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Shepard Fairey Selected As Official GRAMMY Artist

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THE GRAMMYs
Recording Academy
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Graphic designer and contemporary artist creates official artwork for the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards

GRAMMY.com

(For a complete list of 52nd GRAMMY Award winners, please click here.)

Innovative illustrator Shepard Fairey has been selected to create the official artwork for the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards. The piece, which brings together traditional GRAMMY iconography with Fairey's unique approach to design, will be used as the official artwork for the world's premier music event and will grace the cover of the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards program book, telecast tickets, promotional poster, and 2010 GRAMMY Nominees CD.

"The Academy is always looking for ways to engage the creative community, and commissioning the official GRAMMY show art is always a great opportunity to recognize how all creativity intersects," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "Shepard Fairey is as much a music fan as he is an artist, and his piece captures the tradition and timelessness of the GRAMMYs, while bringing a fresh and contemporary perspective to represent our 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards."

Fairey, a contemporary artist, graphic designer and illustrator, has spent the last 20 years creating unique and innovative art. A Rhode Island School of Design graduate, he was first recognized for his "Obey Giant" campaign, which was rooted in the counterculture of punk rock and skateboarding. In 2003, Fairy founded Studio Number One, and today it has become one of the top boutique creative design agencies in the country. The agency has produced artwork for a number of musical projects including the CD cover art for the Black Eyes Peas album Monkey Business and the poster art for the film Walk The Line. Fairey has also designed album covers for such artists as Anthrax, Flogging Molly, Led Zeppelin, and the Smashing Pumpkins.

In 2008, Fairey gained national attention when his "Hope" portrait of Barack Obama became an iconic image of the presidential campaign. In January 2009, the original image was acquired by the U.S. National Portrait Gallery and is on display in the Smithsonian Institution as part of its permanent collection.

In addition, Fairey has donated artwork to a number of charitable organizations including the ACLU, Feeding America, Hope for Darfur, Hurricane Katrina relief, and the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. He also sits on the advisory board of Reaching to Embrace the Arts, a not-for-profit organization that provides art supplies to disadvantaged schools. This year the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston honored Fairey with a full-scale solo retrospective of his work entitled Supply And Demand, which is also the name of his career-chronicling book. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two daughters.

The 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on Jan. 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). For updates and breaking news, please visit The Recording Academy's social networks on Twitter and Facebook.

News

Phil Hansen Named Official Artist

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THE GRAMMYs
Recording Academy
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Multimedia artist created official 51st GRAMMY Awards artwork and accompanying performance video

GRAMMY.com

Innovative artist Phil Hansen has been selected to create the official artwork for the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards. The imaginative and unique piece will be used as the official artwork for the 51st GRAMMY Awards and will grace the cover of the awards program book, telecast tickets, and promotional poster. Additionally, a unique and entertaining time-lapse "making of" video is available on YouTube and will also be featured on GRAMMY.com, CBS.com and numerous social networking sites.

"We are so proud to have Phil Hansen, who has a truly one-of-a-kind vision, create this year's vibrant artwork," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy." By creating not only a physical work but also a video companion piece with a musical element, Phil combines many of the artistic disciplines The Academy strives to celebrate and puts a unique stamp on our annual artwork as the GRAMMY Awards head into the next 50 years. This piece truly exemplifies the spirit of the music industry's most coveted award."

Hansen has been on the cutting edge of online distribution and using the Web as a virtual museum for his paintings, videos and multimedia pieces. His approach has allowed audiences to connect with his artwork in creative new ways. His work often incorporates surprising media (eggs, Oreo cookies, matchsticks) and often has a video component. With some of his most daring work, the video is the only remaining evidence of the art.

For "Jimi," Hansen constructed an image of guitar great Jimi Hendrix in performance mode out of matchsticks, and then lit the piece on fire as a fitting tribute to Hendrix's own legendary guitar-burning performances. His piece "Destruction" used graphite on eggs, the latter of which were then broken one-by-one.

Hansen's creative approach of utilizing the Web to connect individuals with his art has been featured on "Good Morning America," CBS' "The Early Show," "The Rachael Ray Show," CNN, and on the CW's Online Nation as well as internationally in South Korea, Canada and England. His "Bruce" creation, which he submitted to CNN via its iReport site, has been viewed more than 3 million times on YouTube, Break and MySpace combined. 

Hansen, a self-taught artist, grew up in Shelton, Wash. He began his artistic career evolving the craft of pointillism but soon discovered that time-lapse videos capturing the process of creating his art was an art in itself. He continues to improve his technique and currently lives in St. Paul, Minn., where he creates most of his art in the basement of his home. To learn more about Hansen and to experience some of his work, please visit www.philinthecircle.com.

The 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on Feb. 8, 2009, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. (ET/PT).

 

News

Come Back To GRAMMY.com

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The lights will be on at GRAMMY.com with blogs, videos, features, news, and contests in the coming months
Tim McPhate
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

(For a complete list of 52nd GRAMMY Award winners, please click here.)

The 52nd GRAMMY Awards are over, the winners decided, but the lights haven't gone down at GRAMMY.com.

For the 52nd show, GRAMMY.com provided the most exciting and interactive online GRAMMY experience yet, with live video streams from VIP invite-only events, streaming radio of GRAMMY-nominated artists' music, a robust blog program, enough photos to fill a museum, and all the GRAMMY news to keep you up on GRAMMY performances and special segments before they happened.

This level of excitement will continue after the show as well with a number of ongoing features.

Prior to the show, GRAMMY.com offered insightful blogs from such notables as past Best New Artist winners José Feliciano, Carrie Underwood and Jody Watley, as well as 52nd GRAMMYs Best New Artist winners the Zac Brown Band. In addition, contributions were made by GRAMMY show and Emmy Award-nominated writer David Wild, official 52nd GRAMMY artist Shepard Fairey, and a number of "community" bloggers who brought a fan's perspective to the official GRAMMY site.

This blogging program will continue as a number of this year's GRAMMY winners will check in to tell us what their wild ride at the GRAMMYs was really like. Additionally, we'll have more blogs from Wild, as well as fresh blogging voices such as official GRAMMY portrait photographer Danny Clinch, who will relate his experiences shooting stars such as Madonna, U2, Beyoncé and others at more than five GRAMMY shows.

GRAMMY.com will also feature ongoing contests offering prizes such as tickets to the 53rd GRAMMY Awards show, 2010 GRAMMY Nominees CDs, and more, and you'll be able to weigh in on all kinds of fun music topics through the official GRAMMY Poll.

The site will also continue to present thought-provoking articles, features and news that provide a unique take on what's happening in the music industry today. And for fans who like a little trip down memory lane, the site will feature entertaining video excerpts from the show's rich 52-year history.

Register now so you don't miss any of the action as it happens, and always be sure to check out GRAMMY news at our social networks on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube.

Log on regularly; there's much more to come at GRAMMY.com.
 

GRAMMYs
News

National Governors Association Conference

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The National Governors Association Conference was held in Biloxi, Miss. on July 18 with 25 U.S. governors in attendance.
THE GRAMMYs
Recording Academy
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

The National Governors Association Conference was held in Biloxi, Miss. on July 18 with 25 U.S. governors in attendance. At the invitation of conference host and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow was invited to address the attendees prior to a musical showcase of Mississippi artists including GRAMMY-winners Brandy and Paul Overstreet. Portnow spoke on the importance of state funding for music education. Other performers that participated in the salute to Mississippi music included Beatrice, Eddie Cotton, and the Williams Brothers.

 

GRAMMYs
News

Official 51st GRAMMY Sponsors Announced

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THE GRAMMYs
Recording Academy
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Promotional partners sign on to celebrate and promote the 51st GRAMMY Awards and GRAMMY Week events

GRAMMY.com

(For a complete list of 51st GRAMMY Awards winners, please click here.)

The Recording Academy today announced its official sponsors for this year's 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards.

CBS Interactive, Delta Air Lines, Harman International, Hilton Hotels Corporation, MasterCard, People, T-Mobile Sidekick, USA Today, and Westwood One Radio all are supporters of The Recording Academy and its GRAMMY Week events. Nokia has partnered with The Recording Academy for the second year as the official international handset partner. Additional promotional partners contributing to this year's GRAMMY celebration are Borders, Evite, Hard Rock Cafe, and iTunes.

"In today's dynamic marketplace, the importance of strategically aligning with the right brands cannot be overstated," said Evan Greene, Chief Marketing Officer of The Recording Academy. "These world class partnerships with many of today's industry-leading brands help dramatically expand our footprint into areas that the GRAMMY message does not traditionally reach."

CBS Interactive returns as the official online marketing partner of The Recording Academy and GRAMMY Awards. This year CBS.com will partner with The Academy on its third installment of My GRAMMY Moment, which allows participants to upload their sing-along videos of current GRAMMY nominee Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl" for a chance to have the video played during Perry's performance on the 51st GRAMMY Awards. In addition, CBS.com will feature exclusive GRAMMY content including interviews with GRAMMY nominees, photos, games and more.

Delta Air Lines returns for the second year as the "official airline" sponsor. Delta flights during January and February will feature in-flight GRAMMY programming consisting of a dedicated GRAMMY radio channel, ads in Delta Sky Magazine as well as on-screen in-flight GRAMMY promotions. In the months of March and April, Delta will feature the 2009 GRAMMY Nominees CD track list as part of its programming. 

New sponsor Harman International becomes an "official sound partner" of the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards, a title sponsor of the exclusive Clive Davis and Recording Academy Pre-GRAMMY Gala, and a participating sponsor of The Academy's GRAMMY Awards Telecast Viewing Parties. Harman also will provide products to be integrated into the official backstage GRAMMY green room and official gift bags for GRAMMY presenters and performers.

To kick off another multiyear sponsorship, longtime Academy and GRAMMY sponsor Hilton Hotels has partnered with the GRAMMY Museum to launch an online, interactive contest focused on developing local music industries by raising awareness and providing grants to communities across the country. In celebration of the 51st GRAMMY Awards, Hilton Hotels will host a special promotion offering discounts at Hilton properties.

MasterCard signed a multiyear deal with The Recording Academy to become the "official financial services and payment sponsor" of the GRAMMY Awards. MasterCard's partnership includes support of key GRAMMY Week events, including the MusiCares Person of the Year and the official GRAMMY Celebration after party, where artists will perform on the MasterCard stage. MasterCard also is the presenting sponsor of select GRAMMY Salute To events as part of the music series held throughout the year. This music series highlights genres including rock, country, classical and jazz, among others. Additionally, MasterCard will participate in the GRAMMY Celebration Concert Tour presented by T-Mobile in various cities across the United States.

People is the "official print media partner" of The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Awards for the fifth consecutive year. In addition to People's presence at the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards and official 2009 GRAMMY Celebration after party, this partnership extends to the GRAMMY Foundation, MusiCares, and other initiatives throughout the year.

T-Mobile Sidekick signs on for the second year as the presenting sponsor of the GRAMMY Celebration Concert Tour. In its second year, the tour again will offer Sidekick users the opportunity to see GRAMMY-nominated and GRAMMY-winning artists in intimate exclusive settings throughout the United States. T-Mobile Sidekick's partnership also includes a title sponsorship of the exclusive star-studded Clive Davis and Recording Academy Pre-GRAMMY Gala at the Beverly Hilton the night before the GRAMMYs. In addition, the T-Mobile Sidekick partnership includes a national sweepstakes offering a chance for two fans to win a trip to Los Angeles to experience Music's Biggest Night and attend the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards.

USA Today, the "official national newspaper" of the GRAMMY Awards and GRAMMY Week activities for the third year, will promote this year's GRAMMY Awards and the MusiCares Person of the Year Tribute honoring Neil Diamond with advertising and promotion, and will bring three readers to the GRAMMY Awards as part of its USA Today GRAMMY Sweepstakes. In addition, USA Today will participate in the GRAMMY Awards Telecast Viewing Parties in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Memphis, Tenn., Hollywood, Fla., Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

Westwood One Radio Network will produce its annual "Backstage At The GRAMMYs" radio remotes, bringing in more than 40 radio stations from across America, as well as radio stations from 14 countries around the globe to broadcast live from GRAMMY rehearsals.

The Recording Academy has partnered with Nokia for the second year. As the official international digital music retail and handset partner, Nokia will promote the GRAMMY Awards to its worldwide users and provide content never before available in the Nokia Music Store in 12 countries across three continents.

In its third year of partnership with The Academy, Borders has created a dedicated GRAMMY page where music fans can purchase GRAMMY-nominated music and enjoy clips of red carpet interviews, memorable performances and acceptance speeches from past GRAMMY Awards. In addition, Borders stores act as the GRAMMY music headquarters across the country featuring and promoting the 2009 GRAMMY Nominees CD as well as all GRAMMY-nominated music.

Hard Rock Cafe partners with The Academy for the third year as the official venue for the GRAMMY Awards Telecast Viewing Parties. Consumers also can host their own viewing parties with their friends at participating Hard Rock Cafes across the United States. Hard Rock will once again send a lucky patron to the GRAMMY Awards to experience the show. Hard Rock Cafe has also created a collectible 51st GRAMMY pin available online with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the GRAMMY Museum and its music programs.

Evite is collaborating with The Academy and Hard Rock Cafe to promote the GRAMMY Viewing party experience by creating custom GRAMMY/Hard Rock online invitations.

Apple's iTunes has partnered with The Recording Academy for the second time to offer Academy voting members the opportunity to listen to all GRAMMY-nominated music in a variety of categories. ITunes also is promoting GRAMMY-nominated music on its homepage.

The 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held Feb. 8 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, and will be broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 Surround Sound on the CBS Television Network at 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The show will also be supported on radio via Westwood One worldwide and covered online at GRAMMY.com and CBS.com, on Twitter at "theGRAMMYs," on Facebook at "The Recording Academy," on YouTube at "51stGRAMMYs," and on Last.fm at "the51stgrammys." The GRAMMY Pre-Telecast will be streamed live on GRAMMY.com on Feb. 8 at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT.