 The 2019 Grammy Awards return to the Staples Center this Sunday, with host Alicia Keys, the first female host since 2005. After much backlash regarding the lack of female nominees, the Recording Academy claims that they reached out to more women and people of color about becoming members in attempt to diversify the show. To promote this image, the Recording Academy recently announced a campaign to place more “Women in the Mix.” The campaign encourages music labels and executives to hire an equal number of women.
This year five out of the eight nominees for Album of the Year are women and Brandi Carlile leads with the most nominations. The Recording Academy also announced a handful of female performers including Kacey Musgraves, Janelle Monae, Camila Cabello, Maren Morris and more. However, fans argue that major artists Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift were left out of the mix. Additional performances include a tribute to Dolly Parton by Kacey Musgraves, Katy Perry, and Little Big Town and a collaboration from Miley Cyrus, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Diana Ross to celebrate her music career. Making an appearance at the Grammys is film industry. Two films in particular, “Black Panther” and “A Star is Born” will be awarded throughout the night for their accompanying soundtracks. The show’s presenters will range from country music’s Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown to actress Anna Kendrick and Nina Dobrev. You can watch the 2019 Grammy Awards on CBS this Sunday, February 10th at 8 p.m. and listen to Times Up Radio for highlights throughout the show here.
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 Connecting with an even wider audience, critically-acclaimed country artist Kalie Shorr has released two singles in different genres at the same time: the title track off her latest country EP, “Awake” and the pop/EDM “Awake” featuring American Idol finalist Jonny Brenns.
In a first for both radio networks, Radio Disney Country premiered “Awake” while Radio Disney premiered the pop rendition of “Awake” on Thursday at 1pm PT/4pm ET. The two songs were concurrently added into the respective networks’ regular playlists. Says Phil Guerini, VP, Music Strategy Disney Channel & GM, Radio Disney Network, “We’re thrilled to deliver another Radio Disney and Radio Disney Country first with the simultaneous premiere of two different versions of the same song “Awake” from Kalie Shorr, one of country music’s most promising and undeniable talents whom we’ve supported since our launch in 2016.” On Friday, Billboard announced the release of both singles and featured the strategies that have “raised Shorr’s profile” in the last 12 months. CMT world-premiered the “Awake” music video on Friday with a feature article on CMT.com: “Kalie Shorr’s ‘Awake’ is a courageous reflection in the vulnerability of being an emotional support system for those who don’t deserve it.” Says Shorr, “It’s not a secret that I’m inspired by a wide variety of music. This past summer I spent some time in LA and wrote a lot of pop songs while I was out there. It was really freeing creatively and the perfect kind of challenge for me to grow as a writer. One of my collaborators, Matt Ferree, produced a track for a song we wrote and I loved his style. After a meeting with Phil and my management, we came up with the idea to release a reimagined version of ‘Awake’ with a whole new vibe. Calling Matt felt so obvious and I loved bringing in Jonny to sing from the male perspective. This song has been so special to me since I wrote it with Skip Black, and I’m looking forward to watching it have a whole new life.” Shorr played the Grand Ole Opry Friday night for the ninth time and will be announcing additional tour dates soon. Shorr currently co-hosts daily segments on Radio Disney Country called “Let The Girls Play” with fellow artist Savannah Keyes. You can find Shorr’s music on Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music. As tour dates continue to be announced, you can stay current with Kalie on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Be sure to follow her on Youtube and visit www.kalieshorr.com. |