Between the nominees and performers for the 63rd GRAMMY Awards, female artists are an undeniable force to be reckoned with this year. Pandora LIVE's Countdown To The GRAMMY Awards on Thursday, March 12, was further proof of the abundant girl power, honoring GRAMMY nominees CHIKA, Brittany Howard and HAIM. Hosted by Chair & Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy Harvey Mason jr., the virtual GRAMMY Week event featured dynamic performances and an insightful interview with all of the above women.

Before the performances began, everyone spoke on the releases that resulted in their GRAMMY nominations. CHIKA remarkably earned her first nod following her debut project with Warner Records, Industry Games (the rapper/singer is nominated for Best New Artist). Perhaps even more notable, the album arrived just as COVID-19 hit last year. "I haven't gotten the normal experience that an artist has once they put out their first project to see the reaction," she said. "So, to get this acknowledgment in such a high regard off of my first year out is incredible to me, but also still something I'm processing." 

Howard touched on the doubts that arise when making a new record but ultimately had one way to describe her five nominations: "I'm shooketh." HAIM, who told Howard they can relate to the uncertainty artists often feel, discussed how the process of their album Women In Music Pt. III—up for Album of the Year—aligns with the isolation the world has seen in the pandemic.

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"When we wrote this record in particular, we were all collectively in a depressive spiral," Este Haim, the group's bassist, said. "I think we all felt really isolated, so a lot of the subject matter on Women in Music Pt. III is about feeling alone. And then, lo and behold, we put out this record in the middle of a pandemic, where everyone collectively feels some version of loneliness. We're just really happy that it resonated with people during this really insane, crazy time in our lives. We just want to make people not feel so lonely."

The women bonded over several things in their conversation, with the most significant commonality being how much they all miss touring. "That's what we're so excited about," Danielle Haim said. "People are going to want to see live music so bad that I hope we're going to just be playing our asses off." Echoed Este, "It's going to be the Roaring '20s 100 years later."

"Music is such an energy exchange that making it is ... if you're doing it right, you feel exhausted afterward," CHIKA added. "The way that humans typically recharge is being in an electrifying room with people who genuinely support you … But there is no recharge unless you've begun to pivot and adapt to the circumstances that we're all under right now."

It was easy to see that all three artists are itching to get back in front of an audience, as they each gave their performances their all. CHIKA was up first, delivering a captivating medley of her tracks "My Power" and "On My Way." She closed with a sultry song titled "FWB," the lead single from her latest EP, Once Upon a Time, which arrived just hours after the performance.

Another topic everyone agreed upon was their desire not to be defined by one genre. Howard's GRAMMY nods particularly prove that she really is genreless: Her album Jaime spawned nominations in the Rock, Alternative, R&B, and American Roots Music categories.

"I love everything, I like everything," Howard explained of her boundary-pushing sound. "I find life to be really suspenseful. Experiences, emotions, colors—it's just musical to me. All of that belongs in my music. I'm just putting out what I'm experiencing. The fact that I'm nominated across all of these genres makes perfect sense to me. That's how I absorb sounds, whatever it is."

Howard flexed her versatility with her four-song performance, playing Jaime tracks "Stay High," "Baby," "Goat Head," and "13th Century Metal." Her stage setup transported viewers to the venue, as she had a full backing band and a draped curtain backdrop illuminated by blue and pink lighting. The bridge of "13th Century Metal" felt like Howard was leading a congregation as she chanted, "We are all brothers and sisters!" and tromped around the stage with strobe lights flashing around her.

HAIM closed out the show with four effervescent tunes. Although they opted not to play their Best Rock Performance honoree "The Steps," the sisters did stick to tracks from Women In Music Pt. III, including "Summer Girl," "Gasoline" and "I've Been Down." For the final song, HAIM's lead singer Danielle tackled "Man From the Magazine" solo with an acoustic guitar, making for a powerful finish to the female-dominated event.

Before signing off, the women teased that this might not be the last time fans see them all in one place. "I'll produce beats for you, CHIKA," Howard offered, to which Haim's Este yelled, "I'll play bass!" CHIKA excitedly urged, "We need to trade contact info." If the night's performances were any indication, that would be one heck of a collaboration.

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At the 2024 GRAMMYs, Taylor Swift became the artist with the most Album Of The Year awards in GRAMMY history with four total wins. But her first record-breaking AOTY moment traces back eight years ago, when she became the first woman to win the category twice.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, relive the moment she won the historic golden gramophone for her iconic fifth studio album, 1989, at the 2016 GRAMMYs.

“I want to thank the fans for the last 10 years,” Swift beamed, praising her loyal fanbase, the Swifties. She later acknowledged the Recording Academy for “this unbelievable honor” and the project’s main producer, Max Martin, who “deserved to be up there for 25 years.”

Before she left the stage, she offered an inspiring message to aspiring female musicians in light of her groundbreaking win. “To all the young women, there are going to be people along the way who try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame,” she explained. “But if you just focus on the work and don’t let those people sidetrack you, someday, when you get where you’re going, you’ll look around and know that it was you and the people who love you who put you there. That will be the greatest feeling in the world.”

Check out Taylor Swift’s complete acceptance speech for her second Album Of The Year win, before diving into the release of The Tortured Poets Department, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

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The Recording Academy has partnered with leading online learning platform Coursera on GRAMMY GO, a new online initiative to offer classes tailored for music creators and industry professionals.

This partnership empowers the next generation of the music community with practical, up-to-the moment digital content that provides wisdom for both emerging and established members of the industry. Continuing the Academy’s ongoing mission to serve all music people, courses cover a variety of specializations tailored to creative and professional growth. 

GRAMMY GO on Coursera includes courses taught by Recording Academy members, featuring GRAMMY winners and nominees and offers real-life lessons learners can put to work right away.

Starting today, enrollment is open for GRAMMY GO’s first Coursera specialization, "Building Your Audience for Music Professionals," taught by Joey Harris, international music/marketing executive and CEO of Joey Harris Inc. The course features Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and five-time GRAMMY winner Jimmy Jam, 10-time GRAMMY nominee Janelle Monáe and three-time GRAMMY winner and the 2024 GRAMMYs Best New Artist Victoria Monét. This foundational specialization will help participants gain the skills, knowledge and confidence to build a strong brand presence and cultivate a devoted audience within the ever-changing music industry. 

The partnership’s second course, launching later this summer, aims to strengthen the technological and audio skills of a music producer. "Music Production: Crafting An Award-Worthy Song" will be taught by Carolyn Malachi, Howard University professor and GRAMMY nominee, and will include appearances by GRAMMY winner CIRKUT, three-time GRAMMY winner Hit-Boy, artist and celebrity vocal coach Stevie Mackey, five-time GRAMMY nominee and Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr., and 15-time GRAMMY winner Judith Sherman. Pre-enrollment for "Music Production: Crafting An Award-Worthy Song" opens today.

"Whether it be through a GRAMMY Museum program, GRAMMY Camp or GRAMMY U, the GRAMMY organization is committed to helping music creators flourish, and the Recording Academy is proud to introduce our newest learning platform, GRAMMY GO, in partnership with Coursera," said Panos A. Panay, President of the Recording Academy. "A creator’s growth path is ongoing and these courses have been crafted to provide learners with the essential tools to grow in their professional and creative journeys."

"We are honored to welcome GRAMMY GO, our first entertainment partner, to the Coursera community," said Marni Baker Stein, Chief Content Officer at Coursera. "With these self-paced online specializations, aspiring music professionals all over the world have an incredible opportunity to learn directly from iconic artists and industry experts. Together with GRAMMY GO, we can empower tomorrow's pioneers of the music industry to explore their passion today."

GRAMMY GO also serves as the music community’s newest digital hub for career pathways and editorial content that provides industry insights for members of the industry; visit go.grammy.com for more. For information and enrollment, please visit the landing pages for "Building Your Audience for Music Professionals" and "Music Production: Crafting An Award-Worthy Song."

Meet 5 GRAMMY Nominees Who Started At GRAMMY U: From Boygenius Engineer Sarah Tudzin To Pentatonix’s Scott Hoying

As a founding member of the National Recording Preservation Board, the Recording Academy was instrumental in lobbying and getting the board created by Congress. Now, the Library of Congress has added new treasures to the National Recording Registry, preserving masterpieces that have shaped American culture.

The 2024 class not only celebrates modern icons like Green Day’s punk classic Dookie and Biggie Smalls' seminal Ready to Die, but also honors vintage gems like Gene Autry’s "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and Perry Como’s hits from 1957. These recordings join over 650 titles that constitute the registry — a curated collection housed within the Library’s vast archive of nearly 4 million sound recordings. 

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced these additions as essential pieces of our nation’s audio legacy, each selected for their cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance. This selection process is influenced by public nominations, which hit a record number this year, emphasizing the public's role in preserving audio history.

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"The Library of Congress is proud to preserve the sounds of American history and our diverse culture through the National Recording Registry," Hayden said. "We have selected audio treasures worthy of preservation with our partners this year, including a wide range of music from the past 100 years, as well as comedy. We were thrilled to receive a record number of public nominations, and we welcome the public’s input on what we should preserve next."

The latest selections named to the registry span from 1919 to 1998 and range from the recordings of the all-Black 369th U.S. Infantry Band led by James Reese Europe after World War I, to defining sounds of jazz and bluegrass, and iconic recordings from pop, dance, country, rock, rap, Latin and classical music.

"For the past 21 years the National Recording Preservation Board has provided musical expertise, historical perspective and deep knowledge of recorded sound to assist the Librarian in choosing landmark recordings to be inducted into the Library’s National Recording Registry," said Robbin Ahrold, Chair of the National Recording Preservation Board. "The board again this year is pleased to join the Librarian in highlighting influential works in our diverse sound heritage, as well as helping to spread the word on the National Recording Registry through their own social media and streaming media Campaigns."

Tune in to NPR's "1A" for "The Sounds of America" series, featuring interviews with Hayden and selected artists, to hear stories behind this year’s picks. Stay connected to the conversation about the registry via social media and listen to many of the recordings on your favorite streaming service.

For more details on the National Recording Registry and to explore more about the selections, visit The Library of Congress's official National Recording Registry page.

National Recording Registry, 2024 Selections (chronological order)

1. "Clarinet Marmalade" – Lt. James Reese Europe’s 369th U.S. Infantry Band (1919)

2. "Kauhavan Polkka" – Viola Turpeinen and John Rosendahl (1928)

3. Wisconsin Folksong Collection (1937-1946)

4. "Rose Room" – Benny Goodman Sextet with Charlie Christian (1939)

5. "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" – Gene Autry (1949)

6. "Tennessee Waltz" – Patti Page (1950)

7. "Rocket ‘88’" – Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats (1951)

8. "Catch a Falling Star" / "Magic Moments" – Perry Como (1957)

9. "Chances Are" – Johnny Mathis (1957)

10. "The Sidewinder" – Lee Morgan (1964)

11. "Surrealistic Pillow" – Jefferson Airplane (1967)

12. "Ain’t No Sunshine" – Bill Withers (1971)

13. "This is a Recording" – Lily Tomlin (1971)

14. "J.D. Crowe & the New South" – J.D. Crowe & the New South (1975)

15. "Arrival" – ABBA (1976)

16. "El Cantante" – Héctor Lavoe (1978)

17. "The Cars" – The Cars (1978)

18. "Parallel Lines" – Blondie (1978)

19. "La-Di-Da-Di" – Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick (MC Ricky D) (1985)

20. "Don’t Worry, Be Happy" – Bobby McFerrin (1988)

21. "Amor Eterno" – Juan Gabriel (1990)

22. "Pieces of Africa" – Kronos Quartet (1992)

23. Dookie – Green Day (1994)

24. Ready to Die – The Notorious B.I.G. (1994)

25. "Wide Open Spaces" – The Chicks (1998)

21 Albums Turning 50 In 2024: 'Diamond Dogs,' 'Jolene,' 'Natty Dread' & More

Following a two-year hiatus, the GRAMMY Museum and Recording Academy are reinstating the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame on its 50th anniversary. The momentous event will be celebrated with an inaugural gala and concert on Tuesday, May 21, at the NOVO Theater in Los Angeles; tickets and performers for the event will be announced at a later date. As part of the return, 10 recordings, including four albums and six singles, will be newly inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame later this year.

The GRAMMY Hall Of Fame was established by the Recording Academy's National Trustees in 1973 to honor recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that are at least 25 years old. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of the recording arts with final ratification by the Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees. There are currently 1,152 inducted recordings in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. View the full list GRAMMY Hall Of Fame past inductees.

This year, the GRAMMY Museum’s GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Gala will be the first of what will become an annual event, and includes a red carpet and VIP reception on the newly opened Ray Charles Terrace at the GRAMMY Museum, followed by a one-of-a-kind concert at the NOVO Theater in Downtown Los Angeles.

The inaugural gala and concert is produced by longtime executive producer of the GRAMMY Awards, Ken Ehrlich, along with Chantel Sausedo and Ron Basile and will feature musical direction by globally renowned producer and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes. For sponsorship opportunities, reach out to halloffame@grammymuseum.org.

Keep watching this space for more exciting news about the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame!

2024 GRAMMYs: See The Full Winners & Nominees List