Billie Eilish, 18, swept the Grammy awards tonight. She won Best Album, song, record of the year. Her album also won awards for best engineered album. Eilish’s brother Finneas won producer of the year. Billie also picked up best pop vocal performance.
This meant, of course, that Lizzo struck out in all the major categories. So did everyone. Did Eilish deserve it? I’ll let you be the judge.
Sorry, Lizzo fans. But it does seem like 18 year old Billie Eilish will clean up tonight at the Grammys show on CBS.
She and her team have already won Best Engineered Album for “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” Her 22 year old brother, Finneas, who also writes her songs, is among the engineers.
Best music video went to Lil Nas X”s “Old Town Road.” Beyonce won best long form video for “Homecoming.”
Congrats to Steve Greenberg of S Curve Records for Best Album Liner Notes, for “Stax 68.”
The “A Star is Born” soundtrack has won two Grammys.
keep refreshing…I’ll bold face the winners as they come in…
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
I, I – Bon Iver
Norman Fucking Rockwell! – Lana Del Rey
WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? – Billie Eilish
Thank U, Next – Ariana Grande
I Used to Know Her – H.E.R.
7 – Lil Nas X
Cuz I Love You (Deluxe) – Lizzo
Father of the Bride – Vampire Weekend
RECORD OF THE YEAR
“Hey, Ma” – Bon Iver
“Bad Guy” – Billie Eilish
“7 Rings” – Ariana Grande
“Hard Place” – H.E.R.
“Talk” – Khalid
“Old Town Road” – Lil Nas X Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
“Truth Hurts” – Lizzo
“Sunflower” – Post Malone & Swae Lee
SONG OF THE YEAR
“Always Remember Us This Way” – Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey & Lori McKenna, songwriters (Lady Gaga)
“Bad Guy” – Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
“Bring My Flowers Now” – Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth & Tanya Tucker, songwriters (Tanya Tucker)
“Hard Place” – Ruby Amanfu, Sam Ashworth, D. Arcelious Harris. H.E.R. & Rodney Jerkins, songwriters (H.E.R.)
“Lover” – Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)
“Norman Fucking Rockwell” – Jack Antonoff & Lana Del Rey, songwriters (Lana Del Rey)
“Someone You Loved” – Tom Barnes, Lewis Capaldi, Pere Kelleher, Benjamin Kohn & Sam Roman, songwriters (Lewis Capaldi)
“Truth Hurts” – Steven Cheung, Eric Frederic, Melissa Jefferson & Jesse Saint John, songwriters (Lizzo)
BEST NEW ARTIST
Black Pumas
Billie Eilish
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
Maggie Rogers
Rosalía
Tank and the Bangas
Yola
POP
BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE
“Spirit” – Beyoncé
“Bad Guy” – Billie Eilish
“7 Rings” – Ariana Grande
“Truth Hurts” – Lizzo
“You Need to Calm Down” – Taylor Swift
BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE
“Boyfriend” – Ariana Grande & Social House
“Sucker” – Jonas Brothers
“Old Town Road” – Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
“Sunflower” – Post Malone & Swae Lee
“Señorita” – Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello
BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM
The Lion King: The Gift – Beyoncé
WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? – Billie Eilish
Thank U, Next – Ariana Grande
No. 6 Collaborations Project – Ed Sheeran
Lover – Taylor Swift
BEST TRADITIONAL POP VOCAL ALBUM
Sí – Andrea Bocelli
Love (Deluxe Edition) – Michael Bublé
Look Now – Elvis Costello & the Imposters
A Legendary Christmas – John Legend
Walls – Barbra Streisand
ROCK
BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE
“Pretty Waste” – Bones UK
“This Land” – Gary Clark Jr.
“History Repeats” – Brittany Howard
“Woman” – Karen O & Danger Mouse
“Too Bad” – Rival Sons
BEST ROCK SONG
“Fear Inoculum” – Danny Carey, Justin Chancellor, Adam Jones & Maynard James Keenan, songwriters (TOOL)
“Give Yourself a Try” – George Daniel, Adam Hann, Matthew Healy & Ross MacDonald, songwriters (The 1975)
“Harmony Hall” – Ezra Koenig, songwriter (Vampire Weekend)
“History Repeats” – Brittany Howard, songwriter (Brittany Howard)
“This Land” – Gary Clark Jr., songwriter (Gary Clark Jr.)
BEST ROCK ALBUM
Amo – Bring Me the Horizon
Social Cues – Cage the Elephant
In The End – The Cranberries
Trauma – I Prevail
Feral Roots – Rival Sons
ALTERNATIVE
BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM
U.F.O.F. – Big Thief
Assume Form – James Blake
I,I – Bon Iver
Father of the Bride – Vampire Weekend
Anima – Thom Yorke
R&B
BEST R&B SONG
“Could’ve Been” – Dernst Emile II, David “Swagg R’Celious” Harris, H.E.R. & Hue “Soundzfire” Strother, songwriters (H.E.R. featuring Bryson Tiller)
“Look at Me Now” – Emily King & Jeremy Most, songwriters (Emily King)
“No Guidance” – Chris Brown, Tyler James Bryant, Nija Charles, Aubrey Graham, Anderson Hernandez, Michee Patrick Lebrun, Joshua Lewis, Noah Shebib & Teddy Walton, songwriters (Chris Brown featuring Drake)
“Roll Some Mo” – David Brown, Dernst Emile II & Peter Lee Johnson, songwriters (Lucky Daye)
“Say So” – PJ Morton, songwriter (PJ Morton featuring JoJo)
BEST R&B ALBUM
1123 – BJ the Chicago Kid
Painted – Lucky Daye
Ella Mai – Ella Mai
Paul – PJ Morton
Ventura – Anderson .Paak
BEST R&B PERFORMANCE
“Love Again” – Daniel Caesar & Brandy
“Could’ve Been” – H.E.R. Featuring Bryson Tiller
“Exactly How I Feel” – Lizzo featuring Gucci Mane
“Roll Some Mo” – Lucky Daye
“Come Home” – Anderson .Paak featuring André 3000
BEST TRADITIONAL R&B PERFORMANCE
“Time Today” – BJ the Chicago Kid
“Steady Love” – India.Arie
“Jerome” – Lizzo
“Real Games” – Lucky Daye
“Built For Love” – PJ Morton featuring Jazmine Sullivan
BEST URBAN CONTEMPORARY ALBUM
Apollo XXI – Steve Lacy
Cuz I Love You (Deluxe) – Lizzo
Overload – Georgia Anne Muldrow
Saturn – NAO
Being Human in Public – Jessie Reyez
It’s as if the Grammy Awards are jinxed. Eight years ago, Whitney Houston died on the eve of the show, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The next day the Grammy Awards turned into a memorial service.
Now Kobe Bryant, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers in the Staples Center, has died tragically in a helicopter crash hours before the Grammys will be broadcast from the Staples Center.
The Grammy Awards are already a mess because of a variety of scandalous charges, accusations, and allegations. Host Alicia Keys was scheduled to open the show with a mashup song she’d written that reflected the chaos before Kobe’s death. Now, the whole thing is up in the air. What do you do when the star of your venue, beloved by millions, has died at age 41 in the prime of his life?
Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich has a huge challenge for his final show. He retires from the Grammys after tonight’s show. But first he has to get through it. There won’t be a dry eye in the house, and a pall will certainly overshadow what should be a night of musical celebration. Most of the Grammy performers and presenters will have known Kobe or have a deep connection to him.
But the show must go on.
Stay tuned…
Kobe Bryant’s tragic death today in a helicopter crash reminds me of the pain we were all in when Yankees catcher Thurman Munson died in a private plane crash in August 1979. Condolences to his family, friends, and to all the fans. It’s something you just never get over.
A couple of years after the following encounter, I ran into Kobe again. He was just lovely, remembered the whole thing, and we had another great talk. He had kind of glowing personality, magnetic, the whole room was charged with electricity when he was present. This is absolutely tragic.
from December 18, 2009:
It’s Oscar season, and everyone has an opinion!
But lo and behold, who was at the premiere of Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes” last night? Why, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant! He came as the guest of producer Joel Silver, and hobnobbed a bit first at Alice Tully Hall and then at the Metropolitan Club on Fifth Avenue. The club made an exception for Kobe on the dress code, too. They usually don’t allow sneakers, and sort of insist on a jacket if not a tie. (Tip of the hat to Paula Schwartz of the Carpetbagger for picking up’ on this.)
Kobe was truly nice, accessible and ready to talk. At the party, we chatted for a bit about basketball, and he promised to be nice to the Knicks the next time he played them. (The Lakers play the Nets on Saturday, and no Knicks until January 22.)
Anyway, Kobe suddenly said to me, “I’ll tell you who my favorite actresses are!” Okay. It’s so great when stars do the interview for him. He said, “First, Hillary Swank. Her focus is amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it. She’s my favorite.” And he’s met her too. Second: “Kate Winslet,” Kobe declared. I asked him if he’d seen “The Reader,” in which Winslet is very naked. “Yup! Hannah Schmidt!” he said enthusiastically, referring to Winslet’s character.
Kobe’s favorite actors? “Robert De Niro, for all his characters,” he said. “And Johnny Depp.” He told Paula while I was listening that his Oscar pick this year was “Invictus” ‘ Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman.
He also told me that he thought Tiger Woods would survive his scandal. We didn’t get into Bryant’s past scandal, but he survived and surpassed it. So maybe he knows what he’s talking about.
The basketball superstar also took lots of pictures with fans, especially Giacomo Sumner, the 14-year-old son of Sting and Trudie Styler. The latter was sort of the instigator for “Sherlock Holmes,” hooking director Ritchie up with star Robert’ Downey, Jr. Bryant also got a kick out of meeting the movie’s female star, Rachel McAdams.
The Grammys are in disarray, the Recording Academy is dealing with scandal, but Clive Davis’s famous annual all star pre-Grammy gala went on last night as if there were no problems in the world. Nancy Pelosi, back from a short trip abroad, got a standing ovation and cheers. I would say she was a rock star last night, among rock stars. She received a huge standing ovation.
Both Sean Puffy Combs and Janet Jackson were honored, hundreds of celebrities showed up in the audience, and the on stage entertainment was, as Clive would say, “off the hook.”
The performers included Beck, John Legend, Faith Evans with Puffy’s All-stars, Cyndi Lauper and Brandi Carlisle, Santana with Wyclef Jean and Miguel and Ryan Tedder, Chance the Rapper, plus new sensational stars Cynthia Erivo (Oscar nominee) and Adrienne Warren, soon to be Tony nominee for “Tina, the Musical” on Broadway.
In the audience: everyone from Jay Z and Beyonce to Jamie Foxx, Joni Mitchell, Roberta Flack, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, Dionne Warwick, Valerie Simpson, Smokey Robinson, Usher, Earth Wind and Fire, actor Michael Douglas, Keith Urban (Nicole Simpson home with cold), Swizz Beatz, Nikki Haskell, famed record producer Richard Perry, Channing Tatum and Jessie J, Lorna Luft, Elvis Costello, and so many more.
The Beverly Hilton ballroom was packed, as it is every year at this event, with so many recognizable faces from disciplines: music, movies, sports, government. The build up of excitement begins at the front entrances, which are divided between regular people, regular celebrities, industry people, and the red carpet. It’s hard to know where to look first. And kind of outstanding because I saw Barbra Streisand’s manager of 50 years, Marty Erlichman; Peter Asher,famed pop star, manager and record producer of James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt; Janet Jackson’s record producer Jimmy Jam Harris, wife Lisa and their daughter, songwriters Diane Warren and Paul Williams; talk show host Tamron Hall, NY news personality Rosanna Scotto.
And then of course, there’s Kathie Lee Gifford, radiant, glowing, telling me all about living in Nashville and planning both of her kids’ weddings this year. Producer Narada Michael Walden reminisced about Aretha, Whitney, and Mariah. Produce Jay Landers told me about two hush hush albums he’s made, which I’m sworn to secrecy on– duets albums by great stars, but no, not Barbra Streisand.
Two legendary ladies nearly collided in the hotel lobby: Roberta Flack and Joni Mitchell. Then Joni left, Usher arrived, and took more pictures with Roberta, who will be honored tomorrow with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
And I got to meet Lana del Rey, and tell her how much I loved “Norman F—ing Rockwell.” She is just lovely, and now I’m sorry I never spoke to her before.
And then there was Clive, almost 88, resplendent in a black and white tuxedo jacket made for him by Giorgio Armani, being introduced by Berry Gordy (90) and welcoming from the stage Clarence Avant, the “black Godfather,” himself 88. He called out Quincy Jones, almost 86, who made it through the whole night. Clive still has unbridled enthusiasm about people in the same room, meeting, schmoozing, reuniting, reigniting this community over which he unofficially reigns. It’s an extraordinary snapshot of the culture, devoid of color or gender or class. Maybe anthropologists will study these parties years from now. Nothing else like them exists.
It was a whirlwind of a night, keep refreshing for more later today…
The phenomenal annual Musicares Person of the Year dinner on Grammy weekend has always felt like a community event– even with 3,000 people jammed into tables at the LA Convention Center. Grammy chief Neil Portnow would make a grand welcoming speech, and later return to present the evening’s honoree with their award. He’d also introduce the Musicares chief, Dana Tomarken, who’d address the room triumphantly with her annual report on the charity’s success.
But Portnow and Tomarken are gone. There is no one running either the Grammys or Musicares. After a bruising week of crazy public allegations, the music industry is in a kind of free fall. No one can quite figure out what to say or do, although the subject of the scandals was the topic of conversation at every table last night despite the presence of dozens of stars and electrifying, memorable performances.
Luckily, Musicares always has a head of board member from the biz, so Amazon Music’s Steve Boom proved to be a welcome host to open the show. And later, not one but two of the women from the Grammys executive committee, Tammy Hurt and Christine Albert, eloquently handed out the Person of the Year statues to the members of Aerosmith. They were preceded by board member Dina LaPolt, who stole the show delivering a sensational toast to the group. (She’s also Steven Tyler’s long time lawyer and great pal.)
So women were in force, which was smart, since their presence sent a signal that Music Really Does Care. Female performers singing Aerosmith songs really stood out. They included Melissa Etheridge, Kesha, Le Ann Rimes, HER, Jessie J, Ashley McBryde, Yola, and Emily King, all of whom were equal to or better than their male counterparts in presenting the Aerosmith songbook. In fact, they “killed.” (Wait til Yola really hits in the US. Wow!)
HER (I wish she didn’t use that name anymore– it’s Gabrielle Wilson– was simply amazing playing guitar with Tyler on piano for “Dream On” and Joe Perry riffing in and out. She has really come on fast as a superstar.)
And then, of course, the men: Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp joined Aerosmith on stage for their big numbers at the end like “Sweet Emotion.” Gavin DeGraw — chosen by Tyler for night– grabbed the audience by the throat and pulled Steven into an impromptu duet from his table on “What it Takes”), the ubiquitous John Legend solo’d with grace on “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” The Jonas Brothers– the poppy Jonas Brothers– surprised the audience with their rock chops on “Crazy.” Foo Fighters were so good, they got two numbers: “Toys in the Attic” and “Let the Music Do the Talking.”
MIA: John Mayer, advertised, but a no show.
In the audience: Julian Lennon, Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, John Stamos, Rick Springfield, two of Aerosmith’s famous songwriters– Diane Warren and Desmond Child. “Despacito” writer Erika Ender came with her golden locks to hear Luis Fonsi. Movie star Channing Tatum accompanied and cheered on girlfriend Jessie J (she has some pipes!).
Russell Brand, hired for comedic relief for the night, riffed on a number of rock star subjects. He did say that Aerosmith made it possible for people like him to “dress like this” (sort of gypsy-like clothing). His running routine for the night was to recount Steven Tyler’s favorite drugs. Tyler, however, has been clean and sober for years, so I don’t know much he liked that.
Something new about the night: a lot of people from outside the music world who’d bought tickets who just wanted be there. Outside of one lout at the front table, they were all really nice, especially a couple from Miami who came for the music. They made a wise donation to a charity — unaffected by scandal — that means so much to musicians who don’t have insurance for medical emergencies, substance abuse treatment, or sudden loss of income. Very, very nice.
NARAS interim leader Harvey Mason, Jr. has sent out a memo to the members of the Recording Academy regarding possible voting improprieties.
Here it is:
“I’m sure you’ve all seen the misleading reports bringing our voting process into question. The accusations are deeply unsettling and are just not right. It’s not fair to all the amazing artists who have won GRAMMY awards in the past and the ones who will win them on Sunday. It’s also not fair to the artists and other people in our music community who volunteer countless hours on committees reviewing nominations. Don’t let anyone cheapen or take away from what you have achieved—and what you give to the industry in your service. Here are some actual facts about the process in case you are asked about it in the days ahead:
Thank you for your continued support and service to our music community, and for helping people understand this process. We look forward to seeing you this weekend and celebrating our deserving winners on Music’s Biggest Night.
Harvey Mason Jr.”
Madonna’s Madame X tour may not make it through her remaining dates in London and Paris.
Last night– Wednesday– she cancelled her second show in Lisbon in five days. She cited ongoing pain and injury.
A source close to her tour told me on Tuesday night that Madonna was playing her shows “basically in pain and injured every night.” The source added: “She may just call it quits.”
The 61 year old is posting social media videos that show her using a cane for a blown out knee. Last night’s cancellation was her 9th since the tour began in September in Brooklyn.
The Lisbon cancellations are particularly hard because Madonna’s using local musicians from Portugal in her show. She appropriated them during her stay when adopted son David Banda wanted to play soccer in that country. There must be a lot of disappointment now that her appearances in Lisbon were cancelled.
As I write this, it’s 8:30 pm in Lisbon. Everyone’s holding their breath to see if the final show there will go on. Madonna doesn’t start a show before 10:30pm. An announcement should be coming momentarily.
Well, it’s not good news for fans of Adele.
The popular chanteuse hasn’t released a new album since her “25” album hit the streets in November 2015.
There was hope for and talk of new music this past fall, especially when she did a cover story for People (not Rolling Stone). That seemed like a signal she was ready to resume her career.
But an Adele insider who knows what’s going on tells me actually nothing is going on. There’s no activity and no sense of any new music on the horizon any time soon.
I did mention the recent flurry of news caused by Adele’s manager saying we’d “see something in 2020.” But my source says if that’s true, it’s out of focus with reality. There’s nothing in the pipeline.
Adele became very rich because of “25.” She’s literally Rolling in the Green. She doesn’t have to work again. She’s gone through a divorce, as well, which isn’t easy. You’d think giving the ex husband a chunk of money would be incentive to get back to work, but apparently not.
Maybe she’ll surprise us. Who knows? But you can’t always get what you want. Instead, we get a new Justin Bieber album. Life is not fair.
Taylor Swift will not appear on the Grammy Awards this Sunday, not as a presenter or nominee.
I actually told you this in November when she was snubbed for Album of the Year for “Lover,” the best selling ‘record’ of 2019. “Lover” was also well reviewed and should have been among the finalists. But mysteriously it was not.
This was similar to Justin Timberlake’s snub several years ago for his “20/20” album. The best selling record of the year, with lots of good reviews and hit singles, “20/20” should have been a nominee. But it was ignored by the secret committee, whatever that is. Timberlake also passed on attending that year’s show.
The Swift situation is especially heightened right now because of accusations of voting irregularities by ousted Grammy CEO Deborah Dugan. Dugan has made some wild and weird allegations in her EEOC filing and in television interviews. But the voting problems are not so off base.
The lack of transparency in Grammy voting has long been a point of contention. But Dugan’s conspiracy theories don’t completely add up. Take the Timberlake episode. The former NSync star’s lawyer is Joel Katz, also the attorney for the Recording Academy. So he certainly didn’t influence the voting against Timberlake. The question is, who did? Where and how are these voting decisions made?
For Swift, her rebuke from the Grammys almost certainly involved her public outrage over losing the rights to her master recordings to Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta. She raged against the machine, and the machine punished her. Swift’s absence from the Grammys will be felt enormously. We’ll see what impact it has on the ratings on Monday morning.