Arts & Entertainment
JAY-Z, Kendrick Lamar lead diverse 2018 Grammy nominations
Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga also land nominations
(Screenshot via YouTube.)
The 60th Annual Grammys Awards announced its 2018 nominees with rap and R&B artists making their mark on the top four major categories.
Singer Audra Day announced the nominations for the four major categories of record of the year, song of the year, best new artist and album of the year.
JAY-Z leads this year’s nominations with a total of eight nominations including album, song, and record of the year. His album “4:44,” which includes his mother’s coming out, will battle against Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic, “Damn” by Kendrick Lamar,” “Melodrama” by Lorde and “Awaken My Love!” by Childish Gambino.
Kendrick Lamar is close behind with a total of seven nominations for his album “Damn.” Lady Gaga also scored nominations for Best Pop Solo Performance for “Million Reasons” and Best Pop Vocal Album for “Joanne.”
The 60th Annual Grammy Awards will air from Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday Jan. 28 on CBS.
Album of the Year
“Awaken My Love!,” Childish Gambino
“4:44,” JAY-Z
“Damn,” Kendrick Lamar
“Melodrama,” Lorde
“24K Magic,” Bruno Mars
Song of the Year
“Despacito” Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi and Marty James Garton, songwriters (Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber)
“4:44” Shawn Carter and Dion Wilson, songwriters (JAY-Z)
“Issues” Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, songwriters (Julia Michaels)
“1-800-273-8255” Sir Robert Hall II, Arjun Ivatury, Alessia Caracciolo, Khalid Robinson, Drew Taggart, songwriters (Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid)
“That’s What I Like” Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus and Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars
Record of the Year
“Redbone,” Childish Gambino
“Despacito,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber
“The Story of O.J.,” JAY-Z
“Humble,” Kendrick Lamar
“24K Magic,” Bruno Mars
Best New Artist
Alessia Cara
Khalid
Lil Uzi Vert
Julia Michaels
SZA
Best Pop Solo Performance
“Love So Soft,” Kelly Clarkson
“Praying,” Kesha
“Million Reasons,” Lady Gaga
“What About Us,” P!nk
“Shape Of You,” Ed Sheeran
Best Pop Vocal Album
“Kaleidoscope EP,” Coldplay
“Lust For Life,” Lana Del Rey
“Evolve,” Imagine Dragons
“Rainbow,” Kesha
“Joanne,” Lady Gaga
“÷ (Divide),” Ed Sheeran
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
“Something Just Like This,” The Chainsmokers & Coldplay
“Despacito,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber
“Thunder,” Imagine Dragons
“Feel It Still,” Portugal. The Man
“Stay,” Zedd & Alessia Cara
Traditional Vocal Album
“Nobody But Me (Deluxe Version),” Michael Bublé
“Triplicate,” Bob Dylan
“In Full Swing,” Seth MacFarlane
“Wonderland,” Sarah McLachlan
“Tony Bennett Celebrates 90,” Various Artists
Best Rap Album
“4:44,” JAY-Z
“Damn,” Kendrick Lamar
“Culture,” Migos
“Laila’s Wisdom,” Rapsody
“Flower Boy,” Tyler, the Creator
Best Rap/Sung Performance
“Prblms,” 6lack
“Crew,” Goldlink featuring Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy
“Family Feud,” JAY-Z featuring Beyoncé
“Loyalty,” Kendrick Lamar featuring Rihanna
“Love Galore,” SZA featuring Travis Scott
Best Country Album
“Cosmic Hallelujah,” Kenny Chesney
“Heart Break,” Lady Antebellum
“The Breaker,” Little Big Town
“Life Changes,” Thomas Rhett
“From a Room: Volume 1,” Chris Stapleton
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
“It Ain’t My Fault,” Brothers Osborne
“My Old Man,” Zac Brown Band
“You Look Good,” Lady Antebellum
“Better Man,” Little Big Town
“Drinkin’ Problem,” Midland
Best Country Solo Performance
“Body Like a Back Road,” Sam Hunt
“Losing You,” Alison Krauss
“Tin Man,” Miranda Lambert
“I Could Use a Love Song,” Maren Morris
“Either Way,” Chris Stapleton
Best Rock Album
“Emperor of Sand,” Mastodon
“Hardwired…to Self-Destruct,” Metallica
“The Stories We Tell Ourselves,” Nothing More
“Villains,” Queens of the Stone Age
“A Deeper Understanding,” The War on Drugs
Best Rock Performance
“You Want It Darker,” Leonard Cohen
“The Promise,” Chris Cornell
“Run,” Foo Fighters
“No Good,” Kaleo
“Go to War,” Nothing More
Best R&B Performance
“Get You,” Daniel Caesar featuring Kali Uchis
“Distraction,” Kehlani
“High,” Ledisi
“That’s What I Like,” Bruno Mars
“The Weekend,” SZA
Best R&B Urban Contemporary Album
“Free 6lack,” 6lack
“Awaken, My Love!,” Childish Gambino
“American Teen,” Khalid
“Ctrl,” SZA
“Starboy,” the Weeknd
Best Dance Electronic Album
“Migration,” Bonobo
“3-D the Catalogue,” Kraftwerk
“Mura Masa,” Mura Masa
“A Moment Apart,” Odesza
“What Now,” Sylvan Esso
Best Dance Recording
“Bambro Koyo Ganda,” Bonobo featuring Innov Gnawa
“Cola,” Camelphat & Elderbrook
“Andromeda,” Gorillaz featuring Dram
“Tonite,” LCD Soundsystem
“Line of Sight,” Odesza featuring Wynne & Mansionair
Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
“Baby Driver,” (Various Artists)
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2,” (Various Artists)
“Hidden Figures: The Album,” (Various Artists)
“La La Land,” (Various Artists)
“Moana: The Songs,” (Various Artists)
Best Song Written For Visual Media
“City of Stars,” Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, songwriters (Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone)
“How Far I’ll Go,” Lin-Manuel Miranda, songwriter (Auli’i Cravalho)
“I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker),” Jack Antonoff, Sam Dew & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Zayn & Taylor Swift)
“Never Give Up,” Sia Furler & Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Sia)
“Stand Up for Something,” Common & Diane Warren, songwriters (Andra Day featuring Common)
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media
“Arrival,” Jóhann Jóhannsson, composer
“Dunkirk,” Hans Zimmer, composer
“Game of Thrones: Season 7,” Ramin Djawadi, composer
“Hidden Figures,” Benjamin Wallfisch, Pharrell Williams & Hans Zimmer, composers
“La La Land,” Justin Hurwitz, composer
Best Music Video
“Up All Night,” (Beck) Canada, video director; Laura Serra Estorch & Oscar Romagosa, video producers
“Makeba” — (Jain) Lionel Hirle & Gregory Ohrel, video directors; Yodelice, video producer
“The Story of O.J.” — (Jay-Z) Shawn Carter & Mark Romanek, video directors; Daniel Midgley, video producer
“Humble.” — (Kendrick Lamar) The Little Homies & Dave Meyers, video directors; Jason Baum, Dave Free, Jamie Rabineau, Nathan K. Scherrer & Anthony Tiffith, video producers
“1-800-273-8255″ — (Logic featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid) Andy Hines, video director; Andrew Lerios, video producer
Best Music Film
“One More Time With Feeling” (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds) Andrew Dominik, video director; Dulcie Kellett & James Wilson, video producers
“Long Strange Trip” (The Grateful Dead) Amir Bar-Lev, video director; Alex Blavatnik, Ken Dornstein, Eric Eisner, Nick Koskoff & Justin Kreutzmann, video producers
“The Defiant Ones” (Various Artists) Allen Hughes, video director; Sarah Anthony, Fritzi Horstman, Broderick Johnson, Gene Kirkwood, Andrew Kosove, Laura Lancaster, Michael Lombardo, Jerry Longarzo, Doug Pray & Steven Williams, video producers
“Soundbreaking” (Various Artists) Maro Chermayeff & Jeff Dupre, video directors; Joshua Bennett, Julia Marchesi, Sam Pollard, Sally Rosenthal, Amy Schewel & Warren Zanes, video producers
Best Spoken Word Album
“Astrophysics for People in a Hurry,” Neil deGrasse Tyson
“Born to Run,” Bruce Springsteen
“Confessions of a Serial Songwriter,” Shelly Peiken
“Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In (Bernie Sanders),” Bernie Sanders and Mark Ruffalo
“The Princess Diarist,” Carrie Fisher
Best Comedy Album
“The Age of Spin & Deep in the Heart of Texas,” Dave Chappelle
“Cinco,” Jim Gaffigan
“Jerry Before Seinfeld,” Jerry Seinfeld
“A Speck of Dust,” Sarah Silverman
“What Now?,” Kevin Hart
Best Musical Theater Album
“Come From Away” — Ian Eisendrath, August Eriksmoen, David Hein, David Lai & Irene Sankoff, producers; David Hein & Irene Sankoff, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
“Dear Evan Hansen” — Ben Platt, principal soloist; Alex Lacamoire, Stacey Mindich, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, producers; Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
“Hello, Dolly!” — Bette Midler, principal soloist; Steven Epstein, producer (Jerry Herman, composer & lyricist) (New Broadway Cast Recording)
Sports
English soccer bans transgender women from women’s teams
British Supreme Court last month ruled legal definition of woman limited to ‘biological women’
The organization that governs English soccer on Thursday announced it will no longer allow transgender women to play on women’s teams.
The British Supreme Court on April 16 ruled the legal definition of a woman is limited to “biological women” and does not include trans women. The Football Association’s announcement, which cites the ruling, notes its new policy will take effect on June 1.
“As the governing body of the national sport, our role is to make football accessible to as many people as possible, operating within the law and international football policy defined by UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) and FIFA,” said the Football Association in a statement that announced the policy change. “Our current policy, which allows transgender women to participate in the women’s game, was based on this principle and supported by expert legal advice.”
“This is a complex subject, and our position has always been that if there was a material change in law, science, or the operation of the policy in grassroots football then we would review it and change it if necessary,” added the Football Association.
The Football Association also acknowledged the new policy “will be difficult for people who simply want to play the game they love in the gender by which they identify.”
“We are contacting the registered transgender women currently playing to explain the changes and how they can continue to stay involved in the game,” it said.
The Football Association told the BBC there were “fewer than 30 transgender women registered among millions of amateur players” and there are “no registered transgender women in the professional game” in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The Scottish Football Association, which governs soccer in Scotland, is expected to also ban trans women from women’s teams.
Theater
Theatre Prometheus spreads queer joy with ‘Galatea’
Two girls dressed as boys who find love despite the odds
‘Galatea’
Through May 10
Theatre Prometheus
Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center
7995 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, Md.
$27
Theatreprometheus.org
In a timely move, Theatre Prometheus thought it would be a beneficial thing to spread a little queer joy. And since the company’s mission includes engaging audiences and artists in queer and feminist art, there was nothing to stop them.
Co-artistic directors Tracey Erbacher and Lauren Patton Villegas, both queer, agree they’ve found that joy in John Lyly’s “Galatea,” an Elizabethan-era comedy about Galatea and Phillida, two girls dressed as boys who find love despite some rather slim odds.
Now playing at Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center on the Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus, the upbeat offering is a mix of contemporary and period, and strives to make audiences happy. Galatea’s cast includes Amber Coleman and Cate Ginsberg as the besotted pair.
Erbacher, also the production’s director, adds “queer joy is something that I prioritized in casting actors and interviewing production people. I asked them what it means to them, and resoundingly the reply — from both them and the play — is that queer joy is the freedom to be yourself without having to think about it.
“Galatea” was first brought to Prometheus’s attention by Caitlin Partridge, the company’s literary director. Erbacher recalls, “she strongly suggested I read this very queer play. I read it and fell absolutely in love. And because it’s a comedy — I really like directing comedy — I knew that I could lean into that while not neglecting its universal themes of young love.”
Villegas, who’s not ordinarily drawn to the classics, was also instantly smitten with Galatea.
“Usually with classics, the language doesn’t jump out at me the way modern works do,” she says. “But not so with ‘Galatea.’ The first time I heard it read aloud, I found it easy to follow and entirely accessible in the best way.”
Whether Lyly deliberately wrote a queer play isn’t known. What’s definitely known is the play was written with an all-boy performing troupe in mind; that’s partly why there are so many young female roles, the parts 10-year-old boys were playing at the time.
There’s not a lot known about Lyly’s personal life, mostly because he wasn’t wildly famous. What’s known about the times is that there wasn’t a concept of “gay,” but there were sodomy laws regarding homosexual activity in England geared toward men having sex with men; it was all very phallocentric, Erbacher says.
She categorically adds, “Women’s sexuality wasn’t considered in the equation. In fact, it was often asked whether women were even capable of having sex with other women. It just was not part of the conversation. If there wasn’t a dick involved it didn’t count.
“Perhaps that’s how the playwright got around it. If there were two male characters in the play he could not have done it.”
Prometheus has done adaptations of ancient myths and some classics, but in this case it’s very faithful to the original text. Other than some cuts winnowing the work down to 90 minutes, “Galatea” is pretty much exactly as Lyly wrote it.
And that includes, “girls dressed as boys who fall in love thinking girls are boys,” says Erbacher. “And then they start to clock things: ‘I think he is as I am.’ And then they don’t care if the object of their affection is a boy or a girl, the quintessential bisexual iconic line.”
And without spoiling a thing, the director teases, “the ending is even queerer than the rest of the play.”
Erbacher and Villegas have worked together since Prometheus’s inception 11 years ago. More recently, they became co-artistic directors, splitting the work in myriad ways. It’s a good fit: They share values but not identical artistic sensibilities allow them to exchange objective feedback.
In past seasons, the collaborative pair have produced an all-women production of “Macbeth” and a queered take on [gay] “Cymbeline,” recreating it as a lesbian love story. And when roles aren’t specifically defined male or female, they take the best actor for the part.
With Galatea, Prometheus lightens the current mood. Erbacher says, “the hard stuff is important but exhausting. We deserve a queer rom-com, a romantic sweeping story that’s not focused on how hard it is to be queer, but rather the joy of it.”
Movies
Jacob Elordi rides high in ‘On Swift Horses’
Sony Pictures’ promotions avoid referencing queer sexuality of main characters
You might not know it from the publicity campaign, but the latest big-screen project for breakout “Euphoria” actor and sex symbol Jacob Elordi is 100% a gay love story.
Alright, perhaps that’s not entirely accurate. “On Swift Horses” – adapted from the novel by Shannon Pufahl and directed by Daniel Minahan from a screenplay by Bryce Kass – actually splits its focus between two characters, the other of which is played by “Normal People” star Daisy Edgar-Jones; but since that story arc is centered around her own journey toward lesbian self-acceptance, it’s unequivocally a “Queer Movie” anyway.
Set in 1950s America, at the end of the Korean War, it’s an unmistakably allegorical saga that stems from the marriage between Muriel (Edgar-Jones) and Lee (Will Poulter), a newly discharged serviceman with dreams of building a new life in California. His plans for the future include his brother Julius (Elordi), a fellow war vet whose restlessly adventurous spirit sparks a kindred connection and friendship with his sister-in-law despite a nebulously strained dynamic with Lee. Though the newlyweds follow through with the plan, Julius opts out in favor of the thrill of a hustler’s life in Las Vegas, where his skills as a card shark gain him employment in a casino. Nevertheless, he and Muriel maintain their friendship through correspondence, as he meets and falls in love with co-worker Henry (Diego Calva) and struggles to embrace the sexual identity he has long kept secret. Meanwhile, Muriel embarks on a secret life of her own, amassing a secret fortune by gambling on horse races and exploring a parallel path of self-acceptance with her boldly butch new neighbor, Sandra (Sasha Calle), as Lee clings obliviously to his dreams of building a suburban family life in the golden era of all-American post-war prosperity.
Leisurely, pensive, and deeply infused with a sense of impossible yearning, it’s the kind of movie that might easily, on the surface, be viewed as a nostalgia-tinged romantic triangle – albeit one with a distinctively queer twist. While it certainly functions on that level, one can’t help but be aware of a larger scope, a metaphoric conceit in which its three central characters serve as representatives of three conflicting experiences of the mid-century “American Dream” that still looms large in our national identity. With steadfast, good-hearted Lee as an anchor, sold on a vision of creating a better life for himself and his family than the one he grew up with, and the divergent threads of unfulfilled longing that thwart his fantasy with their irresistible pull on the wife and brother with whom he hoped to share it, it becomes a clear commentary on the bitter reality behind a past that doesn’t quite gel with the rose-colored memories still fetishized in the imagination of so many Americans.
Fortunately, it counterbalances that candidly expressed disharmony with an empathetic perspective in which none of its characters is framed as an antagonist; rather, each of them are presented in a way with which we can readily identify, each following a still-unsatisfied longing that draws them all inexorably apart despite the bonds – tenuous but emotionally genuine – they have formed with each other. To put it in a more politically-centered way, the staunch-but-naive conformity of Lee, in all his patriarchal tunnel vision, does not make him a villainous oppressor any more than the repressed queerness of Muriel and Julius make them idealized champions of freedom; all of them are simply following an inner call, and each can be forgiven – if not entirely excused – for the missteps they take in response to it
That’s not to say that Minahan’s movie doesn’t play into a tried-and-true formula; there’s a kind of “stock character” familiarity around those in the orbit of the three main characters, leading to an inevitably trope-ish feel to their involvement – despite the finely layered performances of Calva and Calle, which elevate their roles as lovers to the film’s two queer explorers and allow them both to contribute their own emotional textures – and occasionally pulls the movie into the territory of melodrama.
Yet that larger-than-life treatment, far from cheapening “On Swift Horses,” is a big part of its stylish appeal. Unapologetically lush in its gloriously photographed recreation of saturated 1950s cinema (courtesy of Director of Photography Luc Montpellier), it takes us willingly into its dream landscape of mid-century America – be it through the golden suburbs of still-uncrowded Southern California or the neon-lit flash of high-rolling Las Vegas, or even the macabre (but historically accurate) depiction of nuclear-age thrill-seekers convening for a party in the Nevada desert to watch an atom bomb detonate just a few short miles away. It’s a world remembered by most of us now only through the memories and artifacts of a former generation, rendered with an artful blend of romance and irony, and inhabited by people in whom we can see ourselves reflected while marveling at their beauty and charisma.
As lovely as the movie is to look at, and as effective as it is in evoking the mix of idealism and disillusionment that defines the America of our grandparents for many of us at the start of the second quarter of the 21st century, it’s that last factor that gives Minahan’s film the true “Hollywood” touch. His camera lovingly embraces the beauty of his stars. Edgar-Jones burns with an intelligence and self-determination that underscores the feminist struggle of the era, and the director makes sure to capture the journey she charts with full commitment; Poulter, who could have come off as something of a dumb brute, is allowed to emphasize the character’s nobility over his emotional cluelessness; Calle is a fiery presence, and Minahan lets her burn in a way that feels radical even today; Calva is both alluring and compelling, providing an unexpected depth of emotion that the film embraces as a chord of hope.
But it is Elordi who emerges to truly light up the screen. Handsome, charismatic, and palpably self-confident, he’s an actor who frankly needs to do little more than walk into the scene to grab our attention – but here he is given, perhaps for the first time, the chance to reveal an even greater depth of sensitivity and truth, making his Julius into the film’s beating heart and undisputed star. It’s an authenticity he brings into his much-touted love scenes with Calva, lighting up a chemistry that is ultimately as joyously queer-affirming as they are steamy.
Which is why Sony Pictures’ promotions for the film – which avoid directly referencing the sexuality of its two main characters, instead hinting at “secret desires” and implying a romantic connection between Elordi and Edgar-Jones – feels not just like a miscalculation, but a slap in the face. Though it’s an eloquent, quietly insightful look back at American cultural history, it incorporates those observations into a wistful, bittersweet, but somehow impossibly hopeful story that emphasizes the validity of queer love.
That’s something to be celebrated, not buried – which makes “On Swift Horses” a sure bet for your must-see movie list.
Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride
RFK Jr.’s HHS report pushes therapy, not medical interventions, for trans youth
Trump nominates Mike Waltz to become next UN ambassador
English soccer bans transgender women from women’s teams
TRAITOR: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has blood on his hands
Chronicling disastrous effects of ‘conversion therapy’
Second federal lawsuit filed against White House passport policy
We must show up to WorldPride 2025 in D.C.
Ruby Corado sentencing postponed for third time
A room with Pride: D.C.’s LGBTQ history finds a new home at the Eaton
-
Books4 days agoChronicling disastrous effects of ‘conversion therapy’
-
U.S. Federal Courts4 days agoSecond federal lawsuit filed against White House passport policy
-
Opinions4 days agoWe must show up to WorldPride 2025 in D.C.
-
District of Columbia4 days agoRuby Corado sentencing postponed for third time