Black Pumas couldn’t believe their own success after their incredible 2020.
The musical duo, comprised of members singer Eric Burton, 31, and guitarist producer Adrian Quesada are up for threeGrammy Awardsat the 63rd AnnualGrammy Awardson Sunday.
The pair are up for record of the year and best American roots performance for their track “Colors.” Black Pumas are also up for the coveted album of the year award for their eponymous deluxe edition album.
“It’s almost hard to believe and take in,” Quesada tells PEOPLE. “Sometimes, I have to pinch myself every once in a while that we’re in this situation, but it feels good. It feels good because we work hard and we like that people were actually connecting with the music.”
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Eric Burton and Adrian Quesada of Black Pumas.Jody Domingue
And Burton shares identical sentiments, saying, “I’m still just pinching myself, just the same.”
Black Pumas made their music debut in 2017. In January 2018, they peaked at No. 18 onBillboard’sBandsintown + Global Rising Artists Independent chart. Quesada and Burton remained on the list for eight weeks.
They also peaked at No. 3 on the Next Big Sound chart and remained on the list for five weeks.
Still, the star producer says they continue to stay grounded. “We try to keep our feet on the ground and just stay focused,” he tells PEOPLE. “It’s easy to get swept up in what those situations can do to your head, but we just take it all in stride and feel honored to do it. But really, [we] try to stay focused on music and be ready for events and moments, [such as] big stages like the Grammys when they come.”
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Quesada explains that while he expected Black Pumas to succeed, “This has surpassed my expectations. [In fact,] every once in a while, Eric will be like, “Hey…” [and] I’m like, “Oh, we’re way beyond what I told you I thought was going to happen.' I mean, I could feel it early on. I could feel a lot of buzz and synergy between Eric and I musically, but this has surpassed [what I believed]. We’re in a whole other stratosphere right now.”
The singer’s musical roots began at church and he delved deeper into the art until college.
One particular achievement that stood out to him was, “when we [saw] that “Colors” reached [No.] 35 million streams on Spotify.”
PEOPLEandEntertainment Weeklyare also teaming up to bring you some glamour and award show speculation ahead of theGrammy Awardson Sunday, even if most of the nominees and guests will be at home wearing sweatpants.
The livestream will broadcast live from New York City and will feature celebrity interviews both virtual and in-person from the Grammys red carpet in Los Angeles.
source: people.com
