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- [00:00]
Progressive Insurance Announcer
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Alison Stewart
This is all of it. I'm Alison Stewart live from the WNYC studios here in soho. Thanks for spending part of this chilly Friday with us. I'm grateful that you are here. On today's show. Musicologist and historian Henry Saposnik joins us to share New York City's Yiddish history. We'll conclude this month's full bio conversation with Amanda Vail, the author of Pride and the Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution. And we'll learn about an event happening at the public this weekend. Plus, call in and tell us what you're getting ready to do this weekend. That'll come up next hour. Speaking of things to do, let's get this started with a preview of something happening Sunday night. The Grammy Awards are this Sunday and Trevor Noah will host for the sixth year in a row in Kendrick Lamar leads the pack with nine nominations, including in the top categories of album, record and song of the year. It marks the third time that Lamar has received the most nominations and follows his sweep at last year's ceremony. There's a lot that's familiar about this year's show, but there's also a bunch of new stuff, including new categories, new members of the voting body and new artists, from TikTok creators to the Dalai Lama. Maria Sherman, music writer for the Associated Press, is with me now to preview. Hi, Maria.
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Maria Sherman
Hi. Thanks for having me.
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Alison Stewart
We're glad to have you listeners. We want to hear from you.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
Will you be watching? What categories or performances are you excited for? Who didn't get nominated?
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Alison Stewart
Who you think should have been nominated? Our phone number says 212-433-WNYC 2124-3396-9221-2333-WNYC Kendrick Lamar Duckworth. He's the most nominated artist at this.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
Year'S Grammy with nine nominations for gnx.
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Alison Stewart
So why is what is Kendrick doing here again?
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
He won last year.
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Maria Sherman
He certainly did. And in a lot of ways, 2025 felt like a victory lap, right? He he gets record and song of the year. It feels like he does a pretty great clean sweep and then he has this incredible super bowl performance the following weekend. So it's certainly a good time to be Kendrick Lamar. I think People maybe are forgetting the timing of when gnx the album actually came out. It's eligible for this Grammy period. So now we're sort of seeing recognitions for the album as a whole and some of the other songs that aren't, you know, not like us, like, I feel safe in saying that last year felt like the not like us year in a lot of ways. But yeah, this will be his fifth time being nominated for album of the year. Fifth time in a row. Excuse me, for a release that he's put out, you know, he's been nominated over 60 times across his career. He has 22 career wins. He's very much now an artist that the Grammys recognize for his incredible talents. And the success keeps on keeping on.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
Let's listen to Kendrick's Grammy nominated song, Luther.
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Maria Sherman
If this world were Mine.
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Kendrick Lamar (performer)
Hey Roman numeral 7 days drop it like it's hot if this world was mine I take it James and make them multiply if this world was mine I take your enemies in front of God Introduce them to that light Hit them strictly with that 555-555-5555 hey Roman numeral 7 beige rap it like it's hot if this world was mine I'd take it Dreams supply if this world was mine I take your enemies in front of God Introduce them to that light Hit them strictly with that five It's a bop do your dance let them watch She a fan He a flop they just wanna kumbaya.
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Alison Stewart
So Kendrick's up for nine nominations. What is he likely to win, do you think?
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Maria Sherman
It depends on who you talk to. And that'll be a prevailing theme at the 2026 Grammys. There aren't as many clear cut winners. It's a little harder to predict victories for those of us who are supposed to be able to predict victories professionally. My colleague at the AP, Jonathan Landrum Jr. Really believes that it's his time to win album of the year. I'm sort of of a couple minds, I think there it's an incredibly competitive category across genre and frankly generation that maybe it doesn't become his. There are other opportunities. I mean he could take home song of the year again. It could be record of the year. It's really quite interesting. I I confidently in our predictions, the conversations we've had and of course the conversations we've had with music industry experts tend to think like perhaps rap album of the year. There is a tradition in the Grammys where if you win album of the year, you also win in the genre category. Your album is nominated in. So I'm a little bit hypocritical and saying maybe rap album and maybe not best album. But there's, there's, it's a little bit more nebulous this year. He's certainly going to go home with something. It's more of a question of what.
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Alison Stewart
And how many now for Album of the Year.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
That goes to everybody involved in making the album. The artists, the producers, the songwriters, the engineer, who's up in this category.
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Maria Sherman
It is quite competitive and there's a couple sort of history making moments that we could see and that we've already seen in the nominations. For example, this is the first time three sort of capital R rap albums have been nominated in Album of the Year and Rap Album of the Year simultaneously. That's, of course, clips. Pusha T and Malice's Like God, Sort Them Out. Tyler the Creator's Chromacopia and of course Kendrick Lamar's gnx. Now this is particularly noteworthy because only two rap albums have won Album of the Year in the history of the Grammys. We're talking Ms. Lauryn Hill in 1999 for the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and and Outkast in 2004 for Speaker Box, the Love Below. So that feels like perhaps long overdue to recognize hip hop in the top category. And this may be the year that we see that. But stiff competition. Sabrina Carpenter's here, Justin Bieber's here, Lady Gaga's here, and Bad Bunny. And I think that'll be quite interesting because perhaps this is his version of Kendrick Lamar's 2025, because he is of course also performing at the super bowl next weekend. So it's stacked. And Leon Thomas as well, who's like this incredible rising voice in R B.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
Yeah, you wrote that. Bad Bunny is the one who should.
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Alison Stewart
Really win this year.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
What's your pitch for him winning Album of the Year?
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Maria Sherman
I think this album is a sort of career temple for Bad Bunny. And I've said that with many of his albums, it seems that he continues to progress and sort of challenge perceptions of him. Dimitri Armas. Photos. I should have taken more photos. Is this incredible celebration of Puerto Rican folkloric sounds. He marries bomba plena salsa with reggaeton with rap with trap, and all of these sort of contemporary sounds really placing his island in global conversation in a way that I think is particularly powerful. And that combination of folk and traditional influences is something the Recording Academy has typically celebrated in Anglophonic spaces. And of course, if he wins, it'll be the first time all Spanish Language Album wins Album of the Year. That feels particularly important. And as a sort of behind the scenes kind of tidbit, last year, a couple months ago, the Recording Academy announced that they allowed all Latin Recording Academy members to join the Recording Academy. Those are the folks behind the Latin Grammys. Now, it's not clear how many of those members can vote because the Recording Academy has voting members and non voting members, but I can imagine that we'll probably see more Latino influence in the Grammy Awards. And how wonderful would it be if it's Bad Bunny's victory this year? It's really reflective of an evolving electorate.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
Let's listen to a little bit of Bad Bunny.
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Alison Stewart
We're talking about the Grammy Awards, which are this Sunday. I'm speaking to AP Music writer Maria Sherman. If you're watching, call or text us 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. Who are you hoping to see when what performances are you looking forward to? Our number is 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. You mentioned that the Latin Grammy voters were invited to join the Recording Academy. There's been another change which is quite interesting. This year the Grammys split the category of Best Country Album into Contemporary Country Album and Traditional Country Album, and there was some controversy around this because it came after Beyonce won the award for Cowboy Carter. How did the Recording Academy expl this change?
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Maria Sherman
Certainly I spoke to Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason Jr. About this because I found it quite interesting. He told me that this sort of division and change in the categories happened as Grammy categories always change, which is that somebody sends a petition, it's voted on, it passes. It's a pretty democratic process and it's also one that takes a lot of time. The way that he explained it is there's simply no way it could have been done in in sort of response to Beyonce winning for Cowboy Carter. And that's sort of how it was framed in online conversations. People sort of saw, well, here's this like really sort of inventive, hybridic approach to country music, one that really challenges some traditional sort of hegemonic structures, particularly pertaining to race and how race is viewed in country music. And perhaps maybe this is an outcry or something. And that doesn't seem to be the case. I'd also offer that this is not new. Grammy categories do change quite frequently. You know, there are traditional and contemporary categories. I always think of R and B as Maybe a sister to country music in that way. What is quite interesting is how these will be defined because they feel quite nebulous. If you read sort of the language about the descriptions of these categories, it seems that contemporary country is meant to sort of reflect country music's ongoing evolutions and flirtations with other forms of popular music. For the country music fans listening, you listen to country radio, you've definitely noticed hip hop's influence in country music in the last decade, half decade, what have you. You know, even Morgan Wallen's Giant album last year included a lot of trap high hats. The rhythms are definitely from. From rap records. So there's an acknowledgement of. That's where the genre is moving. But then there's also, you know, an effort to sort of protect whatever's viewed as traditional, perhaps traditional instrumentation, banjo, mandolin, slide guitar, all of that stuff. But then, you know, it brings up a lot of good questions of how do we define country tradition? And whose tradition are we talking about? Is it what people think of country music when they hear the term, or is it something rooted in its complicated history? So it's. It's quite interesting.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
We got a good text here. It says, I'm hoping for Mega Rand to win in the best children's music album category for Buddy's Magic Treehouse. But the competition is tough.
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Alison Stewart
Let's.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
Let's talk about Record of the Year. Will you remind us, how does Record of the Year differ from Song of the Year?
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Maria Sherman
Certainly. So songwriter. I always do song first because it feels a little bit more straightforward. So Song of the year is the Songwriters Award. So that goes to the people behind the composition of the song. Record of the year is the recording is maybe an easier way to think about it. That's artist, producer, and engineer. So if your favorite artist is up for song of the Year and they weren't involved in the composition of the award, they wouldn't receive it. It would go to the songwriter's record. But it seems that most are involved in the writing of their music. So I don't know if we'll have any. Any questions there. But Record of the Year is the recording artist, et cetera.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
Who's your pick for Record of the Year?
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Maria Sherman
I really think it's going to go to. And Bruno Mars, apiteur. I think Record of the Year often celebrates a song that has a kind of ubiquity. I think the song was a global smash. I think it resonates across demographics in a way that is certainly celebrated. I know that there are parents listening who have heard this song many times because their children are playing it. And I know there are people of all ages who just really enjoy this sort of addictive pop song. However, it might be a bit of an unusual selection because it's again a really stacked category. Kendrick and scissor here with Luther chapel. Roan with the subway. Bad bunny again. Sabrina Carpenter again. Billie eilish, who is a sort of noted Grammy favorite, is up for wildflower. That one's a little bit interesting. It's almost nominated through a loophole because that album came out in 2024. It wasn't pitched as a song. It wasn't included in the songs that she put forth to be grammy nominated last year and she's eligible, excuse me, to put it forth this year. It's kind of interesting, complicated Grammy lore for those who are interested in the behind the scenes stuff, but it is really complicated. I just. I don't see it not go into apature. That just felt like the big. The big pop song of the year.
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Alison Stewart
Let's listen to aputure.
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Olivia Dean (performer)
Kissy face, kissy face Sent to your phone But I'm trying to kiss your lips for real Red hearts, red hearts that's what I'm on yeah Come give me something I can feel don't you want me like I want you, baby? Don't you need me like I need you now sleep tomorrow but tonight go crazy all you gotta do is just me.
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Alison Stewart
I couldn't help myself you can't help yourself.
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Maria Sherman
It's. It's really addictive. And beyond just being a great song, it would be wonderful if it wins because that means rose, who came from the k pop music industry, was in the girl group black. Is in the girl group blackpink. Excuse me. She would be the first k pop artist to take home record of the year, the first to take home a big four category, and the first k pop artist in general to win a grammy, which would be, you know, triumphant.
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Alison Stewart
Yeah. Are the grammys really late to k pop?
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Maria Sherman
I. In some ways, yes and no. It's. I don't mean to sort of skirt the line there, but they've recognized k pop. BTS has been nominated. We can't forget that. They've also performed at the grammys, but there hasn't been recognition in that. A k pop artist hasn't walked away with a trophy. I do anticipate that sort of changing demographics and people who vote for the grammys becoming younger and more diverse, which is something recording academy has worked very hard at doing in the last half decade. I'm thinking we're going to get there. I'm thinking we're going to see more awards given to artists who are really meeting the cultural moment and shifting the zeitgeist.
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Alison Stewart
This is a question that came over via text. I don't know if you have the answer, but I'll ask it anyway. Do the Grammys ever drop categories?
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Maria Sherman
I think that they are transformed. I'm actually not completely sure about that. I would. I would have to. I would have to look into that. I know this year there are like 95 categories. It's a really. It's a sort of long award show. Most of them are given out during the premiere ceremony. I certainly know that they transform and I think for a category to drop, it would. It's likely that somebody would have to petition for a reason for that. I think they're more focused on transformation and diversifying and really reflecting, you know, the current moment.
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Alison Stewart
I'm speaking to AP Music writer Maria Sherman in anticipation of the Grammys, which are happening this Sunday night. All right, let's get to Best New artists. All of these nominees will also perform at the ceremony. What stands out to you about this diverse group of nominees?
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Maria Sherman
I think the level of competition. Diverse is definitely the correct word. We have, you know, the global girl group Cat's Eye. We have the bilingual dream pop band the Maria's. You have Alex Warren, whose song Ordinary was also this sort of international smash. This really sort of like smooth, anthemic, like, pop song. You have Lola Young, who is perhaps the opposite, quite edgy. Her, you know, big hit was called Messy. It's like different ends of the spectrum, but she has this really rich, soulful voice, as does Olivia Dean. Both are. Both are from the uk. Then you have Addison Rae, who's doing this really sort of like bejeweled, hypnotic pop thing. Leon Thomas, who is like, feels fully realized. Calling him bestie artist is crazy because it seems like he's, you know, multi. It's like he's lived a lot of lives. He's got so much sort of heart to him. It's really competitive and this is one where the experts I've spoken to and sort of just like friends when we ask who's gonna win, it's really like everyone's throwing stuff at the wall. It's really. It's. It's really competitive.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
Yeah. This text says I'm intrigued and excited for Addison Rae's performance and nomination for Best New Artist. It's been so cool watching her transition from being A TikTok dancer into a seriously regarded music artist. I'm kind of rooting for her to win. A lot of people think Olivia Dean is going to win this category. Why is she the front runner?
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Maria Sherman
I think she does something that really resonates with Recording Academy, which is actually kind of similar to what I was saying about Bad Bunny. She has this really sort of like classicism to her. This really kind of, in some ways, timeless voice, I guess, is how I would describe it. But within a modern context, her songs are very contemporary. They're about being a young woman in. In the current moment and taking that combination of sort of like new and old really resonate. It's. She's also just got an incredible set of pipes on her. And I think, you know, with. With the nominate, with her nomination, with Lily Young's nomination, it really kind of communicates to me that we're really hungry for, like, a sort of Amy Winehouse type, Somebody who can really deliver something that. With pop music with a depth that pulls from past sounds and makes them contemporary. So I certainly think that that's. That's why she's a front runner.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
You know who she reminds me of? Marilyn McCoo.
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Maria Sherman
Oh, really? Interesting.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
Yeah, she really, really does. Let's listen to Olivia Dean.
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Olivia Dean (performer)
Talk to me, talk to me.
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Maria Sherman
Talk.
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Olivia Dean (performer)
To me, talk to me.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
Looks like.
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Olivia Dean (performer)
We'Re making up for lost time need you to spell it out for me Bossing over on all night it's like a type of alchemy Introduce me to your best friend I can come a slide right now A satellite ain't even that far right I kind of wonder where you I already know I can leave it alone you're on my mind already gave you the time and the place so don't be shy just come be the man I need Tell me you got something to give I want it I kind of like it when you call me.
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Alison Stewart
All right, writer. Maria, I have a question for you. Your co writer made the case for Leon Thomas. What is this argument for his win?
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Maria Sherman
I think it's the understanding that a best new artist isn't necessarily just an artist who emerges and has a big viral hit. You want it to be somebody who you're sort of co signing their career a little bit, or at least that's the messaging. If they're best new artists, the understanding is that they will be a best artist of some caliber later down the line. And my co author, Jonathan Landrum Jr. Sort of makes the point that Leon Thomas already sort of has that he has this really cohesive body of work. He doesn't have a sort of. It's not the viral moment alone, though. Mutt is pretty ubiquitous last year and continues to be, and he's really kind of pushing forward, I think, kind of culturally, this, like, new wave of R and B. A couple months ago, I interviewed Ty Dolla Sign, and he said, you know, R and B is coming back, and it's Leon Thomas. I'm talking about paraphrasing a little bit, but that's pretty close to exactly what he said, and I find that quite interesting. And it's certainly. I was compelled by that argument. I was sort of like, he should win. I just. I don't know if that's where the voters are going to go. So you all need to read. Read the article and hear that. That opinion. It's also, you know, if we're just looking at history, women have won the best new artist category for the last eight years. This year would make nine. If Leon Thomas or Alex or Somber were to win, it would be the first time since Chance the rapper in 2017. So something is telling us that in this category, voters are really celebrating young female talent.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
Well, let's celebrate Leon Thomas. Anyway. Let's listen.
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Maria Sherman
Yes.
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Kendrick Lamar (performer)
She said, take your time what's the rush?
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Maria Sherman
I said, baby, I'm a dog, I'm a.
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Kendrick Lamar (performer)
She said take your time what's the rush? I said, baby, I'm a dog, I'm.
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Maria Sherman
A. I'm a dog, I'm a M.
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Kendrick Lamar (performer)
I can smoke already so part of my blood is.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
So, Maria, you're gonna be in la. You'll be attending the Grammys. As a viewer, what are you looking forward to and what performances are you most excited for?
- [25:52]
Maria Sherman
I'm looking to be surprised, and I think we all should be, because this year feels particularly competitive. I should also point out that there are no sort of like, Adele, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, big nominations that typically see that. And you're like, well, there's your winner. I think that's kind of exciting because it makes it a little bit more. I already know it's going to be surprising, and, you know, we all hope that it's surprising in the way that our favorite artists win, but I'm really looking forward to that. Not every year will the Grammys have a segment where all of the best new artists perform. Often a lot of them will, but this year, all eight will perform in a segment. And I think that's going to be really interesting, really highlighting that sort of diversity of sound that we were talking about and kind of establish maybe what the music industry and the recording academy are kind of putting up is where music is going in the future. And I think that's always a great time. And then, of course, Ms. Lauryn Hill will be performing a tribute to Roberta Flack and d' Angelo in Memoriam. And that's always a really sort of powerful moment. But with her, I mean, tears will be shed in that media room, I think.
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Alison Stewart
I've been speaking to AP music writer Maria Sherman ahead of the Grammys. They're happening this Sunday. Thanks for joining us.
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Maria Sherman
Thanks for having me.
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Ira Flato
This is Ira Flato, host of Science Friday. For over 30 years, the science Friday team has been reporting high quality science and technology news, making science fun for curious people by covering everything from the outer reaches of space to the rapidly changing world of AI to the tiniest microbes in our bodies. Audiences trust our show because they know we're driven by a mission to inform and serve listeners first and foremost with important news they won't get anywhere else. And our sponsors benefit from that halo effect. For more information on becoming a sponsor, visit sponsorship.wnyc.org.