Of the eight Grammy nominees for best new artist, three — CHIKA, Kaytranada and Phoebe Bridgers — openly identify as LGBTQ.  (A fourth nominee, Doja Cat, has made mixed comments on the subject.)

Having three openly LGBTQ nominees for best new artist in one year constitutes a record. Six years ago, two best new artist nominees — Brandy Clark and Sam Smith — were openly LGBTQ. Smith, who identifies as non-binary, won.

Eight years ago, the nominees included Frank Ocean and Alabama Shakes, fronted by Brittany Howard, who came out not long after.

The experiences of Ocean and Smith are especially instructive. Both made their public announcements just as their first albums were being released, as if to establish, right from the outset of their careers, who they are.

Ocean published an open letter via Tumblr on Independence Day 2012, on the eve of the release of his first studio album, channel ORANGE, in which he recounted unrequited feelings he had for another young man when he was 19. In his blog post, he said, “I don’t know what happens now, and that’s alright. I don’t have any secrets I need kept anymore… I feel like a free man.”

Smith came out in May 2014, the month their debut album In the Lonely Hour was released. Nine months later, when Smith won four Grammys, the singer said from the stage, “I want to thank the man who this record is about, who I fell in love with last year. Thank you so much for breaking my heart because you got me four Grammys!”

Lil Nas X made his declaration when his breakthrough smash “Old Town Road” was in the midst of what would be a record-setting run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — timing that would have been unthinkable in an earlier era. He came out on June 30, 2019, the last day of Pride Month. Six months later, he was nominated for six Grammys, including album and record of the year and best new artist.

Lil Nas X’s best new artist nod was one of several times that a single LGBTQ artist was nominated in the category. Others include Bebe Rexha (2018; she has said that her sexuality is “fluid,” but has not defined her sexuality publicly), Courtney Barnett (2016; she has identified as queer) and Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1984), which included the openly gay Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford.

LGBTQ artists have doubtless been nominated for best new artist — and in all categories — throughout Grammy history, but it is only in relatively recent times that artists have been comfortable coming out at the onset or the height of their careers.

Elton John, who was one of the first major stars to come out, began the process by saying he was bisexual in a 1976 Rolling Stone interview; but that was six years after he was nominated for best new artist. Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, who comprise the folk rock duo Indigo Girls, came out in 1994, five years after they were nominated in the category. Sophie B. Hawkins disclosed that she identified as omnisexual in an interview in 2012, 20 years after she was nominated.

Luther Vandross, a 1981 best new artist nominee, never came out in his lifetime. After Vandross’ death in 2005, such close friends as Patti LaBelle have confirmed that he was gay.

Tracy Chapman, the 1988 winner for best new artist, has never publicly disclosed her sexual orientation, though writer Alice Walker has said that they were in a romantic relationship in the mid-1990s.

Boy George of Culture Club, the 1983 winners for best new artist, danced around the issue at the height of the group’s fame. He once famously dodged the question by saying he preferred a nice cup of tea. His stance reflected the prevailing view in the industry at that time: It’s OK to be gay, and maybe even to come across as gay, as long as you never explicitly confirm it. Allow just enough wiggle room for the audience to believe what it wants to believe.

Times have changed, as country star T.J. Osborne’s recent coming out, and this year’s strong showing by LGBTQ new artist nominees, clearly shows.

Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Sunday night was the closest we’ve come to appointment television in quite some time. Indeed, according to early ratings reports, more than 17 million viewers tuned in to the two-hour CBS sit-down — and among those millions of interested watchers were Hayley Kiyoko, Lauren Jauregui, Bette Midler, Jada Pinkett Smith and a host of other celebrities.

The Twitter conversation on Sunday night and beyond buzzed with appreciation for Winfrey’s interviewing skills (“Oprah. That’s it. That’s the tweet,” Kiyoko wrote), empathy for Markle’s discussion of mental health issues (“Questioning the authenticity of suicidal thoughts is both dangerous and damaging,” The Vamps’ James McVey tweeted), and jokes (“ya’ll be play’n way too much,” Pinkett Smith wrote in response to a follower suggesting she invite Queen Elizabeth to her Red Table Talk Facebook Live series).

Boy George, meanwhile, appeared to take the Palace’s side following the interview. “Sadly, Meghan wasn’t prepared to tell us who made these alleged comments about Archie’s skin colour?” he wrote about Meghan and Harry saying there was concern from an unnamed family member about how dark their first-born child’s skin color would be. “I believe she has a responsibility to tell us.” Jauregui took aim at British television personality Piers Morgan, telling him “just take it if you can dish it” when he complained that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s supporters were “trying to silence” his voice.

Below, see all the celebrity reaction to the bombshell interview, which should be available to stream here in the coming days.

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Silk Sonic, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak’s new act, was not on Sunday’s list of performers announced for the 2021 Grammy Awards — and now they seem to be petitioning to become a last-minute addition to the lineup.

“Dear Grammys,” Mars wrote in a note to the Recording Academy that he whipped up for Twitter Sunday evening (March 7), after .Paak implied their names should have been on the bill of performers. “If you can see it in your hearts to allow two out of work musicians to perform at your show, we would really appreciate it.”

“We just released a song and could really use the promotion right now. We have a lot riding on this record (and the Pelicans game next week, but that’s another story),” he quipped.

He promised that Silk Sonic would follow all safety protocols and even joked that they’d be willing to audition for the spot.

“We haven’t been able to perform for a while and we just want to sing. We’ll send in an audition tape and take as many covid tests as we need to. I promise we won’t be extra. We just really want a gig again. I hope you’ll consider this request and give us the opportunity to shine,” Mars asked nicely.

Of course, .Paak wasn’t quite so chill about it all. Earlier, he sent a whole lot of tweets Mars’ way about not seeing Silk Sonic — who just released their first single together, “Leave the Door Open” — named as performers for the March 14 show.

“YO @BrunoMars WHAT THE F—?!? Did you see this?!?! Call me back!!” he’d written, then suggested they start up a hashtag — #LetSilkSonicThrive — to get the word out that they’re ready and willing to play.

“Nah f— that!” .Paak said in another tweet. “I haven’t seen my family in months!! I need this to work, You promised me!! Everybody join in!!! I need all of Twitter to help make this trend!! Come on @RecordingAcad #LetSilkSonicThrive.”

See the letter and their Twitter exchange below. Check out the full list of performers who have been announced for the 2021 Grammy Awards here.

The 2021 Grammy Awards announced its lineup of performers, and the BTS ARMY was swift to get #BTSGrammyPerformers trending after seeing their idols on the official bill.

Tweets full of “teamwork makes the dream work” and “BTS paved the way” took over on Sunday (March 7) as fans expressed their excitement over the Grammys news and celebrated the K-pop superstars’ success and impact.

“The thing about us and BTS is that we get to see them fulfill their dreams, but they get to put a soundtrack in ours,” one fan wrote in reaction the the news of the group’s upcoming performance.

“I’m so proud of our Grammy nominated, Grammy performing boys! YOU DID IT !I’M CRYING,” said another fan, who posted a throwback interview clip in which the Grammys were the topic of discussion. “What Yoongi wants, Yoongi gets, always. Our boys making history once more.”

“I just want them to have all the happiness in the world. Because they’ve given me so much happiness,” read another tweet with the #BTSGrammyPerformers hashtag.

Many messages outlined BTS’ history with the Grammys — from being presenters to nominees and performers — and made hopeful predictions of what else could be to come for them. “They’ll be Grammy winners soon too,” a fan said, referring to their current nomination for best pop duo/group performance for “Dynamite.”

See a selection of proud ARMY reactions below, and tune in on March 14 to see the show, which will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center and air live at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS. The Grammy Awards will also stream live and on demand on Paramount+.