Ready, Set, Grammy’s! The countdown to the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards has begun as the Recording Academy finalized voting on January 4th! What most people don’t know, is the process begins with submissions from members and record labels. On top of that, the road to ‘Music’s Biggest Night’ isn’t complete without a screening from 350 music experts and a detailed nomination system.
On February 4, music lovers will get to enjoy Trevor Noah host the award show for the fourth consecutive time. This year, they have added three new categories that include Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Pop Dance Recording. The Grammy’s website has shared that the Lifetime Achievement Award recipients include N.W.A., Gladys Knight, Donna Summers and more. In addition to the award show, the Recording Academy has many other events and ceremonies to honor music professionals.
Outside of the glitz and glam, the Recording Academy stands by their mission to “recognize excellence and cultivate the well-being of the music community” by honoring those that teach. The Music Educator Award, which had its inaugural recipient in 2014, will be announced during GRAMMY week. Last year’s honoree, Pamela Dawson is a Texas native and resident of Desoto, a suburb about 17 miles outside of Dallas. She is Director of Choral Music at Desoto High School and according to the GRAMMY website uses “kinesthesia to help her students find their own voices.” She has taught for 15 years, worked with the Texas Music Educators Association, and was inducted into the Desoto ISD Hall of Honor. In an interview with the Recording Academy Dawson says, “Music is a passion. If you have music, you can’t run away from it. You can’t hide.” The winners receive a pretty nice honorarium and their schools’ music program gets a matching grant.
Photo Courtesy of Grammy Museum
Then, there’s the pre-Grammy gala hosted by music legend Clive Davis- which is just as BIG as the actual award show. The invite only party brings out all the hottest names in the business and features the ‘GRAMMY Salute to Industry Icons Honor’. This year’s recipient will be the Sony Music Publishing Chairman and CEO Jon Platt, who is responsible for signing new superstars like Latto and Jack Harlow.
Topping the nominations list is SZA with 9 mentions, Victoria Monét is nominated for ‘Song of the Year’ for On My Mama and is up for Best New Artist with Ice Spice and Coco Jones. You will also see Metro Boomin, who is nominated for ‘Producer of the Year, non classical’ and Tyla whose break out hit ‘Water’ landed her a nomination for ‘Best African Music Performance.’
The 66th Annual Grammy Awards will air live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 4, 2024 from 7:00 PM-10:30 PM CST. Watch on the CBS Television Network or stream on Paramount+ .
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