It’s almost time for the Biggest Night in Music: the 2021 Grammy Awards! The show will take place on Sunday (March 14), and leading up to the event, Billboard has all of the info on the artists you can expect to see perform (as well as a preview from the host, Trevor Noah).
Elsewhere in this busy awards season, we’ve got details on the Critics Choice Awards (which went down on March 7), as well as the upcoming Latin American Music Awards, Juno Awards and Academy of Country Music Awards.
Meanwhile, Justin Bieber is the latest Billboard cover star; he opened up about his forthcoming album Justice, quarantine life with Hailey Bieber and much more.
To cap off the week, Selena Gomez released her highly-anticipated Spanish-language EP Revelación!
Take a look at all of the week’s can’t-miss music moments below.
The 2021 Critics Choice Awards featured some big music wins
The Sam Ashworth and Leslie Odom Jr.-penned “Speak Now” from One Night in Miami… won the Critics Choice Award for best song on Sunday (March 7), making it “a solid front-runner to win the Oscar in that category” as Billboard awards editor Paul Grein predicts. Plus, Soul won the Critics Choice Award for best score! Check out an analysis of the night’s music moments here, and view the full winners’ list here.
Artists performed at the 2021 NBA All-Star Game
Gladys Knight kicked off the 2021 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday (March 7) with a dazzling performance of the national anthem, while Alessia Cara sang “O Canada” remotely from Toronto. Watch Knight perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” here, and see Cara perform her country’s national anthem here.
Performers for the Grammy Awards were announced
With just days to go, performers for the 2021 Grammys were finally revealed! Dua Lipa, Roddy Ricch , Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Black Pumas, Cardi B, BTS, Brandi Carlile, DaBaby, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, Mickey Guyton, Haim, Brittany Howard, Miranda Lambert, Lil Baby, Chris Martin, John Mayer, Megan Thee Stallion, Maren Morris, Post Malone and Harry Styles will all perform during the ceremony this coming Sunday (March 14). See the full list of performers (and presenters) here, as well as the superstar pairings here.
Billboard caught up with Grammys host Trevor Noah
Ahead of Music’s Biggest Night, Billboard’s Joe Lynch chatted with first-time Grammy host Trevor Noah. “I was interested in, ‘How do you do an awards show that doesn’t feel pandemic-y?’ It’s music and great performances done in a stylistically fresh way and that’s what I’m excited to see,” Noah shared. Read the full interview to see what’s in store for the 2021 Grammy Awards ceremony here.
Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for an eighth week
Rodrigo’s hit added an eighth week at No. 1 on the Hot 100, while The Weeknd’s former leader “Blinding Lights” became the first song in the Hot 100’s history to spend a year in the top 10, as it logged a 52nd week in the region. See The Weeknd’s exclusive reaction to Billboard about the feat here, and check out the full rundown for this week’s Hot 100 chart here.
Artists celebrated International Women’s Day
March is Women’s History Month, and Monday, March 8 marked International Women’s Day. Tons of artists took to social media to spread messages of love and support, role models like Cynthia Erivo and Faouzia curated exclusive playlists for Billboard, and editors gathered even more celebratory tunes here.
Doja Cat released the music video for “Streets”
Doja Cat keeps turning out hits from her 2019 album Hot Pink, and “Streets” is the latest track to receive a lavish video treatment. ICYMI, check out an analysis by Billboard’s Jason Lipshutz on Doja’s latest smash here, and watch the new video here.
Triller Network acquired Verzuz
Verzuz, the livestream music platform created by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, is about to soar even higher. The platform has been acquired by Triller Network, the parent company of the Triller app, as Billboard exclusively announced on Tuesday (March 9). The Grammy Award-winning producers and entrepreneurs will also join the Triller/Verzuz management team to help oversee music and other company strategies, as Billboard’s Gail Mitchell reports. Learn more about the new deal here, and read an interview with the co-creators here. Finally, see the date for the next Verzuz here.
2021 Latin AMAs performers were unveiled
Ana Bárbara, Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga, Camilo, Carlos Vives, David Bisbal, Eslabon Armado, Gerardo Ortiz, Joss Favela, Karol G, Los Dos Carnales, Maluma, Myke Towers, Nicky Jam and Piso 21 will perform at the 2021 Latin American Music Awards on Thursday, April 15. Here’s what we know so far.
Nominations for the 2021 Juno Awards were revealed
The Weeknd, Jessie Reyez, JP Saxe and Justin Bieber led the 2021 Juno nominations, which were announced on Tuesday (March 9). Ali Gatie, Céline Dion, Curtis Waters and Lennon Stella also earned nods — check out the full list here.
The ACM Awards hosts were announced
Keith Urban will host the Academy of Country Music Awards for the second year in a row on April 18, this time with a co-host, Mickey Guyton. Learn how ACM CEO Damon Whiteside got the idea for the co-hosting arrangement here.
Justin Bieber was Billboard’s latest cover star
In a wide-ranging interview, The Biebs opened up about therapy, date nights with his wife Hailey, his new album Justice and pandemic downtime. “At this point, I’ve reached a level of success so many times that I know success isn’t a be-all, end-all to my happiness,” he told Billboard’s Katie Bain. Read the full cover story here, and see photos from the shoot here. Bieber also revealed the track list for Justice — see the song titles and collaborators here.
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Selena Gomez released her first Spanish-language project
Revelación has arrived! After nearly a decade of teasing, Gomez has unleashed her first-ever Spanish-language EP. “This has been something I’ve wanted to do for 10 years, working on a Spanish project, because I’m so, so proud of my heritage, and just genuinely felt like I wanted this to happen,” Gomez previously said in an Apple Music interview. “And it happened, and I feel like it’s the perfect timing. Just with all the division in the world, there’s something about Latin music that globally just makes people feel things, you know?” Stream and listen to the new EP here, and vote for your favorite track on the project here!