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The Berkshires native was at his parent’s house in Pittsfield with his 2-year-old daughter when his phone started blowing up on November 15, 2022.
“I just got a ton of texts saying, ‘Congratulations,” the musician told Daily Voice. “Then I remembered all the nominees were announced [that] morning.”
Cusson then called his wife to tell her the good news while she was away for work in New York City. Once she caught wind of her husband’s nomination, she instantly put her job on hold.
“I called her, and she texts me saying, ‘I can't talk right now we're about to go on set,’ and I said, ‘I’m nominated,’” Cusson recalled. “She called me right back, [and] she's like, ‘they can wait. This is incredible!’”
Cusson’s work on Kings Return’s A Capella rendition of “How Deep Is Your Love” by the Bee Gees earned him a nomination for Best Arrangement, Instrumental Or A Cappella at the 2023 Grammys.
The song came about when bass singer Gabe Kunda messaged Cusson on Instagram asking if he wanted to collaborate. Cusson agreed, and it ended in a historic high for the artist.
“I've won some awards before, but this is my first Grammy nomination so it's pretty special,” Cusson said. “I couldn't have picked a nicer bunch of guys; an awesome, talented bunch of guys to kind of go through this journey with. It's pretty awesome.”
Before rubbing elbows with music moguls like Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, and Christina Aguilera, Cusson grew up in a musical home in Pittsfield. His dad worked as a choir director, arranger, songwriter, and piano player before transitioning to a role in insurance.
Meanwhile, Cusson’s mom was a classical pianist who taught students out of her home. Cusson was also influenced by his siblings’ music tastes, which ranged from anything from Billy Joel to Earth, Wind & Fire.
“I think I was just like a Petri dish of everything," he said. "I think I just soaked it all up and honestly, there was never a moment I didn't want to be a musician. As far as I can remember, it was always music.”
Cusson started singing at weddings and funerals around Western Massachusetts. His first performance came at a club in Lenox, MA, when he was 10 years old. Cusson would go on to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston where he had a chance encounter with one of his idols.
“That's where I met Brian McKnight and started working with him,” Cusson said.
After playing piano and singing in front of McKnight’s musical director Rob Lewis, Cusson dropped out of Berklee that night. He flew to McKnight’s house in Los Angeles the next day where he signed a deal and started writing “a bunch of tunes.”
All this was a precursor to Cusson’s long career that reflects his hunger for music and versatility.
“My goal when I was at Berklee was I want to one day be a one-stop shop for artists to come if they need a singer, piano, producer, arranger,” he said. “I want to be that one guy that I can take you from the beginning of an idea to put the music out.”
Clearly, the music Cusson is putting out is worth the accolades. He won a Billboard Songwriting Award for his self-titled debut album in 2008 as well as two John Lennon Songwriting Awards for the “Maxwell Song of the Year” in 2009 and “Best R&B Song” in 2017.
Now fans will see if Cusson will add Grammy Award winner to his extensive resume.
The ceremony will broadcast live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles starting at 8 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 5. A full list of this year’s nominees can be found on the Grammy’s website.
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