Ana Monroy Yglesias is a contributor to GRAMMY.com. Music and storytelling are her first loves and going to shows is her lifeblood. Her eclectic, expansive music taste is firmly rooted in the disco and '80s she grew up on. She is especially interested in the intersectionality of music, art, culture and social justice and truly believes that greater representation and more diverse storytelling in media can create greater unity and understanding in a big way. She loves vinyl, cats and the ocean.
Lorde has spent much of her life — ever since she signed with Universal Music Group at 13 — in the music industry. In 2013, she was thrust into pop star status with her GRAMMY-winning debut single "Royals." At a time when YOLO era party music was still climbing the chart, the young New Zealander born Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor…
Last year, at 79, Indian disco diva and musical experimenter Asha Puthli returned with her first major tour in four decades. As the tour continued into summer 2025, Puthli has received her long overdue flowers. Puthli immigrated to New York City at 24 and contributed widely to its art and music. While her disco-laden third album, 1976's The Devil Is…
The last year of British singer/songwriter Lola Young's life has been a whirlwind of accolades, accomplishments and firsts — especially since her vintage rock inflected pop gem "Messy" went viral on TikTok late last year. But don't call the 24-year-old a TikTok star. As her No. 1 hit demonstrates, the South Londoner has a penchant for deeply vulnerable and memorable…
The music that has moved Devonté Hynes through life, and its most difficult emotions, has remained unchanging since he was young. It's a wide-ranging bunch — including Radiohead, New Order, the Smashing Pumpkins, Slipknot and Bach — and while perhaps his music sounds like none of them, there is also no one that sounds quite like his alt-R&B project Blood…
The Recording Academy's first-ever GRAMMY House NYC was abuzz with musicians and music industry professionals eager to connect. The two-day event brought together a wide range of artists and industry professionals for panel discussions, performances and networking opportunities. On June 13, the first order of business at the inviting SECOND event space was an enlightening panel on Women Shaping the…
Often the people we love the most are the ones that drive us the craziest; we’re all mirrors to each other, and they can more easily see us as we truly are. So when your closest musical collaborator is also your romantic partner, does it actually pose more challenges than ease? In the case of Puerto Rican indie dream pop…
Watch highlights from the 2025 GRAMMYs on live.GRAMMY.com. The 2025 GRAMMYs telecast has been reimagined to raise funds for MusiCares Fire Relief, a dedicated campaign to support the people affected by the recent wildfires in the Greater Los Angeles Area. Donate now. 2024 was the year of Brat. Charli xcx's fun, brash and vulnerable sixth album covered topics of self-doubt,…
From Oct. 21 to 23, songwriters, composers, producers, engineers, and music industry professionals gathered at the NYU Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music in Brooklyn, New York, to collaborate, network and support each other in navigating the ever-complex business-side of the music industry. Presented in partnership with the Recording Academy's Songwriters & Composers Wing, the first two days were a…
Let's start with the essentials: house music is Black music. House music was born in the United States; Chicago to be exact. House music is one of the core foundational styles of electronic music; as important as Detroit-bred techno. House is an upbeat genre characterized by a funky, repetitive 4/4 beat (also known as four-on-the-floor) and a danceable tempo ranging…
When TSHA was 21 and struggling with depression, she had a vivid nightmare that she fell through a frozen lake and sank to the bottom. The striking imagery and heavy emotions of the dream stuck with her over the years, even as she pulled herself out of that dark period. On the cover of her soon-to-be-released sophomore album, Sad Girl,…
"I think collaboration boils down to the core belief that something can work," Jack Antonoff recently told GRAMMY.com. "When I make an album with someone, I'm filled with faith that much more in my life or the universe can work, which is definitely a reason why I do this." The 11-time GRAMMY-winning singer, songwriter and producer has worked with many…
Tinashe is riding high on creative freedom. Since stepping away from the major label system in 2019, the 31-year-old artist has been thriving independently, allowing her to drop new music as often as she pleases. "It's given me a newfound sense of belief in myself and my agency," she tells GRAMMY.com. Her seventh studio album, Quantum Baby, released on August…
On July 29, a diverse, talented group of over 200 Recording Academy New York Chapter members filled Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg to mingle, network, and talk shop. The special occasion was the New York Chapter Member Celebration — its first summer event — and the attendees were eager to make new friends and connections, while embracing old ones over free…
If you're a millennial, odds are you have fond memories of Nelly Furtado's music. Her early hits are 2000s playlist staples, including her GRAMMY-winning debut single, "I'm Like A Bird," and Timbaland-produced classics "Say It Right," "Maneater" and "Promiscuous." Yet the Portuguese-Canadian pop auteur is far from a relic of Y2K nostalgia. In the seven years since her last album,…
No one else sounds like KOKOKO! — they are a truly unique aural experience, an emphatic statement that does justice to the exclamation point in their name. The experimental live electronic group out of Kinshasa — the active, populous capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo — is a reflection of their city. Their shouted and chanted lyrics reflect people's…
HEAT, the new collaborative EP from GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter Tove Lo and dance pop producer SG Lewis is 15-and-a-half minutes of pure dance floor ecstasy. Across the EP's four tracks, which dropped June 14 on Tove Lo’s Pretty Swede Records, Lewis brings in classic, euphoric '90s rave sounds and infectious rhythms. Tove Lo adds her signature sexy lyrics and vocals, with…
Given that Beatport Chief Community Officer Sofia Ilyas has dedicated the last 15 years or so of her life supporting burgeoning artists, subgenres and underrepresented groups, it's somewhat surprising that she grew up in a household without music. As a teen, a Sony Walkman with a radio and mixtapes featuring the likes of Radiohead were a lifeline to a world…
GRAMMY-winning French electro duo Justice have always moved to the tune of their own drum machine. Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay's debut release, 2003's "We Are Your Friends," was a radical reimagining of a tune from experimental psych-rock group Simian. Originally a remix made for a Parisian college radio contest, "We Are Your Friends" didn't win, but grabbed the…
Houston-based psych rock trio Khruangbin — which means airplane in Thai — are beloved for their globally flavored, luxuriously spacious brand of psych rock. Much of Khruangbin's music is instrumental, laden with funky-yet-chill bass licks, reverb-drenched guitar, calm yet precise drumming and plenty of room to breathe; you could certainly take flight with a spin of any of their four…
A synthesizer is a revolutionary musical instrument that creates (synthesizes) a wide variety of sounds using electricity and a combination of different frequencies. The synthesizer now exists in many different forms, but really soared to fame in the '70s and '80s, powered by visionary women. Born from the 1922 debut of the Theremin, an invention popularized by pioneer Clara Rockmore,…
