High notes: 4 artists who deserve Grammy love
Let’s get beyond Beyonce. Oh, we won’t forget Beyonce. No one can forget Beyonce. But with a leading nine 2021 Grammy nominations (and a total of 24 Grammys already in her trophy case), Queen Bey isn’t lacking for attention.
Looking past the superstars — Dua Lipa, Roddy Ricch and Taylor Swift could be the night’s other big winners with six nominations each — the other artists up for Grammys represent a diverse range of voices and talents. The milestones matter: For the first time, female artists or female-fronted bands filled the best rock performance category; Mickey Guyton became the first Black woman to be nominated for best country solo performance. But the music matters more.
Here are four artists that all deserve wins, platinum records and loads more attention ahead of Sunday’s ceremony.
Brittany Howard
With five nods, including one for best rock performance, Howard has more nominations than anyone outside of the superstars mentioned above. Turns out taking time away from her band Alabama Shakes was the right move. With solo record “Jamie,” Howard zigzagged between Motown pop, Paisley Park funk, indie rock and soul from Sam Cooke to SZA. “I really had the freedom to do exactly what I wanted,” she told the Herald. “That could be a good or bad thing I suppose but I’m really happy with how it all turned out. Everything was done intentionally.”
Phoebe Bridgers
She smashed her guitar on “Saturday Night Live” last month and got a lot of press. The real story should be her album “Punisher.” On the LP, Bridgers shows how comfortable she is traversing poles. Much of the record has her doing fragile, tender and gossamer indie folk. But she can charge up huge sonic peaks (see “ICU” and “I Know the End”). In categories full of aces, Bridgers adds some extra magic to best rock performance, best rock song, best alternative album and best new artist.
Chloe x Halle
These sisters make R&B. But what kind? The duo vie for best R&B song, best progressive R&B album and best traditional R&B performance. Chloe x Halle fuse a ’90s R&B vibe with modern arrangements, beats and production and winks at Beyonce (who signed them to her label). “The first two months of trying to put together (the album “Ungodly Hour”) we were in a headspace that wasn’t really ours,” Halle said. “We were taking what other people were saying into consideration, considering what other people wanted from us, considering altering and changing ourselves. After two months of failed sessions of songs we hated, we said, ‘We are going to go back to just being confident in ourselves and who we are’ and started from scratch.” The results of relaxing into who they are landed them three Grammy nominations.
Chick Corea
OK, Corea has already won 23 Grammys. But maybe make it one more for the Chelsea-born jazz piano legend who passed away last month. Corea’s career began in earnest when he started working with Miles Davis way back in the ’60s. It ends in 2021 with two nominations. One of those is for his solo on Davis’ standard “All Blues,” which is, in classic Chick fashion, highly melodic and recklessly unhinged all at once.