This ‘Truth’ feels fine
Lizzo leads the way at Grammy Awards
If it isn’t Lizzo’s world musically these days, try telling that to those who vote for the Grammy Awards. After a widely watched “Saturday Night Live” appearance, the singer leads the nominees with eight bids in the Recording Academy’s 62nd annual honors. CBS televises the ceremony from Los Angeles’ Staples Center on Sunday with 15time competitive Grammy winner Alicia Keys hosting for the second consecutive year.
Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X follow with six nominations each, the latter in part for collaborating with countrymusic veteran Billy Ray Cyrus on “Old Town Road.” Among other notable aspects of these Grammys: Former first lady Michelle Obama is nominated for best spoken word album (for the audio version of her bestseller “Becoming”); and the legendary Woodstock concert is a factor again, thanks to “Woodstock: Back to the Garden — The Definitive 50th Anniversary Archive.”
Also, while Taylor Swift has three bids, that situation doesn’t involve any drama over who owns the rights to the related material. Her latest Grammy nominations involve “Lover,” her first album on the Republic label after her exit from Big Machine Records … with which she had a recent, much-reported debate on social media over ownership of her earlier music and whether she legally could perform it.
Following are the nominees in several categories in the 62nd annual Grammy Awards.
Record of the year: “Bad Guy,” Billie Eilish; “Hard Place,” H.E.R.; “Hey, Ma,” Bon Iver; “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus; “7 Rings,” Ariana Grande; “Sunflower,” Post Malone and Swae Lee; “Talk,” Khalid; “Truth Hurts,” Lizzo
Album of the year: “Cuz I Love You (Deluxe),” Lizzo; “Father of the Bride,” Vampire Weekend; “I, I,” Bon Iver; “I Used to Know Her,” H.E.R.; “Norman (expletive) Rockwell,” Lana Del Rey; “7,” Lil Nas X; “Thank U, Next,” Ariana Grande; “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?,” Billie Eilish
Song of the year: “Always Remember Us This Way,” Lady Gaga; “Bad Guy,” Billie Eilish; “Bring My Flowers
Now,” Tanya Tucker; “Hard Place,” H.E.R.; “Lover,” Taylor Swift; “Norman (expletive) Rockwell,” Lana Del Rey; “Someone You Loved,” Lewis Capaldi; “Truth Hurts,” Lizzo
Best pop solo performance: “Bad Guy,” Billie Eilish; “7 Rings,” Ariana Grande; “Spirit,” Beyonce; “Truth Hurts,” Lizzo; “You Need to Calm Down,” Taylor Swift
Best rap/sung performance: “Ballin,” Mustard featuring Roddy Ricch; “Drip Too Hard,” Lil Baby and Gunna; “Higher,” DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend; “The London,” Young Thug featuring J. Cole and Travis Scott; “Panini,” Lil Nas X
Best country solo performance: “All Your’n,” Tyler Childers; “Girl Goin’ Nowhere,” Ashley McBryde; “Ride Me Back Home,” Willie Nelson; “God’s Country,” Blake Shelton; “Bring My Flowers Now,” Tanya Tucker.