Inside Universal Music Group’s Exclusive Artist Showcase With Maggie Rogers, Billie Eilish & More
Universal Music Group's annual Grammy week brunch and showcase (Saturday, Jan. 25) felt like a family gathering of sorts — with executives and artists joining together to celebrate one another's biggest accomplishments of the past year. Prior to the string of performances fromMaggie Rogers,DaBaby,Billie Eilishand more, UMG's chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge said: "[We have the] greatest lineup of talent our industry has to offer," and also pointed out the many stars in the audience fromLana Del Rey toMandy Moore to the Beastie Boys' Adam Horovitz. Also in attendance at West Hollywood's Milk Studios: Island Records' founder, Chris Blackwell, Scott Borchetta, John Janick, Jacquelyn Saturn and more.
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In his opening remarks, Grainge said that while UMG is celebrating its incredible success in music, the event would also preview how the music group is actively branching into the audio-visual space as well, including an upcomingBeastie Boys documentary, a restored Let It Be sessions documentary and the new upcoming television series Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist . Following his speech, a hype reel played that showed how UMG is also "enriching lives across the globe" with various programs in the U.K., Australia, India and elsewhere.
The 10 performances proved as much, as artists from Nigeria (Tiwa Savage) to Columbia (Karol G) repped for their home countries. Also on the bill, the U.K. bornLewis Capaldiintroduced "Someone You Loved" by saying that he was a one-hit wonder, "and this is that hit." Elsewhere, a fresh crop of artists such as South African rapper Nasty C, Big Machine Label Group's Riley Green, and former Hamilton star Anthony Ramos made a compelling claim for why they are worth keeping an eye on in 2020.
Blue Note's Gregory Porter briefly turned the space into a jazz club with his "Revival Song," which included three backing vocalists and a four-piece horn section; Maggie Rogers transformed the room into a rock venue for her rallying hit "Light On" and newest single "Love You For a Long Time;" and DaBaby revived his recent Saturday Night Live set while winding his way through the tables for "Suge" and dancing along to "Bop" before ending with a strong statement: "I'm the hottest artist in the world — let's bring these mother fucking Grammys back to UMG."
The closing set from Billie Eilish was far more subdued, featuring only herself and Finneas for acoustic renditions of "All The Good Girls Go To Hell" and her Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, "Bad Guy." And while she easily could have made a similar claim as DaBaby's, she instead laughed off her standing ovation before retreating behind the curtain. As she youngest artist ever nominated in all four major Grammy categories, she has a big day — and career — ahead.
Stay tuned for Billboard.com's complete coverage of the 2020 Grammys, including our live Grammys pre-show that begins on Sunday (Jan. 26) at 5:30PM ET.
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