The Hollywood Reporter and Spotify kicked off Golden Globes weekend in a major way on Thursday night, throwing a star-studded bash in celebration of this year’s TV, film and podcast nominees.
The Nominees Night party, which served as an official Golden Week event, featured performances from Chaka Khan, John Legend, Sinners star Miles Caton and a late-night DJ set from Mark Ronson, alongside a guest list that included Amy Poehler, Odessa A’zion, Quinta Brunson, Natasha Lyonne and Heated Rivalry breakouts François Arnaud and Robbie G.K.
Janelle James, Quinta Brunson, Evan Ross and Natasha Lyonne.
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Chaka Khan
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The event took over two soundstages on The Lot at Formosa for the lively affair, which featured three separate photo installations — including a THR portrait studio right off the red carpet, shot by photographer Guy Aroch — and food offerings from Pink’s Hot Dogs, Trejo’s Tacos and Rokusho sushi, alongside an extensive candy station. Spotify gave a special shoutout to the inaugural best podcast nominees, with each recognized show — Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard, Call Her Daddy, Good Hang With Amy Poehler, The Mel Robbins Podcast, SmartLess and NPR’s Up First — getting a signature drink and signature appetizer inside the party.
“It’s a really important moment for the podcasting industry because there is a profound amount of production that goes into some of the top shows; we put about 100 hours of production into every one of the 104 episodes we release,” Robbins told The Hollywood Reporter on the carpet of podcasts being honored by the Globes this year. “So to know that a global awards ceremony like this recognizes the excellence in production and the impact we’re making globally, it’s so cool. It’s one thing to make a difference, it’s also really cool to be making history.”
Mel Robbins and Jane Seymour.
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What felt like another historic moment came when Heated Rivalry‘s Arnaud and Robbie G.K., who play Scott Hunter and Kip in the smash hit, arrived at the party together, posing for photos alongside co-star Nadine Bhabha. Arnaud joked to THR about Hudson Williams’ viral moment (getting down on all fours with Jimmy Fallon) on The Tonight Show on Tuesday, teasing it was “Hot. Good. Funny. I like that.”
Robbie G.K., François Arnaud and Nadine Bhabha.
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Inside the party, the two were hit with constant selfie requests and a swarm of onlookers but still found plenty of time to dance with their squad. Elsewhere, Poehler — whose new Good Hang podcast became an instant must-listen this year — popped in along with Ringer boss Bill Simmons, and Marty Supreme star A’zion took advantage of the photo opportunities, while Drew Starkey kept close by and recorded her photo-booth poses on his phone.
Odessa A’zion.
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Bill Simmons and Amy Poehler.
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Nobody Wants This co-stars Jackie Tohn and Timothy Simons chatted and danced with friends, while Lyonne caught up with Joel Madden and Evan Ross, and Brunson teamed up with Janelle James for their night out. Legend bopped to the music and took polaroids with Chrissy Teigen while he waited to take the stage, and Bill Maher, Jameela Jamil, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Kumail Nanjiani, Storm Reid, Rita Wilson, Sinners producer Sev Ohanian, Nina Dobrev, Chrishell Stause, Chris Appleton, Natalie Morales, Keegan-Michael Key, Dylan McDermott, Simon Rex, Harvey Guillén, Andrew Taggart of The Chainsmokers, KPop Demon Hunters songwriter Mark Sonnenblick, Ariana Madix, Rhett & Link, YouTuber Dhar Mann, Garcelle Beauvais, podcaster Chris Williamson, Russell Tovey, Matt Friend and Ronson’s wife Grace Gummer, along with sister Mamie Gummer, were also spotted eating, drinking, photographing and soaking up the awards season celebrations.
Miles Caton performs “I Lied to You.”
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After an hour and a half of mingling, Caton took the stage for a rocking performance of Sinners tune “I Lied to You,” which is nominated for best original song at Sunday’s ceremony. Chaka Khan followed and had the room dancing to her hits, including “I’m Every Woman” and “Ain’t Nobody,” and Legend slowed things down at the piano for a short set of his classic songs while shouting out this year’s awards contenders.
Ronson — also a nominee for his Avatar: Fire and Ash song “Dream as One,” performed by Miley Cyrus — closed out the evening from the DJ booth, sending guests grooving into the night — with an Easy Street Burgers truck parked outside for one last late-night bite (where Olympian and rugby star Ilona Maher was spotted sharing a laugh with Running Point‘s Drew Tarver).
Joe Hadley (global head of music partnerships & audience, Spotify), John Legend, Dustee Jenkins (chief public affairs officer, Spotify), Maer Roshan (THR editor-in-chief) and Lori O’Connor (THR executive vp and publisher).
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Mark Ronson spins during Nominees Night.
Matt Winkelmeyer/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images
Golden Globes producer Dick Clark Productions is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and Eldridge that also owns The Hollywood Reporter.
