Leading up to THE 58TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS®, CBS.com is celebrating the next generation of musicians with the launch of the “Artists of Tomorrow” program, presented by Xfinity. Artists of Tomorrow showcases three rising stars handpicked by GRAMMY veterans and gives the public the chance to pick one of the rising stars to perform during GRAMMY Live, The Recording Academy and CBS’s multiplatform streaming coverage of all the behind-the-scenes action leading up to and throughout THE 58TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS®.
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Eclectic singer/songwriter Donn T is one of the artists that has been nominated as an Artist of Tomorrow, and she was nominated by none other than Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, legendary drummer of The Roots, Grammy-winning producer, and bandleader of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
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Donn T’s sophomore album, Flight Of The Donn T (D-Tone Victorious/MRI/RED) was released in 2015 to near-universal acclaim. Bama Love Soul called Flight “a delightful mixed bag of eclecticism”, while The Philadelphia Weekly praised Donn T‘s “effortless cool” and compared her to talented artists St. Vincent and Lianne La Havas.
Donn T defies categorization-playing and recording in a diverse range of styles from house and trip hop, to acoustic soul and pop. She first made an impact with 2010’s critically acclaimed and aptly titled Kaleidoscopic. Over the years, she has shared the stage with and opened for a diverse array of artists such as Marsha Ambrosius, Little Dragon, Alice Smith, Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy), Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, John Legend, Nelly Furtado, Amy Winehouse, and Zap Mama. She’s also had songs placed on television and in movies including the Showtime crime drama Street Time, UPN’s series Kevin Hill, BET’s Ava DuVernay (“Selma”)-directed feature film I Will Follow, and in commercials for the wireless audio product Sonos.
The Philadelphia native comes from a storied musical lineage. Her grandfather was Beachy Thompson of the pioneering gospel group The Dixie Hummingbirds. Her father is Lee Andrews, leader of legendary doo-wop group Lee Andrews & The Hearts. He was also in the soul group Congress Alley, along with Donn T’s mother, Jacqui. Donn T’s brother, Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, is a Grammy-winning musician and bandleader of The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. Family ties notwithstanding, Donn T is a unique talent in her own right.
Voting is now open to determine which of the three nominated artists will win the opportunity to perform during GRAMMY Live. Voting can be done daily through CBS.com or on Twitter by tweeting with the hashtag #artistsoftomorrow. Voting closes on February 10th, and the winner’s GRAMMY Live performance will be streamed on February 15th at 9 PM EST.
