Justin Bieber Went 0-for-8 at the 2022 Grammys: Who Else Has Done That?

Justin Bieber was shut out at the 2022 Grammys, despite eight nominations – twice as many as he’d ever had in any one year. He’s not the first artist to go 0-for-8 at the Grammys. Three other superstars — Rihanna, Kanye West and Jay-Z — have experienced the same fate in recent years.

When the 1965 awards were announced in March 1966, Paul McCartney went 0-for-9, which remains the biggest shutout in Grammy history. But that was five years before the Grammys became a live telecast, so few even noticed. (The Grammys really only became the Grammys as we know them when they became a live telecast in 1971.)

The list of people who have been shut out in any given year (despite receiving seven or more nominations) includes some of the biggest Grammy winners of all time, including Stevie Wonder, who has won 25 career awards; West and Jay-Z, who have each won 24; and McCartney, who has won 18. Apparently, anybody can have an off night.

Let’s take a closer look at Grammys’ top shutouts – all the artists who received seven, eight or nine nominations in one year and lost ’em all.

Paul McCartney, 0-9 (1966)

The shutout: McCartney’s nominations included record and song of the year for “Yesterday” and album of the year for The Beatles’ Help! soundtrack. John Lennon went 0-for-5 that year. You may be wondering how it is that McCartney had more nods than his songwriting partner. Because “Yesterday” was a McCartney solo vocal performance, the Grammys credited only him (rather than The Beatles) in that category and also in three other performance-linked categories for the track – best vocal performance, male; best contemporary (R&R) single; and best contemporary (R&R) vocal performance, male. (R&R stands for “rock and roll,” though “Yesterday” was hardly rock & roll. The Grammys basically meant “relevant to this young audience we’re trying to figure out.”) McCartney and The Beatles had won two Grammys at the 1964 awards, so after two years of virtually unprecedented world domination, they had won just two Grammys. (The late Roger Miller, a witty country singer/songwriter best known for the marvelous “King of the Road,” won 11 Grammys in this same two-year period. No disrespect to Miller, but c’mon Recording Academy, we’re talking The Beatles here!)

What happened next: Lennon and McCartney won song of the year the very next year for “Michelle,” a charming song, but one that is hardly in the class of “Yesterday.” The year after that, The Beatles finally won album of the year for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. (They never managed to win record of the year, despite nods for “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Yesterday,” “Hey Jude” and “Let It Be.”) After the shutout, McCartney went on to win 16 more Grammys, bringing his career total to date to 18. The Recording Academy has since honored The Beatles on just about every anniversary imaginable. So that long-ago shutout is now officially ancient history.

Rihanna, 0-8 (2017)

The shutout: Rihanna’s nominations included record of the year for “Work” (featuring Drake), album of the year as a featured artist on Drake’s Views and best urban contemporary album for her own Anti. It’s the biggest shutout by a female artist in Grammy history.

What happened next: The following year, Rihanna won another Grammy, her ninth, for best rap/sung performance as a featured artist on Kendrick Lamar’s “LOYALTY.” Rihanna has yet to release her studio follow-up to Anti (which was released in January 2016). Let’s hope the Grammy shutout didn’t have anything to do with Rihanna slowing the flow of albums.

Kanye West, 0-8 (2017)

The shutout: West’s nominations included album of the year as a producer on Drake’s Views and best rap album for his own The Life of Pablo.

What happened next: Two years after the shutout, West received his first nomination for producer of the year (non-classical). He didn’t win, but that’s such a competitive category, it really is “an honor just to be nominated.” West has won three Grammys in the last two years, bringing his career total to 24, which puts him in a tie with Jay-Z for the most by a rapper.

Jay-Z, 0-8 (2018)

The shutout: Jay-Z’s nominations included record of the year for “The Story of O.J.,” album of the year for 4:44, and song of the year for the album’s title track.

What happened next: Jay expressed his displeasure with the shutout on “Apeshit” on The Carters’ Everything Is Love: “Tell the Grammys f— that 0-for-8 shit/ Have you ever seen the crowd goin’ apeshit?” Memo to the Grammys: Never disappoint someone so skilled with a pen. Jay has won three more Grammys since the shutout. Everything Is Love (the album that contained that Grammys blast) won best urban contemporary album. He also won best rap song for co-writing the Megan Thee Stallion/Beyoncé collab “Savage” last year and the West/Jay collab “Jail” this year. This brings Jay’s Grammy total to 24, which puts him in a tie with West for the most by a rapper.

Justin Bieber, 0-8 (2022)

The shutout: Bieber’s nominations included album of the year for the deluxe edition of Justice and record and song of the year for “Peaches” (featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon).” Bieber and his featured artists also performed that pop/soul jam on the telecast.

What happened next: Let’s hope Bieber continues to make great records without too much concern for whether they win Grammys. And let’s hope that Grammy voters come to realize they have been underrating this talented artist, who bears no more resemblance to the kid who sang “Baby” than Justin Timberlake does to the kid who sang “Bye Bye Bye” or Michael Jackson did to the kid who sang “ABC.”

Stevie Wonder, 0-7 (1983)

The shutout: Wonder’s nominations included record of the year for “Ebony and Ivory,” a glossy ode to interracial harmony that he recorded with McCartney, plus nods for his solo hits “That Girl” and “Do I Do.”

What happened next: Wonder has since won 10 more Grammys, to add to the 15 he had won prior to the shutout. This shutout came amid a nine-year Grammy gap between Wonder’s glory period in the ‘70s, when he won 15 Grammys in a four-year span, and his return to Grammy form with the 1985 album In Square Circle.

India.Arie, 0-7 (2002)

The shutout: India.Arie’s nominations included each of the Big Four awards – album of the year (for Acoustic Soul), record and song of the year (for “Video”) and best new artist. She lost ‘em all, and three more besides. India.Arie performed “Video” on the telecast.

What happened next: India.Arie came back the very next year and won two Grammys – best R&B album for Voyage to India and best urban/alternative performance for “Little Things.” She has won four Grammys all told.

Kendrick Lamar, 0-7 (2014)

The shutout: Lamar’s nominations included album of the year for good kid, m.A.A.d city and best new artist. He lost those two awards, and two others, to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

What happened next: Macklemore posted a message to Lamar on his Instagram saying that Lamar should have won for best rap album: “You got robbed. I wanted you to win. You should have. It’s weird and sucks that I robbed you … Congrats on this year and your music. Appreciate you as an artist and a friend. Much love.” Lamar has gone on to win 14 Grammys, including best rap performance this year for “Family Ties,” a collab with his cousin, Baby Keem. Lamar has yet to win a Grammy for album of the year (despite three more nods for To Pimp a Butterfly, DAMN. and the Black Panther soundtrack), but he did receive a Pulitzer Prize for DAMN., which is a pretty fair consolation prize.

Billie Eilish, 0-7 (2022)

The shutout: Eilish’s nominations included record and song of the year for “Happier Than Ever” and album of the year for her album of the same name. Eilish made history at both of her first two Grammy telecasts. In 2020, she became only the second artist (following Christopher Cross) to win in each of the Big Four categories. In 2021, she became only the third artist (following Roberta Flack and U2) to win back-to-back awards for record of the year. Actually, she made history this year too. At 20, she’s the youngest artist to go 0-for-7 at the Grammys.

What happened next: With her boundless talent and that of her equally talented collaborator and producer, Finneas, we can be sure that there are many more awards in her future – and more importantly, more great music from her.

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FKA Twigs Joins ‘The Crow’ Reboot

FKA Twigs, the British singer and dancer who is making inroads into acting, is co-starring in the reboot and re-imagining of The Crow, the supernatural revenge thriller being directed by Rupert Sanders.

Bill Skarsgård, who played Pennywise the Clown in the It horror movies, is toplining the project, which has seen numerous iterations and close calls come and go amid years of development.

Crow was an indie comic written and drawn by James O’Barr in the late 1980s that told the dark tale of a man and his fiancee who are assaulted and killed by a gang after the couple’s car breaks down. The man is resurrected by a crow and exacts vengeance on those who took his life and the life of his love.

Twigs is playing the girlfriend/fiancée. The role was not significant in the original movie but sources say that in this re-imagining, the part has been re-conceived into a co-lead. It is unclear if the character never quite dies, perhaps returns in some supernatural form, or may even be a representation of the crow itself.

Crow is due to begin shooting in June with production to take place in Prague and Munich.

Producing are Victor Hadida, Molly Hassell, John Jencks and Edward R. Pressman. Dan Farah is an exec producer on the project.

Twigs earlier this year released a mixtape album titled Caprisongs and had a song on The King’s Man soundtrack.

This article originally appeared in THR.com.

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Lauren Alaina Parts Ways With Longtime Record Label

Singer-songwriter Lauren Alaina has parted ways with her longtime record label home, Billboard has confirmed.

Alaina first shared the news on social media, with a lengthy statement thanking UMG Nashville and Mercury Records for being her label home from the beginning of her career, after she came in second place on the 10th season of American Idol in 2011 (fellow country entertainer Scotty McCreery was the winner that season).

“I want to thank the staff at Mercury Records and UMG Nashville for everything they have done for me over the last 11 years,” Alaina said. “They have been my label home since the day I walked off the American Idol stage as a really young, wide-eyed, eager 16-year-old kid. Now, at 27 years old I look back and see just how much I have changed and grown in to the woman I am now.”

She added, “I have made the tough decision to spread my wings and close a very important chapter of my life. There are more exciting things happening in my career right now than ever before, and I just can’t wait to see where it all leads. Much to share soon. With gratitude and hope, Lauren.”

To date, Alaina has earned three No. 1 hits on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart, including two No. 1 hits in 2017: “What Ifs” with Kane Brown and her solo hit “Road Less Traveled.” In 2020, she earned a third chart-topper alongside HARDY and Devin Dawson with “One Beer.” Along the way, she’s picked up honors including a win for New Female Vocalist of the Year at the ACM Awards in 2018 and two CMA nominations for New Artist of the Year. She is also a multi-year winner at the CMT Music Awards, winning Breakthrough Video of the Year for “Road Less Traveled” and Collaborative Video of the Year, with Brown, for “What Ifs.”

Last year, Alaina released her third studio album, Sitting Pretty on Top of the World, which featured “Getting Good” with Trisha Yearwood and the Jon Pardi duet “Getting Over Him.” On Feb. 12, Alaina officially became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

She’s currently starring alongside fellow country crooner Craig Morgan on the CBS series Beyond The Edge, which features nine celebrities facing the jungles of Panama, using teamwork and survival instincts to overcome daily adventure challenges to raise money for their favorite charities.

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Yahritza y Su Esencia’s Debut Single ‘Soy El Único’ Flies to No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs, Top 20 on Hot 100

Yahritza y Su Esencia score their first No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, as the band’s debut single “Soy El Único” opens in the top slot on the April 9-dated ranking. The band also earns its first Billboard Hot 100 entry as the song bows at No. 20. Fifteen-year-old lead singer Yahritza marks a historic feat, becoming the youngest Latin performer to enter the all-genre tally.

“It is one of the greatest achievements in my young age and more than that, it is a reminder that we can all achieve our dreams.” Yahritza tells Billboard.

“Soy El Único” trades places on Hot Latin Songs with Becky G and Karol G’s “Mamiii,” which slides 2-1 after it banked six consecutive weeks in charge.

The Mexican-American outfit, comprised of 24-year-old Armando (or Mando) on guitar, 17-year-old bassist Jairo, and 15-year-old vocalist Yahritza, was born in Yakima, Wash., to Michoacán parents. The band’s musical career took off after Ramón Ruiz (Lumbre Music) found Yahritza’s videos on TikTok.

“Soy El Único,” the last of the ensemble’s projects, also went viral on the social network.

“This means the world to us, to be able to achieve this on our first release,” Armando Martinez, the oldest of the Martinez siblings and the group’s 12-string guitarist, adds. “It’s crazy to think but the song opened doors to much more than we could imagine. It feels great having a solid team behind us that are always there.”

The sad sireño tune earned 13.97 million U.S. streams after its first tracking week, ending in March 31, according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data. The song received its official release on March 25. The high figure prompts a No. 4 start on the overall Streaming Songs chart and No. 1 on Latin Streaming Songs. On the former, it’s the highest start for a Latin act since Bad Bunny’s “Yonaguni” launched at No. 2 in June 2021.

“Soy” concurrently benefits from 4,000 downloads sold in the same tracking week, enough to yield a No. 1 debut on Latin Digital Song Sales and No. 14 on the overall Digital Song Sales tally.

“Honestly, when I wrote the song it was like putting myself in the shoes of the people I watched on TikTok who were going through sad episodes in their lives,” Yahritza muses. “I thought they could identify with what I write. For me it has always been connecting with others”

Highest Start for a Regional Mexican Song on Billboard Hot 100: In line with its Hot Latin Songs arrival, “Soy” also debuts at No. 20 on the all-genre Hot 100 chart, the latest of the wave of regional Mexican songs that have visited the survey since May 2021. With its No. 20 debut, “Soy” becomes the highest-ranked regional Mexican title and first to reach the top 40. Its predecessors include Gera MX and Christian Nodal’s “Botella Tras Botella” (No. 60 debut and peak, May 8, 2021); Ivan Cornejo’s “Está Dañada” (No. 61-peaked, Oct. 23); and Grupo Firme’s “Ya Supérame (En Vivo Desde Culiacán, Sinaloa)” (No. 91 high, Nov. 13)

Youngest Latin Act to Enter Billboard Hot 100: At 15 years old, Yahritza becomes the youngest regional Mexican act to notch an entry on the all-genre ranking. She overthrows Ivan Cornejo, who secured his first entry at 17 years old.

Back on the all-metric Hot Latin Songs, “Soy” is just the second song to open at the summit in 2022. Notably, two other female acts took the lead previously: Becky G and Karol G’s “Mamiii” (No. 1 debut, Feb. 26-dated survey).

“Wow, it’s such a privilege to follow their footsteps, especially because they are both grand women who inspire me greatly,” Yahritza adds. “I hope I get to be as big as them one day. I saw that Becky G started following me on Instagram and honestly, it feels nice.”

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Bill Maher Downplays Jada Pinkett Smith’s Alopecia After Oscars Slap: ‘It’s Not Leukemia’

Bill Maher weighed in on the Oscars slap heard ’round the world on Friday and decided to take aim at Jada Pinkett Smith in the process.

“I must say, comparing a woman to Demi Moore looking her hottest is not exactly the worst insult I’ve ever heard in the world,” the talk show host said on HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher, referencing Chris Rock’s G.I. Jane joke during the 2022 Academy Awards as well as the onstage altercation with Will Smith that followed. “I mean, alopecia, it’s not leukemia, OK? Alopecia is when your hair falls out … there are worse things.”

Later in the show, Maher brought up the topic again in a roundtable with politician Andrew Yang and legal analyst Laura Coates, saying, “If you are so lucky in life as to have that be your medical problem, just say, ‘Thanks, God.’ It’s not life-threatening. It’s part of — for most people, 80 percent of men, 50 percent of women — it’s part of aging.

“Aging is, trust me I know, it’s the degradation of the flesh. It happens to all of us,” he continued. “And you know, just put on a f—ing wig like everybody else at the Oscars if it bothers you so much.”

For her part, Pinkett Smith has been open about learning to accept her alopecia with grace, though her husband clearly didn’t take kindly to Rock’s public swipe while presenting the award for best documentary feature.

The eventual best actor Oscar winner has faced public consequences for his actions since, including resigning from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and having two film projects — Fast and Loose and Bad Boys 4 — face uncertain futures.

Watch Maher’s opening monologue about the Oscars below.

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Grand Ole Opry Owner Sells Minority Stake to NBCUniversal, Atairos

NBCUniversal and independent investment company Atairos are set to acquire a 30% minority ownership stake in Ryman Hospitality Properties’ subsidiary OEG Attractions Holdings.

OEG Attractions Holdings directly or indirectly owns the assets that comprise Opry Entertainment Group (OEG), including the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium, WSM 650 AM, Ole Red and a 50% interest in the country lifestyle media network Circle (which Ryman Hospitality Properties owns in a joint venture with Gray Television).

The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022.

Atairos’ investment values OEG at $1.415 billion (including OEG’s previously announced acquisition of Block 21, which is expected to close June 1). Atairos has agreed to make an additional $30 million investment in OEG, contingent on certain performance targets being met. The initial $1.415 billion valuation includes a recapitalization of OEG with a new $300 million Term Loan B and the assumption of a $137 million CMBS facility for Block 21 upon consummation of that transaction. Atairos’ and NBCUniversal’s initial 30% equity investment in OEG will be approximately $293 million, with Atairos directly investing approximately $278 million and NBCUniversal directly investing up to approximately $15 million.

Once the transaction is complete, Ryman Hospitality Properties will retain a controlling 70% interest in OEG, with chairman and CEO Colin Reed serving as executive chairman of OEG. Atairos will enter into an LLC agreement with Ryman Hospitality Properties and OEG upon the closing of the investment. Atairos partners Alex Evans and Jackson Phillips will join OEG’s board of directors, which will be comprised of four Ryman Hospitality Properties directors and two Atairos directors.

In a statement, Reed said, “Back in June 2021, given the unsolicited interest we had received, we embarked on a formal process to identify a strategic partner that shares our vision for growing OEG to a position where it can operate independently of our core hospitality business while enabling our shareholders to participate in the significant upside for OEG that lies ahead. We view this partnership as a significant opportunity to strengthen these beloved institutions and cement their influence on American music culture.”

Michael Angelakis, chairman/CEO of Atairos, added, “OEG’s dynamic collection of entertainment venues, digital content and iconic country music brands provide a strong foundation for continued growth as a fully-integrated country lifestyle platform. We are excited to partner with the RHP and OEG teams to explore new content distribution strategies and support their ambition of becoming the leading player in country lifestyle live entertainment and media content.”

In his own statement, David Pietrycha, executive vp of strategy and business development at NBCUniversal, added, “We are excited to invest in OEG alongside our strategic partner Atairos. We look forward to exploring opportunities to leverage our media, technology and content creation expertise to help OEG accelerate its plans and bring its iconic brands, as well as artists and storied cities, to music lovers worldwide.”

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