2026 Grammy Awards: Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar win big

February 1, 2026

by Carla Hay

At the 68th annual Grammy Awards, rap star Kendrick Lamar won the most prizes (five), while Latin trap/reggaeton singer Bad Bunny made history when his “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” album became the first Spanish-language to win Album of thr Year. The ceremony took place on February 1, 2026, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Trevor Noah hosted the Grammy Awards for the sixth year in a row. He repeatedly mentioned during the show that this is the last Grammy Awards ceremony that he is hosting. CBS had the U.S. telecast of the show, which was livestreamed on Paramount+ Premium. Winners are voted for by the Recording Academy’s voting members.

Bad Bunny’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” also won the prize for Best Música Urbana Album, while his song “Eoo” received the Grammy for Best Global Music Performance. He had six nominations going into the ceremony.

With nine nominations, Lamar was the top contender going into the ceremony. The five Grammy Awards he won this year (a repeat of the same number of Grammys he won in 2025) are Record of the Year (for “Luther,” his duet with SZA); Best Rap Album (for “GNX”); Best Rap Performance (for “Chains & Whips,” performed by Clipse, Pusha T and Malice featuring Lamar & Pharrell Williams); Best Melodic Rap Performance (for “Luther”); and Best Rap Song (for TV Off,” which Lamar wrote with Jack Antonoff, Larry Jayy, Dijon McFarlane, Sean Momberger, Mark Anthony Spears and Kamasi Washington).

Billie Eilish’s “Wildflower” (written by Eilish and her brother Finneas O’Connell) won for Song of the Year. It’s the third time that this songwriting duo won in this category, thereby setting a new record as the two artists with the most Grammy wins for Song of the Year. Olivia Dean was named Best New Artist. Pharrell Williams received the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, a non-competitive prize for influential hip-hop artists. The recipient of the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award is announced in advance of the Grammy ceremony.

Category changes included the addition of two new categories: Best Traditional Country Album and Best Album Cover. Best Country Album has been renamed Best Contemporary Country Album. The category for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package was renamed Best Recording Package.

Performers at the show included Bruno Mars and Rosé (“APT.”); Sabrina Carpenter (“Manchild”); Justin Bieber (“Yukon”); Lady Gaga (“Abracadabra”); Bruno Mars and The Hooligans (“I Just Might”); Tyler, the Creator (“Thought I Was Dead” and “Sugar on My Tongue”); and Clipse, Dr. Dre Global Impact Award recipient Williams and Voices of Fire (“So Far Ahead”).

The Grammys also had all of this year’s Best New Artist nominees sing a medley, where they each performed one of their respective songs. The Best New Artist nominee medley featured The Marías (“No One Noticed”); Addison Rae (“Fame Is a Gun”); Katseye (“Gnarly”); Leon Thomas (“Mutt”); Alex Warren (“Ordinary”); Lola Young (“Messy”); Best New Artist winner Dean (“Man I Need”); and Sombr (“12 to 12”).

Reba McEntire, Brandy Clark and Lukas Nelson teamed up to perform “Trailblazer” for the show’s In Memoriam segment. It was the first time that McEntire performed at the Grammy Awards. There were also separate performance tributes to major artists who died since the previous Grammy ceremony. Post Malone, Duff McKagan, Slash, Chad Smith and Andrew Watt collaborated for a perfomance of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” in tribute to former Black Sabbath lead singer Ozzy Osbourne. Lauryn Hill, Lucky Daye, Leon Thomas, Bilal, Jon Batiste, October London, John Legend, Chaka Khan and Wyclef Jean did a combined tribute to Roberta Flack and D’Angelo.

Presenters at at the ceremony were Carole King, Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Doechii, Harry Styles, Jeff Goldblum, Karol G, Lainey Wilson, Marcello Hernández, Nikki Glaser, Q-Tip, Queen Latifah and Teyana Taylor.

The 68th annual Grammy Awards show was produced by Fulwell Entertainment for the Recording Academy. Ben Winston, Raj Kapoor, Jesse Collins and Grammy host Noah were executive producers of the show.

The following is the complete list of winners and nominees for the 2026 Grammy Awards:

*=winner

General Field

Category 1

Record Of The Year

Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s), if other than the artist.

DtMF
Bad Bunny
Scotty Dittrich, Hydra Hitz, La Paciencia, JULiA LEWiS, MAG & Tyler Spry, producers; Antonio Caraballo, Josh Gudwin, Roberto Rosado & Tyler Spry, engineers/mixers; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer

Manchild
Sabrina Carpenter

Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter, producers; Jack Antonoff, Bryce Bordone, Jozef Caldwell, Serban Ghenea, Sean Hutchinson, Oli Jacobs, Michael Riddleberger & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Ruairi O’Flaherty, mastering engineer

Anxiety
Doechii

Doechii, producer; Jayda Love, engineer/mixer; Nicolas De Porcel, mastering engineer

WILDFLOWER
Billie Eilish

FINNEAS, producer; Jon Castelli, FINNEAS & Aron Forbes, engineers/mixers; Dale Becker, mastering engineer

Abracadabra
Lady Gaga

Cirkut, Lady Gaga & Andrew Watt, producers; Bryce Bordone, Serban Ghenea & Paul LaMalfa, engineers/mixers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer

luther*
Kendrick Lamar With SZA
*
Jack Antonoff, Bridgeway, M-Tech, roselilah, Sounwave & Kamasi Washington, producers; Jack Antonoff, Ray Charles Brown Jr., Hector Castro, Oli Jacobs, Jack Manning, Sean Matsukawa, Dani Perez, Tony Shepperd, Laura Sisk & Johnathan Turner, engineers/mixers; Ruairi O’Flaherty, mastering engineer

The Subway
Chappell Roan

Daniel Nigro, producer; Chris Kaysch, Mitch McCarthy & Daniel Nigro, engineers/mixers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer

APT.
ROSÉ, Bruno Mars

Rogét Chahayed, Cirkut, Omer Fedi & Bruno Mars, producers; Serban Ghenea


Category 2

Album Of The Year

Award to Artist(s) and to Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), Mixer(s) and Mastering Engineer(s) credited with 20% or more playing time of the album.

DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS*
Bad Bunny*
Big Jay, La Paciencia, MAG & Tainy, producers; Antonio Caraballo, Josh Gudwin, Luis Amed Irizarry & Roberto José Rosado Torres, engineers/mixers; Benito Antonio Ocasio Martinez, Roberto José Rosado Torres, Marco Daniel Borrero, Jay Anthony Nuñez & Marcos Efrain Masis, songwriters; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer

SWAG
Justin Bieber

Eddie Benjamin, Justin Bieber, Daniel Chetrit, Dijon, Carter Lang & Dylan Wiggins, producers; Felix Byrne & Josh Gudwin, engineers/mixers; Eddie Benjamin, Justin Bieber, Daniel Chetrit, Dijon Duenas, Tobias Jesso Jr., Carter Lang, Jackson Lee Morgan & Dylan Wiggins, songwriters; Dale Becker, mastering engineer

Man’s Best Friend
Sabrina Carpenter

Jack Antonoff, Sabrina Carpenter & John Ryan, producers; Zem Adu, Jack Antonoff, Bryce Bordone, Jozef Caldwell, Serban Ghenea, Jeff Gunnell, David Hart, Mikey Freedom Hart, Sean Hutchinson, Oli Jacobs, Jack Manning, Joey Miller, Michael Riddleberger, John Ryan, Laura Sisk & Evan Smith, engineers/mixers; Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff, Sabrina Carpenter & John Ryan, songwriters; Nathan Dantzler & Ruairi O’Flaherty, mastering engineers

Let God Sort Em Out
Clipse, Pusha T & Malice

Pharrell Williams, featured artist; Pharrell Williams, producer; Mike Larson, Manny Marroquin, Rob Ulsh & Pharrell Williams, engineers/mixers; Gene Elliott Thornton Jr., Terrence Thornton & Pharrell Williams, songwriters; Zach Pereyra, mastering engineer

MAYHEM
Lady Gaga

Cirkut, Gesaffelstein, Lady Gaga & Andrew Watt, producers; Bryce Bordone, Serban Ghenea & Paul LaMalfa, engineers/mixers; Henry Walter, Mike Lévy, Lady Gaga, Michael Polansky & Andrew Watt, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer

GNX
Kendrick Lamar

Jack Antonoff & Sounwave, producers; Jack Antonoff, Ray Charles Brown Jr., Jozef Caldwell, Oli Jacobs, Jack Manning, Dani Perez, Laura Sisk & Johnathan Turner, engineers/mixers; Jack Antonoff, Ink, Scott Bridgeway, Sam Dew, Kendrick Lamar, Matthew Bernard & Mark Anthony Spears, songwriters; Ruairi O’Flaherty, mastering engineer

MUTT
Leon Thomas

Freaky Rob, Peter Lee Johnson, D. Phelps & Leon Thomas, producers; Jean-Marie Horvat, engineer/mixer; Lazaro Andres Camejo, Freaky Rob, Peter Lee Johnson, D. Phelps & Leon Thomas, songwriters; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer

CHROMAKOPIA
Tyler, The Creator

Tyler, The Creator, producer; NealHPogue, Tyler Okonma & Vic Wainstein, engineers/mixers; Tyler Okonma, songwriter; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer


Category 3

Song Of The Year

A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

Abracadabra
Lady Gaga, Henry Walter & Andrew Watt, songwriters (Lady Gaga)

Anxiety
Jaylah Hickmon, songwriter (Doechii)

APT.
Amy Allen, Christopher Brody Brown, Rogét Chahayed, Omer Fedi, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Chae Young Park, Theron Thomas & Henry Walter, songwriters (ROSÉ, Bruno Mars)

DtMF
Marco Daniel Borrero, Scott Dittrich, Benjamin Falik, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Hugo René Sención Sanabria, Tyler Thomas Spry & Roberto José Rosado Torres, songwriters (Bad Bunny)

Golden [From “KPop Demon Hunters”]
EJAE & Mark Sonnenblick, songwriters (HUNTR/X:EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI)

luther
Jack Antonoff, Roshwita Larisha Bacha, Matthew Bernard, Scott Bridgeway, Sam Dew, Ink, Kendrick Lamar, Solána Rowe, Mark Anthony Spears & Kamasi Washington, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar With SZA)

Manchild
Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter, songwriters (Sabrina Carpenter)

WILDFLOWER*
Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)


Category 4

Best New Artist

This category recognizes an artist whose eligibility-year release(s) achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape.

Olivia Dean*
KATSEYE
The Marias
Addison Rae
sombr
Leon Thomas
Alex Warren
Lola Young


Category 5

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical

A Producer’s Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses.)

Dan Auerbach
Elegantly Wasted (Hermanos Gutiérrez Featuring Leon Bridges) (S)
Harsh & Exciting (Moonrisers) (A)
Holy Ghost Party (Robert Finley) (S)
Love Is Cruel (Miles Kane) (S)
Medium Raw (Early James) (A)
A Million Knives (The Velveteers) (A)
No Rain, No Flowers (The Black Keys) (A)
Our Time In The Sun (Jeremie Albino) (A)

Cirkut*
Abracadabra (Lady Gaga) (S)
AEOMG (Coco Jones) (T)
APT. (ROSÉ & Bruno Mars) (S)
Big Sleep (The Weeknd Featuring Giorgio Moroder) (T)
Disease (Lady Gaga) (S)
IT girl (JADE) (S)
A Little More (Ed Sheeran) (S)
Mayhem (Lady Gaga) (A)
Red Terror (The Weeknd) (T)

Dijon
Baby (Dijon) (A)
DAISIES (Justin Bieber) (T)
DEVOTION (Justin Bieber & Dijon) (T)
THINGS YOU DO (Justin Bieber) (T)
YUKON (Justin Bieber) (T)

Blake Mills
For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) (Japanese Breakfast) (A)
Forever Is A Feeling (Lucy Dacus) (A)
Glory (Perfume Genius) (A)
That Wasn’t A Dream (Pino Palladino And Blake Mills)(A)

Sounwave
GNX (Kendrick Lamar) (A)


Category 6

Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical

A Songwriter’s Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses.)

Amy Allen*
APT. (ROSÉ & Bruno Mars) (S)
Bad As The Rest (Jessie Murph) (S)
Hail Mary (Shaboozey, Sierra Ferrell) (T)
Handlebars (JENNIE Featuring Dua Lipa) (S)
Just Keep Watching (Tate McRae) (S)
Lost In Translation (Carín León & Kasey Musgraves) (S)
Manchild (Sabrina Carpenter) (S)
Tears (Sabrina Carpenter) (S)
WHY (Jon Bellion Featuring Luke Combs) (S)

Edgar Barrera
Birthday Behavior (BIA, Young Miko) (S)
Coleccionando Heridas (KAROL G, Marco Antonio Solís) (T)
Ese Vato No Te Queda (Carín León, Gabito Ballesteros) (S)
Me Jalo (Fuerza Regida, Grupo Frontera) (T)
Me Retiro (Santana, Grupo Frontera) (S)
Milagros (KAROL G) (S)
Sigueme Besando Asi (Manuel Turizo) (T)
Soltera (Shakira) (S)
Una Noche Contigo (Juanes) (S)

Jessie Jo Dillon
Bless Your Heart (Megan Moroney) (T)
Bottomland (HARDY) (S)
Dreams Don’t Die (Jelly Roll) (S)
First Rodeo (Kelsea Ballerini) (T)
Happen To Me (Russell Dickerson) (S)
Hello S—ty Day (Jake Worthington, Miranda Lambert)(S)
If You Were Mine (Morgan Wallen) (T)
Patterns (Kelsea Ballerini) (T)
To The Men That Love Women After Heartbreak (Kelsea Ballerini) (T)

Tobias Jesso Jr.
Another Baby! (Dijon) (T)
Baby! (Dijon) (T)
Daisies (Justin Bieber) (T)
From (Bon Iver) (T)
Go Baby (Justin Bieber) (T)
Golden Burning Sun (Miley Cyrus) (T)
Man I Need (Olivia Dean) (S)
Relationships (HAIM) (S)
Walking Away (Justin Bieber) (T)

Laura Veltz
About You (BigXthaPlug Featuring Tucker Wetmore) (T)
Blue Strips (Jessie Murph) (S)
Grand Bouquet (Maren Morris) (T)
Leave Me Too (Josh Ross) (S)
Parallel Universe (Lauren Spencer Smith) (T)
Someone In This Room (Jessie Murph Featuring Bailey Zimmerman) (T)
Touch Me Like A Gangster (Jessie Murph) (S)
What Tomorrow’s For (Blessing Offor) (T)
You’ll Be OK, Kid – From The Original Documentary “Child Star” (Demi Lovato) (S)


Field 1: Pop & Dance/Electronic

Category 7

Best Pop Solo Performance

For new vocal or instrumental pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.

DAISIES
Justin Bieber

Manchild
Sabrina Carpenter

Disease
Lady Gaga

The Subway
Chappell Roan

Messy*
Lola Young


Category 8

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.

Defying Gravity*
Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande

Golden [From “KPop Demon Hunters”]
HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI

Gabriela
KATSEYE

APT.
ROSÉ, Bruno Mars

30 For 30
SZA Featuring Kendrick Lamar


Category 9

Best Pop Vocal Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new pop vocal recordings.

SWAG
Justin Bieber

Man’s Best Friend
Sabrina Carpenter

Something Beautiful
Miley Cyrus

MAYHEM*
Lady Gaga

I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2)
Teddy Swims


Category 10

Best Dance/Electronic Recording

For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances. Vocal or Instrumental. Singles or tracks only.

No Cap
Disclosure & Anderson .Paak

Disclosure, producer; Guy Lawrence, mixer

Victory Lap
Fred again.., Skepta, & PlaqueBoyMax
Blake Cascoe, Berwyn Du Bois, Fred again.., Darcy Lewis, Dan Mayo & PlaqueBoyMax, producers; Tom Norris, mixer

SPACE INVADER
KAYTRANADA
KAYTRANADA, producer; KAYTRANADA, mixer

VOLTAGE
Skrillex
John Feldmann & Skrillex, producers; Luca Pretolesi, Skrillex & Virtual Riot, mixers

End Of Summer*
Tame Impala
Kevin Parker, producer; Kevin Parker, mixer


Category 11

Best Dance Pop Recording

For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances. Vocal or Instrumental. Singles or tracks only.

Bluest Flame
Selena Gomez & benny blanco

benny blanco, Dylan Brady & Cashmere Cat, producers;benny blanco & Cashmere Cat, mixers

Abracadabra*
Lady Gaga

Cirkut, Lady Gaga & Andrew Watt, producers; Serban Ghenea, mixer

Midnight Sun
Zara Larsson

Margo XS & MNEK, producers; Tom Norris, mixer

Just Keep Watching (From F1® The Movie)
Tate McRae

Tyler Spry & Ryan Tedder, producers; Manny Marroquin, mixer

Illegal
PinkPantheress

Aksel Arvid & PinkPantheress, producers; Nickie Jon Pabon


Category 12

Best Dance/Electronic Album

For vocal or instrumental albums. Albums only.

EUSEXUA*
FKA twigs

Ten Days
Fred again..

Fancy That
PinkPantheress

Inhale / Exhale
RÜFÜS DU SOL

F— U SKRILLEX YOU THINK UR ANDY WARHOL BUT UR NOT!! <3
Skrillex


Category 13

Best Remixed Recording

A Remixer’s Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses for identification.) Singles or Tracks only.

Abracadabra – Gesaffelstein Remix*
Gesaffelstein, remixer (Lady Gaga, Gesaffelstein)

Don’t Forget About Us
KAYTRANADA, remixer (Mariah Carey & KAYTRANADA)

A Dreams A Dream – Ron Trent Remix
Ron Trent, remixer (Soul II Soul)

Galvanize
Chris Lake, remixer (The Chemical Brothers & Chris Lake)

Golden – David Guetta REM/X
David Guetta, remixer (HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI)


Field 2: Rock, Metal & Alternative Music

Category 14

Best Rock Performance

For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative rock recordings.

U Should Not Be Doing That
Amyl and The Sniffers

The Emptiness Machine
Linkin Park

NEVER ENOUGH
Turnstile

Mirtazapine
Hayley Williams

Changes (Live From Villa Park) Back To The Beginning*
YUNGBLUD Featuring Nuno Bettencourt, Frank Bello, Adam Wakeman, II


Category 15

Best Metal Performance

For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative metal recordings.

Night Terror
Dream Theater

Lachryma
Ghost

Emergence
Sleep Token

Soft Spine
Spiritbox

BIRDS*
Turnstile


Category 16

Best Rock Song

A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Rock, Hard Rock and Metal songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

As Alive As You Need Me To Be*
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, songwriters (Nine Inch Nails)

Caramel
Vessel1 & Vessel2, songwriters (Sleep Token)

Glum
Daniel James & Hayley Williams, songwriters (Hayley Williams)

NEVER ENOUGH
Daniel Fang, Franz Lyons, Pat McCrory, Meg Mills & Brendan Yates, songwriters (Turnstile)

Zombie
Dominic Harrison & Matt Schwartz, songwriters (YUNGBLUD)


Category 17

Best Rock Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new rock, hard rock or metal recordings.

private music
Deftones

I quit
HAIM

From Zero
Linkin Park

NEVER ENOUGH*
Turnstile

Idols
YUNGBLUD


Category 18

Best Alternative Music Performance

For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative Alternative music recordings.

Everything Is Peaceful Love
Bon Iver

Alone*
The Cure

SEEIN’ STARS
Turnstile

mangetout
Wet Leg

Parachute
Hayley Williams


Category 19

Best Alternative Music Album

Vocal or Instrumental.

SABLE, fABLE
Bon Iver

Songs Of A Lost World*
The Cure

DON’T TAP THE GLASS
Tyler, The Creator

moisturizer
Wet Leg

Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party
Hayley Williams


Field 3: R&B, Rap & Spoken Word Poetry

Category 20

Best R&B Performance

For new vocal or instrumental R&B recordings.

YUKON
Justin Bieber

It Depends
Chris Brown Featuring Bryson Tiller

Folded*
Kehlani

MUTT — Live From NPR’s Tiny Desk
Leon Thomas

Heart Of A Woman
Summer Walker


Category 21

Best Traditional R&B Performance

For new vocal or instrumental traditional R&B recordings.

Here We Are
Durand Bernarr

UPTOWN
Lalah Hathaway

LOVE YOU TOO
Ledisi

Crybaby
SZA

VIBES DON’T LIE*
Leon Thomas


Category 22

Best R&B Song

A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

Folded*
Darius Dixson, Andre Harris, Donovan Knight, Don Mills, Kehlani Parrish, Khris Riddick-Tynes & Dawit Kamal Wilson, songwriters (Kehlani)

Heart Of A Woman
David Bishop & Summer Walker, songwriters (Summer Walker)

It Depends
Nico Baran, Chris Brown, Ant Clemons, Ephrem Lopez Jr., Ryan Press, Bryson Tiller, Elliott Trent & Dewain Whitmore Jr., songwriters (Chris Brown Featuring Bryson Tiller)

Overqualified
James John Abrahart Jr & Durand Bernarr, songwriters (Durand Bernarr)

YES IT IS
Jariuce Banks, Lazaro Andres Camejo, Mike Hector, Peter Lee Johnson, Rodney Jones Jr., Ali Prawl & Leon Thomas, songwriters (Leon Thomas)


Category 23

Best Progressive R&B Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded progressive vocal tracks derivative of R&B.

BLOOM*
Durand Bernarr

Adjust Brightness
Bilal

LOVE ON DIGITAL
Destin Conrad

Access All Areas
FLO

Come As You Are
Terrace Martin & Kenyon Dixon


Category 24

Best R&B Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new R&B recordings.

BELOVED
GIVĒON

Why Not More?
Coco Jones

The Crown
Ledisi

Escape Room
Teyana Taylor

MUTT*
Leon Thomas


Category 25

Best Rap Performance

For a Rap performance. Singles or Tracks only.

Outside
Cardi B

Chains & Whips*
Clipse, Pusha T & Malice Featuring Kendrick Lamar & Pharrell Williams

Anxiety
Doechii

tv off
Kendrick Lamar Featuring Lefty Gunplay

Darling, I
Tyler, The Creator Featuring Teezo Touchdown


Category 26

Best Melodic Rap Performance

For a solo or collaborative performance containing both elements of R&B melodies and Rap.

Proud Of Me
Fridayy Featuring Meek Mill

Wholeheartedly
JID Featuring Ty Dolla $ign & 6Lack

luther*
Kendrick Lamar With SZA

WeMaj
Terrace Martin & Kenyon Dixon Featuring Rapsody

SOMEBODY LOVES ME
PARTYNEXTDOOR & Drake


Category 27

Best Rap Song

A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

Anxiety
Jaylah Hickmon, songwriter (Doechii)

The Birds Don’t Sing
Gene Elliott Thornton Jr., Terrence Thornton, Pharrell Williams & Stevie Wonder, songwriters (Clipse, Pusha T & Malice Featuring John Legend & Voices Of Fire)

Sticky
Aaron Bolton, Dwayne Carter, Jr., Dudley Alexander Duverne, Tyler Okonma, Janae Wherry, Gloria Woods & Rex Zamor, songwriters (Tyler, The Creator Featuring GloRilla, Sexyy Red & Lil Wayne)

TGIF
Lucas Alegria, Dillon Brophy, Yakki Davis, Jess Jackson, Ronnie Jackson, Mario Mims, Jorge M. Taveras & Gloria Woods, songwriters (GloRilla)

tv off*
Jack Antonoff, Larry Jayy, Kendrick Lamar, Dijon McFarlane, Sean Momberger, Mark Anthony Spears & Kamasi Washington, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar Featuring Lefty Gunplay)


Category 28

Best Rap Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new rap recordings.

Let God Sort Em Out
Clipse, Pusha T & Malice

GLORIOUS
GloRilla

God Does Like Ugly
JID

GNX*
Kendrick Lamar

CHROMAKOPIA
Tyler, The Creator


Category 29

Best Spoken Word Poetry Album

For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of new spoken word poetry recordings.

A Hurricane in Heels: healed people don’t act like that — partially recorded live @City Winery & other places
Queen Sheba

Black Shaman
Marc Marcel

Pages
Omari Hardwick & Anthony Hamilton

Saul Williams Meets Carlos Niño & Friends At Treepeople
Saul Williams, Carlos Niño & Friends

Words For Days Vol. 1*
Mad Skillz


Field 4: Jazz, Traditional Pop, Contemporary Instrumental & Musical Theater

Category 30

Best Jazz Performance

For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative jazz recordings.

Noble Rise
Lakecia Benjamin Featuring Immanuel Wilkins & Mark Whitfield

Windows – Live*
Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade

Peace Of Mind / Dreams Come True
Samara Joy

Four
Michael Mayo

All Stars Lead To You – Live
Nicole Zuraitis, Dan Pugach, Tom Scott, Idan Morim, Keyon Harrold & Rachel Eckroth


Category 31

Best Jazz Vocal Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal jazz recordings.

Elemental
Dee Dee Bridgewater & Bill Charlap

We Insist 2025!
Terri Lyne Carrington & Christie Dashiell

Portrait*
Samara Joy

Fly
Michael Mayo

Live at Vic’s Las Vegas
Nicole Zuraitis, Dan Pugach, Tom Scott, Idan Morim, Keyon Harrold & Rachel Eckroth


Category 32

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new instrumental jazz recordings.

Trilogy 3 — Live
Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade

Southern Nights*
Sullivan Fortner Featuring Peter Washington & Marcus Gilmore

Belonging
Branford Marsalis Quartet

Spirit Fall
John Patitucci Featuring Chris Potter & Brian Blade

Fasten Up
Yellowjackets


Category 33

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new large ensemble jazz recordings.

Orchestrator Emulator
The 8-Bit Big Band

Without Further Ado, Vol 1*
Christian McBride Big Band

Lumen
Danilo Pérez & Bohuslän Big Band

Basie Rocks
Deborah Silver & The Count Basie Orchestra

Lights on a Satellite
Sun Ra Arkestra

Some Days Are Better: The Lost Scores
Kenny Wheeler Legacy Featuring The Royal Academy of Music Jazz Orchestra & Frost Jazz Orchestra


Category 34

Best Latin Jazz Album

For vocal or instrumental albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded material. The intent of this category is to recognize recordings that represent the blending of jazz with Latin, Iberian-American, Brazilian, and Argentinian tango music.

La Fleur de Cayenne
Paquito D’Rivera & Madrid-New York Connection Band

The Original Influencers: Dizzy, Chano & Chico Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
Featuring Pedrito Martinez, Daymé Arocena, Jon Faddis, Donald Harrison & Melvis Santa

Mundoagua – Celebrating Carla Bley
Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra

A Tribute to Benny Moré and Nat King Cole*
Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Yainer Horta & Joey Calveiro

Vanguardia Subterránea: Live at The Village Vanguard
Miguel Zenón Quartet


Category 35

Best Alternative Jazz Album

For vocal or instrumental albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new Alternative jazz recordings.

honey from a winter stone
Ambrose Akinmusire

Keys To The City Volume One
Robert Glasper

Ride into the Sun
Brad Mehldau

LIVE-ACTION*
Nate Smith

Blues Blood
Immanuel Wilkins


Category 36

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new traditional pop recordings.

Wintersongs
Laila Biali

The Gift Of Love
Jennifer Hudson

Who Believes In Angels?
Elton John & Brandi Carlile

Harlequin
Lady Gaga

A Matter Of Time*
Laufey

The Secret Of Life: Partners, Volume 2
Barbra Streisand


Category 37

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new contemporary instrumental recordings.

Brightside*
ARKAI

Ones & Twos
Gerald Clayton

BEATrio
Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda, Antonio Sánchez

Just Us
Bob James & Dave Koz

Shayan
Charu Suri


Category 38

Best Musical Theater Album

For albums containing greater than 51% playing time of new recordings. Award to the principal vocalist(s), and the album producer(s) of 50% or more playing time of the album. The lyricist(s) and composer(s) of 50 % or more of a score of a new recording are eligible for an Award if any previous recording of said score has not been nominated in this category.

Buena Vista Social Club*
Marco Paguia, Dean Sharenow & David Yazbek, producers (Original Broadway Cast)

Death Becomes Her
Taurean Everett, Megan Hilty, Josh Lamon, Christopher Sieber, Jennifer Simard & Michelle Williams, principal vocalists; Noel Carey, Sean Patrick Flahaven, Julia Mattison & Scott M. Riesett, producers; Noel Carey & Julia Mattison, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast)

Gypsy
Danny Burstein, Kevin Csolak, Audra McDonald, Jordan Tyson & Joy Woods, principal vocalists; David Caddick, Andy Einhorn, David Lai & George C. Wolfe, producers (Jule Styne, composer; Stephen Sondheim, lyricist) (2024 Broadway Cast)

Just In Time
Emily Bergl, Jonathan Groff, Erika Henningsen, Gracie Lawrence & Michele Pawk, principal vocalists; Derik Lee, Andrew Resnick & Bill Sherman, producers (Bobby Darin, composer & lyricist) (Original Broadway Cast)

Maybe Happy Ending
Marcus Choi, Darren Criss, Dez Duron & Helen J Shen, principal vocalists; Deborah Abramson, Will Aronson, Ian Kagey & Hue Park, producers; Hue Park, lyricist; Will Aronson, composer & lyricist (Original Broadway Cast)


Field 5: Country & American Roots Music

Category 39

Best Country Solo Performance

For new vocal or instrumental solo country recordings.

Nose On The Grindstone
Tyler Childers

Good News
Shaboozey

Bad As I Used To Be [From “F1® The Movie”] Chris Stapleton*

I Never Lie
Zach Top

Somewhere Over Laredo
Lainey Wilson


Category 40

Best Country Duo/Group Performance

For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative country recordings.

A Song To Sing
Miranda Lambert And Chris Stapleton

Trailblazer
Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson

Love Me Like You Used To Do
Margo Price & Tyler Childers

Amen*
Shaboozey & Jelly Roll

Honky Tonk Hall Of Fame
George Strait, Chris Stapleton


Category 41

Best Country Song

A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

Bitin’ List*
Tyler Childers, songwriter (Tyler Childers)

Good News
Michael Ross Pollack, Sam Elliot Roman & Jacob Torrey, songwriters (Shaboozey)

I Never Lie
Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols & Zach Top, songwriters (Zach Top)

Somewhere Over Laredo
Andy Albert, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson & Lainey Wilson, songwriters (Lainey Wilson)

A Song To Sing
Jenee Fleenor, Jesse Frasure, Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton, songwriters (Miranda Lambert And Chris Stapleton)


Category 42

Best Traditional Country Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new traditional country recordings.

Dollar A Day
Charley Crockett

American Romance
Lukas Nelson

Oh What A Beautiful World
Willie Nelson

Hard Headed Woman
Margo Price

Ain’t In It For My Health*
Zach Top


Category 43

Best Contemporary Country Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new contemporary country recordings.

Patterns
Kelsea Ballerini

Snipe Hunter
Tyler Childers

Evangeline Vs. The Machine
Eric Church

Beautifully Broken*
Jelly Roll

Postcards From Texas
Miranda Lambert


Category 44

Best American Roots Performance

For new vocal or instrumental American Roots recordings. This is for performances in the style of any of the subgenres encompassed in the American Roots Music field including bluegrass, blues, folk or regional roots. Award to the artist(s).

LONELY AVENUE
Jon Batiste Featuring Randy Newman

Ancient Light*
I’m With Her

Crimson And Clay
Jason Isbell

Richmond On The James
Alison Krauss & Union Station

Beautiful Strangers
Mavis Staples


Category 45

Best Americana Performance

For new vocal or instrumental Americana performance. Award to the artist(s).

Boom
Sierra Hull

Poison In My Well
Maggie Rose & Grace Potter

Godspeed*
Mavis Staples

That’s Gonna Leave A Mark
Molly Tuttle

Horses
Jesse Welles


Category 46

Best American Roots Song

A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Americana, bluegrass, traditional blues, contemporary blues, folk or regional roots songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

Ancient Light*
Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan & Sara Watkins, songwriters (I’m With Her)

BIG MONEY
Jon Batiste, Mike Elizondo & Steve McEwan, songwriters (Jon Batiste)

Foxes In The Snow
Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell)

Middle
Jesse Welles, songwriter (Jesse Welles)

Spitfire
Sierra Hull, songwriter (Sierra Hull)


Category 47

Best Americana Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental Americana recordings.

BIG MONEY*
Jon Batiste

Bloom
Larkin Poe

Last Leaf On The Tree
Willie Nelson

So Long Little Miss Sunshine
Molly Tuttle

Middle
Jesse Welles


Category 48

Best Bluegrass Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental bluegrass recordings.

Carter & Cleveland
Michael Cleveland & Jason Carter

A Tip Toe High Wire
Sierra Hull

Arcadia
Alison Krauss & Union Station

Outrun
The Steeldrivers

Highway Prayers*
Billy Strings


Category 49

Best Traditional Blues Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental traditional blues recordings.

Ain’t Done With The Blues*
Buddy Guy

Room On The Porch
Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’

One Hour Mama: The Blues Of Victoria Spivey
Maria Muldaur

Look Out Highway
Charlie Musselwhite

Young Fashioned Ways
Kenny Wayne Shepherd & Bobby Rush


Category 50

Best Contemporary Blues Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental contemporary blues recordings.

Breakthrough
Joe Bonamassa

Paper Doll
Samantha Fish

A Tribute To LJK
Eric Gales

Preacher Kids*
Robert Randolph

Family
Southern Avenue


Category 51

Best Folk Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental folk recordings.

What Did The Blackbird Say To The Crow
Rhiannon Giddens & Justin Robinson

Crown Of Roses
Patty Griffin

Wild And Clear And Blue*
I’m With Her

Foxes In The Snow
Jason Isbell

Under The Powerlines April 24 – September 24
Jesse Welles


Category 52

Best Regional Roots Music Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental regional roots music recordings.

Live At Vaughan’s
Corey Henry & The Treme Funktet

For Fat Man
Preservation Brass & Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Church Of New Orleans
Kyle Roussel

Second Line Sunday
Trombone Shorty And New Breed Brass Band

A Tribute To The King Of Zydeco*
(Various Artists)


Field 6: Gospel & Contemporary Christian Music

Category 53

Best Gospel Performance/Song

This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s) (for new compositions) for the best traditional Christian, roots gospel or contemporary gospel single or track.

Do It Again
Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin, songwriter

Church
Tasha Cobbs Leonard, John Legend; Anthony S. Brown, Brunes Charles, Annatoria Chitapa, Kenneth Leonard, Jr., Tasha Cobbs Leonard & Jonas Myrin, songwriters

Still Live
Jonathan McReynolds & Jamal Roberts; Britney Delagraentiss, Jonathan McReynolds, David Lamar Outing III, Orlando Joel Palmer & Terrell Demetrius Wilson, songwriters

Amen
Pastor Mike Jr.; Adia Andrews, Michael McClure Jr., David Lamar Outing II & Terrell Anthony Pettus, songwriters

Come Jesus Come*
Cece Winans Featuring Shirley Caesar


Category 54

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song

This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s) (for new compositions) for the best contemporary Christian music single or track, (including pop, rap/hip-hop, Latin, or rock.)

I Know A Name
Elevation Worship, Chris Brown, Brandon Lake; Hank Bentley, Steven Furtick, Brandon Lake & Jacob Sooter, songwriters

YOUR WAY’S BETTER
Forrest Frank; Forrest Frank & Pera, songwriters

Hard Fought Hallelujah*
Brandon Lake With Jelly Roll; Chris Brown, Jason Bradley Deford, Steven Furtick, Benjamin William Hastings & Brandon Lake, songwriters

Headphones
Lecrae, Killer Mike, T.I.; Bongo ByTheWay, Clifford Harris, William Roderick Miller, Lecrae Moore, Michael Render & Tyshane Thompson, songwriters

Amazing
Darrel Walls, PJ Morton; PJ Morton & Darrel Walls,songwriters


Category 55

Best Gospel Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional or contemporary/R&B gospel music recordings.

Sunny Days
Yolanda Adams

Tasha
Tasha Cobbs Leonard

Live Breathe Fight
Tamela Mann

Only On The Road Live
Tye Tribbett

Heart Of Mine*
Darrel Walls, PJ Morton


Category 56

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, contemporary Christian music, including pop, rap/hip hop, Latin, or rock recordings.

CHILD OF GOD II
Forrest Frank

Coritos Vol. 1*
Israel & New Breed

King Of Hearts
Brandon Lake

Reconstruction
Lecrae

Let The Church Sing
Tauren Wells


Category 57

Best Roots Gospel Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional/roots gospel music, including country, Southern gospel, bluegrass, and Americana recordings.

I Will Not Be Moved — Live*
The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

Then Came The Morning
Gaither Vocal Band

Praise & Worship: More Than A Hollow Hallelujah
The Isaacs

Good Answers
Karen Peck & New River

Back To My Roots
Candi Staton


Field 7: Latin, Global, Reggae & New Age, Ambient, or Chant

Category 58

Best Latin Pop Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new Latin pop recordings.

Cosa Nuestra
Rauw Alejandro

BOGOTÁ DELUXE
Andrés Cepeda

Tropicoqueta
KAROL G

Cancionera*
Natalia Lafourcade

¿Y ahora qué?
Alejandro Sanz


Category 59

Best Música Urbana Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new Música Urbana recordings.

DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS*
Bad Bunny

Mixteip
J Balvin

FERXXO VOL X: Sagrado
Feid

NAIKI
Nicki Nicole

EUB DELUXE
Trueno

SINFÓNICO — En Vivo
Yandel


Category 60

Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new Latin rock or alternative recordings.

Genes Rebeldes
Aterciopelados

ASTROPICAL
Bomba Estéreo, Rawayana, ASTROPICAL

PAPOTA*
CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso

ALGORHYTHM
Los Wizzards

Novela
Fito Paez


Category 61

Best Música Mexicana Album (Including Tejano)

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new regional Mexican (banda, norteño, corridos, gruperos, mariachi, ranchera and Tejano) recordings.

MALA MÍA
Fuerza Regida, Grupo Frontera

Y Lo Que Viene
Grupo Frontera

Sin Rodeos
Paola Jara

Palabra De To’s [Seca]*
Carín León

Bobby Pulido & Friends Una Tuya Y Una Mía – Por La Puerta Grande [En Vivo]
Bobby Pulido


Category 62

Best Tropical Latin Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new tropical Latin recordings.

Fotografías
Rubén Blades, Roberto Delgado & Orquesta

Raíces*
Gloria Estefan

Clásicos 1.0
Grupo Niche

Bingo
Alain Pérez

Debut y Segunda Tanda, Vol. 2
Gilberto Santa Rosa


Category 63

Best Global Music Performance

For new vocal or instrumental Global music recordings.

EoO*
Bad Bunny

Cantando en el Camino
Ciro Hurtado

JERUSALEMA
Angélique Kidjo

Inmigrante Y Que?
Yeisy Rojas

Shrini’s Dream [Live]
Shakti

Daybreak
Anoushka Shankar Featuring Alam Khan & Sarathy Korwar


Category 64

Best African Music Performance

Love
Burna Boy

With You
Davido Featuring Omah Lay

Hope & Love
Eddy Kenzo & Mehran Matin

Gimme Dat
Ayra Starr Featuring Wizkid

PUSH 2 START*
Tyla


Category 65

Best Global Music Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental Global Music recordings.

Sounds Of Kumbha
Siddhant Bhatia

No Sign of Weakness
Burna Boy

Eclairer le monde – Light the World
Youssou N’Dour

Mind Explosion [50th Anniversary Tour Live]
Shakti

Chapter III: We Return To Light
Anoushka Shankar Featuring Alam Khan & Sarathy Korwar

Caetano e Bethânia Ao Vivo*
Caetano Veloso And Maria Bethânia


Category 66

Best Reggae Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new reggae recordings.

Treasure Self Love
Lila Iké

Heart & Soul
Vybz Kartel

BLXXD & FYAH*
Keznamdi

From Within
Mortimer

No Place Like Home
Jesse Royal


Category 67

Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental new age recordings.

Kuruvinda
Kirsten Agresta-Copely

According To The Moon
Cheryl B. Engelhardt, GEM, Dallas String Quartet

Into The Forest
Jahnavi Harrison

NOMADICA*
Carla Patullo Featuring The Scorchio Quartet & Tonality

The Colors In My Mind
Chris Redding


Field 8: Children’s, Comedy, Audio Books, Visual Media & Music Video/Film

Category 68

Best Children’s Music Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new musical or spoken word recordings that are created and intended specifically for children.

Ageless: 100 Years Young
Joanie Leeds & Joya

Buddy’s Magic Tree House
Mega Ran

Harmony*
FYÜTCH & Aura V

Herstory
Flor Bromley

The Music Of Tori And The Muses
Tori Amos


Category 69

Best Comedy Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new recordings.

Drop Dead Years
Bill Burr

PostMortem
Sarah Silverman

Single Lady
Ali Wong

What Had Happened Was…
Jamie Foxx

Your Friend, Nate Bargatze*
Nate Bargatze


Category 70

Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording

Elvis, Rocky & Me: The Carol Connors Story
Kathy Garver

Into The Uncut Grass
Trevor Noah

Lovely One: A Memoir
Ketanji Brown Jackson

Meditations: The Reflections Of His Holiness The Dalai Lama*
Dalai Lama

You Know It’s True: The Real Story Of Milli Vanilli
Fab Morvan


Category 71

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media

Award to the principal artist(s) and/or ‘in studio’ producer(s) of a majority of the tracks on the album. In the absence of both, award to the one or two individuals proactively responsible for the concept and musical direction of the album and for the selection of artists, songs and producers, as applicable. Award also goes to appropriately credited music supervisor(s).

A Complete Unknown
Timothée Chalamet
Nick Baxter, Steven Gizicki & James Mangold, compilation producers; Steven Gizicki, music supervisor

F1® The Album
(Various Artists)
Brandon Davis, Joe Khoury, Kevin Weaver, compilation producers; David Taylor & Jake Voulgarides, music supervisors

KPop Demon Hunters
(Various Artists)
Spring Aspers & Dana Sano, compilation producers; Ian Eisendrath, music supervisor

Sinners*
(Various Artists)
Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson & Serena Göransson, compilation producers; Niki Sherrod, music supervisor

Wicked
Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, (& Wicked Movie Cast)
Stephen Oremus, Stephen Schwartz & Greg Wells, compilation producers; Maggie Rodford, music supervisor


Category 72

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Includes Film And Television)

Award to Composer(s) for an original score created specifically for, or as a companion to, a current legitimate motion picture, television show or series, or other visual media.

How To Train Your Dragon
John Powell, composer

Severance: Season 2
Theodore Shapiro, composer

Sinners*
Ludwig Göransson, composer

Wicked
John Powell & Stephen Schwartz, composers

The Wild Robot
Kris Bowers, composer


Category 73

Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media

Award to Composer(s) for an original score created specifically for, or as a companion to, video games and other interactive media.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – Secrets of the Spires
Pinar Toprak, composer

Helldivers 2
Wilbert Roget, II, composer

Indiana Jones And The Great Circle
Gordy Haab, composer

Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card & A Pirate’s Fortune
Cody Matthew Johnson & Wilbert Roget, II, composers

Sword of the Sea*
Austin Wintory, composer


Category 74

Best Song Written For Visual Media

A Songwriter(s) award. For a song (melody & lyrics) written specifically for a motion picture, television, video games or other visual media, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

As Alive As You Need Me To Be — From “TRON: Ares”
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, songwriters (Nine Inch Nails)

Golden — From “KPop Demon Hunters”*
EJAE & Mark Sonnenblick, songwriters (HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI)

I Lied to You — From “Sinners”
Ludwig Göransson & Raphael Saadiq, songwriters (Miles Caton)

Never Too Late — From “Elton John: Never Too Late”
Brandi Carlile, Elton John, Bernie Taupin & Andrew Watt, songwriters (Elton John, Brandi Carlile)

Pale, Pale Moon — From “Sinners”
Ludwig Göransson & Brittany Howard, songwriters (Jayme Lawson)

Sinners — From “Sinners”
Leonard Denisenko, Rodarius Green, Travis Harrington, Tarkan Kozluklu, Kyris Mingo & Darius Povilinus, songwriters (Rod Wave)


Category 75

Best Music Video

Award to the artist, video director, and video producer.

Manchild
Sabrina Carpenter

Vania Heymann & Gal Muggia, video directors; Aiden Magarian, Nathan Scherrer & Natan Schottenfels, video producers

So Be It
Clipse

Hannan Hussain, video director; Daniel Order, video producer

Anxiety*
Doechii

James Mackel, video director; Pablo Feldman, Jolene Mendes & Sophia Sabella, video producers

Love
OK Go

Aaron Duffy, Miguel Espada & Damian Kulash Jr., video directors; Petra Ahmann, video producer

Young Lion
Sade

Sophie Muller, video director; Aaron Taylor Dean & Sade, video producers


Category 76

Best Music Film

For concert/performance films or music documentaries. Award to the artist, video director, and video producer.

Devo
Devo

Chris Smith, video director; Danny Gabai, Anita Greenspan, Chris Holmes & Chris Smith, video producers

Live At The Royal Albert Hall
Raye

Paul Dugdale, video director; Stefan Demetriou & Amy James, video producers

Relentless
Diane Warren

Bess Kargman, video director; Peggy Drexler, Michele Farinola & Kat Nguyen, video producers

Music By John Williams*
John Williams

Laurent Bouzereau, video director; Sara Bernstein, Laurent Bouzereau, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Meredith Kaulfers, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Steven Spielberg & Justin Wilkes, video producers

Piece By Piece
Pharrell Williams
Morgan Neville, video director; Morgan Neville, Caitrin Rogers, Mimi Valdes & Pharrell Williams, video producers


Field 9: Package, Notes & Historical

Category 77

Best Recording Package

And The Adjacent Possible
Hà Trinh Quoc Bao, Damian Kulash, Jr., Claudio Ripol, Wombi Rose & Yuri Suzuki, art directors (OK Go)

Balloonerism
Bráulio Amado & Alim Smith, art directors (Mac Miller)

Danse Macabre: De Luxe
Rory McCartney, art director (Duran Duran)

Loud Is As
Farbod Kokabi & Emily Sneddon, art directors (Tsunami)

Sequoia
Tim Breen & Ken Shipley, art directors (Various Artists)

The Spins — Picture Disc Vinyl
Miller McCormick, art director (Mac Miller)

Tracks II: The Lost Albums*
Meghan Foley & Michelle Holme, art directors (Bruce Springsteen)


Category 78

Best Album Cover

CHROMAKOPIA*
Shaun Llewellyn & Luis “Panch” Perez, art directors (Tyler, The Creator)

The Crux
William Wesley II, art director (Djo)

Debí Tirar Más Fotos
Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, art director (Bad Bunny)

Glory
Cody Critcheloe & Andrew J.S., art directors (Perfume Genius)

moisturizer
Hester Chambers, Ellis Durand, Henry Holmes, Matt de Jong, Jamie-James Medina, Joshua Mobaraki & Rhian Teasdale, art directors (Wet Leg)


Category 79

Best Album Notes

Adios, Farewell, Goodbye, Good Luck, So Long: On Stage 1964-1974
Scott B. Bomar, album notes writer (Buck Owens And His Buckaroos)

After The Last Sky
Adam Shatz, album notes writer (Anouar Brahem, Anja Lechner, Django Bates, Dave Holland)

Árabe
Amanda Ekery, album notes writer (Amanda Ekery)

The First Family: Live At Winchester Cathedral 1967
Alec Palao, album notes writer (Sly & The Family Stone)

A Ghost Is Born — 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
Bob Mehr, album notes writer (Wilco)

Miles ’55: The Prestige Recordings*
Ashley Kahn, album notes writer (Miles Davis)


Category 80

Best Historical Album

Joni Mitchell Archives – Volume 4: The Asylum Years — 1976-1980*
Patrick Milligan & Joni Mitchell, compilation producers; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer (Joni Mitchell)

The Making Of Five Leaves Left
Cally Callomon & Johnny Chandler, compilation producers; Simon Heyworth & John Wood, mastering engineers; John Wood, restoration engineer (Nick Drake)

Roots Rocking Zimbabwe – The Modern Sound Of Harare’ Townships 1975-1980 — Analog Africa No.41
Samy Ben Redjeb, compilation producer; Michael Graves, mastering engineer; Michael Graves & Jordan McLeod, restoration engineers (Various Artists)

Super Disco Pirata – De Tepito Para El Mundo 1965-1980 — Analog Africa No. 39
Samy Ben Redjeb, compilation producer; Michael Graves, mastering engineer; Jordan McLeod, restoration engineer (Various Artists)

You Can’t Hip A Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos
Will Bratton, Sharyn Felder & Cheryl Pawelski,compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer; Michael Graves & Jordan McLeod, restoration engineers (Doc Pomus)


Field 10: Production, Engineering, Composition & Arrangement

Category 81

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical

An Engineer’s Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses.)

All Things Light
Jesse Brock, Jon Castelli, Tyler Johnson, Nick Lobel, Simon Maartensson, Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell, Anders Mouridsen, Ryan Nasci, Ernesto Olivera-Lapier, Ethan Schneiderman & Owen Stoutt, engineers; Dale Becker, mastering engineer (Cam)

Arcadia
Neal Cappellino & Gary Paczosa, engineers; Brad Blackwood, mastering engineer (Alison Krauss & Union Station)

For Melancholy Brunettes & sad women
Joseph Lorge, Blake Mills & Sebastian Reunert, engineers; Patricia Sullivan, mastering engineer (Japanese Breakfast)

That Wasn’t A Dream*
Joseph Lorge & Blake Mills, engineers; Patricia Sullivan, mastering engineer (Pino Palladino, Blake Mills)


Category 82

Best Engineered Album, Classical

An Engineer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)

Cerrone: Don’t Look Down*
Mike Tierney, engineer; Alan Silverman, mastering engineer (Sandbox Percussion)

Eastman: Symphony No. 2; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2
Gintas Norvila, engineer; Jennifer Nulsen, mastering engineer (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra)

Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth Of The Mtsensk District
Shawn Murphy & Nick Squire, engineers; Tim Martyn, mastering engineer (Andris Nelsons, Kristine Opolais, Günther Groissböck, Peter Hoare, Brenden Gunnell & Boston Symphony Orchestra)

Standard Stoppages
Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, Bill Maylone, Judith Sherman & David Skidmore, engineers; Joe Lambert, mastering engineer (Third Coast Percussion)

Yule
Morten Lindberg, engineer; Morten Lindberg, mastering engineer (Trio Mediæval)


Category 83

Producer Of The Year, Classical

A Producer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)

Blanton Alspaugh
All Is Miracle – The Choral Music Of Kyle Pederson (Timothy J. Campbell & Transept) (A)
Heggie: Intelligence (Kwame Ryan, Janai Brugger, Jamie Barton, J’Nai Bridges & Houston Grand Opera) (A)
Marsalis: Blues Symphony (Jader Bignamini & Detroit Symphony Orchestra) (A)
Massenet: Werther (Robert Spano, Matthew Polenzani, sabel Leonard & Houston Grand Opera) (A)
The Mirage Calls (Charles Bruffy & Kansas City Chorale) (A)
Sheehan: Ukrainian War Requiem (Michael Zaugg, Axios Men’s Ensemble & Pro Coro Canada) (A)
Sun, Moon, Stars, Rain (Christopher Gabbitas & Phoenix Chorale) (A)

Sergei Kvitko
Biedenbender: Enigma; River Of Time (Kevin L. Sedatole & Michigan State University Wind Symphony) (A)
Chiaroscuro (Vedrana Subotic) (A)
Dancing In A Still Life (Tasha Warren) (A)
Excursions (Vuorovesi Trio) (A)
Four Hands. Two Hearts. One Hope. Ukrainian And American Music For Piano Duo (Mykhailo Diordiiev & Anastasiia Larchikova) (A)
Here And Now – Trumpet Music By Virginia Composers (Jason Crafton, Richard Masters, Annie Stevens & Paul Langosch) (A)
Lansky: Touch And Go (Gwendolyn Dease) (A)
Orbiting Garden (William Hobbs) (A)
Would That Loving Were Enough (Haven Trio) (A)

Morten Lindberg
Fred Over Jorden (Peace To The World) (Elisabeth Holte, Kjetil Bjerkestrand & Uranienborg Vokalensemble) (A)
Stjernebru (Anne Karin Sundal-Ask & Det Norske Jentekor) (A)
Yule (Trio Mediæval) (A)

Dmitriy Lipay
Heggie: Before It All Goes Dark (Joseph Mechavich, Megan Marino, Ryan McKinny & Music Of Remembrance Ensemble) (A)
Odyssey (Jorge Glem, Gustavo Dudamel & Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra Of Venezuela) (A)
Ortiz: Yanga (Gustavo Dudamel, Alisa Weilerstein & Los Angeles Philharmonic) (A)

Elaine Martone*
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra) (A)
Chopin & Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonatas (Brian Thornton & Spencer Myer) (A)
Dear Mrs. Kennedy (Ryan Townsend Strand) (A)
Eastman: Symphony No. 2; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2 (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra) (A)
LeFrak: Romántico (Sharon Isbin, Lopez-Yañez & Orchestra Of St. Luke’s) (A)
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 27 & Symphony No. 29 (Garrick Ohlsson, Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestrea) (A)
The Poet & The Prodigy (Debra Nagy & Mark Edwards) (A)
Shapes In Collective Space (Tallā Rouge) (A)
Songs Of Orpheus (Kelley O’Connor) (A)


Category 84

Best Immersive Audio Album

For vocal or instrumental albums in any genre. Must be commercially released for physical sale or on an eligible streaming or download service and must provide a new immersive mix of four or more channels. Award to the immersive mix engineer, immersive producer (if any) and immersive mastering engineer (if any).

All American F—boy
Andrew Law, immersive mix engineer (Duckwrth)

Immersed*
Justin Gray, immersive mix engineer; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Justin Gray, Drew Jurecka & Morten Lindberg, immersive producers (Justin Gray)

An Immersive Tribute To Astor Piazzolla — Live
Andrés Mayo & Martín Muscatello, immersive mix engineers; Andrés Mayo & Martín Muscatello, immersive producers (Various Artists)

Tearjerkers
Hans-Martin Buff, immersive mix engineer; Hans-Martin Buff, immersive producer (Tearjerkers)

Yule
Morten Lindberg, immersive mix engineer; Morten Lindberg, immersive mastering engineer; Arve Henriksen & Morten Lindberg, immersive producers (Trio Mediæval)


Category 85

Best Instrumental Composition

A Composer’s Award for an original composition (not an adaptation) first released during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only

First Snow*
Remy Le Boeuf, composer (Nordkraft Big Band, Remy Le Boeuf & Danielle Wertz)

Live Life This Day: Movement I
Miho Hazama, composer (Miho Hazama, Danish Radio Big Band & Danish National Symphony Orchestra)

Lord, That’s A Long Way
Sierra Hull, composer (Sierra Hull)

Opening
Zain Effendi, composer (Zain Effendi)

Train To Emerald City
John Powell & Stephen Schwartz, composers (John Powell & Stephen Schwartz)

Why You Here / Before The Sun Went Down
Ludwig Göransson, composer (Ludwig Göransson Featuring Miles Caton)


Category 86

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella

An Arranger’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

Be Okay
Cynthia Erivo, arranger (Cynthia Erivo)

A Child Is Born
Remy Le Boeuf, arranger (Nordkraft Big Band & Remy Le Boeuf)

Fight On
Andy Clausen, Addison Maye-Saxon, Riley Mulherkar & Chloe Rowlands, arrangers (The Westerlies)

Super Mario Praise Break*
Bryan Carter, Charlie Rosen & Matthew Whitaker, arrangers (The 8-Bit Big Band)


Category 87

Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals

An Arranger’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

Big Fish*
Erin Bentlage, Sara Gazarek, Johnaye Kendrick, Nate Smith & Amanda Taylor, arrangers (Nate Smith Featuring säje)

How Did She Look?
Nelson Riddle, arranger (Seth MacFarlane)

Keep An Eye On Summer
Jacob Collier, arranger (Jacob Collier)

Something In The Water — Acoustic-Ish
Clyde Lawrence, Gracie Lawrence & Linus Lawrence, arrangers (Lawrence)

What A Wonderful World
Cody Fry, arranger (Cody Fry)


Field 11: Classical

Category 88

Best Orchestral Performance

Award to the Conductor and to the Orchestra.

Coleridge-Taylor: Toussaint L’Ouverture, Ballade Op. 4, Suites From ’24 Negro Melodies’
Michael Repper, conductor (National Philharmonic)

Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie*
Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)

Ravel: Boléro, M. 81
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra Of Venezuela)

Still & Bonds
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor (The Philadelphia Orchestra)

Stravinsky: Symphony In Three Movements
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)


Category 89

Best Opera Recording

Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal Soloists, and to the Composer and Librettist (if applicable) of a world premiere Opera recording only.

Heggie: Intelligence*
Kwamé Ryan, conductor; Jamie Barton, J’Nai Bridges & Janai Brugger; Blanton Alspaugh, producer (Houston Grand Opera; Gene Scheer)

Huang Ruo: An American Soldier
Carolyn Kuan, conductor; Hannah Cho, Alex DeSocio, Nina Yoshida Nelsen & Brian Vu; Adam Abeshouse, Silas Brown & Doron Schachter, producers (American Composers Orchestra; David Henry Hwang)

Kouyoumdjian: Adoration
Alan Pierson, conductor; Miriam Khalil, Marc Kudisch, David Adam Moore, Omar Najmi, Naomi Louisa O’Connell & Karim Sulayman; Mary Kouyoumdjian, producer (Silvana Quartet; The Choir Of Trinity Wall Street)

O’Halloran: Trade & Mary Motorhead
Elaine Kelly, conductor; Oisín Ó Dálaigh & John Molloy; Alex Dowling & Emma O’Halloran, producers (Irish National Opera Orchestra; Mark O’Halloran)

Tesori: Grounded
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Ben Bliss, Emily D’Angelo, Greer Grimsley & Kyle Miller; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus; George Brant)


Category 90

Best Choral Performance

Award to the Conductor, and to the Choral Director and/or Chorus Master where applicable and to the Choral Organization/Ensemble.

Advena – Liturgies For A Broken World
Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (Simon Barrad, Emily Yocum Black & Michael Hawes; Conspirare)

Childs: In The Arms Of The Beloved
Grant Gershon, conductor (Billy Childs, Dan Chmielinski, Christian Euman, Larry Koonse, Lyris Quartet, Anne Akiko Meyers, Carol Robbins & Luciana Souza; Los Angeles Master Chorale)

Lang: Poor Hymnal
Donald Nally, conductor (Steven Bradshaw, Michael Hawes, Lauren Kelly, Rebecca Siler & Elisa Sutherland; The Crossing)

Ortiz: Yanga*
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Grant Gershon, chorus master (Los Angeles Philharmonic; Los Angeles Master Chorale)

Requiem Of Light
Steven Fox, conductor; Emily Drennan & Patti Drennan, chorus masters (Brian Giebler & Sangeeta Kaur; The Clarion Choir)


Category 91

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

For new recordings of works with chamber or small ensemble (twenty-four or fewer members, not including the conductor). One Award to the ensemble and one Award to the conductor, if applicable.

Dennehy: Land Of Winter*
Alan Pierson & Alarm Will Sound

La Mer – French Piano Trios
Neave Trio

Lullabies For The Brokenhearted
Lili Haydn & Paul Cantelon

Slavic Sessions
Mak Grgić & Mateusz Kowalski

Standard Stoppages
Third Coast Percussion


Category 92

Best Classical Instrumental Solo

Award to the Instrumental Soloist(s) and to the Conductor when applicable.

Coleridge-Taylor: 3 Selections From ’24 Negro Melodies’
Curtis Stewart; Michael Repper, conductor (National Philharmonic)

Hope Orchestrated
Mary Dawood Catlin; Jesús David Medina & Raniero Palm, conductors (Venezuela Strings Recording Ensemble)

Inheritances
Adam Tendler

Price: Piano Concerto In One Movement In D Minor
Han Chen; John Jeter, conductor (Malmö Opera Orchestra)

Shostakovich: The Cello Concertos*
Yo-Yo Ma; Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)

Shostakovich: The Piano Concertos; Solo Works
Yuja Wang; Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)


Category 93

Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

Award to: Vocalist(s), Collaborative Artist(s) (Ex: pianists, conductors, chamber groups) Producer(s), Recording Engineers/Mixers with greater than 50% playing time of new material.

Alike – My Mother’s Dream
Allison Charney, soloist; Benjamin Loeb, conductor (National Symphonia Orchestra)

Black Pierrot
Sidney Outlaw, soloist; Warren Jones, pianist

In This Short Life
Devony Smith, soloist; Danny Zelibor, pianist; Michael Nicolas, artist

Kurtág: Kafka Fragments
Susan Narucki, soloist; Curtis Macomber, artist

Schubert Beatles
Theo Hoffman, soloist; Steven Blier, pianist (Rupert Boyd, Julia Bullock, Alex Levine, Andrew Owens, Rubén Rengel & Sam Weber)

Telemann: Ino – Opera Arias For Soprano*
Amanda Forsythe, soloist; Robert Mealy, Paul O’Dette & Stephen Stubbs, conductors (Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra)


Category 94

Best Classical Compendium

Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s) and Engineer(s) of over 50% playing time of the album, and to the Composer and Librettist (if applicable) with over 50% playing time of a world premiere recording only.

Cerrone: Don’t Look Down
Sandbox Percussion; Jonathan Allen, Victor Caccese, Christopher Cerrone, Ian Rosenbaum, Terry Sweeney & Mike Tierney, producers

The Dunbar/Moore Sessions, Vol. II
Will Liverman; Jonathan Estabrooks, producer

Ortiz: Yanga*
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Dmitriy Lipay, producer

Seven Seasons
Janai Brugger, Isolde Fair, MB Gordy & Starr Parodi; Nicholas Dodd, conductor; Jeff Fair, Starr Parodi & Kitt Wakeley, producers

Tombeaux
Christina Sandsengen; Shaun Drew & Christina Sandsengen, producers


Category 95

Best Contemporary Classical Composition

A Composer’s Award. (For a contemporary classical composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year.) Award to the librettist, if applicable.

Cerrone: Don’t Look Down
Christopher Cerrone, composer (Conor Hanick & Sandbox Percussion)

Dennehy: Land Of Winter
Donnacha Dennehy, composer (Alan Pierson & Alarm Will Sound)

León: Raíces — Origins
Tania León, composer (Edward Gardner & London Philharmonic Orchestra)

Okpebholo: Songs In Flight
Shawn E. Okpebholo, composer (Will Liverman, Paul Sánchez & Various Artists)

Ortiz: Dzonot*
Gabriela Ortiz, composer (Alisa Weilerstein, Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)

Review: ‘Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert,’ starring Hans Zimmer, Christopher Nolan, Billie Eilish, Pharrell Williams, Jerry Bruckheimer, Denis Villeneuve, Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya

April 4, 2025

by Carla Hay

Hans Zimmer (center) in a publicity photo for “Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert” (Photo courtesy of RCI Global/Trafalgar Releasing)

“Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert”

Directed by Paul Dugdale

Culture Representation: The concert documentary film “Hans Zimmer & Friends” (filmed in Dubai, New York City, and Los Angeles, in 2024) features a predominantly white group of people (with some black people and Asian people) performing or talking about the music of Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer.

Culture Clash: In off-stage segments, Zimmer talks candidly about his insecurities and conflicts that he’s had in his career and personal life.

Culture Audience: “Hans Zimmer & Friends” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Zimmer and music scores of popular mainstream films.

Leah Zeger and Hans Zimmer in a publicity photo for “Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert” (Photo courtesy of RCI Global/Trafalgar Releasing)

“Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert” is not as pretentious as the title suggests. This candid and immersive concert documentary could have been a vanity project for Oscar-winning music composer Hans Zimmer, but it’s actually a showcase for how he’s generous and astute when it comes to talented people whom he chooses as collaborators. The music performances are outstanding, of course, but the visual presentation is just as stellar, by combining a winning combination of theatrics and technology.

Zimmer (born on September 12, 1957, in Frankfurt, Germany) does frequent world tours. The tour performances captured in this documentary are among the best. John Williams is considered the most celebrated movie music composer of all time. Zimmer comes a close second, in terms of being prolific, but he’s much more experimental than Williams, who sticks to classical music, while Zimmer often explores the music of international cultures.

Directed by Paul Dugdale, “Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert” was filmed at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai and Al Wasl Plaza dome at Expo City Dubai on May 31 and June 1, 2024, with highlights (not the entire set list) from both shows. Zimmer (who usually plays guitar or keyboards on stage) is backed by his touring 18-piece band for the on-stage performances. For these two concerts, the band had musical accompaniment by the National Symphony Orchestra of the United Arab Emirates. The documentary also features concept segments with visual effects of Zimmer performing in a skyscraper and exotic areas such as deserts.

The songs performed are from the music scores of “True Romance,” “Inception,” “Batman v. Superman,” “Man of Steel,” “Gladiator,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “The Dark Knight,” “Dark Phoenix,” “Dunkirk,” “Dune,” “Dune: Part Two,” “The Lion King” and “Interstellar.” The concert highlights include songs performed from “The Dark Knight” (which has a laser light show), “The Pirates of the Caribbean” (absolutely epic), “Dune” (a triumph of otherworldly music), “Gladiator” (with a stunning desert setting), “The Lion King” (a tribal celebration, which included Zimmer going out into the audience) and “Interstellar” (a high point of Zimmer’s work). Not all of these performances are without vocals. “Gladiator” features solos from singers Lisa Gerrard and Loire Cotler. “Dune” has Cotler’s iconic haunting vocals. “The Lion King” features a solo turn from Lebo Morake, whom Zimmer praises on stage as “the true Lion King.”

Zimmer is gracious in continually praising the musicians and vocalists on stage. It’s obvious that he wants them to get just as much and sometimes more recognition than he does from the audience. Tina Guo, a cellist with an unforgettable stage presence that might remind people of a warrior queen, was a standout during the “Pirates of the Caribbean” section and got enthusiastic applause from the audience.

Zimmer singles out lead guitarist Guthrie Govan for particularly high praise. Zimmer says on stage that Govan is “the greatest guitarist in the world” and “one of the nicest human beings in the world.” It’s unknown how Zimmer’s other guitarst—Nile Marr, son of “Inception” collaborator/former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr—felt at that that moment to hear that type of superlative compliment, but there you have it.

All of the musicianship in the concert is top-notch. Other members of Zimmer’s band are music director Nick Glennie-Smith (keyboard/piano/accordion), Judith Sephuma (vocals), Pedro Eustache (woodwinds), Juan Garcia-Herreros (electric bass), Aleksandra Suklar (percussion), Holly Madge Jaspal (drums), Aicha Djidjelli (drums), Steven Doar (keyboards/percussion), Andy Pask (bass/electric bass), Rusanda Panfili (violin), Leah Zeger (violin/vocals) and Molly Rogers (violin/vocals).

In between the performances are segments of conversations (filmed in black and white in New York City and Los Angeles) of Zimmer with some of the people who’ve been cast members or collaborators in some of the most well-known movies for which Zimmer has composed. These creatives include filmmaker Christopher Nolan (“The Dark Knight” trilogy, “Interstellar,” “Inception” “Dunkirk”); sibling songwriters Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell (“No Time to Die”); guitarist Johnny Marr (“Inception”); songwriter/producer Pharrell Williams (“The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” “Hidden Figures”); producer Jerry Bruckheimer (“The Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, “Top Gun: Maverick”); and filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, producer Tanya Lapointe, actor Timothée Chalamet and actress Zendaya (the “Dune” trilogy movies).

The conversation with Bruckheimer is a lovefest. “I don’t know where my career would be without you,” gushes Bruckheimer, who is an executive producer of “Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert.” Bruckheimer says that Zimmer “saved us on [the first] ‘Pirates of the Caribbean'” because the composer who was originally hired for the movie dropped out. Zimmer says in multiple segments that he does his best work when he’s panicking under deadline pressure.

Bruckheimer adds, “My experience with you is you have to be in pain to write something great.” Zimmer, who admits he can be difficult in wanting to stay true to his musical vision, compliments Bruckheimer for sticking by Zimmer when other people would give up on him and leave. “It’s a degree of friendship that goes beyond professionalism,” Zimmer comments on his relationship with Bruckheimer.

Zimmer’s conversations with Gen Z artists Eilish, O’Connell, Chalamet and Zendaya show that they are completely in awe of him. He accepts their flattery humbly. Eilish thanks Zimmer for not being condescending to her during the time they worked together. Eilish and O’Connell won numerous awards, including an Oscar, for their theme song to the 2021 James Bond film “No Time to Die,” the first original song that the sibling duo wrote for a movie.

In this conversation, Zimmer says that he doesn’t have an orchestra conductor for his live shows because “I hate the pretentiousness of a conductor.” Zimmer also confesses that “Man of Steel” (the 2013 Superman origin movie) was the hardest film score he ever composed because he had writer’s block. He was able to overcome this writer’s block by coming up with something on the piano by keeping in mind that the story was about a man who could never be human. Zimmer says the core of the “Man of Steel” music score was about someone who wanted to find the basis of humanity.

“Dune” co-stars Chalamet and Zendaya (who do separate interviews with Zimmer) tell Zimmer that his music has been the soundtrack of their lives. “Your music transcends across generations. It’s timeless,” says Chalamet. Zendaya says that people who visit her at home are required to listen to the “Interstellar” score soundtrack, which she says is music that is “deeply emotional to me.”

Zimmer says that “Interstellar” (a 2014 sci-fi movie know for its melancholy piano music) is the favorite score that he’s written for a Nolan movie. However, you get the feeling (even though Zimmer doesn’t say it out loud) that “Interstellar” is Zimmer’s favorite score that he’s ever written in his career. Zimmer’s conversation with “Interstellar” director Nolan is the most relaxed and natural-looking, since they both talk about things that go beyond music.

Nolan and Zimmer mention that “Interstellar” had about 48 music sessions that were recorded for the movie. (A typical major studio film has 12 music sessions recorded for the movie.) Nolan calls those 48 sessions “proper Zimmer madness.” Zimmer says of the movie scores he’s written, “Every movie is a life-or-death experience for me. I’m willing to die for it.”

In the conversation with Nolan, Zimmer confesses that the 1994 “The Lion King” music score was something he was reluctant to do at first because he didn’t see himself as a composer for animated films. The subject matter (a lion whose childhood is damaged when his father dies) was also touchy for him because Zimmer’s father died when Zimmer was 6. Zimmer comments, “The whole score for ‘The Lion King’ was a requiem for my father.” The risk paid off for Zimmer, who won his first Oscar for composing the score for 1994’s “The Lion King.”

Zimmer’s conversation with Williams is at times unnatural and awkward, mainly because Williams (who’s a self-confessed eccentric) talks in New Age platitudes, as if he’s attending a yoga session instead of talking about music scores. Not much is revealed in this discussion. Zimmer and Williams both agree that listening is just as important and playing music.

“Dune” movie franchise director/co-writer/producer Villeneuve and his producer wife Tanya Lapointe discuss Zimmer’s score for 2021’s “Dune,” which garnered Zimmer his second Oscar. Villeneuve admits that he was a director who was “against music for a long time,” but Zimmer helped make him appreciate what music can do for a movie. Zimmer says during this conversation: “Failure is my biggest teacher.”

“Failure” is not the word to describe “Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert.” It’s a triumph of a concert film that will win over even the most casual listeners of Zimmer’s music or people who don’t know his music at all. The movie is not the same as being at an actual concert. But if it’s seen on the biggest screen possible with the best possible sound system, it’s the closest thing to experiencing a real Zimmer concert, which is a memorable and uplifting experience.

Here is the complete setlist from “Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert”:

  • “True Romance” (from “True Romance”)
  • “House Artreides” (from “Dune”)
  • “Mombasa” (from “Inception”)
  • “Is She With You?” (from “Batman v. Superman”)
  • “Man of Steel” (from “Man of Steel”)
  • “Now We Are Free” (from “Gladiator”)
  • “Pirates of the Caribbean” Suite
  • “Why So Serious?” (from “The Dark Knight”)
  • “X-MDP” (from “Dark Phoenix”
  • “Supermarine” (from “Dunkirk”)
  • “Paul’s Dream” (from “Dune”)
  • “Interstellar” (from “Interstellar”)
  • “The Lion King” Suite
  • “Time” (from “Inception”)
  • “Diamond in the Desert” (a tribute to Dubai)
  • “A Time of Quiet Between the Storms” (from “Dune: Part Two”)

Trafalgar Releasing released “Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert” for a limited engagement in select U.S. cinemas on March 19 and March 23, 2025. Greenwich Entertainment will release the movie on digital and VOD on September 19, 2025.

Review: ‘Turning Red,’ starring the voices of Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Ava Morse, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Hyein Park, Orion Lee and Tristan Allerick Chen

March 7, 2022

by Carla Hay

Abby (voiced by Hyein Park), Miriam (voiced by Ava Morse), Priya (voiced by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and Mei (voiced by Rosalie Chiang) in “Turning Red” (Image courtesy of Disney/Pixar Animation Studios)

“Turning Red”

Directed by Domee Shi 

Culture Representation: Taking place in Toronto in 2002, the animated film “Turning Red” features a racially diverse cast of characters (Asian, white and a few black people and Latinos) portraying the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: Due to an inherited family trait, a 13-year-old girl finds out that she can turn into a giant red panda when she gets very emotional, and she has to decide if she will keep or get rid of this family trait.

Culture Audience: “Turning Red” will appeal primarily to people interested in entertaining but somewhat predictable animated films that are stories about coming of age and about mother-daughter relationships.

Ming (voiced by Sandra Oh) and Mei (voiced by Rosalie Chiang) in “Turning Red” (Image courtesy of Disney/Pixar Animation Studios)

The comedic animated film “Turning Red” can at times get too one-note and formulaic in its themes of identity and self-discovery, but the movie has enough offbeat charm to make it a memorable coming-of-age story. The movie explores issues that are familiar to movies about children who are descendants of immigrants, such as whether to follow “old country” traditions or “current country” lifestyles. It’s a story that people of many generations and cultures can enjoy.

“Turning Red” is the feature-film debut of director Domee Shi, who won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short, for her 2018 film “Bao.” According to the “Turning Red” production notes, “Turning Red” (which was co-written by Shi and Julie Cho) is based on a lot of Shi’s real-life experiences as a Canadian child in a Chinese immigrant family. The story, which takes place in Toronto in the spring of 2002, is about a 13-year-old girl who finds her own identity, even when she has people telling her who she should be and what she should do.

The 13-year-old protagonist of “Turning Red” is Meiling “Mei” Lee (voiced by Rosalie Chiang), a smart, obedient and admittedly dorky eighth grader at Lester B. Pearson Middle School in Toronto. Mei is the only child of domineering, overprotective mother Ming Lee (voiced by Sandra Oh) and laid-back and mild-mannered father Jin Lee (voiced by Orion Lee), who both moved to Canada before Mei was born. Ming is the boss of the Lee Family Temple, which is a tourist attraction in Toronto’s Chinatown district. Jin appears to be a stay-at-home father. Mei works part-time as an assistant temple keeper at the Lee Family Temple, where she does menial tasks such as cleaning.

Mei is a self-described overachiever who’s not very popular at school, but she has a tight-knit trio of friends who are students at the same school. Miriam (voiced by Ava Morse) is tomboyish and goofy. Priya (voiced by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) is bookish and sarcastic. Abby (voiced by Hyein Park) is feisty and hot-tempered. All four girls are somewhat obsessive fans of a boy band named 4*Town, which will be performing an upcoming concert at the Toronto SkyDome, a stadium that can seat 40,000 to 50,000 people. (In real life, the Toronto SkyDome name was changed to Rogers Centre in 2005.)

Because Ming is very strict and suspicious of anything that she thinks could lead Mei to rebel, she won’t let Mei go to the concert. Ming tells Mei that 4*Town’s inoffensive pop music is “filth.” It’s around this time that Mei finds out that the women in her family have inherited a trait where they turn into giant red pandas when they get emotional. When Mei is a panda, she’s about 8 feet tall. Mei discovers this family gene when she wakes up as a giant panda. And later, she predictably turns into a panda when she’s in school, which leads to a humiliating experience.

Mei’s parents tell her that the red panda trait can be suppressed/cured with an ancient ritual during the next red moon, which takes place the following month, on May 25. Meanwhile, Mei finds out that her schoolmates actually like when she transforms into Red Panda Mei, because she’s more spontaneous and fun-loving as a panda. And so, Mei and her three pals come up with a scheme to get enough money to go to the 4*Town concert, which will cost them $200 a ticket. The red panda ritual and the concert are part of a “race against time” aspect to this movie.

“Turning Red” infuses this somewhat simplistic comedic story with more complex commentary about generational traditions and mother-daughter relationships, especially toward the end of the film. Ming expects Mei to put family duties above Mei’s social life, which is why Mei doesn’t hang out with her friends after school as much as she would like to because Mei often has to work at the temple. “Turning Red” has many nods to Eastern culture (which puts emphasis on family/community) and Western culture (which puts emphasis on individuality), as well as the conflicts that can arise when someone, such as Mei, is caught between the contrasts of these cultures.

For example, Ming tells Mei that the red panda trait originated from an ancient female ancestor named Sun Yee, who was a warrior, scholar and poet at a time when women rarely had those roles. During a war, when most of the men were off fighting in the war, Sun Yee prayed to the gods to give her a way to defend her daughter and their village. The gods answered her prayer by giving her the ability to turn into a giant red panda. This ability was passed on to all of Sun Yee’s female descendants. This inherited trait could be considered a blessing for those who see it as good for a community, or it could be seen as a curse for those who see it as bad for an individual.

In the movie’s opening scene, Mei makes a comment that shows how she’s conflicted between the need to get the approval of her family (namely, her mother) and her need to be her own person who can make her own decisions. She says in a voiceover as a montage of her life flashes on screen: “The No. 1 rule in my family: Honor your parents … The least you can do is everything they ask. Honoring your parents is great, but if you take it too far, you might forget to honor yourself.”

Other parts of the movie repeat scenarios where Mei would like to think that she’s independent and free to do what she wants, but then something happens (usually involving Mei’s mother Ming) where Mei is made to feel guilty or pressured to do things that will make her parents proud and honor the family. Ming already has Mei’s life mapped out for her and expects Mei to have a career as secretary-general of the United Nations. Ming is also extremely judgmental and wants to control every aspect of Mei’s life.

For most of the movie, Ming is a caricature of a “helicopter mom,” who hovers and often interferes with Mei’s life to the extent that it causes a series of embarrassments for Mei. For example, when Mei wakes up one morning to find out that she has turned into a giant red panda, Mei is so confused and frightened, she won’t let her parents in her bedroom, but she wails through the door: “I’m a gross red monster!”

Ming misinterprets Mei’s “gross red monster” comment as Mei getting her menstrual period for the first time. That misunderstanding leads to a scene where Ming shows up unannounced at Mei’s school to deliver sanitary pads to her. Much to Mei’s understandable mortification, Ming gets into a fight with a security guard over it in front of Mei and her classmates, while Ming shouts that she just wants to deliver sanitary pads that Mei forgot at home. Of course, Ming eventually finds out the truth, and that’s when Mei’s parents tell Mei about their family’s red panda secret.

It isn’t until the last third of “Turning Red” that Ming stops being a caricature and starts being more of a fully developed character, as some of her human frailties and vulnerabilities emerge. This gradual reveal of Ming’s true character is one of the best aspects of “Turning Red,” which skillfully shows how physical appearances aren’t the only traits that can be passed down through generations. Parenting habits and the ways that parents teach children how to interact with others can also be inherited.

The movie falters a bit in how it introduces a few potential storylines for Mei’s peers, and then just lets those storylines dangle unresolved. There’s a 17-year-old boy named Devon (voiced by Addie Chandler), who’s a heartthrob to Mei, her friends and some of the other girls at Mei’s school. Devon works as a clerk at a convenience store called Daisy Mart. And when Ming finds that Mei has drawn some romantic (non-sexual) fantasy illustrations about Devon in Mei’s sketchbook/journal, Ming goes on a rampage by yelling Devon at his job and wrongfully accusing him of taking sexually advantage of Mei. And then, Devon and his storyline are completely dropped, as if his only purpose in the movie was to be a target of Ming’s misguided parental rants.

Ming also hugely disapproves of Mei’s friend Miriam, for reasons that aren’t made very clear and should have been given better explanation or context. The only explanation put forth in the movie is that Miriam, who likes to skateboard and is comfortable with herself, is perceived by Ming as a threat to Ming’s idea that Mei should be a prim and proper girl. Even though Miriam is a nice person and a supportive friend, Ming has this unsubstantiated idea that Miriam is a troublemaker who’s a bad influence on Mei. At one point in the movie, Miriam briefly mentions that Miriam’s parents aren’t very strict, which could be another reason why Ming doesn’t trust Miriam.

One of the biggest flaws of “Turning Red” is that Miriam, Priya and Abby are underdeveloped characters overall. The movie gives no sense of who these three friends are outside of any context of reacting to Mei’s emotions, offering to help Mei with any problems that she has, or discussing things that they have in common with Mei. Teenage girls talk to their close friends a lot about their personal hopes/goals and their families, but that kind of talk is very absent in this movie for Miriam, Priya and Abby. It makes Mei’s friendship with them look more one-sided than it should be.

Every movie with a school of underage children inevitably has a character who’s a school jerk/bully. In “Turning Red,” this character is Tyler (voiced by Tristan Allerick Chen), a spoiled and privileged kid, who likes to taunt Mei for being nerdy. Not much else is revealed about Tyler. That lack of information about Tyler is a missed opportunity for “Turning Red” to give better context for why school bullies like this exist and why they target certain people. The way that the movie handles the bully storyline is a little problematic, because it’s oversimplified and has a morally questionable message of buying friendships with cash, when the lesson should be that real friendships can’t be bought.

A montage near the beginning of the movie shows what a few people at the school think of Mei. A teacher says, “She’s a very enterprising, mildly annoying young lady.” A female student says that Mei is a “major weirdo.” A male student describes Mei as “an overachieving dork narc.” Mei is then seen commenting cheerfully, “I accept and embrace all labels.” Viewers of “Turning Red” are left to speculate, with nothing shown in the movie, why some students have such hostile feelings toward Mei that they would call her a “narc” (in other words, a snitch) and a “major weirdo.”

The music group 4*Town is meant to be a parody of boy bands that were popular in the early 2000s. The five members of the group—don’t ask why they’re called 4*Town, because there’s no explanation—also mirror the stereotypes of boy bands: One or two members of the group are the most popular heartthrob lead singers, while the other members are more forgettable and tend to fade in the background.

In 4*Town, the two most popular members are Robaire (voiced by Jordan Fisher) and Jesse (voiced by Finneas O’Connell), who overshadow the group’s other members: Tae Young (voiced by Grayson Villanueva), Aaron T. (voiced by Topher Ngo) and Aaron Z. (voiced by Josh Levi). All of the members of 4*Town are not in the movie long enough for them to show distinctive personalities, even though the group’s concert is at the center of the movie’s climactic action.

In real life, O’Connell is the Grammy-winning producer/songwriter who’s best known for his work with his younger sister, Billie Eilish. O’Connell and Eilish wrote three original 4*Town songs for the “Turning Red” soundtrack: “1 True Love,” “Nobody Like U” and “U Know What’s Up.” These songs are meant to sound “boy-band generic,” so don’t expect this music to win any prestigious awards. Ludwig Göransson (who won an Oscar and a Grammy for his 2018 “Black Panther” movie score) composed the musical score for “Turning Red,” which is a serviceable score but not Göransson’s best work.

All of the voice cast members are perfectly fine in their roles, while the visuals are very good but not exceptional. Many parts of the movie are predictable, but “Turning Red” is ultimately satisfying for anyone who can enjoy animated entertainment that hits all the expected notes when the protagonist is a plucky teenager.

Disney+ will premiere “Turning Red” on March 11, 2022, the same date that Disney will release the movie for a limited engagement in select U.S. cinemas.

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