Tony Bennett's "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" and Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. What do these recording have in common? Not only have each of them won GRAMMY Awards, they now share the honor of having been added to the Library of Congress' venerable National Recording Registry.

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Today, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the addition of these and 22 other recordings to the registry catalog for the 2017 calendar year.

Additional GRAMMY winners with recordings newly added include Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine's 1987 upbeat jam, "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You"; Yo-Yo Ma's exquisite 1996 classical LP, Yo-Yo Ma Premieres: Concertos For Violoncello And Orchestra, Kenny Loggins' huge 1984 film soundtrack smash, "Footloose"; and Chic and Nile Rodgers' timeless 1978 disco workout, "Le Freak."

Run-DMC's groundbreaking 1986 album, Raising Hell, was added. The LP spawned the rock-rap crossover hit "Walk This Way," which was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in 2014.

Speaking of the Hall, other newly added National Recording Registry recordings that have been previously inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame include the soundtrack to The Sound Of Music (inducted 1998), Mississippi Sheiks' "Sittin' On Top Of The World" (2008), Bill Haley And The Comets' "Rock Around The Clock" (1982), the Ink Spots' "If I Didn't Care" (1987), Harry Belafonte's Calypso (2015), and the Temptations' "My Girl" (1998).

Similar to the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame's mission, the National Recording Registry is designed to champion and preserve recordings of historical significance.

Nominations are gathered via online submissions from the public and from the NRPB, which is comprised of leaders in the fields of music, recorded sound and preservation. See the National Recording Registry's full list — if you have a recording you deem worthy of adding to the registry, make your submission.

"This annual celebration of recorded sound reminds us of our varied and remarkable American experience," said Hayden. "The unique trinity of historic, cultural and aesthetic significance reflected in the National Recording Registry each year is an opportunity for reflection on landmark moments, diverse cultures and shared memories — all reflected in our recorded soundscape."

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

Editor's note: This article was updated to include the latest information about Kendrick Lamar's 2024 album release 'GNX,' and up-to-date GRAMMY wins and nominations with additional reporting by Nina Frazier.

When the world crowns you the king of a genre as competitive as rap, your presence — and lack thereof — is palpable. After a five-year hiatus, Kendrick Lamar declaratively stomped back on stage with his fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, to explain why the crown no longer fits him.

Two years later, Lamar circles back to celebrate the west on 2024's GNX, a 12-track release that revels in the root of his love for hip-hop and California culture, from the lowriders to the rappers that laid claim to the golden state.

“My baby boo, you either heal n—s or you kill n—s/ Both is true, it take some tough skin just to deal with you” Lamar raps on "gloria" featuring SZA, a track that opines on his relationship with the genre.

The Compton-born rapper (who was born Kendrick Lamar Duckworth) wasn't always championed as King Kendrick. In hip-hop, artists have to earn that moniker, and Lamar's enthroning occurred in 2013 when he delivered a now-infamous verse on Big Sean's "Control."

"I'm Makaveli's offspring, I'm the King of New York, King of the Coast; one hand I juggle 'em both," Lamar raps before name-dropping some of the top rappers of the time, from Drake to J.Cole.

Whether you've been a fan of Lamar since before his crown-snatching verse or you find yourself in need of a crash course on the 37-year-old rapper's illustrious career, GRAMMY.com answers nine questions that will paint the picture of Lamar's more than decade-long reign.

Who Discovered Kendrick Lamar?

Due to the breakthrough success of his Aftermath Entertainment debut (good kid, m.A.A.d city), most people attribute Kendrick Lamar's discovery to fellow Compton legend Dr. Dre. But seven years before Dre's label came calling, Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith saw potential in a 16-year-old rapper by the name of K.Dot.

Lamar's first mixtape in 2004 was enough for Tiffith's Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) to offer the aspiring rapper a deal with the label in 2005. However, Lamar would later learn that Tiffith's impact on his life dates back to multiple encounters between his father and the TDE founder, which Lamar raps about in his 2017 track "DUCKWORTH."

How Many Albums Has Kendrick Lamar Released?

Kendrick Lamar has released six studio albums: Section.80 (2011), Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City (2012), To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) DAMN. (2017),Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022), and GNX (2024). Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, To Pimp a Butterfly and DAMN. received both Rap Album Of The Year and Album Of The Year GRAMMY nominations. 

What Is Kendrick Lamar's Most Popular Song?

Across the board, it's "HUMBLE." The 2017 track is Lamar's only solo No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (he also reached No. 1 status with Taylor Swift on their remix of her 1989 hit "Bad Blood"), and as of press time, "HUMBLE." is also his most-streamed song on Spotify and YouTube.

How Many GRAMMYs Has Kendrick Lamar Won?

As of November 2024, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 57 GRAMMY nominations overall, solidifying his place as one of the most nominated artists in GRAMMY history and the second-most nominated rapper of all time, behind Jay-Z. Five of Lamar's 17 GRAMMY wins are tied to DAMN., which also earned Lamar the status of becoming the first rapper ever to win a Pulitzer Prize.

His most recent wins include three awards at the 2023 GRAMMYs, which included two for his album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, and Best Rap Performance for "The Hillbillies" with Baby Keem. 

Does Kendrick Lamar Have Any Famous Relatives?

He has two: Rapper Baby Keem and former Los Angeles Lakers star Nick Young are both cousins of his.

Lamar appeared on three tracks — "family ties," "range brothers" and "vent" — from Keem's debut album, The Melodic Blue. Keem then returned the favor for Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, featuring on "Savior (Interlude)" and "Savior" as well as receiving production and writing credits on "N95" and "Die Hard."

Read More: Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: Baby Keem On Inspiring Rap's Next Generation, Why "Producer Artists" Are The Best & The Likelihood Of A Kendrick Lamar Collab Album

Why Did Kendrick Lamar Wear A Crown Of Thorns?

Lamar can be seen sporting a crown of thorns on the Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers album cover. He has sported the look for multiple performances since the project's release.

Dave Free described the striking headgear as, "a godly representation of hood philosophies told from a digestible youthful lens."

Holy symbolism and the blurred line between kings and gods are themes Lamar revisits often on Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. He uses lines like "Kendrick made you think about it, but he is not your savior" and songs like "Mirror" to reject the unforeseen, God-like expectations that came with his King of Hip-Hop status.

According to Vogue, the Tiffany & Co. designed crown features 8,000 cobblestone micro pave diamonds and took over 1,300 hours of work by four craftsmen to construct.

Why Did Kendrick Lamar Leave TDE?

After five albums, four mixtapes, one compilation project, an EP, and a GRAMMY-nominated Black Panther: The Album, Kendrick Lamar and Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) confirmed that Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers was the Compton rapper's last project under the iconic West Coast label. 

According to Lamar, his departure was about growth as opposed to any internal troubles. "May the Most High continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators. As I continue to pursue my life's calling," Lamar wrote on his website in August 2021. "There's beauty in completion."

TDE president Punch expressed a similar sentiment in an interview with Mic. "We watched him grow from a teenager up into an established grown man, a businessman, and one of the greatest artists of all time," he said. "So it's time to move on and try new things and venture out."

Before Lamar's official exit from TDE, he launched a new venture called pgLang — a multi-disciplinary service company for creators, co-founded with longtime collaborator Dave Free — in 2020. The young company has already collaborated with Cash App, Converse and Louis Vuitton.

Has Kendrick Lamar Ever Performed at The Super Bowl?

Yes, Kendrick Lamar performed in the halftime show for Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles in 2022, alongside fellow rap legends Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Eminem, as well as R&B icon Mary J. Blige. Anderson .Paak and 50 Cent also made special appearances during the star-studded performance. As if performing at the Super Bowl in your home city wasn't enough, the Compton rapper also got to watch his home team, the Los Angeles Rams, hoist the Lombardi trophy at the end of the night.

Three years after his first Super Bowl halftime performance, Lamar will return to headline the Super Bowl LIX halftime show on Feb. 9, 2025 — just one week after the 2025 GRAMMYs — at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. 

Is Kendrick Lamar On Tour?

Yes. Kendrick Lamar is currently scheduled to hit the road with SZA on the Grand National Tour beginning in May 2025. Lamar concluded The Big Steppers Tour in 2022, where he was joined by pgLang artists Baby Keem and Tanna Leone. The tour included a four-show homecoming at L.A.'s Crypto.com Arena in September 2022, followed by performances in Europe,Australia, and New Zealand through late 2022. 

Currently, there are no upcoming tour dates scheduled, but fans should check back for updates following the release of GNX.

The 2024 Latin GRAMMYs are officially here and so is the stunning red carpet fashion.

The 2024 Latin GRAMMYs, officially known as the 25th Latin GRAMMY Awards, take place tonight, Thursday, Nov. 14, and will air live beginning at 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. CT). A one-hour pre-show, preceding the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs telecast, starts at 7 p.m. ET/PT. Ahead of the telecast, nominated singers, musicians, producers, and others made appearances on the red carpet — with outfits that displayed as much creativity and distinction as their musical output.

Read More: How To Watch The 2024 Latin GRAMMYs Live: Full Performers Lineup, Nominations, Air Date, Time & More

Below, see some of our favorite looks from the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs red carpet at the Kaseya Center in Miami.

Check out the full winners and nominations list for the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs.

Anitta attends the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs at Kaseya Center on November 14 in Miami, Florida | Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Latin Recording Academy

Maria Becerra attends the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs at Kaseya Center on November 14 in Miami, Florida | Photo: Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images for The Latin Recording Academy

(L-R) Emilio Estefan and Gloria Estefan attend the 22024 Latin GRAMMYs at Kaseya Center on November 14 in Miami, Florida | Photo: Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images for The Latin Recording Academy

Becky G attends the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs at Kaseya Center on November 14 in Miami, Florida | Photo: Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images for The Latin Recording Academy

Ela Taubert attends the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs at Kaseya Center on November 14 in Miami, Florida | Photo: Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images for The Latin Recording Academy

(L-R) Karen Martínez and Juanes attend the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs at Kaseya Center on November 14 in Miami, Florida | Photo: Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images for The Latin Recording Academy)

Alok and Brazilian indigenous Artists attends the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs at Kaseya Center on November 14 in Miami, Florida | Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Latin Recording Academy

Bizarrap attends the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs at Kaseya Center on November 14 in Miami, Florida | Photo: Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images for The Latin Recording Academy

Eladio Carrion attends the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs at Kaseya Center on November 14 in Miami, Florida | Photo: John Parra/Getty Images for The Latin Recording Academy

Pedro Vives, Carlos Vives, Aracely Florez Restrepo, and Claudia Elena Vásquez and guests attend the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs Awards at Kaseya Center on November 14 in Miami, Florida | Photo: John Parra/Getty Images for The Latin Recording Academy

Sofia Saar attends the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs at Kaseya Center on November 14 in Miami, Florida | Photo by Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images for The Latin Recording Academy

Nicole Zignago attends the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs at Kaseya Center on November 14 in Miami, Florida | Photo by Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images for The Latin Recording Academy

The Latin Recording Academy today announced additional performers and special artist presentations for the upcoming 2024 Latin GRAMMYs, which take place Thursday, Nov. 14, live in Miami: Current nominees Pepe Aguilar, Chiquis, Goyo, Mon Laferte, Nathy Peluso, and Rauw Alejandro, as well as previous Latin GRAMMY nominees Alejandro Sanz, Gloria Estefan, Juanes, and Julieta Venegas, have been added.

Additionally, salsa music icon Marc Anthony will executive-produce a special salsa segment during the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs, with musical direction from Sergio George.

GRAMMY winner Andy García and Latin GRAMMY nominee Roselyn Sánchez will also return to showcase iconic moments from the last 25 years of the Latin GRAMMYs and celebrate this milestone with the Latin Recording Academy.

Read More: 2024 Latin GRAMMYs: See The Full Nominations List

Previously announced performers and artists also include Ángela Aguilar, Leonardo Aguilar, Christian Alicea, Anitta, Edgar Barrera, Becky G, David Bisbal, Jon Bon Jovi, Eladio Carrión, DARUMAS, Oscar D’León, Álvaro Díaz, DJ Khaled, Emilia, Alejandro Fernández, Luis Figueroa, Luis Fonsi, Leonel García, Grupo Frontera, Grupo Niche, Juan Luis Guerra, Tiago Iorc, Joe Jonas, Carín León, Tito Nieves, Danny Ocean, Pitbull, Quevedo, Reik, Carlos Rivera, Elena Rose, Ela Taubert, The Warning, Myke Towers, Trueno, and Kali Uchis, as well as the 2024 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year, Carlos Vives.

Learn More: Carlos Vives, The 2024 Latin Recording Academy Person Of The Year, On The Colombia Music & Culture That Made Him

Pepe Aguilar is nominated for Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album, and Chiquis received a nomination for Best Banda Album. Goyo earned a nomination for Best Alternative Song, while Mon Laferte received three nominations including Record Of The Year and Album Of The Year. Marc Anthony has two nominations for Best Salsa Album and Best Short Form Music Video, and Nathy Peluso is nominated in three categories including Best Rap/Hip Hop Song, Best Alternative Song and Best Long Form Music Video. Rauw Alejandro received a nomination for Best Reggaeton Performance.

The 2024 Latin GRAMMYs, officially known as the 25th Latin GRAMMY Awards, marks the 25th anniversary of the Latin GRAMMY Awards, a massive milestone for both the Latin Recording Academy and the Latin GRAMMY Awards, and a return to Miami. The 2024 Latin GRAMMYs will debut two new Latin GRAMMY categories: Best Latin Electronic Music Performance and Best Contemporary Mexican Music Album.

Learn More: Latin Recording Academy CEO Manuel Abud Discusses 25 Years Of The Latin GRAMMYs, The Return To The U.S. & The Evolution Of Música Mexicana

Ahead of the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs, the Latin Recording Academy will host the official Latin GRAMMY Week 2024, a weeklong celebration comprising multiple events throughout Miami-Dade County. Marquee events at Latin GRAMMY Week 2024 include Leading Ladies of Entertainment; the Best New Artist Showcase; Special Awards Presentation; Nominee Reception; the Latin Recording Academy Person of The Year gala honoring 18-time Latin GRAMMY winner and two-time GRAMMY winner Carlos Vives; and the Latin GRAMMY Premiere preceding the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs telecast in which the majority of the night's awards will be awarded.

Additionally, the Latin Recording Academy is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Latin GRAMMYs via a series of exhibits throughout 2024 held at the Paley Museum in New York City, the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles, and the Gary Nader Art Centre in Miami. Enrique "Kike" Congrains, who was recently announced as the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs official artist, is currently displaying his work at the exhibit hosted at Miami's Gary Nader Art Centre.

Learn more about how the Latin GRAMMYs have honored and elevated Latin music and its creators across the past 25 years and listen to the 25 songs that have defined the Latin GRAMMYs. For more information about the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs, read this year's official program book and shop the Latin GRAMMY 25th anniversary merchandise collection.

The 2024 Latin GRAMMYs take place Thursday, Nov. 14, and will air live from the Kaseya Center in Miami. The three-hour telecast, produced by TelevisaUnivision, will air live on Univision, UniMás, Galavisión, and ViX beginning at 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. CT), preceded by a one-hour pre-show starting at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

With massive crowds and countless critics raving about her debut album, Ravyn Lenae knew what she had to do: completely ignore all of the expectations that led to it.

"I knew in order for me to keep evolving as an artist and a person, there was no choice but to let those boundaries go,"she says from her home in Los Angeles. 

After building up a growing following in Chicago alongside other members of the Zero Fatigue Collective (which includes producer Monte Booker and rapper Smino), Lenae relocated to the West Coast. She made a massive mark on 2022’s Hypnos, which featured a beguiling mix of alt R&B, house and soul alongside Renae’s magnetic vocal presence.

And rather than coast, Lenae dug deeper for the followup, Bird’s Eye (due Aug. 9). Working with frequent Kendrick Lamar collaborator and in-demand producer DJ Dahi, Bird’s Eye flutters across genres and influences — pulling from Fleetwood Mac on one track, drawing in Childish Gambino on another, and adding Jimmy Jam’s bass elsewhere. Indicative of these multifarious influences are two pre-release singles: the retro pop-leaning "Love Me Not" and the soulfully skipping "Love Is Blind." 

Lenae uses that shapeshifting methodology as a way to interrogate the concepts of love and relationships — never content to rest on her laurels, learning how best to grow and adapt. "Making the songs and getting to the bottom of what they meant for me was me kind of retracing my steps a little bit and really acknowledging all these moments in my life, in my childhood, that were pivotal for me and my identity," she says. 

Nearing the release of Bird’s Eye, Lenae spoke with GRAMMY.com about directing the video for "Love Me Not" in Chicago, blending Brazilian music with Prince inflections, and how the album helped her reconnect with her father.

A lot seems to have happened in the two years since 'Hypnos.' On a month-to-month, day-to-day basis, how much do you shift creatively?

It feels like night and day to me, even though it's been a really short amount of time. During this time between Hypnos and this album — the recording and creating process —  a lot unlocked with me. [There was] a lot of personal growth that happened that allows me to approach music in a much freer and kind of impulsive way.

With the last album and that process, I think I did place a lot of parameters around what I had to be, what I had to sound like, what it had to feel like, who I had to connect with. And I kind of just released all of those expectations with this and made music that I wanted to hear.

How easy was it to actually release those boundaries and work more more in the moment?

I knew in order for me to keep evolving as an artist and a person, there was no choice but to let those boundaries go, if I wanted to keep pursuing music in a way that felt honest. And then being able to collaborate with people such as Dahi, who has kind of mastered that in a lot of ways, and learning from him and seeing his process, seeing how easy and natural it is to just fall into what feels right…

I think the longer you're in an industry or you're in something, the more rules you place on [creativity] and the more you overthink it and try to mold it in a way that doesn't feel impactful. As an artist, being around him and him encouraging that type of process, I think that was a lot of it, too.

Dahi's worked with some incredible artists, and clearly in a way that accentuates that artist rather than making it about DJ Dahi. That must have been so perfectly aligned with your openness, to go in and let yourself learn what you wanted to do. They always say if you know too much and plan everything out, you’ll end up stifled creatively.

It's so true. And that's why I describe it as me kind of returning back to that 12-year-old me, that 13-year-old me, before I cared about opinions, what people thought about me and what I was doing, what I was wearing. I think we start off that way, and then the older we get, the more we get so self-conscious and we judge ourselves more harshly than everyone else.

Why do we do that?!

[Laughs.] I think it's just human nature. And then we try to unlearn all of it.

Even just in daily life, it's so hard to not think about what I could have done at any given moment. And when you’re creating music, there are 5 million ways you can create the same idea and you have to just land on that one.

A hundred percent. During this process, we would have a song idea and then three different versions of that song that hit completely different feelings — maybe a more soft rock version of it, maybe a more indie version of it, maybe a more soulful version. Then it was about having to settle into what is "the one" and what feels the best, versus like what's going to chart or what's going to get in the club. Having to release all of that and just really lean into what feels good is what works every time.

That relates even to how the album was announced, with two tracks that almost speak in conversation with one another. Those songs balance such clever hooks with more nuanced conversation about how conflicted and complex love and relationships can be. How did you find that balance between emotional realism and such immediate music?

It was just really feeling empowered and confident in my decision making. And that's something that's developed over time, too. Really listening to my voice and what I want out of music in my career and my rollout, you know?

Listening to that, obviously having people around me who are like-minded in that way like my management and my team. We all kind of empowered each other to lean into those feelings. At no point in this process did anything feel forced or like I was reaching for something.

That’s so interesting. You want your team to feel supportive but you also want to feel empowered to take risks away from that support. And that reminds me of “Love Me Not,” which has some really smart risks. It's that vintage pop feeling, right down to the clap-along beats, and the vocals feel right in your ear. So when you started working on that track, for example, did you always imagine it being that nostalgia, that warmth? 

I thought that there was just something so cool and timeless, a classic feeling about it. And my songs are the ones where you can really pinpoint what the influences are, or when this was made, or the person behind it. Having a song like that, that really reminded me of Outkast. Like, What is this?

Even before it dropped, I remember having some anxiety around maybe my fans not liking it because it feels a little different from Hypnos. I think anytime you kind of jump outside of the bubble you've kind of created, it's scary because there are people living in that bubble with you who like the temperature in there. 

It’s so important to be constantly revitalized in your work. If you’re doing the same thing, even if your fans are demanding it, you’re not going to get that. And hopefully when your fans see all that you can do, they’ll follow it. 

Yeah. And there's so much left in me to explore into and put out into the world. And look at an artist's career, someone like Tyler, the Creator: Seeing where his sound started and how he's almost trained his fans’ ears to be receptive to something new every time. They've completely grown up with him in a lot of ways and expanded their palate. Kind of forcing the hand of listeners is something that's really interesting to me. [Laughs.]

I love that idea of pushing yourself and pushing your fans, but still within the realm of what's good. [Laughs] Not just experimenting for the sake of it. Speaking of growing and experimenting, I wanted to ask about the “Love Me Not” music video that you directed. It feels so well shot but still so intimate and casual.

I knew with the album and how I wanted the imagery to feel, it would be very homey. Making the songs and getting to the bottom of what they meant for me was me kind of retracing my steps a little bit and really acknowledging all these moments in my life, in my childhood, that were pivotal for me and my identity, those first moments where I felt like I was getting closer to myself in a way. 

A lot of that started on the South side of Chicago, at my grandmother's house, in the basement. Even the cover of the album symbolizes that transition for me. That's where I dyed my hair red for the first time in the basement, in the sink, so coming back to the sink and dyeing my hair ginger on the cover was something that felt so powerful and defining for me. It just made perfect sense that we were going to go back to Chicago for the first video, in my grandmother's house, with all my family members involved. Those are my grandparents, my mom, my sisters, so that's why it feels so loose and candid. I really wanted to give people a glimpse into my life and what it felt like walking into my childhood home.

Getting to see a place through someone else’s eyes is so extraordinary. It really makes the little details pop. For example, the plantains cooking on the stove at the beginning.

Yeah. I associate plantains with my grandparents, my family. We’re of Panamanian West Indian descent, so those smells and those sounds, I really wanted to incorporate into the video.

That really speaks to bringing some comfort along with the risk-taking, same as having your family around. The features do a great job of bolstering you, setting up that stability, particularly Ty Dolla $ign on "Dreamgirl."

I think we just had the idea to kind of take the song into a different world in a way. When we first started the first section of the song, I just knew there was magic there. Those Prince drums and that Brazilian guitar — why do those make sense together? It shouldn't ever make sense together. But when I heard it? Oh my god, this feels like something fresh and new, but also like I've felt this feeling before.

Dahi's brain is just incredible, and then even bringing in Jimmy Jam on it to do bass was a dream come true. I knew it kind of felt like it existed in that Janet stratosphere, and I thought it would be such a cool touch for him to do that personally. Dream come true on all spectrums. I love Ty Dolla $ign, obviously grew up listening to him. He's incredible and I was so honored that he wanted to do it.

Besides Janet, were there any particular artists who were kind of central inspirations for this album specifically?

Sonically, Janet is always in the mix. With this one in particular, some Gwen Stefani, No Doubt, a little bit of Fleetwood Mac in there. I just love taking these worlds that are very different from each other and kind of mashing them and seeing what happens. It's like my favorite thing ever.

You’re trained in classical music, and it's so clear that you understand the range of emotion that you can convey. I'm just curious what happened when you went into recording — or even before that, in the writing. What was it like digging into yourself to find the narrative that matched the mashing?

Honestly, I don't think there was much premeditation with the writing and what I wanted to touch on in a way. Really leaning into those impulsive initial first feelings that a song gives me is something I really valued with this album. And moving forward, that'll be my process.

What was premeditated with the writing process with this album was, with every song, trying to really peel back those layers in my brain and those barriers lyrically. Like, What would I naturally say? Think of that and then think, Okay, how can I make this even more literal, even more personal? Even in working with my girl [songwriter] Sarah Aarons, I learned a lot from her as far as songwriting and how to really paint a picture that feels clear and concise and emotional. Not trying to find the prettiest words or the most interesting words, but really writing what feels real. And that's something that I've really, really valued and learned with this process.

Even with “One Wish” with Childish Gambino, the whole album feels like this big conversation on relationships. Being more direct feels like some advice someone would get with a relationship itself, let alone writing about it. Did that process help you actually process what was happening in your life too?

Oh man, 100 percent. And that's why music is so beautiful to me. It's really a means of opening dialogue between me and myself, and then me and the people in my life. With a song that's so important to me like “One Wish," it’s not just because it's a great song, but because this has really catapulted me into this different part of my life and repairing relationships, opening up difficult conversations — like with my father in particular. Hearing such a simple song and the response I've gotten from it has only validated me much more in the fact that these real stories, real emotions are what connects.

Have you played the album for your father?

We started repairing or rekindling our relationship maybe two years ago. The making of Bird’s Eye was at its peak and I felt like it was important for me to have a song on the album that addressed my relationship with him in order for me to release it and start to move on in a positive way.

So sharing the song with him, inviting him to be in the music video was huge for us. And then even after debriefing about maybe some feelings that came up when he heard certain lyrics or when he saw certain scenes in the video, it just opened up this really honest, candid dialogue between us and I couldn't be more grateful that I have this outlet.