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Your Weekly GRAMMY Social Roundup
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Your Weekly GRAMMY Social Roundup

Beck, Ciara and Keith Urban are featured in the 10 tweets and Instagram posts we didn't want you to miss

GRAMMYs/Aug 14, 2015 - 01:47 am

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Inside The 2024 Special Merit Awards Ceremony Honoring N.W.A, Gladys Knight, Donna Summer & More
Chair of the Recording Academy's Board of Trustees Tammy Hurt, Trustees Honoree Award Honoree DJ Kool Herc, Cindy Campbell and CEO of the Recording Academy and Musicares Harvey Mason Jr.

Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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Inside The 2024 Special Merit Awards Ceremony Honoring N.W.A, Gladys Knight, Donna Summer & More

A deeply emotional pre-GRAMMY ceremony honored an extraordinary group of musical creators, pioneers, educators and icons including the Clark Sisters, Tammy Wynette, K'naan and others legendary innovators.

GRAMMYs/Feb 7, 2024 - 04:20 pm

This year, the Special Merit Awards ceremony was not for the faint of heart. 

The 2024 GRAMMY Week event, held Saturday at a capacity Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, presented Lifetime Achievement Awards, Trustees Awards, the Technical GRAMMY,  and the Music Educator Award to a dazzling gallery of musical innovators whose work has generated deep emotional connections across decades. In a world currently ensnared in a pattern of global conflict, the presentation of the award for Best Song for Social Change for the first time at the Special Merit Award ceremony this year added an extra layer of poignancy.

The presentation was touching from the very beginning, with a video montage of previous winners set to the historic recording of Aretha Franklin singing the Puccini aria "Nessuna Dorma." Glimpses of many legendary faces and performances on the screen underscored the Academy’s empathy for impactful music history: from Marvin Gaye to Janis Joplin; Billie Holiday to The Carter Family; The Beatles and Tina Turner to Dolly Parton and The Supremes.

The 2024 Music Educator Award was then given to Annie Ray, a music teacher and orchestra leader from Annandale, Virginia selected for her relentless positivity and inclusive energy. "Orchestra is much more than a class — it’s a family," said one of her students during a brief video chronicling her work. Ray, whose classrooms include students from 66 different countries — put together, they speak 59 languages — was visibly touched as she received the award. "I am thankful to share with the world what my students have taught me," she said.

The year’s Technical GRAMMY belonged to Tom Scott and the late Tom Kobayashi, who met at Lucasfilm’s Skywalker Sound in 1985 and together launched the Entertainment Digital Network (EDnet), which allows the sharing of high-quality video and audio. An estimated 250,000 musical collaborations have been facilitated by their innovations, including many GRAMMY performances. 

Next up were the three Trustee Awards: British pop legend Peter Asher, member of Peter & Gordon, prolific A&R executive, producer, manager, and a self-professed "admirer and member of the Recording Academy for almost 60 years"; legendary entertainment attorney and former Recording Academy Chairman Joel Katz, known as "the dealmaker who thinks outside of the box"; and Jamaican American DJ Kool Herc, renowned as one of the founders of East Coast hip-hop in ‘70s. He received the award joined by his sister Cindy who promoted his initial series of parties in the Bronx, noted for his groundbreaking use of two turntables and the extension of funky breaks in songs. 

It was time to honor the Lifetime Achievement recipients, and a sprightly Laurie Anderson stepped onstage and gave a witty assessment of her reputation as an uncompromising song alchemist. "They say my music is experimental, which sounds like doing something in the lab that might explode," she said. From her wonderfully robotic, left-field 1982 hit "O Superman" to her poetic concept album Homeland in 2010, Anderson has created her share of aesthetically explosive works of the art-pop and avant-garde variety.

"I love music so much, and I married a musician," she said acknowledging her husband, the late Lou Reed. "Wouldn’t it be great if there was a piano on every corner?"

The best-selling female gospel group in history, Detroit-based The Clark Sisters are known for their soaring vocal harmonies and powerhouse hits like "You Brought The Sunshine." 

"We thank our Lord and Savior for allowing us to do what we do: singing," they said, adding words of gratitude for their mother — "the lady who paved the way" — the late choral director Dr. Mattie Moss Clark.

The importance of a rich spiritual life was also emphasized by Motown legend and Soul empress Gladys Knight. The singer known for classic hits such as "Midnight Train to Georgia" and a raucous rendition of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" beamed onstage as she recalled her beginnings in music, before she became an international star with The Pips. "We had to go to church every Sunday, and it did make a difference," she said. "Everybody was singing around me when I grew up. And my mom would never allow me to do it easy. It had to come from the heart."

It was time to witness the strength of street knowledge. Delving into the very core of hip-hop identity, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to N.W.A, the revolutionary Los Angeles collective that transformed the landscape of popular music with its 1988 debut Straight Outta Compton. The group was joined by the mother and son of late rapper Eazy-E, who passed away in 1995 at age 30. The surviving members of the group – excepting Dr. Dre, who was celebrating his daughter’s birthday and sent a text greeting – looked vindicated. "We always knew that a GRAMMY was not in the cards for us, but we still wanted to express ourselves," said Ice Cube. "When you do your thing, the world will come to you."

Donna Summer, the ethereal and visionary singer who took disco music into progressive territory during the ‘70s, passed away in 2012. The "I Feel Love" star received a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award on Saturday — and her husband Bruce Sudano and their three daughters were there to collect it. "Her voice and music are omnipresent in the [cultural] zeitgeist," said Sudano. "Donna continues to inspire people worldwide. She always referred to herself as an ordinary girl."

Last but not least, GRAMMY winning country star Tammy Wynette, who died in 1998, was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award — accepted by her daughters, Georgette Jones and Jackie Daly.

"Mom would feel very humbled to be in such a talented group of people," Jones said. "She always thought that the GRAMMYs were the biggest accomplishment in music. And she never fully understood her own impact."

When rapper and singer K’naan was a child in Mogadishu, his mother managed to get the family out of Somalia on the last commercial flight before the civil war erupted. Together with songwriters Gerald Eaton and Steve McEwan, K’naan was honored with the Best Song for Social Change award for "Refugee," a track about the plight of political refugees around the world.

"In the Somali language, the word 'home' derives from the word 'mother,'" explained K’naan as he received the award to a standing ovation. "I dedicate this GRAMMY to my home — my mother."

2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Winners & Nominees List

Ahead Of The Smile's 'Wall Of Eyes,' Explore 10 Radiohead Side Projects
Thom Yorke performs with The Smile in London

Photo: C Brandon / Redferns / GettyImages

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Ahead Of The Smile's 'Wall Of Eyes,' Explore 10 Radiohead Side Projects

Radiohead may not have official plans to reunite, but its five members have been active with a slew of successful and sonically pleasing side projects. Among them is The Smile, which will release their second album on Jan. 26.

GRAMMYs/Jan 25, 2024 - 02:09 pm

It’s been more than seven years since Radiohead released their last album, A Moon Shaped Pool, and the band continues to make no promises about what — if anything — will be next for the quintet.

But that doesn't mean its members haven't been busy. In fact, the musicians behind the GRAMMY-winning English alt-rock band have been active outside of it since the mid ’00s. 

One of these notable projects is The Smile, formed in 2021 by Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke and lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood. The group will release their second studio album, Wall of Eyes, on Jan. 26 before touring Europe this spring and summer. 

Other independent endeavors have also been critically celebrated: Beyond The Smile, Jonny Greenwood composed soundtracks for films including Daniel Day Lewis’ romance/thriller Phantom Thread. Bassist Colin Greenwood (Jonny’s older brother) was recently part of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' touring band. Drummer Phil Selway released a solo album, Strange Dance, in Feb. 2023, while guitarist Ed O’Brien made his first foray into writing and recording during the early days of the pandemic on his album, Earth

Selway believes these other pursuits are vital to Radiohead's reputation as one of the most innovative bands in history. "It’s such a healthy process when we step outside of Radiohead and reach beyond that," Selway told SPIN in 2023.

Still, there is a glimmer of hope Radiohead will soon return to the studio — perhaps encouraged by the success of 2021's KID A MNESIA, a reissue of their albums "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" along with previously unreleased material.

During a recent livestream with Crow Hill Company, as reported by NME, Selway said, "We’re all coming back around to that point now of thinking, Right, we’ve had a break — this is it. This feels like something to dive back into and really explore and see what other directions it can take us in." 

No matter how the future unfolds for Radiohead, their dedication to maintaining everything in its right place remains certain. 

Ahead of The Smile's new album, press play on 10 releases from Radiohead members' catalogs that showcase their affinity for musical exploration.

Thom Yorke - The Eraser

Though the title of Thom Yorke’s first solo album is The Eraser, he didn’t erase his esteemed musical legacy. Rather, he took it even further into his exploration of electronic styles on the 2006 album. Where collaborative instrumentals were prominent with Radiohead's melodic rock sound, Yorke leaned hard on synthy sounds and techno beats. 

Through his solo work, Yorke had complete freedom to develop comprehensive digital backdrops for his shuddering croon with longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. The band worked with Godrich to incorporate electronics on their albums Kid A (2000), Amnesiac (2001), Hail To the Thief (2003), and In Rainbows (2007). 

The title track opens with a looping piano hook, teasing a familiar instrumentalism. But Yorke quickly takes things in a more synthetic direction with affected drums and mechanical arps. "Cymbal Rush," the album’s closer, features a jittery low-frequency rhythm section alongside haunting ambient washes. The track "Atoms for Peace" utilizes a similar underlying jitteriness, but with the warm and optimistic energy of bright pads and an uplifting synth bassline. 

Atoms For Peace - Amok

Amok is the only studio album from Atoms For Peace, the band Yorke originally established to tour The Eraser as a full live experience. The group features Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on bass, Godrich on keys and programming, and seasoned session players Joey Waronker on drums and Mauro Refosco on Latin percussion. 

Unlike The Eraser, Atoms For Peace made the music for Amok together with Yorke who described himself as the band's "conductor" in a Rolling Stone interview. After producing music on his computer, Yorke would bring it to the other band members to reimagine for production in a live space.

This collaborative edge is immediately apparent on Amok, released in 2013. Album opener "Before Your Very Eyes" implements the nonconventional rhythmic layering that Yorke applied throughout The Eraser, but the individual voice of each instrument shines through. Refosco’s percussion taps complement Waronker’s light cymbal play while the quickfire intro guitar line from Yorke shares that percussive quality. Interplay between Flea’s affected bass and Godrich’s programmed melodies, like a call and response, infuses the music with a human touch.  

There Will Be Blood 

Even when Radiohead is active, Jonny Greenwood moonlights as a film composer. The guitarist made his first foray into film scoring with the 2003 documentary, Bodysong. 2007's There Will Be Blood was his second score, launching his (and the rest of the band’s) persistent, fortuitous relationship with director Paul Thomas Anderson

Greenwood has composed the soundtrack for four of Anderson’s last five films. Beginning with There Will Be Blood in 2007, then The Master (2012), Inherent Vice (2014), and Phantom Thread (2017). Anderson returned the favor, directing many works for Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool, including the music video for "Daydreaming," and live recordings of "The Numbers," and "Present Tense." 

Greenwood’s score for There Will Be Blood demonstrates the fruitful nature of his relationship with Anderson. Matching the emotional dread of star Daniel Day-Lewis’s descent into madness, Greenwood weaves hauntingly tense string arrangements throughout the film, including the use of string bows as percussion instruments to shift the mood from melancholic to one of frenzy and discombobulation. 

Philip Selway - Strange Dance

Phil Selway releases his music under his full name, and plays an entirely different role on his independent work than he does with Radiohead. As a solo artist, he writes all the songs and serves as the singer and guitarist instead of drumming. Released in February 2023, his third album, Strange Dance, features Portishead's Adrian Utley and electronics-focused multi-instrumentalist Hannah Peel.  

On Strange Dance, Selway takes what he learned honing his writing skills as a film composer and applies it to a pop-infused setting with producer Marta Salogni. He adeptly layers guitar parts with opposing rhythms to build the foundation on notable tracks like "Picking Up The Pieces." The title track uses expressive alternative percussion instruments and Selway’s airy voice as a perimeter, contrasting with expansive string and horn passages. 

Selway similarly ventured into film scores, composing the music for Polly Steele’s 2017 drama, Let Me Go

Thom Yorke - ANIMA

Yorke transformed the electronic sounds of his third album, 2019's ANIMA, into a soundtrack for a music film of the same name, produced with Paul Thomas Anderson. Yorke is the film’s protagonist, and the film focuses on movement as much as it does the music. Dozens of dancers (including Yorke) engage in choreography that matches the unconventional sounds and rhythms throughout three songs from the album: "Not the News," "Traffic," and "Dawn Chorus."

During "Not the News," dancers cycle around Yorke, responding to his own movement as he stumbles his way from a subway station into an underground cavern. His steps follow the song's breakbeat kick while eerie squeals at the peak of the frequency range hang above his falsetto. 

Eventually, he makes it back to the surface with the sun rising over an unnamed European city. When the melodious song, "Dawn Chorus" fades in, he is reunited with a woman he saw on the train earlier. He glides through the city alongside the song’s electronic backdrop while he states his lyrics with grounded confidence.

Dudu Tassa & Jonny Greenwood - Jarak Qaribak

Israel was one of the earliest countries to embrace Radiohead. The country's audience was the catalyst for the explosion of their now-mythical song, "Creep," when DJ Yoav Kutner frequently played it on his radio show. Since, the band has performed in Israel multiple times and brought Israeli artists on tour with them.

One of the Israeli artists who joined Radiohead on tour is Dudu Tassa, a celebrated rock musician and film composer. He and Jonny Greenwood first worked together on Tassa’s 2009 album Basof Mitraglim Le'Hakol, and in 2023, they recorded Jarak Qaribak, an album of nine Middle Eastern love songs.

The musical chemistry between them is palpable, enriched by their shared experience in both pop and film composition. Yet the songs also gracefully maintain harmony between their individual heritages. For example, Tassa produces sweeping strings and other Middle Eastern sonic hallmarks on "Taq ou-Dub," while Greenwood programs synthesized drums that could be spliced into a Radiohead song with ease.

EOB - Earth

Released in 2020 under his initials EOB, Earth was the first time Ed O’Brien wrote lyrics and recorded his own voice. He had been playing around with solo ideas since the days of OK Computer, and an extended trip to Brazil with his family in 2012 inspired him to create full songs. 

O’Brien initially thought about bringing those songs to Radiohead or having Yorke provide vocals with different musicians. He was also concerned with what the rest of the band would think of his solo effort, but he didn’t let that deter him:

"Of course you want the approval of your bandmates but it’s not the be-all and end-all. This is my own thing. It’s different to Radiohead," O’Brien told Noise11 in April 2021. 

O’Brien’s own thing is more guitar-driven than other side projects from Radiohead, but still features a wide range of influences. The album’s opener, "Shangri-La," is a hard rock tune built off heavy chords. The next track, "Brasil," is an eight-minute suite of organic house music. Serving as an homage to his inspiring trip there, this song contains a multitude of colors and soundscapes that flow in and out in perfect balance.

The Smile - A Light For Attracting Attention

The Smile is the first side project that includes two members of Radiohead: Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood are joined by Tom Skinner, previously the drummer for the now-defunct modern jazz ensemble, Sons of Kemet. With The Smile, Yorke and Greenwood once again return to their primary instruments: guitar and vocals 

The group's debut album, A Light For Attracting Attention, was released in 2022 to critical acclaim and spawned a world tour. Following two guitar-light Radiohead albums — King of Limbs (2011) and A Moon-Shaped Pool (2016) — Jonny doubles down on his expert fretwork on A Light For Attracting Attention. Thom’s vocals fuel the sharpness of the guitar with pointed consonants and a noticeable lack of rhymes. 

On "The Smoke," Jonny’s dialed-in guitar picking is the foundation, but he quickly begins playing with the meter, making 4/4 feel like something completely different (comparable to the intense syncopation of the Radiohead song "Myxmatosis"). Yorke and Skinner match this minimalism, creating space for an ensemble of horns and strings, a byproduct of Greenwood’s time as a composer.

"You Will Never Work In Television" sees Jonny and Thom rock harder than they have since In Rainbows. Open hi-hats from Skinner complement Jonny’s cruising, distorted strums that back Yorke's angsty cursing vocals.

Colin Greenwood's Myriad Bass Work

Colin Greenwood is the only member of Radiohead who doesn’t have a solo album to his name. Like plenty of bass players throughout time, Colin’s career mirrors that of his instrument: He’s rarely in the foreground, but his band members and musicians around the world respect his skills to the highest degree. It's no surprise Far Out Magazine describes Colin as "Radiohead’s secret weapon."

Within the Radiohead universe, Colin recorded bass for the EOB album, Earth, and Jonny Greenwood’s soundtrack for Inherent Vice. He is also electronically talented, providing beat programming on Yorke’s second solo album, Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes.

Outside of Radiohead, Colin played on two albums from the Belgian-Egyptian singer Tamino: Amir (2018) and Sahar (2022). One standout track from Colin’s work with Tamino is the single "Indigo Night," which he performed with Tamino at SXSW in 2019. Colin proves his versatility in this romantic R&B song by serving as the vehicle moving the chord changes forward with skillful runs. 

The Weird Sisters

This Radiohead side project has a minimal catalog of just three songs; they only convened for one performance, and they will probably never play live again. Yet millions of people have seen their one performance, because it took place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The Weird Sisters is the band that performs at the Yule Ball in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In the 2005 film, Jonny Greenwood plays the role of lead guitarist Kirley Duke, providing pick-heavy riffs on the song "This is the Night," while the drummer Orsino Thurston (played by Phil Selway) helms a four-on-the-floor beat.

Greenwood and Selway weren’t the only members of major UK bands to convene for a bit of magical fun. Jarvis Cocker and Steve Mackey of Pulp joined the Weird Sisters on vocals and bass, respectively. To kick off the night, Cocker beckons the students to be "ready for some real music" before launching into the hard rock banger, "Do The Hippogriff."

For The Record: Let's Disappear Completely Into Radiohead's GRAMMY-Winning 'Kid A'

Britney Spears' Biggest Songs: 15 Of The Pop Icon's Most Beloved Tracks, From "Toxic" To "Hold Me Closer"
Britney Spears performs in 2016.

Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

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Britney Spears' Biggest Songs: 15 Of The Pop Icon's Most Beloved Tracks, From "Toxic" To "Hold Me Closer"

As Britney Spears celebrates the 20th anniversary of one of her all-time classics, "Toxic," GRAMMY.com rounds up 15 tracks that encapsulate the star's peak performances and iconic moments.

GRAMMYs/Jan 12, 2024 - 06:57 pm

Britney Spears recently posted a message on Instagram that asserted she'd never return to the music business. She later deleted it, which could be taken as a sign that she hasn't made this big decision with such finality. But it was certainly an alarming statement to her diehard fans eagerly awaiting new music.

It's fair to hold out hope that Spears will want to be a public entertainer and recording artist again in some ways — after all, she did just release a memoir, The Woman in Me, in October, and the book reveals a healing woman. And, of course, she scored a worldwide hit in 2022 with Elton John in "Hold Me Closer." 

Even if she never releases another piece of music, Spears already has quite the legacy. Between five No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, six No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, and a GRAMMY win, her mark on pop music is undeniable. Part of that impact is courtesy of "Toxic," the danceable smash that was released as a single in January 2004 (and won Spears her GRAMMY in 2005).

In honor of the 20th anniversary of "Toxic," GRAMMY.com surveyed the pop superstar's hits and deep cuts from 1998 to the present in order to break down some of the most essential tracks in Spears' catalog. Between beautiful ballads and brazen bops, let the reminiscing commence.

"...Baby, One More Time," ...Baby One More Time (1998)

Written and co-produced by powerhouse Swedish pop producer Max Martin — a frequent collaborator throughout Spears' career — the singer's debut single was rewarded with some of the highest honors of the music industry when she was just 17 years old.

"...Baby, One More Time" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 42nd GRAMMY Awards. It has since sold over 10 million copies, and to this day remains one of her defining hits. (And to think it almost wasn't hers: According to Yahoo! News Australia, the song was reportedly originally offered to the Backstreet Boys.)

The song's instantly meteoric success was undoubtedly catapulted by its memorable video, which sees Spears dance her way through private school halls in a (now iconic) skimpy uniform. Seeing it performed visually cemented her image as a young, belly-baring flirt with girl-next-door looks, approachable style and enviable dancing skills, an archetype that little girls everywhere wanted to emulate.

"Oops!... I Did It Again," Oops!... I Did It Again (2000)

Spears further played with her innocent image on "Oops!... I Did It Again," a sassy song that suggests suitors aren't exactly safe with their heart in her hands. It was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 43rd GRAMMYs.

"I think I did it again," she sings at the top of the track. "I made you believe we're more than just friends." Spawning another classic video and another trademark look (this time, a red catsuit), "Oops" emphasized Spears' further pivot into naughtiness and had thousands learning her choreography in a pre-YouTube era. 

Another Max Martin and Rami Yacoub production, "Oops" stuck at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, but the album of the same name debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and set first-week records for sales by a woman artist at the time with 1,319,913 copies sold.

"Lucky," Oops!... I Did It Again (2000)

"Lucky" is a peppy song with a sprinkle of sadness on top. Its titular character is a Hollywood girl who seems to have it all, but there's no one to share her success with, so she is lonely and cries at night. It was a poignant sentiment, given her fame at the time, and was re-examined by fans in recent years as she fought for freedom from her conservatorship overseen by her father, Jamie Spears.

While it didn't manage to break the top 20 of the Hot 100, "Lucky" has always been a fan favorite. The song did break through internationally, though, becoming a No. 1 hit in three European countries as well as on Europe's overall pop chart.

"Dear Diary," Oops!... I Did It Again (2000)

Spears has worked with a global roster of songwriters and producers over the years, but the Oops! ballad "Dear Diary" marked a special moment for the star: it was the first album cut that she co-wrote.

While Oops!... I Did It Again largely showed a maturing Spears, the innocence and sweetness of "Dear Diary" served as a reminder that she was still just a teenager in the beginning of her stardom. The track also seemingly gave her the confidence to co-write more of her songs, as she had a hand in writing almost half of 2001's Britney and almost all of 2003's In the Zone.

"I'm a Slave 4 U," Britney (2001)

Spears went rather gritty on the lead single to her third, self-titled album. While earlier singles may have had a sexy wink within their words, the lyrics of "I'm a Slave 4 U" took a deeper plunge into the erotic zone. "All you people look at me like I'm a little girl," she sings defensively. "Well, did you ever think it'd be okay for me to step into this world?"

Along with the racy lyrics, Spears' visual performances of the song — a music video depiction of a steamy basement club night and a VMA performance that included dancing with an Albino Burmese python around her neck — added more cultural moments to her repertoire. 

"Overprotected," Britney (2001)

Spears' massive fame made her an early paparazzi magnet and led her to be sheltered by her management, record label and family. These topics are addressed head-on over the soaring notes of "Overprotected."

"Say hello to the girl that I am/ You're gonna have to see through my perspective," she declares on the opening verse. "I need to make mistakes just to learn who I am/ And I don't wanna be so damn protected."

The anthem foreshadowed her future hit "Piece of Me" — and the struggle for independence she'd later fight for during her conservatorship — but ultimately showed that she isn't afraid to speak her mind and fight for what's hers.

"I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman," Britney (2001)

After two bold statements with Britney's first two singles ("I'm a Slave 4 U" and "Overprotected"), Spears pumped the brakes on the notion of her growing up too fast in the ballad "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman." The song appeared on her third album, Britney, and in the soundtrack for the road trip dramedy Crossroads.

"There is no need to protect me," she sings powerfully on the track, which appears to mirror her experience in real life at that moment in time. "It's time that I/ Learn to face up to this on my own/ I've seen so much more than you know now/ So don't tell me to shut my eyes." 

"Toxic," In the Zone (2003)

"Toxic" is an uptempo whirlwind of sampled Bollywood strings and Swedish pop drama crafted by the popular dance pop producers Bloodshy & Avant. Another single that took on a life of its own visually, the video served up another set of iconic looks: the deadly assassin, the sparkly nude bodysuit and the perky flight attendant.

"Toxic" remains Spears' biggest hit as of press time, now certified six-times platinum by the RIAA and the only song with more than one billion streams on Spotify. It also won Spears her one GRAMMY, for Best Dance Recording at the 47th GRAMMY Awards.

And 20 years after its release as a single, "Toxic" has had remarkable staying power on the pop charts. As of 2023, the song appeared on the Hot 100 in three different incarnations: the original track and the mash-ups "Toxic Pony" by Altégo and "Toxic Las Vegas" by Jamieson Shaw. 

"Everytime," In the Zone (2003)

By this era of Spears' discography, fans were more than used to autotune and other processed treatments on her singing — but "Everytime" is Spears in a more vulnerable and unplugged state. Co-written by Spears, the slow, melancholic ballad hit even harder because it was released after her public breakup with Justin Timberlake.

Fans hadn't heard anything quite as sad from Spears in her career as the pining lyrics of the chorus on "Everytime": "And every time I try to fly I fall/ Without my wings/ I feel so small/ I guess I need you, baby." The song became a fan favorite for the rawness of her vocal delivery, and was also a personal favorite for Spears during her Las Vegas concert residency.

"Womanizer," Circus (2008)

Spears' father began his role as her conservator in February 2008. Seven months later, she released "Womanizer," the lead single to her sixth album, Circus — which proved that no one was going to hold her down.

"You say I'm crazy," she sneers on the chorus of the engine-roaring uptempo track, which pokes fun at recent troubles with her ex-husband Kevin Federline. "I got your crazy!" she adds, sarcastically.

While the song's message focused on telling off a, well, womanizer, its commercial success showed Spears' new conservatorship meant nothing for her staying power. "Womanizer" was her first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 since "...Baby, One More Time" topped the chart in January 1999; it also earned Spears her seventh GRAMMY nomination, for Best Dance Recording at the 2010 GRAMMYs.

"If You Seek Amy," Circus (2008)

If the title to the sing-songy "If You Seek Amy" is said out loud, it sounds like a sexual proposition. And that's exactly what makes this Max Martin-produced track so enjoyable.

Despite everything she was experiencing in her personal life, it offered evidence that Spears still knew how to poke fun at her staying at the center of attention. It's a perfect time capsule to an era when she was most wanted by the paparazzi.

"Hold It Against Me," Femme Fatale (2011)

Spears' "Hold It Against Me" flips an old chauvinistic joke into girl power — another clever piece added to the singer's puzzle. After being objectified so much over the course of her career, this song was her bid to put an end to it.

"Hold It Against Me" continued Spears' late 2000s hot streak into the 2010s. It earned the singer her fourth No. 1 on the Hot 100, following the chart-topping success of "3," her cheeky ode to threesomes, in 2009. 

"Work B—," Britney Jean (2013)

Spears assumes a faux British accent for "Work B—," a bossy cut made for gyms or the club. "You want a hot body? You want a Bugatti? You want a Maserati?" she asks over an insistent beat. "You better work, b—… now get to work, b—!"

Shortly after the track was released in 2013, Spears told English talk show host Alan Carr that the song is a tribute to her gay male friends, with whom she uses the word b— playfully and affectionately as a term of endearment. It became both a gay club anthem and a top 20 hit on the Hot 100 chart, and the video revived interest in Spears' dancing chops.

"Slumber Party (feat. Tinashe), Glory (2016)

A slightly different sound for Spears compared to her pop and dance productions, "Slumber Party" features Tinashe with a lyrical cadence that is more in the R&B singer's realm. It's perhaps the Spears song with the most urban radio feel since "I'm a Slave 4 U."

Fans may also remember "Slumber Party" fondly for what was once a romantic reason: Spears' now ex-husband Sam Asghari was cast as the leading man in the lingerie-heavy music video; it's how they first met each other.

"Hold Me Closer" with Elton John, The Lockdown Sessions (2022)

What better way to celebrate a big feat than with a massive collaboration? Nine months after Spears' long-fought conservatorship was terminated, she dropped a team-up with none other than Sir Elton John.

The unexpected duo released "Hold Me Closer," a soaring duet that interpolates parts of John's beloved hits "Tiny Dancer," "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" and "The One" into a singular modern mix. And though Spears is more of a background vocalist, her first release in six years marked quite the comeback: "Hold Me Closer" topped the Billboard Adult Top 40 and the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs charts, and reached No. 6 on the Hot 100.

As of press time, "Hold Me Closer" is the last song that Spears has released to date. While it's possible that there may not be any more recordings to follow, it's also safe to say she has surprised the world more than once before.

How Many GRAMMYs Has Britney Spears Won? 10 Questions About The "Hold Me Closer" Singer Answered

The Recording Academy Announces 2024 Special Merit Award & Lifetime Achievement Award Honorees: N.W.A, Gladys Knight, Donna Summer, DJ Kool Herc & Many More
(Top Row, L-R): Gladys Knight, the Clark Sisters, Tammy Wynette, Laurie Anderson, Gerald Eaton; (Middle Row, L-R): N.W.A, Tom Scott, Donna Summer, Joel Katz, Steve McEwan; (Bottom Row, L-R): Peter Asher, Tom Kobayashi, DJ Kool Herc, K'naan

Photo Credits: Derek Blanks; Mel Elder, Jr.; Michael Ochs Archives; Stephanie Diani; Kim Virdi; TiVo; photo courtesy of SMPTE; Copyright Brian Leatart; Gittings; Steve McEwan; Henry Diltz; Kobayashi Family; Johnny Nunez/WireImage; Nabil Elderkin

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The Recording Academy Announces 2024 Special Merit Award & Lifetime Achievement Award Honorees: N.W.A, Gladys Knight, Donna Summer, DJ Kool Herc & Many More

The 2024 Special Merit Awards honorees include Lifetime Achievement Award recipients Tammy Wynette, the Clark Sisters, and many others. The Special Merit Awards will return to the Wilshire Ebell Theater on Saturday, Feb.3, during GRAMMY Week 2024.

GRAMMYs/Jan 5, 2024 - 01:55 pm

Ahead of the 2024 GRAMMYs, the Recording Academy has announced the 2024 Special Merit Awards honorees.

Laurie Anderson, the Clark Sisters, Gladys Knight, N.W.A, Donna Summer, and Tammy Wynette are the 2024 Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award honorees; Peter Asher, DJ Kool Herc and Joel Katz are the Trustees Award recipients; Tom Kobayashi and Tom Scott are the Technical GRAMMY Award honorees; and “Refugee,” written by K’naan, Steve McEwan, and Gerald Eaton (a.k.a. Jarvis Church), is being honored with the Best Song For Social Change Award

The Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards Ceremony celebrating the 2023 Special Merit Award recipients will return to the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 3. 

“The Academy is honored to pay tribute to this year’s Special Merit Award recipients — a remarkable group of creators and industry professionals whose impact resonates with generations worldwide,” said Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. “Their contributions to music span genres, backgrounds and crafts, reflecting the rich diversity that fuels our creative community. We look forward to honoring these music industry trailblazers next month as part of our week-long celebration leading up to Music’s Biggest Night.”

Lifetime Achievement Award Honorees

This Special Merit Award is presented by vote of the Recording Academy’s National Trustees to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording (through 1972, recipients included non-performers).

Laurie Anderson is a writer, director, composer, visual artist, musician, and vocalist who has created groundbreaking works that span the worlds of art, theater, experimental music, and technology. As a performer and musician, she has collaborated with many people including Brian Eno, Jean-Michel Jarre, William S. Burroughs, Peter Gabriel, Robert Wilson, Christian McBride, and Philip Glass. In 2002, Anderson was appointed the first artist-in-residence of NASA which culminated in her 2004 touring solo performance, The End of the Moon. She has been nominated for six GRAMMY Awards throughout her recording career and received a GRAMMY for the release Landfall in collaboration with the Kronos Quartet at the 61st GRAMMYs. 

The Clark Sisters, an American gospel vocal group initially consisting of five sisters: Jacky, Denise, Elbernita, Dorinda, and Karen – have been taking the world by storm since the early 1980s. Credited for helping to bring gospel music to the mainstream, the Clark Sisters are considered pioneers of contemporary gospel. Their biggest crossover hits include: “Is My Living in Vain?,” “Hallelujah,” “He Gave Me Nothing to Lose,” “Endow Me,” their hit song “Jesus Is A Love Song,” “Pure Gold,” “Miracle,” and their largest, mainstream crossover gold-certified, “You Brought The Sunshine.” The Clark Sisters (Jacky, Elbernita, Dorinda, and Karen) have won three GRAMMYs (two awarded to the group, and one to Karen as a songwriter for “Blessed and Highly Favored”), and with 16 albums to their credit and millions in sales, they are the highest-selling female gospel group in history.

Gladys Knight is a seven-time GRAMMY Award winner who has enjoyed No. 1 hits in pop, gospel, R&B, and adult contemporary, and has triumphed in film, television and live performance. Knight has recorded more than 38 albums over the years including four solo albums. She appeared on ABC’s 14th season of “Dancing With The Stars” in 2012, and in 2019, she competed on the inaugural season of “The Masked Singer.” Knight has sung the National Anthem at several major sporting events, including at Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta in 2019, and at the 2021 NBA All-Star Game. She was a National Endowment for the Arts 2021 National Medal of Arts Recipient and received a Kennedy Center Honor for Lifetime Artistic Achievements in 2022.

N.W.A was a rap group from the Compton district in Los Angeles who are credited by many with inventing gangsta rap. The group, consisting of Eazy-E^, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella, and MC-Ren, developed a new sound, which brought in many of the loud, extreme sonic innovations of Public Enemy while adopting a self-consciously violent and dangerous lyrical stance. In 1988, N.W.A released their album, Straight Outta Compton, a brutally intense record that became an underground hit without any support from radio or MTV. This negative attention worked in their favor as it brought the album to multiplatinum status. Although the group was short-lived, gangsta rap established itself as the most popular form of hip-hop during the mid-1990s.

Donna Summer^ rocketed to international superstardom with her groundbreaking merger of R&B, soul, pop, funk, rock, disco, and avant-garde electronica, catapulting underground dance music out of the clubs of Europe and bringing it to the world. Summer holds the record with three consecutive double albums to hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts (the only solo artist to ever accomplish this), and first female artist to have four No. 1 singles in a 12-month period on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. A five-time GRAMMY winner and 18-time GRAMMY nominee, Summer was the first artist to win the GRAMMY for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female (1979, “Hot Stuff”) as well as the first-ever recipient of the new GRAMMY Category for Best Dance Recording (1997, “Carry On”). Summer was the first female artist to win GRAMMY Awards in four different genres: dance, gospel, rock, and R&B.

Tammy Wynette^ first hit the musical scene in 1966 with “Apartment #9” after moving to Nashville and teaming up with record producer Billy Sherrill. Together, the duo wrote songs that reflected the yearnings and the things Wynette felt were important in her life. In 1968, Wynette released “Stand By Your Man,” which sold more than five million singles and became the largest-selling single ever recorded by a female artist. By 1970, she racked up five No. 1 country hits, was named the Country Music Association’s Female Vocalist of the Year three times, and won two GRAMMYs. Wynette was the first female country music singer to sell over one million albums and has sold more than 30 million records grossing more than $100 million, earning her the title “The First Lady of Country Music.”

Read More: GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Awards | The Complete List

Trustees Award Honorees

This Special Merit Award is presented by vote of the Recording Academy’s National Trustees to individuals who, during their careers in music, have made significant contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording (through 1983, recipients included performers).

Peter Asher’s career began in 1964 as one-half of Peter & Gordon, whose “A World Without Love” topped the charts worldwide. Nine more Top 20 hits followed before Asher became head of A&R for the Beatles’ Apple Records in 1968, and discovered, produced and managed James Taylor; later adding Linda Ronstadt, Neil Diamond, 10,000 Maniacs, Cher, Diana Ross, Kenny Loggins, Bonnie Raitt, Robin Williams, Stevie Nicks, Lyle Lovett, Morrissey, Steve Martin & Edie Brickell, Ed Sheeran, and more to his roster. Asher won the GRAMMY for Producer Of The Year in both 1977 and 1989. He hosts a hit radio show “From Me To You” on Sirius XM and is much in demand not only in the studio but as a performer, speaker and author.

The legendary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee DJ Kool Herc is consistently credited as the founder of hip-hop. His mastery at the turntables is known worldwide, as are his positive contributions to the evolution of hip-hop culture. Herc’s popularity rose by playing long sets of assorted rhythm breaks strung together. Unlike any of his DJ counterparts, Herc is not a rapid rapper who keeps your head spinning with a patter, but he is a musical innovator to the turntables. He first introduced using two turntables to make the beats last longer, creating the illusion of one long break for the B-Boys to show off their skills. Herc has received a great deal of recognition during his lifetime, including his induction into the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and recognition from the New York Landmarks Conservancy as a 2023 Living Landmark. 

Joel Katz has played a profound role in shaping the entertainment industry through his work in facilitating entertainment-related corporate acquisitions and mergers and consulting multi-national and multi-media entertainment companies. Katz was ranked Billboard magazine’s No. 1 entertainment attorney in its “Power 100” list of most powerful executives in the music business and has been called “the dealmaker who thinks outside the box.” At Kennesaw State University, Katz endowed and began a commercial music program – one of the largest music education programs in America with over 500 students. He has authored and co-authored many articles and commentary on topics concerning entertainment law. In honor of his work, the University of Tennessee College of Law dedicated its library in his name, the Joel A. Katz Law Library.

Read More: GRAMMY Trustees Awards | The Complete List

Technical GRAMMY Award Honorees

This Special Merit Award is presented by vote of the Producers & Engineers Wing Advisory Council and Chapter Committees and ratification by the Recording Academy's National Trustees to individuals and/or companies/organizations/institutions who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field. 

Tom Kobayashi^ and Tom Scott met at Lucasfilm’s Skywalker Sound in 1985, when the duo joined the company and completed the building of the Skywalker post-production facilities in both Northern and Southern California. Together, Kobayashi and Scott launched the Entertainment Digital Network, also known as “EDnet,” which employed fiber-optic networks to send high-quality video and audio great distances. Its then-revolutionary technology enabled the industry to link together talent, executives and production facilities at great cost savings. For 25 years, that company connected hundreds of recording studios worldwide in the days before the Internet could handle high-quality audio. EDnet became a part of Onstream Media, and over the decades, tens of thousands of long-distance collaboration sessions were facilitated for the music, advertising, TV, and cinema businesses. 

Best Song For Social Change Award Honorees

This Special Merit Award honors songwriter(s) of message-driven music that speaks to the social issues of our time and has demonstrated and inspired positive global impact. The finalists and recipient(s) are selected annually by a Blue-Ribbon Committee composed of a community of peers dedicated to artistic expression, the craft of songwriting and the power of songs to effect social change. See past recipients here.

In June 2023, singer-songwriter K’naan released the inspiring single and accompanying video “Refugee,” co-written by GRAMMY Award-winning songwriter Steve McEwan and GRAMMY-nominated producer Gerald Eaton (also known by his stage name, Jarvis Church). “Refugee” stands out as a distinctive musical endeavor, skillfully interweaving personal and political narratives, and serving as a tribute to refugees around the world. With the single, K’naan drew inspiration from his personal experiences, aiming to redefine the traditional perception of the term “refugee” into a symbol of resilience and strength. The song was written with the hopes of encouraging individuals to embrace the word “refugee” proudly and to give those made homeless by conflict a song that felt like home.

Read More: GRAMMY Technical Awards | The Complete List

^Denotes posthumous honoree.

2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List