Skip to main content
 
  • Recording Academy
  • GRAMMYs
  • Membership
  • Advocacy
  • MusiCares
  • GRAMMY Museum
  • Latin GRAMMYs
GRAMMYs
  • Advocacy
  • Membership
  • GRAMMYs
  • News
  • Governance
  • Jobs
  • Press Room
  • Events
  • Login
  • MusiCares
  • GRAMMY Museum
  • Latin GRAMMYs
  • More
    • MusiCares
    • GRAMMY Museum
    • Latin GRAMMYs

The GRAMMYs

  • Awards
  • News
  • Videos
  • Music Genres
  • Recording Academy
  • More
    • Awards
    • News
    • Videos
    • Music Genres
    • Recording Academy

Latin GRAMMYs

MusiCares

  • About
  • Get Help
  • Give
  • News
  • Videos
  • Events
  • Shop
  • Person of the Year
  • More
    • About
    • Get Help
    • Give
    • News
    • Videos
    • Events
    • Shop
    • Person of the Year

Advocacy

  • About
  • News
  • Issues & Policy
  • Act
  • Recording Academy
  • More
    • About
    • News
    • Issues & Policy
    • Act
    • Recording Academy

Membership

  • Join
  • Events
  • PRODUCERS & ENGINEERS WING
  • SONGWRITERS & COMPOSERS WING
  • GRAMMY U
  • GOVERNANCE
  • More
    • Join
    • Events
    • PRODUCERS & ENGINEERS WING
    • SONGWRITERS & COMPOSERS WING
    • GRAMMY U
    • GOVERNANCE
Log In Join
  • SUBSCRIBE

  • Search
See All Results
Modal Open
Subscribe Now

Subscribe to Newsletters

Be the first to find out about GRAMMY nominees, winners, important news, and events. Privacy Policy
GRAMMY Museum
Membership

Join us on Social

  • Recording Academy
    • The Recording Academy: Facebook
    • The Recording Academy: Twitter
    • The Recording Academy: Instagram
    • The Recording Academy: YouTube
  • GRAMMYs
    • GRAMMYs: Facebook
    • GRAMMYs: Twitter
    • GRAMMYs: Instagram
    • GRAMMYs: YouTube
  • Latin GRAMMYs
    • Latin GRAMMYs: Facebook
    • Latin GRAMMYs: Twitter
    • Latin GRAMMYs: Instagram
    • Latin GRAMMYs: YouTube
  • GRAMMY Museum
    • GRAMMY Museum: Facebook
    • GRAMMY Museum: Twitter
    • GRAMMY Museum: Instagram
    • GRAMMY Museum: YouTube
  • MusiCares
    • MusiCares: Facebook
    • MusiCares: Twitter
    • MusiCares: Instagram
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy: Facebook
    • Advocacy: Twitter
  • Membership
    • Membership: Facebook
    • Membership: Twitter
    • Membership: Instagram
    • Membership: Youtube
Photo of GRAMMY statues at the 61st GRAMMY Awards in 2019

GRAMMY statues at the 61st GRAMMY Awards in 2019

 

Photo: Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

News
GRAMMYs: Recording Academy Partners W/ Top Brands recording-academy-2021-grammys-63rd-grammy-awards-partners

The Recording Academy Partners With Top Brands For 63rd GRAMMY Awards

Facebook Twitter Email
This year's official marketing partners will help safely celebrate Music's Biggest Night
GRAMMYs
Mar 9, 2021 - 7:00 am

Today, the Recording Academy proudly announced its official marketing partners for the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show, officially known as the 63rd GRAMMY Awards. Bulova, Facebook, IBM, JBL, Mastercard, Pandora, PEOPLE, and SiriusXM are all supporters of this year's GRAMMY Awards, as well as events taking place throughout GRAMMY Week. 

"We are fortunate to be putting on the 63rd GRAMMY Awards alongside these extraordinary brands," Adam Roth, Senior Vice President of Partnerships & Business Development at the Recording Academy, said. "They are united in their belief that music is a healing force that can bring much-needed change to our world. Our partners stand with the Academy as we work year-round to build a more diverse and inspiring world for music creators. We are thrilled to work with these industry-leading partners to excite and engage passionate music fans everywhere."

Bulova, the Official Timepiece Partner, celebrates GRAMMY-nominated artists with an exclusive watch from their music-inspired GRAMMY Edition watch collection. First-time GRAMMY Award winners will be gifted with an exclusive edition "GRAMMY Automatic" watch, infused with musical cues throughout and a "Circle of Fifths" dial design.

Learn More: The Recording Academy Partners With Bulova To Present Exclusive Edition GRAMMY Timepieces Featuring GRAMMIUM

Facebook is the Exclusive Streaming Partner of the GRAMMY Live pre-show. Music-loving Facebook Groups will have the unique opportunity to participate in the first-ever virtual Fan Zone where members will be featured in hosted segments and have their questions answered by some of their favorite GRAMMY-nominated artists. The virtual Fan Zone will be a destination throughout the night where Facebook Group members can engage on in-show performances and award winners. GRAMMY Live will stream to the GRAMMY Awards Facebook page at 3:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, March 14.

IBM, the Official Cloud & AI Partner, launched GRAMMY Debates with Watson, alongside the Recording Academy, an AI-curated music debate experience available to fans around the world. The experience allows music fans to contribute their individual points of view to some of the most important music-related conversations today. Additionally, the 63rd GRAMMY Awards day-of-show takeover on GRAMMY.com will be hosted for the first time entirely on the IBM Cloud.

Learn More: The Recording Academy And IBM Debut New Fan Experience Powered By Watson And IBM Cloud Ahead Of The 2021 GRAMMY Awards Show

JBL, the Official Audio Partner, presents "Tomorrow's Sounds," alongside the Recording Academy, a new program created to support the next generation of musicians and artists. Through a digital content series, JBL and the Recording Academy will highlight emerging artists and help tell their stories to a global fanbase.

Mastercard, the Official Payment Technology Partner, is the presenting sponsor of the Inaugural Black Music Collective GRAMMY Week Celebration on Wednesday, March 10. Additionally, they've partnered with the Black Music Collective to present a GRAMMY U Masterclass with multi-faceted artist Tayla Parx on Thursday, March 11. On Music's Biggest Night, Mastercard will host a Virtual Fan Wall experience for select cardholders to interact with some of this year's GRAMMY nominees. Details for all events is available on Priceless.com. 

Read: The Recording Academy Announces Official GRAMMY Week 2021 Events

Pandora launched the first-ever official GRAMMY Awards Radio, which will run from Feb. 5 through March 31. The station celebrates musical excellence and all things GRAMMY Awards including hits from GRAMMY nominees and past winners, as well as behind-the-scenes stories as told by the artists themselves. Pandora and the Recording Academy will host the Pandora LIVE Countdown to the GRAMMY Awards event at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on Thursday, March 11, featuring an all-female lineup of current GRAMMY nominees including HAIM, Brittany Howard, and CHIKA.

Learn More: Pandora Announces Lineup For Pandora LIVE Countdown To The GRAMMY Awards: Haim, Brittany Howard And CHIKA Confirmed 

PEOPLE, the Exclusive Magazine Partner, will livestream from the GRAMMY Awards with a pre-show featuring interviews from this year's nominees and performers. People & Entertainment Weekly Red Carpet Live: Grammy Awards will stream at 6:30 p.m. ET on people.com, ew.com, PEOPLE and EW social channels and the PeopleTV app.

SiriusXM, the Official Satellite Radio Sponsor, launched the first-ever The GRAMMY Channel— airing for a limited time March 2 through 14 on Channel 104.  The GRAMMY Channel will feature a variety of music from this year's nominees across the GRAMMY Awards' 30 Fields, all leading up to the live broadcast of Music's Biggest Night.  Listeners can also expect to hear music from GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Honorees such as Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Salt-N-Pepa, Selena and Talking Heads, as well as exclusive interviews with music's biggest stars from behind the scenes at the 63rd GRAMMY Awards.

Listen Now: The Recording Academy And SiriusXM Launch The GRAMMY Channel Ahead Of The 2021 GRAMMY Awards Show

For more information on official GRAMMY Awards partners, please visit: bulova.com, facebook.com, ibm.com/grammys, jbl.com, mastercard.com, pandora.com, people.com, and siriusxm.com.

The Recording Academy will present the 63rd GRAMMY Awards on Sunday, March 14, 2021, on CBS, from 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT with Emmy Award-winning "The Daily Show" host and comedian Trevor Noah serving as host. The Premiere Ceremony will stream live on GRAMMY.com beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. PT.

How To Watch The 2021 GRAMMY Awards Show: A Viewer's Guide On Where To Watch Music's Biggest Night

Grammys Newsletter

Subscribe Now

GRAMMYs Newsletter

Be the first to find out about winners, nominees, and more from Music's Biggest Night.
Photo of GRAMMY trophies at the 59th GRAMMY Awards in 2017

GRAMMY trophies at the 59th GRAMMY Awards in 2017

Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

News
Recording Academy Announce GRAMMY Week 2021 Events recording-academy-announces-official-grammy-week-2021-events

The Recording Academy Announces Official GRAMMY Week 2021 Events

Facebook Twitter Email
The virtual events during GRAMMY Week 2021 aim to celebrate this year's nominees and the music that unites us
Recording Academy
Feb 25, 2021 - 1:00 pm

The Recording Academy has announced the events lineup for GRAMMY Week 2021 ahead of the 63rd GRAMMY Awards broadcasting Sunday, March 14, on CBS at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. All events will be virtual this year to ensure the safety of our staff and guests and to make the events as accessible as possible to attendees. 

See the full GRAMMY Week 2021 lineup of confirmed events and additional details here and below:

MARCH 8

GRAMMY In The Schools Fest
This four-day virtual event, presented by MusicPower, will celebrate music and music education featuring performances by students and professionals along with engaging, educational panels by artists, educators and other music professionals and will conclude on March 11, 2021.

Free to the public for those who register in advance by clicking on this link. 

Women In The Mix
This event will recognize the contributions of women in music and amplify female voices across the industry. Highlighting producers, engineers, artists and executives, this program champions women who set the tone for their own communities and work to close gender gaps on and off the stage.

The virtual event will take place publicly on GRAMMY.com. 

MARCH 10

The Inaugural Black Music Collective GRAMMY Week Celebration
The historic event, presented by Mastercard, will feature an array of esteemed Black music creators and professionals known for amplifying Black voices in music and beyond.

The virtual event can be viewed on GRAMMY.com. 

MARCH 11

GRAMMY U Masterclass With Tayla Parx
Join us for a masterclass with GRAMMY nominee, Tayla Parx, as she discusses the craft of songwriting and being a multi-faceted artist. A singer, songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur, Tayla has penned tracks for Ariana Grande, Janelle Monáe and Anderson.Paak, in addition to her successful solo career as an artist. This program is in collaboration with the Recording Academy's Black Music Collective and Powered by Mastercard.

The virtual event can be viewed on the Recording Academy's Facebook channel.

Producers & Engineers Wing 20th Anniversary Celebration
This hour-long program will celebrate the 20-year milestone of the Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing with highlights from the past two decades and a look into the future. 

This is a private event.

MARCH 12

23rd Annual Entertainment Law Initiative
The event will honor the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA) — a nationally recognized leader in legal education and professional development within the United States for lawyers and professionals in the entertainment, sports and related industries — with the 2021 Entertainment Law Initiative Service Award.

This is a private event.

MusiCares Music On A Mission
This virtual fundraiser will honor the resilience of the music community, which has been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will celebrate top moments in MusiCares' history, including legendary performances from the MusiCares' vaults and new performances from today's biggest stars.

Tickets are available to the public for $25 and are on sale now on MusiCares.org.

MARCH 14

63rd GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony
Get ready for Music's Biggest Night by starting with Music's Biggest Day. The Premiere Ceremony will present more than 70 GRAMMY winners and feature a variety of exciting performances across genres. 

Watch the live stream exclusively on GRAMMY.com.

63rd GRAMMY Awards
The 63rd GRAMMY Awards will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network, Sunday, March 14, at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.

2021 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Nominees List

Grammys Newsletter

Subscribe Now

GRAMMYs Newsletter

Be the first to find out about winners, nominees, and more from Music's Biggest Night.
Cassadee Pope

 

 

Photo Courtesy of IBM

 
News
Recording Academy/IBM Debut AI Music Debates recording-academy-ibm-ai-grammy-debates-with-watson

The Recording Academy And IBM Debut New Fan Experience Powered By Watson And IBM Cloud Ahead Of The 2021 GRAMMY Awards Show

Facebook Twitter Email
Fan experiences include the launch of GRAMMY Debates with Watson, the first-ever AI-driven debates about the music industry, and the transition of GRAMMY.com workloads onto the IBM Cloud
Recording Academy
Mar 2, 2021 - 6:00 am

The Recording Academy and IBM, the Academy's Official Cloud and AI partner, announced today the launch of GRAMMY Debates with Watson, a new digital fan experience powered by IBM Watson's Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities and cloud technologies. In addition to this new fan experience, the Recording Academy announced it is transitioning its consumer-facing online platform, GRAMMY Backstage, to a digital environment running on IBM Cloud that will seamlessly host the preshow, GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony, and additional show content. GRAMMY Debates with Watson and GRAMMY Backstage are now live on GRAMMY.com, and the experience will run through the 63rd GRAMMY Awards, taking place Sunday, March 14.

To view the GRAMMY Debates with Watson, visit GRAMMY.com/Watson from March 2-14.

IBM and the Recording Academy conducted several design-thinking workshops to design technology-driven fan experiences to engage and attract viewers and music fans. They developed an interactive experience that uses the IBM Cloud and IBM Watson to enhance the show's engagement experience. This is the fourth year that IBM has partnered with the Recording Academy to bring the power of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to the annual GRAMMY Awards.

GRAMMY Debates with Watson is a multi-week, AI-curated music debate experience available to fans around the world. The experience allows music fans to contribute their points of view to some of the most important music-related conversations today. Hosted on GRAMMY.com, fans can engage in debates related to the most groundbreaking artist or biggest style icon and add their pro or con arguments via the online portal. As an example, one debate topic is "Music education should be mandatory in all K-12 schools." IBM Watson will process the input and data from the debates and lead to "conclusions" that offer analysis on real-time submissions. 

The GRAMMY Debates with Watson solution taps into the strong pipeline of innovations coming to IBM Watson from IBM Research to advance AI for business. IBM's AI for business strategy is designed to help organizations predict, optimize and automate processes through advancements in NLP, automation and trust. NLP is key to interpreting the trends and insights hidden within enterprise data. GRAMMY Debates with Watson uses an innovation from the IBM Research Project Debater team – Key Point Analysis – that IBM plans to commercialize in IBM Watson NLP products such as Watson Discovery and Watson Natural Language Understanding. Key Point Analysis reviews fan input on the topics posed on GRAMMY.com to identify the most prevalent points and main topics of the submissions. Natural language generation technology is then used to create cohesive pro and con narratives on each of the topics. The solution will also analyze public posts from social networks, such as Twitter, to inform the debates. Using IBM Watson to analyze and synthesize natural language helps to scale the Recording Academy's editorial team's capabilities to produce more engaging experiences.

"The launch of GRAMMY Debates with Watson gives GRAMMY viewers an entirely new way to engage with fellow music lovers and be a part of the conversation. It's great to continue innovating our digital and fan experiences with IBM and to explore how AI and Cloud technology can be applied to make our awards show more interactive for viewers," Lisa Farris, Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer at the Recording Academy, said. "We're excited to bring IBM's expertise to the GRAMMY Awards, and the work we do to support music creators and celebrate Music's Biggest Night."

"Our work with the Recording Academy is another example of how we're applying IBM's cutting-edge technology to revolutionize the entertainment industry and bring clients innovative and compelling experiences for their key audiences," Noah Syken, Vice President of Sports & Entertainment Partnerships, IBM, said. "These are the same core technologies—hybrid cloud and AI—that we're using to drive digital transformation for clients around the world."

In addition to GRAMMY Debates with Watson, IBM announced the 63rd GRAMMY Awards day-of-show takeover on GRAMMY.com will be hosted for the first time entirely on the IBM Cloud. This is a part of the Recording Academy's journey to hybrid cloud, building modern, containerized applications on Red Hat OpenShift. IBM will power GRAMMY Backstage, as the digital experience is known, using a hybrid cloud approach enabled by Red Hat OpenShift, the industry's leading enterprise Kubernetes platform, with workloads running on multiple public and private clouds operating seamlessly. 

IBM will be migrating the digital environment that hosts the preshow, GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony,, and additional show content (articles, photo galleries, video highlights, etc.) to the IBM Cloud. GRAMMY Backstage will be seamlessly embedded into the GRAMMY.com homepage, and with the IBM Cloud will be able to securely scale the delivery of GRAMMY Backstage to the more than seven million fans worldwide who are anticipated to tune in.

Red Hat OpenShift and the IBM Cloud are the foundations of digital transformation at clients across industries.  The natural language processing capabilities found in GRAMMY Debates with Watson can also be found in Watson Assistant, the AI-based customer experience offering used by companies in industries including financial services, healthcare, retail, telecommunications and more. The work IBM is doing with the Recording Academy and other sports entities to engage fans during the pandemic parallels the innovative experiences and technology applications they bring to clients worldwide.

GRAMMY Debates with Watson builds on the 2019 launch of GRAMMY Insights with Watson, an innovative fan experience that applied AI technology to the Award's preshow. The online and broadcast experience provided key insights in real time about the artists on-screen during the GRAMMYs pre-show red carpet. The solution, which also leveraged NLP to mine and source insights, reached hundreds of thousands of live red carpet viewers on GRAMMY.com and created more than 1.6 million total instances of insights.

The 2021 GRAMMY Awards show will air on Sunday, March 14, at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on CBS.

GRAMMY Awards Radio Launches On Pandora Ahead Of The 2021 GRAMMYs Show

Grammys Newsletter

Subscribe Now

GRAMMYs Newsletter

Be the first to find out about winners, nominees, and more from Music's Biggest Night.
Yolanda Adams and PJ Morton at the Inaugural Black Music Collective GRAMMY Week Celebration

Yolanda Adams (L) and PJ Morton (R)

Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images The Recording Academy

News
Relive The Black Music Collective GRAMMY Event heres-what-went-down-black-music-collectives-inaugural-2021-grammy-week-celebration

Here's What Went Down At The Black Music Collective's Inaugural 2021 GRAMMY Week Celebration

Facebook Twitter Email
In case you missed it, we have all the words of wisdom shared and performance highlights from the Inaugural Black Music Collective GRAMMY Week Celebration
Jaelani Turner-Williams
GRAMMYs
Mar 11, 2021 - 5:56 pm

The Black Music Collective’s Inaugural GRAMMY Week Celebration, held on Wednesday, March 10 as part of GRAMMY Week 2021, honored the upliftment of Black music and its impact on both society and industry culture. Hosted by Jeriel Johnson, Executive Director of the Recording Academy’s Washington D.C. chapter, and sponsored by Mastercard and Amazon Music, the event provided the space for artists, industry professionals and executives to speak about inclusion opportunities for Black artists across music genres. Here are some of the moments that took place at the historic event.

Harvey Mason Jr, Valeisha Butterfield BMC GRAMMY Week 2021

Harvey Mason jr. (L) and Valeisha Butterfield Jones (R) attend the Inaugural Black Music Collective GRAMMY Week Celebration | Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images The Recording Academy

H.E.R, Harvey Mason Jr. And Valeisha Butterfield-Jones Started The Celebration

H.E.R. opened up the festivities with a noir version of her protest anthem, "I Can’t Breathe." The two-time Grammy winner performed with her guitar in-hand as a montage of protest images were displayed behind her. 

After the R&B singer’s touching performance, the Recording Academy’s first Black Chair and Interim President/CEO, Harvey Mason Jr., and Valeisha Butterfield-Jones, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, continued the program with hope and solemnity. Mason Jr. spoke about the Recording Academy’s commitment to overseeing emerging industry opportunities while Butterfield-Jones took a moment to note the pandemic’s disproportionate effect on communities of color and the effects of heightened police brutality on Black music. 

John Legend And Social Justice Leader Tamika Mallory Discussed Music And Activism After Freddie Gibbs And The Alchemist Took The Virtual Stage

2021 GRAMMY Awards show Best Rap Album nominees Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist then set up the mood with an in-studio performance of Alfredo single "Scottie Beam" after a brief Mogul Moment clip with Quincy Jones.

Following Jones' appearance, the first fireside chat of the evening took place. Eleven-time GRAMMY winner and Trustee of the L.A. Recording Academy chapter, John Legend, spoke with Activist and Social Justice Leader, Tamika Mallory. The two chatted about the impact of Black music and the culture-shifting power of it, as well as the impact of Black women in the industry.

The conversation naturally turned towards activism when Mallory, who has been mentored by legendary Jamaican-American singer, actor and activist Harry Belafonte, shared a quote from activist Paul Roberson she learned from Belafonte: "Artists are the gatekeepers of truth. We are civilization's radical voice."

Mallory also touched on how activism and music have come together in the past, recalling James Brown’s activism through music in the late ‘60s . 

"When I think about James Brown saying ‘I’m Black and I’m proud”, I can only imagine that in that moment, the [Black] Panthers and other organizers felt good," she said. "This is one of the hottest entertainers saying ‘I’m in solidarity with you."

Legend followed up with another quote, one from iconic singer Nina Simone that he referenced during his Oscar win in 2015 alongside Common for their track "Glory" from the Martin Luther King biopic Selma: "It’s an artist’s duty to reflect the times."

When Mallory asked Legend about his choice of becoming a conscious artist, Legend shared the purpose of his art-making statement:

"I feel like I can be the full range of my humanity—I write about love in all of its forms. Part of what it means to love in public means that you love people that you don’t even know. That means you care about what happens to them, you see their humanity, you care about justice for them," he said. "We also feel the range of human emotion—we feel joy, we feel attraction, we celebrate, we do it all in our music. What I love about Black music is that we are able to express all those things and we are at the forefront of what’s happening in music. [We’re] so influential well beyond our representation in the population—our music has an outsized influence on American culture and global culture."

Mallory brought up the way she expresses her activism work. Touching on accountability measures for police and financially supporting local activism and political campaigners, Mallory spoke about her upcoming book State of Emergency: How We Win in the Country We Built. The book features a foreword with a conversation between educator and activist Angela Davis and Cardi B. Mallory said she received backlash for using the discussion between the two as the book’s foreword.

"I explain to people that, number one, I am Tamika Mallory, this girl who grew up in the housing projects in Harlem. I’m a good mix between Cardi B and Angela Davis; I have a Birkin one minute and I’m strapping up my boots to hit the streets in the next," Mallory joked. "The conversation the two of them are having is so powerful because Angela Davis is giving Cardi advice to keep being who she’s been and to keep using her voice."

Universal Music Group CEO Jeffery Harleston Provided Words Of Wisdom 

In the next segment of the program, Jeffery Harleston, Universal Music Group CEO provided five pieces of advice for his younger self and rising executives who work with musicians, fans and partners to move the culture:

"The first would be to listen. You learn so much more by listening when you’re starting out. The second would be to demand excellence in yourself and everything you do, and excellence in who you’re working with. The third and one of the most important things I’ve learned in my career is flexibility; the one thing that’s certain in the music business is change and you have to be able to move with the currents as they’re changing. The fourth is something that someone did tell me when I first entered the music business and it was about integrity because you only have one opportunity to make an impression. If you carry yourself with integrity, you’ll be able to have a long-standing career. And finally, the reason why we’re all in this business is to remember you’re in the music business, to have fun."

PJ Morton And Yolanda Adams Performed Before BET CEO Debra Lee Acknowledged How Black Music Has Broken Barriers

Gospel and R&B artists PJ Morton and Yolanda Adams shared a touching rendition of "Say So" and "Follow Your Heart" in separate locations. (Morton was supported by a band and accompanying vocalists while Adams appeared on her own.)

Debra Lee, former Chairman and CEO of BET talked about witnessing the ‘60s Detroit origins of Motown, and Black artists facing racial barriers in music. 

"Music helped integrate our industry and our world. Black musicians and artists who came along early on had to break the racial injustice they encountered," she said. "Even today, hip-hop and other forms of music are telling the story of our times. In times of crisis and in good times, music is always a reflection of our times."

Issa Rae And Janelle Monáe Talked About Power, Progress and Purpose

Issa Rae, Janelle Monae BMC GRAMMY Week 2021

Clockwise from top-left: Valeisha Butterfield-Jones, Janelle Monáe and Issa Rae attend the Inaugural Black Music Collective GRAMMY Week Celebration | Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images The Recording Academy

Moderated by Butterfield-Jones, Issa Rae and Janelle Monáe discussed power, progress and purpose in the industry as well as the state of Black music. Like other creatives, Monáe and Rae felt the initial shock of event cancellations, facing an early denial but accepting that the world was experiencing the pandemic together. 

Monáe also reflected on taking a non-traditional path in music and facing rejection by label executives before her breakout debut album, The Archandroid. Leaving performing arts school in New York and relocating to Atlanta’s HBCU area where she prepared to be an independent artist, Monáe gained confidence in and redefined her narrative of Black music. Her efforts came full circle in 2020 when Monáe was tapped by Georgia politician and social justice leader Stacy Abrams to contribute to her documentary All In: The Fight for Democracy.

"Creating music for me has come from a place of normalcy. When things started to turn with politics and this global pandemic, I didn’t know how to create in that space. I felt like the concrete was pulled from under my feel— had no foundation and I needed to get stable. Then I watched All In: The Fight for Democracy and I said ‘there’s no way I can say no to this," Monáe said. "The angle that I wanted to come from was, ‘How do I narrate the revolution we’re in right now?’ It’s not about a hit song, it’s not about an album—we’re in a revolution, everybody’s gonna need fuel, we’re gonna get fatigued. I was like, ‘What kind of music does Stacy Abrams need to hear when she’s advocating for us and protect marginalized voices?'"

Rae agreed with the sentiment and discussed the final season of "Insecure" and how showcasing independent artists and Black music on the show has kept her inspired. For Rae, the music of Insecure was an extension of each episode and the celebration of independent artists. 

"We were in the process of editing and mixing the final episodes when the pandemic hit. Normally, mixing an episode is a highlight, because it’s the first time you see it with other people who aren’t on set, who aren’t a part of the writers' room,” Rae said. “What kept me motivated was sometimes there [are] artists who haven’t gotten the exposure, and people who haven’t heard the song before will associate that emotion with this particular scene or how they felt at the time with this particular episode. There’s something so powerful about, and admittedly selfish about, [associating] whatever they were going through and whatever they felt at that time with these characters and your intention."

Jimmy Jam Shared Importance Of Paying It Forward And Marvin Gaye Helped End Program On A Touching Note

Relaying a message of ‘paying it forward’ legendary producer Jimmy Jam spoke about the unison of the Black community and music community. 

"What’s important is finding our commonalities, not fighting over our differences. Like I say about my partner Terry Lewis—we’ve never had an argument. An argument is something you’re trying to win and I never want to see Terry Lewis lose at anything. Music is the divine art, it is the way we learn our language. Putting melody into people’s lives is what we do," Jam said.

Riggs Morales, Co-Chair of the Black Music Collective ended the program with the final words of the night. Evoking a legend, PJ Morton and Yolanda Adams closed the night with a cover of Marvin Gaye's classic "What’s Going On."

On its first event, the collective covered an array of radical changes in the music industry and the necessary steps for Black inclusivity.

Learn more about the Recording Academy's Black Music Collective.

Women In The Mix 2021 Recap: How Female Powerhouses Convened To Close The Wage Gap And Amplify Women's Voices Across The Music Industry

Grammys Newsletter

Subscribe Now

GRAMMYs Newsletter

Be the first to find out about winners, nominees, and more from Music's Biggest Night.
Photo of GRAMMY Timepieces featuring GRAMMIUM from Bulova
News
Bulova Presents Exclusive Edition GRAMMY Timepiece recording-academy-bulova-presents-exclusive-edition-grammy-timepieces-grammium-2021-grammys

The Recording Academy Partners With Bulova And Presents The Exclusive Edition GRAMMY Timepieces Featuring GRAMMIUM

Facebook Twitter Email
Each first-time GRAMMY Award winner will receive an Exclusive Edition GRAMMY timepiece made of GRAMMIUM; Bulova is also offering a Special Edition timepiece available to the public
GRAMMYs
Mar 4, 2021 - 11:49 am

Bulova, the Official Timepiece Partner of the Recording Academy, returns this GRAMMY season as part of the 63rd GRAMMY Awards, which takes place Sunday, March 14.

Continuing the brand's years-long, multifaceted relationship with the Recording Academy, Bulova is presenting each first-time GRAMMY Award winner with an Exclusive Edition GRAMMY timepiece alongside their GRAMMY statuette. The Exclusive Edition GRAMMY watch features a percussion-inspired stainless steel case and black silicone strap with stainless steel fret-style inserts. 

The watch is finished with a gold-tone crown and gold-tone dial made of GRAMMIUM—a custom alloy developed by John Billings, the craftsman who creates, by hand, the lustrous gold GRAMMY gramophone statue that is presented to GRAMMY winners. Each Bulova timepiece is personalized to the first-time GRAMMY winner with a customized glass case back, including the GRAMMY logo stamp, the award and the award recipient's name.

Guaranteed recipients of this Exclusive Edition timepiece from Bulova are the winners of this year's Best New Artist category, with nominees including Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Phoebe Bridgers, Noah Cyrus, Ingrid Andress, D Smoke, CHIKA and Kaytranada.

Bulova also offers a Special Edition version automatic timepiece featuring the same GRAMMIUM alloy offered in the first-time GRAMMY winners' watch. The distinct timepiece features an open dial and exhibition case back, showcasing the fine 21-jewel skeletonized automatic movement with a 42-hour power reserve. Featured in a black IP stainless steel case with a gold-tone guitar tuning peg-shaped crown at the 4 o'clock position, the watch includes a gold GRAMMIUM dial ring surrounding a black skeleton dial, guitar pick and fret-inspired markers, and a "Circle of Fifths" dial design. Offered on a black leather strap with a rubber interior, the iconic GRAMMY logo is imprinted on the case back and is water-resistant up to 100 meters.

"It is an honor and a very unique opportunity for Bulova to use the GRAMMIUM alloy in these special timepieces," Jeffrey Cohen, President of Citizen Watch America, said. "These first-time winners can wear this memento as a daily reminder of their incredible musical achievements, and now the public can have their own piece featuring this rare material."  

Discover the Bulova GRAMMY timepiece collection here.

The Recording Academy Announces Official GRAMMY Week 2021 Events

Top
Logo
  • Recording Academy
    • About
    • Governance
    • Press Room
    • Jobs
    • Events
  • GRAMMYs
    • Awards
    • News
    • Videos
    • Events
    • Store
    • FAQ
  • Latin GRAMMYs
    • Awards
    • News
    • Photos
    • Videos
    • Cultural Foundation
    • Members
    • Press
  • GRAMMY Museum
    • COLLECTION:live
    • Explore
    • Exhibits
    • Education
    • Support
    • Programs
    • Donate
  • MusiCares
    • About
    • Get Help
    • Give
    • News
    • Videos
    • Events
  • Advocacy
    • About
    • News
    • Learn
    • Act
  • Membership
    • Chapters
    • Producers & Engineers Wing
    • Songwriters & Composers Wing
    • GRAMMY U
    • Join
Logo

© 2021 - Recording Academy. All rights reserved.

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Copyright Notice
  • Contact Us

Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy.