PJ MORTON

A New Orleans high school is celebrating Grammy nominations for four of its graduates. St. Augustine High School alumni PJ Morton, Timothy Thedford, Jonathan Batiste and Luke James are each up for best album in different categories at the awards show Sunday, March 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)NEW ORLEANS – A New Orleans high school is celebrating Grammy nominations for four of its graduates. St. Augustine High School alumni PJ Morton, Timothy Thedford, Jonathan Batiste and Luke James are each up for best album in different categories at the awards show Sunday, The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate reports. The school congratulated the four nominees on a billboard along the Pontchartrain Expressway in New Orleans.

Morton is the first artist in residence at a historically Black private university in New Orleans. Dillard University announced that Morton will teach master classes in songwriting, music publishing, studio production and talent management during the 2021-22 academic year. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)NEW ORLEANS – Grammy-winning musician PJ Morton is the first artist in residence at Dillard University, a historically Black private university in New Orleans. “I’m so excited to be partnering with Dillard University. His most recent project, “Gospel According to PJ,” is a Grammy nominee for this year’s best gospel album.

FILE - In this May 14, 2019 file photo, Ryan Seacrest attends the Walt Disney Television 2019 upfront in New York. This week, he will return to New York's Times Square to host Dick Clark New Years Rockin Eve. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)NEW YORK – Ryan Seacrest will have a special pair of guests alongside the music stars at this year's New Year's Eve celebration on ABC — the president-elect and the future first lady. President-elect Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden are scheduled to give “their last interview of the year” in New York’s Times Square on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021.”The Bidens will "share an inspiring message as we come together to close out 2020 and look ahead with hope to 2021,” according to a statement by the producers. “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021" will run until 2 a.m. Eastern on Jan. 1.

The BET Awards served as an extension of the voices of Black people protesting in the streets about the inequalities Black people face daily, as artists used their performances to highlight the Black Lives Matter movement, civil rights and the lives of those lost because of police officers, including George Floyd. The BET Awards kicked off with Black artists rapping and singing anthems about the Black experience and fighting for equal rights. Nipsey’s family, we love you.”The BET Awards, one of the first awards shows to air virtually, featured performances that were sharp with artsy stage production, giving extra life to the songs being performed. “I used to watch the BET Awards all the time thinking, ‘One day that’s going to be me going up there accepting my award’ — and now it is.”Though the BET Awards are technically about handing out trophies, the awards were an afterthought. Beyoncé won the BET HER award for “Brown Skin Girl,” shared with daughter Blue Ivy Carter as well as Wizkid and Saint JHN.