VOA文化艺术2024--Women to Take Center Stage at the Grammys

Women to Take Center Stage at the Grammys

　　The American music industry holds its highest honors Sunday night in Los Angeles at the 67th Grammy Awards ceremony.

　　Artists including Taylor Swift and SZA, as well as songs from the Oscar-nominated movie Barbie lead the competition in nominations¹. And mostly women are nominated for Album of the Year, the top Grammy. Just one of the eight nominees² is male.

　　SZA has the most nominations of any artist this year: nine in all.

　　The wide female representation in nominations follows a year of huge success for women in the mostly male music business.

　　Swift's Eras Tour broke the record for ticket sales, passing that of British singer-songwriter Elton John. Beyoncé also played to full stadiums. And, Swift's concert film, also was a huge hit, earning more than $180 million in ticket sales.

　　"Women had a phenomenal year, not just in music, but in Barbie being the biggest-grossing movie," said Billboard³ magazine reporter Paul Grein. "Women dominated pop culture."

　　In addition to Swift and SZA, the other women nominated for this year's album prize are Miley Cyrus, Lana Del Rey, Olivia Rodrigo, Janelle Monae and boygenius. The group boygenius is musicians Julien Baker⁴, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. The single male artist nominated for Album of the Year is Jon Batiste.

　　It is just the 12th time in the Grammys' 66-year history, Grein said, that women received the majority of nominations for album of the year.

　　In other award fields, music from the Barbie movie received 12 Grammy nominations, including one for song of the year: Billie Eilish's, What Was I Made For?

　　Recording⁵ Academy recruits women

　　The Recording Academy has been admitting an increasing number of female music makers⁶ as members in recent years. The Academy is the group of musicians, producers, engineers and others who vote on the Grammy nominees and winners. Since 2019, the percentage of female members has gone from 30 percent to 36 percent.

　　"They are infusing the membership with a lot of members who will probably see things differently," Grein said.

　　Some of the male artists normally in competition were between projects. Harry⁷ Styles, Bad Bunny and other past Grammy winners did not release new music during the eligibility⁸ period. Still, a University of Southern California study shows the percentage of women artists on Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 list at the end of 2023 reached 35 percent, a 12-year high.

　　Women also made gains behind the scenes, with women of color driving the first increase in female songwriting credits in 12 years. Almost 20 percent of songwriters are women, up from 14 percent a year earlier.

　　Female musicians made a lot of progress in just a few years, Smith said.

　　"When you look at the data, you see that the collective action across the music industry is moving toward women," she said. "That we haven't seen before."

　　The number of female producers increased but remain mostly male. In 2023, women received 6.5 percent of producer credits. No women were nominated for the producer of the year Grammy.

　　But, on Sunday, several women could make history at the ceremony, including Swift and SZA.

　　Swift could become the first artist to win album of the year four times if her work Midnights wins the big prize. And, if SZA wins for her recording "SOS," she will be the first Black woman to win album of the year as lead artist since Lauryn Hill.

　　Hill received the honor 25 years ago.

　　Words in This Story

　　ticket — n. a piece of paper that allows you to see a show, participate in an event, travel on a vehicle, etc.

　　stadium — n. a very large usually roofless building that has a large open area surrounded by many rows of seats and that is used for sports events, concerts, etc.

　　phenomenal — adj. very good or great : unusual in a way that is very impressive

　　gross — n. the amount of money earned before taxes, expenses, etc., are taken away

　　infuse — v. to cause to be filled with something

　　eligible— n. able to be chosen for something

1 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

2 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

3 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

4 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

8 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。