For those destined to be songwriters, the spark of inspiration strikes early in life. That was one common theme from many of the heartfelt thank-yous and reflections shared by the diverse group of musical artists honored Saturday at Variety‘s annual Hitmakers brunch in Hollywood.
Sabrina Carpenter, our Hitmaker of the Year, spoke wistfully of writing her first song at age 10. Tyler, the Creator credited his the roots of his creativity to the “crazy imagination” of his 7-year-old self. Tate McRae got going on writing songs in her bedroom at 13. EJAE, part of the powerhouse pop trio Huntr/x featured in the smash Netflix film “Kpop Demon Hunters,” did the same at 10. And 89-year-old blues legend Buddy Guy recalled growing up in rural Louisiana without a steady source of clean water in his earliest years. His family devised a filtering system for rainwater. “There must’ve been something alright with that water,” he observed, because he drank a lot of it and he’s still active as he approaches 90.
RELATED CONTENT: Sabrina Carpenter Tells Hitmakers Crowd ‘Write the Music You Want to Listen To’
The ninth annual Hitmakers gathering coincided with the Dec. 3 publication, in print and online, of Variety‘s annual Hitmakers issue, which is a survey of the artists and collaborators behind the year’s 25 most popular songs. The issue puts a big spotlight on the range of tunesmiths, producers and other creative collaborators behind every successful song.
Alex Warren, the artist and songwriter behind the global smash “Ordinary,” expressed his deep gratitude for the recognition as Hitmakers Breakthrough of the Year artist. He set the tone early on for emotional remarks to the roomful of music biz insiders. He detailed some personal struggles and the loss of his father at age 9 and the struggles with his mother that followed.
The job of penning his first album, “You’ll Be Alright, Kid,” was particularly “hard because I had to confront the childhood I tried so hard to forget.” The response to his work reinforces that he’s on the right career path. “I am enough,” Warren told the crowd. “I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m here for a reason and I deserve to be here.”
BigXthaPlug got the nod for Hitmakers Hip-Hop Disruptor of the Year. He’s part of the UnitedMasters collective that aims to empower artists to work independent of the major music congloms in order to retain ownership of their work. “Thank y’all for recognizing what we’re doing independently — yes independently,” said BigXthaPlug.
Benny Blanco was on hard to present the laurel to rising-star band The Marías’ as the Anti-Hit Hitmakers of the Year. María Zardoya, lead singer and co-founder, told the crowd that she has always stood firm against efforts to pop-i-fy the group’s sound. She thanked Atlantic Records for allowing them to lean in to their genuine moods. “Emotion has always taken us further than tempo ever could,” Zardoya told the crowd. “Thank you so much for letting us be emotional wrecks and release whatever we want now.”
RELATED CONTENT: Tyler, the Creator Saluted for a Decade of ‘Super-Duper, Awesome S—‘ at Hitmakers
The marathon brunch was emceed by Jem Aswad, Variety‘s executive editor of music. Among the kudos handed out was the Interactive Music in Media nod to video game firm Riot Games for its innovative work to platform music in its game creations.
No less a respected music hitmaker than Jimmy Jam was on had to present Producers of the Year kuods to Jack Antonoff, Mustard and Sounwave, who got the nod for their work with the musical juggernaut that is Kendrick Lamar.
Jam emphasized the importance of the audience in deciding what qualifies as a hit. “That’s why it’s a team sport,” he said of the music biz.
Sounwave dug deep when he cited his childhood exposure, thanks to his mother, to the life-coach philosophies of Earl Nightingale as being fundamental early experiences that led him into music. While other kids were listening to hip-hop radio in the car with their moms, he was exposed to ideas for achieving his dreams.
“It molded me to understand the power of manifestations,” Sounwave said. Mustard reflected on the road that he’s traveled over the past decade with his longtime collaborator Lamar. He described them as “two kids from Compton trying to figure it out.” And to that end, the overarching goal has always been to “inspire a community and a culture that inspired us. I promise to forever do that while I’m walking the Earth.”
Elliot Grainge, leader of Atlantic Records, was recognized as Executive of the Year for his turnaround of the storied music factory with buzzy releases such as Warren’s “Ordinary,” Rosé, as well as longer-standing artists like Bruno Mars, Charli xcx and Coldplay, Cardi B and Twenty One Pilots. He heaped credit on Atlantic’s artists and his executive team. “Labels get a bad rep today for being labels, rightly are wrongly. We are all human,” he observed. The most important role that labels play in the lives of artists is to “push them to heights we all wish we could go to ourselves,” he said.
Singer Addison Rae and her collaborators Luka Kloser and Elvira Anderfjard were tipped as rising stars by receiving the Future is Female award. “This music exists because of how we showed up for one another,” Kloser told the crowd. “Being part of that trust and support has been very inspiring to me.”
Fuerza Regida, the Mexican American band from San Bernardino, was feted as Humanitarians of the Year for their work to help families with food drives and and through the hardships inflicted on Latino communities through the ICE immigration raids that have shocked the nation.
“This award is the most important because we are for the people. This is our dream,” said the band’s Jesús Ortiz Paz, better known to fans as JOP.
“Kpop Demon Hunters” singer Rei Ami was briefly overwhelmed as she accepted her kudo alongside Huntr/x’s EJAE and Audrey Nuna. Ami shook it off with an impromptu pep talk to herself that got a laugh from the crowd: “Don’t cry, bitch. Get it together!” After years of hard work and little recognition, Ami said the trio’s work as Huntr/x presented “the perfect chance for the three of us. An opportunity to become friends and sisters for life.”
Rising star Rosé, who fielded a big hit with “Apt.” in tandem with Bruno Mars, also reflected on how quickly success can strike. The collaboration with the veteran hitmaker led to “an absolute explosion of surprises and an overwhelming amount of love.” And she admitted that gaining international recognition has been “a tiny bit of a mindf—.”
The mighty Republic Records prevailed once again as Hitmakers’ Label of the Year. The group’s imprints were responsible for no less than 10 of the tunes on this year’s Hitmakers top 25 list. Marleny Reyes, Republic’s long-serving general manager, accepted on behalf of the company. She said the secret to Republic’s success is found in its leaders and in the artists they champion. “It is an army and a family,” she said while emphasizing, “We got nothing without our musicians who have so much power and energy. They are so inspiring.”
Premier partners for Hitmakers included TikTok, Riot Games, CashApp & Visa.
(Pictured: “Kpop Demon Hunters” stars Rei Ami, Audrey Nuna and EJAE at Variety‘s Hitmakers brunch)
