One day on tour nine years ago, Amy Lee decided she wanted to collaborate with Lzzy Hale — so she shot her shot. The Evanescence and Halestorm frontwomen had been friendly on their co-headlining tour, but hadn't appeared together on stage yet. That changed after Lee knocked on the door of Hale’s bus, asking if she wanted to sing Halestorm's "Break In" together on stage.

"She was like [Rapidly] 'Ohmygodyes!'" Lee recalls to GRAMMY.com over Zoom. "That became our favorite part of every night." Eventually, when it came time to record the tune together, producer Nick Raskulinecz encouraged them to cut it live in the studio. At first, Lee was reticent. But then, they discovered something special. "What I found is that we naturally tune to each other and find each other," she says. "It becomes a new voice."

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Granted, Lee may not have a co-leader in Evanescence, who have won two GRAMMYs and been nominated for six. But in a way, this braiding of artistic voices defines their whole existence. Early in the band's tenure, Lee had to "fight" — to be heard, to be seen, to maintain her place in the band. And when "My Immortal" became a monster hit, she felt uncomfortable hearing it piped into every PA in North America, believing it was unrepresentative of the band.

But today, she realizes "My Immortal" isn't theirs anymore. It's their fans'. And, by blending her experience with theirs, she loves the song all over again. In essence, a new voice emerges from the fusion of two.

This November, Evanescence and Halestorm will ride again — with almost a decade of experience and close friendship under their belts. Starting Nov. 5, they're headed on a US co-headlining tour, their first together since 2012. Evanescence is supporting this year's The Bitter Truth; Halestorm is touring on their 2020 EP, Reimagined, which features that version of "Break In." 

This run of gigs is a tribute to both bands' indefatigable fans, as well as the two women's friendship. "It's a very essential thing to have good people in your life who are going to tell you the truth and be a real friend to you," Lee says. "I think Lzzy and I are that to each other."

Read on for an in-depth interview with Lee about her friendship with Hale, how the loss of her brother partly inspired The Bitter Truth and how her relationship with her past material has changed with time. (Oh, yes, and she reacts to the YouTube comments on the "My Immortal" music video.)

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This interview has been edited for clarity.

This is one of the biggest — if not the biggest — female-headlined tours of the year. How does it feel to be part of that? I'm sure that jibes with the message you want to send to your young female fans.

Well, first and foremost, we just want to be the best — so, there's that. But also, it's empowering to empower each other. It's really cool that so many people in the hard rock and metal world right now who are killing it are female. I'm very proud to be one of the people to lift that up and be part of that.

I'm very excited to go on tour with our friends. I love Lzzy; we haven't toured together since 2012. We had one of the best tours ever and always wanted to do it [again] after that — to find a time it would work again.

After this horrible time of not being able to tour and the world [being] on fire, we really appreciate touring and the things we're able to do. We appreciate life. So, if we're going to go out there, we want to go out having a blast, going out with people we respect and have fun with.

So, I'm really excited! I'm excited about the venues; we're playing some really big places. I'm not going to be nervous; I'm just going to speak that out right now and make it true. We've got some practicing to do. A lot of new material!

How did you first cross paths with Lzzy and Halestorm?

Well, we met on that 2012 tour. I remember we decided to tour together, then we met the day of or before the first show. We just hit it off immediately. We have so much in common. 

As a musician, as a leader, as a frontwoman, all those things, Lzzy is really incredible. Ever since then, we have stayed friends, always. Here and there, we've worked together in different ways.

I remember, on that 2012 tour, knocking on her bus one day and saying "You have this one song that I love! If you ever want me to come do background vocals, I'll do it." And she was like [Rapidly] "Ohmygodyes!" So, we rehearsed it in her dressing room and loved singing together. That became our favorite part of every night — this moment where we would sing "Break In" together.

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Fast forward to 2017: They were doing recreations of a lot of their songs and we did our live version of that song in the studio. And we did it live, which was a really cool challenge! That's the other thing about Lzzy we have in common: We really enjoy being challenged and pushed into new territory.

So, our producer — both hers and mine from our new albums, Nick Raskulinecz — did that recording and pushed us to record the vocals live. I remember being like [Playfully], "Why do you have to do that? Why do you have to make it hard? We know what to do. Let's record us one at a time and we'll get every note perfect!"

When he made us do it, he was like "You guys are both great. I know you can handle it. You can do this." I was like, "OK, we'll try, but, safety net: We might do it the other way." When you're standing in the room together, you have to go through it right at the same time to make it. [Laughs.] If someone did it well and the other didn't, it's scrapped. It doesn't work.

But we didn't do it that many times, and what I found is that we naturally tune to each other and find each other, and it becomes a new voice.

It's hard to explain, but I grew up being obsessed with choir. I went to all-region, all-state competitions and all that stuff when I was in junior high and high school. It reminds me of that feeling, where you are absolutely part of that sound, but you are not the sound. It creates something new when you become part of something else.

In all realms of creation, I love that feeling, and that's why I'm in a band. Singing with Lzzy is a real treat because she's an excellent singer. We can challenge [each other] and get in the zone together and create something that neither of us can do exactly on our own.

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Whether it's music or banking or whatever, people in the same industry tend to get along because they have work in common. That said, what about your personal dynamic with Lzzy makes it special?

She's a real person. She's just a humble, down-to-earth, real person who's not afraid to do what it takes to get the job done. She's a boss, but not in a way that's unkind or unreasonable. She's good at what she does. We both strive to operate on the same level in that way.

I love watching her in that capacity, but as friends, we're regular friends. I don't have a big reason why I click with some people and have them be close friends in my life. It's a very essential thing to have good people in your life who are going to tell you the truth and be a real friend to you. I think Lzzy and I are that to each other.

What can fans expect on stage come November?

We are going to play almost the entire new album because we are all so excited to have all this new music that really represents who we are — what we've grown into. Even just lyrically, what we've been going through in this time — who we are in this moment — it feels so good to have that new music after so long. 

I still relate to our old music, but it feels good to have something so fresh. So, we're really excited about the new stuff, but there are going to be a lot of old faves, too.

It's going to be kind of a long set [Laughs]. I'm at the point now where I'm trying to do vocal warm-ups on the reg and get myself to a place where I'm sure I can physically get myself to do the stuff we're aiming to do. We'll start rehearsals in a week and really get in there and get in the details.

We've been building a really cool new production, a new set for this tour. We've got these big shows, so we've got to make the production awesome. I'm so excited about it. We're still building it, but it's going to be something really cool.

It's a new moment, you know? We don't make a new album every year, so when we do, we've kind of got to pull out all the stops. So, that's what we're going to be doing.

Feel free to not broach this if you don't want to, but I'm interested in the component of grief in The Bitter Truth. Can you talk about that?

That's a huge component of the album. My little brother passed away in 2018. It's actually not my first sibling [I’ve lost], unfortunately. It's interesting because, from that moment, it felt like everything just changed shape.

Having my son — bringing new life into the world and getting to know that person — equally changed my perspective and made things take on a new color around you. You just go forward differently because of both those things. I feel like that about both of those things.

But right from the moment — ground zero of the devastation of that loss — that's not when music-writing started. The creation of this album — where this album is coming from — is from a year and change after that. Starting to go, "OK, I feel like I can get back up again." And you can't get back up again without talking about the pain of what threw you down in the first place.

Even though this album is so inspired by and related to loss and grief and all those deep questions about life — like, "Where are we in the scope of the universe?" — it comes from that stance of how to move forward. The drive and courage to take a step up, get up and move forward again, out of that.

For me, the album is really empowering to listen to. I hear it and hear the strength that I'm so relieved to find in myself. I think, as a band, we all feel that way. Not just relief, but satisfaction. More courage, compounded by each other's courage. 

It feels really good to put something out in the world that is, at the heart of it, a positive message. More life will happen. We can go on. But it can't happen without facing the truth, as hard as that is. Getting up and being strong and making a better future — none of that comes from ignoring what's going on and what's wrong in the first place.

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What was your brother like in life?

Absolutely hilarious. He was the funniest. One of my favorite people. All of ours: He was the favorite of the family. I have a big family — two other sisters. He was definitely the comic relief. He always refused to be defined by his severe epilepsy. Any opportunity to make everybody laugh was his favorite thing.

He loved creatures and was kind to all animals. I remember there was a wasp in the house once and I was ready to smack it. Rob was like, "Aw, come on, man. Just put it outside." I said, "It's a pestilence! This is a beast! I'm killing it. it's just going to sting somebody!" He was like, "Man, I like to keep this house a free space for all living things!" So, we put the wasp outside.

I think about that specific part of him now, after his death. I can see what that means after you face that grief and look the universe in the face and go, "Am I important at all? And how important? What are we? What is an ant?" We all are connected and important in some way and have to respect all life if we want our lives to be respected, and expected to be worth something.

My brother was a really, really rad guy.

Can I ask if it was expected, or if it was a shock?

It wasn't expected, but we always knew our time with him was precious. Robby had very severe epilepsy, starting when he was seven. We always knew we were lucky to have him.

We had some very close calls before. Each of us — between my sisters and parents and myself — had close calls that were on our watch and had faced the potential for loss before, but he was such an incredible, strong survivor every time and kept being OK. You learn to take that for granted a little bit and think, "He's got this. He's going to be here forever."

It's never something you completely expect. It was definitely sudden.

In the wake of it, did you feel almost a sense of ambition? Like everything became crystal-clear? I’ve definitely felt that during my own grief experience.

In the beginning — I don't even know how to describe it. I definitely couldn't sing. I just felt a lot of pain. It takes you to a weird place of zooming way out. Seeing the whole world and trying to piece something together and make things make sense when they don't make sense, and they aren't fair. You start feeling inspiration for a while, at first, but you just feel the loss.

Photo: Nick Fancher

Evanescence's debut album, Fallen, is going to turn 20 pretty soon. How does that feel?

Crazy! But, at the same time, it feels like it was 20 years ago [Laughs]. A lot has happened since then.

It's sweet, though. I'm so much more at peace in my role now — doing what I do and being who I am — than I was making Fallen. I think the album came out when I was 21. I'm the same person, but I've grown a lot and am a different person, too.

I feel amazing being here after this time. There's a level of self-confidence and support. Now, with people, I can harness the nostalgia feels with my own music as well as blow their minds with new music, so it's really the best of both worlds.

What were you feeling while making Fallen? Excitement? Nervousness? Naïveté?

A lot of emotions at once. Things were tumultuous behind the scenes back then. I had to fight a lot for my place. I had to fight to be where I was. I had to fight to have a voice. I had to fight, always, for my opinion, and my belief in our music and what I wanted it to be. Just to be a leader.

At the same time, there was lots of excitement — I couldn't believe what was happening. Going to the GRAMMYs and actually winning at the GRAMMYs. This was the dream in so many ways. [Editor's note: Evanescence won or were nominated for Best New Artist, Album Of The Year, Best Rock Album, and Best Hard Rock Performance at the 2003 GRAMMY Awards.]

You don't know if those things are possible, or if people are going to like your art — something you loved and did. Then, it's over the next year. You play in clubs, or whatever it is. You don't know exactly what's going to happen. To see it all go so well, right from the get-go of our first album, was overwhelming in all the ways. Positive and negative, but mostly positive.

At the time, I was constantly nervous and feeling like I was pretending to believe that I belonged there, when, deep down, I probably didn't know anything about what I was doing.

Is that shifting power dynamic what led to all the turnover in the band after Fallen?

It was particularly about one guy, [original guitarist] Ben [Moody] — we started the band together. It was our thing. That pertains to him leaving in the middle of that first album's tour.

When you consider the arc of your career ever since, how do you feel you grew as a musician? As a person?

I don't know if I can pinpoint what changed the most. More and more and more, I've been on the road to challenge myself to be as open as possible. It's hard to say, because I hear things I did a long time ago and I do hear myself being very honest and raw.

But it's always a challenge for myself to keep doing it, and do it more — to be more honest. To picture myself in the music. Not trying to portray what I want to show, but what I am — what's coming straight from the heart. I feel I've done a better and better job of that since the first album.

We've really grown a lot as a band. We've become a band over the years. I've been with this lineup [for a long time]. [Guitarist] Jen [Majura] joined the band in 2015; the other three guys have been with me for 12 or 13 years.

Are you the kind of musician who can't hear old material — it hits you wrong — or do you love the whole discography?

I used to have a hard time with "My Immortal" because it was just everywhere, and I didn't feel like it summed up our band. But I got over it. I'm over it. I love it now. It's back to what I was saying a minute ago, about being honest about nostalgia.

That's the one song I didn't write the lyrics to. I helped a little bit, but they aren't my words. Those are Ben's words. I didn't want to sing it, but also, I just felt like they didn't mean a ton to me. All the other lyrics really mean something to me in my heart.

But, over time, [we realized that song has] such an important and huge piece of our history with our fans — what it means to them and the experiences we've now had. On our first-ever trip to Europe, we played to a huge field of people singing it so loudly I couldn't hear myself. I just let them do it.

That song, for me, has become really meaningful. It's about that. It's about our fans and our relationship. No, I don't have any songs that I hear and I'm just like "Ughhh!". Unless they're pre-Fallen. [Laughs.]

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Have you seen the YouTube comments under "My Immortal" in a while? The video has almost 800 million views.

No! Are they hilarious?

Most aren't, actually. Can I read you a few?

Sure.

Here's one from three days ago: Somebody said "Take the pain and turn it into strength. Wisdom. Be the sunlight you never had..."

Aww.

"...For you. For others. I'm proud of you."

God, that's gorgeous.

Here's another one: "I held his hand and I never let go. When he died, they had to drag me out of the room. Love really knows no boundaries."

[Hushed] Wow.

There's a lot I don't want to repeat, actually. Stories of people losing kids and stuff.

Yeah, yeah. That's what I mean. It's about something so much bigger. It's not just a song on our album. It's about something else. It's about them. It's about what we can feel and understand together.

We've talked deeper on this call than I thought we would. But when you've gone through something really, really heavy — when you're talking about losing somebody — there's something you can't quite describe with words.

Music has been the place for me, always. It's been the one way to describe a deep place we can share. Being able to share it with people and communicate through music, to express how we feel and find out we're not alone in those feelings — that's magic. It's absolute magic. I'm so grateful to be a part of that and have it be part of my job.

This comment section has become like a bereavement forum. Someone's mom died; someone's boyfriend died. They're all commiserating. And it's been happening for more than a decade; the last comment was from yesterday.

That's incredible. It feels awesome.

Is there anything we didn't touch on regarding the new album and tour?

Man, I feel like we covered it. I'm just grateful, with how hard everything still is. I'm really grateful.

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Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

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He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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It's rare that a genre can be traced back to a single artist or group, but for funk, that was James Brown. The Godfather of Soul coined the phrase and style of playing known as "on the one," where the first downbeat is emphasized, instead of the typical second and fourth beats in pop, soul and other styles. As David Cheal eloquently explains, playing on the one "left space for phrases and riffs, often syncopated around the beat, creating an intricate, interlocking grid which could go on and on." You know a funky bassline when you hear it; its fat chords beg your body to get up and groove.

Brown's 1965 classic, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," became one of the first funk hits, and has been endlessly sampled and covered over the years, along with his other groovy tracks. Of course, many other funk acts followed in the '60s, and the genre thrived in the '70s and '80s as the disco craze came and went, and the originators of hip-hop and house music created new music from funk and disco's strong, flexible bones built for dancing.

Legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins learned the power of the one from playing in Brown's band, and brought it to George Clinton, who created P-funk, an expansive, Afrofuturistic, psychedelic exploration of funk with his various bands and projects, including Parliament-Funkadelic. Both Collins and Clinton remain active and funkin', and have offered their timeless grooves to collabs with younger artists, including Kali Uchis, Silk Sonic, and Omar Apollo; and Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, and Thundercat, respectively.

In the 1980s, electro-funk was born when artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Man Parrish, and Egyptian Lover began making futuristic beats with the Roland TR-808 drum machine — often with robotic vocals distorted through a talk box. A key distinguishing factor of electro-funk is a de-emphasis on vocals, with more phrases than choruses and verses. The sound influenced contemporaneous hip-hop, funk and electronica, along with acts around the globe, while current acts like Chromeo, DJ Stingray, and even Egyptian Lover himself keep electro-funk alive and well.

Today, funk lives in many places, with its heavy bass and syncopated grooves finding way into many nooks and crannies of music. There's nu-disco and boogie funk, nodding back to disco bands with soaring vocals and dance floor-designed instrumentation. G-funk continues to influence Los Angeles hip-hop, with innovative artists like Dam-Funk and Channel Tres bringing the funk and G-funk, into electro territory. Funk and disco-centered '70s revival is definitely having a moment, with acts like Ghost Funk Orchestra and Parcels, while its sparkly sprinklings can be heard in pop from Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, and, in full "Soul Train" character, Silk Sonic. There are also acts making dreamy, atmospheric music with a solid dose of funk, such as Khruangbin’s global sonic collage.

There are many bands that play heavily with funk, creating lush grooves designed to get you moving. Read on for a taste of five current modern funk and nu-disco artists making band-led uptempo funk built for the dance floor. Be sure to press play on the Spotify playlist above, and check out GRAMMY.com's playlist on Apple Music, Amazon Music and Pandora.

Say She She

Aptly self-described as "discodelic soul," Brooklyn-based seven-piece Say She She make dreamy, operatic funk, led by singer-songwriters Nya Gazelle Brown, Piya Malik and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham. Their '70s girl group-inspired vocal harmonies echo, sooth and enchant as they cover poignant topics with feminist flair.

While they’ve been active in the New York scene for a few years, they’ve gained wider acclaim for the irresistible music they began releasing this year, including their debut album, Prism. Their 2022 debut single "Forget Me Not" is an ode to ground-breaking New York art collective Guerilla Girls, and "Norma" is their protest anthem in response to the news that Roe vs. Wade could be (and was) overturned. The band name is a nod to funk legend Nile Rodgers, from the "Le freak, c'est chi" exclamation in Chic's legendary tune "Le Freak."

Moniquea

Moniquea's unique voice oozes confidence, yet invites you in to dance with her to the super funky boogie rhythms. The Pasadena, California artist was raised on funk music; her mom was in a cover band that would play classics like Aretha Franklin’s "Get It Right" and Gladys Knight’s "Love Overboard." Moniquea released her first boogie funk track at 20 and, in 2011, met local producer XL Middelton — a bonafide purveyor of funk. She's been a star artist on his MoFunk Records ever since, and they've collabed on countless tracks, channeling West Coast energy with a heavy dose of G-funk, sunny lyrics and upbeat, roller disco-ready rhythms.

Her latest release is an upbeat nod to classic West Coast funk, produced by Middleton, and follows her February 2022 groovy, collab-filled album, On Repeat.

Shiro Schwarz

Shiro Schwarz is a Mexico City-based duo, consisting of Pammela Rojas and Rafael Marfil, who helped establish a modern funk scene in the richly creative Mexican metropolis. On "Electrify" — originally released in 2016 on Fat Beats Records and reissued in 2021 by MoFunk — Shiro Schwarz's vocals playfully contrast each other, floating over an insistent, upbeat bassline and an '80s throwback electro-funk rhythm with synth flourishes.

Their music manages to be both nostalgic and futuristic — and impossible to sit still to. 2021 single "Be Kind" is sweet, mellow and groovy, perfect chic lounge funk. Shiro Schwarz’s latest track, the joyfully nostalgic "Hey DJ," is a collab with funkstress Saucy Lady and U-Key.

L'Impératrice

L'Impératrice (the empress in French) are a six-piece Parisian group serving an infectiously joyful blend of French pop, nu-disco, funk and psychedelia. Flore Benguigui's vocals are light and dreamy, yet commanding of your attention, while lyrics have a feminist touch.

During their energetic live sets, L'Impératrice members Charles de Boisseguin and Hagni Gwon (keys), David Gaugué (bass), Achille Trocellier (guitar), and Tom Daveau (drums) deliver extended instrumental jam sessions to expand and connect their music. Gaugué emphasizes the thick funky bass, and Benguigui jumps around the stage while sounding like an angel. L’Impératrice’s latest album, 2021’s Tako Tsubo, is a sunny, playful French disco journey.

Franc Moody

Franc Moody's bio fittingly describes their music as "a soul funk and cosmic disco sound." The London outfit was birthed by friends Ned Franc and Jon Moody in the early 2010s, when they were living together and throwing parties in North London's warehouse scene. In 2017, the group grew to six members, including singer and multi-instrumentalist Amber-Simone.

Their music feels at home with other electro-pop bands like fellow Londoners Jungle and Aussie act Parcels. While much of it is upbeat and euphoric, Franc Moody also dips into the more chilled, dreamy realm, such as the vibey, sultry title track from their recently released Into the Ether.

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Living Legends is a series that spotlights icons in music still going strong today. This week, GRAMMY.com spoke with Billy Idol about his latest EP,  Cage, and continuing to rock through decades of changing tastes.

Billy Idol is a true rock 'n' roll survivor who has persevered through cultural shifts and personal struggles. While some may think of Idol solely for "Rebel Yell" and "White Wedding," the singer's musical influences span genres and many of his tunes are less turbo-charged than his '80s hits would belie.  

Idol first made a splash in the latter half of the '70s with the British punk band Generation X. In the '80s, he went on to a solo career combining rock, pop, and punk into a distinct sound that transformed him and his musical partner, guitarist Steve Stevens, into icons. They have racked up multiple GRAMMY nominations, in addition to one gold, one double platinum, and four platinum albums thanks to hits like "Cradle Of Love," "Flesh For Fantasy," and "Eyes Without A Face." 

But, unlike many legacy artists, Idol is anything but a relic. Billy continues to produce vital Idol music by collaborating with producers and songwriters — including Miley Cyrus — who share his forward-thinking vision. He will play a five-show Vegas residency in November, and filmmaker Jonas Akerlund is working on a documentary about Idol’s life. 

His latest release is Cage, the second in a trilogy of annual four-song EPs. The title track is a classic Billy Idol banger expressing the desire to free himself from personal constraints and live a better life. Other tracks on Cage incorporate metallic riffing and funky R&B grooves. 

Idol continues to reckon with his demons — they both grappled with addiction during the '80s — and the singer is open about those struggles on the record and the page. (Idol's 2014 memoir Dancing With Myself, details a 1990 motorcycle accident that nearly claimed a leg, and how becoming a father steered him to reject hard drugs. "Bitter Taste," from his last EP, The Roadside, reflects on surviving the accident.)

Although Idol and Stevens split in the late '80s — the skilled guitarist fronted Steve Stevens & The Atomic Playboys, and collaborated with Michael Jackson, Rick Ocasek, Vince Neil, and Harold Faltermeyer (on the GRAMMY-winning "Top Gun Anthem") —  their common history and shared musical bond has been undeniable. The duo reunited in 2001 for an episode of "VH1 Storytellers" and have been back in the saddle for two decades. Their union remains one of the strongest collaborations in rock 'n roll history.

While there is recognizable personnel and a distinguishable sound throughout a lot of his work, Billy Idol has always pushed himself to try different things. Idol discusses his musical journey, his desire to constantly move forward, and the strong connection that he shares with Stevens. 

Steve has said that you like to mix up a variety of styles, yet everyone assumes you're the "Rebel Yell"/"White Wedding" guy. But if they really listen to your catalog, it's vastly different.

Yeah, that's right. With someone like Steve Stevens, and then back in the day Keith Forsey producing... [Before that] Generation X actually did move around inside punk rock. We didn't stay doing just the Ramones two-minute music. We actually did a seven-minute song. [Laughs]. We did always mix things up. 

Then when I got into my solo career, that was the fun of it. With someone like Steve, I knew what he could do. I could see whatever we needed to do, we could nail it. The world was my oyster musically. 

"Cage" is a classic-sounding Billy Idol rocker, then "Running From The Ghost" is almost metal, like what the Devil's Playground album was like back in the mid-2000s. "Miss Nobody" comes out of nowhere with this pop/R&B flavor. What inspired that?

We really hadn't done anything like that since something like "Flesh For Fantasy" [which] had a bit of an R&B thing about it. Back in the early days of Billy Idol, "Hot In The City" and "Mony Mony" had girls [singing] on the backgrounds. 

We always had a bit of R&B really, so it was actually fun to revisit that. We just hadn't done anything really quite like that for a long time. That was one of the reasons to work with someone like Sam Hollander [for the song "Rita Hayworth"] on The Roadside. We knew we could go [with him] into an R&B world, and he's a great songwriter and producer. That's the fun of music really, trying out these things and seeing if you can make them stick. 

I listen to new music by veteran artists and debate that with some people. I'm sure you have those fans that want their nostalgia, and then there are some people who will embrace the newer stuff. Do you find it’s a challenge to reach people with new songs?

Obviously, what we're looking for is, how do we somehow have one foot in the past and one foot into the future? We’ve got the best of all possible worlds because that has been the modus operandi of Billy Idol. 

You want to do things that are true to you, and you don't just want to try and do things that you're seeing there in the charts today. I think that we're achieving it with things like "Running From The Ghost" and "Cage" on this new EP. I think we’re managing to do both in a way. 

**Obviously, "Running From The Ghost" is about addiction, all the stuff that you went through, and in "Cage" you’re talking about  freeing yourself from a lot of personal shackles. Was there any one moment in your life that made you really thought I have to not let this weigh me down anymore?**

I mean, things like the motorcycle accident I had, that was a bit of a wake up call way back. It was 32 years ago. But there were things like that, years ago, that gradually made me think about what I was doing with my life. I didn't want to ruin it, really. I didn't want to throw it away, and it made [me] be less cavalier. 

I had to say to myself, about the drugs and stuff, that I've been there and I've done it. There’s no point in carrying on doing it. You couldn't get any higher. You didn't want to throw your life away casually, and I was close to doing that. It took me a bit of time, but then gradually I was able to get control of myself to a certain extent [with] drugs and everything. And I think Steve's done the same thing. We're on a similar path really, which has been great because we're in the same boat in terms of lyrics and stuff. 

So a lot of things like that were wake up calls. Even having grandchildren and just watching my daughter enlarging her family and everything; it just makes you really positive about things and want to show a positive side to how you're feeling, about where you're going. We've lived with the demons so long, we've found a way to live with them. We found a way to be at peace with our demons, in a way. Maybe not completely, but certainly to where we’re enjoying what we do and excited about it.

[When writing] "Running From The Ghost" it was easy to go, what was the ghost for us? At one point, we were very drug addicted in the '80s. And Steve in particular is super sober [now]. I mean, I still vape pot and stuff. I don’t know how he’s doing it, but it’s incredible. All I want to be able to do is have a couple of glasses of wine at a restaurant or something. I can do that now.

I think working with people that are super talented, you just feel confident. That is a big reason why you open up and express yourself more because you feel comfortable with what's around you.

Did you watch Danny Boyle's recent Sex Pistols mini-series?

I did, yes.

You had a couple of cameos; well, an actor who portrayed you did. How did you react to it? How accurate do you think it was in portraying that particular time period?

I love Jonesy’s book, I thought his book was incredible. It's probably one of the best bio books really. It was incredible and so open. I was looking forward to that a lot.

It was as if [the show] kind of stayed with Steve [Jones’ memoir] about halfway through, and then departed from it. [John] Lydon, for instance, was never someone I ever saw acting out; he's more like that today. I never saw him do something like jump up in the room and run around going crazy. The only time I saw him ever do that was when they signed the recording deal with Virgin in front of Buckingham Palace. Whereas Sid Vicious was always acting out; he was always doing something in a horrible way or shouting at someone. I don't remember John being like that. I remember him being much more introverted.

But then I watched interviews with some of the actors about coming to grips with the parts they were playing. And they were saying, we knew punk rock happened but just didn't know any of the details. So I thought well, there you go. If ["Pistol" is]  informing a lot of people who wouldn't know anything about punk rock, maybe that's what's good about it.

Maybe down the road John Lydon will get the chance to do John's version of the Pistols story. Maybe someone will go a lot deeper into it and it won't be so surface. But maybe you needed this just to get people back in the flow.

We had punk and metal over here in the States, but it feels like England it was legitimately more dangerous. British society was much more rigid.

It never went [as] mega in America. It went big in England. It exploded when the Pistols did that interview with [TV host Bill] Grundy, that lorry truck driver put his boot through his own TV, and all the national papers had "the filth and the fury" [headlines].

We went from being unknown to being known overnight. We waited a year, Generation X. We even told them [record labels] no for nine months to a year. Every record company wanted their own punk rock group. So it went really mega in England, and it affected the whole country – the style, the fashions, everything. I mean, the Ramones were massive in England. Devo had a No. 1 song [in England] with "Satisfaction" in '77. Actually, Devo was as big as or bigger than the Pistols.

You were ahead of the pop-punk thing that happened in the late '90s, and a lot of it became tongue-in-cheek by then. It didn't have the same sense of rebelliousness as the original movement. It was more pop.

It had become a style. There was a famous book in England called Revolt Into Style — and that's what had happened, a revolt that turned into style which then they were able to duplicate in their own way. Even recently, Billie Joe [Armstrong] did his own version of "Gimme Some Truth," the Lennon song we covered way back in 1977.

When we initially were making [punk] music, it hadn't become accepted yet. It was still dangerous and turned into a style that people were used to. We were still breaking barriers.

You have a band called Generation Sex with Steve Jones and Paul Cook. I assume you all have an easier time playing Pistols and Gen X songs together now and not worrying about getting spit on like back in the '70s?

Yeah, definitely. When I got to America I told the group I was putting it together, "No one spits at the audience."

We had five years of being spat on [in the UK], and it was revolting. And they spat at you if they liked you. If they didn't like it they smashed your gear up. One night, I remember I saw blood on my T-shirt, and I think Joe Strummer got meningitis when spit went in his mouth.

You had to go through a lot to become successful, it wasn't like you just kind of got up there and did a couple of gigs. I don't think some young rock bands really get that today.

With punk going so mega in England, we definitely got a leg up. We still had a lot of work to get where we got to, and rightly so because you find out that you need to do that. A lot of groups in the old days would be together three to five years before they ever made a record, and that time is really important. In a way, what was great about punk rock for me was it was very much a learning period. I really learned a lot [about] recording music and being in a group and even writing songs.

Then when I came to America, it was a flow, really. I also really started to know what I wanted Billy Idol to be. It took me a little bit, but I kind of knew what I wanted Billy Idol to be. And even that took a while to let it marinate.

You and Miley Cyrus have developed a good working relationship in the last several years. How do you think her fans have responded to you, and your fans have responded to her?

I think they're into it. It's more the record company that she had didn't really get "Night Crawling"— it was one of the best songs on Plastic Hearts, and I don't think they understood that. They wanted to go with Dua Lipa, they wanted to go with the modern, young acts, and I don't think they realized that that song was resonating with her fans. Which is a shame really because, with Andrew Watt producing, it's a hit song.

But at the same time, I enjoyed doing it. It came out really good and it's very Billy Idol. In fact, I think it’s more Billy Idol than Miley Cyrus. I think it shows you where Andrew Watt was. He was excited about doing a Billy Idol track. She's fun to work with. She’s a really great person and she works at her singing — I watched her rehearsing for the Super Bowl performance she gave. She rehearsed all Saturday morning, all Saturday afternoon, and Sunday morning and it was that afternoon. I have to admire her fortitude. She really cares.

I remember when you went on "Viva La Bam" back in 2005 and decided to give Bam Margera’s Lamborghini a new sunroof by taking a power saw to it. Did he own that car? Was that a rental?

I think it was his car.

Did he get over it later on?

He loved it. [Laughs] He’s got a wacky sense of humor. He’s fantastic, actually. I’m really sorry to see what he's been going through just lately. He's going through a lot, and I wish him the best. He's a fantastic person, and it's a shame that he's struggling so much with his addictions. I know what it's like. It's not easy.

Musically, what is the synergy like with you guys during the past 10 years, doing Kings and Queens of the Underground and this new stuff? What is your working relationship like now in this more sober, older, mature version of you two as opposed to what it was like back in the '80s?

In lots of ways it’s not so different because we always wrote the songs together, we always talked about what we're going to do together. It was just that we were getting high at the same time.We're just not getting [that way now] but we're doing all the same things.

We're still talking about things, still [planning] things:What are we going to do next? How are we going to find new people to work with? We want to find new producers. Let's be a little bit more timely about putting stuff out.That part of our relationship is the same, you know what I mean? That never got affected. We just happened to be overloading in the '80s.

The relationship’s… matured and it's carrying on being fruitful, and I think that's pretty amazing. Really, most people don't get to this place. Usually, they hate each other by now. [Laughs] We also give each other space. We're not stopping each other doing things outside of what we’re working on together. All of that enables us to carry on working together. I love and admire him. I respect him. He's been fantastic. I mean, just standing there on stage with him is always a treat. And he’s got an immensely great sense of humor. I think that's another reason why we can hang together after all this time because we've got the sense of humor to enable us to go forward.

There's a lot of fan reaction videos online, and I noticed a lot of younger women like "Rebel Yell" because, unlike a lot of other '80s alpha male rock tunes, you're talking about satisfying your lover.

It was about my girlfriend at the time, Perri Lister. It was about how great I thought she was, how much I was in love with her, and how great women are, how powerful they are.

It was a bit of a feminist anthem in a weird way. It was all about how relationships can free you and add a lot to your life. It was a cry of love, nothing to do with the Civil War or anything like that. Perri was a big part of my life, a big part of being Billy Idol. I wanted to write about it. I'm glad that's the effect.

Is there something you hope people get out of the songs you've been doing over the last 10 years? Do you find yourself putting out a message that keeps repeating?

Well, I suppose, if anything, is that you can come to terms with your life, you can keep a hold of it. You can work your dreams into reality in a way and, look, a million years later, still be enjoying it.

The only reason I'm singing about getting out of the cage is because I kicked out of the cage years ago. I joined Generation X when I said to my parents, "I'm leaving university, and I'm joining a punk rock group." And they didn't even know what a punk rock group was. Years ago, I’d write things for myself that put me on this path, so that maybe in 2022 I could sing something like "Cage" and be owning this territory and really having a good time. This is the life I wanted.

The original UK punk movement challenged societal norms. Despite all the craziness going on throughout the world, it seems like a lot of modern rock bands are afraid to do what you guys were doing. Do you think we'll see a shift in that?

Yeah.  Art usually reacts to things, so I would think eventually there will be a massive reaction to the pop music that’s taken over — the middle of the road music, and then this kind of right wing politics. There will be a massive reaction if there's not already one. I don’t know where it will come from exactly. You never know who's gonna do [it].

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Country music's evolution is well represented in the 2023 GRAMMY nominees for Best Country Solo Performance. From crossover pop hooks to red-dirt outlaw roots, the genre's most celebrated elements are on full display — thanks to rising stars, leading ladies and country icons.

Longtime hitmaker Miranda Lambert delivered a soulful performance on the rootsy ballad "In His Arms," an arrangement as sparing as the windswept west Texas highlands where she co-wrote the song. Viral newcomer Zach Bryan dug into similar organic territory on the Oklahoma side of the Red River for "Something in the Orange," his voice accompanied with little more than an acoustic guitar.

Two of country's 2010s breakout stars are clearly still shining, too, as Maren Morris and Kelsea Ballerini both received Best Country Solo Performance GRAMMY nods. Morris channeled the determination that drove her leap-of-faith move from Texas to Nashville for the playful clap-along "Circles Around This Town," while Ballerini brought poppy hooks with a country edge on the infectiously upbeat "HEARTFIRST."

Rounding out the category is the one and only Willie Nelson, who paid tribute to his late friend Billy Joe Shaver with a cover of "Live Forever" — a fitting sentiment for the 89-year-old legend, who is approaching his eighth decade in the business. 

As the excitement builds for the 2023 GRAMMYs on Feb. 5, 2023, let's take a closer look at this year's nominees for Best Country Solo Performance.

Kelsea Ballerini — "HEARTFIRST"

In the tradition of Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood, Kelsea Ballerini represents Nashville's sunnier side — and her single "HEARTFIRST" is a slice of bright, uptempo, confectionary country-pop for the ages.

Ballerini sings about leaning into a carefree crush with her heart on her sleeve, pushing aside her reservations and taking a risk on love at first sight. The scene plays out in a bar room and a back seat, as she sweeps nimbly through the verses and into a shimmering chorus, when the narrator decides she's ready to "wake up in your T-shirt." 

There are enough steel guitar licks to let you know you're listening to a country song, but the story and melody are universal. "HEARTFIRST" is Ballerini's third GRAMMY nod, but first in the Best Country Solo Performance category.

Zach Bryan — "Something In The Orange"

Zach Bryan blew into Music City seemingly from nowhere in 2017, when his original song "Heading South" — recorded on an iPhone — went viral. Then an active officer in the U.S. Navy, the Oklahoma native chased his muse through music during his downtime, striking a chord with country music fans on stark songs led by his acoustic guitar and affecting vocals.

After his honorable discharge in 2021, Bryan began his music career in earnest, and in 2022 released "Something in the Orange," a haunting ballad that stakes a convincing claim to the territory between Tyler Childers and Jason Isbell in both sonics and songwriting. Slashing slide guitar drives home the song's heartbreak, as Bryan pines for a lover whose tail lights have long since vanished over the horizon. 

"Something In The Orange" marks Bryan's first-ever GRAMMY nomination.

Miranda Lambert — "In His Arms"

Miranda Lambert is the rare, chart-topping contemporary country artist who does more than pay lip service to the genre's rural American roots. "In His Arms" originally surfaced on 2021's The Marfa Tapes, a casual recording Lambert made with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall in Marfa, Texas — a tiny arts enclave in the middle of the west Texas high desert.

In this proper studio version — recorded for her 2022 album, Palomino — Lambert retains the structure and organic feel of the mostly acoustic song; light percussion and soothing atmospherics keep her emotive vocals front and center. A native Texan herself, Lambert sounds fully at home on "In His Arms."

Lambert is the only Best Country Solo Performance nominee who is nominated in all four Country Field categories in 2023. To date, Miranda Lambert has won 3 GRAMMYs and received 27 nominations overall. 

Maren Morris — "Circles Around This Town"

When Maren Morris found herself uninspired and dealing with writer's block, she went back to what inspired her to move to Nashville nearly a decade ago — and out came "Circles Around This Town," the lead single from her 2022 album Humble Quest.

Written in one of her first in-person songwriting sessions since the pandemic, Morris has called "Circles Around This Town" her "most autobiographical song" to date; she even recreated her own teenage bedroom for the song's video. As she looks back to her Texas beginnings and the life she left for Nashville, Morris' voice soars over anthemic, yet easygoing production. 

Morris last won a GRAMMY for Best Country Solo Performance in 2017, when her song "My Church" earned the singer her first GRAMMY. To date, Maren Morris has won one GRAMMY and received 17 nominations overall.

Willie Nelson — "Live Forever"

Country music icon Willie Nelson is no stranger to the GRAMMYs, and this year he aims to add to his collection of 10 gramophones. He earned another three nominations for 2023 — bringing his career total to 56 — including a Best Country Solo Performance nod for "Live Forever."

Nelson's performance of "Live Forever," the lead track of the 2022 tribute album Live Forever: A Tribute to Billy Joe Shaver, is a faithful rendition of Shaver's signature song. Still, Nelson puts his own twist on the tune, recruiting Lucinda Williams for backing vocals and echoing the melody with the inimitable tone of his nylon-string Martin guitar. 

Shaver, an outlaw country pioneer who passed in 2020 at 81 years old, never had any hits of his own during his lifetime. But plenty of his songs were still heard, thanks to stars like Elvis Presley, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings. Nelson was a longtime friend and frequent collaborator of Shaver's — and now has a GRAMMY nom to show for it.

2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List