Houston stars nab Grammy nominations
Lizzo, a charismatic new pop and R&B star who spent her younger years in Houston, has been nominated for eight prizes at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards, leading a class dominated by fresh faces like Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X.
Lizzo spent much of the last decade as a struggling rapper and singer, but broke through this year with hits like “Juice” and “Truth Hurts,” and a bold, body-positive persona. Little known to mainstream audiences a year ago, she is now up for every major award at the Grammys, including album of the year for the deluxe version of “Cuz I Love You,” record and song of the year for “Truth Hurts,” and best new artist, the Recording Academy announced Wednesday.
Not so long ago, the Grammys were routinely criticized for rewarding journeyman stars and rock elders at the expense of pop’s younger and more vital ranks. No longer. Continuing a trend that has been building for several years, the latest crop of nominees are young, diverse and largely reflective of the forefront of pop.
Lizzo’s competition includes two artists with six nominations each: Eilish, a 17-year-old alternative auteur who has built a wildly devoted following, and Lil Nas X, a 20-year-old rapper and master of internet memes whose “countrytrap” hybrid “Old Town Road” became an all-pervasive cultural phenomenon this year, breaking Billboard’s singles chart record with 19 weeks at No. 1.
But Lizzo isn’t the only performer with Houston ties to score recognition. The Houston Chamber Choir, a Bayou City institution which started when Lizzo was just 7 years old, was recognized for its work with a nomination for best choral performance.
The Houston Chamber Choir and its artistic director and conductor Robert Simpson were nominated for “Duruflé: Complete Choral Works,” a performance of music by 20th century French composer Maurice Duruflé.
The recording was also part of a second Grammy nomination: Blanton Alspaugh was nominated for producer of the year, classical, for his work on eight recordings including “Duruflé: Complete Choral
Works.”
Simpson started the Houston Chamber Choir in 1995. The group comprises 20 singers, described on the organization’s site as having “studied at the top music schools and conservatories in the United States including Julliard, New England Conservatory, University of Houston, and University of Texas.”
The choir commissions, performs and records the work of contemporary
Texas composers, while also looking deeper into choral music history for works. “Ravishingly Russian” was an album of 19th and 20th century Russian secular choral music. The group also preformed a world permiere of a piece by Giovanna Paolo Colonna, a 17th century Italian composer.
The Houston Chamber Choir recorded Duruflé’s complete choral works two years ago at the Edythe
Bates Old Recital Hall at Rice University with organist Ken Cowan. It was released in April.
Houston institutions have won Grammys before, as recently as 2018, when the Houston Symphony’s performance of Alban Berg’s “Wozzeck” won best opera recording for the album “Berg: Wozzeck.”
The awards ceremony will be held Jan. 26 in Los Angeles and broadcast by CBS.
Among this year’s other top nominees, Ariana Grande received five nods, including record of the year for “7 Rings” and album of the year for “Thank U, Next.” The young R&B singer H.E.R., who took home two awards at the most recent Grammys, is also up for five, including album of the year for “I Used to Know Her” and record and song of the year for “Hard Place.”
In a conspicuous rebuffing of a major star, Taylor Swift — a 10-time winner and onetime darling of the academy — received three nods, but only one in a major category: “Lover,” the title track of her latest album, is up for song of the year. Swift’s song “You Need to Calm Down” is up for best pop solo performance, and “Lover” for best pop vocal album.