The 68th annual Grammy Awards are just about here, airing live from Los Angeles on Citytv, CBS and Paramount+ on Sunday night.
Kendrick Lamar’s dominance continues at the Grammys, where he leads the nominations with nine this year. He’s followed closely by Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff and Canadian record producer/songwriter Cirkut, who boast seven nominations each.
Comedian Trevor Noah returns to host the show for his sixth consecutive time — and his last.
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Canada’s Cirkut wins Grammy for producer of the year
Canada’s Henry Walter, known by his alias Cirkut, has won the Grammy for producer of the year for his work with artists including The Weeknd, Lady Gaga and Rosé and Bruno Mars.
Earlier, Walter and Serban Ghenea won the best dance pop recording Grammy for their work on Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra.”
Walter produced the hit single alongside Andrew Watt, while Ghenea mixed it.
“Abracadabra” is a bouncy electropop track that hears Gaga belt about tackling life’s challenges and finding a little magic along the way.
It’s the second single from Gaga’s seventh album “Mayhem,” which was largely produced by Walter, who was raised in Halifax. (The Canadian Press)
Toronto’s Justin Gray wins for best immersive audio album
Toronto’s Justin Gray has won a Grammy Award for best immersive audio album.
He’s the first Canadian to ever win a Grammy in the category.
Gray, who teaches audio production at Humber Polytechnic, was recognized for his album “Immersed,” which was brought to life with 38 Toronto artists from his own orbit.
“Immersed” places listeners at the centre of a 360-degree orchestra featuring artists including fusion singer Suba Sankaran, saxophone player Jonathan Kay and co-producer and violinist Drew Jurecka.
An in-demand audio engineer, Gray has created immersive mixes for artists including Olivia Rodrigo, Snoop Dogg, Arkells and The Tragically Hip, translating their music into Dolby Atmos — a format that places sound beside, behind and above the listener.
While the immersive audio category has long been dominated by recordings adapted for immersive sound, Gray’s album was specifically composed for the format (The Canadian Press)
Yungblud remembers Ozzy Osbourne
“The last time I saw Ozzy Osbourne, he asked me if there was anything he could do for me,” Yungblud recounted, standing next to Sharon Osbourne onstage and accepting the best rock performance award. Yungblud’s response? The music was enough. The singer is part of a tribute tonight to the late rock star
Mariah Carey’s secret grunge album was part of her MusiCares tribute
Mariah Carey has blended pop, R&B, gospel and hip-hop into hit songs over five decades. But it was hearing a couple of cuts off her 1990s secret grunge album that had the superstar on her feet clapping.
Foo Fighters blasted through “Someone’s Ugly Daughter” with Taylor Momsen on lead vocals. They followed up with “Love is a Scam” as Carey sang along from her front table.
Carey was honored for her musical achievements and philanthropic efforts as MusiCares Person of the Year on Friday night, two days before the Grammy Awards. The award is given in the week ahead of the Grammys by MusiCares, a charity that supports musicians in need.
“She is one of one,” longtime collaborator Babyface said. “Mariah, you are every songwriter and producer’s dream. You strike a lot of gold. You are a blueprint of a great songwriter.”
Steven Spielberg has a Grammy to go with his three Oscars. He won best music film as a producer of “Music by John Williams.”
‘Sinners’ sinks teeth into Grammys
“Sinners” won a pair of Grammys days after getting a record 16 Oscar nominations. It won best compilation soundtrack for visual media and best score soundtrack for visual media.
Why is Timothée Chalamet nominated for a Grammy?
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s “Defying Gravity,” which won best pop duo/group performance. Neither was on hand to accept it, as host Darren Criss revealed after a brief interlude of the band playing “Uptown Funk.”
Just how many Grammy Awards are there?
There are 95 awards at this year’s Grammys, including two new ones: best album cover and best traditional country album.
All those awards can’t fit into a three-hour telecast, so most of them — 86, to be precise — are presented at the Premiere Ceremony.
But the major awards — including album of the year, record of the year, song of the year and best new artist — are presented during the main awards ceremony.
Premiere Ceremony is underway
The pre-telecast awards ceremony, where the majority of the Grammys are handed out, opens with a performance of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Shining Star” performed by Israel Houghton, Lila Ike, Grace Potter, Maggie Rose and Trombone Shorty.
The ceremony is being hosted by Darren Criss. Presenters — who announce batches of awards — include Édgar Barrera, Jesse Welles, Jimmy Jam, Sierra Hull, Trombone Shorty, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Dave Koz. Performers include Zara Larsson, Spiritbox, Tasha Combs Leonard and Criss and “Maybe Happy Ending” co-star Helen J. Shen.
What is the Grammys’ Premiere Ceremony?
The Grammys have nearly 100 awards to hand out. There’s simply not enough time to fit all of that, plus performances and acceptance speeches, into a three-hour, prime-time telecast. That’s where the Premiere Ceremony comes in.
The Premiere Ceremony runs for three hours, starting at 12:30 p.m. Pacific/3:30 p.m. Eastern. It’s where categories like best audiobook narration are handed out and it’s often where many stars earn their EGOT — like Viola Davis, in 2023 — or where people more famous for realms outside entertainment — like Barack Obama and Michelle Obama — pick up a Grammy. (The Obamas have two Grammys each.)
Cheat sheet: The top nominees
Kendrick Lamar leads the pack with nine nominations including nods in record, song and album of the year for “GNX.” It’s the third time he’s netted simultaneous nominations in the night’s biggest categories.
Trailing close behind are Lady Gaga and her “Mayhem,” Jack Antonoff and Canadian record producer/songwriter Cirkut with seven nominations each.
Leon Thomas, Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny and audio engineer Serban Ghenea follow with six.
What to expect from AP’s live show
Our Grammys red carpet live show, hosted by Leslie Ambriz, Gary Gerard Hamilton and Liam McEwan, is one of AP’s biggest productions in the entertainment realm, with a team of three hosts, several camera operators and more than a dozen supporting technicians, producers, editors and directors.
We’ll be switching between four cameras on our platform interview space; Recording Academy pool feeds showing attendees stepping out of their limousines and posing for fashion photographers; and a studio back in New York where we’ll get fashion analysis live from Morgan Evans.
This year, we’re also joined on the red carpet by fashion designer and YouTuber Kiana Bonollo, who will also provide fashion analysis.
Best album cover is a standalone category for the first time in 50 years
The nominees for the return of the best album cover category are Wet Leg’s “Moisturizer,” Bad Bunny’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” Tyler, the Creator’s “Chromakopia,” Perfume Genius’ “Glory” and Djo’s “The Crux.” The award goes to the project’s art directors, which includes recording artists in all cases except for “Glory.”
In recent years, covers had been assessed as part of the best recording package category, which considers all physical materials and images. The package for Charli xcx’s “Brat,” with its pop culture-infiltrating green, won last year. That category lives on this year too, with a different crop of nominees.
For the creative teams, the standalone cover award amplifies what goes into building the visual worlds of music. “When a cover in a campaign hits right,” photographer Neil Krug, nominated for “The Crux,” told the AP, “it’s part of the language and the fabric of what makes a great record a great record.”
Read more about the best album cover category, and this year’s nominees.
The main awards ceremony is set to start at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific.
You can watch the awards ceremony live on Citytv, CBS and stream it on Paramount+. Subscribers with the SHOWTIME add-on can stream the ceremony live, and Essential subscribers can watch it on demand the following day.
But the Premiere Ceremony, where most of the 95 awards are presented, will begin at 3:30 p.m. Eastern/12:30 p.m. Pacific.
The Premiere Ceremony, and other content like the red carpet and interviews, will be available at live.grammy.com.
