Grammy nominations target big names - Beyonce, Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift - and diverse choices
The Grammys continue to evolve, offering a diverse slate of nominees in its top categories, while also rewarding major names such as Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber.
Nominations for the 63rd annual Grammy Awards ceremony, which will take place on Jan. 31 in Los Angeles, were announced online Tuesday afternoon by Recording Academy president Harvey Mason Jr., along with a handful of musicians including Sharon Osbourne, Imogen Heap, Megan Thee Stallion and Lauren Daigle — all also appearing virtually from their respective locations around the country.
Top vote-getter Beyonce — with nine — landed in record and song of the year categories with “Black Parade.” British songstress Dua Lipa (with six nominations) earned nods for record and song of the year (“Don’t Start Now”) and album of the year (“Future Nostalgia”), while other six-time nominees Roddy Ricch and Swift hit the big categories as well (record and song of the year for Ricch’s “The Box”; album of the year for Swift’s acclaimed “Folklore” and song of the year for “Cardigan”).
Bieber picked up four nods, including best pop duo/group performance for “Intentions,” his collaboration with Migos member, Quavo.
But this year’s slate will be recognized for notable variety that reflects the current music industry.
Along with Swift and Dua Lipa, the album of the year picks are Jhene Aiko (“Chilombo”); Black Pumas (“Black Pumas, Deluxe Edition”); Jacob Collier (“Djesse Vol. 3”); Haim (“Women in Music Pt. III”); Post Malone (“Hollywood’s Bleeding”); and the seeming mainstream outlier, Coldplay (“Everyday Life”).
Song of the year contenders are, along with Swift, Beyonce, Dua Lipa and Ricch, “If the World Was Ending” (JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels); “I Can’t Breathe” (H.E.R.); “Everything I Wanted” (Billie Eilish); and “Circles” (Post Malone).
The record of the year nods go to Beyonce, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and Post Malone, as well as “Colors” (Black Pumas); “Rockstar” (DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch); “Say So” (Doja Cat); and “Savage” (Megan Thee Stallion — one of four nominations for her — featuring Beyonce).
The newer names vying for best new artist are Ingrid Andress, Phoebe Bridgers, Chika, Noah Cyrus, D Smoke, Doja Cat, Kaytranada and Megan Thee Stallion.
Among Georgia nominees, the Atlanta-born sister duo of Chloe x Halle scored in three categories: best progressive R&B album (“Ungodly Hour”), best traditional R&B performance (“Wonder What She Thinks of Me”) and best R&B song (“Do It”).
- Hip-hop star Future earned a nomination for best music video for his “Life is Good” clip with Drake.
- Breakout rapper Lil Baby will compete for best rap performance and best rap song with “The Bigger Picture.”
- Lecrae landed in the best contemporary Christian music performance/song category for “Sunday Morning” (along with Atlanta songwriter Lasanna Harris), as well as best gospel performance/song for “Come Together,” from Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins Presents: The Good News.
- Kentucky transplant Jack Harlow is also nominated for best rap performance, for “What’s Poppin’.”
- Current Atlanta resident Big Sean is also in the best rap performance category with “Deep Reverence,” featuring Nipsey Hussle.
- Luke James is in the mix for best R&B album with “To Feel Love/d.”
- Migos’ Quavo is up for best pop duo/group performance for “One Day,” his collaboration with Bieber.
- Atlanta hip-hop duo Earthgang are nominated (with Tiana Major9) for best R&B song for “Collide.”
- Atlanta-based engineer/mixer Colin Leonard factors in two record of the year nominations, for Beyonce’s “Black Parade” and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage.”
- New York-born Atlanta resident Samuel Gloade is part of the song of the year and best rap song categories as a co-writer for Ricch’s “The Box.”
Other Georgia natives who picked up nods include Dave Cobb (producer of the year, non-classical); Robert Cray (best traditional blues album, “That’s What I Heard”); Lady A (best country dup/group performance, “Ocean”); and Little Big Town (best country duo/group performance, “Sugar Coat” and best country album, “Nightfall”).
The Grammy Awards will air at 8 p.m. Jan. 31 on CBS with “The Daily Show” star Trevor Noah serving as host.
For a full list of nominations in 84 categories, visit grammy.com. Nominees were voted on by members of The Recording Academy for the eligibility period of Sept. 1, 2019 through Aug. 31, 2020.
About the Author
Melissa Ruggieri has covered music and entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 2010 and created the Atlanta Music Scene blog. She's kept vampire hours for more than two decades and remembers when MTV was awesome.
