Culture Representation: Taking place in London and in Uganda, the musical film “Christmas Karma” (inspired by the novella “A Christmas Carol”) features an Asian and white cast of characters (with a few black people and Latin people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: Greedy and hateful financier Eshaan Sood, an Indian Ugandan immigrant living in London, rethinks his negative attitude during the Christmas holiday season when ghosts from the past, present and future show him his life.
Culture Audience: “Christmas Karma” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, the book on which the movie is based, and musicals that have star power and little else to offer that’s entertaining.
Eva Longoria, Billy Porter, Boy George and Hugh Bonneville in “Christmas Karma” (Photo courtesy of Ketchup Entertainment)
“Christmas Karma” is a well-intentioned but misguided attempt to turn “A Christmas Carol” into a British Bollywood musical. The movie’s original songs are terrible, the acting is often cringeworthy, and this off-balance movie goes from bad to worse. The movie’s rewriting of the main character to have a refugee story is an admirable attempt to do something different from the original source material of “A Christmas Carol,” but this alteration is more awkward than seamless. In addition, the visual effects in Christmas Karma” are almost as tacky as the movie’s songs.
Written and directed by Gurinder Chadha, “Christmas Karma” keeps many other basic elements of “A Christmas Carol,” the classic 1843 novella written by Charles Dickens. The main character is still a miserable businessman who is both greedy (when it comes to his personal wealth) and stingy (when it comes to being generous to other people). In “Christmas Karma,” the main character has been changed from elderly wealthy bachelor Ebenezer Scrooge to middle-aged wealthy bachelor Eshaan Sood (played by Kunal Nayyar), who is bitter and unhappy in all aspects of his life. Instead of “Bah, humbug!” as an expression of disapproval, Eshaan Sood says, “Bah, quass!”
Eshaan (who prefers to be called Sood) is the owner of a financial investment company called Marley & Sood, which he inherited after his former boss/mentor Jacob Marley (played by Hugh Bonneville) died an untold number of years ago. During the Christmas holiday season, Sood doesn’t let the employees use the heating system in the office when it gets too cold. And to make things worse, he fires a group of employees who dare to complain about their dismal working conditions. Sood is also a terrible boss to his housekeeper Mrs. Joshi (played by Shobu Kapoor), whom he expects to work on holidays. He also refuses to give Mrs. Joshi a Christmas bonus. He tells Mrs. Joshi that she shouldn’t celebrate Christmas because she’s Hindu.
The only person who seems to like Sood is his loyal Marley & Sood employee Bob Crachit (played by Leon Suter), who struggles to financially support his wife Mary Crachit (played by Pixie Lott) and their four kids: Tiny Tim (played by Freddie Marshall-Ellis), son Peter Crachitt (played by Charlie Hodson-Prior) and the eldest son (played by Finn Guegan) and eldest daughter (played by Olivia Brody), who don’t have names in the movie. Tiny Tim is the youngest child, and he happens to be disabled. Sood reluctantly grants Bob’s request to get a salary advance to pay for Christmas gifts for Bob’s family. Sood’s rudely says to Bob: “Why’d you have so many kids then?”
Sood is very prejudiced against poor people and immigrants, even though he’s an immigrant who used to be poor. During the part of the story where he revisits his past, it’s revealed that he and his family were Indian immigrants living a comfortable life in Uganda untill they were exiled by Uganda’s dictator president Idi Amin, who ordered a mass deportation of Uganda’s Indian residents in 1972, with these exiles having only 90 days to evacuate. Eshaan Sood (played by Skanda Arun), who was 7 years old at the time, had to leave behind the family’s pet West Highland White Terrier with his Ugandan best friend Akiiki (played by Prince Mwangi), who was also 7 years old at the time. Losing his dog and his best friend broke Eshaan’s heart.
Eshaan, his widower father (played by Anil Desai), and Eshaan’s unnamed older sister (played by Inara Ansari), who was an adolescent at the time, relocated to London. Eshaan’s grandmother (played by Vaishali Morjaria) stayed behind in Uganda because she was too elderly to travel and was apparently exempt from the deportation for this reason. In her goodbyes to her family members, she gave young Eshaan a gift (which shows up later in the movie) and advised him: “With wealth, you’ll always have respect.”
Eshaan’s father died soon after the family arrived in London. Eshaan and his sister were put in the foster care system, where they lived in poverty and experienced hostility and racism. The movie shows Eshaan from the ages of 17 to 23 (played by Bilal Hasna), when he was known as Eddie Sood. During this period of time, he experienced heartbreak with his first love Bea Fernandez (played by Charithra Chandran), for reasons that are explained in the movie.
Sood’s sister is now deceased. His sister’s young adult son Raj (played by Shubham Saraf) has a wife and kids, but Sood wants nothing to do with them. Sood doesn’t respect Raj because Raj doesn’t make enough money to get Sood’s approval. In the beginning of the movie, Sood impolitely rejects Raj’s invitation to go to a Christmas party at Raj’s home. Sood also seems to be racist because he openly disapproves of Raj being married to someone who isn’t of Indian heritage. Raj’s wife Emily (played by Laura Baldwin) is white and British.
Just like the original story, the central character has a nightmare where he sees the ghost of Marley, who tells him that three more ghosts will also be visiting: The Ghost of Christmas Past (played by Eva Longoria), the Ghost of Christmas Present (played by Billy Porter), and the Ghost of Christmas Future (played by Boy George), who each shows Sood his life during these respective time periods. Marley tells Sood that Sood has a chance to change his life “before it’s too late.”
Porter is the only one of these ghosts who is a standout singer in the movie. Fans of Boy George will be disappointed to see that he doesn’t get a big solo song but has to warble alongside Porter, who steals every scene where Porter appears. Longoria, dressed as a Dia de los Muertos ghost and accompanied by a mariachi trio, makes sarcastic quips but doesn’t have a big musical moment as the Ghost of Christmas Past. And the less said about Suter’s off-key singing, the better. Danny Dyer has a supporting role as a singing cabbie, whose only purpose in the movie is to be just another person who experiences Sood’s obnoxious attitude.
Strangely, even though Nayyar is the star of this musical, he doesn’t sing any lead vocals or solos in this confounding movie. Nayyar is shown singing in some group performances, presumably to hide the fact that he doesn’t have the singing talent to sing lead vocals or solo vocals on any of the songs. It’s absolutely ridiculous to make a movie musical if the star/main character doesn’t even have any extended moments to sing solo or lead vocals. As for Nayyar’s spoken dialogue performance, it goes from mediocre in the beginning of the movie to very hammy by the end of the film.
“Christmas Karma” also makes some other odd choices, such as the character of Bob having more singing time on screen than the Ghost of Christmas Future. In other words, the “Christmas Karma” filmmakers made the foolish decision to make Boy George have less singing in the movie than an actor who doesn’t sing very well. Another inexplicable choice: Tiny Tim (a character who is supposed to be charming because he’s so humble) thanking the National Health Service in his list of thank yous/blessings and bragging in this not-so-humble statement: “I give the best hugs.” Why is Tiny Tim thanking NHS, when the movie clearly mentions that the Cratchit family is struggling to pay all of their bills, including Tiny Tim’s medical bills? Don’t expect this movie to answer that question.
This musical’s original songs (by Gary Barlow, Nitin Sawhney, Shaznay Lewis, Chadha, and Ben Cullum) have subpar lyrics and forgettable music. (Lewis has a small role in the movie as Carol, one of the backup singers for the Ghost of Christmas Present.) Songs like “Christmas Karma,” “Manz a Scrooge,” “A Gift Is Still a Gift,” “Money Talks,” “Pain of the Past,” “Rise Up,” “The Big Bah Quass Song” and “Favourite of the Year” do little to further the story and just highlight how low-quality the songs are. The film editing for “Christmas Karma” is so sloppy, there are several parts of the movie where the songs being performed don’t match up with the performers’ lip movements.
The backstory about Sood being a refugee from Uganda is meant to have tearjerking impact, but that impact is diluted by the time the movie gets to the very truncated section where the Ghost of Christmas Future shows Sood what will happen if Sood doesn’t change his mean-spirited and selfish ways. In fact, the backstory takes up so much of the movie, the sections with the Ghost of Christmas Present and Ghost of Christmas Future have increasingly diminished screen time in comparison. The movie’s song-and-dance numbers are more Hollywood than Bollywood, with only two songs (“The Big Bah Quass Song” and “Favourite of the Year”) getting anything like a Bollywood-styled production. Indian British bhangra singers Jassi Sidhu and Malkit Singh make cameo appearances as themselves.
Even if the movie’s acting falls short of being great, “Christmas Karma” should have had at least been able to deliver appealing and catchy original songs, but the movie utterly fails on this basic musical level. “Bend It Like Beckham” director Chadha is capable of making a good music-oriented film, as evidenced by the 2019 drama “Blinded by the Light,” an underrated gem that Chadha directed and co-wrote about a Pakistani British teenager who is passionate about Bruce Springsteen’s music. Unfortunately, “Christmas Karma” is an embarrassing misstep in her filmography that is more likely to irritate viewers than put them in a joyful holiday mood.
Ketchup Entertainment released “Christmas Karma” in select U.S. cinemas on November 14, 2025.
Kendrick Lamar at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, on February 2, 2025. (Photo by Phil McCarten/CBS)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Kendrick Lamar has the most nominations (nine), followed by Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff and music producer/songwriter Cirkut, who have seven nominations each.
The following is a press release from the Recording Academy:
The Recording Academy has officially released the full list of nominees for the 2026 GRAMMYS, marking the start of this year’s GRAMMY season and setting the stage for Music’s Biggest Night.
The nominees were announced today during a livestream, with artists including Chappell Roan, Doechii, KAROL G, Mumford & Sons, Sabrina Carpenter, Sam Smith, and more presenting all 95 GRAMMY Categories. This year’s nominations span a wide range of artists, genres, and projects — from established acts to first-time nominees — across pop, country, rap, R&B, Latin, global, jazz, and beyond, reflecting a year marked by wide-ranging creativity in music.
Winners will be determined by the Recording Academy’s Voting Members — a peer group composed of music creators, including artists, songwriters, producers, engineers, and more. Their GRAMMY votes decide every GRAMMY nominee and GRAMMY winner revealed on Music’s Biggest Night, reinforcing the GRAMMY Award as music’s only industry-recognized, peer-voted honor.
This year also marks a notable update to the GRAMMY Awards process: The 2026 GRAMMYS will introduce two new GRAMMY Categories — Best Traditional Country Album and Best Album Cover. These additions further the Recording Academy’s commitment to recognizing a broader spectrum of artistic craft and honoring the evolving ways music is created and experienced.
The 2026 GRAMMYS will take place Sunday, Feb. 1, live at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, broadcasting live on the CBS Television Network and streaming live and on demand on Paramount+.
Check out the full list of nominees for the 2026 GRAMMY Awards below.
2026 GRAMMYS: Official Nominations List
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
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)
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.
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)
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.
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
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.
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)
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)
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)
An Immersive Tribute To Astor Piazzolla — Live Andrés Mayo & Martín Muscatello, immersive mix engineers; Andrés Mayo & Martín Muscatello, immersive producers (Various Artists)
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.
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
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)
Culture Representation: The documentary film “I Was Born This Way” features a predominantly African American group of people (with a few white people) who discuss the life and career of Carl Bean, who went from being a professional singer to becoming an archbishop LGBTQ activist.
Culture Clash: Bean (who experienced racism, homophobia and sexual abuse) was often misunderstood, degraded and underestimated when fighting for causes that he advocated.
Culture Audience: “I Was Born This Way” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in documentaries about lesser-known civil rights activists from the LGBTQ community.
A 1977 promotional photo of Carl Bean in “I Was Born This Way” (Photo courtesy of I Was Born This Way Production LLC)
“I Was Born This Way” is a worthy tribute to Carl Bean, who was an archbishop, former disco singer, and overlooked pioneer in LGBTQ civil rights activism. The documentary’s old interviews with Bean (who died in 2021) and others make it look a bit outdated. These interviews don’t lessen the film’s intentions or the quality of the stories told in the documentary, but “I Was Born This Way” gives the impression that the filmmakers didn’t get more recent interviews before this documentary was released in 2025.
Directed by Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard, “I Was Born This Way” had its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival. Bean sat down for an exclusive interview for the documentary, which uses his storytelling as the driving narrative. Several other people who knew Bean and/or were influenced by him are also interviewed for “I Was Born This Way.”
Bean (who is quite a raconteur in this documentary) died of a prolonged undisclosed illness on September 7, 2021. He was 77. Throughout the documentary there is animation showing re-enactments of the stories that Bean and other people tell because many of the stories don’t have enough photos or other archival footage to serve as visual demonstrations. The animation (which is competently made and has some melodramatic moments) might get various reactions from viewers, since this animation takes up a great screen time in the documentary.
The documentary “I Was Born This Way” begins by showing Billy Porter arriving at the home of Chris Jones, who is an archivist of recordings that Bean did when he was a disco/R&B singer in the 1970s. Chris Jones is the son of the late Bunny Jones, who wrote Bean’s most famous song: 1977’s “Born This Way.” Porter and Chris Jones meet each other for the first time and greet each other warmly.
Why is Porter at Chris Jones’ home? The documentary shows Porter there to hear unreleased recordings made by Bean and look at some rare memorabilia of Bean. Porter comments in the documentary, “I’m excited to hold history in my hands. This song [‘Born This Way’] was very important … for little gay boys like me.” Much later in the documentary, Porter is seen re-recording the Bean song “Liberation,” a song that was supposed to be the B-side to “Born This Way” but was unreleased because the lyrics to “Liberation” were considered “too gay” at the time.
Grammy-winning musician and Oscar-winning director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson has this to say about “I Was Born This Way,” when he comments on the song while looking through vinyl records at a music store: “This song was ahead of its time …. This one song started a revolution.”
In the documentary, Bean tells his life story in chronological order. He talks candidly about his troubled childhood (he grew up in Baltimore), where he survived bullying from his peers, physical abuse from his father, sexual abuse from an uncle (his father’s brother), a suicide attempt by overdosing on pills, and the traumatic aftermath of his mother’s death from a then-illegal abortion. Bean was raised by his godparents because his biological parents were too young when they became parents to Bean.
Bean says, “From a young age, I knew I was different.” He adds, “Music oozed out of me.” Bean mentions that Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers (best known for the 1956 hit “Why Do Fools Fall in Love”) had a tremendous influence on him to want to become a professional singer. Bean also says that when he was a child, he was sexually abused “too many times to count.” bean says when he told his father about the sexual abuse, his father severely punished him. During Bean’s childhood and for much of his life, Bean says he was plagued by frequent nightmares of being chased by a phantom.
Bean’s sister Martha Payne, who says Bean’s childhood nickname was Sammy, has this description of what Bean was like as a child: “He liked doll houses, cheerleading, baton twirlin. He never pretended to be anything other than he was.” When Bean was bullied by his peers, Payne says that he took it in stride. “When he was singing, he was at his happiest.”
As a teenager, his suicide attempt led to him being put in a psychiatric ward at a hospital, where his mother happened to work as a custodian. Bean remembers his mother assuring him during this hospital stay that there were other queer kids who existed too. She encouraged him to become a singer.
After he was discharged from the hospital, he went to live with his mother, who had two other kids living with her. Bean says this change in his living situation meant that his socioeconomic status went from “middle-class to working-class poor.” While living with his mother, Bean says he got to know a lot of gay and transgender hustlers and sex workers, who accepted him and made him feel like he was part of a community.
Sadly, tragedy struck when his mother died of an illegal abortion. And to add to this devastating loss, Bean says he was forced to testify against the nurse who administered this abortion when the nurse went on trial for murder. Bean moved to New York City after the trial ended.
The middle of the movie chronicles Bean’s up-and-down journey through the music business. After moving to New York City, he became a gospel singer in Harlem’s Christian Tabernacle Choir. Dionne Warwick, Cissy Houston and Estelle Brown were his mentors at the time. Warwick and Brown are interviewed in the documentary.
Warwick says she was impressed very early on with Bean: “He had an incredible voice” Brown says, “I learned a lot from Carl regarding homosexuality.” Brown, who was a member of the gospel group the Sweet Inspirations, mentions that she was a closeted lesbian for most of her life, but her friendship with Bean helped her to eventually come out and live openly as a lesbian.
According to Bean, he got tired of his hard-partying lifestyle in New York City, so he relocated to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. He also took his music in secular direction by deciding to perform R&B and later disco. Bean formed a band called Carl Bean and Universal Love, where he was the lead singer. And although the band was signed to ABC Records, which released the band’s 1974 album “Universal Love”), the band couldn’t break through to widespread commercial success. Universal Love drummer Royal Anderson is one of the people interviewed in the documentary
Bean then launched a solo career as a Motown Records artist during the disco craze of the late 1970s. “I Was Born This Way” (written by Chris Spierer and Bunny Jones) was originally recorded by singer Valentino in 1975. Bean’s 1977 version of the song, which was a hit on the disco charts, stood the test of time longer. Bean is singer more likely to be associated with “I Was Born This Way,” which is credited with being the first gay anthem to become a mainstream hit. In the documentary, Iris Gordy—a former Motown Records executive and a niece of Motown founder Berry Gordy—makes brief comments about Bean and “I Was Born This Way.”
Why was “Born This Way” co-written by a woman who identified as heterosexual? Chris Jones explains in the documentary that his mother Bunny Jones had a hair salon and knew a lot of gay/queer people because of the salon. Fun fact: Bunny Jones was the first black woman to own a nationally prominent recording studio in the United States: She founded Astral recording studio in 1971, in New York City’s East Harlem district. Bunny Jones also founded Gaiee Records, which released Valentino’s version of “I Was Born This Way,” and she subsequently sold Gaiee to Motown
Disco’s popularity, like Bean’s music career, eventually faded. He then made a career transition to being a full-time LGBTQ activist. In 1985, he founded the Minority AIDS Project as a way to help people of color during the AIDS crises. And in response to seeing many LGBTQ people being shunned and bullied by church communities, Bean founded his own queer-friendly ministry— Unity Fellowship Church—and became an archbishop. Unity Fellowship Church, which began in Los Angeles, has expanded its congregations to other U.S. cities.
Lady Gaga gives an emotionally candid interview in the documentary about how her hit song “Born This Way” (the title track of her 2011 second album) was directly influenced by Bean’s version of “I Was Born This Way.” She admits that she didn’t know much about Bean when she first heard the song. Lady Gaga (who is outspoken advocate for LGBTQ people) comments, “When I learned about what Carl did not just as a singer but as an activist, it made my heart explode.”
The most meaningful parts of the documentary aren’t about the glitz and glamour of showbiz but about how Bean took his pain as an abuse survivor and channeled it into many positive things in his life, including helping people who are often mistreated, abused or neglected. The documentary includes footage of Ben doing some of this activism, as well as his interactions with his vibrant Unity Fellowship Church congregation. Bean’s close confidant Rev. Dr. Russell E. Thornhill is interviewed in the documentary.
Although documentary shows Bean going into details about many aspects of his life, he doesn’t reveal anything much his love life except to say that he’s gay. Bean briefly mentions he’s been been heartbroken many times, but he doesn’t go into specifics. He takes the same approach about his health issues. Ultimately, “I Was Born This Way” did not have to be a “tell-all” documentary. The movie capably shows that Bean left a very admirable and impactful legacy that changed many people’s lives for the better.
Jungefilm released “I Was Born This Way” in Los Angeles on October 30, 2025.
Culture Representation: The documentary film “Depeche Mode M” features a white and Latin group of people who are participants, audience members or connected in some way to British rock band Depeche Mode’s September 2023 concerts at Foro Sol stadium in Mexico City, Mexico.
Culture Clash: The documentary has themes of Mexico’s cultural relationship with death.
Culture Audience: “Depeche Mode: M” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Depeche Mode and rock concert documentaries that have artsy and poetic touches.
Dave Gahan and Martin Gore in “Depeche Mode: M” (Photo by Toni François/Trafalgar Releasing)
“Depeche Mode: M,” filmed during the band’s Mexico City concerts in 2023, does something different from a typical concert documentary: including Spanish-language literature readings in between the on-stage footage. The live performance is good, not great.
The set list selected for this concert includes generous selections of Depeche Mode songs from all the decades of the band’s existence so far, from Depeche Mode’s 1980s origins to 2023. (The electro pop-rock band was formed in 1980 in Basildon, England.) But with only 16 songs as part of this 100-minute documentary’s performance set list, the documentary has inevitable omissions from Depeche Mode’s greatest hits.
Directed by Fernando Frías (also known as Fernando Frías de la Parra), “Depeche Mode: M” has footage from three sold-out Depeche Mode shows at the stadium Foro Sol on September 21, September 23 and September 25, 2023. A estimated total of 190,000 people attended all three concerts, which were part of Depeche Mode’s world tour in support of Depeche Mode’s 2023 album “Memento Mori.” “Depeche Mode: M” had its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival.
In Spanish, “Memento Mori” means “Remember you must die.” Themes of life and death are intertwined throughout the concert. In between the song performances are filmed interludes of poetry that is read in Spanish, with several artistically filmed montages (often in black and white) of images, such as Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) mementos or a man dressed all in white and wearing angel wings. Daniel Giménez Cacho is the main narrator for these literature readings. In these filmed interludes, the documentary occasionally shows fans from Mexico who talk about what Depeche Mode means to them.
The movie begins with a voiceover of Cacho saying that a daily sacrifice of blood is necessary for the survival of humanity according to ancient Mexican (Aztec) culture. The narration adds that there are nine levels to achieve salvations. Later in the documentary, during one of the poetry interludes, a portion of José María Heredia’s sonnet about Cato the Younger is read about Cato’s form of justice while a haunting image of a swamp is shown on screen.
Lead singer Dave Gahan and keyboardist/guitarist Martin Gore are the only two remaining original members of Depeche Mode who are still in the band. The “Memento Mori” album and tour were the first since the death of Depeche Mode co-founder/keyboardist Andy Fletcher, who died in 2022, after an aortic dissection. Fletcher was 60 years old. Depeche Mode’s touring lineup is rounded out by drummer/keyboardist Christian Eigner – drums, keyboards (who’s been touring with Depeche Mode since 1997) and keyboardist/bass guitarist Peter Gordeno (who’s been touring with Depeche Mode since 1998).
The opening song (“My Cosmos Is Mine” from “Memento Mori”) starts off with black and white lighting before the stage is bathed in a warm gold lighting. The cinematography is captivating and immersive. However, it takes a while for the energy level to pick up during the band’s performance. By the ninth song (“A Pain That I’m Used To” from Depeche Mode’s 2005 album “Playing the Angel”), the band gets into a vibrant groove that remains for most of the concert.
Gahan still has a few vestiges of the 1980s New Wave image of Depeche Mode (eye makeup), but his stage performance is much more polished, coordinated and relaxed, compared to the gangly jerking style he had in the band’s early years. At times, Gahan sways his arms back and forth above his head, like an aerobics instructor. Other times, he twirls around like rock version of Houdini. During “A Pain That I’m Used To,” he grabs his crotch in a way that might remind people of Mick Jagger’s performance style from the 1970s.
Gore has a memorable turn in the spotlight when he sings lead vocals on “Soul With Me” (from “Memento Mori”), but he lets Gahan do all the talking on stage. And there isn’t much on-stage banter. After “Soul With Me,” Gahan does an enthusiastic introduction of his band mates and saying that Gore has a “wonderful, angelic voice.”
In between the seventh song “Speak to Me” and eighth song “Soul With Me,” visual artist Joshua Ellingson is shown in a filmed interlude where he talks about Depeche Mode’s influence on his art. Ellingson also mentions his version of his “Pepper’s Ghost” project. There are also striking images of analog TV sets stacked on top of each other like a pyramid, which was a popular type of art installation in the 1980s.
A performance highlights in the documentary is a lively extended version of “Enjoy the Silence” (from Depeche Mode’s 1990 “Violator” album), which has the massive crowd singing along to all the words. Gahan holds up a silk Mexican flag handed to him by an audience member. The flag has the letter “D” on the left side and the letter “M” on the right side. The documentary has the expected wide-angle interior and exterior shots of the stadium, with occasional close-ups on certain audience members.
Fletcher is given a lovely tribute during the performance of “World in My Eyes,” which features several giant images of Fletcher on video screens. The documentary concludes on a high momentum, with great versions of “Never Let Me Down Again” (from Depeche Mode’s 1987 album “Music for the Masses”) and a rousing rendition of “Personal Jesus” (from the “Violator” album). The songs “Ghost Again” and “In the End” are played during the documentary’s ends credits.
Fans who want to see performances of other Depeche Mode hits, such as 1981’s “Just Can’t Get Enough” or 1993’s “I Feel You” might be disappointed since those songs aren’t in the documentary. (The band did not perform Depeche Mode’s 1984 classic “People Are People” during the “Momento Mori” tour.) A longer compilation of songs from Depeche Mode’s 2023 concerts in Mexico City are on the band’s live album titled “Memento Mori: Mexico City,” whose release date is December 5, 2025.
Here is the complete set list for “Depeche Mode: M”
My Cosmos is Mine
Wagging Tongue
It’s No Good
Everything Counts
My Favorite Stranger
Sister of Night
Speak to Me
Soul With Me
A Pain That I’m Used To
Wrong
Stripped
World in My Eyes
Enjoy the Silence
Condemnation
Never Let Me Down Again
Personal Jesus
End credits songs:
Ghost Again
In the End
Trafalgar Releasing released “Depeche Mode: M” in U.S. cinemas on October 28, 2025. Sony Music Entertainment will release the movie onm Blu-ray and DVD on December 5, 2025.
Culture Representation: The documentary film “Billy Idol Should Be Dead” features a predominantly white group of people (with one African American) talking about the life and career of British rock star Billy Idol.
Culture Clash: Billy Idol (whose birth name is William Broad) found fame first with the pop-punk band Generation X and later achieved greater success as a solo artist in the 1980s, but his life was troubled by drug addiction, messy love affairs, a dysfunctional family, and career lows.
Culture Audience: “Billy Idol Should Be Dead” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Billy Idol, 1980s rock music, and documentaries about celebrities who have longevity in showbiz.
A 1983 photo of Steve Stevens and Billy Idol in “Billy Idol Should Be Dead” (Photo courtesy of Live Nations Productions)
As a documentary, “Billy Idol Should Be Dead” is essentially a cinematic update of Billy Idol’s 2014 memoir, with some added perspectives and a few new revelations. It’s meaningful in some areas and shallow in other areas. Although the movie’s title is attention-grabbing, this title won’t age well when Billy Idol is actually dead. It’s a mostly conventional and solidly made documentary that will be eye-opening only to people who know almost nothing about Idol.
Directed by Jonas Åkerlund, “Billy Idol Should Be Dead” has a title that refers to the many near-death situations that Idol has experienced, including drug overdoses in the 1980s and a 1990 motorcycle accident that caused him to get several broken bones. Idol (whose birth name is William Broad) has candidly talked about a lot of his past misdeeds and his recovery from drug addiction in many interviews over the years (such as his 2001 episode of “Behind the Music”) and in his 2014 memoir “Dancing With Myself.” “Billy Idol Should Be Dead” (which had its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival) has the same confessions, except it has more people from Idol’s life giving their points of view.
Idol (who was born in Stanmore, England, on November 30, 1955) grew up in a middle-class home. His mother Joan Broad was a homemaker. His father William Broad Sr. was a salesman. Idol has as a sister named Jane Broad, who is interviewed in the documentary. Joan (who died in 2020, at the age of 92) is also interviewed in the documentary, which is an indication of how many years it took to make this film. William Broad Sr. died in 2014, at the age of 90.
In the documentary, Idol describes his father as “a very reserved salesman” who didn’t approve of Idol wanting to be a rock singer. Idol quips, “I’m probably a glorified salesman. The only difference is I make my own product.” Jane Broad has this to say about Idol’s late-teen years: “There was a year or two when my dad didn’t speak to Billy. Billy was going through a phase that my dad didn’t understand.” Idol says much later in the documentary that his father eventually accepted Idol’s career choice after Idol became an affluent rock star, but his father and other family members were very troubled by Idol’s drug addiction.
Joan recalls Idol’s first attempt to look like a rock star was very different from the spiky-haired, bleach-blonde punk that has been his image for decades: “He had John Lennon specs and long hair in those days. He looked terrible.” Idol describes himself as being an average student in school who deliberately didn’t apply himself to reach his full potential because he was interested in things other than school. A famous story about how Idol got his stage surname was that one of his school teachers wrote an evaluation of him that described him as “idle.”
Idol came of age when the punk scene in England was thriving, and he wanted to be part of the action. He says his parents were horrified that he decided to drop out of college to join a punk band. In 1976, after a brief stint as the guitarist for a band named Chelsea, he became the lead singer of Generation X, a band that mixed the attitude of punk with pop-friendly rock songs. Gene October, the former lead singer of Chelsea, is interviewed in the documentary. October is credited with advising Idol to wear contact lenses instead of glasses and to change Idol’s hair color and image into being a sneering blonde punk.
Although some people dismissed Generation X as a pretty-boy punk band because of Idol’s good looks, the group managed to gain popularity because of its live shows. A record deal with Chrysalis Records soon followed. From 1976 to 1981, Idol was a member of Generation X, which released three studio albums when the band existed: 1978’s “Generation X,” 1979’s “Valley of the Dolls” and 1981’s “Kiss Me Deadly,” which was actually Generation X’s fourth recorded album. The band’s third recorded album was shelved and released 17 years after Generation X broke up: the 1998 album “K.M.D. – Sweet Revenge.” The “Generation X” and “Valley of the Dolls” albums were modestly successful in the United Kingdom, but “Kiss Me Deadly” and “K.M.D. – Sweet Revenge” were flops.
The Who guitarist/songwriter Pete Townshend gives an interview in the documentary, where he talks about seeing Generation X perform at the Roxy nightclub in London, early in Generation X’s career. “They were really brash and confident and charismatic,” Townshend remembers. “At the Roxy, there was that sense that people were coming there to learn to be punks.”
Idol says that the British punk rock pioneers the Sex Pistols were huge influences on him and Generation X. The documentary has interviews with former Sex Pistols lead guitarist Steve Jones and former Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook, but their brief interview clips don’t have much information to add. Jones says he remembers when Idol was in a punk band called the Bromley Contingent. Cook says about England’s punk scene in late 1970s: “All these bands came from out of nowhere.” The documentary doesn’t mention that Jones, Cook, Idol, and former Generation X band member Tony James became on an on-again/off-again band called Generation Sex, beginning in 2018.
Generation X is mostly remembered for being the band that originally recorded 1981’s “Dancing With Myself,” a song that Idol co-wrote after seeing a guy in a Tokyo nightclub dancing with his reflection in a mirror. Idol re-recorded and released the song as a Chrysalis Records solo artist on his 1981 EP “Don’t Stop,” and it became one of Idol’s signature hits. “Billy Idol Should Be Dead” is the only documentary to have interviews with Idol and his former Generation X bandmates James (bass) and Derwood Andrews (lead guitar), who are each interviewed separately.
James, who used to be in the band Chelsea with Idol, says that there were two factions in Generation X. Idol and James were Generation X’s chief songwriters, who bonded because they were both from middle-class backgrounds. Lead guitarist Andrews and drummer Mark Laff were from working-class backgrounds and bonded with each other. Because Idol and James were the main songwriters for Generation X, they wielded most of the power in the group. Andrews and Laff left Generation X in 1979 because of creative differences and power struggles in the band.
Idol admits in the documentary: “I hijacked Generation X, really. That last Generation X album is the first Billy Idol solo album, really.” James says there was another reason why the band eventually broke up in 1981: “Heroin made us drift apart.” James says when he first met Idol, Idol didn’t smoke, drink alcohol, or do drugs, but that changed quickly. James comments, “I think he felt a pressure from people to be Billy Idol, to be credible.”
Brendan Bourke, a former Chrysalis Records executive who worked closely with Billy Idol in the 1980s, tells a story in the beginning of the documentary about how he saw two different sides of Idol when he first met Idol in 1981. Bourke remembers picking up Idol at John F. Kennedy Airport after Idol decided to relocate to New York City as a solo artist. Bourke says that Idol was very quiet but became very different when Idol was in his full Billy Idol “rock star” persona. “He wasn’t Billy Idol until he was coked up,” says Bourke. “The alcohol and the drugs fueled that persona.”
Idol went public years ago about his drug problems. He says that although he abused many drugs in his life, heroin was his biggest addiction. It was an addiction he battled for most of the 1980s. He overdosed on heroin multiple times. In the documentary, Idol describes a 1984 overdose where he “turned blue.” He remembers the people who were with him at the time brought him up to the building’s roof to stay conscious and didn’t want to call for medical help because they were afraid it would turn into a public scandal that would ruin Idol’s career.
Idol says that when he started doing heroin, many other people in the music scene were also doing heroin. Idol comments that he and other heroin users he knew didn’t think at the time that heroin was very dangerous, and they were using heroin to get into a different mindset. Idol comments, “You think, ‘Maybe [heroin] will unleash something.'”
Former Generation X band member James says that Idol’s heroin addiction started around the same time that Idol got romantically involved with British dancer/choreographer Perri Lister, who would become the mother of their son Willem Broad, born in 1988. Lister (who appeared in some of Idol’s videos, such as 1982’s “White Wedding” and 1984’s “Eyes Without a Face”) had a tumultuous relationship with Idol from 1980 to 1989. Idol (who has never been married) and Lister were living in Los Angeles at the time of their final breakup.
Lister is interviewed in the documentary but doesn’t admit to any role in Idol’s drug addiction. She describes him as “the love of my life,” but says they both cheated on each other during their on-again/off-again relationship. Lister says that Idol was much more jealous and more controlling than she was, and the breaking point for her was when he continued to date other women after the birth of Willem. She also describes Idol as having two sides to him and says his “demon side” would come out when he was in the midst of drug binges.
Much of “Billy Idol Should Be Dead” covers the typical “height of success” and “debauched excess” stories that are in many celebrity documentaries. As many people already know, Idol became a huge star as a solo artist and had his biggest hits in the 1980s, including “Dancing With Myself,” “Eyes Without a Face,” “Rebel Yell,” “To Be a Lover” and his cover version of “Mony Mony.” Idol’s last big hit album was 1990’s “Charmed Life,” which spawned the hit single “Cradle of Love.” He was one of the artists who became synonymous with the early years of MTV (which launched in 1981), as their mutual popularity was fueled by a lot of media exposure and the music videos that MTV used to have in heavy rotation.
At the time, Idol’s drug addiction was an open secret in the music industry but was kept well-hidden from the general public. His biggest public controversies had to do with a few of his music videos—for example, “Dancing With Myself,” which featured exploding zombies, was at one point considered too violent for MTV—and his reputation for being a promiscuous playboy. Idol freely admits that he was living like a sex addict and makes no apologies for it, but he doesn’t go into explicit details in the documentary.
He’s more forthcoming about his drug addiction and tells a story about relapsing during a trip to Thailand, where he says he caused $75,000 in hotel damages. Idol says he briefly cleaned up his illegal drug use after his 1990 motorcycle accident, but it took him many years after that to get clean and sober from heroin and cocaine. His family members tried to help as much as they could, but Idol says the decision to quit and recover has to start with the person who has the addiction. He says he’s quit hard drugs in 2003, but he still admits to smoking marijuana on a regular basis.
Idol also says he’s at peace with his failed attempts to become a movie star. Because of his motorcycle accident, he lost out on playing the T-1000 villain role in 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (a role that went to Robert Patrick), while Idol’s role as Jim Morrison’s friend Cat in 1991’s “The Doors” movie was drastically reduced from being a significant supporting role to a glorified cameo. Idol talks about parting ways with manager Bill Aucoin (who was Generation X’s manager from 1980 to 1981, and who was Idol’s manager from 1981 to 1986) because Idol blames Aucoin for ruining Idol’s chance to have the starring role in the movie adaptation of author Nik Cohn’s 1975 “King Death” fantasy novel, a story about an assassin who becomes a famous entertainer.
Idol claims that Aucoin was addicted to smoking crack cocaine and took the “King Death” movie away from a major studio, in order to make “King Death” an independent film, but the movie never got made. Idol says, “After that, Bill Aucoin disappeared from my life.” (Aucoin died in 2010, at age 66.) Freddy DeMann became Idol’s next manager, but he didn’t last long as Idol’s manager. DeMann says in the documentary: “I knew Billy had severe drug problems, and that’s probably why I was called in.” No one in Idol’s current management team is interviewed in the documentary.
Idol also briefly comments on his 1993 “Cyberpunk” album being a bomb, by saying that it was an album that was ahead of its time in predicting what would become the Internet’s massive influence on society. Idol changed his hairstyle to short dreadlocks for his 1993 “No Religion” tour to promote the “Cyberpunk” album, but he changed it back to his signature spiky hair after the album flopped, and he’s kept that same hairstyle ever since. Idol didn’t release a new studio album after “Cyperpunk” until 2005’s “Devil’s Playground.” “Billy Idol Should Be Dead” has some occasional comments and clips of Idol’s music released since “Cyberpunk,” but the documentary knows that most of the public’s interest in Billy Idol revolves around his 1980s career peak.
Steve Stevens, Billy Idol’s longtime guitarist who became his best-known songwriting collaborator, is interviewed in the documentary, but there’s not nearly enough of him in the movie. It’s perhaps the movie’s biggest flaw: There’s not enough information in “Billy Idol Should Be Dead” about Idol’s songwriting or how he made his hit albums. Unfortunately, the quotes from Stevens that are used in this documentary are utterly forgettable. Keith Forsey, the music producer who worked with Idol for most of the 1980s, is interviewed, but he doesn’t have much information that’s new or insightful.
The documentary’s updated information includes Idol discovering in 2023 that he has a son named Brant Broad, who was born from a brief fling that Idol had with a fan in the mid-1980s. Idol’s daughter Bonnie Blue Broad, whom Idol fathered with another fan during Idol’s 1984 “Rebel Yell” tour, discovered Brant through a DNA test. The end of the documentary shows Idol with all three of his children and being a doting grandfather to the children of Brant and Bonnie.
Celebrities who are interviewed in the documentary mostly give gushing comments about how Idol was an influence to them. These famous fans include Miley Cyrus, Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong, Duran Duran bass player John Taylor, Guns N’Roses bass player Duff McKagan, and Fall Out Boy lead singer Patrick Stump. Cyrus says, “I watched Billy Idol like I watched porn. There’s no one hotter or who radiates more sexuality than Billy Fucking Idol.”
Grammy-winning producer Nile Rodgers tells a funny story about how he and Idol were hanging out a nightclub in New York City sometime in 1982, and they saw David Bowie sitting at a table by himself. Idol was eager to meet Bowie and introduced himself and Rodgers to Bowie. Just as he was shaking Bowie’s hand, Idol vomited, and then acted like the vomit was no big deal. Rodgers said that’s when he knew that Idol was one of the “coolest” people he ever met. Rodgers says this meeting led to Rodgers working with Bowie on Bowie’s 1983 smash album “Let’s Dance.”
Other people interviewed in the documentary include former MTV executive John Sykes, “Dancing With Myself” music video director David Mallet, Billy Idol friend/producer John Diaz and Billy Idol friend/personal assistant Art Natoli. The documentary has some anime-styled interludes instead of actors doing re-enactments of the stories told in the movie. “Billy Idol Should Be Dead” is competently made and is a very good introduction for people who are unfamiliar with Idol. Longtime fans will also like some of the interviews. However, it’s not an entirely comprehensive documentary since it tends to let Idol’s “bad boy” stories overshadow further insights into how he created music in his heyday.
Fremantle Media and Live Nation Productions released “Billy Idol Should Be Dead” in select U.S. cinemas on October 24, 2025.
Culture Representation: Taking place from December 1981 to September 1982 (with flashbacks to 1957) in New Jersey, New York, and California, the dramatic film “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” (based on real events and the non-fiction book “Deliver Me From Nowhere”) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: Bruce Springsteen writes and records his deliberately non-commercial 1982 album “Nebraska,” as he struggles with depression and comes to terms with how his father’s alcoholism affected his childhood.
Culture Audience: “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of Springsteen, the movie’s headliners, filmmaker Scott Cooper, and thoughtfully made movies about celebrities and coping with past trauma.
Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong in “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” (Photo by Macall Polay/20th Century Studios)
This well-acted drama has a riveting portrayal of Bruce Springsteen when he made his 1982 album “Nebraska” while he battled depression and traumatic memories. It’s somber, introspective, and hopeful, but doesn’t look entirely candid about unflattering info. In this memorable movie, which can’t avoid some “hero worship” tendencies, Springsteen is portrayed as a little too “squeaky clean” to be completely believable as someone who was a rock star for several years at this point in his life.
Written and directed by Scott Cooper (who is also one of the producers of the movie), “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” is adapted from Warren Zanes’ 2023 non-fiction book “Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska.” The movie “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” had its world premiere at the 2025 Telluride Film Festival and its New York premiere at the 2025 New York Film Festival, where the real Springsteen did a short, surprise performance at the premiere event. For the purposes of this review, the real Bruce Springsteen will be referred to by his last name, while the character of Bruce Springsteen in the movie will be referred to by his first name.
“Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” portrays two versions of Bruce Springsteen: The main version is 32-year-old bachelor Bruce (played by Jeremy Allen White), during the period of December 1981 to September 1982. The other version is 8-year-old Bruce (played by Matthew Pellicano Jr.) in flashback scenes that take place in 1957. Most of the movie takes place in Bruce’s home state of New Jersey, but some scenes take place in New York and California. “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” was filmed partially at Steiner Studios in New York City.
“Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” begins with one of these flashback scenes, by showing boyhood Bruce riding his bicycle on a street in his hometown of Freehold, New Jersey. It starts out looking like a carefree scene, but then the truth about Bruce’s childhood is soon revealed: His father was an abusive alcoholic, while his mother was a co-dependent who stayed in the marriage.
Bruce’s mother Adele Springsteen (played by Gaby Hoffmann) drives Bruce to a local bar, where his father Douglas “Doug” Springsteen (played by Stephen Graham) has apparently been for hours. Adele tells Bruce to go inside the bar in a way that indicates this isn’t the first time Bruce is going to do what he’s about to do. Bruce approaches his inebriated father and says, “Daddy, mom says it’s time to come home.” When the family members are at home, Bruce looks frightened and sad while he sits on his bed and hears his parents loudly arguing behind closed doors.
This troubling scene then abruptly cuts to 1981, when a sweat-drenched Bruce is on stage performing his 1975 signature breakthrough song “Born to Run” to a cheering and packed arena audience. It’s the end of his successful tour for his multiplatinum 1980 album “The River” (his fifth studio album), which is best known for the hit single “Hungry Heart.” To the outside world, Bruce has what most rock musicians want: fame, adulation, industry respect, hit albums and lucrative tours.
But on the inside, Bruce is dealing with emotionally crippling memories of his childhood, shown in flashbacks throughout the movie. His unresolved trauma is affecting every aspect of his life, including how he sleeps, what songs he writes, and how he handles personal relationships. For Bruce, his greatest love is music, but even that isn’t enough to soothe the type of emotional pain that he is experiencing.
The movie portrays Bruce as someone who hangs out with the members his E Street Band only when he’s working with them. Therefore, don’t expect the movie to have any insights into the band members’ personalities. The band members are only in the movie to be backup musicians in certain scenes of Bruce performing on stage and working in the recording studio. In addition to being a singer and a guitarist, Bruce is the only songwriter for almost all of the songs that he records. Marc Maron has a small role as music producer Chuck Plotkin.
Bruce is barely shown having conversations with the E Street Band members depicted in the movie: guitarist Steve Van Zandt (played by Johnny Cannizzaro), saxophonist Clarence Clemons (played by Judah L. Sealy), keyboardist Roy Bittan (played by Charlie Savage), drummer Max Weinberg (played by Brian Chase), bass guitarist Garry Tallent (played by Mike Chiavaro), and organist/ accordionist Danny Federici (played by Andrew Fisher). Patti Scialfa, who would become Springsteen’s second wife, joined the E Street Band as a backup vocalist in 1984, and is therefore not depicted in this movie.
The Bruce shown in “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” is a loner who wants to record demo tracks for the album that would become “Nebraska” in his bedroom, with only one engineer—Mike “Mikey” Batlan (played by Paul Walter Hauser)—in attendance for any technical issues. The character of Mike is in the movie for less than 15 minutes, but he’s shown as the person who introduced Bruce to the portable recording equipment that Bruce uses to record these demos. Bruce has already made up his mind that he wants “Nebraska” to be a no-frills, stripped-down album that doesn’t have songs that sound like pop hits.
When Bruce does venture outside, it’s usually to hang out in a low-key, non-celebrity way at local diners. This is in an era when there are no smartphones, no Internet and no social media to obsessively document what famous people do in their free time. Paparazzi photographers do not hang out where Bruce likes to go. And in case you didn’t know it was 1981, the movie reminds viewers with cued soundtrack songs, such as Foreigner’s “Urgent” and Santana’s “Winning.”
How much of a “regular guy” is Bruce in this movie? Even though he’s been a rock star for at least six years since his “Born to Run” breakthrough, there’s a scene where he’s shown buying a black Chevy 305 at a car lot, and Bruce comments to the car salesman (played by T. Ryder Smith) that this is the first time he’s ever owned a new car. The salesman compliments Bruce by calling him a “handsome-devil rock star” and says, “I know who you are.” Bruce replies, “That makes one of us.”
“Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” also has some subtle and not-so-subtle indications that at this point in his life, Bruce is famous but he isn’t rich. It’s mentioned that his net profit from “The River” tour was only $20,000. He lives in a modest house in New Jersey. And if it’s taken him this long to buy a new car, then it’s probably because he had to be careful with his money.
Bruce has generated millions of dollars in revenue by 1981, but where did all that money go? It’s indicative of bad contracts that artists often sign when they’re desperate to get a big break. This type of exploitation entails a whole other set of issues that the movie does not address at all, probably because it would interfere with the almost saintly way that Bruce’s manager Jon Landau (played by Jeremy Strong) is depicted in the movie. Artist exploitation is one of several noticeable things that the movie glosses over or ignores when it comes to realities in the music business for an artist like Springsteen.
Bruce can’t stay away from performing for too long when he’s not on tour. He goes back to the Stone Pony nightclub, a venue in Asbury Park, New Jersey, which is famous for being the place that regularly booked Springsteen before he was famous. There are multiple electrifying scenes where Bruce performs at the Stone Pony with a local band called Cats on a Smooth Surface. Real-life musicians portray the unnamed members of Cats on a Smooth Surface, such as Rival Sons lead singer Jay Buchanan, Greta Van Fleet lead guitarist Jake Kiszka, Greta Van Fleet bass guitarist Sam F. Kiszka, drummer Aksel Coe and keyboardist Henry Hey.
In the movie, Bruce is first seen performing at the Stone Pony with Cats on a Smooth Surface when they do a rousing version of Little Richard’s “Lucille.” After this show, a fan named Joey Romano (played by Jeff Adler), who is a former high school classmate of Bruce’s, approaches Bruce to say hello. Joey introduces Bruce to Joey’s younger sister Faye Romano (played by Odessa Young), who is also a fan but trying to play it cool.
Bruce remembers Joey from high school because they were classmates, but he doesn’t remember Faye, because she was a few years behind them in school. Joey is obviously trying to play matchmaker and leaves the conversation so Bruce and Faye can talk alone. Bruce tells Faye that he’s “kind of seeing someone,” but she gives her phone number to Bruce anyway, in case he wants to casually hang out with her. He ends up taking her up on her offer.
Faye is a single mother to a daughter named Haley (played by twins Vienna Barrus and Vivienne Barrus), who’s about 4 or 5 years old. Before Faye and Bruce have their first official date, Faye mentions she has a habit of choosing the wrong men as intimate partners. And when Bruce asks where Haley’s father is, it should come as no surprise that Faye describes him as a deadbeat dad who doesn’t want to be in contact with them. Faye says that she and Haley are better off without Haley’s father.
The romance between Bruce and Faye is sweet, but people with enough life experience already know what is mostly likely to happen to this relationship. The movie all but telegraphs it when Bruce becomes more absorbed with writing and recording the album that would become “Nebraska.” Faye learns the hard way that brilliant and talented artists often put their art above everything else, so it’s difficult for her to deal with feeling that Bruce isn’t paying enough attention to her after they become lovers.
Jon is depicted as Bruce’s loyal protector, who never second-guesses Bruce’s decisions. Jon staunchly defends Bruce when skeptical Columbia Records executives such as Al Teller (played by David Krumholtz) hear the “Nebraska” demos and are frustrated that none of the songs sounds like a hit single. Jon is also adamant when he tells Columbia that Bruce has decided that there will be no singles, no touring and no press for “Nebraska.”
In real life, this would be a major fight behind the scenes for artists to have this type of control, but there’s hardly any debate about it in the movie. Jon just “lays down the law,” and executives at Columbia just agree to it, with almost no pushback. No one even curses in discussions about this radical marketing strategy for an album. They have fairly civil conversations about it.
Get real. This is the music business, where an artist like Springsteen is responsible for making millions of dollars for many people. There’s no way that in real life that Jon Landau, Columbia executives, attorneys, and many other necessary people didn’t get into protracted disputes about Springsteen’s refusal to tour, release singles or do press for the “Nebraska” album. Instead, the movie unrealistically makes it look like Landau was able to easily persuade Columbia to do what Bruce wanted.
Similarly, when it comes to any “sex, drugs and rock and roll” depicted in “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” the movie makes Bruce look almost like a choir boy. There’s no mention of Bruce ever indulging in drugs, alcohol, sex with groupies, or even smoking cigarettes. The sex scene that Bruce and Faye have is very tame, with no nudity. His lifestyle in the movie looks too sanitary to be believed. “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” needed more realistic grit to make it look more honest.
Despite these shortcomings, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” has terrific portrayals of Bruce as a creative artist, thanks to White’s committed performance. White does his own singing on the Springsteen songs “Born to Run,” “Nebraska,” “Atlantic City,” “Mansion on a Hill,” “I’m on Fire,” “State Trooper,” “Reason to Believe,” “Highway Patrolman,” “Born in the U.S.A.” and “My Father’s House.” Although he doesn’t physically resemble the real Springsteen, White admirably captures the spirit and swagger of a man trying to hold his life together when he feels like he’s falling apart inside.
Strong’s portrayal of manager Jon is not as a flamboyant, larger-than-life personality who wants to be famous too, which is a stereotype of many real-life managers of music superstars. Instead, Jon comes across as a fan who is happy to carry out Bruce’s wishes. (Landau’s background as a former music journalist is not mentioned in the movie.) Jon, who gives compassionate and helpful advice to Bruce, is not quite a “yes man” enabler who will agree with bad decisions, simply because the movie makes it look like Bruce’s instincts and decisions are always right when it comes to his music and career. It’s just all too good to be entirely true.
The person who gives the best supporting actor performance in the movie is Graham as Bruce’s troubled father Doug, who is (depending on the situation) a bully, a pathetic lost soul and/or someone who tries (but often fails) to be a good father. Doug thinks getting in fist fights is the way to resolve certain problems. When Bruce was a child, Doug put pressure on Bruce to learn how to box when Bruce clearly didn’t want to do it. Bruce’s mother Adele, who is loving and compassionate, stays with Doug during their volatile marriage, but lets it be known to Doug that she will choose to protact Bruce over Doug if necessary.
The movie hints but doesn’t explicitly show that there was domestic violence in the Springsteen household. At the very least, Doug’s alcoholism caused him to be verbally abusive. When Bruce is an adult, Doug’s alcoholism is worse and leads to some harrowing incidents after Adele and Doug moved to California. Graham’s portrayal of Doug shows Doug to be heinous at times and heartbreaking at other times but always realistically human. A big tearjerker moment in the movie is a scene of Doug and adult Bruce backstage after one of Bruce concerts.
Young and Hoffmann do quite well in their roles as Faye and Adele, the two women with the most screen time and most dialogue for women in the movie. However, Adele and Faye mostly exist in the movie to portray “good mothers.” Almost everything they do is in reaction to what the men in their lives are doing. Bruce Springsteen’s real-life sister Pamela is depicted briefly as a child named Virginia Springsteen (played by Arrabella Olivia Clarke), in a scene where Doug takes Bruce and Virginia to play in an open field near a stranger’s mansion. Other than that scene, Pamela or any acknowledgement that Springsteen has a sibling is erased from this story.
Bruce’s songwriting and recording sessions are entertaining and fascinating in the movie but don’t reveal much that would be considered new information to die-hard Springsteen fans. As shown in the movie, some of the songs that he wrote in isolation in Colts Neck, New Jersey (such as “Born in the U.S.A.” and “I’m on Fire”), would end up on his 1984 blockbuster album “Born in the U.S.A.” Bruce and his longtime friend Toby Scott (played by Bartley Booz) take a road trip to California after Bruce decides to move to the Los Angeles area to finish “Nebraska.” But that trip is rushed into the movie, when it could’ve been better used as an opportunity to show Bruce in situations that don’t revolve around him making music. The completion of “Nebraska” is breezed over with a fast-forward that takes place 10 months later.
“Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” is a glimpse into a short but impactful time in Springsteen’s life. The movie offers some trivia information that many fans might already know, such as Springsteen being influenced by the 1973 movie “Badlands,” by writing a song also titled “Badlands.” “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” also has a scene where Jon tells Bruce that screenwriter/director Paul Schrader (who’s not seen in the movie) wants Robert De Niro and Bruce to co-star in Schrader’s “Born in the U.S.A.” movie, which later became the 1987 movie “Light of Day,” starring Michael J. Fox in the role that was originally conceived for Springsteen.
As expected, the musical selections in “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” are satisfying and placed very well in each scene. Aside from being a better-than-average movie about a music legend, “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” has a lot of merit for giving a responsible depiction of coping with mental health issues. The movie might not tell all about the “man behind the myth,” but it shows enough humanity for people to see some of the real-life struggles behind the sheen of a celebrity image.
20th Century Studios will release “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” in U.S. cinemas on October 24, 2025.
Culture Representation: The documentary film “Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe” features a predominantly white group of people (with a few black people) who are connected in some way to Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli.
Culture Clash: Bocelli became a music superstar despite the challenges of being blind.
Culture Audience: “Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Bocelli, opera music and celebrity documentaries that show the celebrities at their best.
Veronica Bocelli and Andrea Bocelli in “Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe” (Photo by Lorenzo Montanelli/Trafalgar Releasing)
“Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe” is a play on words in reference to Andrea Bocelli’s 2006 hit song “Because We Believe,” but it’s still a curious title for a documentary that doesn’t really show or tell what this superstar opera singer believes, other than him saying that he’s had a great life that has surpassed his expectations. This is a feel-good biographical tribute, not a documentary that reveals anything new or gets Andrea Bocelli to have soul-baring insights. Opera fans will enjoy the movie. Everyone else might be bored.
Directed by Cosima Spender, “Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe” had its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. The documentary follows the usual biography formula of mixing archival footage with footage that was filmed exclusively for the documentary, which included Bocelli’s participation. The documentary, which was filmed in 2023, features performances in Italy (at Caracalla Auditorium in Rome and Teatro del Silenzio in Turin) at New York City (at Madison Square Garden), with some backstage footage that includes soprano Cristina Pasaroiu and baritone Massimo Cavalletti.
Don’t expect this documentary to be a “tortured artist” film. Bocelli is forthright in saying that he feels very lucky to have a life that’s filled with love, happiness and extraordinary career success. He says that not only have his dreams come true but also “reality has exceeded my dreams.” The movie begins with Bocelli making these somewhat generic comments in a voiceover: “I always had faith in my own destiny. I was born with an affinity for music, and it grew like my hands, my arms and my legs.”
Bocelli was born on September 22, 1958, in Lajatico, Italy. His parents (now deceased) sold farming equipment for a living. In the documentary, he describes his father Alessandro as “a great gentleman” and his mother Edi as “one of the feistiest people I ever met” and “a great saleswoman.” Andrea says Edi told him that Andrea loved opera music since he was a baby.
“I came out different,” says Andrea, which is one of the few things he says in the documentary that alludes to him being born with glaucoma. He doesn’t talk about his visual disability except for sharing how it was emotionally painful for him in his childhood to live apart from his family when he was sent to a boarding school of visually impaired children. When he was at boarding school, he was a goalie during a soccer game, where he got hit in the eyes by a soccer ball, and the injury caused him to be permanently blind.
Andrea’s younger brother Alberto Bocelli, who is briefly shown in the documentary, says that Andrea underwent several eye operations when Andrea was a child. Alberto describes these operations as “torture” for Andrea. In an archival TV interview, Edi says that Andrea “never accepted any pity” for being blind.
In the documentary, Andrea talks about having a loving and supportive family who encouraged him to pursue his goal to become a professional singer, which is an aspiration that he had since he was a child. Andrea vividly remembers how, when he was 6 or 7 years old, a nanny named Oriana showed him a newspaper article about a La Scala (Scala Opera House) performance from Franco Corelli. Oriana asked Andrea to tell his parents to by a Corelli album.
“It changed my life,” Andrea says of discovering Corelli. “I was gobsmacked by his voice. He became my virtual teacher.” Andrea says he met Corelli years later in Turin, and was deeply impacted when Corelli told Andrea, “You have a beautiful voice.” Andreas says of this compliment: “It was one of the most moving moments of my career.” Later in the documentary, Andrea mentions Luciano Pavarotti as another big influence. Andrea says that two of the highlights of his own career were performing with Pavarotti and hearing Pavarotti praise his talent.
Andrea has also had longtime a passion for horses, which he describes as “my greatest obsession as a child.” Andrea is shown riding horses at his family estate, which he says his family has owned since 1831. Andrea has fond childhood memories of going horseback riding by himself. He talks about once getting lost on horseback ride during one of these solo outings as a child. But true to his charming but guarded personality in the documentary, Andrea says, “I won’t tell you what my father said when he found me.”
In addition to spending time with his horses, Andrea is often seen in the documentary cuddling his whippet dog Ginevera. You can tell that Andrea truly loves his pets because all the animals look well-cared-for and very content. The pets shown in the movie are listed and named in the movie’s end credits. It’s not unusual to see Andrea holding Ginevera like someone holds a baby.
The documentary’s archival clips tell the story of Andrea’s ascent in the music business. He recorded pop music early in his career but never abandoned opera. Along the way, he also merged pop and opera in many of his performances and recordings. He became known as a pop tenor, which is a label that he admits not to be particularly fond of, although he does compare his blending of pop and opera to being bilingual. “Con te partirò,” his 1995 duet with Sarah Brightman (from his second album “Bocelli”), was a massive breakthrough crossover hit for him and remains one of his signature songs. The documentary briefly shows pop singers Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa collaborating in recording studios with Andrea.
Andrea’s manager/second wife Veronica Bocelli is his constant companion. The documentary briefly shows the two spouses in a business meeting to plan the Caracalla performance, which included other star singers at the concert. Veronica rejects the suggestion that Andrea only do one song at the end of the show. She gets her way when she says that Andrea needs to perform at least two or three songs.
The documentary does more “showing” than “telling” about Andrea’s life off stage. Andrea and Veronica (who met and became romantically involved with each other in 2002, and have been married since 2014) have a short, light-hearted conversation about their courtship. She met him when he had recently been separated from his first wife Enrica Cenzatti, after 10 years of marriage to Cenzatti.
A romance between Andrea and Veronica quickly blossomed. And when he asked Veronica to travel with him to the United States, she says she only agreed to do it if he gave her a job. Veronica admits in the documentary that when she started working with Andrea, she “didn’t even know what a contract looked like.” But their business partnership has remained solid throughout the years.
Veronica is about 25 years younger than Andrea. In the documentary, the spouses joke quickly about their age gap when Veronica mentions that she’s known Andrea for more than half of her life, but he says that he can’t say the same about her. They are both diplomatic by not mentioning anything negative about Andrea’s first marriage. Andrea will only say that he was happy when his first marriage was going well, and he was at a low point in his life when he and his first wife were separated.
Not surprisingly, ex-wife Cenzatti is not interviewed in the documentary. However, she’s shown in an archival clip of TV interview with Andrea and his parents when Andrea and Cenzatti were still married to each other. In this archival interview, there’s noticeable tension between Cenzatti and Andrea’s mother Edi, who hesitates when she’s asked to comment on the marriage and gives a generic response. Andrea’s two children from his first marriage—son Amos Bocelli (born in 1995) and son Matteo Bocelli (born in 1997)—are not seen, mentioned or interviewed in the documentary.
Veronica chooses her words carefully when she talks about Andrea’s previous manager Michele Torpedine, who is not interviewed in the documentary but he is seen in archival footage from a TV interview. Veronica says that she found out “certain things” that made her and Andrea decide that they needed to make a “clean break” from Torpedine. Based on what’s shown in the documentary, Veronica’s managerial style is protective but not too overbearing.
Although “Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe” has a very flattering tone in presenting Andrea and his life, there isn’t a lot of “fan gushing” in the documentary. Colleagues who are interviewed in the documentary—such as Sugar Music founder Caterina Caselli, singer/songwriter Zucchero Fornaciari, mezzo soprano Denyce Graves, and Universal Music Group executive Dickon Stainer—give matter-of-fact statements that praise Andrea, but not in an over-the-top, worshipful way.
The documentary has a scene showing a star-struck fan named Kwaku Duah (an actor/DJ), who gets emotional when he meets Andrea backstage at a concert. Veronica hugs Duah when he talks about how much Andrea has made a positive difference in people’s lives. And then, Duah breaks down and cries when it sinks in that he has met his idol. That’s about the extent of the fan interaction show in the documentary, except if you count “blink and you’ll miss it” moments of a few celebrity fans (such as Gerard Butler and Gloria Gaynor) mingling backstage with Andrea.
The scenes of Andrea at home are pleasant but also carefully curated. He is shown cooking in a kitchen and having a dinner party with longtime friends, including two—Sergio Bartolini and Andriano Fiaschi—whom Andrea has known since his teenage years. Bartolini comments, “Andrea is like a brother to me.” Fiaschi expresses similar feelings and says he remembers when Andrea became fully blind, he helped Andrea learn more about body language.
If you’re expecting Andrea to reveal anything insightful about how he trains or keeps his distinctive voice in shape, you won’t find that information in the documentary. The closest comment he makes is a voiceover in the beginning where he mentions a pre-show ritual: “The first thing I do in the morning when I get on my feet is to test my voice. If my voice sounds good, I relax and wait for the concert.” As for traveling, the only thing he says about it is the hardest thing for him about traveling is going to places where he can’t speak the language.
Andrea and Veronica have a daughter named Virginia Bocelli (born in 2012), who is in several scenes in the documentary. She’s an intuitive child whose parents are encouraging her to be artistic. Virginia is seen painting and taking piano lessons in the documentary. Another scene in the documentary shows Virginia joining Andrea on stage for a duet of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” while Andrea plays acoustic guitar, and the audience enthusiastically responds.
Backstage after the performance, Virginia gleefully says that the performance was better than she expected. And then, her smiling mother Veronica takes her aside in a curtain-clad room, pulls the curtains together, and indicates to the cameras that they want privacy. It’s very indicative of the documentary’s tone: This is a glimpse—not an exposé or investigation—of the privileged life of Andrea Bocelli. If you have no problem with famous entertainers focusing on presenting their talent and keeping much of their personal lives a mystery from the public—then you’ll have a lot of tolerance for “Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe,” which shows plenty of his talent and how it’s possible to be a scandal-free celebrity who’s unapologetically happy with success.
Trafalgar Releasing released “Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe” for a limited engagement in U.S. cinemas on August 21 and August 24, 2025.
Culture Representation: Taking place in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2011 and in 2014, the dramatic film “Tinā” features a cast of Pacific Islander/Asian and white characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: After experiencing a personal tragedy, a school choir director takes a job as a substitute teacher at an elite high school, where she revives the student choir and has conflicts with some people in the school’s administration.
Culture Audience: “Tinā” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of well-acted dramas about grieving people who find solace in unexpected places and who experience challenges along the way.
Antonia Robinson and Anapela Polataivao in “Tinā” (Photo courtesy of Rialto Distribution)
“Tinā” hits familiar beats in movies about a “tough love” instructor (in this case, a choir director) who assembles young people and trains them for a major competition. Anapela Polataivao’s terrific performance carries this drama during its trite moments. “Tinā” can be hokey and predictable. But more often than not, the movie shines with realistic moments and emotional authenticity that will make viewers wonder if this fictional movie is based on a true story.
Written and directed by Miki Magasiva, “Tinā” is his feature-film directorial debut. The movie had its world premiere at the 2025 Hawai’i International Film Festival. “Tinā” (which means “mother” in Samoan) takes place in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2011 and in 2014. The movie was filmed in New Zealand.
“Tinā” (which is told in chronological order) begins in 2011. Mareta Percival (played by Polataivao) is a widow and a choir director at a school whose students are mostly underprivileged. Mareta is sometimes called Tinā as a nickname. It’s a nickname she doesn’t really like.
Mareta is a workaholic who would rather spend time with her students than go to an important recording session that her teenage daughter Lanita Percival (played by Tiare Lily Savea), who is a talented singer, has on a particular day: February 22, 2011. Mareta’s co-worker and close friend Rona Lemuolu (played by Nicole Whippy) scolds Mareta for not being with Lanita on this milestone day for Lanita.
Mareta says, “She can take care of herself. My kids here can’t.” Rona replies, “Because your kids here will be lucky if they can get anywhere near a university.” Mareta snaps back, “And if we’re not here, they definitely won’t. You should know that.”
Lanita calls Mareta and asks to get a pep talk from Mareta. While mother and daughter are having this conversation, tragedy strikes: An earthquake devastates Christchurch and kills 185 people. Mareta finds out that Lanita is one of the casualties.
The movie fast-forwards to 2014. Mareta is unemployed and grieving. Her grief has made her short-tempered and likely to hurl blunt insults at people. She attends a church service where a choir performs. After the service, the priest leader Father McAfee (played by Matthew Chamberlain) asks her what she thinks of the choir.
Mareta replies, “Too many shrieking ladies. I feel sorry for your neighborhood dogs.” Father McAfee says, “Methinks they might need your help.” Mareta replies, “Methinks they can kiss my ass.” This is the type of banter that Mareta has for many of her conversations. Some people tolerate her abrasive attitude, while others have conflicts with her over it. Beneath her curt and abrupt ways, Mareta has a generous and sensitive soul that people will see when she lets them get close to her.
Mareta’s unemployment benefits administrator happens to be someone she used to babysit when she was a teenager. His name is Sio (played by Beulah Koale), who is one of the people who tolerates moody Mareta. It’s later revealed in the movie that Sio has his own personal struggles when he is shown in a support group meeting for drug addiction recovery.
Sio tells Mareta that she can’t get her current unemployment payment unless she goes to a job interview that has been scheduled for her. The interview is to be a substitute teacher at the elite St. Francis School, a co-ed high school where most of the students come from affluent families. Mareta isn’t really interested in working with children again, but she reluctantly goes to the interview.
Mareta experiences the humiliation of being kept waiting for hours to do the interview at the school. Her appointment is at 9:30 a.m., and she shows up on time, but it isn’t until around 5 p.m. that she is interviewed. It’s implied that this egregious snub is because of racism. Mareta is of Samoan heritage and often dresses in traditional Samoan clothing. She notices that several white people interviewing for the same job arrive after she’s there and are immedately ushered in to be interviewed.
During the interview with a three-person panel (two men and one woman, all white), Mareta experiences more racial microaggressions when one of the interviewers tells her, “We’re looking for someone who’s more like us.” Tina replies, “The one person you’re looking for is someone who’ll care for your kids.” Despite the odds stacked against her, Mareta is hired for the job. The movie implies that she was probably hired because no one else wanted to take the low salary that was being offered.
As she leaves the interview, Mareta sees a female student singing at a piano outside the building. Mareta immediately notices how talented this student is and spontaneously sits down next to her on the piano seat. The student’s name is Sophie (played by Antonia Robertson), who sings a beautiful version of Crowded House’s 1986 hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over” while Mareta plays piano. It’s at this point you know that Sophie will be the “star” of the choir.
It’s revealed a little later in the movie that Sophie is a musical prodigy who can skillfully play every instrument that she picks up. However, Sophie has a reputation for being a pill-popping loner. And so, when Mareta finds out that the school’s choir has been dormant, and she decides to revive the choir, it becomes quite a challenge to get Sophie to join, but Sophie eventually becomes a choir member. Mareta gets help in choir recruitment from Helen Young (played by Tania Nolan), a teacher at the school who is a St. Francis School alum.
Sophie’s story isn’t fully told in the movie, but it’s eventually revealed that she was in a car accident that killed her father and left Sophie with large scars on her chest and arms. Sophie is self-conscious about these scars and purposely avoids befriending students at her school. Sophie’s embittered mother Caroline (played by Alison Bruce) appears to have alcoholism, while Sophie has her own addiction issues of being hooked on prescription medication. An argument that Caroline and Sophie have later in the film implies that their grief led to these addiction issues.
Only a few other members of the choir are given enough screen time to show who they are as people. Anthony Bull (played by Zac O’Meagher) is a self-admitted “spoiled rich kid,” who joins the choir, in spite of his abusive father Clemence “Clem” Bull (played by Michael Hallows) disapproving of Anthony being in the choir. Clemence (who is the head of the school’s board of directors) would rather have Anthony devote his after-school time to school sports.
Mei-Ling Wong (played by Talai Pua), another choir member, is rude and arrogant. Mei-Ling and Anthony argue with each other, but their arguments are their insecure ways of trying to hide that they’re really attracted to each other. And in a movie like this one, you just know that Mareta will teach Mei-Ling some humility and how to be a better person.
The choir’s biggest skeptic is Peter Wadsworth (played by Jamie Irvine), who is the school’s deputy principal, head of the sports department, and head of the human resources department. Peter is as power-hungry as you think he is, based on all of the job titles he has at the school. Peter’s control-freak ego really goes into overdrive when school principal Alan Hubbard (played by Dalip Sondhi) announces his retirement and names Peter as his replacement.
“Tinā” shows a lot of things that have been done before in movies where an instructor has to take an undisciplined group of people and make them award-worthy. Mareta is strict and unrelenting in choir practices. And she doesn’t hesitate to yell at and berate anyone she thinks is slacking off or not living up to their full potential.
But she also does unorthodox things, when it comes to breathing exercises and vocal training. She incorporates some of her Samoan language and heritage in the lessons. And most important of all: She encourages people to do their best and not give up so easily.
Mareta has ambitious plans for the choir: She wants the choir to enter the Big Sing, a national performance competition. Gradually, the choir members learn to admire and respect Mareta and the art of singing. Mareta’s success annoys Peter, who wants her to fail and is jealous that she has the type of popularity with students that he’ll never have. You know where all of this is going, so it comes as no surprise when the movie shows Peter scheming to get Mareta fired at a crucial point before the Big Sing.
In the meantime, Mareta gets criticism from her friend Rona for “selling out” to work for an elite school instead of working at a school for underprivileged children. But it’s not as if Mareta is completely accepted at St Francis School. Mareta is constantly reminded that because she’s not white and not affluent, certain people will always view her as inferior. Her Samoan heritage is often undermined by people who don’t want her to express her Samoan heritage.
During her first day on the job, Mareta is wearing a traditional Samoan dress. Peter haughtily says to her: “Staff here are encouraged to dress a lot more formally.” Mareta replies, “Where I’m from, this is formal.” In another scene, Peter admonishes Mareta and a school athletic coach named Rocky (played by Joseph Niupopo), who is also Samoan, for speaking Samoan to each other and tells Mareta and Rocky they need to speak English.
The movie somewhat awkwardly handles a subplot about a fight between Anthony and his younger brother Noah (played by Xavier O’Meagher), a racist bully who is also a student at the school. The last third of “Tinā” crams in a little too much melodrama involving hospitals. The movie also doesn’t do enough to show Mareta’s grieving process. The choir is simplistically presented in the movie as the one thing that can lift Mareta out of her depression.
The choir’s Big Sing scenes are rushed into the story in an “only in a movie” way. Because of a few plot reveals, “Tinā” has inevitable tearjerking moments—some more earned than others. As contrived and corny as some parts of the movie are, the character of Mareta is entirely believable. Polataivao’s performance has impeccable timing and is skilled at expressing and getting the right emotions.
“Tinā” is also an admirable celebration of Samoan culture, which isn’t shown very often in films with international theatrical releases. The cast performances are well-suited for the movie, even if some of the supporting characters (such as Rona, Sio and Anthony) could have been better-developed. There are plenty of movies about choirs and their leaders, but “Tinā” is certainly one of the more memorable choir movies because of the story’s very unique protagonist.
Rialto Distribution released “Tinā” in select U.S. cinemas on August 29, 2025, with an expansion to more U.S. cinemas on September 5, 2025. The movie was released in New Zealand on February 27, 2025.
Cast members of “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.” Pictured in front, from left to right: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer. Pictured in back, from left to right: Chris Addison and Kerry Godliman. (Photo by Kyle Kaplan/Bleecker Street)
Culture Representation: Taking place in New Orleans and in England, the comedy film “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” (a sequel to 1984’s “This Is Spinal Tap”) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: British rock band Spinal Tap does a reunion concert in New Orleans, while there is still a lot of friction between lead singer/rhythm guitarist David St. Hubbins and lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel, and American filmmaker Martin “Marty” DiBergi is there to film the reunion for a documentary.
Culture Audience: “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of “This Is Spinal Tap,” the movie’s headliners and amusing mockumentaries that are largely improvised.
Paul McCartney, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest in “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” (Photo by Kyle Kaplan/Bleecker Street)
The 1984 mockumentary “This Is Spinal Tap” (a mostly improvised movie about the misadventures of the fictional British heavy metal band Spinal Tap) is a classic comedy film that many people think didn’t need a sequel. “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” doesn’t surpass the first “Spinal Tap” movie, but it’s a solidly entertaining comedy that’s very aware of the Spinal Tap legacy. The band members are no longer underdogs and have reunited for a sold-out arena show. Because the stakes for Spinal Tap are lower in this sequel, the movie isn’t as edgy or as surprising as the first Spinal Tap movie.
Rob Reiner directed “This Is Spinal Tap” and also had the actor role of Martin “Marty” DiBergi, the documentary director who appears on camera to do interviews with Spinal Tap and other people. Reiner, who also directed “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” reprises his role as Marty in this sequel. In “This Is Spinal Tap,” the band members struggled with the harsh reality that the band’s fortunes were on a downward spiral, with a current album (titled “Smell the Glove”) that flopped and a failing tour that led to some humiliating experiences.
Adding to the tension, lead singer/rhythm guitarist David St. Hubbins (played by Michael McKean) and lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel (played by Christopher Guest), who were best friends since childhood, were feuding off and on during the tour. At one point on the tour, Nigel quit the band. David is a stereotypical lead singer who has a huge ego and thinks he should always be the band’s leader. Nigel, who is equally stubborn, can be dimwitted and emotionally immature.
The other core member of Spinal Tap is bass guitarist Derek Smalls (played by Harry Shearer), who has a laid-back personality and gets in embarrassing situations because of bad luck or poor judgment. A running joke in Spinal Tap history (although the band doesn’t think it’s very funny) is that all of their drummers have had untimely deaths. Spinal Tap has a rotating number of keyboardists, who are not considered permanent members of the band. Reiner, McKean, Guest and Shearer (who are all American in real life) are the credited screenwriters for “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” just as they were for “This Is Spinal Tap.”
In “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” the members of Spinal Tap went their separate ways after the band broke up years ago. Spinal Tap’s former manager Ian Faith (played by Tony Hendra, who died in 2021) is deceased and has left his estate to his daughter Hope Faith (played by Kerry Godliman), who is also a manager in the entertainment business. Spinal Tap’s contract is part of the estate. She has discovered that Spinal Tap has one last obligation to fulfill in the contract: a concert, regardless if the band has officially broken up or not.
It just so happens that a video has gone viral of Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood singing the Spinal Tap song “Big Bottom.” Public interest in Spinal Tap has been revived. And so, Hope teams up with a shady and opportunistic concert promoter named Simon Howler (played by Chris Addison) to get Spinal Tap to do a reunion concert. Hope genuinely wants the best for Spinal Tap and prides herself in being a music fan and a champion for artists.
By contrast, Simon openly admits that he doesn’t care about music and only cares about making money through exploitation and gimmicks. One of the movie’s recurring gags is Simon coming up with tacky schemes to sell more concert tickets and merchandise. The venue for the reunion concert is the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. It’s mentioned that this venue became available for the concert because a previously scheduled event (An Evening With Stormy Daniels) was canceled.
Marty is hired to direct a documentary about this reunion, so he’s also tasked with tracking down David, Nigel and Derek in England, where all three musicians still live. Marty finds out that David now writes soundscape music. Nigel owns a shop that sells cheese and guitars. Derek owns the New Museum of Glue. David and Nigel haven’t communicated with each other for several years. This reunion will be a test to see if these two former best friends have the ability to work together again.
All three former Spinal Tap members are bachelors. Nigel has a live-in partner named Moira (played by Nina Conti), a Scottish woman who is loving and supportive. There are scenes of Nigel and Moira doing video chats by phone. Derek is still the “unlucky in love” bachelor of Spinal Tap who doesn’t seem be able to have a long-term romance.
David is still bitter that his ex-wife Jeanine (played by June Chadwick), who was his meddling girlfriend in “This Is Spinal Tap,” divorced him years ago. David has deliberately refused to know where Jeanine is and what she’s been doing with her life. David finds out from Marty that Jeanine became a nun who is now known as Sister Jeanine Immaculata.
Before this reunion, David cut off contact from Nigel for several years for a reason that is revealed in the last third of the movie. There isn’t just bad blood between David and Nigel. Derek was estranged from David and Nigel because Derek got David and Nigel to invest in a cryptocurrency company (which had Derek as a spokesperson) an untold number of years ago, but the company went out of business soon after David and Nigel invested.
Most of “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” is about what happens when David, Nigel and Derek convene in New Orleans to audition a guest drummer and to rehearse for the concert. Famous drummers Lars Ulrich of Metallica, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of the Roots, and Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers (all have cameos as themselves in the movie) turn down Spinal Tap’s request (via videoconferencing) to be a guest drummer for the concert. The band ends up hiring drummer Didi Crockett (played by Valerie Franco), a cheerful Spinal Tap superfan who aces her audition. The keyboardist for the concert is Caucasian Jeff (played by CJ Vanston), who has a happy-go-lucky personality.
“Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” makes several references to “This Is Spinal Tap” and the effects that this first Spinal Tap movie had on pop culture. Although the comedy bits in “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” are frequently amusing, the movie doesn’t have much a plot beyond showing the rehearsals and the concert. The middle part of the movie drags a bit, but many other parts of the movie crackle with the same levels of mischievous comedy that was in “This Is Spinal Tap.”
Noteworthy cameos in “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” include Paul McCartney and Elton John, who portray themselves when they visit Spinal Tap during rehearsals. As already revealed in the movie’s trailer, piano-playing superstar John is persuaded to perform “Stonehenge” with the band at the concert. Fran Drescher and Paul Shaffer reprise their “This Is Spinal Tap” roles as, respectively, Bobbi Flekman (who was Spinal Tap’s publicist) and Artie Fufkin (who was Spinal Tap’s record promoter), in cameos that give updates on what these characters are currently doing with their lives. “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” is much like a school class reunion: It can be nostalgic and enjoyable, even though it can’t recapture the magic of the original experience.
Bleecker Street will release “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” in U.S. cinemas on September 12, 2025. A sneak preview of the movie was shown in U.S. cinemas on September 10, 2025.
Culture Representation: Taking place in California, the musical film “6Days” features a racially diverse cast of characters (Asian, white, Native American, African American and Latin) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: K-pop rock band Day6 goes on a six-day road trip to celebrate the band’s 10th anniversary, while performing songs and meeting various people along the way.
Culture Audience: “6Days” will appeal primarily to Day6 fans and people who don’t mind watching a boring music-video-styled film.
The members of Day6 in “6Days.” Pictured from left to right: Young K, Dowoon, Sungjin, and Wonpil. (Photo courtesy of CJ CGV Holdings)
The dreadfully dull “6Days” is a “road trip” vanity project for the pop/rock band Day6. This film flop is so generic and limp, no one should pay money to see this so-called docudrama, which is really an uncreative compilation of staged music videos. “6Days” was originally released in theaters. Anyone except Day 6’s die-hard fans will probably feel cheated if any time or money is spent watching “6 Days,” which should’ve been released on the Internet for free.
Directed by Yoo Seok Jong and Jaeseok Hwang, “6Days” is supposed to be a chronicle of a “spontaneous” six-day road trip taken by the four members of 6Days, to celebrate the band’s 10th anniversary. There’s nothing “spontaneous” about “6Days,” which is filled with boring dialogue, terrible acting and extremely hokey contrived scenarios. “6Days” did not have to be decadent to be exciting. It just had to be interesting, but it fails to be interesting on almost every level.
The four members of Day6—singer/guitarist Sungjin, bass player/singer Young K, keyboardist Wonpil and drummer Dowoon—are shown in one of three scenarios in the movie:
Riding in a truck driven by Sungjin and having forgettable and mundane conversations.
Getting themselves into situations that are supposed to be outside of the band’s “comfort zone.”
Meeting people who put the band in a situation to perform Day6 songs
The road trip takes place in California, with most of the footage filmed in the desert area of California’s Imperial County. In the alternative community known as Slab City, the Day6 band members marvel at the eccentric misfits and industrial artwork. The famous tourist attraction Salvation Mountain is also featured in “6Days.”
The band is seen performing usually in locations (such as on a desert cliff) where there’s no place to plug in the electrical instruments that they’re fake-playing for the cameras. Toward the end of the movie, the band ends up on an unnamed beach. This movie has a weird fixation on showing the band members in locations where there’s a lot of sand.
The conversations that the Day6 members have in the movie are almost painfully lackluster and corny. At one point Young K says while inside the truck, “Everything I see becomes music,” just minutes before the band is shown in yet another music video-styled performance. The performances in the movie aren’t really live. They’re lip synced to the original recordings.
While in Imperial County, the band members help a truck that’s stuck in the dirt on the road. The truck is occupied by Clayson Benally and his sister Jeneda Benally (playing versions of themselves) of the musical duo Sihasin. The Benally siblings invite Day6 to their ramshackle desert home, where Clayson and Jeneda show Day6 some of their Navajo tribe musical traditions. The interactions look very forced and awkward.
Later, a middle-aged guy named Dave (played by Ryan Barrier), who says he’s an event promoter (but he looks like a stereotypical used car salesman), just happens to be in a remote part of the desert at the same time as Day6. When Dave finds out that these four guys are in a band, he invites the band to a show that he’s promoting at a place called Junk Sculpture (which is really just a junkyard with a stage), with an audience of less than 20 people.
The performers at this show are awful. And so what does Dave do? He invites Day6 to perform on stage. And, of course, the stage just happens to be already set up with the musical equipment that the band needs. It should also come as no surprise that the band gets an enthusiastic response from the audience.
After this phony-looking concert, Dave allows the band members to drive his dune buggy. And so, there’s a tedious chunk of time showing the band members (or their stunt doubles) doing daredevil dune buggy riding in the desert sand. Some of the movie’s cinematography is pretty good, but “6Days” has a lack of imagination and creativity everywhere else.
After saying goodbye to Dave, one of the most cliché things that could happen in a road trip movie happens to Day6: The band’s truck gets stolen. And you just know that hitchhiking scene is going to happen, to show how “cute” it is for the four band members to stick out their hitchhiker thumbs at the same time on a deserted road.
The 81-minute “6Days” is obviously a promotional showcase for Day6’s music. But for a feature-length song-oriented film, “6Days” doesn’t have as many songs as it could’ve had. The movie’s song soundtrack (consisting of only Day6 songs) has only 10 songs: “Welcome to the Show,” “You Were Beautiful,” “I’m Serious,” “Melt Down,” “Congratulations” (Final Version), “Time of Our Life,” “Letting Go” (Rebooted Version), “Happy,” “When You Love Someone” and “Dream Rider.”
If the band members had undeniable charisma, it would make up for all the other nonsense in “6Days.” Although they seem like nice guys, the Day6 band members’ personalities are as bland as bland can be. Unless you’re a huge fan of Day6, you won’t be able to remember much about what sets one band member’s personality apart from another. The Beatles had “A Hard Day’s Night,” but Day6 has the embarrassingly lackluster “6Days,” which should be subtitled “A Hard Day6 Blight.”
CJ CGV Holdings released “6Days” in select U.S. cinemas on August 28, 2025.
