It bubbles, fizzes, pangs, moans, screeches, strikes — hyperpop is constantly slithering through modernity toward new light. Forging futuristic soundscapes, the subgenre harnesses the power of experimentation with a distinct mission of upheaval.

With its origins commonly traced back to the late trailblazer SOPHIE and English musician A.G. Cook, hyperpop fuses electronic, hip-hop, and other genres into brash beauty. Hyperpop's cartoonish dynamism embraces the eccentric and bold, but it also grasps at something revolutionary. Its search for escapism is parallel to an auditory, avant-garde iconoclasm.

Whether it's riding a viral TikTok wave or getting boosted to new audiences on Spotify-curated playlists, the quickly-evolving genre has increasingly resonated with people, especially with members of Gen Z and the queer community. Though some characterize it as a microgenre, it's evident that hyperpop is expanding rapidly into the mainstream. 

In honor of hyperpop's dedication to fulfilling curiosity, here are seven enterprising mainstays of the subgenre.

Hannah Diamond

A poster girl for A.G. Cook's PC Music label, Hannah Diamond underscores hyperpop's futurism. Her music's hyperreality blends bubblegum pop and outlandish experimentalism, crafting records that feel cutesy but earnest. Her work cradles a characteristic soft sweetness, but at other times, she's not afraid to lean into a grittier, harsher production.

Diamond guides a bouncy nostalgia across surrealism, exploring how identity develops on and alongside the internet — her '90s aesthetic invokes images of MSN Messenger, MySpace, and moodboards. On tracks like "Hi," Diamond questions reality and love from a lonely bedroom, braiding together confusion and longing.

Everything about Diamond's music feels glossy and futuristic. When you listen to her hyperpop endeavors, its experimentalism parallels the thrill of notifications blowing up your first-ever phone under your desk at school.

Alice Longyu Gao

Since beginning to release music in 2018, Alice Longyu Gao has never looked back. The Chinese multi-hyphenate channels their ambition into concentrated, zealous hyperpop songs, signing onto 100 Gecs' Dylan Brady's label Dog Show Records in 2019.

Gao's sprawling artistic career ranges from fashion to DJing to photography to experiential art installation, but their heart lies within music. The creative's distorted vocals flicker over textured tracks, pierced by everything from the quick squeal of turntables to clownlike honking car horns.

Whether Gao's keeping their "100 Boyfriends" on their wrist or drinking "Rich B— Juice" with 100 Gecs' Laura Les (the latter song landing a spot on Lady Gaga's 2020 "Women of Choice" Apple Music playlist), the musician is rapidly expanding their vision with vigor.

Shygirl

Shygirl's music swims in restless fantasy. Known for working with producers such as Sega Bodega and Arca, the English singer/songwriter shapes everything from hyperpop to deconstructed club to grime. Her whirlwind raps flicker with idiosyncrasy and insouciance, and while she might not fall explicitly into the hyperpop genre, Shygirl's style is so creatively modern that she remains a key influence to the genre.

Shygirl released a flurry of innovative singles starting back in 2016, deciding two years later to quit her day job at a modeling agency to pursue music. Since then, her work has explored the depths of desire with both a classic pop feel and distinctive experimental edge, and she cites Mariah Carey, Aphex Twin, Róisín Murphy, and Björk as a few of her core influences.

Juggling a tour in support of her debut album Nymph with managing her co-founded record label Nuxxe, it's clear Shygirl is a busy girl — so try to keep up.

Namasenda

You never know where a drunk DM might take you, but in Naomi Namasenda's case, it got her signed to PC Music. While the label is associated with hyperpop, the Swedish musician — who mononymously goes by her last name — transcends categorization.

Crafting calculated musical chaos as a double Scorpio, Namasenda always knows how to find the fun in life. Her affinity for action movies helped inspire her 2021 album Unlimited Ammo, a vessel of experimental ambition filled with everything from gunshots to glittery pulses.

Though her vocals might technically glitch into voids on her tracks, Namasenda's voice as an artist is stronger than ever. As the first Black musician to sign to PC Music, Namasenda is reminding us how boundless hyperpop really is.

daine

Injecting hyperpop with pop punk, daine is a rising master of the bittersweet.

Angst underlies the Filipino-Australian musician's scream-ridden, electric tracks, and her demanding songwriting unlocks a rawness that cuts skin-deep. Having worked closely with mentor Charli XCX, it's no wonder daine's plunges into pop feel so exhilarating and ultra contemporary.

On her debut mixtape Quantum Jumping, which features songs she wrote back when she was a teenager, her voice wanders through waves of electronica, knowing when to pull back or escalate. Balancing delicacy and intensity, daine manages to find stability amid heavy trap and emo influences, though she's increasingly shifting into a fitting pop sound. Her work is often described as "otherworldly" — a word that perfectly captures her music's punky escapism.

COBRAH

A former high school musical theatre kid, COBRAH was meant for the stage. Her concerts remix and reinvent songs live, bubbling with a sweaty energy that makes it impossible not to dance.

Yet, even if you're not witnessing COBRAH on stage, this spirit carries into her studio recorded tracks with ease. Characterized by some as "BDSM pop," COBRAH's music is heavily inspired by the fetish club scene (see: "GOOD PUSS" and "WET"),  and her slinky, sticky beats echo with pop, cyberpunk, and disco.

Impulsive at its finest, COBRAH's hyperpop ventures throb with magnetism. Some of her songs channel nervous excitement — like "DEBUT," in which she describes her experience casually dating curious straight women — but most of her music channels a radiant confidence.

The multi-talented artist also takes pride in her independence, self-releasing music via her own record label, GAGBALL Records. From sewing her outfits to booking venues, she serves as her own creative director and designer — proving that you really can do it all.

Slayyyter

Oh me, oh my! From getting her start on SoundCloud to headlining international shows, Slayyyter streamlines sultry, gleeful lyrics over hyperpop production. With sensual vivacity, the musician always carries herself with an irresistible confidence that translates to her live shows.

Inspired by icons like Britney Spears, Madonna and Lady Gaga, Slayyyter is determined to change the pop soundscape with her futuristic vision. Frequently collaborating with producer Ayesha Erotica, Slayyyter writes music that italicizes sexual freedom and playfulness — a self-declared "Throatzillaaa," she's "popping bottles and f— models" on "Daddy AF" and reminding a boy that she's the "boss b—" while he's trapped in the "Dog House.''

With music this neon and campy, it's safe to say that Slayyyter slays as a hyperpop staple putting the petty back in pop.

Sophie Created A Boundless, Genderless Future For Pop

A dance floor just isn’t the same without a bustling crowd of attendees bobbing to the beat. Nor would electronic music be electronic music without its culture-shifting women.

Women are effecting change while commanding dance floors, a duality inherent to the experience of being a woman in electronic music. Although women are becoming more visible across the genre — gracing the covers of editorial playlists, starting labels, and topping lineups — most do not operate in the limelight. Many, like some of the changemakers underscored below, work tirelessly behind the scenes toward a more equitable future. 

The women on this list span generations and creative roles, but are unified by their propulsive contributions to the electronic space. By persisting against the status quo and excelling at their respective crafts, they have and will continue to expand what’s possible for women in electronic music. 

To honor Women’s History Month, GRAMMY.com highlights some of the many needle-moving women in electronic music, as well as one rising talent, working as DJs, producers, organizers, and broadcasters.

Annie Nightingale

Radio Broadcaster & Television Presenter

"This is the woman who changed the face and sound of British TV and radio broadcasting forever. You can’t underestimate it," fellow BBC Radio 1 broadcaster, Annie Mac, wrote in an Instagram post honoring the life and legacy of the late Annie Nightingale. Nightingale died on Jan. 11, 2024, at her home in London. She was 83.

There is nothing hyperbolic about Mac’s characterization of Nightingale. After beginning her career as a journalist, Nightingale went on to have an enduring impact on the airwaves and was a pioneering presence in radio and television broadcasting. In addition to becoming BBC Radio 1’s first woman presenter, Nightingale, who joined the station in 1970, was also its longest-serving host. She maintains the Guinness Book of Records’ world record for the"Longest Career as a Radio Presenter (Female). Nightingale notably also co-hosted BBC’s weekly TV show, "The Old Grey Whistle Test." 

Across her six decades in broadcasting, Nightingale became both a trailblazer and, later, an emblem of what was possible for women in the industry. A celebrated tastemaker who took her talents to the decks, DJing festivals around the world, Nightingale paved the way for the following generations of women broadcasters and radio DJs while famously turning listeners on to releases running the gamut of genres: punk, grime, acid house, and everything in between. In 2021, she established an eponymous scholarship (“The Annie Nightingale Presents Scholarship”) to empower women and non-binary DJs in electronic music. The three recipients selected annually are featured in a special edition of “Annie Nightingale Presents” on Radio 1.

“Ever since I began, I have wanted to help other young broadcasters passionate about music to achieve their dreams on the airwaves, and now we at Radio 1 are to put that on a proper footing,” Nightingale said at the time of the scholarship’s foundation.

Beyond broadcasting and DJing, Nightingale also embraced the written word. She published three memoirs, Chase the Fade (1981), Wicked Speed (1999), and Hey Hi Hello (2020). 

TOKiMONSTA

DJ/Producer

That women in the dance/electronic industry face a disproportionate amount of adversity compared to their male counterparts is no secret. These hurdles are hard enough to clear without a rare and serious cerebrovascular condition that significantly increases one’s risk for sudden aneurysm or stroke. But in 2015, TOKiMONSTA confronted both. Her sobering diagnosis — Moyamoya disease — necessitated not one, but two brain surgeries. The interventions left her unable to talk, write, or understand speech and music. 

Yet three months later, after slow and steady strides to recovery, TOKiMONSTA took the stage in Indio Valley to play to a crowd of 15,000 at Coachella 2016.

A beacon of both tenacity and invention, the name TOKiMONSTA bespeaks a laundry list of culture-shifting accomplishments in the electronic space. She was notably the first woman to sign to Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label, where her first album, Midnight Menu, debuted in 2010. In 2019, she earned her first-ever GRAMMY nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album — the first Asian American producer to be nominated in the Category.

Over the years, achievement has gone hand-in-hand with advocacy for TOKiMONSTA. The Korean American electronic experimentalist has been vocal about gender inequities in the music business and was profiled in the 2020 documentary Underplayed. Directed by Stacey Lee, the production focused on dance music’s pervasive and persistent gender imbalances through women DJ/producers’ first-hand accounts of inequality. 

Nina Kraviz

DJ/Producer & Label Head

Equal parts crate digger, disruptor, and needle mover, Nina Kraviz is writing history for women in electronic music in real time. The Siberian dentist-turned-DJ-producer, whose discography dates back to 2007 (her first 12’, "Amok," was released via Greg Wilson’s B77 label), isn’t just one of the first names to break in the global techno scene — she’s also one of the first women in techno to become a headline act. 

Kraviz’s toes have touched some of electronic music’s most venerated stages, ranging from Tomorrowland to Gashouder to Pacha Ibiza, not to mention places off the genre’s beaten path. Her 2018 headline stint at the base of the Great Wall of China is a flashpoint of her rich history of propulsive contributions to the electronic space, and one as anomalous as her ever-off-the-cuff sets. Live, the avant-gardist blends techno, acid, psytrance, experimental, and house in blistering, maximalist fashion, slipping in releases from her own imprint, трип ("Trip"), along the way. 

Kraviz has spearheaded the subversive label since 2014, where she’s deftly blurred the lines between emergent and established talent across its tally of releases. In 2017, she launched Galaxiid, an experimental sublabel of трип, an endeavor that has further substantiated her status as one of electronic music’s finest and most eccentric selectors. 

Aluna

Singer/Songwriter, DJ/Producer & Label Head 

After making an early name for herself as one-half of the electronic duo AlunaGeorge, Aluna Francis, known mononymously as Aluna, has compellingly charted her course as a solo act since 2020. As she’s sung, song written, and DJ/produced her way to prominence, the Wales-born triple-threat continues to demonstrate her artistic ability while re-emphasizing electronic’s Black, Latinx, and LGBTQIA+ roots, flourishing amid her own creative renaissance.

In 2020, Aluna penned an open letter addressing the lack of diversity and pervasive inequality in the dance/electronic ecosystem. Following a lack of true change, Aluna has tirelessly extended her hand to acts from underrepresented groups in an effort to diversify the white, heteronormative dance/electronic industry. Near the end of 2023, in partnership with EMPIRE, Aluna founded Noir Fever to "feed the future of Black Dance Music." The label will broadly embrace Black dance music, with an emphasis on female and LGBTQIA+ artists. 

"Every time I found myself on one of those dry, outdated festival lineups or playlists with no other Black women, I’d ask myself, what would have to change for this to not happen again?…How can I create a sustainable pathway and not just an opportunity for tokenism?" Aluna shared in a series of tweets announcing Noir Fever last November. "It was obvious to me that a label would give me the opportunity to do that and ultimately ensure the hottest new Black Dance Music is being supported." 

Shygirl

Singer/Songwriter, Rapper, DJ/Producer

In one breath, she’s opening for Beyoncé on the Renaissance World Tour. In another, she’s toplining a glossy club hit. In yet another, she’s cerebrally delivering bars with both control and cadence. Shygirl’s wheelhouse is a multidimensional kaleidoscope of artistic abilities: she can sing, she can write songs, she can rap, and she can DJ/produce. Simply put, there’s not much that the vanguard of experimental electronic music in the making can’t do. 

The 30-year-old multi-hyphenate, studied under Sega Bodega, Arca, and the late SOPHIE. She expertly flits between hyperpop, grime, industrial hip-hop, electronica, and R&B, among other styles, on her gamut-running releases. But Shygirl does so with idiosyncrasy and flair — two traits that define her approach and distinguish her singular sound. Even Rihanna has taken notice — Shygirl’s 2016 single alongside Bodega, "Want More," soundtracked one of Fenty Beauty’s advertisements in 2019.

Shygirl's Club Shy EP landed on Feb. 16; she helms a party series of the same name that started in East London and has since stopped by Los Angeles, Brazil, Chicago, and New York. 

Though Shygirl no longer runs the label arm of NUXXE, the hybrid club collective/record label she co-founded made waves following its establishment in 2016. In addition to releasing Shygirl’s first single ("Want More"), NUXXE pushed out other trajectory-solidifying productions, including her debut EP, Cruel Practice, while empowering her with a fluency in label operations that will serve her well as she increasingly expands her electronic footprint. 

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Contemporary dance and electronic music has dramatically changed from its origins. Major cities around the world — including Belgium, Miami, Las Vegas and Chicago — have capitalized on the genre’s popularity within the last decade to hold large electronic music festivals like Tomorrowland, Spring Awakening, Electric Daisy Carnival and Ultra Music Festival, each of which gather  tens of thousands of fans.

But while electronic music continues to serve as a destination experience for many young listeners, electronic music’s origins actually begin within the Black community. Evolving in the 1980s from the cultural decline of disco (another Black genre of music), electronic genres like house (born in Chicago) and techno (born in Detroit) gained footing with a multicultural collection of fans interested in progressing the sounds of the dance floor. 

Although some of the biggest contemporary stars in dance music may be young white men, some of the genre’s most interesting — and diverse — performers are only just emerging right now.

Black artists have continued to push the sound forward, incorporating other genres and elements while staying true to dance music’s roots. In celebration of Black Music Appreciation Month, here are five emerging artists pushing electronic and dance music forward. 

Moore Kismet

Born Omar Davis, Southern California native Moore Kismet is a non-binary and pansexual superstar in-the-making with a progressive sound and message. A musical prodigy, Kismet’s artistic journey began at just 7 years old with a family laptop, a copy of the production software Fruity Loops and a self-taught practice.

Since then, Kismet has released multiple singles and EPs, including "Character" in 2019 and Vendetta for Cupid and Flourish) in 2021. Kismet has racked up major festival appearances, including Lollapalooza and Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, making them the youngest performer at both events. Earlier this year, Kismet collaborated with celebrated singer/songer Tate McRae on the downtempo pseudo-ballad "Parallel Heartbreak." Featuring vocals by singer Pauline Herr, the track is illustrative of Kismet’s unique, pop-leaning sound. Now, at 17 years old, Kismet is set to release their debut album, UNIVERSE, on June 24. 

TSHA

A lot can change in four years. Just look at London-based DJ and producer TSHA (aka Teisha Matthews), who has grown from fledgling musician to celebrated artist since her debut EP, 2018’s Dawn, was released. But that shouldn’t come as a surprise to most listeners.

Matthews’ love of electronic music (and creative drive) began at a young age, with a mother who loved Carl Cox and Skrillex and an older brother who DJed house, garage and jungle. 

As she got older, TSHA began to experiment on her own, eventually creating the moniker TSHA for her charismatic blend of '90s deep house and techno. 

It’s only been up since then, with shoutouts from media darlings like Annie Mac and Zane Lowe, and fellow electronic artists like Bonobo. Last month, Matthews released fabric presents TSHA, a 25-track, house-leaning DJ mix featuring fellow emerging and established artists. Her new single "Boyz," included on the mix is a pleasant tune sure to please most listeners. 

PinkPantheress

PinkPantheress is unafraid to blend genres as disparate as house, garage, R&B and pop. The London-based musician has made a name for herself, especially on social media, among young fans who’ve taken to using her surprisingly hefty and heartfelt songs as the perfect soundtrack to the minutiae of their lives. Early singles "Just a Waste," "Break it Off," and "Pain" went viral on TikTok, with the latter crossing over to the UK Singles Chart, reaching  No. 35. That’s no small feat for a then-unsigned artist.

Since that early success, PinkPantheress has also released her super-short debut mixtape, To Hell With It, which has garnered critical acclaim for its abundance of memorable melodies and her singular, breathy vocals. As an artist on the rise, PinkPantheress is not afraid to stand out from her fellow artists, mixing moods, harmonies and genres with an ease that illuminates her love of electronic music. 

Shygirl

Few artists can "do it all" quite like Shygirl. Born Blane Muise, this English rapper, DJ, singer/songwriter and Nuxxe record label head has quietly worked in the underground, experimental electronic music world establishing her singular brand of music.

Blending elements of house, grime, club and hyperpop, Muise first gained recognition for collaborations with artists such as Arca, Sega Bodega and the late genius Sophie. Since then, she has released two EPs, 2018’s Cruel Practice and 2020’s Alias. This September, she’ll drop her first full-length, Nymph. "Firefly," the first single from the album, is a glitchy yet catchy wonder, perfectly capturing Shygirl’s enduring appeal and a perfect complement for those dreamy long days of summer. 

Doechii

It can take a lot for a musician to break through amongst the glut of distractions, stimuli and content available online. And yet Tampa-born Doechii (a.k.a. Jaylah Hickmon) — who raps and sings — did just that earlier this year with her provocative, groundbreaking music video for the frenetic yet brilliant single "Crazy."

The 3-minute stunner, filled with nudity and violence was a perfect introduction to Doechii’s music, which crosses genres and boundaries with ease. Immediately garnering controversy, the video was banned by YouTube from trending and monetization. "Crazy is about un-contained power, creativity and confidence. People call you crazy when they fear you or they don’t understand you," she said about the track and video on Instagram. "So when I use it in the song, I’m reflecting that energy back on them to show them themselves." 

However, not all of the Top Dawg Entertainment (home of Kendrick Lamar, SZA and Isaiah Rashad) artist’s music is so controversial. Another 2022 single, "Persuasive," has gone viral on TikTok for its uplifting, empowering message. Although she’s already independently released two collections of music, Doechii didn’t garner mainstream attention until the last two years or so, making her forthcoming debut record all the more exciting. 

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Since Mike Piacentini’s switch from computer science to audio engineering in college, his family has been his biggest champions. So, when he received his nomination for Best Immersive Album for Madison Beer's pop album Silence Between Songs, at the 2024 GRAMMYs, it was a no-brainer to invite his parents and wife.

“He’s always been into music. He had his own band, so [the shift] wasn’t surprising at all,” Piacentini’s mother says in the newest episode of Family Matters. “He’s very talented. I knew one day he would be here. It’s great to see it actually happen.”

In homage to his parents’ support, Piacentini offered to let his father write a short but simple acceptance in case he won: “Thank you, Mom and Dad,” he jokes.

Alongside his blood relatives, Piacentini also had support from his colleague Sean Brennan. "It's a tremendous honor, especially to be here with [Piacentini]. We work day in and day out in the studio," Brennan explains. "He's someone who's always there."

Press play on the video above to learn more about Mike Piacentini's support system, and remember to check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Family Matters.

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It's fair to say that the 1980s hadn't been particularly kind to country legend Johnny Cash. Once considered the Don of the Nashville scene, the singer/songwriter suddenly found himself dropped by Columbia Records, recording terrible parody songs (remember "The Chicken in Black"?), and addicted to painkillers after a bizarre accident in which he was kicked by an ostrich.

But as the new decade approached, Cash's reputation gradually started to recover. A 1988 tribute album, 'Til Things Are Brighter, alerted a much younger indie generation of his catalog of classics. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. And then arguably the biggest band in the world at the time, U2, invited him to take lead vocals on Zooropa's post-apocalyptic closer "The Wanderer." The scene was set for a triumphant comeback, and on 1994's American Recordings, the Man in Black duly obliged.

The Rick Rubin-produced album was far from a one-off. Cash delivered three American follow-ups in his lifetime (1996's Unchained, 2000's Solitary Man, and 2002's The Man Comes Around). And two posthumous volumes (2006's A Hundred Highways, 2010's Ain't No Grave)  further bridged the gap between his statuses as country outlaw and elder statesman — and helped further his legacy as one of country's all-time greats.

As the first American Recordings installment celebrates its 30th anniversary, here's a look at how the series deservedly rejuvenated the career of an American recording legend.

It United Him With A New Muse 

Best known for his pioneering work with Run-D.M.C., Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy, Rick Rubin seemed an unusual fit for a sixty-something country singer whose glory days were considered decades behind him. But left spellbound by Cash's performance at a Bob Dylan anniversary gig in 1992, the superproducer offered to make the Nashville legend a superstar once more.

Cash took some persuading, but eventually agreed to join forces on the assurance he'd be in the creative driving seat, and a new unlikely dream team was born. Rubin lent his talents to all six volumes of American Recordings — co-producing the middle two with Cash's son John Carter Cash – and won the first GRAMMY of his career for his efforts. The Def Jam co-founder would also later work his magic with several other '60s heroes including Neil Diamond, Yusuf and Neil Young.

It Saw Cash Lean Into Contemporary Music More Than Ever

Cash had never been averse to tackling contemporary material. He covered Bruce Springsteen's "Highway Patrolman" in 1983, just a year after it appeared on The Boss' Nebraska. But the American Recordings series saw the Man in Black embrace the sounds du jour like never before, whether the grunge of Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage," electro-blues of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus," or most famously, industrial rock of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt."

On paper, this could have been nothing short of a disaster, the sign of an aging artist desperately latching onto a much younger musical generation in a transparent bid for relevancy. But instead, Cash elevates the Gen X classics into modern hymns, his sonorous voice injecting a sense of gravitas and Rubin's production stripping things back to their bare but compelling essentials. Far from an embarrassing grandad act, this was the sound of a man respectfully making the source material his own.

It Returned Cash To The Charts 

Cash had reached the lower end of the Billboard 200 in the '80s as part of supergroups The Highwaymen and Class of '55. But you had to go all the way back to 1976's One Piece at a Time to find his last entry as a solo artist. The American Recordings series, however, slowly but surely restored the Man in Black to his former chart glories.

Indeed, while its first two volumes charted at numbers 110 and 170 respectively, the third peaked at a slightly more impressive 88 and the fourth at 22, his highest position since 1970's Hello, I'm Johnny Cash. The posthumous fifth entry, meanwhile, went all the way to No. 1, remarkably the first time ever the country legend had achieved such a feat with a studio effort (live album At San Quentin had previously topped the charts in 1971).

"Hurt" also became Cash's first solo US country hit in 14 years in 2003. And while it only landed at No. 56 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, it remains Cash's most-streamed song to date with over 600 million streams on Spotify alone.

It Included Masterful Collaborators 

As well as handing over the producer reins to Rubin, Cash also surrounded himself with some of the rock world's finest musicians. Tom Petty, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea, and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood all lent their considerable talents to Unchained. Sheryl Crow and Will Oldham did the same on Solitary Man, while Nick Cave, Fiona Apple and Don Henley joined him in the studio on The Man Comes Around.

But Cash also kept things more traditional by recruiting fellow country legend Merle Haggard, 'fifth Beatle'Billy Preston, and "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" songwriter Jack Clement, while the presence of wifeJune Carter Cash and son John made the third American Recordings something of a family affair.

It Went Back To Basics 

While American Recordings was, in many respects, Cash's most forward-thinking album, it wasn't afraid to keep one foot in the past, either. For one, the star recorded most of its first volume in his Tennessee cabin armed with only a guitar, a throwback to his 1950s beginnings with first producer Sam Phillips.

Cash also trawled through his own back catalog for inspiration, re-recording several tracks he believed had unfairly gone under the radar including 1955 single "Mean Eyed Cat," murder ballad "Delia's Gone" from 1962's The Sound of Johnny Cash, and "I'm Leaving Now" from 1985's Rainbow.

It Proved He Was Still A Masterful Songwriter…

Although Cash's unlikely covers grabbed most of the attention, the American Recordings series showed that his stellar songwriting skills remained intact throughout his later years, too. "Meet Me in Heaven," for example, is a beautifully poignant tribute to the older brother who died at just 15, while the folksy "Let the Train Blow the Whistle" added to Cash's arsenal of railroad anthems.

"Drive On," meanwhile, is worthy of gracing any Best Of compilation, a powerful lament to those who came back from the Vietnam War with both emotional and physical scars ("And even now, every time I dream/ I hear the men and the monkeys in the jungle scream").

…And Still A Master Interpreter 

As well as putting new spins on his own songs and various contemporary rock favorites, Cash further displayed both his interpretive and curatorial skills by covering a variety of spirituals, standards and pop hits first released during his commercial heyday.

The likes of early 19th century gospel "Wayfaring Stranger," wartime favorite "We'll Meet Again," and Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" may have been firmly in Cash's wheelhouse. But more leftfield choices such as Loudon Wainwright III's offbeat morality tale "The Man Who Couldn't Cry" proved that even when outside his comfort zone, he could stamp his own identity with aplomb.

It Made Him An Unlikely MTV Star 

Cash was 62 years old when American Recordings hit the shelves — not exactly a prime age for MTV play. Yet thanks to some inspired creative decisions, the career-reviving series spawned two videos that received regular rotation on the network. Firstly, "Delia's Gone" caught attention for two major reasons: it was directed by Anton Corbijn, the man renowned for his long-running creative partnership with Depeche Mode, and it starred Kate Moss, the world's biggest supermodel at the time, as the titular victim.  

Then nine years later, Cash picked up six nominations — winning Best Cinematography — at the MTV Video Music Awards thanks to Mark Romanek's emotionally devastating treatment for "Hurt." Interspersing clips of the clearly fragile country singer at the rundown Museum of Cash with footage from his earlier days and artistic shots of decaying fruits and flowers, the promo perfectly embodied the transient nature of life. And it had the capacity to reduce even the hardest of hearts to tears.

It Added To His GRAMMY Haul 

Cash won almost as many GRAMMYs with his American Recordings series as he had during the previous 40 years of his career. The Man in Black first added to his trophy collection in 1995 when the first volume won Best Contemporary Folk Album. This was the first time he'd been recognized at the ceremony for his musical talents since the June Carter Cash duet "If I Were A Carpenter" won Best Country Performance for a Duo or Group with Vocal back in 1971  

Three years later, Unchained was crowned Best Country Album. And after picking up a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999, Cash won 2001's Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "Solitary Man," then again in the same Category for "Give My Love to Rose"in 2003. He posthumously won two more GRAMMYs for Best Short Form Video, in 2004 for "Hurt" and in 2008 for "God's Gonna Cut You Down." In total, the American Recordings series won Cash six more GRAMMYs, bringing his overall count to 13. 

It Was A Powerful Epitaph

In 1997, Cash was told he'd just 18 months to live after being misdiagnosed with neurodegenerative condition Shy-Drager syndrome (later changed to autonomic neuropathy). He ended up outliving this prognosis by a good four years, but during this period, he lost the love of his life and was forced to record his swansong in-between lengthy stints in the hospital.  

Little wonder, therefore, that the American Recordings series is defined by the theme of mortality: see "The Man Comes Around," a biblical ode to the Grim Reaper ("And I looked, and behold a pale horse/ And his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with him"), Death Row anthem "The Mercy Seat," and funeral favorite "Danny Boy." As with David Bowie's Blackstar, Cash was able to reflect on his impermanence in his own terms in a sobering, yet compelling manner that continues to resonate decades on. 

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