What the GRAMMYs® Are All About!

Now that I've had a solid chance to breathe after this past First-Round voting GRAMMY® season, I'd like to share a reflection:

Every year, GRAMMY® FYC season brings out the best and, sometimes, the most transactional sides of the industry. As a voting member, it’s a season of excitement, stress, and endless outreach. Inboxes are overflowing, and everyone’s hustling for a little recognition.

This year, something felt different. I found myself slowing down, reading every email and message, listening carefully, and responding to every single one, or at least as much as I could (raising two boys, a 2.5 year old and 8 month old, is definitely an adventure ). After this season, I now realize, more so than ever, how much beauty there is in engagement with intention.

Now, I'm not saying I don't read every email, but, let me tell you this...receiving and reading hundreds of messages (yes, you read that correctly) from musicians and artists all striving for the gold, pitching and sharing their stories and dreams...as beautiful, and inspiring, as it is to take it all in, it's also unbelievably overwhelming, to be transparent. If you have music on the ballot, it's then double the effort to read through FYCs and steering your own ship, trying to keep afloat.

So, a shift occurred this season! The conversations became more about connection, not competition. I’ve met some incredibly inspiring people these past several years (so many to name!), some who’ve become mentors from afar, like Kitt Wakeley and Kirsten Agresta Copely (BOTH were nominated for 2026 GRAMMYs®), who simply reminded me how deeply human this industry still is underneath all the noise.
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There’s something powerful about reaching out not because you “should,” but because you want to honor someone’s art. Those moments of mutual encouragement, those are the ones that last longer than a season or a nomination cycle.

This process has been exhausting, in the best way possible. A grind, yes, but one filled with discovery, empathy, and gratitude. I don’t know what nomination day will bring, but I do know this: I’ve connected with more hearts and minds through music in these past few weeks than I ever thought possible.

And honestly? That’s the real win.

Thank you, Recording Academy, not just for this role and opportunity of a lifetime, but for all of your work and service for musicians around the world.