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Exploring The Musical Theater, Visual Media Field Nominees

Go inside the nominations in the Musical Theater and Music For Visual Media Fields for the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards

GRAMMYs/Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

(For a complete list of 54th GRAMMY Awards nominees, click here.)

You've seen the list of nominees, now take a closer look at the artists nominated in the Musical Theater and Music For Visual Media Fields for the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

The original Broadway cast recording of one of Broadway's hottest new shows, "The Book Of Mormon," is nominated in the Musical Theater Field, alongside cast recordings from revivals of two classic shows, "Anything Goes" and "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying." All three shows earned wins at the 2011 Tony Awards in June. "The Book Of Mormon" emerged as the top winner, garnering nine awards, including Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre. In the Music For Visual Media Field, two movie musicals, the live-action Burlesque and the animated Tangled, lead the field with two nominations each.

Best Musical Theater Album

Sutton Foster, who won a Tony Award for her performance, and Joel Grey are the artists nominated in the latest revival of "Anything Goes." The Cole Porter musical first opened on Broadway in 1934, with Ethel Merman as lead. (Porter's original title song was voted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame this year. Merman's rendition of "You're The Top," also from the show, was inducted in 2008.) Porter, who died in 1964, was honored with a Recording Academy Trustees Award in 1989. "The Book Of Mormon" opened on Broadway in March 2011, with Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells as the leads. The score was co-written by Robert Lopez — who won a Tony for his work on "Avenue Q" — and Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of the TV show "South Park." John Larroquette, who won a Tony for his performance, and Daniel Radcliffe star in the latest revival of "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying." The Frank Loesser show first opened on Broadway in 1961 with Robert Morse and Rudy Vallee in the key roles. The cast recording from that show won a GRAMMY for Best Original Cast Show Album.

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media

Three of the five nominated soundtracks are drawn from TV series: "True Blood," "Boardwalk Empire" and "Glee." This is the third consecutive year that a "True Blood" soundtrack has been nominated in this category. This year's nomination is for True Blood: Volume 3. This is the second year in a row that a "Glee" soundtrack has been a finalist. This year's nomination is for Glee: The Music, Volume 4. Boardwalk Empire: Volume 1 was produced by Stewart Lerman, Randall Poster and Kevin Weaver. The other two nominated soundtracks are from the movies Burlesque and Tangled. The Burlesque soundtrack consists of eight tracks by Christina Aguilera and two by her co-star Cher. Should Burlesque win, it will mark a fifth GRAMMY for Aguilera. Tangled was produced by 10-time GRAMMY winner Alan Menken and features tracks by Mandy Moore and Grace Potter.

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media

Alexandre Desplat earned two of the five nominations for The King's Speech and Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2. The latter album is vying to become the first Harry Potter soundtrack to win a GRAMMY. Daft Punk, who won two GRAMMYs in the Dance/Electronica Field in 2008, are nominated for Tron Legacy. The other nominees are Clint Mansell for Black Swan and Ryan Shore for The Shrine.

Best Song Written For Visual Media

Diane Warren has two of the six nominations in this category: "Born To Be Somebody" (from Justin Bieber: Never Say Never) and "You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me" (from Burlesque). Warren won her only GRAMMY to date in this category for 1996's "Because You Loved Me" (theme from Up Close & Personal). Cher performs "You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me" in Burlesque. "Christmastime Is Killing Us" (from "Family Guy") is vying to become only the second song from a TV series to win in this category. "Boss Of Me" (from "Malcolm In The Middle") won in 2001. Seth MacFarlane, who created "Family Guy," co-wrote "Christmastime Is Killing Us" with Ron Jones and Danny Smith. (The versatile MacFarlane is also nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Music Is Better Than Words.) Alan Menken and Glenn Slater are nominated for "I See The Light" (from Tangled). Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi perform the song on the movie soundtrack. Two-time GRAMMY winner Zac Brown is nominated for co-writing "Where The River Flows" (from Footloose), which he performs on the soundtrack to the reboot of the 1984 film. Brown co-wrote the song with Wyatt Durrette, Drew Pearson and Anne Preven. Rounding out the field is "So Long" (from Winnie The Pooh). Zooey Deschanel wrote the song, which she performs with her She & Him partner, M. Ward.

Who will take home awards in the Musical Theater and Music For Visual Media Fields? Tune in to the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 12, taking place at Staples Center in Los Angeles and airing live on CBS from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

Liz Gillies Shares The Holiday Tunes That Make Her Feel Merriest
Liz Gillies performs at the 91st annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting in 2023

Photo: Scott Gries/NBC via Getty Images

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Liz Gillies Shares The Holiday Tunes That Make Her Feel Merriest

"I just remember being completely enveloped in Christmas music," the songstress says. Her collaboration with Seth MacFarlane, 'We Wish You the Merriest' is "as close to a classic feeling, warm, fuzzy, nostalgic Christmas album you’re gonna get."

GRAMMYs/Dec 22, 2023 - 02:28 pm

With a new album of holiday cheer, We Wish You the Merriest, under their belts, Liz Gillies and Seth MacFarlane have become one of the most popular recording duos of the season. Yet their sonic story goes back a decade.

Gillies, who starred as Fallon Carrington on "Dynasty," met the "Family Guy" at a karaoke bar and noticed they were singing in similar styles.  She was singing her go-to: Julie London’s "Cry Me a River" and recalls MacFarlane singing Frank Sinatra.

"We immediately realized that we both shared a deep love and affinity for this music," Gilles told GRAMMY.com by phone about their mutual admiration for jazz and crooning styles of the 1940s and 50s.

She started joining his Los Angeles concerts at the Catalina Jazz Club in 2014/2015 and then went with him on tour. "When you find somebody that you share that kind of common ground with and you have great chemistry with –  it sort of feels like you'd be doing a disservice not to explore it," she says.

They released a joint un-official album, Songs From Home, in spring 2021 and fans quickly clambered for a Christmas album. In November, Gillies and MacFarlane finally delivered.

Their 13-track We Wish You the Merriest features many classics — from "Frosty the Snowman" to "That Holiday Feeling" — sung in the styles of Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. "This is as close to a classic feeling, warm, fuzzy, nostalgic Christmas album you’re gonna get these days," Gilles says.

"Seth is sort of like this youthful energy, as much as he loves these older songs. I truly present myself like a 50 to 60 year old woman from 1950," says 30-year-old Gillies. "So onstage it really works. We love a lot of the same movies. A lot of the way we banter and our jokes are very similar." 

Singing has long been a part of Gillies' repertoire, beginning with her Broadway debut at 15 years old in "13: The Musical" alongside Ariana Grande. They both went on to star and sing on Nickelodeon’s "Victorious" and have sustained a friendship ever since. Gillies even appeared in Grande’s "Thank U, Next" music video.   

They recently went viral for their Halloween costume reveal. "We already know what we’re doing next year," Gillies teased. "We have this all mapped out. It's been a fun, new tradition that we started and it's just a blast. It lets us be wacky, free and creative."  

Asked whether they’d ever perform together again – Gillies said it’s all about timing. "If there’s an opportunity that makes sense, we would love to be on stage together, create something together. We're always talking about it," she said.  

Right now, the focus has been her partnership with MacFarlane.  

Recording a Christmas album was especially meaningful to Gillies, who  remembers listening to these classics during her childhood  in New Jersey. The holidays were "the most important time of year" for Gilles' music-loving family. "I just remember being completely enveloped in Christmas music," she recalls.

"[Holiday music] was very much a part of my childhood and a part of my upbringing in my education, musically," Gillies notes. "The fact that I'm even on a Christmas record — let alone with this amazing orchestra and with these arrangements — is pretty surreal for me. 

"They feel so familiar to me," she continues. "That's why I was happy to do a more classic album because I don't think I would succeed doing a pop Christmas album. I wouldn't know where to start." 

In honor of We Wish You the Merriest, Gillies shares some of her favorite holiday songs and why.  

"The Christmas Waltz" - Frank Sinatra 

"The Christmas Waltz" is one my grandma always would sing. She sang it the other night as well — I just had my family Christmas party this past weekend. We have so many traditions and so many beautiful memories and things that we do at parties during the holidays. 

I know it's Seth’s favorite Christmas song, I believe, and it's one of mine as well. Several members of my family play the piano and after dinner and before dessert, we always went over to the piano. [This happened] since I was a kid, and generations before I existed sang Christmas carols. 

"Winter Wonderland" - James Taylor 

I remember my dad having this huge stack of CDs and the first one always that went in was actually James Taylor's Christmas album, believe it or not. The first song on that album is "Winter Wonderland." Once that started, I would get a very Christmassy feeling in my house and I would know that it was Christmas time. 

"The Christmas Song" - Nat King Cole

To me, the quintessential Christmas song is "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole. That is the song I think Nat has, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful voices of all time. That song, no matter where I am when I hear it, I stop.   

"Sleigh Ride'' - Ella Fitzgerald

That's another one that I really love. It's so effortless, jazzy and fun. I tried to emulate little parts of each of these [songs] in our record although our arrangements are different.  

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - Frank Sinatra  

Judy [Garland’s version] is very beautiful and very sad, so I don't listen to it as much. Frank’s is almost haunting. I believe it starts acapella. It’s so beautiful and his voice sounds so rich and velvety. I love that version of that song.  

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GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016
Kendrick Lamar

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

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GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016

Upon winning the GRAMMY for Best Rap Album for 'To Pimp a Butterfly,' Kendrick Lamar thanked those that helped him get to the stage, and the artists that blazed the trail for him.

GRAMMYs/Oct 13, 2023 - 06:01 pm

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."

Looking for more GRAMMYs news? The 2024 GRAMMY nominations are here!

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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12 Actors Who Have Bands: Ryan Gosling, Keanu Reeves, Zoë Kravitz & More
Dogstar feat. Keanu Reeves

Photo: Brian Bowen Smith

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12 Actors Who Have Bands: Ryan Gosling, Keanu Reeves, Zoë Kravitz & More

The stage, screen and soundfield have always been intertwined. Just look at the music made by acclaimed actors from Ryan Gosling to Zoë Kravitz and Keanu Reeves.

GRAMMYs/Oct 2, 2023 - 07:31 pm

Singers in movies? It’s the most natural thing in the world. Elvis Presley did it, time and time again. More than six decades after Love Me Tender, Harry Styles and Jason Isbell have made the move from stage to screen. In between, you have 8 Mile, Crossroads, Crazy Heart… the list rolls on and on.

How about the reverse, though — actors who have bands, as a separate outlet from their work on the silver screen? There’s a rich history there. Ryan Gosling, currently in the spotlight for his witty Barbie performance, has played in the duo Dead Man’s Bones for some 15 years.

Again, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Jack Black’s film legacy runs in parallel to Tenacious D, the comedy-rock duo rocking our worlds since 1994. After taking the 2000s and 2010s off, Keanu Reeves’ Dogstar returns with Somewhere Between the Power Lines and the Palm Trees on Oct. 6.

Granted, this list doesn’t include actors who simply play music, like Jeff Bridges and Jeff Goldblum. Nor would it include Fred Armisen, the bandleader for “Late Night With Seth Meyers.” And if an actor was in a band but no longer is, like Jason Schwartzman in Phantom Planet, that would fall outside this metric.

In honor of this cross-media convergence, let’s take a non-chronological, by-no-means-exhaustive trip through the world of actors who have bands.

Keanu Reeves

Since 1991 — the year Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey was released — Reeves has rocked out in Dogstar.

They released their debut album, Our Little Visionary, in 1996; four years later, they rang in the new millennium with Happy Ending. Twenty -three years later, Dogstar released the uplifting single “Everything Turns Around,” with the full album on its way.

Jared Leto

Like fellow rockers Dogstar, Thirty Seconds to Mars — featuring Jared Leto and his brother Shannon Leto — have a new album in 2023: It’s the End of the World but It’s a Beautiful Day.

Though they’ve taken long breaks since their 1998 formation, they never fell out of the industry; since their 2002 self-titled debut, they’ve managed a couple of albums per decade.

Michael Cera

Lighthearted indie rockers  the Long Goodbye have not one, but two Hollywood actors in it — Michael Cera of Juno, Superbad and more, as well as Clark Duke, who you may remember from Hot Tub Time Machine. (He was also in bands Mister Heavenly with Honus Honus of Man Man, Nicholas Thorburn of Islands and the Unicorns, and Joe Plummer of Modest Mouse and the Shins.)

Zooey Deschanel

The rootsy, twee indie poppers She & Him seemed to typify the mid-2000s upon arrival, and maintained that charm as that milieu gave way to others. These days, the duo of M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel is content to cover classic Christmas songs and Brian Wilson.

Zoë Kravitz

The actress, singer and model — who’s recently been in blockbusters like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and The Batman — sings in the band Lolawolf, along with drummer and producer Jimmy Gianopoulos. (They’ve worked with eight-time GRAMMY winner Jack Antonoff.)

Michael Imperioli

The "Sopranos" star plays in the three-piece New York indie rock band ZOPA; as per Imperioli’s interest in Eastern-inspired transcendence, the band name means “patience” in Tibetan.

Steve Martin

While he may not have a regular band, the Father of the Bride star and banjo picker has made acclaimed work with the Steep Canyon Rangers, including in contexts like the much-missed radio show “A Prairie Home Companion.”

Michael C. Hall

Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum: that’s a mouthful! It’s also the name of “Dexter” and “Six Feet Under” star Michael C. Hall’s band with Blondie’s Matt Katz-Bohen and the Wallflowers’ Pedro Yanowitz.

Penn Badgley

The "Gossip Girl" and "You" star is the lead singer of Mothxr — which also includes the aforementioned Gianopoulos. While they haven’t released an album since their 2016 debut, “We'll all be making music for the rest of our lives,” Badgley has said.

Hugh Laurie

Dr. House himself hasmade blues music for years, and plays in the all-actor group Band From TV for charity. (Among its ranks: Greg Gunberg of “Alias” fame and James Denton from “Desperate Housewives.”)

Johnny Depp

Back in the 1970s, Alice Cooper formed the “Hollywood Vampires” drinking club, which included two Beatles and Harry Nilsson. He picked up the mantle once again with his band of the same name, which features Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and Johnny Depp.

Kevin Bacon

The Apollo 13 and Footloose star — as in “six degrees of…” — plays in the Bacon Brothers with his brother Michael; their latest album, The Way We Love, arrived in 2020.

Clearly, the conceit of a music-making screen star remains fresh — whether you’re a Bacon, Laurie or Depp enjoyer, or any other kind of pop culture disciple under the sun.

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Living Legends: Belinda Carlisle On L.A. Punk And Why People Need Pop Music Now More Than Ever
Belinda Carlisle

Photo: Nick Spanos

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Living Legends: Belinda Carlisle On L.A. Punk And Why People Need Pop Music Now More Than Ever

The Go-Go’s frontwoman is still living life on her own terms. In the midst of a national tour, Carlisle spoke to GRAMMY.com about coming up in SoCal's punk scene, working with Diane Warren, and developing confidence.

GRAMMYs/Jun 27, 2023 - 03:16 pm

Living Legends is a series that spotlights icons in music still going strong today. This week, GRAMMY.com spoke with Belinda Carlisle, singer of the groundbreaking rock group the Go-Go's and a solo act. Carlisle is currently on tour, supporting a new EP, Kismet.

Belinda Carlisle first fell in love with music when she was about 10 years old. Her family lived in the L.A area, and Carlisle would wile away the hours listening to records by the Beach Boys, the Animals, and Cat Stevens. Fast forward four years and Carlisle was a full-blown angsty adolescent, prone to skipping school and seeing what trouble she and her friends could get into. Though she managed to graduate high school, she bounced from job to job after, ultimately (and fortunately) leaving home around 19 to pursue music, thanks in part to a few nudges from Lorna Doom, bassist for foundational punk band the Germs, who she’d met in high school. 

Carlisle’s stint in the Germs was quick and dirty thanks to a bad case of mono, but she bounced back with aplomb, teaming up with a few friends, to form the group that would become the Go-Go’s. The group’s 1981 debut LP, Beauty And The Beat, hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts — the first record by an all-female rock ‘n’ roll band to do so. Two more hit records followed, with singles like "Our Lips Are Sealed," "We Got The Beat," and "Head Over Heels" helping The Go-Go’s cement their place in the pantheon of popular music. 

The Go-Go’s broke up in 1985 and Carlisle set out on a solo career. She snatched early success with singles like "Mad About You" and "In My Wildest Dreams,"but really hit it big with her second solo effort, 1987’s Heaven On Earth. That album's power pop production, boldly infectious title track and the Diane Warren-penned "I Get Weak" earned Carlisle a GRAMMY nomination. (The Go-Go’s also got one, for Best New Artist in 1982.)

Carlisle’s relationship with music has been on an interesting trajectory ever since. Her four pop records were tepidly received in the States and her two most recent solo full-lengths — 2007’s Voila and 2017’s Wilder Shoes — contained only French standards and Sikh chants, respectively. 

But on her new EP, Kismet, Carlisle is re-entering the pop space. A collaboration of sorts with Diane Warren, who penned all of the record’s tracks, Kismet is joyful and modern, with lead single "Big, Big Love" landing atop the charts for the UK’s Radio 2. It’s a welcome surprise for Carlisle, who’s currently out on the road doing live dates, including stops in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and New York.

GRAMMY.com spoke to Carlisle about her new record, her thoughts on the future of the Go-Gos, and why she thinks people need pop music now more than ever.

It’s been reported that this record is called Kismet in part because it came out of a chance encounter your son had with Diane Warren at a coffee shop. What really made you want to get back into the studio and release this record?

The songs. It’s as simple as that. I wasn't really planning to go back into the studio before, because I didn't really think that it would happen. Great songs usually go to artists that are already in the charts or younger artists, you know? And when I got the call, I was "Do I really want to do this?" 

It's a big commitment. But I felt like I needed to give it a chance, at least, and when I heard the songs, that's really what got me excited to do another English-language pop project in the vein of my older albums.

And it’s doing well! You’ve got the No. 1 single on the Radio 2 charts! 

It's totally unexpected. It's so weird. 

I had no expectations but I knew it was a really good project, and really good solid pop songs. My attitude has always been, I had a blast doing it, I know it's good work, the fans will love it, and we'll see what happens. And I've been totally surprised that, in countries around the world including the U.S., it has debuted in the top five. 

Tell us about your relationship with Diane Warren. Do you think a song like "Big Big Love" would work for anyone, or do you two just really just get each other?

Diane and I clicked when we first met. Through the years, we’ve run into each other on occasion, but when this whole thing started happening and I went to the studio to start working with her, it was like… you know how with certain friends you can just pick up where you left off and there's no feeling uncomfortable, no weirdness, and no getting to know each other? It’s like that.

I have a really good sense of myself. She has a really good sense of my voice. Weirdly enough, I loved every song that she presented to me. I mean, I'm normally very fussy. I don't just want to sing anything for the sake of doing it.I have to absolutely love it both lyrically and melodically, so it's tough. 

How was that sense of self that you have changed over the years? Do you see yourself differently now than you did in ‘87? Or even in ‘97?

I was really insecure in the mid-‘80s when I embarked on my solo career. I was really lucky to work with [Producer] Rick Nowels on Heaven On Earth, because I was kind of like his muse and he took me under his wing. And it just so happened that I loved his songwriting and Ellen Shipley’s and Diane’s, so I was lucky in that way but I still was insecure about my voice and insecure in a lot of different ways. 

I think as I've gotten older and especially after I got sober like 18 years ago it’s gotten a bit better. I thought, Okay, this is really what I'm meant to be doing and obviously, I'm good at what I do. It may not be the best voice but it's distinctive. And I’ve been really working on my voice and not taking it for granted, too. 

I just think overall now I have confidence that I didn't have when I was younger, and even when I was younger and successful. 

I wanted to ask about the Go-Go’s being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a few years ago. You were quoted after the fact saying that you didn’t think the experience would be that amazing but that, in reality, it really was. Tell me what you meant, and why it meant so much to you all in that moment. 

Of course, it's great to get recognition. What we did was amazing. There's no doubt about that. I don't really care about awards, but it's the whole thing about how when you actually get an award, it's pretty cool. It feels really good. 

That night was a great way to cement the legacy of the band and the hard work that we put into it for 40-odd years. I don't think I've ever felt such an enormous wave of love for the band. It really kind of took me aback, actually. I knew that people liked us, but this was like this amazing, energetic sort of wave. And of course you’re performing in front of your peers and people like Paul McCartney, which was, in the end, even more amazing than I expected.

You've known Diane Warren for almost 40 years. You've known the women in the Go-Go's for longer than that? How have your relationships changed in that time? 

There are very complicated dynamics in a band full of five women that have been together for that long, for sure. But I think that when we all were sitting at the Sundance festival, when the documentary [about The Go-Go’s] was being premiered… Some people didn't look up to the band as ground breakers or whatever, but when we saw what we did on the big screen, it was like, wow, we did that.

When you see it kind of encapsulated in the story that was told really well and that captured the essence of the band, I think it made all of us have a new respect for each other. Maybe through the years, we might have taken each other for granted,  but that changed seeing that documentary. 

It's family. It's not even friends or colleagues. We know each other like the back of our hand. We might not see each other for years and years but whenever we get back into the rehearsal studio, it’s like riding a bike. We pick up where you left off. 

The same goes with Diane. You pick up where you left off, and not just work-wise but friendship wise. She's not a good friend, but she's still a friend and we just really gel. Even if she wasn't the greatest living songwriter at this moment, I would still probably have her as a friend because I like her a lot as a person.

**Let’s talk about your time coming up in the L.A. punk scene in the late ‘70s. It is sort of staggering to think all that was happening around the same time Laurel Canyon was still churning and Fleetwood Mac was releasing Rumours. Talk to me about what it was like to be with the Germs and in that scene at that time. Sometimes, the actual group of people who start something like that can be very small, but in the end it turns out to be so significant.**

In retrospect, everything around the world was different. London was angry and political and New York was sort of dark and junky. Detroit was hardcore working class. But in L.A. and in Southern California, there wasn't a whole lot to be angry about really in the late ‘70s. 

It was kind of a sparkle. I don't know how to put it into words, because it was an energy that was very much about art. That was a big part of the punk scene. It was kind of sparkly, somehow, and that was probably because of the magic that California had back then. 

I was one of the original punks. I met Darby [Crash] and Pat [Smear, of the Germs] trying to get Freddie Mercury's autograph at the Beverly Hilton back in 1977. That was at the very beginning of the punk scene and the Germs did the very first punk show or one of the very first punk shows in L.A. at a horrifying theater on Holloway Drive in West Hollywood. It's not there anymore but we knew that it was something special. 

It exploded really fast. It was 50 kids then all of a sudden it was 500 kids and then 5,000 kids. There were beach punks, Hollywood punks, Valley punks…  There was an energy in the air. Everything was so exciting. I lived in this punk rock crash pad called Disgraceland that’s kind of infamous — but I remember saying, "It's so lucky that we can realize this in the moment and know that we're part of something that is really special." Those kinds of movements don't come along very often and we were there at the very beginning. It was an incredible, incredible experience.

And to have the fortitude and foresight to say, "I don't play an instrument, but I'm going to figure it out and we're going to put something together." I mean, the Go-Go’s really happened pretty fast, from inception to No. 1. 

Well, we were kids and, of course, it was the American dream where anything is possible. We were prime examples of that. Everybody was in a band, really, because the scene was so small, but not everybody was that good. We didn't have to be good. 

That was part of the beauty of the punk scene is that we didn't really have to be musicians. We could learn as we went along, and that's what we did. We were lucky to have gotten a lot of guitar lessons and vocal lessons along the way from other bands, too. 

Are you still in touch with Pat Smear?

Yes, because Pat and I were in our first band together so when [Smear’s current band] the Foo Fighters got into inducted into the Rock Hall, the Go-Go’s were the same year, so we had a conversation on the phone, like, "Isn't it weird to go from the Germs to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?" It was very sweet and funny.

How do you define your musical style at this point? If you had to say put Belinda Carlisle in a subsection of music, what would it be? 

Sort of anthemic, melodic pop, I think. Maybe romantic pop songs with complicated melodies? There's a little bit of sadness in a lot of my songs and especially in my earlier catalog, but, really, I guess I would just say "good solid pop songs," which people may write off, but they're really important. 

I just did a big tour in the UK that was sold out every night. In the UK, 20 years ago, I was doing little clubs where maybe 20 people would show up because I really had some serious issues going on, but now I’m doing these big shows? And so when I was doing this tour that was packed with people, I just realized that people need pop music. It brings joy to people. People can escape, and especially in this world right now, that’s really, really important. 

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