TORONTO — Toronto songwriter Scott Zhang and Montreal conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin emerged as early Canadian winners at the Grammy Awards.
Zhang picked up best R&B song as part of the team behind SZA's "Saturn."
Nézet-Séguin landed his fifth career Grammy, which he shared with actor Bradley Cooper and the London Symphony Orchestra for their work on the music in Netflix's film "Maestro."
The group won best compilation soundtrack for visual media with the album “Maestro: Music By Leonard Bernstein.”
The Grammy awards were handed out during a pre-broadcast ceremony where most of the winners are announced. It streams live from Los Angeles on the Grammys website and YouTube.
Other Canadians are vying for gold this year for their work on albums by some of the biggest names in pop — Beyoncé, Chappell Roan, Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter.
The 67th Grammy Awards will broadcast on Citytv and CBS at 8 p.m. ET.
Zhang accepted his Grammy alongside several of his SZA collaborators by thanking his parents and noting that he just moved to Los Angeles a day ago.
But his music career has been in motion for more than a decade. Aside from writing songs for other artists, he has recorded indie pop under the moniker Monsune.
In more recent years, he's written for several acts, including Drake. Zhang is credited as a writer on "Race My Mind," which appeared on the Toronto rapper's 2021 album "Certified Lover Boy."
Drake was not nominated this year — he has said in the past he abstains from submitting — but his presence loomed at this year's event due to the success of his rival Kendrick Lamar's song "Not Like Us."
The track, which blasts Drake, earned Lamar wins for best rap song and best rap performance.
When Sean Ono Lennon accepted a Grammy win for a re-release of his late father John Lennon's album "Mind Games," he emphasized a message of peace and love before changing the subject.
"I wanted to give some advice to the young people out there," he said.
"Never get into a rap battle with Kendrick Lamar."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 2, 2025.
David Friend, The Canadian Press
