Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appeared in a video at the Grammy Awards asking for support in telling the story of Ukraine’s invasion by Russia. During the pre-recorded message that aired on the show Sunday night, he spoke in English, likening the attack to a deadly silence threatening to extinguish the dreams and lives of the Ukrainian people, including children. Read: Drug shortages persist in Russia after start of Ukraine war In his words: “Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos. They sing to the wounded in hospitals, even to those who can’t hear them. But the music will break through anyway.”

As John Legend was honored for his musical achievements Saturday — the night before the Grammy Awards — the singer used the Recording Academy stage to pay homage to a Black music culture that has shaped him and the wider world of music. Legend explained how Black music has set trends for listeners across the globe, speaking at the academy’s Black Music Collective event in Las Vegas, where he was given the Global Impact Award for his personal and professional achievements in the music industry. “I’m proud to celebrate and honor and cultivate our music,” Legend said at the event held the night before the Grammy Awards. “Black music is and has been the rhythm, the root, the inspiration, the innovation behind so much of the world’s popular music. It doesn’t exist without us," he said. Also read: Will Smith resigns from film academy over Chris Rock slap The multi-Grammy winner applauded the efforts of the Black Music Collective, a group created in 2020 of prominent music industry leaders — including honorary chairs from Legend and producers Jimmy Jam and Quincy Jones — who are looking to find ways to drive Black representation and inclusion. The academy has been focused on amplifying Black voices after years of backlash regarding racial inequality. Like Legend, the event was filled with empowering messages that touched on the importance of recognizing Black music creators. It also featured a slew of popular performances including Chloe Bailey, Muni Long, Jimmie Allen, Cordae and Summer Walker. Legend said Black music has the potential to fuel justice and inspire communities. “Our art and music can help movements find their footing and voice,” he said. “Our art and music can help activists, the people closest to injustice and lead the way forward to equality and opportunity.” Saweetie, who presented MC Lyte with an award, spoke about how Black women’s accomplishments have been downplayed but their impact on the culture has been undeniable. She has women have been in the forefront of hip-hop as rappers, producers and others behind the scenes. “There’s no conversation about the past, present and future of hip-hop without women,” she said. “The playing ground has not been level, but I’m proud of the progress we made. Despite the continued injustice and inequality in our industry and society at large, there’s no better time to be a Black creator than now.” The event highlighted the productive efforts by LVRN, a Black-founded record label that has built a strong roster including 6lack, D.R.A.M., Boogie and Summer Walker. Also read: Oscars producer says police offered to arrest Will Smith MC Lyte was honored for being the “beacon of hope” for Black women, while D-Nice was recognized for his success through Club Quarantine. He says Legend helped ignite the flood of new followers in the early stages. “Club Quarantine is not really about D-Nice, the deejay,” he said. “It’s about a community. People come together and they share conversations in the chats. I’m just in the background trying to create a space to feel comfortable to get together. I say this like I said before ‘Black music saved the world.”

The Grammy Awards have changed its tune and voted to remove its anonymous nomination review committees — groups that determined the contenders for key awards at the coveted music show. The Recording Academy made the announcement Friday after the board of trustees met and approved the change. The decision came hours after The Associated Press reported that the academy was planning to discuss its nomination review committees and whether it was time to eliminate them. “It’s been a year of unprecedented, transformational change for the Recording Academy, and I’m immensely proud to be able to continue our journey of growth with these latest updates to our awards process,” Harvey Mason Jr., the academy’s interim president and CEO, said in a statement Friday. Also read: BTS on 1st Grammy nod: 'It’s hard to express in words' “This is a new Academy, one that is driven to action and that has doubled down on the commitment to meeting the needs of the music community. While change and progress are key drivers of our actions, one thing will always remain — the Grammy Award is the only peer-driven and peer-voted recognition in music,” he continued. “We are honored to work alongside the music community year-round to further refine and protect the integrity of the awards process.” The Weeknd blasted the Grammys and its nomination review committees, calling them “corrupt" after he earned zero nominations for the 2021 show. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/) The major change comes months after The Weeknd blasted the Grammys and called them “corrupt” after he earned zero nominations for the 2021 show despite having the year’s biggest single with “Blinding Lights.” Nominees will now be based purely on votes made by the academy’s 11,000+ voting members, and the academy said that “more than 90 percent of its members will have gone through the requalification process by the end of this year, ensuring that the voting body is actively engaged in music creation.” For the Grammys’ top four awards — album, song and record of the year, along with best new artist — a nomination review committee of at least 20 music generalists in past years selected the top eight nominees from those voted into the top 20. The majority of the 80-plus Grammy categories were voted by nomination review committees, which were intended to safeguard a specific genre’s integrity and to serve as additional checks and balances. While nominees for some categories like best pop vocal album and best pop solo performance were based purely on votes, a number of genre categories had nomination review committees. Those included the rap, rock, R&B, country, dance/electronic music, American Roots, Latin, jazz and gospel/Christian music fields. Nomination review committees for those groups consisted of 13 to 17 voting members who selected five nominees from the top 15. But questions have loomed for years around the nominations process with music industry players calling for more transparency because the selection of finalists happens behind closed doors. Others have claimed that members of key nominating committees promote projects they worked on or projects they favor based on personal relationships. Last year the academy announced that musicians invited to participate in a nomination review committee would have to agree to the terms of a conflict of interest disclosure form and reveal if they would benefit from an artist’s nomination for that category, whether the ties are financial, familial or creative. That seemed like a response to former Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan, who was fired only months into her job and days before the 2020 Grammys. Dugan had said the awards show was rigged and muddled with conflicts of interest. The Grammys have been criticized over the diversity in its top prizes, which rarely go to rap and contemporary R&B stars, including Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and Kanye West. Those acts are mostly restricted to winning rap and R&B Grammys, not the major ones. Doubts about the Grammys voting process reached greater heights when The Weeknd — who topped the charts with “Blinding Lights” and “Heartless,” launched an uber-successful album with “After Hours” and even performed at the Super Bowl — was severely snubbed at this year’s show, held last month. The Grammys contrasted most of the other music awards shows, where The Weeknd was a key nominee (he earned 16 Billboard Music Award nominations Thursday), and he vowed to boycott the show. Also read: Grammy-winning duo Daft Punk break up after 28 years Change has been a center of conversation at the Grammys for years. The organization has been criticized over the diversity in its top prizes, which rarely go to rap and contemporary R&B stars, including heavyweights like Beyoncé, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Drake, Jay-Z, Mariah Carey and John Legend. While those acts have won in the rap and R&B categories, when it comes to major prizes such as album, song and record of the year, the winners tend to be in the pop, rock, jazz or country genres. The organization has also been targeted for its lack of female winners in the top categories. Three years after Macklemore & Ryan Lewis won three rap Grammys in 2014 over Kendrick Lamar, a decision that was heavily criticized, a nomination review committee was added to the rap field to help prevent similar problems from occurring. (Photo by Dan Steinberg) While there is some negativity linked to nomination review committees, some members preferred them so they can protect who is allowed to be part of a specific genre. For instance, the rap field at the Grammys added a nomination review committee three years after Macklemore & Ryan Lewis won three rap Grammys in 2014 over Kendrick Lamar, a decision that was heavily criticized by the music community and public, and even Macklemore himself. Other changes announced Friday include limiting how many genre categories voters can vote in, which has been reduced from 15 to 10. The academy said that “those 10 categories must be within no more than three (genre) fields.” All voters can vote for the top four awards. The academy also introduced two new awards, bringing its total to 86: best global music performance and best música urbana album. The 64th annual Grammy Awards will air live on January 31, 2022. Nominees will be announced later this year, and eligible songs and albums must be released between Sept. 1, 2020 and Sept. 30, 2021.

With police brutality continuing to devastate Black families and the coronavirus ravishing Black America disproportionately, the world was driven to the significance of this year’s Juneteenth more than ever before.

The 2020 Grammy Awards kicked off in tribute to basketball icon Kobe Bryant, who died hours before the show, with a touching, emotional performance led by host Alicia Keys.

Rapper YG was arrested Friday at his Los Angeles home on suspicion of robbery just two days before he is scheduled to perform at the Grammy Awards, officials said.