Neil Portnow is out.

Bad news for supporters of the Recording Academy President’s loyalists below…

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From puzzle to surprise and outrage, music lovers the world over continue to express disappointment in the Recording Academy after the 2021 GRAMMY nominations were unveiled and showed no mention of The Weeknd – an artist whose 2020 blockbuster album, ‘After Hours,’ made history for its sales and impact.

While the organization’s chief Harvey Mason Jr. has taken to press multiple times to confirm the decision to omit the singer (born Abel Tesfaye) from the nod list was nothing personal or related to his commitment to the 2021 Super Bowl, his statements on behalf of the organization have done little to quell the hoopla surrounding Tesfaye’s shut out.

After Abel and his manager spoke out about the injustice (as we reported here), fellow artists took to their platforms in his defense as well. Chief among them is Nicki Minaj and Tesfaye’s on-and-off again friend Drake – both of whom have been vocal about their own snubs in the past.

Details inside:

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The 2019 GRAMMY Awards has named its host – Alicia Keys!

A 15-time winner at music’s biggest night, the critically acclaimed songstress will now take on the role of master of ceremony at the February 10th spectacle.

Details below…

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The world mourned the loss of Aretha Franklin, who passed away on August 16th aged 76.

Yet, with a life and legacy as prolific as hers, a mammoth celebration was always on the cards.

And the GRAMMY body are at the helm.

For, on January 13th, a special – aptly christened ‘Aretha! A GRAMMY Celebration For The Queen Of Soul’ – is set to be taped. 

And an all-star line-up of performers have been announced to honor the music royal.

Head below for details…

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With the music industry adapting to changing tides, so too are the award shows which reward the year’s top releases.

And at the forefront of this shapeshifting is the Grammy Awards.

Heavily critiqued in recent years after seismic snubs, questionable wins, and a still raging gender debate, organisers for music’s biggest calendar night have announced changes – which amount to being some of the most profound in Grammy history.

Find out what they are below…

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An benevolent crew made up of some of the most powerful women in music have penned an open letter condemning remarks made by Neil Portnow.

[Women] who want to be musicians, engineers, producers, and want to be part of the industry on the executive level [need] to step up.

The Grammy chief made the comments after last week’s ceremony saw a number of its female nominees miss out on major wins.

He issued this statement after facing fire.

Sunday night, I was asked a question about the lack of female artist representation in certain categories of this year’s Grammy Awards. Regrettably, I used two words, ‘step up,’ that, when taken out of context, do not convey my beliefs and the point I was trying to make. Our industry must recognize that women who dream of careers in music face barriers that men have never faced.

Today, a group of the industry’s power players have stepped up to slam him.

Details below…

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As we reported here, nearly as week after the 60th annual Grammy Awards aired the show is still very much a hot topic.  Initially, viewer complaints harped primarily on the lack of diversity among winners, specifically a poor celebration of nominees that were female and/or people of color.  However, once the Grammy president – Neil Portnow – weighed in on the backlash with some interestingly worded remarks the fallout shifted to him directly.

Taking to press, Portnow indicated women needed to ‘step up’ in order to see more inclusion – a statement most believe insinuated he thinks their contributions were less worthy of recognition than their male counterparts.  Sending shockwaves throughout the industry, female artists like P!nk, India Arie, Katy Perry, and Vanessa Carlton immediately sprung to action, with the latter even promoting a petition which aims to see him relieved of his leadership position in the Recording Academy.

As if that’s not enough, female executives – including some of Portnow’s own cohorts – are calling for similar action. Details inside:

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The fall-out from the 2018 Grammys seems to be more compelling than the show itself.

Beyond several questionable snubs, one of the main talking points was the lack of female winners at this year’s ceremony. Notably, Alessia Cara was the only female to win an award in a major category.

When quizzed on the matter, Grammy President Neil Portnow made quite the faux pas by saying:

“I think it has to begin with women who have the creativity in their hearts and souls — who want to be musicians, who want to be engineers, who want to be producers, who want to be part of the industry on the executive level — to step up.”

He continued on with less stinging remarks, but it was too late – the firestorm had begun.

And Pink, who ironically performed as this year’s show, poured the most fuel on the flames.

Details below…

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JAY-Z may be nominated in 8 categories at this Sunday’s Grammy Awards, but it appears he won’t be taking to the stage to perform.

Full story below…

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Scribbled in history books for its fair share of good and awesomely bad reasons, 2017 brought with it some of modern music’s most memorable moments.  Now, as the year draws to a close, TGJ is reflecting on our favorite happenings that rocked – and to some degree reshaped – the Urban and Pop musical landscape as we know it.

Next up we reflect on the Grammy upsets that rocked the fan bases of Urban music’s leading ladies:  Beyonce & Rihanna:

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Jay-Z is to be honoured for his contributions to Pop culture at Clive Davis’ Pre-Grammy gala in New York City.

Brilliant news below…

 

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It’s been nearly a week since the 59th annual Grammy Awards aired and people are still very much up-in-arms over a number of infamous moments from the telecast.

After Adele‘s historic sweep of the Album, Song, and Record of the Year categories, conversation erupted about how few times people of color have won the ceremony’s top honor over its 59 year history.  This added to the fact this year’s most nominated acts – Beyonce, Rihanna, Drake, Kanye West, and Chance the Rapper – mostly walked away with minor awards (if any awards at all).

As if that wasn’t enough, there were a number of sound snafus and technical mixups over the show including Metallica lead singer’s, James Hetfield, mic being completely off during a portion of the group’s performance with Lady Gaga and a picture of gospel singer Cece Winans being displayed behind a caption that read “Shirley Caesar.

Tuck in below to read the Recording Academy’s response to all the hoopla:

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