X Ambassadors

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X Ambassadors Want To Redefine What It Means To Be A Band

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Sam Harris sits down with the Recording Academy to talk about X Ambassadors' sophomore effort, 'Orion,' working with mega-producer Ricky Reed on 'For The Throne' and how mind-blowing it is to write songs with Lizzo
Rachel Brodsky
GRAMMYs
May 3, 2019 - 11:00 am

Ever since the release of early singles like "Strangers" and "Litost," X Ambassadors have been a tricky group to classify. When the Ithaca three-piece initially came together in 2009, it would've been easy to dub them as a traditional rock band, but time and a series of surprising partnerships have upended that categorization and revealed a chameleonic sonic range.

Over the last decade, lead singer Sam Harris, brother Casey Harris, and drummer Adam Levin have revealed an extraordinary ability to participate in a number of popular genres. While part of this is imbued in shape-shifting singles like the piano-led ballad "Unsteady" and the rapidfire romp "The Devil You Know," the bulk of their adaptability comes through via some high-profile collaborations. Take the moody 2016 single "Sucker For Pain," which shows up on the "Suicide Squad" soundtrack and features Lil Wayne, plus X Ambassadors, Wiz Khalifa, Logic, Ty Dolla $ign and Imagine Dragons. Then there's the trudging 2017 single "Home" where the trio pops up with hip-hop performer Machine Gun Kelly and pop singer Bebe Rexha. Meanwhile, on 2016's "Low Life," the band subverts genre again with guests A$AP Ferg and British singer/songwriter Jamie N Commons.

Nowadays, X Ambassadors are readying their second album, Orion (arriving on June 14 via IDinaKORNER/Interscope Records) and have released a couple of arena-ready singles ("HEY CHILD" and "BOOM"), which showcase the band's supple, radio-ready sound. But when it comes to alliances, they've gained more visibility than ever. The trio contributed three tracks to Lizzo's most recent album, Cuz I Love You, and Sam even collaborated with mega-producer Ricky Reed (Jason Derulo, Fifth Harmony) in writing and producing for For the Throne: Music Inspired by the HBO Series Game of Thrones, which features Maren Morris, The National, Ellie Goulding, and more notable names

Ahead of Orion's release, we sat down with Sam to talk about his fruitful working relationship with Reed (who also produced their sophomore effort), how he'd like to see X Ambassadors redefine what it means to be a band and a producing/songwriting collective, his immense respect for Lizzo, and the need for diversity in alternative music. 

You’ve said that your single "HEY CHILD" comes from a personal place, specifically it’s about growing apart from a lifelong friend. How did you decide on that angle for the song?

Sam Harris: Yeah, I mean, it's so funny. I like [that] most of these songs that end up being these personal songs. It was not an easy road to go down, but I'd had the chorus written already and I had different verses. I played it for Ricky Reed, who executive produced our record and produced a lot of tracks on it. And he was like, "I love this song. I love the music. I love the chorus. [But] I don't really know what song’s about, you know? I wish you could put a little more of yourself in there."

So, we talked about it and then I told him, "Well, this is a love letter to my friend who I've become so estranged from and really miss, who's really struggling and I can't talk to right now." And he's like, "You should write about that." So I did. I went back and rewrote the verses and told our story. This is one of my best friends since I was five years old. It's the feeling of that love and dedication. I feel like a lot of songs [operate] within the context of a romantic relationship, and this is just as potent, in my view. Friendships are very similar to a lot of romantic relationships. They require work, they require attention. They can break your heart. I care a lot about this person still, even though we aren't really on a speaking basis right now.

I really appreciate you telling me that, and I agree. I actually wish there were more songs that describe how friendships change.

Harris: Yeah. And I know myself, too. I was literally just talking to my fiance about this. I can be a very codependent person. That's my whole life; I've kind of struggled with that and fought against it and given into it again. That's a big part of the song and a big part of why the disillusion of this relationship hit me so hard. Because I realized I couldn't really help this person anymore.

I read that the "BOOM" artwork is written in braille. You know, I actually didn't realize that your brother and bandmate Casey Harris was born with only 10% of his vision. Why did this feel like a good time to lean into that, conceptually?

Harris: Yeah. He's visually impaired, he was born blind. Yeah, it's something a lot of people don't know about.

I think what we're trying to embrace on this album is that it's part of our DNA, and it's the part that maybe we've subconsciously kind of kept hidden, and I don't really know why. Probably because, I think at least for me, I was always afraid of making it about the fact that he has a disability, rather than about the music. I'm obviously very protective of my big brother.

But on this album, the most important thing for us is to really try and show people who we are, not just make a record full of songs that can get on the radio or get a bunch of streams. We want to show people who we are as people and as human beings.

We're doing a lot of yellow on black [artwork]. My brother has a smartphone and has used computers, but he has to adapt it all so that the text is very, very large and bold in Arial black font, which is the same font that we used in all the artwork. And he reverses the contrast of it so that it's yellow on black, so he can see it better. Everything that we're doing now, I run by him. I showed him [the artwork for “Boom”] on a big screen and said, "Hey, can you see what this says or what the shape is?" I remember showing him the artwork for “Boom,” and even though it's not tactile, I showed it to him on the phone, and he was like, "Oh sh*t. That says 'BOOM.'"

Why does this feel like the right time to really show the world who you are? What prevented X Ambassadors from doing that earlier in your career?

Harris: I think we were still figuring it out. I'm 30 now. My brother's 32, and our drummer's also 30. I'm very happy to be this age, and I think I know myself better now. I mean, we made [our first record] when we were 24, 25. And the stuff before that, like, 22, 23. I just don't think I had as good of a sense of self back then, as I do now. It's just feeling a lot more confident in who you are and not being afraid to put that out there. That's why artists like Billie Eilish are so incredible, and she's so young. She's putting all of herself out there which is like so, so scary and so cool to watch her do that. And to be so unafraid to do that.

I mean, I think fear has to be there. But I think she just acknowledges it and says, "Okay, but I'm still going to do it, I'm still going to show people who I am even though it's scary."

Absolutely. You know, I’d also love to know how you got involved in producing and writing songs for For the Throne: Music Inspired by the HBO Series Game of Thrones. That’s huge!

Harris: Yeah! We had a demo of this song called "Baptize Me," which is on the record now. I had sent it to A&R at Columbia, because I was like, it didn't fit the tone of our album that we're putting out. But I thought it was a great song, and I didn't know what to do with it, so I sent it to this A&R, and I was like, "What do you think? Do you think this could work on a soundtrack, or anything?” And then he sent it to Imran [Majid], the head of A&R at Columbia, who then showed it to Ricky Reed. He had already been tapped to executive produce the "Game of Thrones" soundtrack. Ricky was like, "I know Sam. Let me talk to him about this song, and about potentially writing some more stuff for the soundtrack."

He gave me a call and was like, "Would you be interested in this? Maybe we can get in, in a day and try to come up with a few ideas." Before I'd even hung up the phone I was working on something for it, and sent him a demo of another track: the beginning of what ended up becoming “King Of One.” Then I ended up co-writing eight songs on the soundtrack, and I'm listed as associate producer on it. It’s a pretty crazy journey.

Wow. Were you part of the team involved in narrowing down who would be best to sing each song?

Harris: Well, I had some involvement. I threw out suggestions. Every artist who is singing on these songs really contributed to the writing process, and to the creative process as a whole. Really it would boil down to who was willing to come in and help us finish this thing.

Our track "Baptize Me" featuring Jacob Banks—I really pushed hard to have him on that song. When I originally wrote that track, I actually wrote it for him.

Then the Chloe X Halle track “Wolf At Your Door” is one of my favorites on the soundtrack. They are so talented and so, so sweet. When I knew that we were going to be working with a lot of artists in the Sony system and in the Columbia roster, I knew that they were on Columbia. I said, "They would be such a cool addition to the soundtrack. We've got to get them on it." Ricky was like, "Cool, let’s make it happen." We ended up getting in together to write this song all together, and it was me and Ricky and the two of them in the room working on it.

OK, so, now that we’re a few episodes away from the series finale of Game Of Thrones, do you have any theories as to who will—or won’t—survive the war against Cersei?

Harris: You know, I could talk about it all day. I don't know. I go back and forth. Originally I was like, I think that Sansa Stark is going to somehow end up on the Iron Throne.

Yeah, she's going places.

Harris: But I don't know. Or it could just end in total death and chaos and disarray. The incredible thing about this show is that you really just have to stay on your toes. In other words, you can't predict anything. Sometimes the bad guys win. Look [what] we're seeing happen in our political climate in this country and all over the world. Sometimes the bad guys are winning. It's something that the show doesn't shy away from.

Totally. But hey, to pivot back to songwriting for a second, you and the rest of X Ambassadors also collaborated with Lizzo on her new record. No big deal. How did you end up connecting with her?

Harris: Yeah! We co-wrote and produced three tracks on her record, “Cuz I Love You,” “Jerome” and “Heaven Help Me,” and that was so fun. I just was such a f**king fan, she's so good. I'd heard her music a couple of years ago, I was obsessed with the Coconut Oil EP. Then she put “Water Me” out, and I was just like, "Ooh.”

I just told my manager and his team, "Get me in a room with her if there's any way, please." Eventually that ended up happening. [X Ambassadors] was starting to do some production work as a band for some other artists, and felt like this is something we really like, and we're good at, and we want to continue, and let's try it out and get in a session with Lizzo.

So it was the three of us and her in a room all together. That day we wrote "Jerome," which is one of my favorite things I think we've done. Watching her write is ... I've never seen anything like it before. She just is so open and so good, and so, so on f**king point. Everything she was doing was great. She knows herself so well, and that is such a strength when you're coming into a room to write a song.

Then a couple of months later she hit me up, like, "Let's get back in and write some more." So we ended up writing "Heaven Help Me" and "Cuz I Love You" in literally the same day. I met Ricky Reed through her; he was working on her record, and she signed to his label Nice Life, through Atlantic. Ricky was producing her record, and he was like, "Man, I really love what you're doing with Lizzo, we should get in and write some time." And we ended up making our whole album together.

Wow. Is songwriting and producing for other artists something you’d like to keep doing? Do you have any projects in the works, or anyone you really want to work with moving forward?

Harris: Yeah, I mean, we’re always looking to work with more people. We would like to redefine what it is to be a band in today's world. I know a lot of writing teams of people who are all songwriters, and all musicians, and they all get together, and they all write songs together with other artists, and write and produce for other artists. I look at them, and I'm like, "Well, that's a band. They just happen to be making all this music and have different lead singers come in and write with them, and why can't we do that too? We’re a band. We put out our own music, yes, but we can also become a production and writing team, and that can be a part of our signature sound."

And I also just love working with different voices and different perspectives. That's what excites me. That's what turns me on. I love that sh*t. I can't express how important it is I think in general to just have more perspectives and more voices. ... Especially in the world of alternative rock.

I think it's a subject that gets skirted around and hasn't been addressed directly too many times. I think that it is definitely why the genre feels a little stale right now. Not to say that there aren't so many incredible alternative musicians coming out right now, and it’s not a diverse field. It's just, the ones who are getting the most attention are white dudes. [Alternative rock] is a very white male-dominated genre, and that's not really good for a genre. You look at pop, you look at urban, and you look at R&B, and it's all very diverse now. Even country is starting to diversify a little bit.

But that's also a slower climb, too. I think that where, we're at right now, we really love beginning to explore our sound and figure out ways to redefine ourselves. Also, to speak our truth as a band and explore, and also try to elevate other voices that we find really compelling and interesting.

Going back to Lizzo, working with her was just such an honor and a pleasure for that very reason. Because she just is so, so compelling and such a unique voice. From the very beginning we just all thought, "This is someone who is just a star. She's a star."

Music Is Coming: Composer Ramin Djawadi Looks Back On Eight Epic Seasons Of 'Game Of Thrones'

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Tom Green

Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

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Tom Green Is (Sort Of) Friends With Drake Now

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The comedian/musician/forever talk show host looks back on some of his biggest hits, many of which can be found on his new career-spanning compilation album, the appropriately titled 'The Tom Green Show'
Rachel Brodsky
GRAMMYs
Jul 1, 2019 - 10:21 am

If you were born before, oh, say, 1995, then chances are you know this TV jingle by heart: "This is the Tom Green show / It's not the Green Tom show / This is my favorite show / Because it is my show." 

Thanks to his deadpan, deeply sardonic sense of humor, there was a point in pop culture history where comedian/musician Tom Green was everwhere. In the early aughts especially, you couldn't escape him: If his bum wasn't on the rail or the cheese (or all alone), Green could be found performing gross-out stunts (like sucking on a cow's udder) on The Tom Green Show, which initially aired in Canada in the mid-'90s before being picked up by MTV in 1999. Or he'd pop up in major motion pictures like his own Razzie-winning Freddie Got Fingered, or the 2000 Charlie's Angels reboot alongside then-wife Drew Barrymore. A music fan from an early age, he often worked songs into his comedy sketches; his most famous one, the aforementioned "Bum Bum Song" actually had to be retired from MTV's "Total Request Live," it was so popular. Other artists got in on the act as well; rising hip-hop titan Eminem famously parodied "The Bum Bum Song" in his own early-days single "The Real Slim Shady." 

But it wasn't as though Green didn't have his serious moments. In 2000, Green showcased his testicular cancer scare in a televised MTV special, where he mused over the idea of being diagnosed at such a young age and showed the entire surgical removal of one of his testicles.  

What his American fans may not have realized, though, was that Green had been making the entertainment rounds for years in his native Canada. Starting in the early '90s, Green enjoyed a short-lived career as a rapper in a group called Organized Rhyme; the group's single "Check The O.R." was nominated for a Juno Award in 1993 for Best Rap Recording and won the MuchVibe Best Rap Video award in 1992. Later, on The Tom Green Show, he rolled out winking joke tracks like the aforementioned song about tushes and a semi-serious, health-conscious one called "Hey Kids, Feel Your Balls."   

Nowadays, Green can be found doing standup, coming very, very close to winning the second season of Celebrity Big Brother, and promoting his recently released compilation album, also dubbed The Tom Green Show, which features a selection of new tracks, like the Auto-Tuned "I Wanna Be Friends With Drake" and the post-punk "Far 2 Young 2 Die," and some beloved comedy routines and bits from his best-known shows and movies.

The Recording Academy called up Green at his Hollywood home to chat about some of his new endevours. In our conversation, Green looks back on his still very active comedy career, why he doesn't mind at all when people approach him on the street yelling "DADDY, WOULD YOU LIKE SOME SAUSAGE," and how he's that much closer to actually being friends with Drake.

You’ve been doing mostly standup these days. To what extent do you weave your songs into that onstage material?

I did do a tour that was a music tour about a year or two ago, up in Canada. I performed some rap songs, and some funny songs while I was doing standup, and I intermixed it. Usually, when I'm touring right now, it's a strictly standup tour.

I do have this new album out that I put out on vinyl with Ship To Shore Media, which is a really cool label. They approached me about putting up some of my songs that I recorded at home on vinyl. Now, when I do my standup shows I play my music after the show, before the show, and I sometimes walk on stage to some of the songs. It's strictly a standup show that I'm doing right now. I am working on some music that I think will be good for live performance, so maybe next year I might start incorporating some music in.

Oh, cool. I always liked the way you wove music into your routine as an entertainer. I wondered, though, with the vinyl release, why you opted to reuse the name The Tom Green Show. That name in general seems to come up a lot over the course of your career, no matter the medium.

One of the things that's fun about the record is, I took a lot of, not specifically just from the TV show, but several things from the TV show. I took samples that I incorporated into the music, so I have some clips, and moments that happened on The Tom Green Show.

Really, it's meant to be sort of a fun, collectible thing or people who have been fans of mine for the last 20 years or so. I took soundbites from some of my movies, some of my shows and my standup comedy. I sampled them all in with music that I've been doing. It just felt like a cool title for it, because it is sort of scrolling back through a lot those moments from The Tom Green Show.

Yeah, you seem so comfortable throwing back to your most widely recognized material.

I've got this incredible fan base that stuck with me since, you know, in Canada it goes back an extra 10 years. The Tom Green Show started in 1989 in Canada. People know my song from my group, Organized Rhyme, which is a rap group that we were nominated for the Canadian GRAMMY, a Juno award. I was nominated for that in 1992, when I was just a kid.

When I go tour, and do standup, I'll have people that come to my comedy show that know me from my standup. The younger people, or some of the older people will me from The Tom Green Show. Then, some people are there because they're fans of my movies like, Freddy Got Fingered, or Road Trip. Now you have people [who] have just seen me recently on Big Brother.

I have a lot of different people coming to my show. I always try to sort of reference certain things that people remember. When I walk around America, or Canada or anywhere in the world, really, every day someone will come up to me and say something that's a sound bite from the show. Every day someone will come up to me and say, "My bum is on the plant." I'll be walking through the airport, and someone will walk up to me and say, "Daddy, would you like some sausage," or, "I'm the Chad," you know, from Charlie's Angels. There's so many little things that people remember.

I like to have fun with it. There was always sort of a musicality to some of the comedy in the show. Whether it was, "Daddy, would you like some sausage," or "Plastic bag, I've got a plastic bag," or, "It's none of your damn business where I'm going." There was always sort of a musicality, and a rhythm to it.

I just thought it would be really cool with this record to incorporate some of those rhythmic, sort of funny sounds and sound bites, and put them in over hip hop beats and stuff. My standup is a lot like that too. My standup comedy, my new material that I'm doing now, jokes that I'm telling, and things that I'm doing now are all very much in that rhythm. I've always had sort of this silly kind of cadence to my comedy that sort of is a bit musical.

Maybe it comes from the fact that I was rapping when I was younger. That's why I called it The Tom Green Show. I wanted to tie it all together with this record.

Well, I’m glad to hear it doesn’t, uh, bum you out when someone approaches you with a 20-year-old reference.

No, not at all. It's completely the opposite, to be honest with you. This is what you really dream of happening, right? You want people to have things that they love, and remember and want to come see you for. Anything that sticks in people's heads for 20 years, that's just a real bonus, you know? I feel lucky that I've been able to connect with people that way, where I come up with memorable things.

You know, people remember the theme song of the show, [sings] "This is the Tom Green Show.” They remember sort of the rhythm to it, you know? I think that's something I've always really felt like I had a sort of a knack for, which is coming up with catchy melodies and rhythms.

In the video for one of your newer songs, "I Wanna Be Friends With Drake," you appear to receive a phone call that may or may not be from Drake. So, inquiring minds want to know: Are you friends with Drake now?

Well, it's funny. I've never met Drake before. But, I'm going to be friends with Drake. I want to be friends with Drake, and I'm going to be friends with Drake.

Why is it imperative that you two become friends?

Well, first of all, I'm a big fan of his music. It's the kind of music I like to make in my studio. I like making sort of ambient-sounding hip-hop beats, and use the synthesizers, and drum machines and all those kinds of sounds. Modern, and vintage, techno and electronic, and hip-hop sounds, you know?

I was a rapper in Canada back in the early '90s. That's how I started, and I'm a huge fan of that kind of music, and I'm proud that we've got an amazing international number one hip-hop artist from Canada. There were never any hip-hop artists that really made it outside of Canada for many, many years. Then, finally, finally we've changed that, so it's really cool.

Yeah, I want to be friends with Drake. I'd never met him, and I'd like to meet him. I think he's pretty busy right now with the Raptors right now.

He had no idea I was putting out the song, or anything like that. But I do think that maybe he heard about the song, because about a week after I released the video, he did follow me on Instagram. So you could say that, in theory, I am now friends with Drake.

Since you are such a hip-hop fan, do you recall your reaction to Eminem referencing “The Bum Bum Song” on “The Real Slim Shady”?

Yeah. It was awesome. I thought it was really cool. I think to put it in context as well though, he was a brand-new artist. He had "My Name Is," the song came up first, which I loved.

Nobody knew for sure that he was going to become this huge, iconic artist that would go down in the annals of hip-hop history as one of the great MCs of all time, you know?

I could tell when I heard the song that it was amazing, because I love hip-hop, and specifically Eminem. I grew up performing in Organized Rhyme. We were always trying to do funny raps, you know?

Back then, Eminem's rap were really funny. It was just before he got serious later. I loved it. It's funny, because at the time my show was really big on MTV, just came out of nowhere. I just heard it on the radio one day and I thought, "Oh that's really cool. That's hilarious."

At the time, there's so much new and exciting stuff happening with the show and I was doing films and all of these things. It just became one of the many things that was going on in my life that was kind of overwhelming, and bizarre, you know?

"The Bum Bum Song" was number one on "Total Request Live." Road Trip was the number one comedy. I was shooting movies, and making new TV shows and things were exciting. If you'd told me at the time, this song's going to be one of the biggest songs of the last 20 years, you're going to hear this playing in an elevator in Sweden in 20 years, and it's going to be coming on the radio for the rest of your life I would've thought, "Oh, that's pretty cool."

One day, Eminem actually did a full parody of me one day where he took over MTV dressed as me, and went out on the street with a fake goatee on, and a megaphone.

Another track on the album, "Far 2 Young 2 Die," has a rather post-punk, Joy Division vibe. Joy Division, of course, lost its lead singer at an early age. Is that parallel intentional, or am I reading too far into this?

You know, I'm a huge fan of Joy Division, and, like, one of my favorite bands that I would listen to if I'm listening to music. I listen to, a lot of different types of music. Honestly, when I started building my studio, I just, I wanted to try to make different genres and different types of music. I thought it would be interesting, since I'm building a recording studio to try to record, and write some rock, and punk music. The kind of music I grew up listening to as a skateboarder. 

Joy Division's definitely one of my favorite bands. Definitely an inspiration for that. There's another video we just shot. It's called "Deliberate Dignity," which is a similar sound to that song, different style. We shot a video for that in Vietnam while we were over there on my tour this year. That hasn't come out yet, but it's going to come out soon.

I don't know. I try not to overthink it too much. When I wrote the lyrics, I get inspired by lots of different things. I like writing raps. I like writing sort of lyrics. I sometimes just sort of think about my own life, and being a cancer survivor, and having sort of a pretty clear sense of my own mortality because of the things that I've been through with dealing with cancer.

At an early age, I think a lot about life and death. I talk about that a lot in my standup comedy. 

Yeah, you’ve been cancer-free for for some time, correct?

Oh yeah. Well, with my cancer I've been completely cancer free, and cured for over almost 20 years. 

Once you've gotten through the first three or four years after you have testicular cancer, then you're cancer-free. It's no more likely to come back as it is for anybody who's never had cancer.

That's a relief. It's still just the shock of having had cancer, and when you get it and you go through a five-year period at a young age where you really thinking about your mortality, and you're going in and getting follow-ups, and you're worrying about this at an age that you normally don't have to worry about that stuff. It does make you start to examine life differently, you know?

Absolutely. Before we wrap up, can I ask—how did you end up deciding to star on Celebrity Big Brother?

Well, first of all, it started out when they asked me to do it. I had not even yet thought about doing it. It never really had occurred to me that there was a Celebrity Big Brother.

First and foremost, I love television. I built a TV studio in my living room, you know? I did a web pop show here for years. I love cameras, I studied broadcasting in college. I'm a technical person, and it just sounded like a very interesting thing to just sort of see how it all worked. Then, you step outside of that. It also seemed like it would be a funny place to go try to be funny. You're on CBS and you get to be on TV 24 hours a day. It seems like it'd be perfect for me, because I've always loved goofing off in front of cameras and stuff like that. Doing my comedy at my house, I've had cameras in my house before so it shouldn't be too tricky.

Then, at the same time it's like, yeah, it's a great whole new audience of people that may have never even heard of me before, and I'm touring the country do it standup, so it's a perfect forum to just get out there and connect with America.

I think we're living in a world today where everything is so fragmented with the Internet, with Netflix and social media, and people are on their phones all day, and no one's really watching any one given television show, you know? You can't be too picky. I just do everything. Someone asks me to do stuff, then I'm going to do it. Unless I have a real problem with it creatively, I'm going going to do it, because it's gonna be fun and interesting. It ultimately helps me with what I'm doing, which is getting the word out about my comedy. 

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Missy Elliott

Missy Elliott

Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of FameMissy Elliott

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Queen Latifah Inducts Missy Elliott Into The Songwriters Hall Of Fame, Lizzo Performs

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The GRAMMY-winning hip-hop icon, who became the first female rapper given the honor, gave an inspiring speech: "Don't give up, because I'm standing here. And this is big for hip-hop, too"
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jun 14, 2019 - 11:10 am

Last November, GRAMMY winner hip-hop mainstay Missy Elliott made headlines as the first-ever female rapper nominated for the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. Last night, the all-around icon made history as she joined the 2019 class of inductees. She is just the third-ever rapper inducted, with GRAMMY winners JAY-Z and Jermaine Dupri preceding, becoming the first in 2017 and second in 2018, respectively.

Fellow GRAMMY-winning hip-hop heavyweight Queen Latifah presented Elliott with the award—and some loving words—during the ceremony held in New York. The evening was filled with a powerful energy, thanks to even more mega queens honoring Elliott, including the one and only Michelle Obama and rising rap goddess Lizzo.

"Missy, I want to thank you for all of your trailblazing ways," Obama said in the video message shared during the event, which Elliott also Tweeted out. "Thank you not for just sharing your gift with the world, but for being an advocate for so many people out there, especially young girls who are still figuring out how to make their voices heard."

Related: 'Da Real World' At 20: Missy Elliott Champions Women, Hip-Hop Rookies, And, Most Of All—Herself

Lizzo performed Elliott's classic 1997 mega-bop "Sock It 2 Me" while rocking an O.G.-Missy finger-wave hairstyle. GRAMMY-nominated rapper Da Brat joined her to hit her original bars on the Supa Dupa Fly track. As Lizzo strutted onto the stage, she shouted-out her idol:

"Missy, I want to thank you for inspiring young black girls like me to chase their dreams. I love you so much, I wouldn't be here without you. This is for you." Earlier this year, Lizzo got an assist from Elliott on her own fire track "Tempo."

Of course, Elliott had her own powerful words to add, offering gratitude for the honor. "I cry because it's a lot to take in. I'm thankful, humbled. I'm grateful to be up here with so many geniuses in this room, I've met so many people that I looked up to, and still look up to, as songwriters and producers," she said during her acceptance speech, which you can watch a clip of, along with part of Lizzo's performance, in the above video.

She continued: "I want to say one thing to the writers, to the upcoming writers, 'Do not give up.' We all go through writer's block. Sometimes you just have to walk away from a record and come back to it. But don't give up, because I'm standing here. And this is big for hip-hop, too."

In addition to all the amazing songs she's penned for herself, Missy's also written songs for an impressive list of artists. As ABC News points out, that list includes major music players like Aaliyah, Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande and many others.

The 2019 Songwriters Hall of Fame class of inductees, who became eligible after putting in at least 20 years of hit-writing, also included GRAMMY-nominated singer Yusuf/Cat Stevens and GRAMMY-winning folk legend John Prine.

Jack Tempchin, a writer for the Eagles and GRAMMY winner Dallas Austin, a co-writer and producer behind many of TLC and other artists' hits, were also inducted last night. GRAMMY winner Justin Timberlake and GRAMMY-nominated pop star Halsey were honored with other awards during the ceremony, receiving the Contemporary Icon Award and Hal David Starlight Award, for "gifted" young songwriters, respectively.

Hit-Makers Share The Specialized, Intuitive Art Of Crafting The Perfect Song

Kiefer Sutherland

Photo by Mumpi Kuenster

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Kiefer Sutherland Talks New Album 'Reckless & Me' & Contending With The Actor-Turned-Musician Stigma

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The actor/musician discusses his new music, his love for touring, and what surprised him the most about becoming a recording artist
Crystal Larsen
GRAMMYs
May 6, 2019 - 2:06 pm

In his 30-plus-year career as an actor, Kiefer Sutherland has mastered the art of playing someone else. Whether it was counter-terrorist agent Jack Bauer in the hit TV series “24," the leader of a vampire gang in the cult classic The Lost Boys, or, most recently, as U.S. President in Designated Survivor, Sutherland has built an award-winning career as an actor. But one role that’s taken him by surprise is that of Kiefer Sutherland, the musician.

"I thought my 30 years as an actor onstage and on camera would help me," he says during a phone interview while on set in Los Angeles. "I realized [when playing live] … that there was no character that I had that was separating me from the audience. The joke I'll make is that on my best day, I'm not Jack Bauer. Not even close. But there was always that character."

Sutherland admits he was a bit nervous to play his songs live, songs that revealed personal stories about his own life. But the audience response from the approximately 300 live shows that he and his band have played since 2016 is what inspires him to keep going.

"I was really taken aback by the generosity of people," he adds. "What I found was people really wanted you to do well. And they wanted you to be good. And I found that to be one of the most generous exchanges I’ve experienced in my life. And then being able to tell a lot of the stories was one of the most freeing experiences in my life."

Sutherland’s experience on the road has inspired much of what you’ll hear on his recently released sophomore album, Reckless & Me, a 10-track rollicking collection of songs that were born to be played live. And that's just what Sutherland intends to do with them as he prepares to head back out on the road with his band for a string of U.S. and European dates kicking off May 30 in Texas. Before he heads out on the road again, the Recording Academy caught up with Sutherland to discuss what inspired the songs on his new album, which artists inspired him, and why he decided to launch his music career now.

Reckless & Me came out April 26. But before you released your debut album, 2016’s Down in a Hole, you said you never intended to release an album. You were writing songs for other people. But it was producer/musician Jude Cole who really encouraged you to release them on your own. I'm wondering now, with the second album out, did you know that you would put out a second album after that first one?

KieferSutherland: I did not know that I was going to put a second record out. I loved the process of making a record and Jude was my best friend and it was a really nice way for us to spend time together. And as you said, I just had some songs that I thought maybe I could send off and someone would be interested in doing them. Jude was the one who really pushed me to make the record. I was so acutely aware of the stigma of an actor doing music and just really didn't want to enter into that fray. …  So, we [recorded five songs] and I loved the way [Jude] was making them sound. And I said, "Yeah, let’s make the album." And so, we did. Then what really changed for me [is] how much I’ve enjoyed the writing process, especially with other people. It’s really exciting when you’re with someone else and you start to kind of bounce off each other and feed off each other. I loved that process and I really love, although I felt really quite out of my depth with, the record-making process and that’s where Jude's excellence really stands out as a producer and as a musician.

But [going on tour] was one of the most liberating experiences I've ever had. In the last two-and-half years we've done anywhere from 250 to 300 shows. I did that while I was doing "Designated Survivor," so basically any day off I had we were playing. I love my band and I love the experience of going from town to town. But most importantly, … the songs that I had written were personal. I wasn’t making up stories. All of a sudden, I was telling you really personal stories from my life. And some of them aren't flattering. So, I was nervous about that at first. Especially given the first 40 shows were in bars … [where] no one really wants to listen. But we were playing a show in Ann Arbor, Mich., and the audience was seated. And for the first time I was kind of really honest about where I was at when I wrote this song, what I was going through, why I wrote it, and why I think it might matter to you. And their response was amazing. It was one of the most generous things I’ve ever experienced and so it really encouraged me to do more of that.

How did the process, in terms of songwriting, change when you were thinking about Reckless & Me?

Sutherland: The second record was really finding songs that I wanted for my set. And what I find interesting about that is I wrote towards a goal. And then I also got songs, like for instance "Open Road," [from] Jude Cole. It's one of my favorite songs and it’s his. He wrote that on a road trip that we took to Savannah, Georgia over 20 years ago. And for nostalgic reasons, I really wanted to do that song, and because I love it. [And on] "Something you Love," the chorus for that was Jude.

"Something You Love" is one of my favorites.

Sutherland: That chorus is one of my favorites too. [Jude] was writing it I think for an EP or an LP that he was making for himself. But he wasn’t happy with the verses. And he said, "Hey, maybe we can work on this together." And for whatever reason I wrote the first verse really quickly, and then we kind of worked on the second verse together and then noodled around with the chorus. And then he let me have the song for the album, which I was so thrilled about because [I related to] that chorus in such a heavy way.

You've been very forthcoming about being aware of the stigma that exists with actors pursuing music careers. But I know that you’ve been involved in music for quite some time. You were taking violin lessons at age 4. You started honing your guitar skills at age 10. So, to me, it’s like a longtime music fan pursuing their career in music.

Sutherland: In 2010 Jude and I had a record label called Ironworks. Just as the music industry was kind of imploding and reinventing itself, we started a label. Primarily because we saw … so many great artists that weren't getting signed, that really should have been signed. And so, we had a great studio and we just decided to make songs and records. [During] that tenure there, I got to watch a lot of really fantastic artists coming in and out and they were always writing. Some people would start with a lyric, or some would start with a chorus. You would learn tricks that once you’ve got this one piece, this is what you now have to do. When I wrote songs before it would be like the sky had to open up and something had to fall in [my] lap. But once I started to gain some sense of structure from this person or that person, and primarily Jude, I started writing more. And finally got to a place where I started to like a lot of the songs I was writing. And 10 years later, that's how this started.

So, it was more than a fan. I would say I was a super-fan of music and musicians. Because I watched what they had to go through to just simply get a record out. And it's different for actors. You can get a small part in a show and no one might know your name, but we've got a really good union and you can make a living doing that. It’s not the same for musicians. It’s certainly not the same for songwriters. So, I've always admired the sacrifices they've made.

Do you think that becoming a recording and performing musician changed the way you view or approach your acting career?

Sutherland: Being able to tell stories and feel comfortable in my own skin telling the story honestly about where I was coming from, why I wrote the song, [and] why I might relate to you – I enjoyed that so much. We had been touring for a year and a half, almost two years, by the time I started "Designated Survivor," and I think because of that experience, I allowed myself to probably put more of my own person into that character than maybe any other I had before. I always thought that acting onstage for as long as I have was going to influence my ability to perform music onstage, and it ended up being the opposite.

You mentioned growing up listening to artists like Boston, AC/DC and Aerosmith. And your songs definitely have a rock 'n' roll feel to them, but with a good dose of country and Americana. I’m curious how you gravitated toward writing more in this vein?

Sutherland: Those bands that you described, oddly enough, I was like 4, 5 or 6 [when I was listening to them]. I was listening to everything that my brother was listening to. And then he gave me music, everything from the Jackson 5 to Elton John. When I got a little older, Stevie Wonder. When I got even a little [more] older, Marvin Gaye. So, it was a really wonderful mixture. But the first music that I remember relating to as a young teenager, the first 45 I ever bought, was "Hollywood Nights" by Bob Seger. There was a real country feel in the sense that he wrote a really straight lyric. It was a story that you could follow. But he played it in a rock 'n' roll arrangement.

Then I started roping on the USTRC roping circuit as a cowboy. And I would travel around with a lot of cowboys for almost 10 years. And that’s when I got into country music. They would all play their cassettes. Most of them were mixed tapes. So, they had everything on it from their favorite Johnny Cash song [to] Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, [and] Willie Nelson. I just fell in love with those artists.

It’s the storytelling and the authenticity, right?

Sutherland: The joke is it’s three chords and the truth. But if you take it really seriously…it’s never less than five chords and not easy chords. But the lyric is straight. And the lyric is direct and it's honest, whether it's flattering or not.

You’ve mentioned that now, compared to 15 or 30 years ago, you're in a place where it's not as important to you what people might think. What changed over those years? Was it growing up and becoming more comfortable putting your stories out there?

Sutherland: It’s absolutely growing up. In my 20s, not that I'm not sensitive now, but I was really sensitive [then]. And it took enough to get through all of the rejection as an actor the idea of trying music and getting through that…go get me the gun and I'll take my own hat off. [Chuckles.] And confidence. When I first met Jude Cole, he was a guitar gunslinger. He played so well I just put my guitar under the bed for almost two years. And over time I brought it out because I missed it. Being able to spend as much time with other musicians at Ironworks taught me a couple things that made me feel confident about writing about something specific. And then again, I have incredible respect for Jude and his musicianship. And his taste. And that meant a lot to me when he said, “I think you should record these songs for yourself.” None of this would have happened without him.

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Lizzo

Photo:  David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

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Summerfest 2019: Lizzo, Brandi Carlile, Rodrigo Y Gabriela & More

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The massive festival will take place June 26–30 and July 2–7 in downtown Milawaukee and will also feature Billie Eilish, The Roots, The Lonely Island and Atmosphere
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Apr 10, 2019 - 4:48 pm

Brandi Carlile, Jimmy Eat World, Lizzo and Rodrigo y Gabriela are among the over 100 headlining musical artists that have been announced for Summerfest, the 11-day music festival in Milwaukee, this year.

The massive festival will take place June 26–30 and July 2–7 in downtown Milawaukee and will also feature Billie Eilish, The Roots, The Lonely Island and Atmosphere. The full lineup can be seen at the Summerfest website. 

Last week, the fest announced that Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg and Schoolboy Q will headline the last day of performances at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater, which will host a series of performances with tickets that can be purchased separately from the Summerfest general admission ticket (but also include G.A. access). A weekday admission ticket can also be purchased. More info on the variety of tickets can be found here.  

Summerfest features 12 stages and over 800 acts in 11 days, according to the fest. For more information on ticket sales, visit the Summerfest website. 

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