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Music Festivals 2018: Babymetal, Tool, STP To Play Rock On The Range

Babymetal's Su-metal and Moametal

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Music Festivals 2018: Babymetal, Tool, STP To Play Rock On The Range

Performer lineup for Columbus, Ohio, festival to also feature Alice In Chains, new Stone Temple Pilots lineup, Godsmack, Breaking Benjamin, and Machine Gun Kelly

GRAMMYs/Nov 27, 2017 - 08:26 pm

Rock fans looking to make a festival roadie should look no further than Rock On The Range. 

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The 2018 installment will take place May 18–20 at Mapfre Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, with a road-trip-worthy lineup headlined by Tool, Avenged Sevenfold and Alice In Chains.

The festival will also feature performances by Babymetal, Stone Temple Pilots with new vocalist Jeff Gutt, Godsmack, A Perfect Circle, and Breaking Benjamin.

Also taking the Rock On The Range stage will be Cleveland-based rapper Machine Gun Kelly, Code Orange, Body Count, Black Veil Brides, and Bullet For My Valentine.

Early-bird tickets have already been on sales, and some price levels are already sold out. However, general admission and VIP tickets are still available. Get ticket information and more at www.rockontherange.com.

More Music Festivals  Becky G, Bad Bunny Added To Calibash Lineup

 

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

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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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Code Orange's 'The Above': The Metalcore Heroes On Their Creatively Generous New Album
Code Orange

Photo: Tim Saccenti

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Code Orange's 'The Above': The Metalcore Heroes On Their Creatively Generous New Album

Code Orange threw red meat to the listening public with "Out For Blood," ahead of a tour with Korn. After that zig, a zag: released on Sept. 29, 'The Above' is their most eclectic and well-rounded work yet.

GRAMMYs/Sep 28, 2023 - 02:37 pm

Billy Corgan doesn't make too many guest appearances. But he readily guested with Code Orange.

Check his list of credits: generally, Corgan's behind the scenes as a co-writer. When he has appeared as a vocalist or guitarist, it's generally been for veterans — like Scorpions, New Order or Hole — or then-upstarts of modern rock, like Breaking Benjamin.

But there he is, in the delicate bridge of Code Orange's bludgeoning single "Take Shape." "Spread your wings/ Show us who you are," he sings over fingerpicked acoustic guitar, in his inimitable keen. "Spread your wings/ You'll go far."

Corgan's guest appearance has resonance far beyond name recognition, or '90s cred during the '90s wave. Because the Smashing Pumpkins were probably the most emotionally and artistically generous band of that decade.

Back then, Corgan and company gave you everything they were. Emotionally and materially, "withholding" wasn't in their DNA. And the same goes for Code Orange, who hold the odd distinction of being punk veterans by their early thirties.

Over the course of five albums, vocalist Jami Morgan, guitarists Reba Meyers and Dominic Landolina, bassist Joe Goldman, keyboardist Eric "Shade" Balderose, and drummer Max Portnoy have metamorphosed from basement hardcore to a hydra of heavy styles.

Think Pumpkins meets A Perfect Circle, with a helping of metalcore, and you're somewhere in their vicinity. For their efforts, they've garnered two GRAMMY nominations.

Across their development, Code Orange have exemplified this Pumpkinesque spirit of generosity. Their new album, The Above, out Sept. 29, is teeming and bountiful — both emotionally unsparing and all over the map stylistically.

One minute, they're mellow and openhearted, as on "Mirror." The next, they're nightmarishly twisted and alien, as on "A Drone Opting Out of the Hive." And many songs, from "Splinter the Soul" to "Snapshot," effectively marry those refractive qualities.

Whether due to their maturity as songwriters, Steve Albini's blunt-force engineering, or any number of other happy factors, Code Orange have raised the bar once more. And as per Corgan's presence and cosigning, they feel like worthy candidates for the Pumpkins' heirs.

Here's a breakdown of how Code Orange arrived at The Above — with quotes from their brazen, stage-stalking frontman, Jami Morgan.

They Declared Themselves "Out For Blood"

Code Orange's 2020 album Underneath — the one that got nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Metal Performance — was a wonderfully suffocating and immersive work of experimental metal.

The following year's single, "Out for Blood," was a hard right turn — a push into the mainstream rock sphere, ahead of a tour supporting Korn, with an ear for the airwaves

The video is hellacious; the song could soundtrack a weekend rappelling off buildings. It unabashedly flirts with nu metal. It's also just a lot of fun.

Read More: As Code Orange Wraps Up Tour With Korn, They Look Ahead To Headlining Stages & Making New Music: "We Really Want To Take A Big Swing"

"Out for Blood" was arguably Code Orange's furthest-afield single to date; those who got on the train back when they were Code Orange Kids, playing to circle pits in VFW halls, may have been a touch confused. (Or, in YouTube comments and on the hardcore Facebook group No Echo, outwardly hostile.)

But regarding their roots, Code Orange are too canny to just let go of the tether; "Out for Blood" was a brief detour, in the form of a bloody good time.

The Concept Bloomed During The Pandemic

If Underneath represented claustrophobic, subterranean depths, The Above lives in blinding, oppressive daylight: the film Midsommar transmuted to music.

"It started with this light metaphor," Morgan tells GRAMMY.com. "I was reading a lot about parasites, and how when they attach to the host, they'll take other bugs that shouldn't be exposed to light and expose them to it, so they can be consumed.

"I saw that as a cool metaphor for trying to follow the light of our outside acceptance," he continues. The songs he was writing dealt with self-acceptance, success and striving for inner peace.

The lockdown kickstarted Code Orange's writing process earlier than expected. "We started with the loose shape of this record right off the bat," he says. "When we started determining what that is — what paths we could take, that we weren't going to take."

They Embraced Hooks & Pop Structure

Nothing on The Above is quite as deliciously shameless as "Out for Blood." But The Above does share one key element with that barbarous banger: a grasp of pop structure.

"It was like a spliced reality off of the Underneath cycle," Morgan says of "Out for Blood." Over Zoom, he points to a mood board behind him, representing The Above: "To me, the band is one wall, and everything we've done fits in."

Accordingly, Code Orange applied lessons learned to their new album. "Every song, heavy or not, has some kind of hook that comes back," he says. "It's not an ABCDEFG record," like some of the songs we've made in the past."

Code Orange

*Code Orange. Photo: Tim Saccenti*

They Imbued The Music With Newfound Humanity

Scanning the band's discography, Morgan perceives moments where they didn't quite land where they wanted. Because of this, they opted to produce The Above themselves.

"We didn't want to take it and hand it to somebody, like we've done," Morgan says. "Because we've had problems with that."

While at the production controls, they went for a detail-oriented approach that prioritized openness, breathability and forthright emotion — while keeping the experimental torches alight.

They achieved this more organic aesthetic by making the raw band the focus. Also, Morgan rendered his diction clearer, his lyrics more understandable.

"We definitely thought, Can we make something that is experimental, that is boundary-pushing, that is pulled from the past and future," Morgan says, "but is coloring within the lines of structure a little more?"

The Above Feels Like A Bridge Into The Unknown

To Morgan, Code Orange's 15-year evolutionary arc has reached its opposite end on The Above.

As he explains, the closing track, "The Above," is meant to "visualize being on an island of self. I wanted to make a song that you could almost sit on the f—ing beach to, and feel your soul — feel the emotion, and be stoic in yourself."

In that way, The Above is a culmination of everything they've built to — and also a launching pad. "If this was the last thing we did, I will be happy with it," he says. "But I also can see so many possibilities of where to go from it."

Overall, Morgan stresses that Code Orange never existed to rock out or have fun; "It exists to fill a void that I want to see," he says. "We're trying to make statements and we're trying to make artistic pieces.

"If people want that, then we're going to be here forever," Morgan concludes. "And if they don't, then we won't."

But in the modern rock landscape, they bear a message that's difficult to ignore. And it's sung by their spiritual forebear, rock's patron saint of ambition, largesse, and generally being a lot: "Spread your wings."

Songbook: A Guide To The Smashing Pumpkins In Three Eras, From Gish To Atum

Songbook: How Avenged Sevenfold's Unpredictable Rock Path Led To 'Life Is But A Dream'
(L-R, clockwise from upper left) Avenged Sevenfold in 2007, 2014, 2011, 2018

Photos (L-R, clockwise from upper left): Jason Merritt/FilmMagic, NurPhoto/Corbis via Getty Images, Chelsea Lauren/WireImage, Juan Aguado/Redferns)

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Songbook: How Avenged Sevenfold's Unpredictable Rock Path Led To 'Life Is But A Dream'

Avenged Sevenfold's eighth studio album is arguably their most eclectic yet. But looking at the hard rock band's full discography, the experimental, genre-bouncing LP might not feel like such a dramatic shift.

GRAMMYs/Jun 8, 2023 - 10:58 pm

Originally hailing from the Orange County punk scene, metal chart-toppers Avenged Sevenfold have always pushed their personal and artistic boundaries, embracing new school sensibilities while pulling inspiration from classic bands. Their latest album, Life Is But A Dream… takes all of their influences and penchant for genre-bending songs and blends them into a bold new sonic landscape.

The 11-track LP — Avenged Sevenfold's eighth — features long running times, experimental compositions  and occasional orchestral accompaniment. While its swift genre-switching makes it a challenging collection, it also makes the album stand out among other works by mainstream rock bands.

As Life Is But A Dream… suggests, Avenged Sevenfold's willingness to experiment is what has kept the band active and vital for nearly 25 years. They've also not shied away from complex topics in their lyrics, delving into fantasy themes, broaching social and political issues, and getting emotional on songs about death, existence, and mourning the loss of their late drummer, The Rev. 

While they've served up several anthemic hits like "Bat Country" and "Hail To The King" along the way, the deep cuts are what have kept their music intriguing. Combine all of that with the potent vocal presence of frontman M. Shadows, searing leads of guitarist Synyster Gates and their interplay with guitarist Zacky Vengeance, the rhythmic power of bassist Johnny Christ and their late drumming powerhouse The Rev, it's no wonder the group have retained a loyal following since the beginning. The result has been five platinum-selling discs, two No. 1 albums and a GRAMMY nomination.

As Avenged Sevenfold release their eighth album, GRAMMY.com took a deep dive into the band's catalog to examine how keeping an open mind and ears has led them down rewarding musical paths.

Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (2001)

Avenged Sevenfold's debut was recorded under primitive conditions. Initially a quartet — Shadows, Vengeance, bassist Justin Sane, and drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan — the band had a $2,000 budget to play with. The Rev would immediately solidify his cred as a drumming force by recording every song in one take, and the band recorded everything else over those tight and often hyperactive tracks.

Avenged sounded utterly ferocious on thrashy songs like "Darkness Surrounding" and "Thick and Thin," then contrasted that with the piano ballad "Warmness On The Soul" and the melodic punk of "Streets," a tune ported over from Shadows' previous band Successful Failure. Unlike so many later epics, most of the tunes fell into the 4-minute range (the first and last time for an Avenged release), other than the melancholic 7-minute closing track "Shattered By Broken Dreams." The song starts in the vein of an acoustic ballad before transforming into an elegiac electric jam, combining many of their influences together in one composition.

Another one of those influences is seemingly their hometown of Huntington Beach, California, which the band has noted has a very diverse, eclectic population. The songs on Trumpet reflect that, combining elements of metalcore, punk, and classic metal into a raucous — if at times uneven — effort. Though they were all still teenagers when they recorded the project, it showed promise right away.

Waking the Fallen (2003)

Lineup changes after the release of their debut resulted in the arrival of shred king Synsyter Gates on guitar in April 2001 and Johnny Christ on bass in September 2002. Signing with Hopeless Records, who reissued their first album, A7X immediately showed how the revamped band gelled more and possessed increased confidence in the studio with their next effort, Waking the Fallen. Having two six-stringers increased the heaviness and their songwriting potential, and it was great for unleashing big guitar harmonies.

Godsmack producer Andrew Murdock (aka Mudrock) came onboard as co-producer and pushed the band to go further. He purposely reined in The Rev's drumming to balance chaos with control, and the group encouraged Shadows to sing more and not just focus on screaming, particularly in light of his vocal surgery around 2002 that took two years to fully recover from. While this singing shift would deeply influence their next album, it wouldn't sit well with some of the band's earliest fans. But it helped open up their music more. The singles "Eternal Rest/Chapter Four" and "Unholy Confessions" blended their new and old-school influences well.

The track "Remenissions" was among those that hinted at the multi-dimensional mentality to come, meshing aggressive metalcore with unexpected acoustic guitar work. The two-part, 13-minute "I Won't See You Tonight" is one of the album's most compelling pieces, both for its subject matter — detailing Shadows walking in on Sane attempting to take his own life, from Sane's perspective — and for its progression from an epic power ballad to the roaring second half, which invokes Shadows' reaction to his friend's suicide note.

It was clear from Waking The Fallen that Avenged Sevenfold were maturing fast. Their music and regular touring, including the Vans Warped Tour, set the stage for the big breakthrough.

City of Evil (2005)

With Murdock in the producer seat once again, the band's third album represented a turning point. Shadows worked with a vocal coach to have a gritty metal quality, but not blow out his voice the way he had when he was younger. He still tackles many screams live, but he took on a far more disciplined vocal approach on recordings, with grit and power that eschewed outright screaming. (Johnny Christ took over handling some of the other screams live.)

The video for the anthemic second single "Bat Country" really set the tone for the new Avenged Sevenfold — devilish Vegas imagery, lingerie-clad models, and lots of (digital) bats. The timing for this transition worked out well, as the nu-metal boom had ended and metalcore was peaking. With a classic '80s hard rock and metal revival in full swing, the time was ripe for a younger band to take those influences — Iron Maiden, Guns N' Roses, and Metallica among them — and shape them into a new sound. Avenged Sevenfold had arrived, heavy riffs and majestic guitar harmonies in tow.

Perhaps the metalcore mayhem was gone, but listen to the rapid fire riffs and pummeling double kicks on tracks like "Blinded In Chains" and "Burn It Down," and it's clear they still could bring the thunder. At the same time, their musical worldview had expanded. The melodic metal of "Sidewinder" featured Spanish guitar work from Gates' father, Brian Haner, in the song's extended Latin coda. "Seize The Day" recalled classic power ballads. The last three tracks veered into mid-tempo melodic metal including the galloping, Maiden-esque closer "MIA" about the horrors of the battlefield.

Avenged Sevenfold (2007)

Fourth time was the charm for the group's self-produced and self-titled album. Opening with the aggro assault of "Critical Acclaim" — which included criticism of keyboard warriors who whine about social problems but do nothing to solve them — the album traversed a truly wide range of sonic territory. "Scream" served up more groove metal intensity, "Rise" delivered high velocity power metal, and "Gunslinger" featured some bluesy acoustic work.

The Rev particularly came into his own on this album. He reportedly wrote 60% of the project himself, and he also provided co-lead vocals on half the songs. It's rare that a rock drummer gets that much input into their band's music, but he certainly provided plenty of artistic fodder to match his percussive propulsion.

Avenged Sevenfold closed out with two unexpected tracks. First was the 8-minute epic "A Little Bit Of Heaven," conjured by The Rev and inspired by Tim Burton, Danny Elfman, and Oingo Boingo. Featuring mostly orchestral instrumentation, the quirky track spun a gleefully morbid tale of murder, necrophilia, undead revenge, and a killing spree. In contrast, "Dear God" closed things out with a slow, country-leaning ballad of loneliness and longing on the road. (The video recalled Journey's "Faithfully.")

Leave it up to these guys to deliver a one-two punch without metal bombast.

Nightmare (2010)

This was originally meant to be the group's first concept album, but the tragic death of The Rev from an accidental overdose in December 2009 left the band facing an unexpected crossroads. The large void left by their 28-year-old drummer was immediately impactful, and the group enlisted then-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy to finish recording their next album (building on The Rev's pre-planned drum parts) and join them on the subsequent tour. The choice made sense; The Rev represented the next generation of powerhouse players like Portnoy, and the duo had previously bonded personally.

While the original conceptual approach to Nightmare was abandoned, it became somewhat conceptual in that many of the songs addressed the band's despair and pain over the loss of their bandmate. The Rev's fingerprints are all over the album, which frequently favored slower and melodic songs than previous efforts. But there were also thrashier tracks like "God Hates Us," which served up a metalcore flashback for the band.

The first of two albums to be produced by Mike Elizondo (Eminem, Mastodon), Nightmare is arguably  the most emotional album from Avenged Sevenfold. Many of the lyrics expressed the sorrow and grief that they felt, such as on "So Far Away." The piano-driven eulogy "Fiction" (originally called "Death,") was written by The Rev and finished three days before his passing. In retrospect, it was eerily prophetic, with lyrics like "left this life to set me free" and "in the end I gave my life for you."

Hail to the King (2013)

Following the album and tour cycle with Portnoy, Avenged Sevenfold brought in former Confide drummer Arin Ilejay for touring starting in 2011, and then creating their sixth studio album. Ilejay faced a daunting task — filling in for two big sets of shoes behind the drums.

Hail To The King was a different sort of album. A majority of the tunes had a mid-tempo stomp or slower, with insistent grooves which gave it an '80s heavy rock feel. It's not been uncommon for some thrash bands to shift focus (think Metallica and The Black Album), and the change of pace produced some memorable tunes. 

While Ilejay tackled The Rev's faster, more thunderous parts live, he focused on strong, heavy grooves on Hail To The King. There was more consistency in approach for the band here, and the spirits of Metallica, Maiden, Megadeth, and other classic and thrash icons loom large over the album. Many bands have done cover albums or songs, Avenged included; here, they offer more of an homage record.

The Stage (2016)

In true A7X fashion, the follow-up to the streamlined music on Hail To The King turned into the group's first true concept album, but more thematically rather than utilizing a linear narrative. It revolved around artificial intelligence and humanity's place in the world and the universe.

While the prog tag had been tossed around in relation to the band before, The Stage really did live up to that term, as the group experimented with alternate time signatures and more complex arrangements. It was aggressive progressive metal. Producer Joe Barresi (Coheed and Cambria, Bad Religion) came onboard this time, and Christ recently explained that Barresi never says no to what they aspire to do — he just finds a way to make it happen.

The fourth Avenged album to open up with Gothic vibes — in this case, a keyboard intro in the spirit of Ozzy Osbourne's "Mr. Crowley" — the pounding tom work heralded the arrival of the group's fourth drummer, Brooks Wackerman, following the dismissal of Ilejay from behind the kit. Wackerman left his longtime gig with punk icons Bad Religion for A7X, who they felt was a better fit for the musical path they were on. He certainly unleashed powerful fills and kicks to attest to his worthiness to their drum throne.

The Stage was driven by a lot of fire and fury, but the band also chilled on ballads "Roman Sky" and "Angels" and the 15-minute, genre-hopping "Exist." That mammoth track opened with ambient mystery, erupted into power metal majesty, and churned through lots of guitar histrionics, with Shadows' subdued vocals arriving halfway through. Then the band wrapped it all up with a spoken-word passage from acclaimed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson — metaphorically and literally reaching for the stars.

Life Is But a Dream… (2023)

And now we arrive at the album that Avenged Sevenfold have been threatening to make for nearly their whole career. Inspired by the likes of Mike Patton and his experimental band Mr. Bungle, A7X channel an "everything but the kitchen sink" ethos into their newest compositions. 

When M. Shadows announced that the band would be working with an orchestra, many people probably had visions of Metallica's S&M or a sweeping neo-classical album. But the band defied expectations by taking the opposite approach, and half of the songs are half as long as typical Avenged songs. (In other words, they run three to four minutes.) Even the barebones, black marker depiction of Death on the cover is a stark contrast to a lot of their more colorful past album art.

Shadows has stated that Life Is But A Dream… explores existentialism and absurdism, and it is inspired partially by the philosophical writings of Albert Camus as well as the use of psychedelic drugs by himself and Gates. The highly eclectic album is a study in wild contrasts, with its frequent tempo and dynamic shifts and avant-garde approach to songwriting.

A breakneck thrash pace dissipates into a gentle flute, piano, and acoustic guitar section on "Game Over," or into monotone vocals and atonal industrial sounds on "We Love You"; hypnotic horns and emotional vocals crescendo through guitar dissonance on "Cosmic." The last four tracks alone invoke elements of Broadway, funk, jazz, Sinatra-esque balladry, and, at the end, a neo-classical piano instrumental.

The latest Avenged Sevenfold platter circles back to what the band has shown from the start. By pushing themselves and their audience, one never knows what to expect from a new A7X album — or what kind of mark it will leave on its listener. How this latest epic will stand up over time remains to be seen, but Life Is But A Dream… proves that Avenged Sevenfold won't rest on their laurels. That's what's driven them all along.

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Watch Red Carpet Interviews With Nile Rodgers, Jacob Collier, First-Time Nominee Bonobo & More at the 2023 GRAMMYs
Maneskin

Photo: Allen J. Schaben / Contributor

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Watch Red Carpet Interviews With Nile Rodgers, Jacob Collier, First-Time Nominee Bonobo & More at the 2023 GRAMMYs

See and hear what the GRAMMY-winning and nominated stars were up to when they stopped by to talk with the Recording Academy ahead of the 2023 GRAMMYs telecast.

GRAMMYs/Feb 8, 2023 - 02:38 am

On Music’s Biggest Night, stars stopped to talk with the Recording Academy ahead of the 2023 GRAMMYs telecast. Watch interviews with Lifetime Achievement Awards recipient Nile Rodgers, first time nominees Bonobo and The Marias, industry legends like LL Cool J and so many more.

Head to live.GRAMMY.com all year long to watch all the GRAMMY performances, acceptance speeches, the GRAMMY Live From The Red Carpet livestream special, the full Premiere Ceremony livestream, and even more exclusive, never-before-seen content from the 2023 GRAMMYs.

2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Winners & Nominees List

Carly Pearce & Bill Anderson

Carly Pearce, GRAMMY-winner with Ashley McBryde for Best Country Duo/Group Performance of “Never Wanted To Be That Girl”.

Nile Rodgers

Nile Rodgers, recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award, GRAMMY-winner for Best R&B Song on Beyonce’s “Cuff It” and GRAMMY-nominated for Album Of The Year on Beyonce’s Renaissance. 

Maneskin

Maneskin, GRAMMY-nominees for Best New Artist.

Bonobo

Bonobo, GRAMMY-nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Recording for his song “Rosewood” , and Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for his album, Fragments.

The Marias

The Marias, GRAMMY-nominated for Album of the Year for Bad Bunny’s “Un Verano Sin Ti”.

Nelly

Nelly is a three-time GRAMMY-winner and 12-time nominee.

Aoife O'Donovan

Aoife O'Donovan, GRAMMY-nominated with Allison Russell for Best American Roots Performance for “Prodigal Daughter”.

Fridayy

Fridayy, GRAMMY-nominated for Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song , and Song Of The Year for “God Did”.

Jacob Collier

Jacob Collier, GRAMMY-nominated for Album of the Year for work on Coldplay’s ‘Music of The Spheres’.

LL Cool J

GRAMMY-winner LL Cool J

Machine Gun Kelly

Machine Gun Kelly, GRAMMY-nominated for Best Rock AlbumMainstream Sellout.

Tiara Thomas

Tiara Thomas, GRAMMY-nominated for Album of the Year for Mary J. Blige’s album, Good Morning Gorgeous.