Rise up: Female voices take center stage at Grammys

Nday for years and stumbled across songs that really meant something to me,” Musgraves, who worked on the album for a year and a half, told the AP on Friday. “I feel like I learned a lot about myself in making this record and I feel like I got to the heart of my own matter more so than I ever have.”

This year’s nominees mark a departure from the Grammys held earlier this year, where Recording Academy CEO Neil Portnow was criticized when he said women need to “step up” when asked about the lack of women in the top categories. He later acknowledged that it was a “poor choice of words,” and it forced the academy to launch a new task force focused on inclusion and diversity.

Kendrick Lamar and Drake are the top Grammy contenders for the 2019 show, earning eight and seven nominations apiece, respectively. They both are nominated in the album, record and song of the year categories.

But they are in competition with some top-notch female acts, including Lady Gaga, SZA, Maren Morris, Ella Mai and Carlile, nominees in either song or record of the year, or in both.

The singer H.E.R., who earned five nominations, is the only best new artist contender to receive an album of the year nomination. In best new artist, she’s one of six women nominated for the prize, along with Bebe Rexha, Dua Lipa, Margo Price, Chloe x Halle and Jorja Smith.