Selena Quintanilla, Talking Heads to be honored at Grammys

Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Late singer Selena Quintanilla and the Talking Heads will be honored at the 2021 Grammy Awards in January.

The Recording Academy announced its new Special Merit Awards honorees in a press release Tuesday.

Quintanilla, who died at age 23 in March 1995, will receive a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award. The singer, known as the "queen of Tejano music," previously won Best Mexican-American Album for Live at the 1994 Grammy Awards.

Talking Heads, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Lionel Hampton, Marilyn Horne and Salt-N-Pepa will also receive Lifetime Achievement Awards. Ed Cherney, Benny Golson and Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds will receive Trustee Awards, with Daniel Weiss to be honored with the Technical Grammy Award.

"As we welcome the new class of Special Merit Award honorees, it gives us a chance to reward and recognize the influence they've had in the music community regardless of genre," Recording Academy interim president Harvey Mason, Jr., said in a statement.

"As a music creator and music lover, I am grateful that we are able to look back at our influences and see the impact that they have made on our community," he added. "In a year where music has helped keep us together, I look forward to honoring this iconic group of music creators."

The 2021 Grammys will take place Jan. 31 and air on CBS. Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift lead the field of nominees.

Netflix explores Quintanilla's life and music in the new biographical drama Selena: The Series, which premiered this month. The show stars Christian Serratos as Quintanilla.