Mikael Wood writes about pop music in all its ever-quickening splendor. Prior to joining the Los Angeles Times in 2012, he was a freelance contributor to Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, Spin and the Village Voice. He grew up in Little Rock, Ark., graduated from Northwestern University and knows every word to “Mo Money Mo Problems.” He was named pop music critic in 2016.
Latest From This Author
The Bush frontman says he’s not a professional chef. Yet he just started cooking on TV.
Fresh from a Grammy win for his work on Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter,” the musician and producer tells how he made some of his best-loved tunes.
Also on the ballot for the Class of 2025 are Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Maná, Billy Idol and the White Stripes, among others.
The Compton rapper spent much of his 13 minutes on the field at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome flirting with whether or not he’d perform his 2024 smash about Drake.
The pop star named best new artist at Sunday’s Grammy Awards challenged her critic to donate $25,000 to struggling musicians.
A new live album documents the first tour by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. ‘We were a brand-new band just learning to play,’ says Stephen Stills.
The pop superstar’s win with “Cowboy Carter” says as much about the Recording Academy as it does about her.
Beyoncé won album of the year at the 2025 Grammy Awards with ‘Cowboy Carter.’
The L.A. band Dawes, whose members were seriously impacted by the Eaton fire, on what it meant to perform Newman’s early-’80s classic.
Follow along as pop music critic Mikael Wood and staff writer August Brown discuss the 2025 Grammys’ biggest winners, best performances and most jaw-dropping moments.