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It’s the biggest night in music, with stars from all over the world vying for a prestigious Grammy award to boost their reputation and musical credentials.

Hosted by former host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah, for the third time on the trot, Sunday’s ceremony will take place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

So, who will be the big winner of the night? How will our British stars fare? And what kind of buzz can we expect around the show? Here’s what to look out for at the 65th annual Grammy Awards.

Beyonce and Jay-Z in concert, 'On The Run II Tour', Cologne, Germany - 03 Jul 2018
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Beyoncé

Beyonce making history

Leading the nominations, Beyonce is on the cusp of becoming the most decorated artist in Grammy history.

Already the show’s most awarded woman with 28 wins, if she bags just four of the nine categories she’s nominated in, she’ll break the late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti’s record of 31 Grammys.

Beyonce’s is already tied with husband Jay-Z for the title of most nominated artist of all time.

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Queen Bey‘s game has been strong leading up to the awards, performing her first live gig in four years in Dubai and a two-night event in Los Angeles last month, all promoting her seventh album – Renaissance – which is up for album of the year.

Beyonce will also come up against Adele in the category again this year, with the British star using her acceptance speech for her 2017 album of the year win, to heap praise on Beyonce.

Many – including Adele herself – said the US artist should have taken the prize for her surprise album Lemonade – loved by fans and critics alike. This year’s rematch is likely to make good viewing, as well as fostering plenty of headlines.

As well as album of the year for Renaissance, Beyoncé’s also up for record of the year, song of the year, and best dance/electronic recording for Break My Soul, best dance/electronic music album, best R&B performance for Virgo’s Groove, best traditional R&B performance for Plastic Off The Sofa, best R&B song for Cuff It, and best song written for visual media for Be Alive (from King Richard).

Harry Styles
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Harry Styles

British stars winning big

British stars Harry Styles and Adele are among the frontrunners for the awards and shortlisted against Beyonce in three of the ceremony’s biggest prizes – album of the year (see above), song of the year, and record of the year.

After a spell away from the spotlight, Adele burst back onto the scene in 2021 with her fourth album 30, topping both the UK and US charts.

The 41-year-old powerhouse is also nominated for best pop solo performance for break-up ballad Easy On Me, best pop vocal album, best music video, and best music film, for Adele: One Night Only – which marked the singer’s comeback with an interview by Oprah Winfrey and a concert performance at the Griffith Observatory.

Styles has six Grammy nominations, following a standout year which saw him topping the charts with his third album Harry’s House and shortlisted for the prestigious Mercury Prize award.

Aside from his musical prowess, he also appeared in two movies, Don’t Worry Darling and My Policeman.

In addition to the three big prizes of the night, Styles is also up for best pop solo performance, best pop vocal album and best music video. His pop rock fan pleaser As It Was is tipped to nab at least one prize.

Upcoming British indie rock duo Wet Leg – who count Iggy Pop and Barack Obama among their fans – also scored three nominations, including prestigious, best new artist.

Veteran rock band Coldplay are up for three awards, album of the year, best pop vocal album and best pop duo / group performance.

FILE - Kendrick Lamar performs at the Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, on June 26, 2022. Lamar was nominated for eight Grammy Awards on Tuesday. The 2023 Grammy Awards will air live Sunday, Feb. 5. (AP Photo/Scott Garfitt, File)
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Kendrick Lamar performing at Glastonbury

Kendrick Lamar taking centre stage

Rapper Kendrick Lamar is the second front-runner in the nominations stakes after Beyonce, up for eight awards.

The 35-year-old will come up against heavyweights Beyonce, Styles, Adele and Lizzo in the album of the year, song of the year, and record of the year categories.

Headlining at Glastonbury last year, he earned rave reviews and was labelled one of the most gifted rappers of his generation.

But while he has 14 Grammy wins to his name, he’s been snubbed for album of the year three times. He’ll be hoping his fifth album could break the pattern, but he’s clearly got stiff competition – particularly in the form of Grammy Queen Beyoncé.

Likely to win best rap performance for The Heart Part 5 (he’s racked up five wins in this category over the last eight years), Lamar’s also up for best melodic rap performance for Die Hard, best rap song, best rap album for Mr Morale & The Big Steppers and best music video.

Davis was the first black actor to achieve the triple crown of acting
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Viola Davis

Big name presenters and live performances

As well as some of the biggest stars of the music world, there’s also a diverse line-up of famous faces dishing out the awards.

James Corden, Cardi B and US first lady Jill Biden are among the presenters, with comedian Trevor Noah on hosting duties for the star-studded night.

Hollywood stars Viola Davis, Dwayne Johnson and Billy Crystal will also present awards as well as five-time Grammy winner Shania Twain and three-time winner Olivia Rodrigo.

Davis is also nominated in the best audiobook, narration, and storytelling recording category for her recent memoir Finding Me, while Crystal is among the best musical theatre album nominees alongside the cast of the stage musical Mr Saturday Night.

Confirmed live performances on the night include Harry Styles, Lizzo, Sam Smith and Kim Petras, Bad Bunny, Mary J Blige, Brandi Carlile, Luke Combs and Steve Lacy.

There will also be a special celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop’s beginnings featuring some of the genres biggest names and co-curated by Roots musician Questlove.

The 2022 Grammy Awards have been postponed due to rising numbers of COVID cases in the US. Pic: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

New categories

This year, in a bid to branch out, the Grammys have introduced five new categories – taking prizes given out on the night to a whopping 91.

Songwriters will get their own standalone category – songwriter of the year – and alternative and Americana music will also be celebrated with two new awards.

Post-pandemic, with the video game market booming and forecast to be worth $219bn (£180bn) by 2024, a brand-new category has been introduced to reflect the success of gaming and gaming-related music – best score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media.

And songs that do good will get a nod in the new special merit award – best song for social change – based on lyrical content that addresses a timely social issue.

Meanwhile best new age album has been expanded to best new age, ambient or chant, and the classical and musical theatre fields have also been opened up to make more musical creatives eligible to win a Grammy.

Main category nominees:

Album Of The Year

Voyage – ABBA

30 – Adele

Un Verano Sin Ti – Bad Bunny

Renaissance – Beyonce

Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe) – Mary J Blige

In These Silent Days – Brandi Carlile

Music of the Spheres – Coldplay

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers – Kendrick Lamar

Special – Lizzo

Harry’s House – Harry Styles

Record Of The Year

Don’t Shut Me Down – ABBA

Easy on Me – Adele

Break My Soul – Beyoncé

Good Morning Gorgeous – Mary J. Blige

You and Me On The Rock – Brandi Carlile featuring Lucius

Woman – Doja Cat

Bad Habit – Steve Lacy

The Heart Part 5 – Kendrick Lamar

About Damn Time – Lizzo

As It Was – Harry Styles

Song Of The Year (songwriter’s award)

abcdefu – Sara Davis, GAYLE and Dave Pittenger

About Damn Time – Lizzo, Eric Frederic, Blake Slatkin and Theron Makiel Thomas

All Too Well (10 Minute Version – The Short Film) – Liz Rose and Taylor Swift

As It Was – Tyler Johnson, Kid Harpoon and Harry Styles

Bad Habit – Matthew Castellanos, Brittany Foushee, Diana Gordon, John Carroll Kirby and Steve Lacy

Break My Soul – Beyonce, S Carter, Terius The Dream Gesteelde-Diamant and Christopher A Stewart

Easy On Me – Adele Adkins and Greg Kurstin

God Did – Tarik Azzouz, E Blackmon, Khaled Khaled, F LeBlanc, Jay-Z, John Stephens, Dwayne Carter, William Roberts and Nicholas Warwar

The Heart Part 5 – Jake Kosich, Johnny Kosich, Kendrick Lamar and Matt Schaeffer

Just Like That – Bonnie Raitt

Best New Artist

Anitta

Omar Apollo

DOMi & JD Beck

Muni Long

Samara Joy

Latto

Måneskin

Tobe Nwigwe

Molly Tuttle

Wet Leg

Songwriter Of The Year

Amy Allen

Nija Charles

Tobia Jesso Jr

The-Dream

Laura Veltz

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Bridgerton creator Shonda Rhimes reacts to claims of ‘woke’ casting – and why she’s considering moving to the UK

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Bridgerton creator Shonda Rhimes reacts to claims of 'woke' casting - and why she's considering moving to the UK

Bridgerton creator Shonda Rhimes says filming the drama and its spin-off Queen Charlotte in England has prompted her to consider relocating to the UK.

The US producer, who is behind some of the most popular TV dramas of the past two decades, told Sky News working in Britain had been a “really welcoming experience”, adding: “I’ve been spending a little bit more time over here and I’m going to try to spend even more if I can swap my kids into a British school.

“I’m trying to figure that part out, but I do really love being here and it’s always been such a great experience.”

Rege-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor as Simon Basset and Daphne Bridgerton in Bridgerton. Pic: Netflix
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Rege-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor as Simon Basset and Daphne Bridgerton in Bridgerton. Pic: Netflix

Rhimes’ vast contribution to television has been recognised at this year’s Edinburgh TV festival, where she was given its inaugural fellowship award for the global impact of her shows.

Her first huge hit was Grey’s Anatomy. The medical drama, which began in 2005, is now in its 22nd season.

Shonda Rhimes created Grey's Anatomy. Pic: ABC/Kobal/Shutterstock
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Shonda Rhimes created Grey’s Anatomy. Pic: ABC/Kobal/Shutterstock

But finding an abandoned novel in a hotel room would motivate her to write Bridgerton, the drama that has become the biggest show on Netflix.

While its steamier scenes are often what garner most attention, she says after reading the books, she came to see it as a “workplace drama”.

More on Bridgerton

“These are women in their workplace because, in a world in which they have no power, they have no ability to do anything else; their only value is who they marry and their only worth is focused into that,” she adds.

‘Bizarre’ criticism

Rhimes says she is thinking about moving to the UK
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Rhimes says she is thinking about moving to the UK

Rhimes agrees there is something inherently condescending about the way critics use terms like “guilty pleasure” to describe her dramas.

“There are certain people for whom the world of women will never be considered as serious or as complex or as interesting as the world of men,” she says.

Rhimes says she finds some of the reaction to her decision to reflect a diverse range of actors in Bridgerton’s cast “bizarre” after critics accused the show’s makers of “pandering to woke culture”.

Bridgerton has been one of Netflix's most popular shows. Pic: Netflix
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Bridgerton has been one of Netflix’s most popular shows. Pic: Netflix

She said: “The idea that I am writing the show looking like I look, that it wouldn’t occur to me that there should be more people in the show who look like me, I feel like that’s an obvious point. Why would I write something that doesn’t include me in any way?”

Given the thousands of episodes of drama she’s written over the years, she’s all too aware that it’s likely artificial intelligence is probably being used to scrape her scripts.

“There’s a danger of AI learning from my episodes, maybe it will learn to be better at what it does, but, most importantly, I don’t think that there’s any substitute for that germ of creativity that comes from a human imagination, I really don’t.”

As for what she enjoys watching on TV, her eyes light up when I mention having heard she’s a massive fan of a certain British sci-fi classic.

Read more on Sky News:
Dr Who star loses libel case
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YouTuber a big player in football

“Oh my God, I’ve loved Doctor Who forever! Forever!” she says, describing writer Russell T Davies’ work as “amazing”.

She adds: “For a while, people were like ‘what’s wrong with you?’ because they didn’t know the show. I fell in love with the David Tennant years, and I haven’t been able to let it go because of the writing.”

I ask if she’s ever considered a crossover episode.

She laughs: “I don’t know if there’s a Bridgerton meets Doctor Who…, but I would work with Russell at any time.”

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Lil Nas X: Rapper arrested and taken to hospital after wandering LA street in underwear

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Lil Nas X: Rapper arrested and taken to hospital after wandering LA street in underwear

US rapper Lil Nas X has been arrested and taken to hospital after being found walking in his underwear on a Los Angeles street and allegedly charging at officers and punching one.

Police said in a statement that officers responded shortly before 6am on Thursday (2pm UK time) following reports of a naked man, according to Sky’s US partner NBC News.

The LA force said that as officers went to the 11000 block of Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, the man rushed towards them.

“He was transported to a local hospital for a possible overdose and placed under arrest for battery on a police officer,” police said.

A law enforcement source confirmed to NBC News that the suspect was Montero Lamar Hill, also known as Lil Nas X.

The Old Town Road rapper punched an officer twice in the face during the encounter, according to the NBC source.

Officers were unsure whether he was on any substances or in mental distress, the source said.

More from Ents & Arts

A representative for Hill did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

NBC News cited TMZ footage where Hill was seen walking down the middle of Ventura Boulevard at 4am on Thursday in a pair of white briefs and cowboy boots.

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In the videos, Hill tells a driver to “come to the party” in one clip and in another tells the person, “Didn’t I tell you to put the phone down?”

“Uh oh, someone’s going to have to pay for that,” Hill says as he continues to walk away.

In some clips, Hill struts as if he’s on a catwalk, posing for onlookers, and at one point he places an orange traffic cone on his head.

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Noel Clarke loses libel case against Guardian publisher over sexual misconduct allegations

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Noel Clarke loses libel case against Guardian publisher over sexual misconduct allegations

Actor Noel Clarke has lost his High Court libel case against the publisher of The Guardian, over a series of news articles which featured claims from a number of women.

The first article, published in April 2021, said some 20 women who knew Clarke in a professional capacity had come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct.

The 49-year-old actor, writer and director, best known for his 2006 film Kidulthood and starring in Doctor Who, sued the publisher and vehemently denied “any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing” – but the court has found Guardian News and Media (GNM) successfully defended the legal action on the grounds of truth and public interest.

Noel Clarke outside court during the trial in April. Pic: PA
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Noel Clarke outside court during the trial in April. Pic: PA

The meanings of all eight of the newspaper’s publications were found to be “substantially true”, the judge, Mrs Justice Steyn, said in a summary of the findings.

“I have accepted some of Mr Clarke’s evidence… but overall I find that he was not a credible or reliable witness,” she said.

In her ruling, the judge also said suggestions that more than 20 witnesses, “none of whom are parties or have a stake in this case, as [Clarke] does” had come to court to lie was “inherently implausible”.

From the evidence heard, it was “clear that women have been speaking about their experiences of working with Mr Clarke for many years”, she said.

‘A deserved victory for women who suffered’

Lucy Osborne and Sirin Kale, the journalists who carried out the investigation, told Sky News they had always been confident in everything published.

“I think that this is not a problem that’s going to go away,” said Osborne. “This kind of behaviour very much still happens in the TV and film industry and other industries. So I do hope this judgment gives other women the confidence to speak out about what they’ve experienced.”

Clarke rose to fame with his 2006 film Kidulthood. Pic: PA
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Clarke rose to fame with his 2006 film Kidulthood. Pic: PA

Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner described the ruling as “a deserved victory for those women who suffered because of the behaviour of Noel Clarke”.

She continued: “Going to court is difficult and stressful, yet more than 20 women agreed to testify in the High Court, refusing to be bullied or intimidated.

“This is also a landmark judgment for Guardian journalism, and for investigative journalism in Britain… The judgment is clear that our investigation was thorough and fair, a template for public interest journalism.”

Clarke’s response

Clarke described the result as disappointing and maintained he believes the newspaper’s reporting was “inaccurate and damaging”.

“I have never claimed to be perfect,” he said. “But I am not the person described in these articles. Overnight I lost everything.”

He said he wanted to thank witnesses who supported his case, as well as his family, “who never stopped believing there was something worth fighting for”.

What happened during the trial?

The trial took place from early March to early April 2025, hearing evidence from multiple witnesses who made accusations against Clarke, including that he had allegedly shared nude photographs of them without their consent, groped them, and asked them to look at him when he was exposed.

Clarke also gave evidence over several days. At one stage, the actor appeared visibly emotional as he claimed the publisher had “smashed my life” with its investigation.

His lawyer told the court he had been made a “scapegoat” and was an “easy target”, as a star at the height of his success when the media industry “zealously sought to correct itself” following the #MeToo movement.

The actor had been handed the outstanding British contribution to cinema award at the BAFTAs just a few weeks before the report was published. Following the article, BAFTA announced it had suspended his membership.

But lawyers for The Guardian told how newspaper’s investigation was “careful and thorough”, saying it had been carried out “conscientiously” by the journalists involved.

In March 2022, police said the actor would not face a criminal investigation over the allegations.

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