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The Musical Hype deep dives into 2022 GRAMMY Award nominations, focused on some of the key categories including the big four.
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I
t’s that time again! The 🏆 2022 GRAMMY award nominations have been announced! This is always exciting for musicians and music enthusiasts alike. For us music enthusiasts, critics, and biz folks, we often lament the mistakes made in the nomination process as well as who ultimately wins. Last year, The Recording Academy made one of the biggest snubs to date, failing to nominate 🎙 The Weeknd for 💿 After Hours, his best album and a surefire contender for the top awards. This year, thankfully, the nominations are stronger with far fewer snubs. So, let’s deep dive into the big four categories as well as some other intriguing categories!🎶 Record of the Year 🎶
I’m not shocked to see 🎙 Justin Bieber (🎵 “Peaches”), 🎙 Brandi Carlile (🎵 “Right on Time”), 🎙 Billie Eilish (🎵 “Happier Than Ever”), 🎙 Doja Cat (🎵 “Kiss Me More”), 🎙 Lil Nas X (🎵 “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)”), 🎙 Olivia Rodrigo (🎵 “drivers license”), and 🎙 Silk Sonic (🎵 “Leave the Door Open”). Bieber, Lil Nas X, Rodrigo, and Silk Sonic all topped the Billboard Hot 100 with their respective songs. “Drivers license” in particular was dominant.
💿 Album of the Year 💿
Slightly less surprising nominations include 🎙 Kanye West (💿 Donda) and 🎙 Justin Bieber (💿 Justice – Triple Chucks Deluxe). Both West and Bieber have been nominated here previously. This is West’s fourth AOTY (💿 The College Dropout, 💿 Late Registration, and 💿 Graduation previously) nomination and Bieber’s second (💿 Purpose).
Interestingly, I predicted another AOTY nomination for 🎙 H.E.R. (💿 Back of My Mind) based on her success at various awards shows. That said, I would’ve been shocked if 🎙 Billie Eilish (💿 Happier Than Ever), 🎙 Doja Cat (💿 Planet Her), 🎙 Lil Nas X (💿 Montero), 🎙 Olivia Rodrigo (💿 Sour), and 🎙 Taylor Swift (💿 evermore) weren’t nominated.
That leaves six albums in contention in my book. I’m going to be skeptical about two more: 🎙 H.E.R. and 🎙 Doja Cat. I would’ve put H.E.R. in the first tier of albums I don’t expect to win, but let’s not forget, she won Song of the Year unexpectedly last year (🎵 “I Can’t Breathe”). As for Doja, Planet Her was a fine album that showed off her versatility, I’m just not sure it’s ‘strong enough’ among heavyweights.
Down to four contenders in my eyes: 🎙 Billie Eilish (💿 Happier Than Ever), 🎙 Lil Nas X (💿 Montero), 🎙 Olivia Rodrigo (💿 Sour), and 🎙 Tony Bennett & 🎙 Lady Gaga (💿 Love for Sale). Of those four, I’m less enthused about the Bennett/Gaga album, but understand and respect why it stands a chance. That said, I prefer a battle between previous winner Eilish, previous nominee Lil Nas X, and electrifying newbie, Rodrigo.
🎶 Song of the Year 🎶
I like the other seven nominees her for serious contention. Is it a coincidence all seven are also nominated in the Record of the Year category? 🎙 Billie Eilish (🎵 “Happier Than Ever”), 🎙 Doja Cat (🎵 “Kiss Me More”), 🎙 Justin Bieber (🎵 “Peaches”), 🎙 Lil Nas X (🎵 “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)”), 🎙 Olivia Rodrigo (🎵 “drivers license”), and 🎙 Silk Sonic (🎵 “Leave the Door Open”). To me, maybe aside from another H.E.R. upset, these are the contenders.
Best New Artist
Pop
Pop Duo/Group Performance: I like all five nominees here 😀. Based on the biggest nominations, one would expect this contest to come down to 🎙 Tony Bennett & 🎙 Lady Gaga (🎵 “I Get a Kick Out of You”) and 🎙 Doja Cat featuring 🎙 SZA (🎵 “Kiss Me More”). That said, could 🎙 BTS swoop in here smooth like 🎵 “Butter” and pull off the upset?
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Mark my words, it’s 🎙 Tony Bennett & 🎙 Lady Gaga, 💿 Love for Sale.
Best Pop Vocal Album: Notice, only one album nominated in this category isn’t contending for Album of the Year – Ariana Grande, 💿 Positions. That’s fair as her previous albums are better. Let’s say we take her out of the equation, who wins? This one feels like a 🎙 Billie Eilish / 🎙 Olivia Rodrigo battle to me. Eilish is nominated in three out of the four big categories – all she’s eligible for – while Rodrigo is nominated in all four. Of course, can’t even necessarily use that logic considering Bieber and Doja are also nominated in three out of four big categories… The snub? 🎙 Lil Nas X for 💿 Montero, which is a pop album.
Rock
Rock Album: Except for snubbing 🎙 Deftones, the album category looks like the performance nominations. Replacing Deftones is 🎙 Paul McCartney with 💿 McCartney III – understandable. Could the beloved icon win? You bet. Still, what about 🎙 AC/DC (💿 Power Up) or 🎙 Foo Fighters (💿 Medicine at Midnight). Also, don’t count out posthumous Chris Cornell!
Alternative
R&B
Best Progressive R&B Album: This category is often among the most random in my eyes. I like🎙 Lucky Daye, 💿 Table for Two, here, but when the name 🎙 Robert Glasper is attached (💿 Dinner Party: Dessert), watch out.
Best R&B Album: This is one of the best categories of the entire field. I often have beef with R&B but having 🎙 Snoh Aalegra (💿 Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies), 🎙 Jon Batiste (💿 We Are), 🎙 Leon Bridges (💿 Gold-Diggers Sound), 🎙 H.E.R. (💿 Back of My Mind), and 🎙 Jazmine Sullivan (💿 Heaux Tales) duke it out feels right. We all know this comes down to H.E.R. and Batiste.
Rap
Best Melodic Rap Performance: Another competitive category! The two names that get my attention immediately are 🎙 Lil Nas X (featuring Jack Harlow) 🎵 “Industry Baby” and 🎙 Doja Cat, 🎵 “Need to Know”. I like Nas X in that head to head. However, I love the other three records courtesy of 🎙 J. Cole (🎵 “P R I D E . I S . T H E . D E V I L”), 🎙 Tyler, the Creator (🎵 “Wusyaname”), and 🎙 Kanye West (🎵 “Hurricane”).
Best Rap Album: Solid category. Could 🎙 Kanye West win his first Grammy for rap album in years? He is nominated for Album of the Year, so, seems as if he has more momentum. Still, I’d argue that there are three better albums than 💿 Donda: 🎙 J. Cole, 💿 The Off-Season, 🎙 Nas, 💿 King’s Disease II (💿 King’s Disease won last year), and 🎙 Tyler, The Creator, 💿 Call Me If You Get Lost. Give me a Nas repeat or a second Grammy for Tyler.
Country
Best Country Song: Doesn’t 🎵 “Fancy Like” by 🎙 Walker Hayes have to win Best Country Song??? 😂 😂 😂 It won’t, of course 😉.
Best Country Album: While it would be sweet if 🎙 Mickey Guyton could make history with 💿 Remember Her Name, I fully expected 🎙 Chris Stapleton wins easily with 💿 Starting Over.
Final Thoughts 💭
Reaction: 2022 GRAMMY Award 🏆 Nominations | Deep Dive 🤿 [📷: Brent Faulkner, Columbia, Darkroom, Geffen, Interscope, Jake Houglum via Pexels, Kemosabe, The Musical Hype, RCA]
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