GOTTA ‘LOVE’ IT
Lizzo gets the most noms for Grammy
Grammy nominations day went “Good as Hell” for breakout star Lizzo.
The pop and hip hop artist celebrated for promoting body positivity leads the pack with eight nominations, including nods in each of the top four categories. She’s up for Best New Artist, while her hit track “Truth Hurts” is a finalist for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Her album “Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)” is nominated for Album of the Year.
“This has been an incredible year for music and I’m just so thankful to even be part of it,” Lizzo tweeted after the nominations were announced. “We are all winners.”
Meanwhile, Taylor Swift fans may need to calm down. While the pop star’s recent album “Lover” racked up eye-popping sales and streaming numbers, it wasn’t nominated for Album of the Year or Record of the Year in what many considered a major snub.
The album’s title track, “Lover,” was nominated for Song of the Year during Wednesday’s announcements, which came about two months before the music awards show takes place on Jan. 26 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Those being celebrated this year include several young performers, as charttopping stars Billie Eilish, 17, and Lil Nas X, 20, each received six nominations, including for Best New Artist.
Like Lizzo, Eilish is a finalist in each of the major categories, as her song “Bad Guy” is up for Song of the Year and Record of the Year, while “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” is nominated for Album of the Year.
Lil Nas X was nominated for Album of the Year for “7” and Record of the Year for “Old Town Road (Remix),” his country and rap crossover hit featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. The original version of that song and the remix with Cyrus combined for 19 consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart, setting a record.
“NO F—-ING WAY,” Lil Nas X tweeted Wednesday after learning of his nominations.
Lizzo, 31, earned a tremendous following this past year with her hit songs and high-energy performances. The Detroit native — born Melissa Viviane Jefferson — actually released the single “Truth Hurts” in 2017, but the song didn’t reach the Billboard charts until this year, peaking at the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 list on Sept. 9.
Another one of her songs, “Good as Hell,” reached the No. 2 spot earlier this month. Both songs are part of Lizzo’s “Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)” album, which came out in April.
Lizzo recently made headlines after a Postmates driver whom she accused of stealing her delivery order sued her last week.
Also on Wednesday, NBC announced Lizzo would be the musical guest on the Dec. 21 episode of “Saturday Night Live,” which is much anticipated as Eddie Murphy returns to host.
Swift, too, has garnered attention of late after she tweeted last week that her former label was preventing her from performing her old music at this Sunday’s American Music Awards. The Big Machine Label Group has denied the claim by Swift, 29, and since said it reached an agreement with the show’s producers that would allow Swift to perform hits recorded under their label.
Another prominent pop star who fared well Wednesday was Ariana Grande, whose “thank u, next” album is nominated for Album of the Year and whose song “7 Rings” received a nod in the Record of the Year category. Lana Del Rey, meanwhile, was nominated for Album of the Year for “Norman F—-ing Rockwell!” and for Song of the
Year for that album’s title track. Although Swift fans might not agree, perhaps the biggest snub was that of Korean-pop phenomenon BTS, which was shut out. The group became the first K-pop act to top the Billboard charts with “Map of the Soul: Persona,” but Grammy voters were not impressed.
Manhattan-born musician Alicia Keys returns to host the Grammys, which will air on CBS, after emceeing the awards show last year.