Entertainment
2021 Grammy Awards: Winners List
The 63rd annual Grammy Awards took place at LA’s Convention Center, with no live audience. Beyoncé now holds the record for the most Grammy wins by any singer and any female artist in history.
Story Highlights
- The 63rd annual award show took place at LA’s Convention Center, with no live audience
- Beyoncé now holds the record for the most Grammy wins by any singer and any female artist in history
After postponing the event from January 31st to March 14th due to COVID-19, the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards took place this past Sunday night. Telecasting live from Downtown Los Angeles on CBS, the event mostly took place outdoors at the LA Convention Center, allowing them to use the Staples Center (the GRAMMYs’ usual venue) as a visual backdrop. Despite there being no live audience and viewership hitting a record-low, the night still ended up being historical on a number of levels.
The most nominated artist of the night was Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, who also ended up scooping the most awards – winning four of her nine nominations. This feat puts Beyoncé top of the list for the most Grammy wins by any singer in history, with a total of 28. She is now only beaten by Hungarian-British Conductor Georg Solti who won 31 during his career – and has tied with Quincy Jones, who also has 28.
View a list of winners and nominees below.
RECORD OF THE YEAR
- “Everything I Wanted” — Billie Eilish — Winner
- “Black Parade” — Beyoncé
- “Colors” — Black Pumas
- “Rockstar” — DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
- “Say So” — Doja Cat
- “Don’t Start Now” — Dua Lipa
- “Circles” — Post Malone
- “Savage” — Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
- “Folklore” — Taylor Swift — Winner
- “Chilombo” — Jhené Aiko
- “Black Pumas” (Deluxe Edition) — Black Pumas
- “Everyday Life” — Coldplay
- “Djesse Vol. 3” — Jacob Collier
- “Women in Music Pt. III” — Haim
- “Future Nostalgia” — Dua Lipa
- “Hollywood’s Bleeding” — Post Malone
SONG OF THE YEAR
- “I Can’t Breathe” — H.E.R. — Winner
- “Black Parade” — Beyoncé
- “The Box” — Roddy Ricch
- “Cardigan” — Taylor Swift
- “Circles” — Post Malone
- “Don’t Start Now” — Dua Lipa
- “Everything I Wanted” — Billie Eilish
- “If the World Was Ending” — JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels
BEST NEW ARTIST
- Megan Thee Stallion — Winner
- Ingrid Andress
- Phoebe Bridgers
- Noah Cyrus
- Chika
- D Smoke
- Doja Cat
- Kaytranada
BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE
- “Watermelon Sugar” — Harry Styles — Winner
- “Yummy” — Justin Bieber
- “Say So” — Doja Cat
- “Everything I Wanted” — Billie Eilish
- “Don’t Start Now” — Dua Lipa
- “Cardigan” — Taylor Swift
BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM
- “Future Nostalgia” — Dua Lipa — Winner
- “Changes” — Justin Bieber
- “Chromatica” — Lady Gaga
- “Fine Line” — Harry Styles
- “Folklore” — Taylor Swift
BEST POP/DUO GROUP PERFORMANCE
- “Rain on Me” — Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande — Winner
- “Un Dia (One Day)” — J Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny & Tainy
- “Intentions” — Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
- “Dynamite” — BTS
- “Exile” — Taylor Swift featuring Bon Iver
BEST TRADITIONAL POP VOCAL ALBUM
- “American Standard” — James Taylor — Winner
- “Blue Umbrella” — Burt Bacharach & Daniel Tashian
- “True Love: A Celebration of Cole Porter” — Harry Connick Jr.
- “Unfollow the Rules” — Rufus Wainwright
- “Judy” — Renée Zellweger
BEST R&B PERFORMANCE
- “Black Parade” — Beyoncé — Winner
- “Lightning & Thunder” — Jhené Aiko featuring John Legend
- “All I Need” — Jacob Collier featuring Mahalia & Ty Dolla $ign
- “Goat Head” — Brittany Howard
- “See Me” — Emily King
BEST TRADITIONAL R&B PERFORMANCE
- “Anything for You” — Ledisi — Winner
- “Sit On Down” — The Baylor Project featuring Jean Baylor & Marcus Baylor
- “Wonder What She Thinks of Me” — Chloe x Halle
- “Let Me Go” — Mykal Kilgore
- “Distance” — Yebba
BEST R&B SONG
- “Better Than I Imagined” — Robert Glasper featuring H.E.R. & Meshell Ndegeocello — Winner
- “Black Parade” — Beyoncé
- “Collide” — Tiana Major9 & EARTHGANG
- “Do It” — Chloe x Halle
- “Slow Down” — Skip Marley & H.E.R.
BEST R&B ALBUM
- “Bigger Love” — John Legend — Winner
- “Happy 2 Be Here” — Ant Clemons
- “Take Time” — Giveon
- “To Feel Love/D” — Luke James
- “All Rise” — Gregory Porter
BEST RAP PERFORMANCE
- “Savage” — Megan thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé — Winner
- “Deep Reverence” — Big Sean featuring Nipsey Hussle
- “Bop” — DaBaby
- “Whats Poppin” — Jack Harlow
- “The Bigger Picture” — Lil Baby
- “Dior” — Pop Smoke
BEST MELODIC RAP PERFORMANCE
- “Lockdown” — Anderson .Paak — Winner
- “Rockstar” — DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
- “Laugh Now Cry Later” — Drake featuring Lil Durk
- “The Box” — Roddy Ricch
- “Highest in the Room” — Travis Scott
BEST RAP SONG
- “Savage” — Megan thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé — Winner
- “The Bigger Picture” — Lil Baby
- “The Box” — Roddy Ricch
- “Laugh Now Cry Later” — Drake featuring Lil Durk
- “Rockstar” — DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
BEST RAP ALBUM
- “King’s Disease” — Nas — Winner
- “Black Habits” — D Smoke
- “Alfredo” — Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
- “A Written Testimony” — Jay Electronica
- “The Allegory” — Royce da 5’9″
BEST LATIN POP OR URBAN ALBUM
- “YHLQMDLG” — Bad Bunny — Winner
- “Por Primera Vez” — Camilo
- “Mesa Para Dos” — Kany García
- “Pausa” — Ricky Martin
- “3:33” — Debi Nova
BEST LATIN POP OR URBAN ALBUM
- “YHLQMDLG” — Bad Bunny — Winner
- “Por Primera Vez” — Camilo
- “Mesa Para Dos” — Kany García
- “Pausa” — Ricky Martin
- “3:33” — Debi Nova
BEST REGGAE ALBUM
- “Got to Be Tough” — Toots & The Maytals — Winner
- “Upside Down 2020” — Buju Banton
- “Higher Place” — Skip Marley
- “It All Comes Black to Love” — Maxi Priest
- “One World” — The Wailers
BEST GLOBAL MUSIC ALBUM
- “Twice as Tall” — Burna Boy — Winner
- “Fu Chronicles” — Antibalas
- “Agora” — Bebel Gilberto
- “Love Letters” — Anoushka Shankar
- “Amadjar” — Tinariwen
For a full list of this year’s winners and nominees, click here.
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MBN Staff
Entertainment
Grammy Awards Postponed, New Date Revealed
The 2021 Grammy Awards has been rescheduled. Details surrounding the format of the show still remain unclear.
Story Highlights
- March 14, 2021 has been confirmed as the new date for this year’s telecast due to COVID-19.
- Format and structure of the show still unknown.
In a joint statement from Harvey Mason, Jr (Interim President/CEO, The Recording Academy), Jack Sussman (EVP, Live Event, CBS Television), and the show’s Executive Producer Ben Winston, the 63rd Grammy Awards have been officially pushed back to March 14th, 2021. Citing ‘the deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles’ (where the ceremony is scheduled to be held) as the reason for the postponement, the statement confirmed what had already been speculated regarding the upcoming ceremony for some time.
It remains unclear if this pushback means the proposed March date will now include more participants than originally planned nor where or how it will be held or if The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah (below) is still slated to host.
According to Variety, a ‘limited’ show was being planned for the original date of January 31st – with only performers and presenters being allowed on-site (at The Staples Center), meaning nominees and winners would only make remote appearances. However, Recording Academy Interim CEO Harvey Mason, Jr. later stated that the event will be held “in and around Downtown Los Angeles”, and also mentioned plans to work with “independent venues” – which could mean we see it not held at Staples and perhaps take a similar production style to the 2020 BET Awards, where all presenters, performers and acceptance speeches were all pre-recorded and/or remote.
The statement sent to Music Biz Nation regarding the new March date did not mention that it would be a live telecast – suggesting this may well be the case.
Top nominees for the 63rd Grammy Awards include Beyonce (leading with a total of 9 noms, with 2 for ‘Record of the Year’), followed by Roddy Ricch, Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift – who each have 6. You can view the complete list of nominees here.
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MBN Staff
Business
$500m of Live Nation stock was just purchased by Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia bought 12,337,569 shares in Live Nation Entertainment, according to an SEC filing.
Story Highlights
- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia bought 12,337,569 shares in Live Nation Entertainment.
- Saudi are now the third largest shareholder of the live music giant.
In an opportunistic move, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has purchased over $500million worth of Live Nation Entertainment shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Amongst other media conglomerates, Live Nation has seen a big dip in stock value amid COVID-19. After closing out at $76.08 on February 19, company stocks have closed at as low as low as $25.50 within the past two months – reaching an 52-week low of $21.70. However, after the half-a-billion dollar transaction by the middle eastern nation was revealed in a SEC filing today, value for the company shot up by 15% (at the time of writing).
As a result of this major purchase, Saudi Arabia now owns 5.7% of Live Nation Entertainment – holding the title of the third largest shareholder of the company. To be precise, that is a whopping 12,337,569 shares.
Music Biz Nation previously reported on the impact COVID-19 has had on the Live Music Industry, and specifically, Live Nation. Due to a widespread cancelation of concerts for the remainder of the year, LNE shares have been down around 40% since this time last year.
Company CEO Michael Rapiro announced he will be forfeiting his 2020 salary, and a number of senior Live Nation executives will be taking up to 50% pay deductions to compensate for loss of income occurred by the cancelations.
Prior to COVID-19, the Live Music Industry was set to see a record-breaking year in 2020 – but may instead incur potential losses of up to $9billion. With the year-on-year growth the industry has been experiencing over recent years (as reported by Pollstar), it is likely the demand for concert tours will see an unprecedented demand once the coronavirus pandemic has settled, globally. This, of course, creates a perfect opportunity for investors – that Saudi Arabia has capitalized on.
According to reports, Saudi’s Public Investment Fund has made a number of investments during the COVID-19 period, including oil companies – though this has not been confirmed.
Due to the strict islamic culture of Saudi Arabia, this $500million purchase of LNE shares raises questions about the country’s overall interest in entertainment. Due to some of their restrictions – which have been protested by Women’s Rights and LGBGTQ Activists, many artists have avoided performing in the region. Nicki Minaj famously turned down an offer to perform at Jeddah World Fest in Jeddah (Saudi’s second largest city) last year.
Time will tell if this buy was strictly an economic move – or one to boost tourism, which has been a focus of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman since he took office.
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MBN Staff
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