LIZZO LEADS THE WAY
Grammy nominations feature a more diverse field
Pop newcomers Lizzo, Billie Eilish and country rapper Lil Nas X dominated Grammy nominations on Wednesday in a list for the highest awards in the music industry that favoured diversity and women over such established stars as Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran.
Canadian nominees include Toronto rapper Drake with two — sharing with Rick Ross for best rap song in Gold Roses and with Chris Brown for R&B song No Guidance.
Pickering, Ont.-born Shawn Mendes is nominated with real-life girlfriend Camila Cabello for best pop duo or group performance for their single Señorita.
Toronto-born Jessie Reyez earned her first Grammy nod, for the urban contemporary album, for Being Human in Public.
Oshawa, Ont.-born Daniel Caesar gets a fourth career nod with Brandy for best R&B performance for their song Love Again. Burnaby, B.c.-born Michael Bublé’s collection Love is nominated for best traditional pop vocal album. Alberta band Northern Cree received a ninth career Grammy nomination. When It’s Cold — Cree Round Dance Songs is nominated for best regional roots music album.
Lizzo, the body-positive Truth Hurts and Juice singer, scored a leading eight nods, including in the top categories of album and record of the year and best new artist.
“Thank you,” tweeted Lizzo. “This has been an incredible year for music and I’m just so thankful to even be a part of it.”
Eilish, the 17-year-old Los Angeles alt-pop sensation known for Bad Guy, got six nods, along with black, gay country rapper Lil Nas X, 20, whose catchy Old Town Road with Billy Ray Cyrus topped the Billboard singles charts for a record 19 weeks this year.
The trio will compete in the album of the year race with indie band Bon Iver, pop-rocker Lana Del Rey, pop singer Ariana Grande, rockers Vampire Weekend and R&B artist H.E.R.
Grande got five nominations, including for her hit 7 Rings while Beyoncé scored four, mostly for the songs she wrote for the new version of The Lion King and for the Homecoming concert film of her 2018 Coachella show.
Five of the eight album of the year nominees were women and four female artists will compete for record of the year, injecting new life into the Grammy Awards, which has a tradition of rewarding the same artists.
Deborah Dugan, the new chief executive of the Recording Academy whose members select the nominees and winners, said the nominations marked a new era for the organization that “welcomes diversity, embraces creativity and champions young musicians on the rise.”
That meant that 10-time Grammy winner Swift, whose new album Lover is one of the year’s biggest sellers, was omitted for a second straight year from the album and record of the year categories, along with British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. Swift got three nods — song of the year for Lover, best pop vocal album and pop solo performance.
Other acts snubbed by the Grammys included K-pop band BTS, which has a huge following in the United States but got no nominations on Wednesday; veteran rocker Bruce Springsteen, whose album Western Stars was well reviewed; the newly reunited Jonas Brothers, who got just one nod, for single Sucker; and British singers Sam Smith and Lewis Capaldi.
The Grammy Awards will be handed out in Los Angeles on Jan. 26 in a ceremony hosted by Alicia Keys.