Entertainment
Apple Music creates ‘Stream Local’ to support South African Artists
Stream Local will launch on April 11, and will exclusively feature South African Acts.
Story Highlights
- Stream Local will launch on April 11, and will exclusively feature South African Acts.
- The SA Government announced a R150m ($8.3m) fund to support arts and culture sectors.
Apple Music are continuing to do their part to support musicians affected by the coronavirus pandemic. As well as recently announcing a $50million cash advance fund for independent labels, the media giant has now announced ‘Stream Local’ which will specifically support South African Artists. Stream Local is a new series of playlists that will be heavily promoted on the streaming service, exclusively featuring South African Artists. The goal is to encourage consumers to stream music by local acts – and thus, generate income for the SA creatives and rights holders.
Like many other countries, artists who rely on income from touring are unable to generate this revenue due to current restrictions on mass gatherings.
At the time of writing, South Africa had over 1,934 confirmed cases of coronavirus – with 45 recoveries and 18 deaths. The African nation has seen the most cases in the continent, so far. Today, SA President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the country’s lockdown will be extended by an additional two weeks. Since the start of the initial lockdown, the daily increase in cases has dropped from 42% to 4%.
According to OkayAfrica, Apple’s ‘Stream Local’ playlist initiative is set to launch on April 11th – and will feature some of the biggest artists in the nation, including Blaq Diamond, Elaine, Ami Faku, and Kabza de Small. Gospel Group Joyous Celebration and Hip Hop Artists Nasty C and Cassper Nyovest will also be listed.
Some of the playlists will be ‘Mzansi House’, ‘Afrikaanse Treffers’, ‘Mzansi Hits’, ‘Amapiano Lifestyle’ and ‘Mzansi Soul’ – as well as a number of ‘Essential’ playlists filled with hits by respective SA talent.
Last week, the South African government recently announced that R150million ($8.3million) of its Q1 budget had been ‘reprioritized’ to provide relief to those within the arts and culture sectors affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
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MBN Staff
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
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