By Mark Kennedy, Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The Grammy Awards have changed the name of their best world music album category to the best global music album, an attempt to find "a more relevant, modern and inclusive term."
The Recording Academy said in a statement that the new name "symbolizes a departure from the connotations of colonialism, folk and 'non-American' that the former term embodied."
"As we continue to embrace a truly global mindset, we update our language to reflect a more appropriate categorization that seeks to engage and celebrate the current scope of music from around the world," the statement said.
The step comes some five months after the Academy made changes to several Grammy Awards categories, including renaming the best urban contemporary album category to best progressive R&B album.
It also follows a similar recent step made by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which changed the name of its best foreign language film Oscar to best international feature film.
In the last few years, the winners of the now-global music album category include Angelique Kidjo's "Celia," Soweto Gospel Choir's "Freedom" and Ladysmith Black Mambazo's "Shaka Zulu Revisited."
The Academy said the newly named category "will continue to provide a home for influential music from all parts of the globe yet bringing with it a fresh perspective fueled by authenticity, diversity and direct inclusion into our process."
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More