Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys

Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys

Photo: Aurora Rose/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images

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Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz To Receive 2018 Producers & Engineers Wing Award

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GRAMMY winners set to be honored for their outstanding artistic contributions at annual GRAMMY Week event
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Nov 30, 2017 - 6:00 am

GRAMMY winners Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz are a power couple to be reckoned with. In 2018 their stars will burn even brighter with new recognition from the Recording Academy's Producers & Engineers Wing.

Michelle Obama Salutes Alicia Keys On Capitol Hill

The power duo will be honored during GRAMMY Week 2018 at the P&E Wing's 11th annual GRAMMY Week celebration on Jan. 25, 2018, at Rockefeller Center's iconic Rainbow Room in New York City. The invite-only event, which celebrates the artistic contributions of the Wing's professional members, will highlight the unparalleled accomplishments of Keys and Beatz.

Keys has earned a total of 15 career GRAMMYs to date, including Best New Artist and Song Of The Year for "Fallin'" at the 44th GRAMMY Awards and wins in the R&B Field for classics such as "You Don't Know My Name" (2004), "No One" (2007) and "Girl On Fire" (2013). She also earned a win for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Rap Song for her collaboration with fellow GRAMMY winner Jay-Z on "Empire State Of Mind."

Primarily a sought-after producer, Beatz — aka Kasseem Dean — has worked with the likes of Jay-Z, Madonna, Beyoncé, Busta Rhymes, Gwen Stefani, Kanye West, and Metallica. He has earned six GRAMMY nominations, and won his first career GRAMMY at the 53rd GRAMMY Awards for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group for "On To The Next One" with Jay-Z.

"With multiplatinum success, fierce dedication to the craft and unwavering support for the art of recorded sound, Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz represent the power of groundbreaking ingenuity in our creative community," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. "Alicia and Swizz have set new precedents for excellence and their contributions are paramount. This is sure to be an unforgettable evening, and we are thrilled to be able to celebrate them together as an undeniable force in the industry."

Previous P&E Wing honorees include Jack White, Rick Rubin, Nile Rodgers, Neil Young, Al Schmitt, Quincy Jones, Ahmet & Nesuhi Ertegun, Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin, Tom Dowd, Chris Blackwell, T Bone Burnett, and Jimmy Iovine.

John Legend

John Legend

Photo: Jerod Harris/Getty Images

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John Legend, Bruno Mars, GRAMMY Shows Earn 2018 Emmy Nominations

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Celebrating the best in TV, the annual Emmy Awards have announced this year's round of awards candidates
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jul 12, 2018 - 1:42 pm

Emmy nominations for 2018 — the 70th year of celebrating the best in TV over the course of the previous year — are out and here's how the music world stacked up.

All-Stars Pay Tribute To Elton John

The Recording Academy earned five nominations this year for our musical TV centerpieces. The 60th GRAMMY Awards telecast live from New York earned nods for Outstanding Production Design For A Variety Special, Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction For A Variety Special, Outstanding Variety Special (Live), and Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Variety Series Or Special.

Meanwhile, the Academy's TV tribute to the indelible music of an icon, "Elton John: I'm Still Standing — A Grammy Salute," earned a nomination for Outstanding Music Direction for the special's music director Davey Johnstone.

Bruno Mars also earned a nod for Outstanding Music Direction for his Bruno "Mars: 24K Magic Live At The Apollo" while Super Bowl music director Adam Wayne Blackstone earned recognition in the same category for this year's halftime show featuring Justin Timberlake. 

For his role in the breakout hit live TV musical "Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert," John Legend received an Emmy nod for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie. Already a GRAMMY, Oscar and Tony winner, if Legend wins his Emmy this year, he would join the elite EGOT-winning crew alongside entertainers such as Rita Moreno and Whoopi Goldberg.

"Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert" also earned several additional nominations, including Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie for Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas, Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie for Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene and Outstanding Variety Special (Live).

Other familiar musical faces made the Emmy nominations list for their acting work. Donald Glover — aka Childish Gambino — earned several nods for his work on the hit comedy series "Atlanta," including Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series. One-time "Glee" actor/singer Darren Criss is up for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie for his role as Andrew Cunanan in "The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story."

In the musical categories, a number of composers earned nominations for their music works. This includes the GRAMMY-winning composers behind the score to La La Land Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who earned a Emmy nod for Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics  "In The Market For A Miracle" from "A Christmas Story Live!" Steve Martin earned a nomination in the same category for "The Buddy Song" from "Steve Martin & Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget For The Rest Of Your Life."

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Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys

Photo: Jim Spellman/WireImage.com

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Selena Gomez, Cher, Alicia Keys Rally To #KeepFamiliesTogether

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Lin-Manuel Miranda, John Legend, Carole King, and many others came together in support of immigrant families
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jul 2, 2018 - 5:10 pm

As people nationwide gathered to #KeepFamiliesTogether and support immigrant families and protest current immigration policies on June 30, many musicians, actors and activists lent their celebrity to the cause.

Artists such as GRAMMY winners Alicia Keys, Carole King, Cher, and Lin-Manuel Miranda attended marches protesting the current White House administration's immigration policies. Others, including Janelle Monáe, Selena Gomez and Questlove voiced their support on social media, posting under the hashtags #KeepFamilesTogether and #FamiliesBelongTogether.

June 30th is a nationwide day of action for our immigrant families & refugee children. There will be over 750 events planned throughout the country. The anchor event (protestwise) will be in #LafayetteSquare in #WashingtonDC. the purpose for tomorrow is to let this administration know that #FamiliesBelongTogether (not in cages) “Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning TO BE FREE. The Wretched Refuse Of Your Teeming Shore. Send These, The Homeless, Tempest-Tossed To Me—-I LIFT MY LAMP BESIDE THE GOLDEN DOOR. I am a child photo: @kishabari No one is illegal photo: #ChrisLee End family separation now art: @alockstadt Keep families together (blue hand version) #NicholasLampert @nicolaslampert Keep families together: #PeteRailand @lookbacktosee No More Detention: #phoebewahl @phoebewahl Follow @WomenBelong on Twitter & @womensmarch

A post shared by Questlove Gomez (@questlove) on

At the Los Angeles march, GRAMMY winner John Legend took the stage along with Black Eyed Peas' Taboo to support the efforts of those gathered. Meanwhile, Legend's wife Chrissy Teigen — holding their newborn son — gave a powerful speech to the marchers gathered around City Hall.

"We love that the American story is filled with people who come from all over the world to have a better life here. America at its best is big, beautiful and diverse," she said. "Too many people demonize immigrants, like they're stealing something from the people born here. Immigrants don't come here to take from us; they add to what makes America special. Making America great doesn't mean building walls to keep people out. It means continuing to embrace the dreams of immigrants who add to our culture, our economy and our humanity."

To find out what's next and join your favorite artists to ensure our fellow human beings have the civil rights we all deserve, visit FamilesBelongTogether.org.

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Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

Photo: Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images

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"Dear Evan Hansen" Producers On Winning A GRAMMY In New York

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The creatives behind the hit musical detail their path from the idea stage to Broadway to Music's Biggest Night
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Feb 2, 2018 - 12:00 pm

If you haven't seen "Dear Evan Hansen," given the show's win at the 60th GRAMMY Awards in New York, now is the perfect time to look into checking out the hit Broadway musical.

"Dear Evan Hansen" One-On-One: 2018 GRAMMYs

Written by composers/lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and produced by orchestrater Alex Lacamoire, Stacey Mindich, Pasek, and Paul, "Dear Evan Hansen" explores the struggle of social anxiety.

"It's about a young man who feels incredibly isolated and alone in his world," producer Pasek explained backstage at the 60th GRAMMYs. "And through a series of events he is believed to have been the best friend of a kid who just passed away and he basically [helps] a grieving family make them think that he was actually best friends with their son who has recently been deceased. His whole life changes as a result and the question is whether or not he should come clean and how his life changes because of this lie."

"Dear Evan Hansen" opened on Broadway in 2016 following a premiere at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., in 2015. For the creators of the show, getting the musical from the conceptual stage all the way to Broadway was a collaborative process.

"The songs are created along with the rest of the show, so we really worked in tandem with our book writer Steven Levenson on this project. We developed these characters and this storyline all together. Then Michael Greif our director," said Paul. "We sit in a room for a long time and come up with it all together. We bring in our music team, Alex Lacamorie and the rest of them. It's an amazing sort of journey where you keep picking up more incredible, wonderful people all along the way as you create this show from scratch and then get it up, workshopped, up on its feet and finally, eventually, thankfully on Broadway."

"Dear Evan Hansen" has earned critical acclaim since its opening. The show took home six Tony Awards, including Best Musical in 2017, and Ben Platt's role as the lead garnered him a Best Performance by an Actor Tony Award. Now the creators and Platt have added a GRAMMY to the list of the musical's accolades, having earned the GRAMMY for Best Musical Theater Album this year.

Pasek and Paul couldn't wait to share their GRAMMY success with the rest of the cast and crew of the show, especially because Music's Biggest Night was celebrated right in the musical's hometown.

"It is really cool that our show is playing just up the street and then we get to celebrate this with our whole cast," Pasek said. "They're just finishing a matinee performance right now so I think they're going to come down and find out they're all GRAMMY winners at the end of it, which is a very, very cool thing. And to have it be in New York and to celebrate that energy that Broadway's so vital in, it's a very exciting thing for us."

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

Ledisi

Ledisi

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Ledisi On Why She Celebrates Black History Month Year-Round

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The GRAMMY nominee lets us in on why celebrating the culture of African-Americans is so important
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Feb 1, 2018 - 5:27 pm

Feb. 1 marks the beginning of Black History Month, a time to celebrate the many significant — and often overlooked — contributions that African-Americans have made to the fabric of our country, including in the arts.

Ledisi On Why Black History Month Matters

African-Americans have long since been integral to music, whether it's jazz, R&B, hip-hop, rock and roll, or the undeniable influences of all of these genres that have found their way into pop, rock and even country music. Think of greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and contemporary movers and shakers like Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, SZA, and Ledisi.

We caught up with the GRAMMY-nominated R&B singer/songwriter Ledisi at the Recording Academy Los Angeles Chapter's GRAMMY Nominees Reception to find out why it's so important to continue celebrating African-Americans in our country, and around the world. 

"I celebrate being black every single day. Every accomplishment I make is an honor of my ancestry, my parents, my walk, and my journey given to me in life," said Ledisi. "I think it's very important to celebrate my culture because we're in everything. We're in the makeup of everyone's lives whether they know it or not."

So this February, and all year long, let's celebrate the innumerable ways African-Americans enrich our culture.

"I love being black, I love being beautiful and I love my culture," she added. "We have to keep forwarding that."

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