Grammys<\/a> didn\u2019t exist, I\u2019d still be doing the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\tWhat\u2019s your key to consistently scoring a nod in this field?<\/p>\n
\n\tIt\u2019s hard to say. I just keep trying to follow my instincts and do my best to not get in the way of the process.<\/p>\n
\n\tAll of the work included in your nomination was released through your label, Easy Eye. How does it feel to see your roster succeed?<\/p>\n
\n\tI just want to help artists make the music they truly want to make. It\u2019s a privilege to be trusted with that opportunity. Easy Eye exists to give them that freedom. The label and the studio allow us to work fast and instinctually. To not worry about trends or industry pressure. Our role is rudimentary \u2014 support the vision and serve the song.<\/p>\n
\t\tCirkut\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Cirkut\"](\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-billboard-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tCirkut<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKenneth Cappello<\/p>\n
\n\tHow did you find out you were nominated for producer of the year, non-classical?<\/p>\n
\n\tI watched it live \u2014 I was still in bed! I couldn\u2019t believe my eyes. Leading up to it, there\u2019s always moments when you think you might have a shot, but to see it actually happen was surreal. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve really formally celebrated, but all the love and support I\u2019ve been getting from other music people, friends and family has meant everything.<\/p>\n
\n\tHow does this year\u2019s class of producer nominees represent what\u2019s resonating in music today?<\/p>\n
\n\tEach nominee brings their own distinct style to the table. I\u2019m glad that the Recording Academy is being proactive in representing both established names as well as new names across all genres.<\/p>\n
\n\tFive of your seven total nominations are across the album, record and song of the year categories for your work with Lady Gaga and Ros\u00e9 with Bruno Mars. How does that reflect your major 2025?<\/p>\n
\n\tGaga had an absolutely incredible year. I don\u2019t often work on full albums, so being involved in 12 out of 14 tracks made the AOTY nomination [for MAYHEM] especially meaningful to me\u2026 To see \u201cAPT.\u201d become such a phenomenon is so cool \u2014 Ros\u00e9 and Bruno are absolute superstars and gave the record such a distinct personality. It\u2019s been one of those rare records that captures the attention of people of so many different ages and backgrounds. I can\u2019t count how many times I\u2019ve had people tell me, \u201cWait, you did that song?! That\u2019s my 5-year-old\u2019s favorite song and now I love it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBoth \u201cAPT.\u201d and Gaga\u2019s \u201cAbracadabra\u201d are nominated for record and song of the year \u2014 what\u2019s the key to a hit landing in both categories?<\/p>\n
\n\tIf I knew the key, I would do it every year.<\/p>\n
\t\tDijon\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tDijon<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tZachary Harrell Jones<\/p>\n
\n\tHow did you react to earning your first Grammy nominations?<\/p>\n
\n\tI was asleep in the front lounge of my tour bus and I smiled!<\/p>\n
\n\tHow does this year\u2019s class of producer nominees represent what\u2019s resonating in music today?<\/p>\n
\n\tBlake Mills is a friend and extremely influential, so it seems communal and cool. I also really love the beat for the song \u201cGNX\u201d [by Kendrick Lamar, which Sounwave co-produced], so I\u2019m in rad company.<\/p>\n
\n\tYour second nomination is for album of the year with Justin Bieber\u2019s SWAG. What\u2019s a favorite memory from working on that album?<\/p>\n
\n\tFreedom and adventure. No expectations and no judgment, plenty of wine, all hands on deck. Really grateful for the time.<\/p>\n
\n\tHow would you celebrate a win come Grammys night?<\/p>\n
\n\tPut my son to bed, then invite homies to my garage for a beer.<\/p>\n
\t\tBlake Mills\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tBlake Mills<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJacob Blickenstaff<\/p>\n
\n\tHow did you find out you were nominated for producer of the year, non-classical?<\/p>\n
\n\tI woke up to a bunch of very sweet \u201ccongratulations\u201d texts from my friends and family, but I was totally confused as to what they were about. Five minutes later, I realized the Grammy nominations were being announced, and after 20 minutes of Googling, it started to feel like I was getting really close to finding out what I had been nominated for. It was surreal and hysterical.<\/p>\n
\n\tThis is your third time being nominated in this category. What would a win mean to you?<\/p>\n
\n\tThe community of people producing records right now is just so diverse, and it\u2019s cool that we all share that same credit of \u201cproducer\u201d while being drastically different in our practices. Songs and albums that we worked on this year may have each required something completely unique from us, so choosing the \u201cbest\u201d producer out of the lot is kind of an impossible task.<\/p>\n
\n\tYou\u2019re no stranger to best engineered album, non-classical, but this is your first time scoring two simultaneous nominations in the category. How does that reflect your output in the last 12 months?<\/p>\n
\n\tI\u2019ve just kept my head down and worked on one thing or another every day of my life since I was about 18. I am incredibly lucky to do this for a living \u2014 playing and collaborating with so many incredible artists \u2014 so I rarely feel that burnout from being overworked. I\u2019ve enjoyed staying busy throughout my career and just try to do as much as I possibly can every year.<\/p>\n
\t\tSounwave\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tSounwave<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAren Johnson<\/p>\n
\n\tYou have 18 Grammy nominations, but this is your first for producer of the year, non-classical. Why was this the year, and what would a win mean to you?<\/p>\n
\n\tI\u2019ve been blessed to do what I love for more than 20 years, and I\u2019ve poured everything into my work each of those years. That\u2019s why receiving this nomination means so much to me on so many levels. And a win will show that I\u2019m living proof that you don\u2019t have to change who you are or what you believe in to receive major blessings. Stay focused, stay true and keep the faith.<\/p>\n
\n\tYou and Kendrick Lamar have collaborated for years \u2014 what\u2019s the key to your success?<\/p>\n
\n\tTrust \u2014 always. And always keep it authentic and real with each other. We\u2019ve been in sync in just about every aspect of life since day one. And of course, it doesn\u2019t hurt that he\u2019s one of the most genuine and amazing human beings I\u2019ve ever met. He makes the work fun and exciting with every album.<\/p>\n
\n\tYou\u2019re the only producer in this class to be nominated for just one project. How does that speak to the impact of GNX?<\/p>\n
\n\tI\u2019m a firm believer that when you have a platform capable of reaching the masses, you should use it to push boundaries and explore creative outlets with purpose. GNX was our way of planting a flag in our culture while transcending the rap genre. And being on a stadium world tour seeing the reactions showed us just how important that message truly was.<\/p>\n
\n\tThis story appears in the Dec. 6, 2025, issue of Billboard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No women will be competing for producer of the year, non-classical at the 2026 Grammy ceremony, in contrast…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":330122,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,62695,5275,136,20671],"class_list":{"0":"post-330121","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-grammys","12":"tag-magazine","13":"tag-music","14":"tag-producers"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/330122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}