The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples CenterinLos Angeles.[4] It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019.[5][6]Alicia Keys hosted the ceremony, having hosted the previous year's ceremony as well.[7]
Ten days prior to the ceremony, Recording Academy president Deborah Dugan was relieved of her duties as president and CEO and placed on administrative leave from the organization. She sparked controversy by claiming that the organization engaged in corruption and favoritism; Champagne Billecart-Salmon responded by pulling their ads from the broadcast, and Megyn Kelly, Gabrielle Union, and others tweeted their support of Dugan.[12] The ceremony was held on the same day as the death of basketball player Kobe Bryant, to whose memory Keys and Boyz II Men dedicated their performance of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday".
After many years of being traditionally held in February (except during the years of the Winter Olympics), the 62nd Grammy Awards ceremony was moved to the last Sunday in January, following the Academy Awards' decision to move their 2020 ceremony to the second Sunday in February.[5] Nominations were announced in all 84 categories by Gayle King, Alicia Keys, and Bebe Rexha on the set of CBS This Morning on November 20, 2019.[13]
This was set to be the first edition of the Grammy Awards that the new Recording Academy president Deborah Dugan would have presided over; however, she was relieved of her duties as president and CEO and placed on administrative leave from the organization ten days before the ceremony. The Academy launched an investigation into allegations that Dugan bullied an assistant.[14] After her dismissal, Dugan sparked controversy by claiming that the Recording Academy engaged in favoritism and corruption during the Grammy nomination process.[14][15]Taylor Swift reportedly cancelled a planned surprise performance of her song "The Man" at the ceremony in solidarity with Dugan,[14] although both Swift and Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich denied this.[16][17] Recording Academy Chairman Harvey Mason Jr. took over as interim president and chief executive officer and presided over the ceremony instead of Dugan.[18][19]
For the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, multiple categories were changed.[23]
As of the 62nd Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy would accept links to streaming services as opposed to physical copies as submissions. The Academy stated: "For most categories, we would prefer streaming distribution links for online entry submissions, though CD submissions remain optional". As justification for this development, the Academy highlighted the changing music industry and added that submitting links was more convenient and cost effective, especially for smaller and independent labels.
Additionally, there were separate screening committees for Pop and Rock, whereas previously these categories were screened by a Core Committee. This leaves the Core Committee to focus on the more difficult decisions such as determining who is eligible for the Best New Artist category and trying to find the best home for borderline genre entries.
The definition of the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album had been expanded to accept "contemporary pop songs performed in traditional pop style – the term "traditional" being a reference to the style of the composition, vocal styling and the instrumental arrangement without regard to the age of the material". The Academy stated that broadening the category was done in an attempt to allow it to "remain robust and inclusive" and enable it to be more competitive as, for example, Tony Bennett has won the award 13 times.
Billie Eilish won all four major general field awards in the same year, becoming the second artist to achieve the feat and the first since 1981.Lizzo received the most nominations, with eight in total. She was also nominated in all four major general field awards.
The nominees and winners (denoted in bold) for the 62nd annual Grammy Awards were as follows:[26]
Charles Anderson, Tommy Brown, Michael Foster & Victoria Monét, producers; Serban Ghenea, John Hanes, Billy Hickey & Brendan Morawski, engineers/mixers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
Disclosure & Denis Kosiak, producers; Ingmar Carlson, Jon Castelli, Josh Deguzman, John Kercy, Denis Kosiak, Guy Lawrence & Michael Romero, engineers/mixers; Dale Becker, mastering engineer
Andrew "VoxGod" Bolooki, Jocelyn "Jozzy" Donald & YoungKio, producers; Andrew "VoxGod" Bolooki & Cinco, engineers/mixers; Eric Lagg, mastering engineer
Jack Antonoff & Lana Del Rey, producers; Jack Antonoff & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Jack Antonoff & Lana Del Rey, songwriters; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
Tommy Brown, Ilya, Max Martin & Victoria Monét, producers; Serban Ghenea, Sam Holland & Brendan Morawski, engineers/mixers; Tommy Brown, Ariana Grande, Savan Kotecha, Max Martin, Victoria Monét, Tayla Parx & Ilya Salmanzadeh, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
David "Swagg R'Celious" Harris, H.E.R., Walter Jones & Jeff Robinson, producers; Miki Tsutsumi, engineer/mixer; Sam Ashworth, Jeff "Gitty" Gitelman, David "Swagg R'Celious" Harris & H.E.R., songwriters; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer
Tyler, the Creator expressed disappointment that his 2019 album Igor was categorized as rap instead of pop, describing the decision as "a backhanded compliment."[27]
Paul "DJWS" Blair, Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Nick Monson, Lukas Nelson, Mark Nilan Jr. & Benjamin Rice, compilation producers; Julianne Jordan & Julia Michels, music supervisors
Luke Argilla, immersive audio engineer; Jurgen Scharpf, immersive audio mastering engineer; Jona Bechtolt, Claire L. Evans & Rob Kieswetter, immersive audio producers (Yacht)
Kverndokk: Symphonic Dances
Jim Anderson, immersive audio engineer; Robert C. Ludwig, immersive audio mastering engineer; Ulrike Schwarz, immersive audio producer (Ken-David Masur & Stavanger Symphony Orchestra)
The Orchestral Organ
Keith O. Johnson, immersive audio engineer; Keith O. Johnson, immersive audio mastering engineer; Marina A. Ledin & Victor Ledin, immersive audio producers (Jan Kraybill)
The Savior
Bob Clearmountain, immersive audio engineer; Bob Ludwig, immersive audio mastering engineer; Michael Marquart & Dave Way, immersive audio producers (A Bad Think)
Leslie Ann Jones, engineer; Robert C. Ludwig, mastering engineer (Kronos Quartet)
Aequa – Anna Thorvaldsdóttir
Daniel Shores, engineer; Daniel Shores, mastering engineer (International Contemporary Ensemble)
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9
Mark Donahue, engineer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
Rachmaninoff – Hermitage Piano Trio
Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers; Keith O. Johnson, mastering engineer (Hermitage Piano Trio)
Wolfe: Fire in My Mouth
Bob Hanlon & Lawrence Rock, engineers; Ian Good & Lawrence Rock, mastering engineers (Jaap Van Zweden, Francisco J. Núñez, Donald Nally, The Crossing, Young People's Chorus of NY City & New York Philharmonic)
Gil Rose, conductor; John Brancy, Andrew Craig Brown, Gabriel Preisser, Krista River & Edwin Vega; Gil Rose, producer (Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Boston Children's Chorus)
Benjamin: Lessons in Love & Violence
George Benjamin, conductor; Stéphane Degout, Barbara Hannigan, Peter Hoare & Gyula Orendt; James Whitbourn, producer (Orchestra of the Royal Opera House)
Berg: Wozzeck
Marc Albrecht, conductor; Christopher Maltman & Eva-Maria Westbroek; François Roussillon, producer (Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra; Chorus of Dutch National Opera)
Charpentier: Les Arts florissants; Les Plaisirs de Versailles
Paul O'Dette & Stephen Stubbs, conductors; Jesse Blumberg, Teresa Wakim & Virginia Warnken; Renate Wolter-Seevers, producer (Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble; Boston Early Music Festival Vocal Ensemble)
Wagner: Lohengrin
Christian Thielemann, conductor; Piotr Beczała, Anja Harteros, Tomasz Konieczny, Waltraud Meier & Georg Zeppenfeld; Eckhard Glauche, producer (Festspielorchester Bayreuth; Festspielchor Bayreuth)
American singer Lizzo received the most nominations, with a total of eight. She was followed by Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X, who both received six nominations each. The following received multiple nominations:
American rapper Nipsey Hussle received two awards posthumously.
A memorial reel featuring the names of musical artists and industry personnel who had died since the previous year's Grammy ceremony was shown during the telecast.[28] The Recording Academy was criticized for omitting notable artists such as David Berman, Mark Hollis, Keith Flint, Bushwick Bill, Scott Walker, Ranking Roger and Robert Hunter during the telecast, but all were mentioned in a longer list of deceased artists on the Grammys website.[29][30]Ric Ocasek and Camilo Sesto's names were also misspelled in the reel shown during the broadcast.[29]
The individuals listed in the reel, in order of appearance, were:[28]
^ ab"2020 GRAMMY Performers & Host". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. January 22, 2020. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
^"62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. November 19, 2019. Archived from the original on November 20, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
^"Recording Academy In Memoriam 2020". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. January 26, 2020. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
