Musical icon Little Richard, an architect and pioneer of rock 'n' roll, a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient and a GRAMMY Hall Of Fame inductee, died Saturday (May 9). He was 87.

His son, Danny Jones Penniman, confirmed the news of Little Richard's death to Rolling Stone, with the artist's lawyer, Bill Sobel, citing bone cancer as the cause of death.

<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }</style><div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ivhauEr3KxU' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

Harvey Mason jr., Chair and Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy, shared a touching message about Little Richard's passing on behalf of the organization.

"As one of the founding fathers of rock and roll, Little Richard's music and persona is one of the most recognized and celebrated voices of American music, influencing artists across all genres today," Mason jr. said. "Little Richard's legacy will be remembered by music fans for generations to come."

With a career spanning over six decades, Little Richard played an integral role in shaping the sound and establishing the foundation of the then-burgeoning rock 'n' roll genre. His high-energy music, flamboyant performance style, impassioned sing-shout vocals, outrageous costumes and androgynous onstage persona comprised the singer's signature look and sound on an individual level, while also personifying and defining some of the key sonic and visual elements that would inform the rock genre. While his music ranged in the rock and R&B umbrella genres, the singer impacted artists from a wide array of backgrounds, from rock to hip-hop, with several of his contemporaries recording covers of his originals, including The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis, among many others. As well, his music also helped shape whole genres, including funk and soul. Little Richard ultimately earned the nickname the "Architect Of Rock And Roll."

Born Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon, Ga., in 1932, he first broke out as Little Richard in the mid-'50s on the strength of a string of hit singles, including "Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally" and "Rip It Up," all in 1956, followed by "Lucille" in 1957 and "Good Golly Miss Molly" in 1958, all of which became his staple songs and "part of the rock & roll canon," Rolling Stone notes.

Read: Little Richard Was The Lightning Storm That Awakened Rock

Born into a large religious family—he was one of 12 children—Penniman began his musical career signing in a local church at a young age before leaving his home at 13 after his father accused him of being gay.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a rock 'n' roll pioneer herself and a major influence on Little Richard, gave Penniman his first paid live music gig, opening her show at Macon City Auditorium, in 1947 when he was 14. The event would convince Penniman to pursue music as a full-time career. On a professional level, Penniman landed his first record deal in 1951, signing with RCA. However, his stint with the label failed to produce national success. 

Penniman would finally gain national chart success with "Tutti Frutti." Released on Chicago imprint Specialty Records in 1955, the song became Little Richard's breakout single and his first major hit, reaching No. 17 on the pop charts. The iconic song, which contained Little Richard's eternal balderdash lyrics, "A-wop-bom-a-loo-mop-a-lomp-bom-bom," has been covered by Pat Boone, Elvis Presley and The Beatles.

<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }</style><div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https://www.youtube.com/embed//hCPTLd3ZPX8' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

Little Richard released his debut album, Here's Little Richard, in 1957; the LP reached No. 13 on what was then known as the Best Selling Pop Albums chart, according to Billboard. Later that year, the singer announced he was quitting music professionally and turning to religion, becoming an ordained minister. He released a gospel set, God Is Real, in 1959, according to Rolling Stone. 

After his gospel career failed to take off, Little Richard returned to secular music in the early '60s, though his music would never reach the success he achieved during his breakout run in the '50s, outside of occasional charting songs. 

Following an addiction to cocaine, Little Richard again quit music for religion in the mid-'70s; he released another gospel album, God's Beautiful City, in 1979. He stopped making albums altogether in 1992, Billboard notes. He continued to tour and perform extensively into his later years. However, after a hip replacement surgery in 2009, he announced his retirement from performing in 2013. 

<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }</style><div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/fzDJOyZjTVg' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

Outside of music, Little Richard also dabbled in acting. He had roles and cameos on films like Down And Out In Beverly Hills and The Naked Truth as well as TV shows like "Full House," "Baywatch" and "The Simpsons" between the '80s and 2000s. The 2000 eponymous biopic, Little Richard, starring actor/singer Leon in the lead role, chronicled the singer's early years and rise in music through the '50s and '60s.

Recognized as one of the first black crossover artists, Little Richard's music and legacy also challenged, and often broke, many cultural and societal barriers. In a 1984 interview on "Today," he told Bryant Gumbel his "joyful music" "brought the races together."

"White people were sitting upstairs, black people downstairs. And the white people, when I started singing, they would jump over the balcony and come down there with us, so it brought them together," Little Richard said in the interview, speaking of his early music days in the American South when concerts were still largely segregated. 

Little Richard also noted the importance of his 1956 hit song, "Tutti Frutti," in breaking color barriers. "'Tutti Frutti' really started the races being together … From the git-go, my music was accepted by whites," he told Rolling Stone in 1990.

He also shattered sexual stereotypes in rock and pop culture through his androgynous image and stage persona. He performed in drag in his early years, and his flamboyant, effeminate performance style and personality would "set the standard for rock & roll showmanship," Rolling Stone writes. His influence in this space would later be seen in fellow gender-bending rock stars like David Bowie, Freddie Mercury and Prince. 

In addition to being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame as part of the institution's inaugural class in 1986, Little Richard is also an inductee of the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. He received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. Four of his recordings were inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame: his 1957 debut album, Here's Little Richard, in 2013, as well as his classic songs "Tutti Frutti" in 1998, "Long Tall Sally" in 1999 and "Lucille" in 2002.

Little Richard is survived by his son, Danny Jones Penniman; a complete list of  surviving family members is not yet available, The New York Times reports.

Remembering Elvis Presley: 5 GRAMMY Facts

The story of contemporary R&B cannot be told without Toni Braxton.

Before the Maryland songstress came on the scene in the early 1990s, there wasn’t another young singer with her particular blend of pure talent, an instantly recognizable deep vocal tone, and youthful exuberance. She took home a GRAMMY Award for Best New Artist in 1993 and in the preceding decades, has sold over 70 million records, scored multiple Top 10 hits, and taken home a total of seven golden gramophones.

Braxton's career is an ongoing lesson in unshakeable self-belief. Before she rose to prominence on L.A. Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds' LaFace Records, and before she set her sights on Broadway, Vegas, and reality television, Braxton found music through praise. Growing up in the church in the '70s, the daughter of a pastor and a clergyman, music was instrumental in Toni’s life from the start.

"I always wanted to sing. My mom was a singer, her sister, it was always around me," she tells GRAMMY.com. Dreaming of being a guest on Soul Train one day, Braxton committed to her dream of being a singer at 13 years old, and quickly "knew it was going to happen, [not] as big as it did, but always felt it inside. I think when you have a gift, you know it."

Looking at her past, starting with her 1993 self-titled debut, or her timeless singles like "Breathe Again" or "He Wasn’t Man Enough," Toni Braxton’s is one of one. She has seven GRAMMY Awards, starred as Belle in Broadway’s production of Disney’s "Beauty and the Beast" and sold 8 million albums each on her debut and sophomore LPs. Along with all of her accolades, she has still remained relevant, influencing today’s R&B stars and having "He Wasn’t Man Enough" sampled on Burna Boy’s 2022 hit "Last Last."

After debuting in Vegas with her Toni Braxton: Revealed residency in 2006, Braxton is headed to The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas for a collaboration with legendary comic and close friend Cedric The Entertainer. Their Love & Laughter residency, which features Toni and Cedric on blending their singing and comedy skills simultaneously, has been extended through July 12, 2025.

Toni Braxton spoke with GRAMMY.com about taking creative risks, the classic rap song that inspired her to make hits of her own, and how Babyface convinced her to keep singing during a tough time.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Before you broke as a solo artist, you were part of a group with your sisters called The Braxtons and released a song called  "Good Life" in 1990. The following year, you  were taking off as a solo artist.  How did being in a group with your sisters contribute to your development?

I remember when I first heard ["Good Life"] on WPGC [radio in the DMV]; they played us right after "Summertime" with Will Smith. And I was like, this song is not gonna happen for us. [Laughs.] 

So from that day, every time I've released a single, I always had to hear it together [with] whatever the most current song was, to see if it can compare. That moment prepared me, so when I heard "Breathe Again" the first time, I knew it was a hit. The first time I heard "Another Sad Love Song," I knew it was a hit. My gift aside from being a singer is having a good ear.

I'm going to be honest, I've been wrong about some songs. The song "Seven Whole Days" — I hated that song. I didn't get it, didn't want to do it. Why am I singing this song? It sounds like the Wild Wild West. Am I a rapper? And L.A. and Kenny said, "Trust us." I'm so glad, I'm very, very lucky.

By 1991, you're under the tutelage of Babyface and L.A. Reid and on track to become LaFace Records’ first superstar. Your 1992 single from the Boomerang soundtrack, "Love Shoulda Brought You Home," turned you into a name to watch.  How did you deal with all of this sudden success?

I felt blessed and I didn't get to enjoy it because it happened so fast. But it took me 10 years to get there overnight, because I've been trying to be a singer since I was 13 years old.

What was it about L.A. Reid and Babyface that convinced you they were the right fit for you?

They believed in me more than anyone else, aside from my family. I was always told that I would be a background singer, my voice is too androgynous. They thought I was the lead singer; they thought it was something special about my tone. I loved Anita Baker, and I remember Kenny said, "You sound like Anita Baker, but you don't." 

They helped me find my sound, because I would only be an impressionist for Anita Baker. I would sing songs and Kenny was saying I sing like I have water in my mouth. And L.A. would say," I like the water. Just give me some conjunctions in the middle of that so that the people can understand what you're saying a little bit more." They helped me find my way, they saw the talent. I will forever be grateful to them for that.

Your self-titled debut album comes out in the summer of 1993, selling 8 million copies, launching you into superstardom. You always knew you’d be successful, but when were you shocked by how well things were going?

I wanted to be on "Soul Train" because that was a staple in my community. I was inspired, I saw all the artists on there and they would sing on stage and be completely out of breath, when Don Cornelius came up and interviewed them. 

When I won the GRAMMY for Best New Artist, I was excited. I said, "Whoa, never thought about this." I hoped to eventually get there, but I never thought my first run, would be there [on the GRAMMY stage]. I was totally surprised when they said my name, "Best New Artist, Toni Braxton."

I rewatched the video of when you won the Best New Artist GRAMMY, and I could tell you were genuinely surprised.

I remember Jody Watley whispered in my ear at rehearsal, "You're going to win Best New Artist." I said, "Huh?" She said, "I can tell." I was like, oh, everyone's just being so nice and so kind. I was floored when they said the winner is Toni Braxton.

It was a big moment in my life. I didn't think I had any peers yet; I'm just trying to be like all those big artists on the stage. I wanted to be like Whitney Houston; I always thought she was the biggest, she was the beacon. We all wanted to make her proud. She was the new generation, the Black girl who crosses over while still being authentic to who you are. I loved her.

You won the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance GRAMMY for both "Another Sad Love Song" and "Breathe Again" in 1993 and 1994, respectively. Did you know that those songs would become tremendous hits on a classic album?

I knew they would be great songs for me. The first I recorded of the two was "Another Sad Love Song." I loved the lyrics; [some] songs can really lure you and transport you to a time in life. I remember where I was when I first heard it, where I was when I recorded it. Everything about it. 

By the time we got to "Breathe Again," [it] was not for me, it was for Pebbles. Then it went to TLC. It would have been Tionne [Watkins, a.ka. T-Boz]. Can you imagine her singing it? She would have killed it! It wasn't TLC, because they were going a little bit more on the hip-hop side. I heard the song and loved it. I recorded it four times; L.A. had me sing it heavier, more of my tone. It was "Breathe Again" that gave me the tone.

How do you think "Breathe Again" became such a huge hit that has stood the test of time?

Sometimes as an artist, you're lucky enough to find the perfect song for your voice. It just goes together like peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper. When I heard that song and I heard my vocals after they were completed, I knew that's what I had found. I knew that it would live forever. Music and artists are soulmates, and I found my soulmate in that song.

**Your sophomore album Secrets was released in 1996 and sold another 8 million records. Secrets also featured two Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers: the timeless power ballad "Un-Break My Heart" and the sultry club jam "You're Makin’ Me High," the latter being a departure from your usual sound. What led to you trying out the more upbeat sound of "You’re Makin’ Me High"?**

It was a little challenging, I'm not going to lie. That adult contemporary style worked so great for me. So when I heard  "You're Makin’ Me High," Babyface said, "I think this would be good for her, she has all her life to be AC, so let's try something new." 

And that worked perfectly for me. I remember being very happy. Not that I didn't love my adult contemporary music, but it was something nice about a little dance, a little bump and grind. I was a little nervous just trying something new because we were so successful in what we had been comfortable with. But the second album is when most artists add a little more on their plate; what else can I stretch a little more?

**Your 2000 follow-up, The Heat was both of its time and uniquely your own. The album featured "He Wasn’t Man Enough," which sounded futuristic and had an edge to it that wasn’t common in female R&B at the time. How did you know this was the single to push when it was so far from the norm?

It was a risk. My third album is when L.A. and Babyface went in different directions; L.A. was a great record company guy, he headed Arista then. Babyface has his solo career, and he's producing all these people. I had [their] guidance, but I didn't have, "Okay, This is what we're going to do." I turned 21 on that album, career-wise. I remember L.A. said, "Rodney [Jerkins] has this great song, Toni, I need you to go do it. But it's up to you, whatever you want to do." 

It was three days before Christmas. And I flew where Rodney was and I did the song in about two, three hours. L.A. heard it and said, "This is a single. We're putting this out. Hurry up and finish the album." I think it's one of [Rodney's] best songs, except for Michael Jackson’s stuff, of course.

You fully committed to doing things your way, and went on to win yet another Best Female R&B Vocal Performance GRAMMY for "He Wasn't Man Enough." What was that night like?

I was really happy. I didn't know I got the GRAMMY until I got to the award show because [it was awarded] off-camera. People were saying congratulations, I thought [that was] for the nomination.

In 2006, you headed to Vegas for your nearly three-year residency, Toni Braxton: Revealed. How did that experience prepare you for Love & Laughter, your current Vegas show alongside Cedric The Entertainer?

That was one of the greatest things I've ever done for myself; Revealed was wonderful. It made me a better performer, it made me more personable with my audience. It set the foundation for up close and personal performances. I thought I knew it, but I didn't know it until I did Vegas. 

Performing in Vegas is a little bit like Broadway, but by the time I got to Love & Laughter with Cedric, I was just easy breezy. I could do stadiums, arenas, or theaters. But something intimate, night after night, is discipline, no two audiences are the same. Now, it's nothing for me to do Vegas, I could do it in my sleep.

You teamed up with Babyface for Love, Marriage and Divorce in 2014. It was heralded as a return to traditional R&B and won Best R&B Album at the GRAMMYs that year. How was the creative process different from your early days with Babyface?

We laugh about it now. [Babyface] teases me;  he was like, "Love, Marriage And Divorce is different from Toni Braxton's first couple of albums because now Toni Braxton has an opinion. Now Toni Braxton is Toni Braxton, and she's not listening to me right now." I said "Kenny, well, you are my teacher and I am the student. But now we are brother and sister, right?"

It was a wonderful work of art. That's when I was thinking about retiring; I found out I had lupus, I wasn't gonna perform again. He pulled me out of that, like, "Toni, it's not time." He had everybody call me, "You can't retire." I was really down in my life. That album resurrected me and reminded me of the gift that I had and how much I loved doing it. After that, I did Sex and Cigarettes, which pushed me to do the music again on my own. So I'm always going to love him and be grateful to him.

Your style, voice, and approach to R&B is constantly evolving, and your impact cannot be understated — whether it’s fashion, music, or your talent as a performer. Have you put your influence in perspective for yourself?

I do feel proud of myself. I feel like I'm part of the change. I'm part of the culture that got the culture where it is today. Just like artists before me: Anita Baker, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Dionne [Warwick]. Whitney Houston, I like to think she set it, she was the pinnacle, what we all wanted to be. She reminded us that even though we are women of color, we're R& B singers, we can appeal to everyone.

Even all my ups and downs in my life, it's part of a career, it's part of life. When I hear people reference, oh, "She sings like Toni Braxton." Or when I heard "Last, Last" by Burna Boy and this little girl on TikTok said, "Why is that lady singing Burna Boy’s song?" when she heard "He Wasn’t Man Enough," I was actually proud because she was 3 or 4 years old. I'm still affecting the culture. My music is part of the aquarium of life, and it was swimming my way through. I'm proud of myself, I have to thank all the people that helped me get here. It's okay to blow your own horn and give yourself a hug sometimes.

Editor's Note: This article was updated with a new photo and YouTube videos on Dec. 16, 2024.

When it comes to holiday music, you can never go wrong with the tried-and-true classics.

Who doesn't love Nat "King" Cole's "The Christmas Song," Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas," Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You," Charles M. Schulz's GRAMMY-nominated A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack, or any new version of a festive favorite?

Even so, it's always good to get out of one's comfort zone. With that in mind, unwrap these 12 outside-the-box Christmas songs, spanning rock to rap and featuring everything from refreshing spins on the familiar to unexpected holiday thrills.

Read More: New Christmas Songs For 2024: Listen To 50 Tracks From Pentatonix, Ed Sheeran, LISA & More

This firsthand account of spending the most joyous holiday locked up and separated from the one you love offers a different kind of longing than the average lonesome Christmas tune. In signature John Prine style, "Christmas In Prison" contains plenty of romantic wit ("I dream of her always, even when I don't dream) and comedic hyperbole ("Her heart is as big as this whole goddamn jail"), with plenty of pining and hope to spare.

"Christmas In Prison" appeared on Prine's third album, 1973's Sweet Revenge, and again as a live version on his 1994 album, A John Prine Christmas, which makes for perfect further off-beat holiday exploration.

When it comes to gloriously tasty six-string instrumentals, no one does it better than GRAMMY-winning Texan Eric Johnson. For his take on this timeless Christmas carol, the "Cliffs Of Dover" guitarist intermingles acoustic-based lines, sublime clean guitar passages and Hendrix-y double-stops with his trademark creamy violin-like Strat lines. The result is a sonic equivalent on par with the majesty of the Rockefeller Christmas tree. (For more dazzling holiday guitar tomfoolery, look into the album it's featured on, 1997's Merry Axemas.)

Who doesn't want a large semiaquatic mammal for the holidays? For then-10-year-old child star Gayla Peevey, not only did she score with the catchy tune, she also got her wish.

The 1953 novelty hit, written by John Rox, rocketed up the pop charts and led to a fundraising campaign to buy Peevey an actual hippo for Christmas. Children donated their dimes to the cause, and the Oklahoma City native got her hippo, named Mathilda, which she donated to the Oklahoma City Zoo.

The song itself features plodding brass instrumentals and unforgettable lyrics such as, "Mom says a hippo would eat me up but then/ Teacher says a hippo is a vegetarian." It seems Peevey still has a fond legacy with the hippo activist community — she was on hand in 2017 when the Oklahoma City Zoo acquired a pygmy hippopotamus.

In a contemplative mood this Christmas? Try getting into the holiday spirit by way of meditating on the true meaning of the season with this brash, uptempo Southern California crust punk tune.

Now the best-known song from the Vandals' 1996 Christmas album of the same name, "Oi To The World!" remained a relatively obscure track by the Huntington Beach punkers until it was covered by a rising pop/ska crossover band from nearby Anaheim, Calif., in 1997. (Perhaps you have heard of them — they were called No Doubt.) Ever since, the song has been a mainstay of the Vandals' live sets, and they have also played the album Oi To The World! in its entirety every year since its release at their annual Winter Formal show in Anaheim, now in its 29th year.

Though it's best known from OutKast's 1994 debut album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, the Christmas version of the track "Player's Ball" was released earlier on A LaFace Family Christmas, an L.A. Reid-led project to introduce new acts. The then-young Atlanta rapper duo took a Southern hip-hop spin on the season, which can come across as a little irreverent, but at least they're honest: "Ain't no chimneys in the ghetto so I won't be hangin' my socks on no chimneys." Though some people may not find it cheerful, OutKast's season's greetings give "a little somethin' for the players out there hustlin'."

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more heartbreaking Christmas story than this Tom Waits' masterpiece from 1978's Blue Valentine. "Charlie, I'm pregnant and living on 9th Street," begins the Christmas card narrative in which a woman writes to an old flame, reporting how much better things are going since she quit drugs and alcohol and found a trombone-playing husband.

Waits' signature early career piano-plinking and tall-tale-storytelling weaves through a dream world of hair grease and used car lots, even sneaking in a Little Anthony And The Imperials reference. In the end, our narrator comes clean with the sobering lyric, "I don't have a husband, he don't play the trombone" before pleading, "I need to borrow money to pay this lawyer and Charlie hey, I'll be eligible for parole come Valentine's Day." For the uninitiated, this is the off-beat genius of GRAMMY winner Waits at his finest.

Though they took some lumps in their '80s hair-metal heyday, few would dare deny Winger's talent and musicianship. Surely on display here, frontman Kip Winger (a GRAMMY-nominated classical musician) and his bandmates begin with a traditional unplugged reading of the Franz Xaver Gruber-penned holiday chestnut, complete with four-part harmony.

But then it gets really interesting: the boys get "funky" with an inside-out musical pivot that fuses percussive rhythmic accents, pentatonic-based acoustic riffing, Winger's gravely vocals, and some choice bluesy soloing (and high-pitched vocal responses) courtesy of lead guitarist Reb Beach.

With lyrics that include "I know I should have thought twice before I kissed her" in the opening, you know you're in for a sleigh ride like none other. It's therefore no surprise that Cyndi Lauper and Swedish rock band the Hives' unconventional Christmas duel describes many marital hiccups that might make some blush.

Yet, the raucous duet somehow comes out on a high note, concluding, "We should both just be glad/And spend this Christmas together." The 2008 track was the brainchild of the Hives, who always wanted to do a song with Lauper. "This is a Christmas song whose eggnog has been spiked with acid, and whose definition of holiday cheer comes with a complimentary kick below the belt," wrote Huffington Post in 2013. "It's also an absolute riot."

Leave it to LCD Soundsystem's producer/frontman James Murphy to pen a holiday song about the depressing side of the season. "If your world is feeling small/ There's no one on the phone/ You feel close enough to call," he sings, tapping into that seasonal weirdness that can creep up, especially as everything around you is incessant smiles, warmth and cheer, and pumpkin-spice lattes. While he doesn't shy away from examining the depressing side of surviving the holiday season as an aging 20-, 30-, 40-something, Murphy does at least give a glimmer of hope to grab onto, transient and fleeting though it may be, as he refrains, "But I'm still coming home to you."

As Snoop Dogg declares, "It's Christmas time and my rhyme's steady bumpin'." This track from the 1996 album Christmas On Death Row lets you know why "Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto." Church food, love between people, and happiness stand out as Christmas is "time to get together and give all you got; you got food, good moods and what's better than together with your people." Love in the hard hood might have to watch itself, but the various artists of Death Row contagiously testify to abundant love and seasonal joy.

Bypassing the urge to write new material on their rocking Christmas album, 2006's A Twisted Christmas, Twister Sister instead took the most recognizable holiday classics in the book and made them faster, louder and more aggressive. The result — which, to date, equate to the group's seventh and final album — is a supercharged concept collection of songs such as "Silver Bells," "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and "Deck The Halls" bludgeoned by chainsaw guitar riffs, thundering drums and lead singer Dee Snider's soaring screams. This unusual combination makes A Twisted Christmas the perfect soundtrack for any child of the '80s still hoping to tick off the neighbors this holiday season.

In anticipation of the 2025 NBA All-Star Game in San Francisco, P-Lo breathes new life into T.W.D.Y.'s classic "Players Holiday." Featuring Saweetie, Larry June, Kamaiyah, LaRussell, G-Eazy, thuy, and YMTK, the track celebrates Bay Area culture with its infectious energy and hometown pride. With its dynamic lineup and energetic vibe, "Players Holiday '25" is a love letter to the region's sound and legacy that bridges hip-hop and basketball culture.

This article features contributions from Nate Hertweck, Tim McPhate, Renée Fabian, Brian Haack, Philip Merrill, Nina Frazer and Taylor Weatherby.

Final Round Voting for the 2025 GRAMMYs is officially open. Starting today (Thursday, Dec. 12) through Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, Recording Academy Voting Members will begin casting their GRAMMY votes to determine the GRAMMY winners across all 94 Categories to be awarded at the 2025 GRAMMYs, which take place Sunday, Feb. 2, live at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

As Final Round Voting kicks off, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. is reminding Voting Members of the importance of GRAMMY voting. In a heartfelt message sent to Recording Academy Voting Members this week, which you can read in full below, Mason jr. amplifies the crucial role of GRAMMY voting and the direct impact that Voting Members have on the future of music and the lives of the people who make it.

"Music creators and fans everywhere look to you and your peers to determine the best in music this year," Mason jr. wrote to Voting Members. "As Recording Academy Voting Members, you have the unique power to exercise your expertise in music to shape the sounds of the next generation. Your votes will not only impact the music that we listen to for years to come, but also the lives of the people who make it … Your votes and voices truly make a difference."

Mason jr.'s letter underlines the real-life impact of the GRAMMY Award. As the only peer-voted award in music, the GRAMMY Award is the highest honor in all of music. Each year, the lives and careers of hundreds of artists are transformed when they become GRAMMY winners and GRAMMY nominees. They immediately experience immeasurable positive career developments: significant increases in album sales and streaming numbers, headline arena tours, major brand deals, and beyond. This is known as the "GRAMMY Effect," an industry phenomenon in which a GRAMMY accolade directly influences the music biz and the wider popular culture. The "GRAMMY Effect" is sure to make waves at the 2025 GRAMMYs, fueled by the votes of Recording Academy Voting Members.

The upcoming 2025 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 67th GRAMMY Awards, will recognize the best in music, and Final Round Voting is the final phase of the GRAMMY voting season during which all GRAMMY winners will be determined.

Learn more about the 2025 GRAMMY Awards season:

• View the full list of nominees at the 2025 GRAMMYs

• Learn more about the annual GRAMMY Awards process

• Read our Final Round Voting guide for the 2025 GRAMMYs

• Download the "My Academy Hub" mobile app and cast your GRAMMY vote directly from your phone

• Read our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section

• View the official GRAMMY Awards Rules and Guidelines

• Visit the GRAMMY Award Update Center for a list of real-time changes to the GRAMMY Awards process

Read Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr.'s letter to Voting Members about Final Round Voting for the 2025 GRAMMYs below:

Dear Voting Members,

Congratulations to you all for voting for an incredible group of nominees for the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards! This year's nominees are a direct reflection of a membership body whose votes and voices genuinely represent the larger music community. Thank you for dedicating the time and effort to recognize such exceptional art and talent. 

We saw so many beautiful reactions on Nominations Day and we can't wait to see the excitement grow on GRAMMY Sunday. But first, it's time to select the winners.

Music creators and fans everywhere look to you and your peers to determine the best in music this year. As Recording Academy Voting Members, you have the unique power to exercise your expertise in music to shape the sounds of the next generation. Your votes will not only impact the music that we listen to for years to come, but also the lives of the people who make it.

So, please continue the path of listening, evaluating and championing excellence in this final round of voting for the 67th GRAMMY Awards, which opens this Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, and continues until Jan. 3, 2025.

Your votes and voices truly make a difference.

Thank you and see you on Music's Biggest Night on Sunday, Feb. 2!

Cheers,
Harvey

When BABYMETAL burst onto the international music scene with "Gimme Chocolate!!" in 2015, they unleashed a frenetic fusion of perky J-Pop and menacing metal that the world didn't know it needed.

Their simultaneously euphonious and brutal sound could have just become a one-hit novelty, but the group — Su-metal (Suzuka Nakamoto), Moametal (Moa Kikuchi), and newest member Momometal (Momoko Okazaki) — have blossomed into a perennially popular act in their native Japan and well beyond. While their musical mashup might sound like an oddball idea if one hasn't heard it, it has endeared BABYMETAL to even jaded, middle-aged metalheads who thought they'd heard and seen it all.

BABYMETAL's legend has been built on performance, whether in their intricately choreographed and high-energy shows or their conceptual, striking music videos. Their talents and prowess culminated in their biggest world tour to date in 2023 and 2024, which is now cemented on the silver screen with BABYMETAL Legend - 43 The Movie.

Marking the trio's first American cinema release, BABYMETAL Legend - 43 — which documents their performance in Okinawa, Japan — will be in select theaters nationwide on Dec. 11 and 15. The nearly 85-minute concert film showcases the group's musical rambunctiousness and the intensity of their show, complete with pyro, massive video projections, a hyperkinetic light show, and even a giant fox head (more on that later).

As their 98-date world tour proved, BABYMETAL's reach is cross-cultural, with their radiant vocals and striking choreography endearing them to legions of fans around the globe. And as their global appeal continues to grow, it seems BABYMETAL's future is brighter than ever.

To celebrate the release of BABYMETAL Legend - 43 The Movie, get to know the band and their impact with these seven facts.

They Started As A Subset Of A Japanese Idol Group

Before the world got to know BABYMETAL independently, Su-metal, Moametal and Yuimetal (Yui Mizuno, who retired in 2018) were first members of the Japanese J-pop collective Sakura Gakuin, which was created by the talent agency Amuse Inc. The teenage girl group was broken into subunits, with BABYMETAL forming as the "Heavy Music Club" of the initial group.

The trio made their official debut at the Sakura Gakuin Festival in 2010, giving a taste of the merry mayhem that was to come. They dressed in more traditional schoolgirl outfits and did not yet have a backing band, but they released a few songs while still members of Sakura Gakuin.

BABYMETAL began their arc as an official separate group in 2013 upon Su-metal's graduation from Sakura Gakuin. Though Moa and Yui didn't graduate from Sakura Gakuin until 2015, BABYMETAL released their debut studio album in 2014.

Fox God Mythology Is At The Core Of Their Artistry

After he brought BABYMETAL together and later helped them strike on their own, producer Key Kobayashi (aka Kobametal) created the mythology of the Fox God, the deity that assembled the three women of BABYMETAL and imbued them with musical powers to fight those "power idols" who would suppress forms of music they didn't like. BABYMETAL were created to unleash a metal resistance — fittingly, the title of their sophomore album.

Fox lore is incorporated into several facets of their artistry, from fox head props on stage to their signature hand signal. It's also been tied into various mini-movies shown on stage, and the greater story is encapsulated in 2018's Z2 Comics graphic novel Apocrypha: The Legend Of BABYMETAL.

Apocrypha tells the story of the Fox God across the ages as he battles his nemesis the Vulture God. But this extension of their origin is different. The musical group is not included in this tale — instead, it shows the trio as a continually reinvented force for good across time as they stand against the Vulture God during different historical eras prior to the metal resistance.

They Are Considered To Be The Creators Of Kawaii Metal

While Japanese metal wasn't necessarily anything new by the time BABYMETAL arrived on the scene, it had been 30 years since a band in the genre had broken through on such an international level. However, BABYMETAL brought a new kind of sound to the metal game, maintaining their pop idol roots and integrating them into the heavy rock sound.

Their blend of J-pop and metal helped birth a new subgenre dubbed "kawaii metal" (which translates as "cute metal"), and BABYMETAL is often credited for pioneering the genre-melding style. Other artists have since emulated their collision of metal aggression and J-Pop ebullience — while mixing fashion and stage moves from both realms — including Ladybaby, Babybeard, and Ironbunny.

They've Gone Through Some Changes

Following the unexpected departure of Yuimetal for undisclosed health issues in 2018, the group featured a short-lived trio of singers/dancers called The Avengers who appeared on stage with them in 2019 and 2020. They would individually alternate for the role vacated by Yuimetal, so fans did not know who might appear on stage with Su-metal and Moametal.

One of these Avengers, Momometal, became a permanent member in the renewed core trio in 2023. Though she doesn't sing on the band's fourth album, The Other One, that was released that same year, she's become an integral part of the group's live show.

When it comes to their live performances, Su-metal takes lead vocals and does some dancing (known as "vocal and dance"), while Moametal and Momometal serve up vocal harmonies and the majority of the highly stylized dance moves ("scream and dance"). Their shows also feature four more musicians known as Kami Band — two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer — whose roster has rotated over the years.

They're Crossing Genres And Borders

While much of BABYMETAL's music is heavy metal, they have flexed their versatility on stage and in the studio. They've performed with an array of stars, including alt-rock icons the Red Hot Chili Peppers, prog metallers DragonForce, dubstep icon Skrillex, and Rob Halford of metal vets Judas Priest. BABYMETAL have also recorded collaborations with a number of different artists, including British metalcore rockers Bring Me the Horizon, Thai rapper F. HERO and iconic heavy rock guitarist Tom Morello.

Their most successful team-up to date was with German electronicore group Electric Callboy on a track called "Ratatata," which topped Billboard's Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart — BABYMETAL's first No. 1 on a Billboard tally.

Further expanding their cross-cultural efforts, the group's 2020 single "Shanti Shanti Shanti" has a strong Indian music influence, and their brand new collaboration with raucous Indian metal band Bloodywood, "Bekhauf," features lyrics sung in Hindi, Japanese and English.

They've Also Expanded Into Gaming, Film & Television

BABYMETAL's quickly rising popularity spawned a unique homage in 2016: they became playable characters in the Japanese version of the video game "Super Mario Maker." They are a downloadable Mystery Mushroom character in one sequence; when Mario grabs the right mushroom, he transforms into them!

A year later, BABYMETAL composed and performed the theme song to the American animated series "Unikitty!," which aired from 2017 to 2020 on the Cartoon Network. The song starts off as a peppy, '60s pop-inflected ditty before it unfurls a quick burst of metal at the end. (Funnily enough, one of the characters on the show is named Dr. Fox.)

Just this year, BABYMETAL made their big-screen debut in Heavier Trip, the sequel to the 2018 Finnish black metal comedy Heavy Trip. The trio makes a few cameos in the movie, including a scene that sees them performing "Gimme Chocolate!!"

Their Japan Shows Are A Festive, Larger-Than-Life Event

As captured in BABYMETAL Legend - 43 The Movie, the trio's intricate, precise stage show includes lasers, high-tech lighting, video screens, moving platforms, and pyrotechnics. And when they bring the show back home to Japan, the spectacle becomes a full-on celebration. Former metal journalist and BABYMETAL aficionado Mark Kohler has witnessed the magic four times in Japan, entrenched in the crowd full of face-painted fans and girls dressed in cosplay.

Kohler noted that the fans' interaction with the band is like a performance in itself, as the audience knows which cues to follow in each song. (Near the end of BABYMETAL Legend - 43, it's remarkable how many male fans literally bow down and worship their metal goddesses during their performance of "Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!")

"It's not so much a concert as it is a full performance with an audience and a band. It's truly special," Kohler tells GRAMMY.com. And while he notes that the culture surrounding BABYMETAL's shows "takes time to get used to," it's an experience like no other.

"BABYMETAL is a continuing story and each concert has to do with that exposition... And it's just fun," he adds. "A crashing, splashing display of dance, singing, visual effects, and musical virtuosity coming at you all at once. Delivered with a smile, of course."