meta-scriptFYI/TMI: Adele Among Oscar Nominees, Mariah Carey And Nicki Minaj Talk About Sex | GRAMMY.com

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FYI/TMI: Adele Among Oscar Nominees, Mariah Carey And Nicki Minaj Talk About Sex

Adele snags nomination for "Skyfall"; "American Idol" judges bond over sex tape

GRAMMYs/Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

(In an effort to keep you fully informed, and fully entertained, below we present today's FYI and TMI — news you need and news that's, well, sometimes needless….)

FYI …

GRAMMY Winners Garner Oscar Nominations
GRAMMY winners Adele, Alain Boublil, Alexandre Desplat, Paul Epworth, Herbert Kretzmer, Walter Murphy, Thomas Newman, Claude-Michel Schönberg, and John Williams are among the nominees for the 85th Annual Academy Awards to be held Feb. 24 in Los Angeles. Adele and Epworth, Murphy, and Schönberg, Boublil and Kretzmer received nominations in the Music (Original Song) category for "Skyfall" (Skyfall) "Everybody Needs A Best Friend" (Ted) and "Suddenly" (Les Misérables). In the Music (Original Score) category, Desplat, Newman and Williams received nominations for Argo, Skyfall and Lincoln, respectively. Additional music-related nominees include GRAMMY nominees Mychael Danna and Seth MacFarlane, and Bombay Jayashri, Dario Marianelli and J. Ralph.

Essence To Honor Knowles, La Havas During GRAMMY Week
Recording artists Solange Knowles and Lianne La Havas will be honored at Essence magazine's fourth annual Black Women in Music event during GRAMMY Week in Los Angeles on Feb. 6. Co-hosted by GRAMMY winner Kelly Rowland, the event will celebrate the accomplishments of influential and emerging and established artists and industry executives. Previous honorees include Mary J. Blige, Janelle Monáe and Rowland.

SiriusXM Adds 2 Million Subscribers
SiriusXM Radio announced the addition of 2 million net subscribers in 2012, the most subscriber additions that any U.S. on-demand service has gained to date, according to Billboard.biz. SiriusXM finished the year with a total of 23.9 million subscribers. The company projects the addition of 1.4 million net subscribers by the end of 2013.

TMI …

Carey And Minaj's Weird Make-Up Story
While the ongoing feud between "American Idol" judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj seemed to just be getting good, the dueling judgemates have reportedly reached a resolution. How did the pair go from throwing blows to blowing kisses? By taking in a movie together … except this wasn't just any movie. "I put on my sex tape," Minaj said when asked about the feud at a press conference. "And we watched my tape. … We're professionals." Solidifying that a truce has truthfully been made, Carey added, "Time heals all wounds." Apparently, so do sex tapes.

 

BMC's Recording Academy Honors 2024 Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey accepts the Global Impact Award during the Recording Academy Honors presented by the Black Music Collective

Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

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Here's What Happened At The Black Music Collective’s Recording Academy Honors 2024 GRAMMY Event Celebrating Mariah Carey & Lenny Kravitz

The power of staying true to yourself was at the center of the 2024 GRAMMY Week event. Honorees Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz were lauded by colleagues and performers, including Stevie Wonder, Quavo, Babyface and Andra Day.

GRAMMYs/Feb 3, 2024 - 08:34 pm

On a wet but buzzing Thursday evening ahead of the 2024 GRAMMYs, leading lights in the music industry gathered for the third annual Recording Academy Honors Presented By The Black Music Collective. Along the event's black carpet, stars and industry insiders were showing out — taking photos, reconnecting with friends and collaborators, and chatting with the press. 

The official 2024 GRAMMY Week event was held Feb. 1 — the first day of Black History Month — at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles and was sponsored by Amazon Music and City National Bank. Each year, BMC presents its Global Impact Award to legendary musicians advancing the culture, and 2024’s honorees Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carey, loomed over the entire evening before they'd even arrived.

Flava Flav, sporting his patented clock necklace, was also hyped about the evening. "It means everything to be at the GRAMMYs tonight. This is big," Flav told GRAMMY.com. The rapper then spoke about the two transcendent stars being honored. "I feel real big about the honorees. Mariah Carey, always been proud of her and I love her songs…Lenny Kravitz is my dude. That’s my man. So congratulations Lenny!" 

The significance of the event was felt from the first foot set on the black carpet. Afrobeats star Fireboy DML weighed in on the importance of the night. "I’m honored. It feels good. It’s always important to be in spaces like this," Fireboy told GRAMMY.com, adding that he's excited about his upcoming fourth album. "It’s important for the culture." 

As attendees inside the jam-packed ballroom room eagerly awaited the main guests of the night, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. spoke about the momentum being built through Black Music Collective. 

"[Last year] I spoke how great it was to be holding the second annual BMC event. To me it meant we established a new tradition. And now the tradition proudly continues," Mason Jr. told the audience, emphasizing how the influence of Black culture can be found in all corners of the world and across musical genres. 

A performance by Nigerian superstar Davido, a first-time GRAMMY nominee, spoke to the power of musical diversity in the Academy and BMC. Although the crowd had sat down with their appetizers, many stood up to vibe out as Davido performed his nominated song, "Unavailable."

By the time Andra Day, adorned in a bright red leather coat, got to the end of her rendition of "Strange Fruit" with support from trumpeter Keyon Harrold, everyone in the ballroom was on their feet. It was a great moment for Day, whose cover of Billie Holiday’s 1939 cry for justice hammered home the connection between Black artists across different genres and across time.

Gabby Samone garnered the second standing ovation of the night for her take on Nina Simone’s "Four Women." Simone has had a number of major cosigns as her star has grown brighter, and her fans include Jennifer Hudson and none other than Mariah Carey. Samone's performance was followed by a powerful song from Erica Campbell, whose I Love You is nominated for Best Gospel Album this year.

A set from DJ Mannie Fresh, Kravitz took the stage to receive the first BMC Global Impact Award of the night. Introduced by mentee H.E.R, she talked about "American Woman’s" genre-bending influence on her own career and Kravitz's own influence from childhood. "The fashion, the confidence, the badass walk, and the killer vocals made me at six years old say to my dad ‘I wanna play guitar.’ ‘I wanna be a rockstar.’ ‘I wanna be like Lenny Kravitz,’" H.E.R. said. 

She then listed off some of Kravitz’s other accomplishments including working on "Rustin," the new Netflix film about critical civil rights architect Bayard Rustin, as well as Kravitz’s work in philanthropy through his Let Love Rule Foundation. 

Once the din died down, Kravitz took a trip back to childhood, too. He shared how, when he went to go see the Jackson 5 with his family, and was so hooked that he dreamed of becoming part of the storied troupe. "I fantasized that I was their long lost brother and turned the Jackson 5 into the Jackson 6," he said.

Kravitz also spoke the various genres of music that helped mold him, drawn from many different corners. From his "grandfather’s block in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn," where he "witnessed the birth of hip-hop," to being shaped by legends like Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye and Nina Simone. He also shouted out his godmother, the late great actress Cicely Tyson. 

In a particularly cool mashup of genre and generation, Quavo provided vocals to "Fly Away," flanked by P-funk all star George Clinton, Earth, Wind & Fire bassist Verdine White, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. At the end of the performance, Kravitz went over to each performer and hugged them.

After a brief intermission, record producer and BMC Chair Rico Love shouted out leadership, including the Recording Academy board of trustees and Ryan Butler, Vice President of DEI. Love spoke about Black Music Collective as a space where everyone can feel at home. "The life of a creator is so hard. And lonely. That’s why it’s valuable to build community," he emphasized. 

Black Music Collective’s scholarship program, in collaboration with Amazon Music, Love said, will once again support HBCU students who aspire to be in the next generation of music industry power players. In 2023, scholarships were awarded to students at Florida A&M University, Texas Southern University, Norfolk State University, among others. Love recalls the mentors he had when he was coming up and is glad BMC is also paying it forward. 

Last night’s program found one of the few people on the planet that even Mariah Carey might be star struck by. Before the pop legend received her Global Impact Award, Stevie Wonder appeared and sat down over a keyboard. 

"Very excited to be here to celebrate someone that has been a friend and I’ve been a fan of since the very beginning of hearing her voice," he said, before serenading Carey with "I Just Called to Say I Love You," ending the rendition with "I love you, I love you, you are my hero."

Mariah Carey was seemingly surprised and star-struck herself. Once she overcame the awe, Carey detailed the pressure she faced early in her career to avoid leaning into Black music. "When I first started in the music business, I was often told to ‘conform’ to certain expectations. I was not encouraged to focus on my love for Black music," she told the crowd.

Later, some of Carey’s other friends and collaborators performed, including Babyface, who once sang backing vocals on Carey’s "Melt Away." (Carey then returned the favor by singing on "Every Time I Close My Eyes.") Another Carey collaborator, Busta Rhymes, performed crowd favorite "I Know What You Want" and offered sincere thanks to Carey for her boldness and desire to "run with the wolves." Tori Kelly also sang "Vision of Love" during this segment and earlier in the night, gospel legend Yolanda Adams performed "Make It Happen." The third annual Recording Academy Honors/BMC event certainly did make it happen, as attendees flooded out of the ballroom and into the streets pumped with pride.

2024 GRAMMYs: See The Full Nominees And Winners List

Head to live.GRAMMY.com all year long to watch all the GRAMMY performances, acceptance speeches, the GRAMMY Live From The Red Carpet livestream special, the full Premiere Ceremony livestream, and even more exclusive, never-before-seen content from the 2024 GRAMMYs.

Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey

Photo courtesy of Mariah Carey

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Mariah Carey To Receive Global Impact Award At Recording Academy Honors Presented By The Black Music Collective

The third annual GRAMMY Week event will take place on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, at the Fairmount Century Plaza.

GRAMMYs/Jan 31, 2024 - 08:00 pm

Mariah Carey might be a winner of five golden gramophones, and a nominee for 34 — but her recognition by the Recording Academy doesn't stop there.

The global pop icon has been announced as one of this year's Recording Academy Global Impact Award Honorees. Carey will be honored with the Recording Academy Global Impact Award, a CEO Merit Award that recognizes Black music creators whose dedication to the art form has greatly influenced the industry and whose legacy of service inspires countless individuals worldwide, celebrating those who, through leadership and passion, empower others to embrace their authentic selves and contribute to positive change.

Carey is the second of three Recording Academy Global Impact Award Honorees to be announced. Just yesterday, four-time GRAMMY Award winner Lenny Kravitz was unveiled as the first 2024 Recording Academy Global Impact Award Honoree; one more honoree will be announced on Thurs, Feb. 1, 2024.

Music executive and renowned photographer Lenny S will curate the Icons Gallery at the event, a captivating art activation paying tribute to generations of influential Black music icons. 

Adam Blackstone will return for the third consecutive year as music supervisor of the Black Music Collective event. MVD Inc will also return for the third consecutive year to produce the event.

The third annual Recording Academy Honors, sponsored by Amazon Music and City National Bank, will take place just days before Music's Biggest Night, with Amazon Music returning as a sponsor for a third consecutive year.

Live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and hosted by Trevor Noah, Music's Biggest Night will be broadcast live on Sun, Feb. 4, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on the CBS Television Network and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

Prior to the Telecast, the GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony will be broadcast live from the Peacock Theater at 12:30 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on live.GRAMMY.com.

The 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be produced by Fulwell 73 Productions for the Recording Academy for the fourth consecutive year. Ben Winston, Raj Kapoor and Jesse Collins are executive producers.

Keep checking this space for all things Mariah Carey and the 2024 GRAMMYs!

2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List

Ice Spice GRAMMY Feature Hero
Ice Spice

Photo: Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images

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The Rise Of Ice Spice: How The "Barbie World" Rapper Turned Viral Moments Into A Full-On Franchise

Ice Spice charmed the masses with her flirty rhymes and playful, Bronx-born personality. Now with four nominations at the 2024 GRAMMYs — including Best New Artist — she's solidified her position as Gen Z rap royalty.

GRAMMYs/Jan 31, 2024 - 06:53 pm

From Slick Rick to Cardi B, rap has long been synonymous with exorbitant personalities. But in 2023, Ice Spice showed that you can still make noise with subtle charm.

The 24-year-old charmed the masses with her nonchalant flow and demeanor, paired with boisterous Bronx drill beats. Just two years into her career, Ice Spice was coined the "People's Princess" — a title first given to the late Princess Diana, whose name serves as the title for the rapper's breakthrough single. 

While Ice's Bronx pride, Y2K fashion and relatable disposition contribute to her appeal, a fan noted on Twitter that her most prominent qualities mirror Diana's: "Resilient, determined and blazing their own trail - in [her] own way." Even her mentor (and "Princess Diana" collaborator) Nicki Minaj co-signed the royal title: "Catch it!!" she exclaimed in a March 2023 Instagram Story.

Ice Spice's reign was solidified by countless accolades in 2023, as she scored four top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and over a billion streams. And when it came to the 2024 GRAMMYs, her impact is apparent: not only did Ice Spice earn her first four nominations, but she's the only rapper up for Best New Artist. (She also earned nods in the Best Rap Song and Best Song Written For Visual Media Categories for her "Barbie World" collaboration with Minaj, as well as Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for her "Karma" collaboration with Taylor Swift.)

2024 GRAMMYs: Explore More & Meet The Nominees

The first inklings of Ice Spice's virality came in 2021, when she began making music with her college friend-turned-producer and fellow Bronx native RIOTUSA. That year, the rapper took part in TikTok's "Buss It" challenge, with her seductive dance moves going viral. She quickly capitalized on the moment, using her growing number of followers to draw attention to her music. She soon released debut songs like "Bully Freestyle" and "Name of Love," but it was the following year that officially ignited her rap takeover.

In the summer of 2022, Ice Spice's independently released "Munch (Feelin' U)" single was virtually inescapable following a Drake co-sign, nearly 120 million Spotify streams and a music video that became a meme (Lil Nas X even donned Ice Spice's video look for Halloween). The song's rapid popularity led to a deal with 10K Projects and Capitol Records shortly after its release. But it also had naysayers questioning if the rapper was an industry plant and doubting her career success.

"Everybody was tryna be like, 'Oh, she a one-hit wonder,'" Ice Spice said of her critics in an episode of Genius' "Verified" series. "But now, it's like, 'What? Two-hit wonder?'"

When it comes to virality, Ice Spice has the Midas Touch — and she's well aware of it. Whether it's her signature phrases "grah" and "like", her passion for twerking ("But I'm still shaking ass in the deli", she exclaims on "Deli"), or self-affirmations that are perfect for Instagram captions ("How can I lose if I'm already chose? Like," she assures on "Bikini Bottom"), her calm, cool and collected confidence has held a tight grip on social media and beyond.

"I wouldn't consider myself a lyricist. Obviously, lyrics go into music and I do think about them, and I do be having bars in my music but they're just super simple," she told Complex in October. "I want them to be digestible, I don't want them to fly over people's heads and they never catch it. I want people to hear it right away and be like, 'OK, that was cute.' But it's also fun at the same time."

Following the release of her Like ..? EP in January 2023, Ice Spice proved her versatility and knack for hit-making with an onslaught of both niche and A-list collaborations. Massive singles like "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2" with fellow Gen Z princess PinkPantheress and the "Princess Diana" remix with Nicki Minaj peaked at No. 3 and 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.

In fact, "Diana" helped Ice Spice already land a history-making feat: it marked the first time that No. 1 co-billed by two women topped Billboard's Hot Rap Songs chart since its launch 34 years ago. And through that collab, Ice Spice gained a mentor in Minaj.

"She be telling me to learn from her mistakes — just watching her in general, if you pay close enough attention, you gonna see what you should do," Ice shared with The Guardian about Minaj. "I love to talk to her about things that I can't talk about publicly — it just means so much to be able to have somebody like her."

Ice Spice further proved her mainstream appeal last May, propelling into the pop stratosphere alongside Taylor Swift. The two joined forces for a remix of Swift's Midnights track "Karma," which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the rapper's highest-charting song to date as of press time. 

"I relate to Ice in many ways, but I think her dedication and focus is what blew me away from the very start," Swift, who brought the rapper on stage at the New Jersey stop of her blockbuster Eras Tour, shared with Variety in September. "She's extremely professional without being cold. Playful and fun without ever taking her eye off the prize. 

"She knows what is and isn't 'her' and sets those boundaries with grace," Swift continued. "She studies the industry and other artists' careers but is very clear about charting her own definitive, original path. It's her ability to carefully find that balance that impresses the hell out of me."

Ice Spice kept the momentum going last June, latching on to the summer's biggest pop culture moment — the Barbie movie. And what better way to celebrate the occasion than with the Head Barb herself?

The rapper reunited with Minaj for "Barbie World," which sampled Aqua's 1997 Eurodance smash "Barbie Girl" and soundtracked the closing credits of the blockbuster. The drill-meets-Jersey-club collaboration debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Ice Spice's fourth top 10 hit in just four months. 

"Where we come from, our borough is often 'judged' — people have a lot of mixed opinions on it. So to be able to have such an iconic song with the type of genre that comes from where we're from is awesome," producer RIOTUSA told Billboard of the track. "[We] get to shed new light on the genre and bring it to a bigger place."

Ice Spice wrapped a momentous year with multiple festival performances including Rolling Loud and Hot 97's Summer Jam, a Best New Artist win at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, a brilliant partnership with Dunkin' Donuts (the commercial announcement of the Ice Spice Munchkins Drink featured actor and Dunkin superfan Ben Affleck), a musical guest debut for the season 49 premiere of "Saturday Night Live" in October (Swift made a surprise cameo to introduce her new BFF), and opening for Doja Cat's Scarlet Tour in November.

And just one week into 2024, the rapper spawned her first viral moment of the year, sharing a snippet of a hilariously unserious bar, "Thinking you the s—, bitch you not even the fart." The clip was a preview of her first release of 2024, aptly titled "Think U The S— (Fart)," which racked up eight million views on the teaser alone.

On Jan. 30, Ice Spice confirmed that her forthcoming album (titled Y2K, which alludes both to her style and her January 1, 2000 birth date) is coming this year; though she didn't announce a release date, she did reveal it's "almost finished". On the heels of a massive 2023, there's no doubt Ice Spice is ready to continue her rap domination — one drill anthem at a time.

"I always felt like I could do anything I tried to do, but especially now it feels like anything is possible," she told The Guardian. "Being at award shows, being on magazine covers, getting huge features — all those moments made me feel like, Wow, we're really doing it big."

The Official 2024 GRAMMYs Playlist is Here: Listen To Songs By SZA, Doja Cat, Taylor Swift, Jon Batiste, & More

Lenny Kravtiz To Receive Global Impact Award
Lenny Kravitz

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Lenny Kravitz To Receive Global Impact Award At The Recording Academy Honors Presented By The Black Music Collective Event During GRAMMY Week 2024

The Global Impact Award will celebrate Lenny Kravitz's personal and professional achievements in the music industry. The third annual GRAMMY Week event will be held at the Fairmont Century Plaza on Thursday, Feb. 1.

GRAMMYs/Jan 30, 2024 - 08:48 pm

Ahead of the 2024 GRAMMYs, four-time GRAMMY-winning artist Lenny Kravitz will receive the Recording Academy Global Impact Award at the third annual Recording Academy Honors Presented By The Black Music Collective, an official GRAMMY Week 2024 event taking place Thursday, Feb. 1, at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. The event is sponsored by Amazon Music and City National Bank. Kravitz is the first of three Recording Academy Global Impact Award Honorees; additional honorees will be announced ahead of the event.

The Global Impact Award is a CEO Merit Award that recognizes Black music creators whose dedication to the art form has greatly influenced the industry. Honorees are lauded for their inspirational legacy of service and celebrated for the myriad ways recipients' leadership and passion has empowered others to embrace authenticity and contribute to positive change.

The 2023 recipients of the Recording Academy Global Impact Award were GRAMMY Award-winning artists Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott, Lil Wayne, and legendary music executive Sylvia Rhone.

MVD Inc will also return for the third consecutive year to produce the event and The Black Music Collective event will once again feature GRAMMY nominee Adam Blackstone as the musical supervisor of the evening. Music executive and renowned photographer Lenny S will curate the Icons Gallery at the event, a captivating art activation paying tribute to generations of influential Black music icons.

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