Nominations for the 64th Grammy Awards were announced this week, with the ceremony due to take place on January 31st, 2022. It’s the most sought-after prize in the music business and some artists have emerged this week as real frontrunners.
18-year-old Olivia Rodrigo is this year’s big breakthrough. The Californian singer-songwriter won seven nominations in total and will be hoping to replicate Billie Eilish’s achievement in 2021 of winning all four of the main categories in one year: best album, best new artist, record of the year, and song of the year.
She’s competing against Lil Nas X and Billie Eilish in all four categories apart from Best New Artist, and Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever” is definitely in the running for best album, so nothing is set in stone.
Swedish band Abba received their first Grammy nomination for their song “I Still Have Faith In You”, which is up for record of the year. Meanwhile, Coldplay picked up their 36th nomination for “Higher Power” (best pop group performance).
Jazz keyboardist Jon Batiste leads the nominations with 11 in total; eight for his fifth studio album “WE ARE”, and three for music he composed for the Disney movie “Soul”.
Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and H.E.R. are joint next with eight nominations each, while Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo are close behind with seven.
Interestingly, the Weeknd picked up three nominations this year after he was famously snubbed at the 2021 awards, despite having one of the most commercially successful albums and singles of the year with “After Hours” and “Blinding Lights”. The Canadian singer had said last year that he would boycott the awards, so it remains to be seen if he will be attending the ceremony.
Another interesting sub-story is the Drake vs Kanye rap album of the year. When Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy” and Ye’s “Donda” came out within a few days of each other, the internet went crazy trying to figure out which was better.
Ye has come out on top with nominations though, as “Donda” is up for best album and best rap album, while “CLB” is only up in the genre category.
See below for nominations in the four general field categories:
Record of the Year
ABBA – I Still Have Faith in You
Jon Batiste – Freedom
Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga – I Get a Kick Out of You
Justin Bieber Featuring Daniel Cesar & Giveon – Peaches
Brandi Carlile – Right on Time
Doja Cat Featuring SZA – Kiss Me More
Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever
Lil Nas X – Montero (Call Me by Your Name)
Olivia Rodrigo – Drivers License
Silk Sonic – Leave the Door Open
Album of the Year
We Are – Jon Batiste
Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga – Love for Sale
Justin Bieber – Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe)
Doja Cat – Planet Her (Deluxe)
Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever
H.E.R. – Back of My Mind
Lil Nas X – Montero
Olivia Rodrigo – Sour
Taylor Swift – Evermore
Kanye West – Donda
Song of the Year
Ed Sheeran – Bad Habits
Alicia Keys & Brandi Carlile – A Beautiful Noise
Olivia Rodrigo – Drivers License
H.E.R. – Fight for You
Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever
Doja Cat Featuring SZA – Kiss Me More
Silk Sonic – Leave the Door Open
Lil Nas X – Montero (Call Me by Your Name)
Justin Bieber Featuring Daniel Cesar & Giveon – Peaches
Brandi Carlile – Right on Time
Best New Artist
Arooj Aftab
Jimmie Allen
Baby Keem
Finneas
Glass Animals
Japanese Breakfast
The Kid Laroi
Arlo Parks
Olivia Rodrigo
Saweetie
A list of the FULL nominations can be found here.
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