Dec. 7, 2018, 9:15 a.m.
Dec. 7, 2018, 9:10 a.m.
In terms of sheer breadth and impact, there’s likely never been a better year for movie music at the Grammys than the upcoming 2019 awards.
Two films, “A Star Is Born” and “Black Panther,” have soundtracks or singles contending in several top categories. A third, “The Greatest Showman,” got a pair of nods (it was the first million-selling album in the U.S. in 2018, and currently clocks 51 weeks on the Billboard album charts).
The three are very different films — a big-tent, big-message Marvel franchise movie with a Kendrick Lamar-driven soundtrack; a classic Hollywood tale updated for contemporary crowds, which revitalized Lady Gaga’s pop career and gave Bradley Cooper one of his own; and a traditional musical-spectacle from a nimble movie star and a lauded songwriting team.
Dec. 7, 2018, 8:44 a.m.
Most years the spoken word category ranks pretty low in the races to watch.
In recent years the biggest drama has been whether Stephen Colbert would ruin the chances of Pete Seeger earning one last Grammy. (Yes, in 2014.) Might Val Kilmer pull off an upset over Betty White and Tina Fey? Nope, Betty White won the 2012 trophy.
This year, however, a different sort of drama may be the focus: A book by author and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson earned a nomination. In recent weeks, Tyson has been defending himself against multiple allegations of sexual harassment, and assault. As read by actor Courtney B. Vance, Tyson’s book with Avis Lang, “Accessory to War,” is on the slate. Tyson has denied the allegations.
Dec. 7, 2018, 8:40 a.m.
The televised Grammy Awards ceremony has been known in recent years for its musical mash-ups — onstage performances among unlikely collaborators designed to blur genres and offer evidence of music’s universality.
The results have been surprising, occasionally delightful and just as often baffling.
Dec. 7, 2018, 7:51 a.m.
The rock categories at the Grammys have, for more than a decade, largely been a subsidy program for Dave Grohl and his ’90s-post-alt contemporaries.
But nothing gets Grammy rock voters hotter than a popular new band that nods back to older bands (see recent wins from the War On Drugs and Cage the Elephant), and this year has a major contender in Greta Van Fleet.
The young Michigan quartet had perhaps the strongest Grammy showing of any guitar-based rock group this year. With nominations in all the major rock categories (performance, song and album) and an additional nod for best new artist, it’s clear that they are the Grammy consensus pick for 2018’s breakthrough rock act.
Dec. 7, 2018, 7:43 a.m.
Awards season has long been underway for Kacey Musgraves.
Last month, her “Golden Hour” — a tender and dreamy meditation on new romance by this recently married 30-year-old — was named album of the year at the Country Music Assn. Awards.
Friday morning, nominations were unveiled for the Grammys, and Musgraves will compete in multiple categories including country album, country song and the prestigious album of the year.
Dec. 7, 2018, 7:29 a.m.
For close to two decades, Eminem has been a perennial favorite among Grammy voters –-- particularly in rap categories where he’s long dominated.
Ever since his breakthrough with 1999’s “The Slim Shady LP,” Eminem has been king of the rap album race. He’s collected the award seven times, the most of any rapper in history.
But he won’t bring it home in 2019.
Dec. 7, 2018, 7:08 a.m.
The nominations are officially out for the 61st Grammy Awards. But with 84 categories — including eight nominees in each of the top four categories — it’s a lot to digest.
Thankfully, Times music reporters Gerrick Kennedy and Randy Lewis are here to offer their instant takes on the major takeaways from the 2019 nominations. How far can “A Star Is Born” breakout tune “Shallow” go? Just why isn’t Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” up for album of the year? And will this finally be Kendrick Lamar’s year?
Watch video below for analysis on all that and more.
Dec. 7, 2018, 6:57 a.m.
Few in 2018 besides perhaps Kendrick Lamar can be virtually assured a Grammy nomination after releasing a recording, but followers of the spoken word category know better than to bet against former President Jimmy Carter after he drops an album.
The 39th president earned his ninth nod in 21 years in the category, this time for his reading of “Faith: A Journey for All.”
The recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize and a pair of Grammy Awards already, Carter will compete with a fever-dream field of fellow nominees: comedic actress Tiffany Haddish for her book “The Last Black Unicorn,” actor Courtney B. Vance for his reading of Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis Lang’s book “Accessory to War,” humor writer David Sedaris for his “Calypso” and drummer and “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon” bandleader Questlove for his “Creative Quest.”
Dec. 7, 2018, 6:44 a.m.
A cursory glance at a list of artists with multiple nominations for the 2019 Grammy Awards looks promising in the wake of last year’s #GrammysSoMale complaints that erupted after male performers overwhelmingly dominated the statuettes handed out, especially those distributed during the national telecast of the annual ceremony.
This year, among 11 people with five or more nominations, six are men, five are women.
Nods for album of the year are particularly wide-ranging. The Kendrick Lamar-led soundtrack to “Black Panther,” which features contributions from a plethora of major artists, is joined by Brandi Carlile’s “By the Way, I Forgive You,” Drake’s “Scorpion,” Cardi B’s “Invasion of Privacy,” H.E.R.’s “H.E.R.,” Post Malone’s “Beerbongs & Bentleys,” Janelle Monáe’s “Dirty Computer” and Kacey Musgraves’ “Golden Hour.”