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Olympic-Sized Spectacle

For performers and music directors, an Olympic ceremony is a delicate balance of preparation, pressure, excitement, and pride

GRAMMYs/Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

Mary Poppins, James Bond, the Industrial Revolution, and the Queen of England sticking the landing after a parachute jump. When these visions all occur in a single evening there can only be two possible explanations: you're gripped by a powerful fever dream, or you're watching the grand spectacle of an Olympic ceremony. Imagery and, of course, athletics give each Olympic Games a distinctive personality, but both the Winter and Summer Olympics have increasingly become grand musical showcases, with opening and closing ceremonies that feature custom compositions and lineups of homegrown artists who create emotional high points and dramatic narratives.

The closing ceremony for the Summer Olympics in London this coming Sunday should prove a fitting exclamation point for this year's games. Titled A Symphony Of British Music, in celebration of music being one of the UK's most important cultural exports, the ceremony will feature more than 4,100 performers. Confirmed performers include Muse and George Michael and other acts rumored to be taking part include the Rolling Stones, the Who, Spice Girls, and Take That, among others. 

"Hopefully it will wrap up the spirit of what these games have been, which is slightly anarchic, slightly mischievous, funny, heart-warming, emotional, inspiring, and uniquely British," music director David Arnold told the Telegraph.

Whatever the lineup, pulling together all of the music for the Olympics is hardly an easy task. Aside from lavish opening and closing ceremonies, musical components of recent Olympics have included original theme music, nightly medal ceremonies, nightly concerts, and performances that are part of each city's "Cultural Olympiad."

At the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2010, all things musical were overseen by music director Dave Pierce, an Alberta-born composer and producer who made the Olympics a career goal after attending the Winter Games in Calgary, Alberta, in 1988 as a teenager. He composed more than five hours of orchestral score, produced another 500 hours of special recordings and worked directly with ceremony performers such as Bryan Adams, Nelly Furtado, Sarah McLachlan, k.d. lang, Loreena McKennitt, and Ashley MacIsaac.

Pierce, who won an Emmy for Outstanding Music Direction for his Olympic work, says one of the key requirements of music for the Olympics is maintaining a balance of the monumental and the personal.

"It's an event on such a large scale — I believe the number was 3.2 billion people who tuned in to the Vancouver opening ceremony," says Pierce. "The scope of the music has to reflect that, so you're creating a lot of music in broad strokes with very few subtleties.

"At the same time, the music plays an important role in focusing on the spirit of individual athletes and the emotions they experience, so you have to allow for moments as intimate as k.d. lang singing Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' at our opening ceremony. Every moment has to be timed and crafted to have just the right impact. The music really helps tell the story of each Olympics the way a soundtrack supports the story of a film."

Getting the musical moments to flow flawlessly through the course of the games is a uniquely complicated logistical challenge.

"We knew who our guest artists were going to be about four months ahead of the games," says Pierce. "And it didn't feel like just booking everybody for another gig — it became a much more collaborative spirit focused on how we all work together to present the music of our country. But you end up with very little rehearsal time and a lot of last-minute decision making. There were times when I had themes written and a production staged before we'd really worked out which artist was going to be featured in that moment. I remember playing something for Sarah McLachlan on the piano in her home, anxiously waiting for her to say, 'Yes, that's OK,' because I knew that at that same moment there were 400 people already [rehearsing] that music."

Even with rehearsals, the full spectacle of an opening or closing ceremony doesn't really come together until the actual live performance for the world — another high-pressure element unique to the Olympic stage.

"Yeah," laughs Pierce, "no matter what you've got planned, you really only get one shot at it. You can't really ask the world to tune back in next week after we've worked out all the bugs."

For performers, the Olympic stage offers a unique opportunity to present one's talents and home-country pride to a global audience. For the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002, the last time the games were hosted on American soil, closing ceremony highlights included acts such as Kiss, the Dixie Chicks, Dave Matthews Band, Earth, Wind & Fire, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. At the Summer Olympics in Sydney in 2000, Australian pop star Tina Arena created an emotional highlight singing a specially written song, "The Flame," during the opening ceremony.

"It still blows me away that I was chosen to participate in the event," says Arena, who performed in Sydney along with artists such as Olivia Newton-John, Kylie Minogue and Vanessa Amorosi. "I remember being on that stage and feeling so many emotions at once — nervousness, excitement, inspiration. I had to concentrate on breathing deeply and drawing on every bit of inner strength, while hoping that I wouldn't let the home team down. It really is difficult not to be swept away by the magnitude of the moment and the magic all around you, and after I was done singing I could barely speak. I was far too overwhelmed."

Pierce has made a career of musical spectacles, having worked as a music director for such events as the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. But he says he'd be thrilled to work on another Olympics if the games ever come back to Canada. 

"The Olympics is really sports and culture walking hand in hand, and music plays such an important role in supporting all of that," says Pierce. "It's a huge undertaking, but it's something I feel very drawn to and comfortable with. I've worked on other projects where people actually said of my work, 'That's nice but it's too Olympic.' When I finally had the chance to work on the Olympics, they'd hear what I came up with and say, 'Yeah, that's perfect.'" 

(Chuck Crisafulli is an L.A.-based journalist and author whose most recent works include Go To Hell: A Heated History Of The UnderworldMe And A Guy Named Elvis and Elvis: My Best Man.)

2024 GRAMMYs: Kylie Minogue Wins First-Ever GRAMMY For Best Pop Dance Recording For "Padam Padam"
Kylie Minogue attends the 66th GRAMMY Awards Pre-GRAMMY Gala

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic via Getty Images

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2024 GRAMMYs: Kylie Minogue Wins First-Ever GRAMMY For Best Pop Dance Recording For "Padam Padam"

Kylie Minogue beat out David Guetta, Anne-Marie, and Coi Leray; Calvin Harris featuring Ellie Goulding; Bebe Rexha and David Guetta, and Troye Sivan. This is the first-ever win in this brand-new category.

GRAMMYs/Feb 4, 2024 - 09:02 pm

Kylie Minogue has taken home the golden gramophone for Best Pop Dance Recording — an all-new category — at the 2024 GRAMMYs, for "Padam Padam."

Minogue came ahead of of David Guetta, Anne-Marie and Coi Leray ("Baby Don’t Hurt Me"); Calvin Harris featuring Ellie Goulding ("Miracle"); Bebe Rexha and David Guetta ("One in a Million"); and Troye Sivan ("Rush").

The win marks Minogue’s second GRAMMY win after six career nominations. She had previously won Best Dance Recording for "Come Into My World."

The Australian pop star — along with producer Peter "Lostboy" Rycroft and mixing engineer Guy Massey — are the first-ever winners of the Best Pop/Dance Performance category. It was one of three new categories introduced at the 66th GRAMMYs; the other two are Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical and Best African Music Performance. 

Lostboy took the stage to accept the award on behalf of himself, Minogue, and Massey. 

"Padam Padam" charted at No. 7 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic chart; it was a much bigger hit in the UK, where it was a No. 1 hit. The song was embraced by the LGBTQ+ community on both sides of the Atlantic. 

"It's hugely important to me and so touching," said Minogue of her popularity with LGBTQ+ fans in an interview with GRAMMY.com earlier this year. "I hope that for that community and beyond, I just want to say I am open-minded and I want people to be happy in themselves. That community needed support and still needs support. I'm here. And they padamed for me."

Keep checking this space for more updates from Music’s Biggest Night!

2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Winners & Nominees List

Here Are The Nominees For Best Pop Dance Recording At The 2024 GRAMMYs
{From Left To Right] Bebe Rexha, Calvin Harris, Kylie Minogue, David Guetta, and Troye Sivan

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Here Are The Nominees For Best Pop Dance Recording At The 2024 GRAMMYs

Take a look at the inaugural list of nominees for Best Pop Dance Recording — one of three new categories at the 2024 GRAMMYs — which features hits from dance legends and pop superstars.

GRAMMYs/Nov 12, 2023 - 05:31 pm

One of three new categories debuting at the 2024 GRAMMYs, Best Pop Dance Recording will be hotly contested in its first year.

The inaugural round of Best Pop Dance Recording nominees features not one, but two [David Guetta](https://www.grammy.com/artists/david-guetta/12848) collaborations ("Baby Don’t Hurt Me" with Anne-Marie and Coi Leray, and "One In A Million" with Bebe Rexha), and the long-awaited reunion of [Calvin Harris](https://www.grammy.com/artists/calvin-harris/3679) and [Ellie Goulding](https://www.grammy.com/artists/ellie-goulding/19043) on "Miracle." The new category also features two earworms from Australian pop dance exports: [Kylie Minogue](https://www.grammy.com/artists/kylie-minogue/14940)’s "Padam Padam" and [Troye Sivan](https://www.grammy.com/news/troye-sivan-something-to-give-each-other-new-album-rush-road-to)’s "Rush." 

Ahead of the 2024 GRAMMYs on Feb. 4, 2024, get to know the five nominees in this newly minted category.

David Guetta, Anne-Marie & Coi Leray -"Baby Don't Hurt Me"

In a year defined by dance producers putting a modern spin on dance music’s past, David Guetta reached back to 1993 to interpolate Haddaway’s dance-pop hit, "What Is Love," for "Baby Don’t Hurt Me." The song is a fitting follow-up to Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s 2022 hit, "I’m Good (Blue)", which winkingly rekindled Eiffel 65’s Eurodance anthem, "Blue (Da Ba Dee)".

"Baby Don’t Hurt Me" brings Haddaway’s irresistible hook into 2023 with distinctive verses from British vocalist Anne-Marie (who memorably joined Marshmello on 2018’s smash  "Friends") and fast-rising Boston rapper Coi Leray. 

Paired with a video that references ‘90s clubbing and cult movie A Night at the Roxbury, "Baby Don’t Hurt Me" is a familiar sugar rush that plays to the individual strengths of its perhaps unlikely trio. 

**Calvin Harris featuring Ellie Goulding - "Miracle"**

Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding are a dance music dream team, having previously released "I Need Your Love" (2012) and "Outside" (2014). After waiting almost a full decade to reunite, the pair returned in 2023 with their third collaboration, "Miracle."

An out-and-out trance-meets-Eurodance throwback (think inspirations like Robert Miles' "Children"), "Miracle" aims straight for the nostalgic pleasure centers. Harris told Apple Music that he needed Goulding's "angelic" vocal talents, and the British singer skillfully plays off the song's maximal production. Working alongside his longtime studio partner Burns, Harris packs the rave euphoria into a crisp three minutes, right through to the unexpected breakbeat outro. 

The non-album single signaled a new phase for Harris, and follows 2022's Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 as well as his ravier experiments as Love Regenerator. In July, Harris returned to the trance sounds of his teen years with "Desire" featuring Sam Smith, proving these faster tempos are not just a passing phase. 

**Kylie Minogue - "Padam Padam"** 

Now 16 albums into a glittering career, Kylie Minogue is a true icon of international pop. However, not even the most ardent Kylie fans could've predicted her 2023 glow-up, courtesy of viral sensation "Padam Padam." 

The song first came to Minogue in a demo version by Norwegian singer/songwriter Ina Wroldsen and UK producer Lostboy, which immediately caught her ear. "Straightaway, I was in," she recalled to GRAMMY.com, noting that she knew it was "perfect for me."

The first single from the Australian singer's latest album, Tension, the instantly danceable beat and one-word hook of "Padam Padam" inspired countless TikTok videos and memes. "I finally get TikTok. Yes, I've been slow but I finally am there," Minogue admitted upon Tension's release.

Minogue also celebrated the queer community and Gen Z's embrace of her runaway hit. "I hope to continue having fun with that," she added. "It was really organic. I don't think you can force that. It happened and I loved every second of it."

**Bebe Rexha & David Guetta - "One In A Million"**

Ever since co-writing Eminem and Rihanna's "The Monster" in 2013, Brooklyn-born Bebe Rexha has mastered the art of collaboration. Over a prolific decade, including three albums of her own, the pop singer/songwriter has teamed up with a diverse range of artists, including Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, Florida Georgia Line and Dolly Parton, to feature on her songs.

In the pop dance world, French hitmaker David Guetta is Rexha's most reliable collaborator. After striking gold on 2022's "I'm Good (Blue)" — which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the top of 2023 — the pair returned with a new standalone single, "One In A Million."

With a piano line that evokes Guetta's own "When Love Takes Over," "One In A Million" channels the giddy feeling of new love over a racing beat. The song arrived in a typically whirlwind year of collaborations for Guetta, who also mined the past alongside Jason Derulo, Oliver Tree and Zara Larsson. 

**Troye Sivan - "Rush"**

After a long wait between solo releases, Australian pop chameleon Troye Sivan boldly announced a new era with "Rush." Released at the height of summer as the lead single from Sivan's third album, Something To Give Each Other, "Rush" instantly hit its mark as a celebration of queer pleasure-seeking. In a statement, Sivan described the single as an accumulation of "all of my experiences from a chapter where I feel confident, free and liberated."

The song's lusty bassline, exultant piano-house keys and chanted chorus perfectly play off Sivan's falsetto, creating a heady mood of dance floor abandon. (Fittingly, the Berlin-shot music video is a parade of sweaty bodies in motion.) A ready-made anthem, "Rush" set the stage perfectly for the assured and life-affirming *Something To Give Each Other*, leaving no doubt that Sivan is thriving in 2023. 

The 2024 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 66th GRAMMY Awards, returns to Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, and will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8-11:30 p.m. ET/5-8:30 p.m. PT.

The Recording Academy and GRAMMY.com do not endorse any particular artist, submission or nominee over another. The results of the GRAMMY Awards, including winners and nominees, are solely dependent on the Recording Academy's Voting Membership.

2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Winners & Nominees List

10 Ways Cher's "Believe" Changed Pop Music
Cher performs in 2000.

Photo: JMEnternational/Redferns

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10 Ways Cher's "Believe" Changed Pop Music

As Cher's GRAMMY-winning hit celebrates its 25th anniversary, blast "Believe" and dig into the many ways it became one of pop's all-time classics.

GRAMMYs/Oct 19, 2023 - 02:39 pm

The incomparable Cher had already achieved iconic status long before she dropped the title track from her 22nd studio effort, Believe, at the tail end of 1998. After all, this was an artist who'd forged one of the most successful pop duos of the '60s, scored a record-breaking trio of number ones in the '70s, and reinvented herself as an MTV goddess in the '80s. Not to mention her contributions outside of music: the hit variety shows, Broadway runs, and Hollywood moonlighting — the latter of which saw her win an Oscar.

But the success of "Believe" was still unlike anything else Cher had achieved during her illustrious 35 years in the business. It reached No. 1 in 21 different countries across the globe (including a four-week stint at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.), sold 11 million copies, and cleaned up at everything from the International Dance Music Awards to the Ivor Novellos. For a good 12 months, it was practically impossible to avoid hearing its dance-pop beats, lovelorn lyrics and, of course, that famous robotic vocal effect.

But "Believe" didn't just significantly impact Cher's already glittering career — it also changed the face of pop music as we know it. From inspiring other divas to get their groove on to pioneering a piece of now-ubiquitous studio technique, take a look at 10 ways "Believe" impacted pop.

It Smashed Multiple Chart Records 

It would almost be quicker to list which chart records "Believe" didn't completely obliterate. The song spent 21 weeks atop Billboard's Hot Dance Singles Sales, and was still in the Top 10 a full year later. It was also crowned the year-end No. 1 on both the Dance Club Songs and Hot 100 charts. And it produced the longest-ever gap between chart-toppers on the latter — 33 years and seven months, to be exact — as Cher's first No. 1 on the chart came in 1965 with her Sonny Bono duet "I Got You Babe."

"Believe" was just as successful across the pond, beating George Michael, U2, Culture Club, and Alanis Morisette in a famous five-way battle for No. 1. And with 1.8 million copies sold, it's still the U.K.'s highest-selling single by a female performer.

It Inspired Several Divas To Dance 

Cher had initially resisted Warner UK label boss Rob Dickins' idea to pursue a dance direction, reportedly arguing that the genre wasn't conducive to "real songs." It's unlikely many of her peers took much persuading, however, after witnessing the monumental success of "Believe."

In fact, pretty much every pop diva on the other side of 50 seemed to take to the dance floor over the following 12 months: see Diana Ross' "Not Over You Yet," Tina Turner's "When the Heartache Is Over," and Donna Summer's "I Will Go With You (Con Te Partiro)." Madonna (Confessions on a Dancefloor), Kylie Minogue (Tension), and Cyndi Lauper (Bring Ya to the Brink) have all since proved middle age and dance music needn't be mutually exclusive terms with entire albums tailor-made for the clubs.

It Finally Gave Cher A Grammy 

It seems hard to believe that Cher had to wait until the turn of the millennium to pick up her first GRAMMY. The pop veteran had previously been nominated alongside then-husband Sonny Bono in the Best New Artist category in 1966. The pair also received a nod in the Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group in 1972 for "All I Ever Need Is You," the same year Cher was recognized as a solo artist with a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance nomination for "Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves." But on all three occasions, Cher went home empty-handed.

The star finally emerged victorious in 2000, however, when "Believe" won Best Dance Recording. (The song and same-named parent LP had picked up nods for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, respectively, too). Peter Rauhofer was also crowned Best Remixer of the Year for his work on the track under the guise of Club 69.

It Paved The Way For An Exciting '00s Hit Factory 

Nine different people, including Cher herself, are given songwriting/production credits on "Believe." But the most interesting behind-the-scenes name is Brian Higgins, the man who penned an early version of the track a full eight years before it was released. A virtual unknown when the finished product finally arrived, Higgins would go on to shape the following decade of British pop music thanks to his pioneering work as part of the production powerhouse known as Xenomania.

Best-known for guiding the career of their ultimate muses, Girls Aloud, the team also carved out weird and wonderful singles for Sugababes, The Saturdays, and Alesha Dixon.Pet Shop Boys, Kylie Minogue, and Saint Etienne were just a few of the more established names who turned to Xenomania for hit-making assistance, too.

It Made Cher Relevant Again 

Cher looked to have been consigned to heritage act status before "Believe" came to the rescue. She'd only scored one U.S. Top 10 hit in the 1990s ("Just Like Jesse James") and that was at the very start of the decade; her last studio effort, covers album It's A Man's World, had peaked at a lowly No. 64 on the Billboard 200. But Cher isn't known as a comeback queen for nothing. The Believe campaign not only saved her from the musical wilderness, but it also kickstarted the most consistent, if undoubtedly sporadic, chapter of her career.

Indeed, although "Strong Enough" and "Song for the Lonely" are her only Hot 100 entries since (No. 57 and 85, respectively), 2001's Living Proof, 2013's Closer to the Truth, and 2018's ABBA tribute Dancing Queen have all reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200. And while Cher was always a powerful live draw, the Believe era took things to new heights: 2002's long-running (and misleadingly-named) The Farewell Tour, grossed $200 million across a whopping 325 dates to become the highest-grossing concert series by a female artist at the time.

It Proved Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number 

Bette Midler, Aretha Franklin, and Tina Turner had all previously reached the top of the Hot 100 in their forties. But no female artist had ever achieved such a feat until "Believe" came along. Cher was aged 52 years and nine months when the dance-pop anthem took her number one tally to four in March 1999. And while the annual return of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" saw a 53-year-old Mariah Carey surpass this milestone in 2022, Cher can still lay claim to being the oldest chart-topping woman with a newly released song.

The star will have to score a fifth, however, if she's to break the all-time record: Louis Armstrong was three months shy of his 63rd birthday when he knocked The Beatles off pole position with 1963's "Hello Dolly."

It Introduced The World To Auto-Tune 

According to Pitchfork, a remarkable 99 percent of all contemporary pop music utilizes the pitch-altering recording technique known as Auto-Tune. And that's pretty much all down to The Cher Effect. Although designed to subtly correct a wayward vocal, the producers of "Believe" decided to make it blatantly obvious that studio trickery had been at play, transforming one of pop's most easily identifiable voices into that of a wobbly android.

Cher had to fight to keep the song's unique selling point, telling unconvinced label bosses they'd have to remove it "over my dead body." And her instinct proved to be right. The pioneering use of Auto-Tune was undoubtedly the catalyst for the song's phenomenal success, ultimately paving the way for everyone fromLil Wayne andT-Pain toDaft Punk andBlack Eyed Peas.

It Became A Pop Culture Fixture

You know a song has entered the nation's consciousness when it's been parodied by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. But South Park's incomprehensible version of "Believe," which appeared in season 3 episode "Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub," isn't the only way in which the chart-topper has permeated pop culture over the past 25 years.

It was also given the spoof treatment by MADtv, has become a lip-sync battle regular, and featured in the star-studded medley in Eurovision: The Story of Fire Saga. More recently, it was mashed up with "The Muffin Man" by Adam Lambert for a That's My Jam performance that went viral.

It Brought Back Crying At The Disco 

Cher had asked many questions through the medium of pop during her illustrious career: "Am I Blue?" "Does Anybody Really Fall in Love Anymore?" "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" But it was undoubtedly "Believe" on which she posed her most pressing. "Do you believe in life after love?," she sings in the famously Auto-Tuned chorus, a clever turn of phrase which set the song up as the '90s answer to "I Will Survive"; follow-up single "Strong Enough" would go even further by essentially borrowing its string section.

The "crying at the disco" anthem had largely fallen out of favor since Gloria Gaynor's heyday. But "Believe" proved once again it was possible to pour your heart out and throw some shapes at the same time. Robyn ("Dancing On My Own"), Pussycat Dolls ("Hush, Hush"), and Madonna ("Sorry") are just a few of the artists who appeared to be taking note.

It's Become A Part Of The Modern American Songbook 

What do tween collective Kidz Bop, punk rock supergroup Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, and Swedish synth-pop songstress Anna of the North all have in common? They've all put their own spin on the dance-pop masterpiece that is Cher's "Believe." And they're not the only ones, either.

In 2023, DMA's rendition wascrowned the all-time best cover to emerge from Aussie radio station Triple J's feature Like a Version.Manchester Orchestra,Lucy Dacus, and Jessie Ware have all interpreted the smash hit in their own distinctive ways over the past 18 months, too. And it's become a talent show staple thanks to ballad versions by the likes ofAdam Lambert,Jeffery Austin, andSheldon Riley. Should the Great American Songbook ever get modernized, then "Believe" is a shoo-in.

Songbook: How Madonna Became The Queen Of Pop & Reinvention, From Her 'Boy Toy' Era To The Celebration Tour

GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016
Kendrick Lamar

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

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GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016

Upon winning the GRAMMY for Best Rap Album for 'To Pimp a Butterfly,' Kendrick Lamar thanked those that helped him get to the stage, and the artists that blazed the trail for him.

GRAMMYs/Oct 13, 2023 - 06:01 pm

Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

Looking for more GRAMMYs news? The 2024 GRAMMY nominations are here!

He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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