Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple

Photo: Gary Miller/Getty Images

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Fiona Apple Pledges Two Years Of "Criminal" Royalties To Immigrant Resource Fund

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"After months and months of reading the news about how my country is treating refugees, I've become gutted with frustration trying to figure out the best way to help…These people are being prosecuted as criminals just for asking for asylum," she wrote
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jul 2, 2019 - 5:19 pm

This past Sunday, Fiona Apple shared her commitment to donate the next two years of TV and film placement earnings from "Criminal" to the While They Wait fund, a new immigrant rights initiative.

In a letter shared via her Tumblr fan page, the activist/singer-songwriter explained that the GRAMMY-winning 1996 hit song is her "most requested" for TV/film, and she generally shares its earnings with friends and family. After witnessing the continued news of the inhumane treatment of migrants at U.S. borders, she wanted this income to support refugees.

"After months and months of reading the news about how my country is treating refugees, I've become gutted with frustration trying to figure out the best way to help," Apple wrote.

She continued: "[While They Wait] seems to me that the best way I can help detainees is to contribute to payment of their legal fees. What they need is representation and guidance because these people are being prosecuted as criminals just for asking for asylum."

In the post, she encouraged other songwriters to also donate earnings from a song to the org, and for everyone interested to check out their work:

"I want to ask other songwriters to donate just ONE TIME, the money they get for the usage of one of their songs to this organization or one of their choosing. I could write a song about this and maybe I will but for now, I will use "CRIMINAL" to help the WRONGLY criminalized get justice. I encourage anyone who wants to join with me to get involved—watch the short film on their site."

While They Wait was launched in January in response by three social justice non-profits; ACLU SoCal, RAICES Texas and Brooklyn Defender Services. According to their website, with data from USCIS, there are currently 311,000 immigrants living seeking asylum. The video Apple references, shared above, tells the heartbreaking story of Honduran asylum-seeker Nilda, one of BDS's clients, and features a song by benny blanco, Calvin Harris and Miguel.

For more information on how to get involved, visit the fund's website.

Elton John Is Celebrated With France's Highest Civilian Honor

 

Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens

Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

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Sufjan Stevens Releases New Music For Pride Month: Listen

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The GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter will be donating a portion of the proceeds from the project, which includes a limited-edition vinyl offering, to two organizations supporting LGBTQ youth
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
May 29, 2019 - 1:46 pm

GRAMMY nominee Sufjan Stevens released two new songs today via Asthmatic Kitty, "Love Yourself" and "With My Whole Heart," in honor of Pride Month (which begins June 1). A portion of the proceeds from the project, which features a special vinyl and T-shirt designed by Stevens, will go to two organizations supporting LGBTQ youth.

Asthmatic Kitty, the indie label co-founded by Stevens in his home state of Michigan back in 1999, explains the backstory behind the two new songs, the first of which began over 20 years ago:

"'Love Yourself' is based on a sketch Sufjan wrote 20 years ago. The original 4-track demo he recorded in 1996 is included [on the EP] as well as a short instrumental reprise. 'With My Whole Heart' is a completely new song that Sufjan wrote as a personal challenge to 'write an upbeat and sincere love song without conflict, anxiety, or self-deprecation.'"

The EP is available digitally now (listen to the two full songs below), with the limited-edition vinyl available for pre-order now, with a June 28 release date. The record is limited to 5,000 copies in the U.S and 1,500 in Europe and features a pretty rainbow-font cover designed by Stevens himself. An 800-run T-shirt, also designed by Stevens, features his name in the same rainbow font, and is the first product offered on his new merch platform, Sufjamz.

More information on the project, including where you can buy and stream, is available here.

The two non-profits Stevens will be donating a portion of proceeds to are the Ali Forney Center in Harlem, N.Y. and the Ruth Ellis Center in Detroit, Mich. Both organizations, located in his current hometown of N.Y.C. and birthplace of Detroit, directly support young LGBTQ youth and young adults with both short- and long-term support, including for those who are homeless.

Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: Sufjan Stevens & Making "Mystery Of Love"

David Byrne

David Byrne

Photo: Randy Holmes/ABC/Getty Images

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David Byrne To Launch Trippy, Immersive "Theater Of The Mind" In 2020

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"It's about perception and sensory stuff, there's gonna be a lot of gummy bears and other stuff in there," the former Talking Heads frontman explained
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Nov 7, 2019 - 5:14 pm

Today, the music and theater world got some exciting news: GRAMMY-winning multi-hyphenate and Talking Heads co-founder David Byrne is bringing his latest avant-garde art experience, "Theater of the Mind," to Denver in summer 2020. This trippy, interactive performance piece is centered on human perception and reality.

Byrne first tested out an initial version of the "Theater of the Mind" back in fall 2017 on Governors Island in New York City as "workshop performances" in partnership with 600 HIGHWAYMEN. According to his conversation with Rolling Stone, he decided to take the new run to Denver, specifically to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, because "the Denver Center for the Performing Arts have done immersive things like this before," he told the outlet.

"Not quite like this," he continued, "but they've cultivated an audience in Denver. I am so convinced that because it's about perception and sensory stuff, there's gonna be a lot of gummy bears and other stuff in there."

The "Once in a Lifetime" singer also explained a bit about the layout and interactivity of the experience, although exact run dates have yet to be revealed.

"It will be in a warehouse, where it's divided into a bunch of different rooms. A group of 16 audience members will go from room to room and experience these perceptual things. When they leave one room, another group goes in there. That way, you can get 400 people in from 6 p.m. to 10. You get the same number as if it were a theater show, but you get more in small groups," Byrne said.

"When people come out of this thing, my hope is that they will have had a really good time," he told the Denver Center.

The new Theater of the Mind Denver website, where you can sign up to be notified when tickets go on sale, reveals more details about the experience. The site says performances will begin in August 2020 and go "for several weeks." Tickets will be available in the spring

The immersive experience is co-created by Byrne and researcher/technologist Mala Gaonkar. The pair has worked together before; in 2016 they brought a theatric version of scientific research studies—which they named "The Institute Presents: Neurosociety"—to the forward-thinking Pace Gallery in Menlo Park, Calif.

"Inspired by both historical and current lab research, 'Theater of the Mind' takes you on an immersive journey inside how we see and create our worlds," its website states. "The show uses stories from their own lives to shape the narrative you'll see, feel, taste and hear.

Witness the wonders of your mind for yourself as you follow The Guide through a spectacular 15,000-square-foot installation with 16 fellow audience members. As you explore intriguing environments, participate in a narrative and try a series of sensory experiments, your Guide will question how beliefs, memories and even our identities are less fixed than we think."

Currently, Byrne is busy showcasing his critically acclaimed "American Utopia" show on Broadway, in which he and other musicians dressed in coordinating gray suits perform favorites from the Talking Heads and his solo albums, including 2018's American Utopia. As RS notes, the Broadway run was recently extended until Feb. 16, 2020.

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Anderson. Paak Malibu Credit Cover
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Behind The Record: Your Favorite Artists #GiveCredit Where It's Due

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Artists took to social media to #GiveCredit on Oct. 25 with detailed Credit Covers for fans to explore
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 28, 2019 - 4:50 pm

Last Friday, on Oct. 25, Behind the Record launched, and in doing so, acknowledged countless creatives behind your favorite records. 

Tons of artists showed up for the conversation, sharing Credit Covers highlighting the names of professionals who worked on all kinds of songs and albums.

For starters, L.A.-based producer/DJ TOKiMONSTA shared the Credit Cover for her track "I Wish I Could," featuring Belgian singer/songwriter Selah Sue on vocals, from her GRAMMY-nominated 2017 album Lune Rogue. She wrote: "Everyone on a track deserves to be recognized. A big thank you to everyone who works #BehindTheRecord."

More: Artists: Find Out How To #GiveCredit & Celebrate Your Collaborators Today!

2019 GRAMMY host Alicia Keys also posted for her latest single, "Show Me Love" featuring Miguel, along with a powerful message: "One of my favorite things about making music is the collaboration process and everyone bringing their beautiful spirits and expertise to the process! It's an honor to have created magic with you on 'Show Me Love'!! Big Love to all the people #behindtherecord you're amazing and I'm grateful to you for rockin' with me. I'm here to #givecredit."

With Credit Covers, you can you can discover the instrumentalists, producers, mixers, engineers and whoever else made helped song that much more memorable and powerful. Did you know that the guitars on "Show Me Love" were performed by GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Raphael Saadiq and producer/songwriter Morgan Matthews (who also co-produced and co-wrote the track with Keys)?

"Proper crediting, at its core, is about a reverence for creativity and the incongruous ways in which it moves through creators. As technology continues to change at a rapid rate, we must be prepared to redefine the ways in which we recognize and define creative roles in order to create a more diverse and inclusive industry. We must be prepared to leave behind precedent in favor of a true recognition of modern authorship." - Maggie Rogers

Below, explore the collaborators on two GRAMMY winners' albums: H.E.R.'s 2019 EP, I Used To Know H.E.R., and Brandi Carlile's By The Way, I Forgive You. GRAMMY-nominated electro-pop duo SOFI TUKKER shared the cover for their fun new single, "Purple Hat," and the GRAMMY-nominated Jonas Brothers celebrated their co-creators behind Happiness Begins.

 
 
 

"We make music in the spirit of fun and collaboration and it's important to us that that spirit stays alive from the making of the track into its whole lifespan. Plus, it’s just fair. If someone helps make a song, they deserve to be credited. We usually make songs with our friends and it's so fun to be able to share the joy of releasing a song with people we love." - SOFI TUKKER

Nigerian Afropop queen Yemi Alade shared the credit cover for her 2019 album, Woman of Steel, and GRAMMY-winning alt-rockers The Black Keys shared one for their 2019 LP, Let's Rock. GRAMMY-winning country group Little Big Town celebrated all the hands behind the scenes on "Over Drinking," while EDM DJ/producer Marshmello did the same for his track "Happier" featuring Bastille.

 
 
 

GRAMMY-winning disco queen Gloria Gaynor thanked the collaborators on her 2019 gospel album, Testimony. GRAMMY- and Latin GRAMMY-winning Puerto Rican singer/activist iLe shared the Credit Cover for her 2019 album, Almadura, while GRAMMY-winning experimental jazz artist Esperanza Spaulding gave thanks for everyone who helped her with her 2018 LP, Twelve Little Spells.

 
 

Make sure to visit behindtherecord.grammy.com and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to stay in the loop on Behind the Record updates and other great behind-the-music content. You can also search the hashtags #GiveCredit, #BehindTheRecord and #WeAreMusic to join in on the global conversation.  

We are beyond grateful to all the artists and partners who have helped make this dream project a reality, to help give credit where it's due; thank you to everyone who has participated so far.

If you are an artist and want to make your own Credit Cover and have not yet; please check out the instructions here and visit behindtherecord.grammy.com/creditcovers.

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Elton John & French President Emmanuel Macron

Elton John & Emmanuel Macron

Photo: LEWIS JOLY/AFP/Getty Images

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Elton John Is Celebrated With France's Highest Civilian Honor

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"Like music, the fight against AIDS has been my passion for many, many years," the GRAMMY-winning pop icon said during the ceremony in Paris on Friday
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jun 24, 2019 - 1:05 pm

There are plenty of reasons to describe GRAMMY winner Sir Elton John as legendary: his timeless music, avant-garde fashion, LGBTQ+ advocacy and all-around philanthropic efforts. On June 21, French President Emmanuel Macron recognized the decades of greatness and service of John, as he presented him with the country's highest civilian honor, the Légion d'Honneur.

Macron presented John with the prestigious award at a private ceremony held at the Élysée Palace in Paris, calling him "an icon that knew how to set an example," the Associated Press reports. It took place, fittingly, during the annual "Fete de la Musique," which began in France in 1982 and is now celebrated worldwide as Make Music Day. "To receive this decoration the day of the Fete de la Musique makes it even more special," John said.

Related: Elton John Discography: Icon Reflects On His Personal Favorite Albums

The pop music great established The Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992 to help fund HIV/AIDS research and prevention around the world, which, according to its website, had raised over $400 million by its 25th anniversary. For more information on how to get involved with The Elton John AIDS Foundation, visit its website.

"Like music, the fight against AIDS has been my passion for many, many years," John said during his speech on Friday. "Like music this fight reminds me every day of the extraordinary power of the human spirit. And that things that bind us are stronger than those that divide us. It is this magical human spirit I will carry with me as a proud member of the Legion d'Honneur."

Macron used the moment to make a call to action to world leaders (and their constituents, to push them to do so) to give more money to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, ahead of a leadership summit to take place in Lyon, France in October. According to the AP, "he said that 27 million people have been treated and saved through the Global Fund that raised about 13 billion euros in 2016."

John echoed Macron's request to support the Global Fund, adding, "Success is essential. It is of great importance to me."

The night before the ceremony, John performed in Paris, as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour. You can catch his magic live as he continues the tour. Additionally, Rocketman, the biopic depicting the star's glittering rise to fame, starring Taron Egerton, is in theaters now.

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