The wait is over, as the linuep for "Motown 60: A GRAMMY Celebration" has been revealed! Hosted by Cedric the Entertainer and GRAMMY winner Smokey Robinson, the tribute to the iconic sound that changed America will feature Boyz II Men, Chloe X Halle, Ciara, Lamont Dozier, Fantasia, Brian & Eddie Holland, Thelma Houston, Tori Kelly, John Legend, Little Big Town, NE-YO, Pentatonix, Martha Reeves, Diana Ross, Valerie Simpson, Mickey Stevenson, Meghan Trainor, and Stevie Wonder. 

The live concert taping was held Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m. PT at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, just two days after Music's Biggest Night, the 61st GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 10, 2019. 

"If you're sitting in a house and a Motown song comes on, you have no other choice but to ... dance, you know what I mean? It just makes you feel good," Fantasia said backstage during the taping. "It's just feel good music. Berry Gordy, he just had it. He had the ear, he knew what was good for people and they did their thing."

The special will be broadcast on April 21, 2019, on CBS. Tickets are now on sale and available for purchase at AXS.com.

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Motown legend Martha Reeves had quite a day.

On March 27, the 82-year-old singer finally got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Flanked by Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and Berry Gordy, Reeves donned a pearl and gold strapless gown with a show-stopping hat for the celebration. That evening, Reeves was the star of a conversation at the GRAMMY Museum in downtown Los Angeles.

Reeves was definitely riding high that night. "I’m gonna try to calm down. I’ve been excited all day," Reeves told moderator Gail Mitchell, longtime Billboard Executive Director of R&B and Hip-Hop. 

Born in Alabama but raised in the Motor City, Martha Reeves was the lead singer of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. The Motown girl group is responsible for 1960s and 1970s classics such as "Dancing in the Street," "My Baby Loves Me," "Jimmy Mack," "Nowhere to Run," "(Love is Like a ) Heatwave," and "Bless You." Following her time at Motown, Reeves went on to have a solo career and was even an elected councilwoman in Detroit. The GRAMMY-nominated artist was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. 

Throughout the evening, the Motown diva — now in a lavish purple and silver top — had the audience at the Museum's Clive Davis Theater singing along to her classics, laughing as she strolled down Motown memory lane, and even tearing up as she got personal.  She even teased that she might have a new album in store.

Read on for five things we learned from Martha Reeves' free-flowing, laugh-filled conversation at the GRAMMY Museum. 

She Had To Fight To Get Her Hollywood Star 

Reeves crossed paths with many legendary names over the course of her career. But one of the first people she shouted out wasn’t a star, but her manager Chris Roe. "He’s brought me a long way in just a couple of years." Reeves said of the industry veteran. During the Q&A segment of her conversation, Reeves even brought Roe on stage. 

Her gratitude makes sense for a number of reasons. Reeves was first nominated for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2021 but the process stagnated, Roe said, because of representation that wasn’t truly in Motown singer’s corner. Reeves' management at the time, Roe noted, was treating the soul icon like a shiny trophy rather than an active musician.

The two first met when Roe was in Detroit on business; a year later Roe went all in to raise money and make her Walk of Fame star dream a reality. Onstage at the Museum, Reeves recalled walking down Hollywood Boulevard with her son in the 1970s (Reeves moved to L.A. for a time when Motown relocated to Southern California), reading the names of the stars. Her young son said Reeves should have her own marker, and his poignant memory was finally brought to fruition.

Martha Reeves Credits Berry Gordy And Motown For Having "A Vision"

"How did Berry Gordy manage to get all of those people in one place? It was like corralling in a Western," Reeves said of Motown's incredible roster of talent in the '60s. 

She added that, never in her wildest dreams, did she think she would soar so high alongside musical geniuses like Smokey Robinson and songwriting/production team Holland-Dozier-Holland (who arranged songs for the likes of the Four Tops and the Supremes during a piping-hot run during the mid-1960s). 

Occasionally, instead of answering questions, Reeves would burst into song. "I can’t describe it," Reeves said at one point while describing Motown's musical resonance. "But I can make you feel it." 

Reeves noted that it was tough to think of one particular moment that wasn’t exciting or that paved the way for future success. She calls everything an "adventure or a challenge." 

She did say that her first tour was grueling, consisting of 94 one-nighters and only one motel chain who would allow Black guests.

She Learned A Lot While On Tour With Motown

Reeves went from playfully talking about how "fine" Marvin Gaye was and being around different kinds of artists on cross-country Motortown Revue bus trips, to more serious topics like the integration of Black music during the turbulent 1960s. 

She recalled a particularly harrowing moment when the Revue arrived in Montgomery, Alabama in 1963 when the Vandellas, the Marvelettes, the Miracles, the Temptations, and others were performing for a segregated audience in a horse-training arena with American and Confederate flags. While Smokey Robinson and the Miracles performed "Mickey’s Monkey," men with baseball bats separated the audience — Black on one side, white on the other. 

But Robinson stepped to the microphone and challenged convention. He just wanted to make sure that everyone just had a good time and could dance. "We’ve come a long way. Music is the reason," Reeves told the audience. 

She Remembers Her Solo Work Fondly, Too

After Reeves and the Vandellas disbanded and Reeves left Motown, she released her eponymous debut solo album in 1974 on MCA Records. Producer Richard Perry came in to work on the album with her, resulting in many hits. 

Reeves spoke a lot about one track, "Many Rivers to Cross," which involved 110 takes and a 40-piece choir. "He was that diligent in getting the sound he wanted. [A] very profound producer," Reeves said of Perry. Reeves said she's very proud of "Dixie Highway," an ode to Reeves’s Alabama root. 

Reeves said that her mother and father — who had 11 children — taught her "everything" and that she was a very loved child. In fact, her parents fostered her musical talents from an early age, her mother helping with her singing and her father putting her on his lap as he played guitar. 

Reeves Gave Her Hometown Love, And They Gave It Back

Reeves served as an elected councilwoman in Detroit from 2005 to 2009. "You have to be careful what you ask for," Reeves said with a laugh about her time in politics. She calls the whole experience "an education." 

Because of Reeves’s efforts in local politics, Detroit is home to Berry Gordy Jr. Boulevard, the street on which, fittingly, the Motown Museum is located. 

Some of her fans and friends from Detroit made it all the way to the GRAMMY Museum for the event, donning Martha Reeves shirts and carrying Vandellas records. Several times, Reeves shouted out a friend who is a dance teacher. "I love you so for being here." 

Some of the most moving moments of Martha Reeves' conversation came during the audience Q&A session. One member of the audience recalled meeting Reeves in New York shortly after his mother — a longtime fan of Reeves' — passed away; he shared the comfort his conversation with the singer brought him while grieving. Another attendee said he was a Detroit radio DJ and once received a ride home with Reeves; and yet another member of the audience spoke passionately about seeing the Motown Revue as a young man, and how the event was one of his first experiences in a desegregated scenario. 

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This year, April brings more than just showers to beget May flowers. Instead, there must be something in the stars: In the fourth month of 2024, four artists are releasing their fourth studio albums. These are pop-rock band X Ambassadors’ Townie, R&B singer Bryson Tiller’s Bryson Tiller, rapper PartyNextDoor’s P4, and Irish rockers Picture This’ Parked Car Conversations.

Numerology aside, April will also contemplate exciting new works from pop masters Taylor Swift, whose The Tortured Poets Department drops mid-month, and St. Vincent’s All Born Screaming, country star ERNEST’s Nashville, Tennessee, jazz master Kenny Garrett and electronic producer Svoy’s What Killed AI?, and — allegedly — the second part of Future and Metro Boomin’s first joint-effort, We Don’t Trust You.

There’s music for all tastes ready to fill your playlists for the rest of the year. Read on for 15 of the most exciting albums dropping in April 2024.

TOMORROW X TOGETHER - minisode 3: TOMORROW 

Release date: April 1

Luckily, fans of the K-pop quintet TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT) rarely have to wait for new music. Six months after releasing their third studio album, The Name Chapter: Freefall, the group is gearing up to release minisode 3: TOMORROW.

The seven-song EP is fronted by upcoming lead single "Deja Vu," which is said to mix trap, rage, and emo rock into their signature emotional intensity, as per a press release. The other tracks continue to expand the group’s versatility, experimenting with pop rock, house, and acoustic guitars. 

As usual, the concept of the album is connected to TXT’s overarching lore, and features several references to their past works — track "- --- -- --- ·-· ·-· --- ·–," for example, evokes their debut era where Morse Code was used in teasers and in the single "Crown."

TXT will embark on their Act: Promise World Tour starting May 3-5 in Seoul, South Korea, and then head to the U.S. for 11 shows across the country, including two dates at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Conan Gray - Found Heaven

Release date: April 5

Gen Z popstar Conan Gray has Found Heaven. After 2022’s Superache, his upcoming third album was co-produced by legendaries Max Martin, Greg Kurstin, and Shawn Everett, among others.

Gray had been teasing the 13-track record since last year with a slew of buoyant, '80s-tinged singles ("Never Ending Song," "Killing Me" and "Lonely Dancers") and poignant, Elton John-esque ballads ("Winner," "Alley Rose"). "When I was making the album, I was really obsessively listening to music of that era," he explained to NME. "I think also, because it was a deeply emotional time, I was almost hiding from reality. I didn’t listen to a song from the 2020s during the making of this album."

To celebrate this new, holy era, Gray will be touring Australia in July, North America in September and October, and Europe and the UK in November. "I want people to know that I was having fun and goofing around, and I want you to smile and I want you to feel like you can just be yourself," he added. "I just want the album to be a reminder to people that you can be so many things all at once."

Sinkane - We Belong 

Release date: April 5

Ahmed Gallab, the Sudanese American multi-instrumentalist behind Sinkane, has built his discography resisting musical genres. We Belong, his upcoming eighth studio album, is no different: it combines pop, funk, electronic, afrobeats, disco, and more into "a love letter to Black music," per a press release.

Sinkane’s first album since 2019’s Dépaysé, We Belong features 10 tracks and participations by Bilal, Money Mark, STOUT, and others. Each song tells the story of a different era in Black music and history, laced with love and hope for the future: the disco groove of "Come Together," the gospel choirs of "Everything Is Everything," the funky bassline of "How Sweet is Your Love."

Along with live band the Message, Sinkane has announced a select 10-city tour in the U.S., starting May 3 in New York City and wrapping up on June 9 in Pioneertown, California.

X Ambassadors - Townie

Release date: April 5

**Pop rock trio X Ambassadors dive deep into nostalgia for Townie, their fourth studio album. The record was inspired by their experience of growing up in the small city of Ithaca, New York, and how it shaped who they are.**

"As a grown man, I’ve fallen back in love with upstate NY, and I oddly feel blessed to have had something to rally so hard against/fight to escape from as a kid," vocalist Sam Harris said in a statement. "No Strings," the first single off the project, is an anthem for that restless feeling, and anchors their concept in a haunting, propulsive melody. "Your Town" and "Half-Life" continue the journey, although taking more melancholy tones.

X Ambassadors first set off their Townie tour in Europe and the UK during February and March. On the day of the release, they will begin the North American leg of the tour in Vancouver, Canada.

Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us 

Release date: April 5

Five years after releasing their latest record, 2019’s Father of the Bride, indie band Vampire Weekend will drop their fifth studio album, Only God Was Above Us.

According to a press release, frontman Ezra Koenig wrote most of the songs in 2019-2020, and spent the last five years refining them with bandmates Chris Baio and Chris Tomson. The result is a collection of 10 "direct yet complex" tracks, "showing the band at once at its grittiest, and also at its most beautiful and melodic," as seen in singles "CAprilicorn," "Gen-X Cops," and "Classical."

In addition to a sold out performance in Austin, Texas that will coincide with the total eclipse on April 8 and a headline show at Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, Vampire Weekend has announced an extensive North American tour throughout summer and fall.

Bryson Tiller - Bryson Tiller

Release date: April 5

Grab your tickets to Bryson Tiller’s upcoming tour while you can: he might go on a hiatus right after. That’s what the R&B singer and rapper told Complex, alleging that his number one passion is actually video games. "I've been designing a game for the past three years; been looking into internships for different companies. That's what I want to prioritize after this album comes out."

The album Tiller refers to is his eponymous fourth LP, a 19-track collection that includes a feature by Victoria Monét, and is described as "seamlessly blending R&B, dancehall, pop, drill, trapsoul, neo-soul, and hip hop" in a press release. "Bryson Tiller is not just an album; it's a declaration of artistic independence and a tribute to the relentless pursuit of greatness."

The project’s three alluring singles ("Outside," "Whatever She Wants," and "CALYPSO") exemplify how Tiller pushed the boundaries of R&B even more, and solidified his identity as one of music’s most singular artists. "My No. 1 goal with this album is just for everybody on Earth to hear it one time," Tiller also told Complex. "My guarantee is that they'll love [at least] one song."

Tori Kelly - TORI.

Release date: April 5

"You think you know who Tori Kelly is, but this album will prove that maybe you didn’t," said the YouTube-star-turned-singer in a NME interview about her fifth studio album, TORI. "I feel like I’m stepping into my power and owning my craft."

Her first LP since 2020’s A Tori Kelly Christmas, TORI. took inspiration from '90s and early aughts R&B and pop, as heard on singles "Missin U" and "Cut." "I was trying to create this world of nostalgia, but also there’s that balance with [TORI.] feeling fresh and new," she said. Comprising 15 tracks, it also includes participations by Ayra Starr in "Unbelievable," LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Chae-won on "Spruce," and Jon Bellion — who co-wrote and produced the album — on "Young Gun."

During the creation process, Kelly told Bellion that her guidelines were to be able to "belt out [songs] in the car" and "dance" to them, like one can do in the powerful "High Water." As far as it goes, it looks like they accomplished their mission.

Kelly will kick off her Purple Skies North American tour on April 12 in Ventura, California, and conclude it on May 3 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Future & Metro Boomin - TBA / We Still Don’t Trust You 

Release date: April 12

Rap titans Future and Metro Boomin have been personal friends and work peers for over a decade, but their first collaborative album is only coming out now. We Don’t Trust You, the first installment of a double album, dropped on March 22, while the second part — titled yet to be announced — is slated to release on April 12.

In We Don’t Trust You, the duo showcased their flawless chemistry with grandiose tracks, haunting trap beats, and star-studded features, such as "Like That" with Kendrick Lamar, "Young Metro" with The Weeknd, and "Type S—" with Travis Scott and Playboi Carti. As Metro defined in an interview with Complex, "it’s the classic Future and Metro, but just updated."

So far, no further details have been shared about the second album, but expectations remain high for the duo to outdo the first effort.

girl in red - I'M DOING IT AGAIN BABY!

Release date: April 12

"I wanted to sincerely apologize for the events that happened directly after the release of my second album, I'M DOING IT AGAIN BABY!" prefaced Norwegian singer girl in red — real name Marie Ulven — on a solemn social media video last month. But while viewers caught their breaths, she revealed it was all a witty joke: the album will only come out on Aprilil 12.

"This is a big year for me. 2024 is, like, my year," she added in the video. I'M DOING IT AGAIN BABY! follows Ulven’s 2021 debut If I Could Make It Go Quiet, but feels "more fun and more playful, and a little bit more confident," as she told Billboard. Lead track "Too Much" brings that novelty heads on, while singles "Doing It Again Baby" and "You Need Me Now?" with Sabrina Carpenter prove that Ulven’s powerful pop is only getting better.

Ulven will kick off her Doing It Again tour from April 16-June 2 in North America, and from Aug.27-Oct. 5 in Europe.

Kenny Garrett & Svoy - Who Killed AI?  

Release date: April 12

For his first electronic foray, NEA Jazz Master and GRAMMY-winning saxophonist Kenny Garrett enlisted the acclaimed producer-musician Svoy. The result is Who Killed AI?, a seven-track daring exploration of jazz and pop culture.

"The first two songs are really reminiscent of Miles [Davis]," Garrett shared in a statement. "The way I’m stretching the melody — that’s how I played with Miles." The opener and lead single "Ascendence" is a strong preview of what’s to come: distorted synths and drum and bass beats fused with Garrett’s fun and brilliant lines, a compelling portrait of what the future of music can be.

Later in the year, Garrett plans to take the album on a live tour. "I think my fans will find this interesting," Garrett shared in a statement. "Some people forget that my teacher was Miles Davis. So for me, it’s not that I have to do something different. It is just something that I do. All you have to do is present the music and let them take the journey." 

ERNEST - Nashville, Tennessee 

Release date: April 12

Early in March, singer/songwriter ERNEST announced on social media that he would be running for mayor in order to "legalize country music." Of course, fans started to get their hopes up for new music — and they were right. The plot was just part of his promotion for the newly announced Nashville, Tennessee, out April 12.

A tour de force with 26 tracks, the record features a bevy of guest stars: from Jelly Roll ("I Went To College, I Went To Jail"), to Lainey Wilson ("Would If I Could"), and ERNEST's two-year-old son, Ryman Saint. It also includes a bluegrass cover of Radiohead’s "Creep" with HARDY, and a cover of John Mayer’s "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room."

In addition to "I Went To College, I Went To Jail," four other advance tracks have been shared: "Why Dallas" with Lukas Nelson, "Ain’t As Easy," "Ain’t Too Late," and "How’d We Get Here."

Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department 

Release date: April 19

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On the same night that she won her  lucky 13th GRAMMY for Best Pop Vocal Album with 2022’s Midnights, Taylor Swift also announced her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department. Coming out April 19, the record will feature 16 tracks and collaborations by Florence + the Machine on "Florida!!!" and Post Malone on "Fortnight."

"I needed to make it, it was really a lifeline for me, it sort of reminded me why songwriting gets me through life," Swift said during her The Eras Tour show in Melbourne. "I've never had an album where I needed songwriting more than I needed it on Tortured Poets."

Along with the statement, Swift also shared an alternate cover for the physical album, titled after and including bonus track "The Bolter." Later on, three other versions named "The Manuscript," "The Albatross," and "The Black Dog" — all including an eponymous bonus track —  were also made available for purchase.

For the rest of the year, Swift will be touring through Europe and North America. As usual with the singer, more surprises are likely to come soon.

PartyNextDoor - PartyNextDoor 4 (P4)

Release date: April 26

**Canadian hitmaker and singer PartyNextDoor will make his long-awaited return this month. PartyNextDoor 4, also dubbed P4, is his first full-length work since 2020’s Partymobile, and continues his eponymous albums series after 2016’s P3.**

"This is the hardest I’ve ever worked on an album. This is the proudest I’ve felt," Party told Billboard for his March cover story. "I’m excited to grind even more for the next [one]. I’m in love with how hard you should work for it." 

He also explained that love is the reason why he takes so long to release new stuff. "I get into relationships and then music becomes second," he said. "I think I’m going to take a break from relationships, a long break, and just get back to making music."

In support of the release, Party shared moody, intimate singles "Resentment" and "Real Woman" — inspired by the same relationships that kept him off stage.

St. Vincent - All Born Screaming

Release date: April 26

In an interview with Mojo, St. Vincent — also known as Annie Clark — defined her upcoming seventh album, All Born Screaming, as "post-plague pop." Since its creation started right after the release of 2021’s Daddy’s Home, the years of seclusion and adjustment due to the COVID pandemic were a prominent influence in her new work.

"That kind of isolation breeds paranoia and loneliness, and loneliness can breed violence," she said. "It’s been a time of loss collectively and personally. [But] loss and death are very clarifying things, they make everything that doesn’t f—ng matter go away."

Comprising 10 tracks and features from Dave Grohl, Cate Le Bon, and Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa, All Born Screaming is St. Vincent’s first entirely self-produced set, and an attempt at showcasing what does matter. "This record is darker and harder and more close to the bone. I’d say it’s my least funny record yet. There’s nothing cute about it," she added.

Clark released two singles off the album, "Broken Man" and "Flea," and is gearing up for a North American tour starting May 22.

Picture This - Parked Car Conversations

Release date: April 26

"Parked Car Conversations is by far the most personal album we have ever created," said vocalist and lyricist Ryan Hennessy in a press release about Picture This’s upcoming album. "It is an album about everything involved with being human. Love and loss and hurt and euphoria and all of those other complex emotions that flutter in between."

The album consists of 15 songs, but a third of it can be previewed through bittersweet, soaring singles "Get On My Love," "Song To Myself," "Leftover Love," "Call It Love," and "Act Of Innocence." Overall, Parked Car Conversations is a soundtrack "not to a movie, but to life," and aims to convey "the ups and downs of living" through ballads and anthems alike, according to Hennessy. 

Coming almost three years since the Irish band’s last release, 2021’s Life in Colour, the new record will be celebrated in high spirits with an Europe and U.K. tour, starting April 21 in München, Germany.

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Los Angeles is famous for its wonderful warm weather, but a few hours into the 2024 GRAMMYs on Feb. 4, phones buzzed with a message from the National Weather Service: a flash flood warning.

But not even a flash flood could prevent attendees from traveling to the Recording Academy’s Official GRAMMYs After-Party.

Held immediately after the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards, the after-party celebrated the winners and nominees of Music’s Biggest Night, taking the fun past midnight. This year, three-time GRAMMY winner NE-YO headlined the private, ticketed event. Ben Backson DJed, alongside performances from GRAMMY nominees Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter in the GRAMMY Celebration Jazz Lounge.

Ben Bakson┃ Maury Phillips/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Through torrents of rain and wind, members of the music community in their finest suits and evening gowns dashed to the Los Angeles Convention Center, right next door to the Crypto.com Arena where the 2024 GRAMMYs were held this year.

"As an Academy committed to serving, uplifting and advancing the music community, we look forward to the GRAMMY Celebration each year — a momentous occasion where our shared passion for music is celebrated and meaningful connections are made," said Branden Chapman, Chief Operating Officer for the Recording Academy. 

Inside the safety of LACC, event attendees exchanged sopping umbrellas and plastic ponchos for tall drinks and delicious bites. Event sponsors included Celsius; FIJI Water, the Official Water Partner of the GRAMMY Awards and the exclusive water brand across GRAMMY Week events, which hydrated music's biggest talent, executives and fans; Frontera Wines, which this year returned as the Official Wine Partner of the GRAMMY Awards and showcased their selection at various GRAMMY Week events; and Smirnoff, the Official Spirits Partner of the GRAMMY Awards, which offered premium cocktail serves and samples of its new Smirnoff SMASH vodka soda flavors to attending guests. With all this, attendees soon forgot about the weather, getting lost in the lights and colors of the spectacular 2024 GRAMMY Celebration — a fabulous night of delight, connection, and (of course) lots of dancing lay ahead.

The exclusive after-party went above and beyond expectations, with the main room enveloped in loud, bold, and bright circusy aesthetic. Acrobats whirled through the air on hoops to Backson’s DJing, and spotlights of light hypnotically created mesmerizing spirals on the dancefloor. Glowing neon cubes became makeshift chairs and tables, and people on stilts guided funky inflated figures through the venue while attendees wandered around with drinks and food.

Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

The special chef-curated menu was presented this year by Levy, the hospitality partner at the LACC. Beyond the stocked bar, the after-party offered a diverse spread of treats for hungry attendees — potstickers, spicy hand-pulled noodles, tacos, brisket mac and cheese, vegetable skewers, potato chips, vegan sliders, and so much more to munch on.

This year, the Recording Academy partnered with the charity Musically Fed to repurpose leftover food to feed local community members in need. By working with artists, their teams, and venues, the charitable organization aims to mobilize the music industry in the fight against hunger on a national level. In support of houseless and food insecure people, Musically Fed will repurpose unused backstage food from not just the 2024 GRAMMY Celebration, but also the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards and MusiCares’ Person of the Year Gala.

As people finished up their food and drink lines grew increasingly longer, GRAMMY-winning headliner NE-YO took the stage to cheers. With his signature titled hat on and joined by a group of rigorous dancers, the singer-songwriter captivated audience members who were more than ready to dance, even after hiking through rain in tight heels. Taking the crowd on a journey through his soulful hits from "So Sick" to "Closer," NE-YO succeeded in bringing the house down at the Official GRAMMYs After-Party.

Soulful fun continued in LACC with Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter, just next door in the beautiful GRAMMY Celebration Jazz Lounge. Elling and Hunter, who are both GRAMMY-nominated artists and collaborators, brightened the evening even further with a groovy jazz performance. As the musicians graced their audience, people admired the room’s flashy decorations — trees illuminated by neon lights, chandeliers of hanging flowers, colorful labyrinthine portraits.

Following the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards, the exclusive 2024 GRAMMY Celebration continued the party late into the rainy night, honoring another year of the music community’s major accomplishments — whether it be through rain or shine.

10 Must-See Moments From The 2024 GRAMMYs: Taylor Swift Makes History, Billy Joel & Tracy Chapman Return, Boygenius Manifest Childhood Dreams

Cathryn Flores co-authored this article.

Since 2006, GRAMMY U has been dedicated to nurturing the next generation of music professionals by connecting aspiring members with the industry's brightest and most talented minds. With its recent membership expansion, GRAMMY U continues to grow and establish a diverse community of students and young professionals.

GRAMMY U members have the unique opportunity to collaborate with GRAMMY nominees and professionals across various sectors of the music industry, including affiliates of the Recording Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing and Songwriters & Composers Wing. Annual programming includes the Mentorship Program, GRAMMY U Fall Summit, activations at GRAMMY Week, and the GRAMMY U Conference as well as dozens of local programs nationwide. 

During their time at GRAMMY U, members get the chance to connect with their peers and receive hands-on experience. A significant number of program alumni continue their journey in the music industry as voting members of the Recording Academy, featured panelists at future GRAMMY U events, and mentors.

Many alumni go on to become GRAMMY nominees and winners themselves — and the 2024 GRAMMYs highlight their successes. At Music's Biggest Night, former GRAMMY U Members Sarah Tudzin, who engineered for boygenius, and Pentatonix co-founder Scott Hoying are nominated at the 66th GRAMMY Awards. 

From songwriters to producers, read on to learn about the five current and former GRAMMY U members who are nominated for the 66th GRAMMY Awards.

Scott Hoying

Nominated work: Pentatonix - Holidays Around The World (Best Traditional Pop Album)

Pentatonix co-founder Scott Hoying is in the running for Best Pop Traditional Vocal Album for Holidays Around The World. Hoying previously took home a golden gramophone with his hit a capella group at the 2017 GRAMMYs for Best Country Duo/Group Performance with Dolly Parton for "Jolene."

"Being able to collaborate with so many incredible artists around the world was a fascinating process and was so fulfilling. This was truly an experience where we got to feel the universal language of music first-hand," Hoying says. "It is one of our favorite albums, and to see it recognized and honored in such an iconic way from our peers in the music industry is a dream."

Hoying joined GRAMMY U while he was a music major at the University of Southern California.  

"The second I was eligible to be a GRAMMY U member, I signed up immediately. I remember feeling so excited to be a part of the GRAMMY foundation," Hoying recalls. "Signing up for GRAMMY U felt like the first step towards manifesting that vision board.

"Fast-forward 10 years, three GRAMMYs and five nominations [later], it feels surreal. I just feel like the luckiest person in the world and we are so honored," he says. 

Sarah Tudzin

Nominated work: boygenius - the record (Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical)

Sarah Tudzin joined GRAMMY U in college to learn more about the GRAMMY process at a professional level. Since, her band illuminati hotties has opened for acts such as Death Cab For Cutie and Carly Rae Jepsen. This year, she secured her GRAMMY-nominated status as a producer and engineer for her work on boygenius' hit debut album the record, which is nominated for Album Of The Year and Best Alternative Music Album.

Tudzin didn’t know what to expect when boygenius called her into the studio session, but found comfort in the fact that its members are both her friends and her heroes. The musician sees her nomination as a measure of huge accomplishment, but also says that this is only the beginning of it all. 

"To be a witness to boygenius' meteoric rise is such an honor and I feel deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to work with them and with number one production wizard, Catherine Marks," Tudzin says. "I spent so many years cutting my teeth as an assistant and engineer and I'm so proud to have a credit of this caliber."

Elyse Victoria Johnson

Nominated work: Stanley Brown feat. Hezekiah Walker, Kierra Sheard & Karen Clark Sheard - "God Is Good" (Best Gospel Performance/Song)

Current GRAMMY U member and first-time GRAMMY nominee Elyse Victoria Johnson is nominated in the category of Best Gospel Performance/Song for her songwriting contributions to Stanley Brown’s "God Is Good." Elyse’s background as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist led her to pursue a music industry major at the State University of New York College at Oneonta, where she also served as a GRAMMY U Ambassador. 

"It was a great experience serving as an advocate for the GRAMMY U program to increase student membership on my college campus," the 22 year old says. "Now, in 2023. I am a GRAMMY-nominated songwriter. Every experience has played a part in where I am today." 

"God is Good" is an uplifting anthem that radiates a message of positivity in difficult times.

"‘God Is Good’ comes from the popular call & response saying, ‘God is good all the time & all the time, God is good.’ It’s such a fun, inspirational, uplifting bop!" she shares. "This reflects my progression as a songwriter/artist because it gave me the opportunity to grow as a creative… I am constantly learning and growing, and there’s never a time where I am not a student!"

Whitney Wolanin

Nominated work: Tyler Childers - "In Your Love" (Best Music Video)

As a GRAMMY U member at Vanderbilt University, Whitney Wolanin had no idea she would be working in film after college. A musician herself, Wolanin transitioned to producing and directing everything from commercials to music videos. Wolanin expressed her gratitude for getting to tell stories in different audio and visual mediums.

Wolanin worked as the line producer and a general producer on Tyler Childers' video for "In Your Love," which is nominated for Best Music Video. The song itself is also nominated for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance.

Wolanin believes that finding a strong team is crucial to keep everything running smoothly. 

"Producing ‘In Your Love’ felt really important, both in terms of story and its broader implications to society," Wolanin says. "This specific love story is just so beautiful and needs to be told in country music. It felt special from the get-go and I hope it makes everyone cry, just like it does for me each time I watch it."

Manu Beker

Nominated work: AleMor - Beautiful Humans, Vol. 1 (Best Latin Pop Album)

Manu Beker’s musical journey has gone full circle with the Recording Academy. In 2022, he won GRAMMY U's Masterclass Contest with his song "Cliché" and met his future collaborator, AleMor, on that same day. 

Beker contributed to AleMor’s Beautiful Humans Vol. 1., which is nominated for Best Latin Pop Album at the 66th GRAMMY Awards. Beker hopes his work shows that Latin music can take form in any sub-genre and should not be constrained to a singular style.

"A lot of people pigeonhole music in Spanish and think it has to sound like a cliché… that it has to sound folky or like salsa/cumbia," Beker says. "But I'm hoping more people will listen to albums like [Beautiful Humans Vol. 1] and realize that Latin music is as varied and diverse as any other genre."

Beker recognizes the importance of constantly adapting within the industry and creating impactful connections with the artists he works with. He described the entire GRAMMY U experience with AleMor as surreal and hopes to continue making contributions within the Latin music community.

2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List