Truth doesn’t hurt for Lizzo at the Grammys
New star leads pack with eight nominations.
NEW YORK — The Grammys are screaming “Cuz I Love You” to Lizzo: The breakthrough singer-rapper scored a whopping eight nominations, including bids for the top four awards, making her the show’s top-nominated act.
Lizzo picked up nominations for album of the year with her majorlabel debut, “Cuz I Love You”; song and record of the year with her anthemic No. 1 hit, “Truth Hurts”; and best new artist.
Like Lizzo, other new artists dominated with Grammy nominations on Wednesday: Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X earned six nominations apiece.
Eilish also scored nominations in the top four categories, making the 17-year-old the youngest artist in the history of the Grammys to achieve the feat. Lil Nas X, 20, is up for three of the top four awards, including album and record of the year for “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus.
Lizzo’s “Cuz I Love You,” Eilish’s “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” and Lil Nas X’s “7”— an 8-song EP — will compete for album of the year along with Ariana
Grande’s “Thank U, Next,” Bon Iver’s “I, I,” Vampire Weekend’s “Father of the Bride,” H.E.R.’s “I Used to Know Her” and Lana Del Rey’s “Norman (Expletive) Rockwell!”
Nominees for record of the year include songs that hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this year, including “Old Town Road,” “Truth Hurts,” Eilish’s “Bad Guy,” Grande’s ”7 Rings” and Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower.” H.E.R.’s “Hard Place,” Bon Iver’s “Hey, Ma” and Khalid’s “Talk,” which peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100, round out the eight nominees.
While Taylor Swift was shut out of album of the year with “Lover,” the album’s title track earned a nomination for song of the year, a songwriter’s award. It will compete with “Truth Hurts,” “Bad Guy,” “Hard Place,” Lady Gaga’s “Always Remember Us This Way” from “A Star Is Born,” Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved,” Lana Del Rey’s “Norman (Expletive) Rockwell” and Tanya Tucker’s “Bring My Flowers Now,” co-written by Brandi Carlile.
Swift earned three nominations, while Beyoncé — who was shut out of the top three categories — scored four.
Grande, who won her first Grammy earlier this year, scored five nominations, as did H.E.R. and Finneas, Eilish’s older brother who co-wrote, co-produced and engineered her debut album. Finneas’ nominations include producer of the year (non-classical) and best engineered album (non-classical).
Several acts picked up four nominations, including J. Cole, Gary Clark Jr., Lucky Daye, Thom Yorke, Bob Ludwig and Tanya Tucker, who in August released her first album of new songs in 17 years.
British country-soul performer Yola also scored four bids, including best new artist, pitting her against Lizzo, Lil Nas X, Eilish, pop singer Maggie Rogers, New Orleans group Tank and the Bangas, the Austinbased duo Black Pumas and Spanish singer Rosalia, who won album of the year at last week’s Latin Grammys.
Lizzo’s road to the Grammys has been a long one, but this year marked her major breakthrough: Her song “Truth Hurts” topped the charts for seven weeks; she’s wowed audiences with her live performances — including her twerking while playing the flute. She’s also graced several magazine covers, earning praise for promoting body positivity and denouncing fat shaming.
Lizzo’s other nominations include best urban contemporary album, best pop solo performance for “Truth Hurts,” best traditional R&B performance for “Jerome” and best R&B performance for “Exactly How I Am.”
The 2020 Grammys will hand out awards in its 84 categories live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Jan. 26.