Between the pandemic and the barrage of artists criticizing them, the past few months have presented challenges to the Recording Academy. Despite all the hurdles they faced, though, they managed to put on a Grammys broadcast this year that was imperfect but still quite entertaining and about as good as could be done given the circumstances.
As was probably expected, the broadcast had fewer viewers than usual, as has been typical with big events during the pandemic; This year’s Super Bowl had its lowest ratings in over a decade. The Grammys also experienced a drop-off and it was significant.
Variety reports that per Nielsen Live+Same Day fast-affiliate numbers, the show had an average of 7.88 million viewers, earning a 1.9 rating with adults 18 to 49. That makes this year’s show the lowest-rated in Grammy history. For reference, last year’s Grammys managed to draw 18.7 million viewers and achieve a 5.4 rating in the aforementioned demographic.
The publication also notes that these numbers are not final and that final figures that take into account live West Coast viewing will be available soon. With that in mind, the final figure is expected to rise by about 15 to 20 percent in the official national ratings. That said, even if the 7.88 million viewer count rises by 20 percent (the generous end of the estimate), that would elevate it to about 9.46 million viewers, which is still around half of the count of 2020 Grammy viewers.
At every Grammy Awards ceremony, there are winners and losers.
Here, though, “loser” is a relative term. If you’re an artist who is doing so well that you’re at the Grammys at all, it’s hard to imagine that you’re anything but a winner. That said, if you’re particularly confrontational, “loser” might be what you call somebody who was nominated for an award and did not win that award. On the flip side, you could say that some artists didn’t lose: they won the right to keep their title of nominee (at the cost of not getting promoted to winner).
Then there are cases where you don’t need to glass-half-full the truth to declare somebody was a winner, whether they went home with a trophy or two or otherwise excelled during music’s biggest night. Last night’s Grammys ceremony was full of people who had different levels of success, so let’s get into who thrived and who didn’t quite do that, as well as who offered some of the evening’s biggest surprises.
Winner: Megan Thee Stallion
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Meg had one of the best winning percentages of the night, taking home three of the four Grammys for which she was nominated — she won Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song (both for “Savage”), and Best New Artist, but didn’t claim Record Of The Year.
Outside of the awards themselves, Meg was notary-like with how she put her stamp on the evening. She and Cardi B made more modest-minded music admirers mad with a performance of “WAP” (more on that in a second). Even the Grammy Meg didn’t win, she kind of did win it. While Billie Eilish accepted the Record Of The Year trophy, she got behind the podium and mostly spoke about how Meg should have won it instead of her.
Loser: The structural integrity of “WAP”
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It’s true that “WAP” was probably the biggest song of 2020. It’s also true that it wasn’t made for TV (or for any audible medium at all, according to Ben Shapiro). So, when it was revealed that Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion would be performing the hit during the Grammys broadcast, fans were ready to see a non-insignificant portion of the song left on the cutting room floor. That was true to the extreme. The lyric sheet for this version of the track looked like a brand new Madlibs book. I’m sure Cardi and Meg did all they could to bring “WAP” to the Grammys and they still delivered an entertaining few minutes of television, but the performance came across like they didn’t secure the rights to the song, so they got as close to actually performing it as they could without getting into legal trouble.
Loser: Jhené Aiko
As is tradition, the Grammys took a very long time. Even before the actual ceremony, there was the also-lengthy Grammy premiere ceremony, which the Recording Academy roped Aiko into hosting. Between that and the actual show, it was a long, grueling day for Aiko and she didn’t even end up winning any of the three Grammys for which she was nominated.
Thankfully, Aiko is an optimist. The hosting gig was a personal triumph for Aiko, as she wrote on Twitter, “i conquered a major fear of public speaking today by hosting the freaking Grammy Premiere Ceremony!!” She was even cool with not taking home a trophy, as she tweeted, “i know what its like to lose… do u? do u?! lol,” later adding, “what a crazy day! but its all good. love you all so much.”
i conquered a major fear of public speaking today by hosting the freaking Grammy Premiere Ceremony!! thank you @RecordingAcad for having me!! see u at the show after i take this lil cat nap
In some ways, the Grammys are a popularity contest: If some no-name (not Noname) from the middle of nowhere made one of the year’s best songs, they’re probably not going to win a Grammy for it. The Recording Academy further proved that with their pick for Song Of The Year, as HER took home the prize over people like Beyonce, Roddy Ricch, Taylor Swift, Post Malone, Dua Lipa, and Billie Eilish. While HER is certainly a successful artist and “I Can’t Breathe” is an impactful song built on meaningful social justice themes, she’s not exactly a household name and her victory certainly left many viewers feeling like Michael Bluth:
Winners: Fans of normalcy
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Over the past year-plus, pretty much every aspect has been entirely different than it was pre-pandemic. That includes The Grammys, but the fact that the ceremony even happened at all is a grounding force. Yes, the show wasn’t really like previous broadcasts in any way, but it was also as close to normal as any sort of live music event has been since early 2020. Considering the circumstances, the Recording Academy excelled with their broadcast. Delayed ceremony aside, one thing music fans have been able to count on towards the start of the year is finding out what music and artists the Recording Academy “secret commitees” deserve to be honored, for better or worse.
Losers: Fans of normalcy
That said, the whole thing was a bit weird, right? During performances, there were probably too many cuts to Trevor Noah and other artists in the room to forcefully drive home the point that everybody was actually there IRL. Those shots just hit different when it’s just one or two people side-stage instead of a big seated audience. Then, when the performances were done, the golf-level applause didn’t make the Grammys seem as epic as they usually do. Going the NBA route and piping in artificial fan noise wouldn’t have been a bad move.
The Recording Academy faced an impossible problem, but they still managed to put on a functional and entertaining show that offered plenty of highlights and made you forget this is an atypical Grammy year. Ultimately, though, it often felt less than grand, which, again, is really nobody’s fault.
Winner: Performance aesthetics
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Sure, let’s flip this topic of Grammy normalcy around one more time. Usually, artists and their crews only have a few minutes to get an elaborate performance set-up onto the singular Grammy stage at the Staples Center. This year, though, the set-up made things different, arguably better. The multiple stages on-site allowed for performers to get their own look going in their own space, all with minimal time between performances. In an aesthetic highlight, Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, and Aaron Dessner were all able to take to a mini cabin in a mystical-looking forest, for example, it feels like that something that gorgeous may not have been possible in a traditional Grammy year. Lil Baby’s cinematic performance that addressed police brutality definitely wouldn’t have been an eighth as impactful on a traditional stage.
Surprise: Jojo Rabbit
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Taika Waititi himself would agree with this pick, as it seemed like he didn’t really expect the Jojo Rabbit soundtrack to win Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media over films like Frozen 2 and Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga. Waititi offered a simple “Lol wtfffff” on Twitter in reaction to the news, and during his acceptance speech, he noted, “I guess they’re just giving Grammys to anyone now! I’ll take it, thank you.” He went on, “It was so long ago, I can barely remember anything about making that movie — but it seems like it’s never going to go away, and I’m happy about that.”
So, if you don’t remember the Jojo Rabbit soundtrack, it’s OK because Waititi probably doesn’t either.
Winner/Loser: Masks
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Whether this is a winner or loser is a matter of perspective. Audience shots at awards shows are usually the most fruitful vine from which to pluck plump, dank memes of celebrities who didn’t expect the camera to be on them at a share-worthy moment. In that regard, music fans and internet jokesters lose. Masks could be seen as a major victory for artists who didn’t pick up a trophy, though, considering a wearable specifically made to cover the lower half of your face makes it a heck of a lot easier to hide your disappointment when you come away from a category empty-handed. Frustrated cursing no longer has to be under your breath!
Winner: The entire Carter family
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The Beyhive would never let me hear the end of it if I declared Beyonce a loser, so thankfully, she had an amazing night. For years, she has been climbing up the all-time Grammy wins list, and she made history this year by picking up more trophies to become the woman and singer with the most Grammy victories.
That would have been enough to get her on this list, but that was just one aspect of a multi-pronged night for Bey. She and Megan Thee Stallion became the first women to win Best Rap Performance with “Savage,” and on top of that, her daughter Blue Ivy managed to become one of the youngest Grammy winners ever. Jay-Z was the only member of his immediate family to not directly win a Grammy this year, except even that’s not quite true since he has a writing credit on the “Savage” remix.
So, in what was perhaps the least surprising takeaway from the evening (or from any day, really), the Carter family is doing quite well.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
It appeared yesterday that a cryptic video Paul McCartney shared was teasing upcoming collaborations with Anderson .Paak, Phoebe Bridgers, Idris Elba, EOB (Ed O’Brien), Dominic Fike, St. Vincent, Damon Albarn, Beck, Khruangbin, Josh Homme, 3D RDN (of Massive Attack), and Blood Orange. Today, he has confirmed that to be the case: He is releasing a reworked version of his 2020 album, McCartney III, titled McCartney III Imagined, which features contributions from the aforementioned artists.
Tracks from the original album have been covered and/or otherwise reimagined by the guest artists and McCartney kicked things off today by sharing Fike’s rendition of “The Kiss Of Venus,” which he transformed from an acoustic ballad to an R&B jam.
During a Reddit AMA from December, McCartney cited Fike and other artists involved in McCartney III Imagined as modern performers he listens to, writing, “I’m lucky, I have a friend who sends me new music which helps me keep in touch with the modern scene. So I listen to people like Dominic Fike, Beck, St Vincent and Khruangbin. I also listen to a lot of classic oldies coming through, from rock n’ roll to 60’s to soul to R’n’B, with a sprinkling of classical music now and then.”
Listen to Fike’s “The Kiss Of Venus” cover above and check out the McCartney III Imagined art and tracklist below.
Capitol Records
1. “Find My Way (feat. Beck)”
2. “The Kiss Of Venus (Dominic Fike)”
3. “Pretty Boys (feat. Khruangbin)”
4. “Women And Wives (St. Vincent Remix)”
5. “Deep Down (Blood Orange Remix)”
6. “Seize The Day (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)”
7. “Slidin’ (EOB Remix)”
8. “Long Tailed Winter Bird (Damon Albarn Remix)”
9. “Lavatory Lil (Josh Homme)”
10. “When Winter Comes (Anderson .Paak Remix)”
11. “Deep Deep Feeling (3D RDN Remix)”
12. “Long Tailed Winter Bird (Idris Elba Remix)”*
* physical release exclusive track
McCartney III Imagined is out 4/16 via Capitol Records. Pre-order it here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The Weeknd was somehow not nominated for any Grammy Awards this year, a fact from which he says he’s moved on. So while The Weeknd won’t get any wins this weekend, the ceremony was preceded by some good news for the Canadian artist: The Juno Awards, Canada’s biggest music awards ceremony, revealed their list of 2021 nominees today. Unlike the Grammys, The Weeknd leads the pack with six nominations.
The Weeknd and his work are up for Juno Fan Choice, Single Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Artist Of The Year, Songwriter Of The Year, and Contemporary R&B Recording Of The Year. Other artists to score big include Justin Bieber, Jessie Reyez, and JP Saxe, who each have five nominations.
The ceremony is set to take place on May 16. In the meantime, check out the nominees in the major categories below and find the full list of nominees here.
Juno Fan Choice
Ali Gatie
Curtis Waters
JP Saxe
Justin Bieber
Lennon Stella
Les Cowboys Fringants
Nav
Shawn Mendes
Tate McRae
The Weeknd
Single Of The Year
“Drink About Me” — Brett Kissel
“If The World Was Ending” Feat. Julia Michaels — JP Saxe
“Intentions” Feat. Quavo — Justin Bieber
“Kissing Other People” — Lennon Stella
“Blinding Lights” — The Weeknd
Album Of The Year You — Ali Gatie Courage — Céline Dion Changes — Justin Bieber Thanks For The Dance — Leonard Cohen After Hours — The Weeknd
Artist Of The Year
Ali Gatie
Celine Dion
Jessie Reyez
Justin Bieber
The Weeknd
Group Of The Year
Arkells
Half Moon Run
Loud Luxury
The Glorious Sons
The Reklaws
Breakthrough Artist Of The Year
Curtis Waters
JP Saxe
Powfu
Ryland James
Tate McRae
Breakthrough Group Of The Year
2Freres
Crown Lands
Manila Grey
Peach Pit
Young Bombs
Songwriter Of The Year
Alanis Morissette — “Ablaze,” “Reasons I Drink,” “Smiling”
Alessia Cara — “Hell and High Water
Jessie Reyez — “Coffin,” “Before Love Came To Kill Us,”
“Far Away,” “No One’s In The Room”
JP Saxe — “A Little Bit Yours” “Golf On TV,” “If The World Was Ending”
The Weeknd — “After Hours,” “Blinding Lights,” “Save Your Tears”
French Language Album Of The Year A tous les vents — 2Freres Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs — Klo Pelgag Les antipodes — Les Cowboys Fringants Quand la nuit tombe — Louis-Jean Cormier Pour dejouer l’ennui — Pierre Lapointe
Rap Recording Of The Year New Mania — 88GLAM Baby Gravy — 2 Bbno$ & Yung Gravy Baby Cold World — Eric Reprid Good Intentions — Nav Elements Vol. 1 — Tobi
Indigenous Artist Or Group Of The Year
Kîyânaw
The Ridge
North Star Calling
Nunarjua Isulinginniani
Contemporary R&B Recording Of The Year
“Before Love Came To Kill Us” — Jessie Reyez
“Where You Are” — Savannah Ré
“After Hours” — The Weeknd
“Holiday” — Tobi
Producer Of The Year
Akeel Henry
Jordon Manswell
Kaytranada
Murda Beatz
WondaGurl
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Well… we’re finally here. After a brief postponement, the 63rd annual Grammy Awards will be taking place on Sunday, March 14. As with many awards shows nowadays, things will be presented a bit differently than we’re used to. Per The Recording Academy’s website, there will be a virtual red carpet ceremony and premiere ceremony, where artists like Burna Boy, Lido Pimienta, Rufus Wainwright, and more will perform.
The circumstances don’t negate the ceremony’s esteem, however, and some of the biggest names in music could take home some serious hardware. Given The Recording Academy’s commitment to diversifying their business and the industry at large, there are a handful of exciting nominations and possibly historic wins music fans may be treated to this year. They say “it’s an honor to be nominated,” and that certainly rings true this time around.
Read on to discover some major nomination moments and potential milestones that the 2021 Grammys hold.
Legendary Nominations
The Biggest Pool Of Potential Honorees
There were 23,207 entries submitted for nomination consideration this time around, which is more than ever before. After the nominations were announced in November, Recording Academy Chair and Interim President/CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said that this year’s honorees are “proof that the creative spirit continues to be alive and well.”
Women Rule Country and Rock
Here’s a first: never before in the history of the Grammys have there been only women or women-fronted acts nominated in the Best Rock Performance and Best Country Album categories. Phoebe Bridgers, Fiona Apple, Brittany Howard, Grace Potter, HAIM, and Big Thief are up for Best Rock Performance, while Ingrid Andress, Brandy Clark, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde and Little Big Town could win the Best Country Album honor.
Best New Artists Bring Heavy Representation
Even more exciting: every nominee in the Best New Artist category is either a woman or a person of color. They include country singer Ingrid Andress, indie rock singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, rapper Chika, alternative act Noah Cyrus, rapper D Smoke, rapper/singer Doja Cat, deejay/producer Kaytranada, and rapper Megan Thee Stallion.
BTS Breaks Barriers
BTS is the first K-Pop act and the first South Korean group to be recognized by the Recording Academy. They are nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category for the 2021 ceremony, thanks to their song “Dynamite.”
The Potential Milestones
Taylor Goes For Three
If Folklore goes home with an Album Of The Year win, Taylor Swift would become the first woman to win the honor three times. Previously, Swift won the night’s top award in 2010 for Fearless and in 2016 for 1989. She would join Stevie Wonder and Frank Sinatra as the third solo artist in history to achieve the feat. (Paul Simon has won Album Of The Year three times, but one of those wins came for a Simon & Garfunkel album.)
Queen Bey Watches The Throne(s)
After securing nine nominations this year, Beyoncé became the second-most nominated artist in Grammy history, tying with Sir Paul McCartney. (The only other musicians with more nominations are Quincy Jones and her husband JAY-Z, who are tied for first.) If Bey wins three of those gramophones, she ties with bluegrass musician Alison Krauss for the most wins by a female artist in the show’s history. (If she wins four, of course, that means the record now belongs to her.) We also have to mention that her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, is up for a “Best Music Video” nomination for her appearance in “Brown Skin Girl.” If the video wins, Blue would become one of the youngest Grammy winners ever.
Potential Sister Success
Haim’s Women In Music, Pt. III is up for Album Of The Year. If the group wins the night’s biggest honor, they’d be the first all-female group in 15 years to win the award. The last time this was achieved was at the 49th ceremony in 2006, when The Chicks’ Taking The Long Way nabbed the win. This would also be the first time since then that sisters would be winning Album Of The Year together. (Haim’s members are all sisters, while Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Strayer from The Chicks are sisters.)
Dua and Posty’s Potential Big Three Wins
Dua Lipa and Post Malone have the potential to join an exclusive squad of just eight musicians who have won Album, Record and Song Of The Year in the same night. (Paul Simon, Carole King, Christopher Cross, Eric Clapton, Dixie Chicks, Bruno Mars, Billie Eilish, and Adele, twice.) Dua’s Future Nostalgia and “Don’t Start Now” and Post’s Hollywood’s Bleeding and “Circles” are up for the honors.
Female Rappers May Reign Supreme
If either Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, or Chika wins in the Best New Artist category, she will become the first female rapper to win in 22 years, and just the second to win (after Lauryn Hill). Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea were nominated in the category in 2012 and 2015, while genre-bending musician Lizzo, who began her career rapping and singing, was nominated in 2020.
Roddy Ricch and Megan Thee Stallion’s Groundbreaking Chances
There are a few possible milestones wins in the Best Rap Song category. If Roddy Ricch wins for “The Box,” he will be the youngest recipient of the award. (He is 22 years old.) If Megan Thee Stallion wins Best Rap Song and/or Best Rap Performance for “Savage (Remix),” she’ll be the first female winner in both of those categories. And how sweet would it be to share the honor with her idol and collaborator, Beyoncé?
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The 2021 Grammys are less than a week away (airing on March 14), and the nominations are a reflection of 2020’s whirlwind. In a year that was riddled by heartache and isolation, artists either dug deep into quarantine-induced loneliness that birthed relatable tunes or went the opposite route to provide cheerful music to give fans some temporary relief.
This time around, Beyoncé leads the charge with nine nominations. This brings the most nominated artist in history’s career total to 62. She’s up both as a solo artist (among others, “Black Parade” is up for four categories including Record Of The Year) as well as her “Savage” collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion (also up for Record Of The Year).
Following Beyoncé are Taylor Swift (whose total now rises to 41), Dua Lipa, and Roddy Rich, with six nods each. But there are still other artists who could walk away with some trophies, including Fiona Apple, Phoebe Bridgers, and Nas. While there are a few deserving names missing from this year’s nominations (The Weeknd, Summer Walker, and The Chicks were among the most shocking), the Grammys continue to make improvements on its diversity efforts. BTS made history as the first K-pop act to be nominated and women rightfully dominated the country and rock categories.
Check out our predictions below for how the biggest and most coveted categories could play out.
Best Rap Album
D Smoke – Black Habits
Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist – Alfredo
Jay Electronica – A Written Testimony
Nas – King’s Disease
Royce Da 5’9″ – The Allegory
Who Will Win? Nas
Who Should Win? Freddie Gibbs
With all the standout rap albums released last year, it was quite surprising when The Recording Academy opted to nominate more traditional, older artists instead of highlighting the genre’s newcomers. Nevertheless, this category is filled with decades of remarkable talent. While D Smoke, Jay Electronica, and Nas were all favorites for the “rappity rap” sector of music lovers, it’s Freddie Gibbs’ Alfredo that is an immediate standout. Linking up with esteemed producer The Alchemist, Gibbs doesn’t waste a single breath on his tight bars while dishing out a rap master class.
Best Rap Performance
Big Sean Featuring Nipsey Hussle – “Deep Reverence”
DaBaby – “Bop”
Jack Harlow – “What’s Poppin”
Lil Baby – “The Bigger Picture”
Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé – “Savage”
Pop Smoke – “Dior”
Who Will Win? Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé
Who Should Win? Lil Baby
This category features all strong contenders, from the late Pop Smoke’s “Dior” continuing his posthumous reign to Jack Harlow’s “What’s Poppin” showcasing just how effortless his flow is. And of course there’s “Savage,” which finds Megan Thee Stallion teaming with her idol Beyoncé. The latter seems like the promising win here based on how massive it was, but Lil Baby shouldn’t be ignored. The rapper is at his most vulnerable on “The Bigger Picture,” as he sheds light on police brutality occurring both in his native Atlanta and across America. But what makes this protest anthem so insightful is that Lil Baby turns the mirror on himself and tries to correct the wrongs he’s done with his own violent lyrics.
Best Alternative Music Album
Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Beck – Hyperspace
Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
Brittany Howard – Jaime
Tame Impala – The Slow Rush
Who Will Win? Fiona Apple
Who Should Win? Fiona Apple
2020 proved that alternative music still has a deserved place in mainstream music, with all five artists in this category creating some of the strongest tunes of their esteemed careers. The Slow Rush is Kevin Parker at his most refined as he imagines lush soundscapes, and both Brittany Howard’s Jaime and Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher are graciously intimate. But not much else compares to the shocking rawness of Fiona Apple’s Fetch The Bolt Cutters. Of course, honesty has been Apple’s M.O. since her 1996 debut, but she turns the volume on max on her latest record. The most beautiful moments of Fetch The Bolt Cutters are its messiness, from Apple’s crackled, unedited vocals to the clamoring production. That kind of “zero f*cks given” energy should be commended.
Best Pop Solo Performance
Justin Bieber – “Yummy”
Doja Cat – “Say So”
Billie Eilish – “Everything I Wanted”
Dua Lipa – “Don’t Start Now”
Harry Styles – “Watermelon Sugar”
Taylor Swift – “Cardigan”
Who Will Win? Dua Lipa
Who Should Win? Doja Cat
This entire category is filled with fun pop moments, with Harry Styles inviting us to blissful paradise on “Watermelon Sugar” to Billie Eilish giving another dose of relatability on “Everything I Wanted.” Dua Lipa’s catchy earworm “Don’t Start Now” seems to be the biggest contender here, but Doja Cat’s “Say So” was just as inescapable. 2020 was a major year for the triple-threat, and it was partly due to the virality of “Say So.” After it dominated TikTok (whose dance challenge creator Haley Sharpe was featured in the video), the single literally soared onto the charts. Tacking on remix queen Nicki Minaj, “Say So” became both rappers’ first No. 1 single and also made history as the first collaboration by two female rappers to top the Hot 100. Doja Cat’s genre-bending talents combined with this song’s sheer ubiquity are surely worthy of that golden gramophone.
Best Pop Vocal Album
Justin Bieber – Changes
Lady Gaga – Chromatica
Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
Harry Styles – Fine Line
Taylor Swift – Folklore
Who Will Win? Taylor Swift
Who Should Win? Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, and Harry Styles arguably gifted us with the best albums of their career in 2020, but something’s telling me that The Recording Academy will award Swift’s beloved Folklore. But let’s not rule out Lipa, who was one of the few artists in recent memory who perfectly executed a proper album era. Not only did Future Nostalgia redefine what ‘80s and ‘90s pop mean in a millennial age, but the promotion — from the visually stunning videos to the accompanying remix album that was just as good as the original — took the compelling songs to new heights.
Best Progressive R&B Album
Jhené Aiko – Chilombo
Chloe x Halle – Ungodly Hour
Free Nationals – Free Nationals
Robert Glasper – F*** Yo Feelings
Thundercat – It Is What It Is
Who Will Win? Jhené Aiko
Who Should Win? Chloe x Halle
R&B has been in the shadows of rap for the past few years, but the genre surpassed its sibling in 2020. That hasn’t been made more clear than with this category, whose name changed from Best Urban Contemporary Album to Best Progressive R&B Album to dismiss the negative connotations the word “urban” brings. Jhené Aiko’s Chilombo being an industry favorite makes it a predicted winner here, but the brilliance of Chloe x Halle’s Ungodly Hour is too hard to surpass. The duo’s sophomore album is a journey of their grown womanhood, as they explore sexuality, rising above failed relationships, feeling petty in the moment, and embracing their imperfections. And it’s all tied together with heaven-sent harmonies, otherwordly production that continues the Afro-Futurism conversation, and smart songwriting. Now, who dared to question if R&B is dead again?
As Record Of The Year is awarded for the final recorded product of a single, it’ll be fair for Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé’s “Savage” remix to take the win. The teamwork is between not only the two artists but also the producer and engineer, and it gave way to the catchiest song of 2020. “Savage” was already a standout from Megan’s Suga EP, which was followed by a massively viral moment once TikTok got hold of it and a new dance craze was born. So when Beyoncé decided to hop on the remix months later, the world was stopped once again. What’s better than the two biggest mainstream artists from Houston reveling in all things classy, bougie, and ratchet? But as we bring up catchiness, Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now” also deserves a major hat tip.
Best New Artist
Ingrid Andress
Phoebe Bridgers
Chika
Noah Cyrus
D Smoke
Doja Cat
Kaytranada
Megan Thee Stallion
Who Will Win? Phoebe Bridgers
Who Should Win? Megan Thee Stallion
There are so many deserving artists in this category, including Kaytranada, Chika, and Doja Cat. But Phoebe Bridgers growing into such a major indie darling may give her the win here, and The Recording Academy has a history of shocking the audience when it comes to Best New Artist wins. Still, Megan Thee Stallion’s unwavering dominance in 2020 cannot be ignored. She’s grown into more than just a rapper: she is an advocate for Black women, a businesswoman who has scored multiple partnerships, a philanthropist who gives back to her community, and is leading the charge of unapologetic new-gen women rappers.
Song Of The Year
Beyoncé – “Black Parade”
Roddy Ricch – “The Box”
Taylor Swift – “Cardigan”
Post Malone – “Circles”
Dua Lipa – “Don’t Start Now”
Billie Eilish – “Everything I Wanted”
H.E.R. – “I Can’t Breathe”
JP Saxe Featuring Julia Michaels – “If The World Was Ending”
Who Will Win? Taylor Swift
Who Should Win? Dua Lipa
Like Record Of The Year, this category is also overflowing with strong contenders that range from timely matters of racial inequality to heartbreaking ballads. Seeing as this win is for songwriters though, Taylor Swift getting a gramophone for “Cardigan” makes the most sense. But let’s not knock out Dua Lipa too quickly; the sheer pop perfection of “Don’t Start Now” should get the recognition here. An unofficial sequel to 2017’s “New Rules,” the lead single to Future Nostalgia captures the album’s nu-disco spirit while elevating Lipa to new pop star territory.
Album Of The Year
Jhené Aiko – Chilombo
Black Pumas – Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition)
Coldplay – Everyday Life
Jacob Collier – Djesse Vol. 3
Haim – Women In Music Pt. III
Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
Post Malone – Hollywood’s Bleeding
Taylor Swift – Folklore Who Will Win? Taylor Swift
Who Should Win? Taylor Swift
Ah, Album Of The Year, the coveted Grammy that nearly every artist vies for at some point in their career. It’s also one of the most unpredictable categories as it can either go to the year’s most popular artist (see Adele in 2017 and Bruno Mars in 2018) or the year’s underdog (Kacey Musgraves in 2019 and Billie Eilish in 2020). Taylor Swift is often seen as both, with her likability swaying from overhyped to not credited enough. But there’s a reason why UPROXX chose Folklore as 2020’s best album. Jacob Collier, Haim, and Dua Lipa are all strong contenders here, yet Swift’s effort finds her at her most vulnerable. The singer-songwriter’s pen has always been sharp, and on Folklore she strengths her storytelling while also providing comfort (for herself and other listeners) in the wake of 2020’s darkness.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Lady Gaga recently had to endure a pet owner’s worst nightmare: Her dog walker was shot and two of her beloved dogs were kidnapped. Fortunately, in a matter of days, the dogs were recovered and everything was in its right place. Gaga offered a $500,000 reward for whoever brought the dogs back, which just goes to show how much some people care about their pets. That got us thinking about other famous artists and their four-legged friends who we see pop up from time to time on social media and whatnot.
We’ve rounded up a handful of my favorites below, but this is by no means a comprehensive list of celebrity pets, so our sincerest apologies if your preferred artist’s furry/scaly/otherwise textured friend isn’t included. Now, if you’re recently found yourself asking, ‘Who’s a good boy,’ you can find some answers to that question below.
Coco, Toulouse, Cinnamon, Strauss, Lafayette, Pignoli, Myron, Snape, Lily, and Piggy Smallz (owned by Ariana Grande)
Grande’s dogs make social media appearances pretty often, but fans may not realize just how many puppers she actually has: According to Ariana Grande Wiki (which is surely the authoritative source on such matters), she currently owns nine dogs. That’s enough for 5-on-5 basketball if they let Grande’s pig Piggy Smallz play. As if that wasn’t enough, Grande is also working on an animal rescue center in Los Angeles, which indicates that she is perhaps the best friend to animals in the biz.
Lavender (owned by Dylan Baldi of Cloud Nothings and Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz and Sad13)
Towards the end of last year, indie-rock power couple Baldi and Dupuis decided to adopt Lavender, a pitbull with atypical facial features. In a recent interview with MTV News, Baldi said of Lavender, “She’s a one-of-a-kind dog. People will just stop and be like, ‘Look at this dog,’ and want to be with this dog in a way like no other dog I’ve seen. It’s like having a rare Pokémon.” He doubled down on his admiration of the unique pet with a Twitter follow-up: “if we did a tour, charged $50 for tickets, and all that happened was this dog came out onstage and walked around for a bit? you would still feel like you spent $50 correctly. incredible dog.”
Trappy S. Goyard (owned by 2 Chainz)
Like other famous pets, Trappy S. Goyard (which is easily the best name on this list) has his own Instagram account. Goyard probably also has a SAG card by now based on all the appearances they’d made. In addition to popping up on 2 Chainz’s Most Expensivest, Goyard also co-starred in the “Grey Area” video from earlier this year, in which Goyard and their human swapped heads.
Calippo and Dorito (owned by Ed Sheeran)
Sheeran stayed mostly out of the public eye during 2020 as he decided to take a break. What he didn’t stop doing, though, was posting about his cats on their dedicated Instagram page, which boasts over 300,000 followers. Calippo and Dorito are doing well, although Dorito could apparently stand to lose a bit of weight: In October, Sheeran shared a photo of the cats accompanied by a note that reads, “Don’t feed the cats!!! Even if Dorito gives you ‘the eyes’… She has a bad tum… naughty puss…”
Shark (owned by Billie Eilish)
About a month ago, Eilish celebrated the first birthday of Shark, the rescue dog she adopted in April. She wrote in a now-unavailable Instagram post, “My sweet rescue baby boy was born a year ago today. You have made my life 1000x better happy birfday little shark.” While the two share a special bond, the journey to today wasn’t without (expensive) complications: In August, Eilish shared that Shark left some unwanted presents in and around some pricey sneakers.
Foe Thee Frenchie (owned by Megan Thee Stallion)
Not many pets win awards, but Megan Thee Stallion’s has: Foe Thee Frenchie (who has nearly half a million Instagram followers and is coming after Trappy S. Goyard’s best-name-of-this-feature crown) was Paper‘s Celebrity Pet Of The Year for 2019. Meg recently shared a progress pic showing off how much Foe has grown over the course of five months, and understandably, in the more recent photo, Meg has a hard time carrying her increasingly large pet.
Alf (owned by Hayley Williams)
Hayley Williams’ dog Alf has been an important figure in her life and has helped her through some difficult times. She told EW, “I got Alf when he was, like, 11 weeks old. I raised him, but I feel like he raised me. I was 23 or 24 when I got him. He keeps me present because he’s present all the time: He’s so happy and very in tune with me when I’ve gone through life-altering changes or moments.”
On “Cinnamon,” from the 2020 album Petals For Armor, Williams sings, “On the walls of my home / There are signs that I’m alone / I keep on every light / Talk to my dog, he don’t mind.” She explained that lyric to Pitchfork, saying, “He was my first therapist. And he’s still my favorite therapist.” Around this time last year, she also told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, “My dog is the reason I’m alive, because he would’ve been waiting on me to get home, no matter what. You know how little sweet little puppies sit and they wait? I couldn’t think about it.”
Dogs dominated Tegan And Sara’s “100x” video from 2016, and recently, Tegan got a pup of her own, named Georgia. Since then, she has documented the joys and struggles of raising a dog and there have been plenty of both. In November 2020, she tweeted, “Is there an umbrella for people who have a new puppy and have to take it out to pee 700 times a day and need both hands to pick up poo? *must cover human and dog.” While a lot of her Georgia tweets are scatological, there’s clearly a ton of love there and Georgia has essentially become Tegan’s everything. She tweeted in December, “All I dream about is my dog. She’s literally taken over every inch of my life including all dream real estate. It will make ZERO sense that she is in a dream situation, but inevitably she appears regardless. Is this normal?”
Kane Songz (owned by Trey Songz)
Trey Songz goes full method while running his dog’s Instagram account, which is presented entirely from the Frenchton’s perspective. On Father’s Day in 2018, for example, “Kane” posted a photo of him and his father playing basketball and “wrote,” “Happy Father’s day Pops!! Thanks for showing me how to break canine ankles out here in these streets!!” He even did what many others have failed to do when he saw John Cena one time.
Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson, and Benjamin Button (owned by Taylor Swift)
Yes, of course Taylor Swift is on this list. After all, Swift has proven to be perhaps the biggest cat person out there (heck, she portrayed a literal cat person in Cats). Thousands of words could be written about Swift’s cats and her love for them, so for this space, let’s just focus on Benjamin Button, the latest addition to the Swift family. Swift actually decided to adopt the cat on the set of her “Me!” video and described how that came to be, saying on Instagram Live in 2019, “[A cat handler handed me this tiny cat and he just starts purring and […] he looks at me like, ‘You’re my mom, and we’re going to live together.’ I fell in love. I looked at Brendon [Urie] and he’s like, ‘You’re going to get the cat aren’t you?’”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Foo Fighters stopped by The Late Late Show to perform their Medicine At Midnight highlight “Waiting On A War” last night. While they were there, they also took a few minutes to chat with James Corden, and over the course of their conversation, one of Dave Grohl’s excellent old pre-show traditions was revealed.
Playing off the fact that Foo Fighters have referred to Medicine At Midnight as a “party album,” Corden asked some of the band members what music they’d play at a party. Taylor Hawkins jokingly answered, “Just yacht rock, always, all the time.” Rami Jaffee then chimed in with the Bee Gees’ Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, an album that Grohl recently highlighted as a must-listen for children. Chris Shiflett added, “I remember when I first joined the band, we had a big boombox backstage, and before every show, Dave would put on Juvenile, “Back That Azz Up.” As Grohl excitedly recited some of the lyrics and other band members laughed, Shiflett added, “That was our pre-show warm-up.”
Shiflett joined the band in 1999, so while the band was touring in support of that year’s album There Is Nothing Left To Lose, Grohl was probably back stage getting pumped up to the then-brand-new Juvenile song, which is also known as “Back That Thang Up” and features Mannie Fresh and Lil Wayne. “Back That Azz Up,” by the way, was actually Wayne’s first-ever single.
Watch the interview above and check out the band’s performance of “Waiting On A War” below.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had some measured good news for the state’s music fans: arts, entertainment, and events venues will be allowed to reopen in April, according to The New York Times. However, there will be limitations, of course, in the interest of public safety. Venues will be capped at 33% capacity, with a maximum of 100 people for indoor and 200 people for outdoor venues. Venues that can administer COVID-19 tests to all attendees can increase that number to 150 people indoors and 500 outdoors. The new rules are set to go into effect on April 2.
However, the Times does note that the limits won’t make it feasible for many venues to open; unless attendees get absolutely loaded, venues likely won’t be able to cover the costs of re-opening, keeping some — or most — effectively closed down until restrictions are lifted further. For instance, Broadway shows won’t be coming back until Labor Day, considering how much cost goes into production — shows that only get 33% attendance generally close within a season. Further complicating the issue is social distancing; many venues would require even lower numbers than that to accommodate six feet of distance between attendees.
But having outdoor shows back could be a good look, especially for indie performers and smaller, lower-production shows. Meanwhile, with something like an average of 65,500 new cases per week and over 517,000 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, it might be better to be safe than sorry. With the vaccine rollout expected to allow more venues to reopen in the fall according to Presidential chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, fans may appreciate waiting just a few more months.
Rolling Stone reports that Bunny Wailer, the last surviving founding member of The Wailers, has died at age 73, as confirmed by his manager Maxine Stowe. He died earlier today at the Medical Associates Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica according to Jamaica Observer, and no cause of death has been released yet. He’d been in failing health since 2020 when he suffered his second stroke.
Born Neville Livingstone in the Nine Mile district of Jamaica’s St. Ann Parish, Bunny became a musical icon revered the world over for his work with The Wailers, which included childhood friend Bob Marley and later addition, Peter Tosh. The then-trio soon added singer Junior Braithwaite and backup vocalists Beverley Kelso and Cherry and began releasing a string of international hits, which included “Simmer Down,” “Stir It Up,” “Is This Love,” “Jamming,” “Could You Be Loved,” “Buffalo Soldier,” “Get Up, Stand Up,” and “Redemption Song.”
Rolling Stone notes that while Marley and Tosh were the group’s principal songwriters, it was Wailer who provided the band with not just its name but also its unforgettable harmonies. The group was instrumental in bringing Jamaican music to the world, touring the UK with Johnny Cash in the early 1970s. Wailer left the group in 1973 after the group’s new producer Chris Blackwell sought to rebrand them as “Bob Marley’s backup singers.” Wailer embarked on his own successful solo career with Blackheart Man. Wailer eventually won three Best Reggae Album Grammys, in 1991, 1995, and 1997.
love you all so much 
