Carena Liptak is a contributor to GRAMMY.com.
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 —…
Madison McFerrin can tell a story with her voice alone. The rising soul singer first caught everyone's attention in early 2018 with her acapella arrangements. McFerrin would post covers recorded in one take online, constructing the entire song with only a microphone and her voice, allowing her emotions to drive the performances. She's precisely crafted her vocal agility, a skill…
Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde may reflect different corners of the country music spectrum, but they share a reverence for tradition and a penchant for heartbreak songs. The singers explore their stylistic common ground in “Never Wanted to Be That Girl,” a duet that tells the story of two women who have been cheated by the same man. The country…
Singer/songwriter and producer Cuco has lots of gear to choose from these days, but his favorite piece of musical equipment is the first synthesizer he ever bought. In this episode of It Goes to 11, Cuco introduces his Yamaha Reface CS. While it's a big part of his artistry now, when he first bought the instrument in his home state…
"We are ordinary people doing extraordinary things/ Smallest tides rock the biggest boats/ So who says it can't be done?" rising reggae and blues star Hezron Clarke sings in the chorus of his song "Man on a Mission." It's a message of support and encouragement for anybody with a dream to chase — because that's exactly how Clarke got to…
It doesn't take a whole lot for Denzel Curry to be happy when he's on tour. The rapper says his must-haves are all simple items that help him look his best and feel good, even after a night of going all out on stage. In this episode of Herbal Tea & White Sofas, Curry says that toiletry items are at…
Updated Friday, Sept. 14, 2023, to include info about GRAMMY.com's coverage of the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop. Today, MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" is known as one of the defining rap classics of the early '90s. Of course, the song was a massive hit upon its release, too — and it scored Hammer two golden gramophones at the 1991…
Acclaimed singer/songwriter Bonnie Raitt already knew she had a hit with her 1991 release "Something to Talk About," but she was left nearly speechless when the song was named the winner in the Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female category at the 1992 GRAMMY Awards. By the time Raitt won this trophy, she was already a fairly prolific artist at the…
Singer/songwriter and Broadway actress Tara Macri has accomplished a lot in life, but there's still plenty more dreams to chase — and that's the message behind her breezy 2022 release, "Waking Up in California." In this episode of Press Play, Macri delivers a breezy performance of the song, drawing out its windows-down pop beat and breathy, ethereal vocal delivery. The…
Joeboy traces the trajectory of a doomed relationship in his song "Contour," a haunting, piano-driven ballad that doesn't shy away from the paradoxical complexities of a love story that is fraught and painful — but ultimately still worthwhile. "A contour is something that is not straightforward, that's not symmetrical, not a straight line," the singer said in a statement. "This…
Latin GRAMMY-nominated pop duo Mau y Ricky — aka Mauricio Alberto "Mau" Reglero Rodriguez and Ricardo Andrés "Ricky" Reglero Rodriguez — have shared a special connection since the beginnings of their career and beyond. Along with being musical partners, they're brothers, and the pair communicate on stage through a unique musical language that they've been developing since childhood. Not only…
Singer/songwriter evrYwhr offers an atmospheric, calm musical message of hope with "Positive Vibes," a song that offers connection and comfort to anyone struggling with life's hardships. "Do you ever feel like/You're losing control?/You're losing your soul?/Well, I feel like you sometimes / Don't we all?" he sings in the first verse. In this episode of Positive Vibes Only, evrYwhr extends…
The 2017 GRAMMY Awards marked a big career moment for Chance the Rapper. Not only did he walk in as a seven-time nominee, but he won his first GRAMMYs that night — and not just one, but three. In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, revisit Chance the Rapper’s acceptance speech for his Best New Artist GRAMMY. Flanked by his then-manager…
After a decade-long hiatus, former Savage Garden vocalist Darren Hayes reemerged in 2022. His fifth solo studio album, Homosexual, served up danceable singles like "Let's Try Being in Love" and "Do You Remember" as his re-introduction to listeners. But the singer/songwriter turns to a more reflective, painful topic in the album's third single, "Poison Blood." The lyrics shares Hayes' experience…
Since their debut in November 2020, South Korean septet ENHYPEN have already taken the K-pop world by storm. Their first mini-album, 2020's Border: Day One, immediately established the group as an act to watch, landing the biggest first week of sales for a single album of any K-pop group that year. Two more mini-albums and a full-length project later, ENHYPEN…
Since its inception more than two decades ago, NewSpring Worship has grown into a multicultural, multigenerational, musical expression of faith. Their name is a tribute to their beloved home base, the NewSpring Church, which has 14 different locations across South Carolina. In this episode of Positive Vibes Only, NewSpring Worship deliver a soaring performance of their song, "Desde El Principio."…
Juls — also known as Juls Baby, and born Julian Nicco-Annan — is perhaps known best for his work as a producer, helping create hits for acts like Burna Boy, Mr. Eazi and GoldLink. But the Ghanian-British producer and DJ is also a touring act who plays sets around the world — and he makes sure he has his trusty…
Three-time GRAMMY-winner Dua Lipa already had two golden gramophones to her name going into the 2021 GRAMMYs. But her third win — and her first for Best Pop Vocal Album — may have been the happiest of them all. In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, revisit the special moment when Dua Lipa took the stage to claim her trophy for…
AkayCentric offers a declaration of all-encompassing, eternal love in "Body and Soul," an immersive track off his 2019 album, Ignition. "Let me be the one for you/ And you'll be the one for me/ And I promise I'm gonna give my all," the Lagos, Nigeria native sings in the chorus. On the studio version of "Body and Soul," a smooth…
"Can I love you a little more clearly?" Katerine Duska and Leon of Athens sing in the emotional chorus of their new song, "Babel." "Can we get it right? Can we talk another night away?" In this episode of Global Spin, the two pop singers — and frequent songwriting partners — effortlessly trade off between Greek and English in a…
