61st Annual Grammy Awards
Childish Gambino was the big winner of the night where he won
Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Music Video and Best Rap/Sung
Performance for his hit This is America.
It was a historical moment for Rap as This
is America was the first from the genre to win Record of the Year. Kacey Musgraves was also a big winner as
she won Album of the Year and Best Country Album for Golden Hour, Best Country Song for Space Cowboy and Best Country Solo Performance for Butterflies. The
coveted Best New Artist award went to Dua Lipa who also won Best Dance
Recording alongside Silk City (Mark
Ronson & Diplo).
Camila Cabello opened the ceremony with her hit Havana which was then joined by Ricky Martin and J Balvin to perform their hits Pégate
and Mi Gente. Post Malone was joined on stage by rock legends Red Hot Chili Peppers to perform a
medley of Stay, Rockstar and Dark Necessities. Curtains closed on the
show with Fantasia, Andra Day and Yolanda Adams paying tribute to Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin with a performance of (You Make Me Feel Like) A
Natural Woman. Jennifer Lopez, Smokey
Robinson and Ne-Yo celebrated the
60th anniversary of Motown Records with a medley of the greatest
hits released under the label such as ABC,
Do You Love Me, Please Mr. Postman
and Dancing in the Street. Other
notable winners were:
·
Best Pop Vocal Album: Ariana Grande – Sweetener
·
Best Rock Album: Greta Van Fleet – From the Fires
·
Best Rap Album: Cardi B – Invasion of Privacy
·
Best Rap Song: Drake – God’s Plan
·
Best R&B Song: Ella Mai – Boo’d Up
·
Best Pop Solo Performance: Lady Gaga – Joanne (Where do you think you’re goin’?)
·
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media – The Greatest Showman
· Best Song Written for Visual Media: Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – Shallow (A
Star is Born)
2019 BRIT Awards
The 1975 and Calvin Harris
were the big winners of British music’s most prestigious night. The curtains
opened with a performance of The Greatest
Show by Hugh Jackman from The
Greatest Showman soundtrack. Calvin
Harris who performed a medley of his hits Giant, Promises and One Kiss
took home Producer of the Year and Single of the Year for One Kiss (with Dua Lipa).
The 1975 won British Group and Album
of the Year for A Brief Inquiry into
Online Relationships. Little Mix
who performed their latest hit Woman Like
Me assisted by Ms Banks won Video
of the Year. The other winners were:
·
British Male Solo Artist – George Ezra
·
British Female Solo Artist – Jorja Smith
·
British Breakthrough Act – Tom Walker
·
International Male Solo Artist – Drake
·
International Female Solo Artist – Ariana Grande
·
International Group – The Carters
·
Global Success Award – Ed Sheeran
91st Academy Awards
Queen biopic Bohemian
Rhapsody won big at the Oscars with 4 wins including Best Actor for Rami Malek for his portrayal of the
band’s lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury
along with Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing. The
coveted Best Original Song went to Lady
Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt for Shallow
from A Star is Born. Ludwig Göransson took home Best Original
Score for Black Panther.
2019 Billboard Latin Music Awards Nominations
In a historic feat Ozuna has scored a record 23 nominations
across 15 categories including Artist of the Year and two nods each in the Hot
Latin Song of the Year for Taki Taki
and Te Bote and Top Latin Album of
the Year for Aura and Odisea. Far behind him with 13 nods each
are J Balvin and Nicky Jam followed by Bad
Bunny with 12 nominations. The awards, which honor top performers in Latin
music cover 34 categories and will be held on 25 April 2019 in Las Vegas.
Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show
This year’s show was marred by
controversy even before it began. Pink
and Rihanna allegedly declined to
headline the show which left the organizers with the safe pick of Maroon 5 with guest stars Travis Scott and Big Boi. Cardi B announced that she turned down
an opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl LIII alongside Maroon 5. Her reason for doing so is in support of ex-NFL player Colin Kaepernick who knelt during the
national anthem in 2016 to raise awareness to police brutality, racial
inequality and other social issues.
Maroon 5’s lackluster performance was attributed to them performing
their commercially successful hits such as Sugar
and Moves Like Jagger in place of fan
favorites such as One More Night, Payphone and Animals. Lead vocalist Adam
Levine received backlash over taking his shirt off during the last portion,
as the same was compared to how Janet
Jackson’s career took a downfall due to her wardrobe mishap in 2004, just
because she was a woman.
Pink receives star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Pink was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame where her
husband Carey Hart and two children joined for the special occasion. Soon after
the event, she announced that she will be releasing a new single titled Walk Me Home this month, followed by a
studio album, Hurts 2B Human in
April. The BRIT Awards also announced that she would receive the Outstanding
Contribution to Music Award this year, making her the first non-British artist
to receive the prize.
R.Kelly jailed for sexual abuse
R&B superstar R.Kelly was arrested on 10 charges of
aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Kelly turned himself in to the Chicago police
on the day the charges were announced. Bail was set at USD 1 million by the
judge who also ordered Kelly not to have any contact with a minor or an alleged
victim.
Celine Dion biopic in the works
French studio Gaumont
announced the production of “The Power of
Love”, a biopic based on the life of pop superstar Celine Dion to be released in 2020. Valerie Lemercier will direct the primarily French film and star as
the Canadian singer.
James Ingram passes away at the age of 66
Two time Grammy winner and
Oscar nominee James Ingram passed
away at the age of 66 from brain cancer. Ingram was a critically acclaimed
R&B singer and songwriter scoring hits such as Baby Come to Me (with Patti Austin), Somewhere Out There (with Linda
Ronstadt), I Don't Have the Heart and Yah
Mo Be There (with Michael McDonald).
6ix9ine pleads guilty to nine crimes
The Brooklyn rapper pleaded guilty to nine crimes including helping the Nine Trey Blood Gang of which he was a member to kill a rival gang member. By cooperating with the prosecution, the 23-year old will gain some leniency during sentencing, which is scheduled for 23 January 2020. Till then he will remain in an undisclosed federal prison for safety reasons.
The Brooklyn rapper pleaded guilty to nine crimes including helping the Nine Trey Blood Gang of which he was a member to kill a rival gang member. By cooperating with the prosecution, the 23-year old will gain some leniency during sentencing, which is scheduled for 23 January 2020. Till then he will remain in an undisclosed federal prison for safety reasons.
21 Savage released on bond by US Immigration
UK born rapper 21 Savage (real name Shéyaa Bin
Abraham-Joseph) was released on bond by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) after nine days in detention for violation of US immigration laws. He was
charged with overstaying in the country since his visa expired in the US. His
expedited deportation hearing is scheduled for 11 April 2019. He was scheduled
to perform at the recently held Grammy Awards where his Post Malone collaboration Rockstar
was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Rap/Sung Performance.
Michael Jackson Estate sues HBO over Documentary
Optimum Productions and the
co-executors of Jackson’s estate are
suing HBO and parent company, Time Warner over the upcoming documentary Leaving Neverland, which alleges sexual
abuse on the part of the King of Pop. The MJ estate is relying on a non-disparagement
provision in a 1992 agreement between Jackson and HBO and the lawsuit if won by
the estate could exceed USD 100 million in damages.
UN issues Guidelines for Audio Devices
The World Health Organization
and International Telecommunications Union have presented new standards for the
manufacture and use of personal audio devices. The agencies state half of all
people aged 12-35 or 1.1 billion people are at risk of hearing loss due to
prolonged and exposure to loud sounds. The recommendations say the devices
should include software to track exposure to sound and methods to limit volume.
Chart News
In the US, Ariana Grande’s brand new single 7 Rings debuted atop the charts during
the first week and kept its throne for the remainder of the month. During the
month Grande released another single Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored,
the third single off her latest album, interpolating NSYNC’s It Makes Me Ill, which debuted at No.2 just missing the top
spot because of her own hit. With this hit she equaled a record set by The Beatles in 1964 to occupy the top 3
spots (with Thank U, Next at No.3) on
the chart and the first solo artist to do so.
In the UK, Grande continued her reign with 7 Rings for the first two weeks of the
month. In the third week she replaced herself at the top with Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored,
and became the first female artist in UK history to replace herself at No.1. She
then once again replaced herself at the top, with 7 Rings returning to the top in the fourth week. During the month, Mabel’s Don’t Call Me Up, Billie Ellish’s
Bury a Friend and Lewis Capaldi’s
Someone You Loved, all entered the top 10 during the month.
Hot New Picks of the Month
1. Galantis
ft. OneRepublic – Bones
2. Little
Mix ft. Ty Dolla $ign – Think about us
3. Yungblud
& Halsey ft. Travis Barker – 11 minutes
4. Khalid
& Kane Brown – Saturday nights
5. Julia
Michaels ft. Selena Gomez – Anxiety
6. Daddy
Yankee ft. Snow – Con calma
7. Troye
Sivan & Lauv – I’m so tired
8. Ally
Brooke – Low key
9. Zedd
& Katy Perry – 365
10. J. Cole – Middle Child
Till the next beat...
At Ease!!!
