Coast Percussion — “Perspectives”

Best Classical Instrumental Solo

Daniil Trifonov — “Bach: The Art of Life”
Hilary Hahn — “Abels: Isolation Variation”
Mak Grgić — “A Night in Upper Town — The Music of Zoran Krajacic”
Mitsuko Uchida — “Beethoven: Diabelli Variations”
Time for Three, The Philadelphia Orchestra & Xian Zhang — “Letters for the Future”

Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

Il Pomo d’Oro — Eden
Nicholas Phan, Brooklyn Rider, The Knights & Eric Jacobsen — Stranger — Works for Tenor by Nico Muhly
Renée Fleming & Yannick Nézet-Séguin — Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene
Sasha Cooke & Kirill Kuzmin — How Do I Find You
Will Liverman, Paul Sánchez & J’Nai Bridges — Shawn E. Okpebholo: Lord, How Come Me Here?

Best Classical Compendium

Christopher Tin, Voces8, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Barnaby Smith — The Lost Birds
Kitt Wakeley — An Adoption Story
The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Yannick Nézet-Séguin — A Concert for Ukraine
Seunghee Lee, JP Jofre & London Symphony Orchestra — Aspire

Best Contemporary Classical Composition

Andris Nelsons & Gewandhausorchester — Gubaidulina: The Wrath of God
Carlos Simon, MK Zulu, Marco Pavé & Hub New Music — Simon: Requiem for the Enslaved
Ian Rosenbaum & Dover Quartet — Akiho: Ligneous Suite
Jack Quartet — Bermel: Intonations
Time for Three, The Philadelphia Orchestra & Xian Zhang — Puts: Contact

Best Country Solo Performance

Kelsea Ballerini — “Heartfirst”
Maren Morris — “Circles Around This Town”
Miranda Lambert — “In His Arms”
Willie Nelson — “Live Forever”
Zach Bryan — “Something in the Orange”

Best Country Duo/Group Performance

Brothers Osborne — “Midnight Rider’s Prayer”
Carly Pearce & Ashley McBryde — “Never Wanted to Be That Girl”
Ingrid Andress & Sam Hunt — “Wishful Drinking”
Luke Combs & Miranda Lambert — “Outrunnin’ Your Memory”
Reba McEntire & Dolly Parton — “Does He Love You (Revisited)”
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss — “Gonig Where the Lonely Go”

Best Country Song

Cody Johnson — ’Til You Can’t”
Luke Combs — “Doin’ This”
Maren Morris — “Circles Around This Town”
Miranda Lambert — “If I Was a Cowboy”
Taylor Swift — “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”
Willie Nelson — “I’ll Love You Till the Day I Die”

Best Country Album

Ashley McBryde — Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville
Luke Combs — Growin’ Up
Maren Morris — Humble Quest
Miranda Lambert — Palomino
Willie Nelson — A Beautiful Time

Best Rock Performance

Beck — “Old Man”
The Black Keys — “Wild Child”
Brandi Carlile — “Broken Horses”
Bryan Adams — “So Happy It Hurts”
Idles — “Crawl!”
Ozzy Osbourne Featuring Jeff Beck — “Patient Number 9”
Turnstile — “Holiday”

Best Metal Performance

Ghost — “Call Me Little Sunshine”
Megadeth — “We’ll Be Back”
Muse — “Kill or Be Killed”
Ozzy Osbourne Featuring Tony Iommi — “Degradation Rules”
Turnstile — “Blackout”

Best Rock Song

Brandi Carlile — “Broken Horses”
Ozzy Osbourne Featuring Jeff Beck — “Patient Number 9”
Red Hot Chili Peppers — “Black Summer”
Turnstile — “Blackout”
The War on Drugs — “Harmonia’s Dream”

Best Rock Album

The Black Keys — Dropout Boogie
Elvis Costello & The Imposters — The Boy Named If
Idles — Crawler
Machine Gun Kelly — Mainstream Sellout
Ozzy Osbourne — Patient Number 9
Spoon — Lucifer on the Sofa

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album

Brad Mehldau — Jacob’s Ladder
Domi & JD Beck — Not Tight
Grant Geissman — Blooz
Jeff Coffin — Between Dreaming and Joy
Snarky Puppy — Empire Central

Best Gospel Performance/Song

Doe — “When I Pray”
Erica Campbell — “Positive”
Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin — “Kingdom”
PJ Morton Featuring Zacardi Cortez, Gene Moore, Samoht, Tim Rogers & Darrel Walls — “The Better Benediction”
Tye Tribbett — Get Up”

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song

Chris Tomlin — “Holy Forever”
Crowder & Dante Bowe Featuring Maverick City Music — “God Really Loves Us (Radio Version)”
Doe — “So Good”
For King & Country & Hillary Scott — “For God Is With Us”
Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin — “Fear Is Not My Future”
Phil Wickham — “Hymn of Heaven (Radio Version)”

Best Gospel Album

Doe — Clarity
Maranda Curtis — Die to Live
Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin — Kingdom Book One (Deluxe)
Ricky Dillard — Breakthrough: The Exodus (Live)
Tye Tribbett — All Things New

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album

Anne Wilson — My Jesus
Chris Tomlin — Always
Elevation Worship — Lion
Maverick City Music — Breathe
TobyMac — Life After Death

Best Roots Gospel Album

Gaither Vocal Band — Let’s Just Praise the Lord
Karen Peck & New River — 2:22
Keith & Kristyn Getty — Confessio — Irish American Roots
Tennessee State University — The Urban Hymnal
Willie Nelson — The Willie Nelson Family

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical

Baynk — Adolescence
Father John Misty — Chloë and the Next 20th Century
Harry Styles — Harry’s House
Robert Glasper — Black Radio III
Wet Leg — Wet Leg

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

Boi-1da
Dahi
Dan Auerbach
Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II
Jack Antonoff

Best Remixed Recording

Beyoncé — “Break My Soul (Terry Hunter Remix)”
Ellie Goulding — “Easy Lover (Four Tet Remix)”
The Knocks & Dragonette — “Slow Song (Paul Woolford Remix)”
Lizzo — “About Damn Time (Purple Disco Machine Remix)”
Wet Leg — “Too Late Now (Soulwax Remix)”

Best Immersive Audio Album

Anita Brevik, Nidarosdomens Jentekor & Trondheimsolistene — Tuvayhun — Beatitudes for a Wounded World
The Chainsmokers — Memories…Do Not Open
Christina Aguilera — Aguilera
Jane Ira Bloom — Picturing the Invisible: Focus 1
Stewart Copeland & Ricky Kej — Divine Tides

Best Engineered Album, Classical

Anita Brevik, Nidarosdomens Jentekor & Trondheimsolistene — Tuvayhun — Beatitudes for a Wounded World
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Boston Symphony Orchestra & John Williams — Williams: Violin Concerto No. 2 & Selected Film Themes
Edwin Outwater & Chicago Symphony Orchestra — Mason Bates: Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra & Manfred Honeck — Beethoven & Stucky: Orchestral Works
Third Coast Percussion — Perspectives

Producer of the Year, Classical

Christoph Franke
Elaine Martone
James Ginsburg
Jonathan Allen
Judith Sherman

Best Musical Theater Album

Original Broadway Cast — A Strange Loop
New Broadway Cast — Caroline, or Change
Into the Woods 2022 Broadway Cast — Into the Woods (2022 Broadway Cast Recording)
Original Broadway Cast — MJ the Musical
Mr. Saturday Night Original Cast — Mr. Saturday Night
Original Broadway Cast — Six: Live on Opening Night

Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording

Jamie Foxx — Act Like You Got Some Sense
Lin-Manuel Miranda — Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World
Mel Brooks — All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business
Questlove — Music Is History
Viola Davis — Finding Me

Best Spoken Word Poetry Album

Amanda Gorman — Call Us What We Carry: Poems
Amir Sulaiman — You Will Be Someone’s Ancestor. Act Accordingly
Ethelbert Miller — Black Men Are Precious
J. Ivy — The Poet Who Sat by the Door
Malcolm-Jamal Warner — Hiding in Plain View

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

Spotify’s Best New Artist Event Showcased The 2023 Grammy Nominees’ Diverse Talent

by
anitta, maneksin, latto
Getty Image/Ralph Ordaz

It’s no secret that the Recording Academy has faced a diversity problem for many years. This time around, they’ve made some intentional inclusive strides. This year, they invited about “2,000 diverse music creators and professionals” into the voting process — according to CEO Harvey Mason Jr. — nearly half of whom are under the age of 40. Another key change the Recording Academy has made to the Grammys is expanding their major categories to include ten nominees. That’s double the number of nominees they had four years ago, allowing musicians of many different genres to earn much-deserved recognition.

That means there are ten artists up for the coveted Best New Artist trophy in 2023, and Spotify’s Best New Artist showcase placed the category’s diversity on full display. The event brought all ten artists to the stage — Anitta, Omar Apollo, Domi & JD Beck, Muni Long, Samara Joy, Latto, Måneskin, Tobe Nwigwe, Molly Tuttle, and Wet Leg — at Los Angeles’ Pacific Design Center on Thursday, February 2nd. Each musician was able to give the audience a taste of their talent, and each performance was wildly different from the last.

The night kicked off with an intimate set from Domi & DJ Beck. The young duo, who are 22 and 19 respectively, juxtaposed their smooth, jazz-leaning sound with their brightly colored personal style. Samara Joy kept the loungey jazz going by showing off her entrancing vocals and putting her own unique spin on a cover of Adele’s “Someone Like You.” Americana folk rocker Molly Tuttle wow’d with her hit track “Crooked Trees,” joined by an adept banjo player and an upright bass guitarist. Tobe Nwigwe and his entourage made clever use of the stage by dressing in matching mint green outfits and enticing the crowd to harmonize before Omar Apollo similarly led a tender sing-along to his soulful number “Evergreen.”

When it came time for overseas rock, Måneskin and indie rock favorites Wet Leg did not disappoint. Italian Eurovision Song Contest winners Måneskin exuded the cool factor, making the audience forget they were in a small venue and not witnessing a stadium tour. Wet Leg closed out the night in a similar fashion, hyping up the crowd with a rendition of “Chaise Longe” that inspired a small-but-mighty mosh pit.

Spotify’s event also allowed attendees to see how a handful of the Best New Artist nominees aren’t just musicians, they’re seasoned performers. Anitta, Muni Long, and Latto made use of the entire stage with a crew of talented backup dancers. Long, a Def Jam signee whose track “Hrs & Hrs” had viral stint on TikTok, brought four male dancers to the stage to deliver moves reminiscent of the ’90s boyband era. Anitta also brought the energy. Though the Brazilian pop star is used to gracing massive festival stages across the world, she still managed to deliver a show-stopping performance to the (relatively) small crowd with tracks like “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Envolver.”

From rap and Latin pop to bluegrass, jazz, and stadium rock, the 2023 Best New Artist category is nothing if not varied in sound. And no matter who ends up taking home the category’s trophy on Sunday, Spotify’s Best New Artist party made one thing clear: The Recording Academy is making an effort celebrate music from all genres equally.

See the full list of 2023 Grammy nominees here.

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