67th GRAMMYs: Alumni Work on Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter, Usher’s Coming Home, and Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N’ Sweet

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67th Grammys

12 alumni credited on 15 different projects that have garnered a total of 34 nominations

12 alumni from The Los Angeles Film School contributed their talents to GRAMMY-nominated artists including Beyonce (Cowboy Carter), Usher (Coming Home), Sabrina Carpenter (Short N’ Sweet), Muni Long (Revenge), Shenseea (Never Gets Late Here), Khelani (Crash), Willow (Empathogen), Future & Metro Boomin (We Don’t Trust You), SZA (Saturn) and Luis Fonsi (El Viaje). 

The Music Industry’s Biggest Night Includes Our Very Own Alumni

Alumni Brandon Harding (Recording Arts 2013) is personally nominated as a Recording Engineer on Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter album, which is nominated for record, song and album of the year. We proudly recognize Jaycen Joshua (Audio 2003), Jacob Richards (Recording Arts 2017), Anthony Vilchis (Recording Arts 2018), Oscar Cornejo (Music Production 2019), Ethan Stevens (Recording Arts 2014), Henrique Andrade (Recording Arts 2011), Hector Castro (Recording Arts 2014), Andres Borda Zabala (Recording Arts 2011), Julio Ulloa (Recording Arts 2015), Sir Darryl Farris (Recording Arts 2012) and Rafael Fadul (Recording Arts 2018)  for their contributions including recording engineering, mix engineering, composing, lyricist, and mastering. The 67th GRAMMY Awards will air on Sunday, February 2, here in Los Angeles.

GRAMMY Buzz is swirling around Los Angeles in anticipation of who will win the Recording Academy’s biggest awards of the night. If the nominations are reliable indicators, Beyoncé may come out on top since she leads with 11 nominations in all three of the Grammys‘ top categories — record, song and album of the year. However, she faces megastars and newcomers Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter in being nominated for all three.

Tune in Sunday, February 2nd at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+ to follow along.

GRAMMY-Nominated Contributions

Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter leads the pack with 11 total nominations, including Record, Song, and Album of the Year:

  • Jaycen Joshua (Recording Arts 2003) – Mixing Engineer
  • Brandon Harding (Recording Arts 2013) – Recording Engineer
  • Henrique Andrade (Recording Arts 2011) – Recording Engineer
  • Jacob Richards (Recording Arts 2017) – Assistant Engineer
  • Usher’s Coming Home, nominated for Best R&B Album
  • Jaycen Joshua (Recording Arts 2003) – Mixing Engineer
  • Brandon Harding (Recording Arts 2013) – Recording Engineer
  • Jacob Richards (Recording Arts 2017) – Assistant Recording Engineer
  • Anthony Vilchis (Recording Arts 2018) – Assistant Mixing Engineer

Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N’ Sweet 

  • Anthony Vilchis (Recording Arts 2018) – Assistant Mixing Engineer

Muni Long’s Revenge – nominated for 4 Grammys including Best R&B Album

  • Jaycen Joshua (Recording Arts 2003) – Mixing Engineer
  • Jacob Richards (Recording Arts 2017) – Assistant Engineer

Khelani’s Crash – nominated for 3 Grammys including Best Progressive R&B Album

  • Jaycen Joshua (Recording Arts 2003) – Mixing Engineer
  • Jacob Richards (Recording Arts 2017) – Assistant Engineer

Shenseea’s Never Gets Late Here – nominated for Best Reggae Album

  • Jaycen Joshua (Recording Arts 2003) – Mixing Engineer

Willow’s Empathogen – nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical; Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals

  • Oscar Cornejo (Music Production 2019) – Recording Engineer

Future & Metro Boomin’s We Don’t Trust You – nominated for Best Rap Album and Best Melodic Rap Performance

  • Ethan Stevens (Recording Arts 2014) – Composer, Lyricist, Executive Producer, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer

Benson Boone’s Fireworks & Rollerblades – nominated for Best New Artist

  • Rafael Fadul (Recording Arts 2018) – Engineer.

Anitta’s Funk Generation – nominated for Best Latin Pop Album

Rafael Fadul (Recording Arts 2018) –  Engineer / Producer

Kaytranada’s Timeless – nominated for 3 Grammys including Best Dance/Electronic Album

  • Sir Darryl Farris (Recording Arts 2012) – Composer / Lyricist

Marsha Ambrosius’ “Wet” – nominated for Best Traditional R&B Performance

  • Julio Ulloa (Recording Arts 2015) – Recording Engineer / Studio Personnel 

Nxworries’ Why Lawd? – nominated for Best Progressive R&B Album

  • Julio Ulloa (Recording Arts 2015) –  Recording Engineer

Latto’s “Big Mama” – nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance 

  • Jacob Richards (Recording Arts 2017) – Assistant Engineer

In an interview with Inside Track Magazine, Ethan said, “While studying at the LARS, I got an internship at Paramount Recording Studios, but I could not go on to be hired at Paramount because I wasn’t 21 yet. I ended up interning for a production team called the Stereotypes, and worked at a BBQ restaurant, until I got a call from Paramount in 2014 and was hired as a runner. My biggest mentors there were Victor Luevanos, who is now Dr Dre’s engineer, and Randy Urbanski, who works with a lot of the big producers [Afrojack, Skrillex, Kanye]. They both gave me a lot of insight as to how to handle clients/artists, microphone and signal chain techniques, and how to use the SSL.” In September 2017, Metro Boomin offered Stevens a job as his regular engineer and mixer, and he’s been there ever since. Stevens also engineers and mixes for other artists, like Gunna, Future, 21 Savage, and Offset.