2025 GRAMMYs To Take Place Sunday, Feb. 2, Live In Los Angeles; GRAMMY Awards Nominations To Be Announced Friday, Nov. 8, 2024 | GRAMMY.com (2024)

Music's Biggest Night is back! The 2025 GRAMMYs will take place Sunday, Feb. 2, live at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, the Recording Academy announced today. The 2025 GRAMMYs will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on demand on Paramount+. As well, nominations for the 2025 GRAMMYs will be announced Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. See the full list of key dates and deadlines for the 2025 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards, below.

Key dates for the 2025 GRAMMY Awards season are as follows:

Sept. 16, 2023 – Aug. 30, 2024
Product Eligibility Period
The period by which recordings are submitted for GRAMMY consideration. All releases must be available for sale, via general distribution, to the public by this date and through at least the date of the current year’s voting deadline (final ballot) to be eligible for the 2025 GRAMMY Awards.

July 8, 2024 – Aug. 23, 2024
Media Company Registration Period
Media companies must apply for registration with the Recording Academy to submit recordings.

July 17, 2024 – Aug. 30, 2024
Online Entry Period
All eligible recordings must be entered prior to the close of the Online Entry Period, regardless of the public release date.

Oct. 4, 2024 – Oct. 15, 2024
First Round Voting
First Round Voting determines all the GRAMMY nominees for each GRAMMY Awards year.

Nov. 8, 2024
Nominees Announced for the 2025 GRAMMY Awards
Announcing the official nominees list for the 2025 GRAMMYs.

Dec. 12, 2024 – Jan. 3, 2025
Final Round Voting
Determines the GRAMMY winners across all categories revealed on GRAMMY night.

Feb. 2, 2025
2025 GRAMMY Awards
Music's Biggest Night, recognizing excellence in the recording arts and sciences.

This February, the 2024 GRAMMYs proved to be an epic, history-making night. Women dominated the 2024 GRAMMYs: For the second time in four years, women won in the majority of the General Field Categories, winning Album Of The Year (Taylor Swift), Song Of The Year (Billie Eilish), Record Of The Year (Miley Cyrus), and Best New Artist (Victoria Monét). Elsewhere, Taylor Swift broke the all-time record for most GRAMMY wins in the Album Of The Year Category after winning for Midnights. Tyla won the first-ever GRAMMY Award for Best African Music Performance, one of three new GRAMMY Categories that debuted this year.

The 2024 GRAMMYs also celebrated the return of music legends, including Tracy Chapman, Joni Mitchell and Celine Dion, and ushered in new music icons-in-the-making like Victoria Monét, Samara Joy and Tyla. Relive some of the must-see moments and memorable, heartwarming acceptance speeches from the 2024 GRAMMYs. And rewatch all of the performances and key highlights from the 2024 GRAMMYs all year long on Live.GRAMMY.com.

Learn more about the upcoming 2025 GRAMMY Awards season and the annual GRAMMY Awards process.

Today, the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum announced a total of 215 music teachers as quarterfinalists for the 2025 Music Educator Award. This prestigious award is given to current educators—from kindergarten through college in both public and private schools—who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who advocate for the ongoing inclusion of music education in schools. This year’s quarterfinalists hail from 202 cities and were chosen from more than 2,400 initial nominations. Additionally, 159 legacy applicants from 2024 are also eligible for this year’s award.

Semi-finalists for the 2025 Music Educator Award will be announced later this year. The ultimate recipient will be celebrated during GRAMMY Week 2025.

A collaborative effort between the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum, the Music Educator Award invites nominations from students, parents, friends, colleagues, community members, school deans, and administrators. Teachers may also nominate themselves, and those nominated are invited to complete a more detailed application.

Each year, one recipient is selected from among 10 finalists and recognized for their profound impact on students' lives. The 11th annual honoree will be flown to Los Angeles to attend the 67th GRAMMY Awards and participate in various GRAMMY Week events. The nine other finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists will receive matching grants. Additionally, fifteen semi-finalists will be awarded a $500 honorarium with matching school grants.

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The Music Educator Award program, including the honorariums and matching school grants, is supported by the Chuck Lorre Family Foundation this year. Additional backing comes from the American Choral Directors Association, National Association for Music Education, NAMM Foundation, and National Education Association, which support the program through outreach to their members.

Learn more about the Music Educator Award and see the full list of the 2025 Music Educator Award quarterfinalists and legacy applicants below:

QUARTERFINALISTS

LEGACY APPLICANTS

Over the past five years, Dylan Minnette, Cole Preston and Braedan Lemasters — together, known as alternative rock band Wallows — have acutely constructed a sonic landscape of earworm guitar hooks, snappy drums and sing-along lyrics. And their third album, Model, helps lift their career into a new sphere of guitar-driven stardom.

Wallows' growth from the indie-pop breakouts of 2019's Clairo-assisted "Are You Bored Yet?" to full-fledged alt-rock stars is abundantly clear across Model's 12 tracks. Produced by GRAMMY-winning alt-rock whisperer John Congleton (who also helmed Wallows' 2019 debut album, Nothing Happens), Model amps up their vintage-meets-contemporary sound. It's an album that sounds perfectly written for arenas — and that's by design.

On The Model World Tour, which kicks off on Aug. 6, the trio will hit arenas and amphitheaters in North America, Europe and the UK, and Australia and New Zealand, including iconic venues like Madison Square Garden, Red Rocks and The Forum. With the tour in mind, they wrote wavy melodies fit for the masses to sing along, like on the racing "Your Apartment" or the howling chorus of "You (Show Me Where My Days Went)."

If the polished sound of Model sounds like the work of a band who has sharpened their talents for decades, that's because it is. Though they made their official introduction as Wallows with the 2018 EP Spring, Minnette, Preston and Lemasters — all in their late 20s — have been performing together since they were just 11 years old.

As Preston asserts, their longtime partnership has resulted in "this kind of synergy happening." It's seemingly helped them become more vulnerable, too, as Model sees the Wallows guys singing overtly about love for the first time, like on lead single "Calling After Me": "I knew the feeling would be forming/ After I took a look into your eyes/ But are you ready for it, darling?"

In celebration of the release of Model, Minnette, Lemasters and Preston mused to GRAMMY.com about their creative journey, why they recently became the unlikely scorn of Sabrina Carpenter fans, and how they're "filling a space" in mainstream alt rock.

You're about to embark on an arena tour, playing venues like Madison Square Garden and The Forum for the very first time. Does this feel like a new phase in your evolution as a band?

Braeden Lemasters: Yeah, I think it does. When we started the band seven years ago, when I look back it's been a very natural progression; it's not like we went straight from 200 capacity clubs to arenas.

We've gone through the stages and right growth, and now we're entering this uncharted territory. We actually haven't even opened up at these venues for anyone, so it'll be our first time playing an arena. We have no idea what to expect.

Model as an album sounds bigger than your past ones, especially songs like "Anytime, Always" which may sonically fit right in at an arena with its sing-along hook. Did you have the arena tour in mind when you were working on Model?

Cole Preston: Yeah, this record was the first time we did know the tour routing [during the album process]. It didn't necessarily change the way that we worked; we always adapted a similar approach to writing where we naturally want it to be catchy and full, which all lends itself to the live show. But understanding that we're going to have this level of a moment, we'd need to make a record that represents that moment that belongs there.

You guys are an alternative rock three-piece, which is rare in today's musical climate. Does it seem that way to you?

Dylan Minette: Yeah, I definitely feel like there's a space where we're sort of filling [with] the way our music is and sounds. There's other bands that are playing the same rooms and can, but all of us feel pretty different from one another.

Our music is very unabashed, and there's nothing we're trying to subdue or be cool, or worry about it sounding too pop. I'm not saying we're the only ones doing that, because that's obviously not true. But our favorite bands growing up — like Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire or The Killers — weren't afraid to go for it and let the music be larger than life. There used to be a lot more bands that just dominated and went for it, so we try to make sure we're filling that space that isn't really being filled right now.

Were you guys always interested in this genre? I would think for the majority of people from your generation, the inclination would be to do bedroom pop or electronic music, and not to start a band.

Lemasters: The interest for me stems from my dad, who was a guitar player in Ohio local bands. I alway thought it was so normal; I'd be 5 years old and my dad would be playing a stratocaster around the house and listening to the Beatles. He bought me a guitar when I was really young and taught me how to play, so I've had this connection to these classic bands.

When I met Dylan, we bonded over that, because he also liked that music at a young age. I think it was rare for a kid our age to like that kind of music. Cole was also just a very talented musician at a young age too. So we all loved band music at a young age and wanted to form one; there was no other reason than that. We didn't have to search out our passion for it. It was already there.

Speaking of, I've loved your distinctive covers, from "My Worst Enemy" by Lit (which you put a melancholy look at it) to "Espresso" just recently. What's the key to a solid cover and how do you decide what songs to put your spin on it?

Minette: We definitely don't have songs in our pocket. We always try to do something unexpected or unconventional to get people talking about it, otherwise what's the point?

Cole recommended "Espresso," which I hadn't heard at the time — but if he's saying this new, popular song is good, I trust him. When I listened to it, I thought it'd be great, and when we worked on the first version it had a drum machine and was funkier. When we stripped it back and it became more emo, it was hilarious.

Though there are some Sabrina Carpenter fans who are really mad I attempted to sing that song. "You could never be Sabrina!" I'm like, "I know I can never be Sabrina!" But you know what? She texted me recently and gave the seal of approval. That's all we needed.

Since you've all been playing together in some capacity since you were 11, what's kept you together all these years?

Preston: When we were young, our brains were super mushy and we all had a big influence on each other as people. We're all very different now as people in a lot of ways, but we all know each other enough to predict how someone will feel or react about something.

So there's this kind of synergy happening because, since we were 11, we were practicing every day and performing original music, and we just didn't stop. By the time we became Wallows officially, we had been a band for seven or eight years at that point.

Speaking of, I know you recently connected with the person who indirectly inspired your name? What's the story behind that?

Minette: So Wallows was named after a skate spot in Hawaii on Oahu, which we first heard about from the video game Tony Hawk's Underground where it was part of the Hawaii map. Braeden played it growing up and at a certain point he said it'd be a cool album title. Eventually, when we were thinking of band names, we realized Wallows would be a great name.

Last week, we were on "The Today Show" and they said "We have a surprise for you!" And it was a message from Tony Hawk, which was so full circle. To go from being kids with all ambitions and dreams, and now Tony Hawk is surprising us — it was crazy. If our 13-year-old selves were experiencing this, that'd be insane.

Model was produced by John Congleton, who was also behind your first album. What brought you together again for this third record?

Lemasters: When we first started making music, we worked with John; he made some St. Vincent records and we really respected his work. We were just naive enough to be so excited to go with him and we didn't meet anybody else at the time. He did our first EP and first album. There's something really special about that connection and bond you make, that first time.

For our second album, we worked with Ariel Rechtshaid, which was incredible and who we always wanted to work with. When we decided to work on Model, we didn't know who to go with, but we went in with Congleton again to record some demos for no project at all. We asked him what he pictured for us regarding a new album, and everything he said is exactly how we were feeling.

I also always admired an artist working with a producer multiple times, like Nigel Godrich with Radiohead or George Martin with the Beatles; there's a camaraderie where you always know where you've been. So it was a no-brainer to go with John again for Model. I think it's our best work yet, and best production yet, and that's largely because of his passion for the project.

What's the most gratifying part of the musical process as an artist: writing and producing, or going out and performing them on tour?

Lemasters: It's such a hard question, but my answer would be it's whatever process you're currently experiencing. Writing and recording is so exciting, but going on tour and seeing people sing the songs is the most rewarding thing. I know that's the most cop-out answer.

Does it change over time?

Minette: Exactly. It's a cycle, when you're on tour you're thinking, "I can't wait to go back into the studio" by the end for sure. I'm interested to see what happens when time slows down to step away from both and take a step back. I don't think we're near that, but I'm already thinking ahead to the next album, and we haven't even toured this album yet!

Right now, I'm more excited for this tour than ever, but I'm also more nervous. It all adds to the excitement and intrigue of it.

For years, Jasmine Cephas Jones never saw herself as a recording artist.

As a teen, she attended multiple meetings with producers, but nothing felt authentic. In her twenties, she went the Broadway route, securing the dual role of Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds in the original cast of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton. And even after she created her debut EP, Blue Bird, in 2020, Cephas Jones' future was still uncertain; the pandemic happened, and a string of hard moments left her wondering what would be next — and what would become of her music.

Even so, her creativity was booming. She wrote and recorded an entire album's worth of music alongside seven trusty collaborators, including Blue Bird producer Zach Golden and Samora Pinderhughes, who co-wrote a track on Blue Bird and produced Phoenix. Nearly four years later, that project finally gets to see the light of day: her debut album, fittingly titled Phoenix.

The 13-track LP started as a story of romance. But as Cephas Jones sat with the songs, she discovered her most fulfilling relationships were found in her family, friends, collaborations, and artwork, offering an entirely new meaning of connection and perseverance. As a result, Phoenix is a patchwork of her life, and every formative moment in her musical upbringing: It's her mother's love of Stevie Wonder's witty lyricism on "Bad Habits," her father's penchant for Prince's genre-bending production on "Fade in the Water," and her years of opera training on "Cali." As Cephas Jones puts it, it "just sounds like me."

Before Phoenix arrived on May 30, Jasmine Cephas Jones sat down with GRAMMY.com to discuss how she grew from the bluebird into the phoenix, and to revisit the moments throughout her career that cultivated into her first full-length studio album.

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What does the title, Phoenix, mean to you?

I wrote this album about three and a half years ago. I rented out an Airbnb, and seven of us worked on it. We made two studios in two different rooms. I remember telling everyone that I wanted a transformation in my sound.

As an artist, everyone goes, "Well, who do you sound like?" Or, "What genre are you?" Musically, I'm just trying to sound like me.

My first EP, Blue Bird, was very melancholy. It has that blue color feeling to it. But with [Phoenix], I wanted it to have a lot of confidence. That was the only thing I said. The music could be love or breakup songs. We can write whatever it is that moves us, but it has to have some confidence in it.

Towards the end of that week-long writing group, I was like, "Wow, I really changed musically." This sounds like it has my stamp on it, but it's like a level up. That's initially why I did it.

Life happened. I went through a lot of really hard moments, and the album shifted. It became a metaphor for what was going on. For a long time, I didn't know how I was going to put out Phoenix since everything changed. I didn't know what the story would be, but in reality, it was all right there in front of me. I'm a person going through a difficult time and coming out stronger. Someone who has grown and learned.

How would you say that growth is represented throughout this album — is it in the songwriting? The visuals?

All of it! It's almost like Shakespeare, where everything is written for you. You know, you don't have to do much with Shakespeare.

I was trying to find answers to how the music represented me for so many years. Like I said, I wrote it three years ago. What am I doing putting it out when I am a completely different person?

I knew it was the album I've always wanted to make. And honestly, now, some of the songs hit harder or mean something else. It strikes a different chord, but that is what makes music so beautiful. If it's done in the right way, with emotion and passion, it's the type of album you can listen to, no matter what decade you're in. It'll still move you, make you dance, make you cry. I'm excited to perform it and have it out because it's going to be such a great release for me.

A tour, maybe?

Yeah, yeah. In the future for sure.

When you listen to it, it's really important that you hear these incredible musicians. Samora Pinderhughes really goes in on a lot of these tracks. Beautiful outros. We've got horns on some of them.

It's an album that feels alive. I remember thinking how much I would enjoy performing it with the live instruments and a full band. That's what excites me as an artist.

The lead single, "Brighter," features Kevin Garrett. How did that come about? And why did you think that track would be the perfect song to lead the new era?

Kevin was a part of the writing camp that was there for seven days, and "Brighter" was one of my favorite songs off that album. I wanted to create a super funky beat. I got this rimshot that reminds me of some track on D'Angelo's Voodoo. It's got this kind of classic, in-the-pocket, fun moment to it. Musically, aesthetically, it was one of the songs that made my neck pop every time I would listen to it. I wanted to start the era with something that brought me so much joy.

In the music video, I'm on a horse. Then, people's flip phones blow up, and I leave the party. Eventually, I turned into a phoenix. The party represents my old life — I left to come to Los Angeles. Running into the streets and turning into a phoenix is the journey of healing and growth.

Stylistically, the music video for "Brighter" is very similar to your other single, "Baby I Can't Give You Up." Is there a connection between those two songs? Are the women in those music videos the same character?

"Baby I Can't Give You Up" is a love story, but it changed for me.

Listen, you can hear the songs and interpret them any way you want. That's what it's for. But in a music video, you see what it meant to me at that moment. Yes, it did start as a love song, but then it became a love letter to my family and friends.

I'm walking around London, which is where I was born. I'm half English, and a lot of my family lives there. I'm reminiscing through the hard times and who was there for me. Who poured me with so much love. At the end, there's a beautiful montage of my father, who passed away last year. Then, I hop on the train to my next journey.

You could say it's the same character, but she represents all the different points in my life.

Though this album is described as neo-soul and R&B, I hear influences of jazz, country, and more. How did you develop this unique fusion of genres?

I listen to so many different types of music. If you look at my saved songs on Spotify, it's Beyoncé, Solange, Radiohead, Enya, Stevie Wonder, and Prince. It's never-ending.

How I write my music… I don't really come up with a melody or lyrics first. I like to start from the beginning and be there throughout the whole process. So, I listen to the sound first, whatever it is that starts — a piano line, bassline, trumpets, or guitar. We come up with that, then the music. And that could be anything. Maybe, a chord strikes me. Like, Oh my god, I love that. Stay there.

I remember when I was 10, listening to Voodoo on my Walkman while I rode the school bus. People would be like, "What are you listening to?" It's D'Angelo. No one knew who that was because we were so young. I've always taken a different path when it comes to music. Again, it goes back to me trying to find my sound and what I like. That's really important to me.

I have so much respect for music and musicians. That's why Prince is one of my favorite artists because he might be listed under R&B or pop, but we know he's more than that. He's his own genre. That's how I looked at this album — we didn't have to fit into any box.

That was the beautiful thing about that writing camp was because we were like, "Whatever comes out, just let it come out." If I like it, I like it. If I don't, I don't, and we can move on or try to work with it. But I'm not trying to put anyone into a box. It's one of my favorite ways to write. I don't know how I'll go back to a regular day of writing in the studio.

I recommend [any artist] to go somewhere, get up early in the morning, and write until like 2 or 3 a.m. Then, you do it again. It was so fulfilling to go back and forth between those two rooms. You're just leaning on each other. That journey to getting to where it is now was awesome.

How does 10-year-old Jasmine discover D'Angelo?

My parents! My mom is a jazz singer. My dad was a jazz aficionado. I grew up around a lot of musicians in my life. I was in theater because my dad was an actor, and I would go to my mom's gigs. I found out a lot through my parents.

I also always listened to the radio. So, I would still know what's going on as a kid, but my mom had the dopest music setup in her house. She had shells and shells of records, cassette tapes, and CDs. And she had a piano with these speakers from the '80s that were amazing. She had headphones you could plug into them, so I would come home every day, do my homework, and sit in that corner for hours, going through her collection.

I went to performing arts school starting in middle school. I remember trying to figure out what to use as my audition song, and I found Stevie's Innervisions. At 11, I decided that "Living for the City" would be my audition song. I used that in middle school, at LaGuardia High School for vocal, and for the Berklee College of Music. And I got into all of them. All of that happened because I just saw and discovered on my own, which I thought was really cool.

In middle school, I sang Ella Fitzgerald's scat song, "Rockin' in Rhythm," and I remember the music teacher being like, "Wait, what? Where did you learn this?" I've always been an oddball, or whatever you want to call it. I just had a love for great music. So, when it comes to my music, I want to put out everything I've been influenced by. That's why some of the songs go on longer than usual. They'll have these amazing transitions, kind of like or Prince, and that brings me joy.

You've experimented with so many different lanes, from musical theater to opera. But did you always want to try songwriting?

I didn't consider myself a songwriter for a long time because I didn't do it. As a teenager, I met with a couple of producers, and they'd always ask, "Who do you want to sound like?" It was more their project, so they wanted me to sound a certain way. Because of that, it didn't speak to me.

It wasn't until I was with Samora [that I had the freedom to express my ideas]. We wrote this song "Wild Thing" that is on my EP, Blue Bird. If I'm trying to fit somebody else's box, I'm not going to be able to write. But Samora taught me that I do have melodies and ideas for basslines — and I do have a lot to say.

Did that level of trust also introduce you to producing?

One of my favorite things to do after I finish the melodies and songwriting is sit with the producer. We go through everything.

"Cali" started with my idea for a bassline and a horn section. So, I sat with my producer and gave them ideas and my input. If I can be there. I want to see it all through.

Does your vocal performance differ when you're auditioning and acting as a character versus your original music?

In musical theater, you're always playing a character. Whoever that character is, you're embodying that and decide what sound comes out of your mouth. On top of that, you're projecting and using your diaphragm differently because a packed theater of 1,300 people has to hear you.

When I sing my music, I get to be more vulnerable. I'm not embodying anyone but myself, so I get to experiment. In a lot of those songs, I go into the stratosphere with my head voice because in high school, I was training to be a coloratura soprano opera singer and learned how to sing crazy high in the clouds, like in my song "Cali."

It's fun to record and explore the different parts of my voice that I wouldn't normally use in a musical theater setting. All the different tones, tambours, and colors in my voice. I get to decide what I can do.

Is there a track on Phoenix that's particularly special to you?

There's an interlude called "Phoenix," and my dad is on it. Before he passed, I randomly asked, "Hey, could you send me a voicemail of what 'phoenix' means to you?" He sent me a three-minute voicemail, and we chopped it up into an interlude. He got to be a part of it, which is so beautiful.

Kate Hudson Is A Singer Now — And She Doesn't Care What You Think

“How it all came about was a miracle,” says Terry Britten, the co-writer and producer of Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do With It.”

The enduring single on Turner's 1984 album Private Dancer, released 40 years ago this month, was the songstress' ultimate emancipating act. It liberated her from the strictures of a music career bound to former husband Ike Turner, and debuted a new, self-possessed persona that highlighted her own rich talents as a solo artist. Decades on, the album remains a searing testament to resilience and the power of raw, honest expression.

Private Dancer, her fifth solo outing, was the beginning of Turner's renaissance and next era. Still, some of its most powerful songs — including “What’s Love” — almost didn’t make the cut. In fact, the song’s woeful quality and halted vocals proved an obstacle for Turner.

“After all this time, I’ve realized what the problem was and why she didn’t like it: because she was so damn vulnerable in it,” Britten tells GRAMMY.com. “She’d never been that vulnerable before in a song.”

Turner had long wrestled with her public image and allowing listeners into her inner world. Despite her success in the '70s and the subsequent 1976 breakdown of her abusive marriage to Ike (which left her penniless), followed by less successful Las Vegas revue shows, Turner was wary of conceding defeat.

Her career revival was largely born after Turner had made a cameo appearance in 1982 on the synth-inspired remake of The Temptations' “Ball of Confusion.” Masterminded by pop band Heaven 17’s Martyn Ware, the song netted Turner a singles deal with Capitol Records. Her next pairing with Ware, a remake of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” was a runaway success, charting at number six in the UK and No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, in late 1983 and early 1984 respectively.

Chart success had eluded Turner for years, so by February 1984 Capitol quickly demanded a full album — with two weeks to deliver it. With Turner already on tour in the UK then, her manager, Roger Davies, raced around London seeking potential tracks. Davies had been old friends with Britten back in Australia, and reached out about available songs.

Co-written with Graham Lyle, Britten's "What’s Love” had been skipped over by British rock singer Cliff Richard. Its rumination on sexual over romantic desire awaited a new voice.

Turner's powerhouse vocals gave the track the justice it so called for. Just as her vocal prowess was put on display, "What's Love" also underscored Turner's ability to bring both fragility and sultriness to a song. The combination would soon propel Turner to worldwide domination.

In the studio, Britten leaned on Turner’s dancing background to make the meditative ballad work. Turner struggled with the song’s languid rhythm, so Britten suggested she jog on the spot. “We jogged at the mic,” he says. “Soon enough, she got it!”

Britten believes “What’s Love” showed Turner, for the first time, how empowering vulnerability could be. “She realized she could act out these songs,” he reflects. “The whole direction of her career changed in that moment.”

Released in May 1984, “What’s Love” slowly scaled the charts, competing for prime position with the likes of Prince’s “When Doves Cry” and Lionel Ritchie’s “Stuck on You.” “What’s Love” ultimately landed at No. 1 in August 1984 — staying there for three weeks — and fast-tracked Turner’s forceful musical renaissance.

The arrival of Private Dancer only galvanized the transformation.

The album was a mixture of old and new, figuratively stitching together a reinvigorated yet still rock ’n’ roll Turner. There were completely new tracks and sounds, like the synth-infused “What’s Love” and spunky, pulsating “Show Some Respect” (another Britten number). Covers of the Beatles’ “Help!” and David Bowie’s “1984,” meanwhile, were reimagined with searching gospel energy and symphonic orchestral strings.

There was an emphasis on storytelling across Private Dancer, with lyrical explorations of respect, love, and desire, paired with Turner’s frayed timbre. “I Might Have Been Queen” was penned by Jeannette Obstoj and Rupert Hine in response to hearing Turner’s life story. From a youth picking cotton in Tennessee to her years as a double act with Ike, Obstoj took Turner’s trying life (and lifelong interest in Ancient Egypt) to craft an earthy narrative textured by stories of grief and self-understanding. The stomping funk result was an anthemic tribute, celebrating Turner as she sang proudly of being a “sole survivor.”

Allowed into Turner’s inner sanctum, listeners could better understand and relate to the singer’s past life — whether these were real stories or imagined tales. Songs like “Private Dancer,” seemingly about a dancer who keeps a firm psychological distance from her job as a means of self-protection, couldn’t help but be tied back to Turner’s former life as the mistreated singing partner to Ike. Turner’s coarse vocals — retelling regret with the ballad “Better Be Good to Me,” or celebrating self-confidence on “Show Some Respect” — underscored her toughness as she sang about respect and recognition.

Tina Turner’s emotional depth and lyrical confessions resonated with critics and listeners, affirming Turner as sensitive, soulful and, above all, an iconic solo artist. The success of the record at the 1985 GRAMMYs only affirmed Turner's status.

Britten, who won two gramophones for his work and joined Turner on stage to collect the GRAMMY for Record Of The Year, said that the audience — there and even at home watching — manifested her three wins that night. “In between introductions, you could hear the whole crowd going, ‘Tina! Tina! Tina!’” he says. “It was like the whole auditorium wanted her to win. In fact, they willed her to win.”

The entire musical project was a frenzied worldwide phenomenon: the confident comeback story of a 45-year-old liberated woman. Private Dancer represents a rare redemption for a female artist over 40 — a script contemporaries have taken cues from.

Madonna enjoyed a return serve with her revealing 1998 spiritual album Ray of Light, a record that saw her achieve renewed commercial success — and perhaps most important to her, critical acclaim. After the abject failure of 2001’s Glitter, Mariah Carey stormed the charts (and GRAMMYs) in 2005 with her confessional but defiant album, The Emancipation of Mimi. Janet Jackson, no longer suffering public shame after the infamous Superbowl incident and finally free to release music under her own label, returned revealing a more mature, reflective artist with 2015’s Unbreakable. Each album privileged some aspect of self-exposure and sonic difference to mount a comeback where audiences were invited in.

Publicly sharing some vulnerability while also celebrating fortitude, continues to enliven the story of Private Dancer — and the listening experience decades on. After Tina Turner's death in 2023, critics reappraised the record and the seismic impact of “What’s Love.” Some said the song was an enduring “call to action” on finding independence, while others concluded that Private Dancer alone “lifted [Turner] into the pop stratosphere.”

The record represents one of history’s greatest musical comebacks. Its emotional depth, paired with a tough if sometimes frayed sound, gave listeners a deeply resonant tale about overcoming.

“She gave me such trust,” Britten says of recording with Turner. “I can’t tell you what a moving experience it was.” With Private Dancer, Turner entrusted listeners with her own vulnerable admissions, many of which continue to resonate and inspire today.

Remembering The Artistry Of Tina Turner, "The Epitome Of Power And Passion"