Tag: Grammys

  • Swifties swoon as Taylor Swift wins record fourth best album Grammy, beating Frank Sinatra

    Swifties swoon as Taylor Swift wins record fourth best album Grammy, beating Frank Sinatra

    Taylor Swift made Grammys history Sunday by winning her fourth Album of the Year prize, the most of any artist – the crowning moment of a night of electric performances and breakthrough wins.

    In taking home the honor at the 66th annual Grammys in Los Angeles, Swift surpassed the likes of Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder, industry greats she previously had been tied with.

    It’s a cherry on top for the 34-year-old, who is already one of music’s blockbuster stars.

    “For me, the award is the work,” Swift said, who earlier in the night announced she would drop a new album on April 19. “I love it so much.”

    “It makes me unbelievably blown away that it makes some people happy who voted for this award too.”

    Swift however lost two other top prizes she was up for.

  • ‘Treaty of Versailles for stan Twitter’: Beyonce, Taylor Swift pose together at Eras Tour movie premiere

    ‘Treaty of Versailles for stan Twitter’: Beyonce, Taylor Swift pose together at Eras Tour movie premiere

    Taylor Swift debuted a gorgeous bob and blue gown as she posed on the red carpet at the premiere of her Eras Tour movie, but what shook stan Twitter to it’s core was Beyonce showing up to the event.

    Beyonce and Taylor Swift were pitted against each other by media as the former led her ‘Renaissance World Tour’ around America, while Taylor was performing in concerts under the Eras tour. The duo have publicly praised each other in interviews over the years, and Beyonce was even seen attending Taylor’s 25th birthday celebrations, while Swift has publicly expressed her love for Beyonce’s songs and congratulated her over Grammy wins.

    Stan Twitter was overjoyed to witness the display of solidarity as the two women leading the music industry were seen posing together at Taylor’s film premier, shutting down all the haters.

    Taylor shared a boomerang with Beyonce at the cinema where she praised the ‘Formation’ singer for breaking all the rules and defying industry norms.

    “I’m so glad I’ll never know what my life would’ve been like without @beyonce‘s influence. The way she’s taught me and every artist out here to break rules and defy industry norms. Her generosity of spirit. Her resilience and versatility. She’s been a guiding light throughout my career and the fact that she showed up tonight was like an actual fairytale. ”

  • AI-generated song with vocals by Drake, The Weeknd submitted for 2 Grammy’s

    AI-generated song with vocals by Drake, The Weeknd submitted for 2 Grammy’s

    ‘Heart On The Sleeve’ has been submitted to the Grammys for two awards this year, including ‘Song Of The Year’ and ‘Best Rap Song’. The song, featuring vocals by Drake and Abel Tesfaya aka The Weekend, is AI generated. The New York Times reports that an anonymous songwriter, Ghostwriter, has written the track, as well as another song ‘Whiplash’ which features vocals by Travis Scott and 21 Savage.

    Here’s the catch: none of these singers have actually sung the songs.

    ‘Heart On A Sleeve’ racked up 600,000 streams on Spotify as well as 15 million views on Tiktok but was removed immediately after Drake and The Weeknd’s label, Universal Music Group, reacted. But, the publication reports, the song was eligible for two awards, since the category recognizes writers, rather than performers, taking refuge in a loop hole in the announcement by the Recording Academy in June which banned AI-generated songs from being submitted for consideration, since the song was written by a human.

    Harvey Mason, chief executive of the Recording Academy, said:

    “I knew right away as soon as I heard that record that it was going to be something that we had to grapple with from an Academy standpoint, but also from a music community and industry standpoint. When you start seeing A.I. involved in something so creative and so cool, relevant and of-the-moment, it immediately starts you thinking, ‘OK, where is this going? How is this going to affect creativity? What’s the business implication for monetization?’”

    Meanwhile Ghostwriter wrote a lengthy statement on Twitter where he called for both 21 Savage and Travis Scott to post a collaboration, and clarified that to respect the artists, he would direct royalties earned from the song to them:

    “The future of music is here. Artists now have the ability to let their voice work for them without lifting a finger. If you’re down to put it out, I will clearly label it as A.I., and I’ll direct royalties to you. Respect either way.”

  • Lizzo counter-sues backup dancers for ‘malicious prosecution’

    Lizzo counter-sues backup dancers for ‘malicious prosecution’

    Pop singer Lizzo has been sued by former backup dancers of her troupe for sexual harassment, unprofessionalism and body shaming. In the suit filed earlier this month, Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez detailed instances of being shamed for weight gain, being coerced into touching nude dancers.

    On Wednesday, Lizzo’s lawyer said in a statement sent to The Independent, that the singer was now counter suing the dancers for ‘malicious content’, describing the lawsuit as a sham.

    The statement included photos of the three plaintiffs Davis, Williams and Rodriguez with “the performers after the topless cabaret show at the Crazy Horse cabaret in Paris” on 5 March, 2023. In their lawsuit, the dancers had claimed they were not informed by Lizzo that the dancers performing would be naked, “robbing them of the choice not to participate”.

    The plaintiff’s also described Lizzo pressurising cast members to take turns touching the nude performers “catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas”.

    However, Lizzo’s statement said the images released show the plaintiff’s happily spending time in the club they had complained about in the lawsuit:

    “These images showing the three plaintiffs gleefully revelling backstage after the topless show were taken after their February 2023 visit to Bananenbar in Amsterdam that they complain about in their lawsuit.”

    Neema Rahmani, representing the three dancers in the lawsuit, responded to the images, and said they had previously addressed all the instances where the plaintiff’s appeared to be happy alongside Lizzo, during the time the

    “Of course, they wanted to keep their jobs. They had bills to pay just like everyone else but they finally had enough of the abuse. We stand by every claim in the lawsuit and look forward to trial.

    “We’ve been hearing from other former employees sharing similar stories, and as seen in the Los Angeles Times article today about how Lizzo used intimate footage of her dancers without their approval in the 2022 HBO Max Love Lizzo documentary, we’re seeing even more of a pattern of just how much Lizzo thinks of those who work for her. Clearly, not very much.”

    Furthermore, Rahmani slammed the singer’s statement as an “empty threat” and said they were ready to meet the lawyer and his client in the courtroom because they had no plans of backing down.

    “I’ve handled thousands of cases, including prosecuting drug cartels so we have no plans to back down. Let’s see if Singer can actually try a case in a courtroom instead of the media,” said Rahmani.

  • Taylor Swift announces 1989 (Taylor’s Version)

    She never goes out of style

    Taylor Swift really knows how to keep cruising. On Wednesday she announced that her next rerecorded album will be 1989, on the sixth L.A show of the Era’s tour at SoFi Stadium.

    The new rerecording comes after Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version)- in an effort to own the original masters of her own albums after she spoke publicly about cutting ties with her own record label when they sold it to Scooter Braun.

    Swift said the album will be released internationally on October 27, calling it a dream to own her music:

    “Since I was a teenager, I wanted to own my music and the way to do it was to re-record my albums and call them Taylor’s Version. And the way that you have embraced that, the way that you have celebrated that, you really decided that it was your fight, too, and that you were 100% behind me and that if I cared about it, you cared about it,” the ‘Anti-Hero’ singer. “I will never stop thanking you for that. It was so generous. And so now here we are at the last night of the US leg of the Eras Tour in the eighth month of the year, on the ninth day of the month.”

    “There’s something that I’ve been planning for a really, really long time… and I think instead of just like telling you about it, I think I’ll just sort of show you,” and Swift gestured to the screen which showed the album artwork for 1989, along with the release date.

    Along with a post on her social media account, Swift called this her ‘FAVOURITE re-record’ and said that the 5 From The Vault tracks are ‘insane’.

    Released in 2014, the album featured critically acclaimed tracks like ‘Blank Space’, ‘Style’ and ‘Wildest Dreams’, and had gone on to win Swift’s second Album of the year award at the Grammy’s.

  • ‘I’m not a villain’: Lizzo responds to harassment claims, dancers reject her statement

    ‘I’m not a villain’: Lizzo responds to harassment claims, dancers reject her statement

    Pop singer Lizzo has been mired in a huge controversy since a few days ago when a suit filed by her former dancers accused her of bullying, sexual harassment and body shaming. The three dancers detailed their experience of being fired after being accused of gaining weight, unprofessional working environments as well as being pressurised into controversial activities.

    In a statement released on her social media accounts, the Grammy award winning singer has responded to the suit, calling the stories “sensationalised”, adding that the former employees had already admitted their behavior on tour was unprofessional:

    “These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.”

    ‘I am not here to be looked at as a victim but I also know I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be the last few days…There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world. I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight.”

    READ MORE: Lizzo sued after three former dancers accuse her of sexual harassment, unprofessional behavior

    The statement was slammed by dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez who spoke to UK’s Channel 4 about the 44 page lawsuit they filed against the ‘Good as hell’ singer, and her dance captain Shirlene Quigley.

    “Initially for me, it just further deepened my disappointment in regards to how I was feeling and how I was treated,” Williams said. “I think the overall theme in all this is that our experiences were our experiences and our traumas were our traumas. In bringing that forward, it feels like it was disregarded completely. It feels like we were made out to be putting out false allegations when that’s not the case.”

    “So yes, it was very disheartening to read and feel overlooked especially when she stands for what she stands for in regards to women’s empowerment – being an advocate for mental health, being an advocate for body positivity – and to just further prove that that’s not the case, because nothing was acknowledged in that statement,” the former dancer further added.

    Speaking to CBS News, Davis elaborated on the Amsterdam accident, when Lizzo had taken the backup dancers to a strip club and pressurised Angela to grope the nude dancer, then forced a security guard member to go on stage and strip. She described the situation as ‘mortifying’:

    “I did not ask for it. I said no multiple times,” Davis said.

    After facing intense pressure from Lizzo, she “briefly touched” the performer. “I was very, very mortified, everyone burst into laughter,” she recalled.

    In the lawsuit, it was also mentioned that Lizzo body-shamed the dancers, firing one of them after commenting that she seemed “less committed” about the role.

    Arianna told NBC that the fatphobia comments weren’t spoken directly, but underlined every criticism she was given:

    “It was very nuanced and very underlying underneath all the other issues that were going on,” Davis explained. “I just had this feeling that they had a problem with the way I was gaining weight and looking different and that I wasn’t ‘the same’ as when they first cast me.”

    Attorney Neama Rahmani, who is representing Davis, Williams and Rodriguez in the lawsuit, addressed Lizzo’s statement and said the case will be moved to trial to prove whether what the pop singer is saying is true:

    “Given Lizzo is denying that any of this happened, let’s take it to trial. More witnesses are coming forward every day corroborating the plaintiffs’ allegations, so we’re looking forward to facing Lizzo and her team in court.”

    Lizzo’s lawyer representing her at the trial is Marty Singer, whose previous clients include Johnny Depp, Charlie Sheen, Chris Brown and Jonah Hill.

  • Lizzo sued after three former dancers accuse her of sexual harassment, unprofessional behavior

    Lizzo sued after three former dancers accuse her of sexual harassment, unprofessional behavior

    Grammy award winning singer Lizzo was sued by former dancers in her troupe for sexual harassment, hostile work environment and body shaming.

    In a lawsuit filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court, three former dancers accused Lizzo, and the captain of her dance team Shirlene Quigley, for religious harassment, body shaming. In one of the incidents cited in the suit, after a performance at the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival, dancer Arianna Davis was told that she seemed ‘less committed’ to her role- a comment which thinly suggested she needed to lose weight.

    Another dancer was scolded after the singer called to attention their weight gain, and later fired the same dancer after she had recorded a meeting because of a health condition.

    “The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly, while privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralizing,” Zambrano said in a statement.

    Lizzo has been open about embracing body diversity, releasing several songs like ‘Good as hell’ and ‘Juice’, which encouraged women to love their curves as they are.

    The suit described how the dancers were put in uncomfortable positions including an Amsterdam trip to a strip club, where Lizzo allegedly pressurised the cast members to touch the nude performers, including Ms. Davis despite her reluctance. When Davis obliged and briefly touched the performer, the crowd began laughing. Afterwards, Lizzo pushed a member of the security staff on the stage and began yelling ‘take it off!’, according to the staff present.

    “Plaintiffs were aghast with how little regard Lizzo showed for the bodily autonomy of her employees and those around her, especially in the presence of many people whom she employed,” the suit detailed.

    A week later, after a performance in Paris, the suit reveals the dancers were invited by Lizzo to a club, but they were shocked to discover that it was actually a nude cabaret bar.

    The suit said the plaintiffs were “shocked that Lizzo would conceal the nature of the event from them, robbing them of the choice not to participate.”

    The suit also described the instances of racial and religious harassment dancers had faced, who were the sole women of color present in the group. On one instance, a former dancer requested 50% compensation for her downtime, and the accountant began scolding her for being “unacceptable and disrespectful” and instead offered 25%.

    “Only the dance cast — comprised of full-figured women of color — were ever spoken to in this manner,” the claim stated.

    Dancers were also subjected to pressure to convert to Christianity by the dance captain, Quigley, who preached her Christian beliefs and “took every opportunity to proselytize to any and all in her presence regardless of protestations.” Several cast members asked her to stop pressurising the dancer Rodriguez about her faith, whom Quigley described as a ‘non-believer’, the accused had responded:

    “No job and no one will stop me from talking about the Lord.”

    Lizzo has not responded to the lawsuit, but several other public figures since then have come forward with accusations of rude behavior and unprofessionalism from the pop singer. Filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison shared that she dropped out as director for Lizzo’s documentary in 2019, citing rudeness from the ‘Cuz I Love You’ singer.

    Lizzo’s former creative director, along with another former dancer, had sent their support to the dancers who had filed the lawsuit against the ‘Juice’ singer.

  • Grammy’s ban AI recordings for nominations, says only human creators are eligible

    Grammy’s ban AI recordings for nominations, says only human creators are eligible

    Aritifical Intelligence (AI) has now crept its way into the music industry, allowing users to manipulate voice and re-create songs with it. The Beatles have announced that they are recording a decades old song with the help of the technology, featuring the late lead singer John Lennon’s voice.

    The Recording Academy has announced new guidelines that state that AI in music will not be considered eligible for nomination.

    “Only human creators are eligible to be submitted for consideration for, nominated for, or win a GRAMMY Award. A work that contains no human authorship is not eligible in any Category,” the Academy says.

    The Grammys also introduced some additional changes to be eligible for the ‘Album of the Year’ nomination, announcing that a music creator has to feature on at least 20% of the album to be able to become a part of the nomination. Previously, any producer or song writer who had participated in making the album, could earn a nomination.

  • ‘Used to wish that my name was normal and English like Hannah’: Dua Lipa

    ‘Used to wish that my name was normal and English like Hannah’: Dua Lipa

    Dua Lipa is one of the biggest stars in the music industry today with her iconic looks as well as bops like ‘Levitating’ and the Barbie soundtrack ‘Dance the night’. The BBC reports that the Albanian-English pop star has revealed she wasn’t always so sure she would end up working in the entertainment industry because of her heritage, as well as her name.

    “From a young age, I had the dream to be a pop star but it never seemed like something that was actually possible,” the ‘New Rules’ singer shared. “I’ve been a new girl all my life.”

    “There was always the idea of being from two places at once,” the ‘Barbie’ actress continued. “I understood the duality of my heritage from an early age. People would always ask where my name is from. I was really proud of it, but when I was younger I wished my name was, say, Hannah — something ‘normal’ and English.”

    But these insecurities didn’t hold the superstar back, making her more determined to pursue a career in music, and influencing her decision to move back to London at the age of 15 to give her GCSE’s while her family moved to Kosovo, and shared a flat with the daughter of family friends:

    “I was quite determined,” recalled Dua. “I didn’t feel I had the same opportunities in music as I had in London. I was driven. My dad says I’m very hard to say no to!”

    She revealed how at the age of 17, after finishing her studies she set her mind on making it in the music industry:

    “I was really persistent. I just started writing a lot, worked with a producer. I was 17. I was offered a publishing deal but [producer] Felix told me to go to a lawyer, who said, ‘Don’t sign that deal!’ They then helped me get into the studio.”

    Dua Lipa is set to star in the upcoming Greta Gerwig film ‘Barbie’ which has Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in main roles.

  • Lyari rapper Eva B honored as first Pakistani woman to feature on Grammy’s Global Spin

    Only a year after ‘Kanna Yaari’ burst on our screens, there’s no stopping Eva B. The Lyari based rapper is setting milestones with her performance at the Grammy’s ‘Global Spin’ show with her song ‘Sunrise in Lyari’.

    The Global Spin is a platform where international artists are highlighted. Her track is described as ‘an infectious rap song about her roots in Karachi.” She had also exclusively written the song for the platform.

    Sharing the achievement on her Instagram page, the ‘Rozi’ rapper called this achievement a ‘testament to the power of dreams and the relentless pursuit of excellence.”

    “In this moment, I’m overwhelmed with a mix of awe, gratitude, and a burning desire to represent my roots. Being a Pakistani woman to hit the Grammy GlobalSpin stage is a testament to the power of dreams and the relentless pursuit of excellence. ”

    Eva B had won hearts across Pakistan with her upbeat hit ‘Rozi’ which she sang for the ‘Ms Marvel’ soundtrack and later featured alongside with actress Sonya Hussyn for ‘Khoon Hai Karachi Ka’ for the crime thriller film ‘Daadal’