One of the highest accolades any musician can achieve is being nominated and winning a Grammy Award. 2021 marks the 63rd ceremony honoring and respecting the musical accomplishments of performers between September 19th, 2019 and August 31st, 2020.
When the first annual GRAMMY Awards were held on May 4th, 1959 , 28 awards were presented to artist such as Domenico Modugno (Record of the Year and Song of the Year), Henry Mancini (Album of the Year), Frank Sinatra (Best Album Cover), Ella Fitzgerald (Best Female Vocal Performance and Best Individual Jazz Performance) and David Seville and the Chipmunks (Best Comedy Performance and Best Recording For Children). This year, 83 golden gramophones will be presented to the most distinguished artist as voted by the Recording Academy voting committee.
The 63rd GRAMMY Awards were originally scheduled for January 31st, but due to several factors including the surging number of COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles and taking precautions measures to ensure the health and safety of all the people involved in the event, the award ceremony is now rescheduled for March. With the format for the event is still undecided, the show is set to be filmed and presented live without any pre-recorded segments as announced by Chair & Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy, Harvey Mason, Jr.
Trevor Noah, South African comedian, host of The Daily Show and former GRAMMY-nominee, will MC the event regardless of how it is structured.
The Recording Academy also announced the 2021 special Merit Award honorees for musicians that influenced the music community regardless of genre. The awards and honorees include: The Lifetime Achievement Award honorees for Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Lionel Hampton, Marilyn Horne, Salt-N-Pepa, Selena, and Talking Heads; Trustees Award honorees for Ed Cherney, Benny Golson and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds; and Technical GRAMMY Award for Daniel Weiss.
Additionally, changes to the voting guidelines and rules were announced including renaming of several categories and rules on Best New Artist category.
For the full list of voting Guidelines and Changes
Although the music industry continues to face uncertainty regarding the return of live music events and concerts, the pandemic gave several artists the opportunity to work on releasing and writing new music for their fans to enjoy throughout their quarantine. As stated by Harvey Mason, Jr. on the Grammy Awards website, “I’ve spent a lot of time talking to artists, managers and labels and getting a feel for how the pandemic is affecting the release of music—and as I’m sure you’ve noticed, the amount of music released has actually increased during the pandemic, so we would not want to delay our date with so much great music coming out.”
Artist such as The Weekend, Lady Gaga, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Dua Lip, Post Malone, Tame Impala, and Green Day are all leading contenders for awards this year. The 63rd GRAMMY Awards air Sunday, March 14, 2021, on CBS.
For the Full list of the 2021 GRAMMY Nominees
2021 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Inductees
“AU CLAIR DE LA LUNE” | Édouard-Léon Scott De Martinville | Single
Blues Breakers | John Mayall With Eric Clapton | Album
Canciones de mi Padre | Linda Ronstadt | Album
Clean Up Woman | Betty Wright | Single
Copenhagen | Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra | Single
Don’t Stop Believin’ | Journey | Single
Freight Train | Elizabeth Cotten | Single
Greeting from Ausbury Park, N.J. | Bruce Springsteen | Album
Horses | Patti Smith | Album
Hot Buttered Soul | Isaac Hayes | Album
In the Right Place | Dr. John | Album
Licensed to Ill | Beastie Boys | Album
Mad Dogs & Englishmen | Joe Cocker | Album
MERCY, MERCY, MERCY! Live at “The CLUB” | The Cannonball Adderley Quintet | Album
RAVEL: Piano Concerto in G Major | Leonard Bernstein With The Philharmonia Orchestra Of London | Album
SCHOENBERG: The Four String Quartets | Kolisch String Quartet | Album
SO | Peter Gabriel | Album
Solitude | Billie Holiday | Single
TEN | Pearl Jam | Album
Texas Flood | Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble | Album
The CARS | The Cars | Album
The Gambler | Kenny Rogers | Single
Tow and Theory | A Tribe Called Quest | Album
Time is on my side | Irma Thomas | Single
TRIO | Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris | Album
We Are The World | USA For Africa | Single
When The Levee Breaks | Kansas Joe And Memphis Minnie | Single
