Fresh off winning an Emmy Award for directing the LVI Super Bowl halftime show, a Delaware man is now up for a Grammy.
The Recording Academy announced its slate of 2023 Grammy nominees Tuesday.
Musical producer Adam Blackstone of Middletown is nominated for Best Traditional R&B Performance for his song “Round Midnight,” featuring Philly songstress Jazmine Sullivan. He won an Emmy in September for Outstanding Music Direction for the Super Bowl halftime show.
Blackstone, a native of Trenton, New Jersey, who grew up in Willingboro and went to college in Philly, is an accomplished songwriter, singer and bassist. He co-owns BASSic Black Entertainment, which has its own label.
Beyonce is his biggest hurdle
Blackstone is up against some fierce competition in his quest to bring home a Grammy in the R&B category.
His competitors include superstar Beyoncé (“Plastic Off The Sofa”), Mary J. Blige (“Good Morning Gorgeous”), Babyface featuring Ella Mai (“Keeps On Fallin’”) and Snoh Aalegra (“Do 4 Love”).
Blackstone and Blige may be competitors now, but they shared the stage at the Super Bowl LVI halftime show in February. Blackstone was musical producer for the extravaganza, for which he also played bass.
It was the first hip-hop halftime show in Super Bowl history and also starred Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent.
Adam Blackstone: Performs with Dr. Dre and Eminem at Super Bowl
This year was not the Delaware man’s first Super Bowl. When Justin Timberlake performed in 2018, Blackstone garnered an Emmy nomination for his direction, and also played bass with the singer.
Blackstone also was musical director of the 2020 halftime show when Jennifer Lopez and Shakira performed in Miami. He also played bass with Shakira that night.
Blackstone has worked with Jay-Z and Ye
Blackstone has directed and performed with other big names including Ye (formerly known as Kanye West), Nicki Minaj and Jay-Z.
Ironically, Jay-Z’s wife, Beyoncé, is Blackstone’s biggest hurdle in his pursuit of winning a coveted mini gramophone.
We’ll have to wait until early next year to see how that pans out.
The 65th Grammy Awards airs live on the CBS Television Network and streams on-demand on Paramount+ from Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena from 8 to 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023.
For more info, visit Grammy.com.
Celeste E. Whittaker of the Courier Post contributed to this report.
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