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Grammys 2020: who will win the big categories and who should

Billie Eilish and Lizzo are competing for a string of the top prizes, but could the likes of Ariana Grande, Lana Del Rey and Rosala cause upsets?

Noise threatens to drown out the music at the 2020 Grammy awards. A line had been drawn under the tone-deaf leadership of Neil Portnow, who had presided over the ceremony since 2002 between 2013 and 2018, Grammy winners were 91% male, but, after a 2018 ceremony where men swept the board again, Portnow said it was on women to step up and create opportunities for themselves.

A woman, Deborah Dugan, replaced him; a taskforce was appointed, and in December they published their report, calling for greater diversity in the Academy voters. Any hopes that they had moved on, though, were scotched last week by Dugan being suspended for alleged misconduct; Dugan countered by saying she had been sexually harassed, that the Academy had covered up an alleged rape by Portnow, and that the voting was corrupt.

So we go into this years ceremony more jaded than ever, but the irony is that, no matter how poisonous the Academy is and regardless of whether it is rigged or not, we ended up with a much more diverse range of nominees this year. Leading the pack are Lizzo with eight noms and Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X with six each a vibrantly youthful and non-conformist trio. But will the Academy members shake off the past and vote for the future?

Record of the year

Bon Iver Hey, Ma
Billie Eilish Bad Guy
Ariana Grande 7 Rings
HER Hard Place
Khalid Talk
Lil Nas X ft Billy Ray Cyrus Old Town Road
Lizzo Truth Hurts
Post Malone & Swae Lee Sunflower

Aside from the merely pleasant HER and Khalid tracks, this is a strong field. While lots of eyes are on Lizzo and Eilish, this could perhaps be Ariana Grandes year. Its her first time with nominations in the big four categories rather than being patronised in the pop awards and, with its My Favourite Things melody, doddering Academy voters might listen to 7 Rings and say: Hey, its one I know! Triumphant earworm Old Town Road is the longest-running No 1 in US history; Bad Guy is a showcase of the kind of fiendish genius usually employed by Hollywood horror movies to construct elaborate ways for teenagers to get killed. But an Academy eager to telegraph its modernity might go for Lizzo: Truth Hurts is a great underdog story, reaching No 1 two years after release, and her charisma is near universally infectious.

Will win: Lizzo Truth Hurts
Should win: Billie Eilish Bad Guy

Album of the year

Bon Iver i, i
Lana Del Rey Norman Fucking Rockwell!
Billie Eilish When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Ariana Grande Thank U, Next
HER I Used to Know Her
Lil Nas X 7
Lizzo Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)
Vampire Weekend Father of the Bride

This is Grandes best chance of a big win. Thank U, Next is a superbly realised almost-concept album about heartache, grief and moving on that can be witty, even caustic, but never cruel it sealed her as one of the three or four definitive pop stars of our time. Lizzo, HER and Lil Nas X are hampered with too much 6/10 material across their albums; Lana Del Rey was the critical hit of the year and will certainly beat out fellow Pitchfork darlings Bon Iver and Vampire Weekend, but may not cut through to the more august and mainstream Academy members. Eilish was the inescapable pop-cultural breakthrough of the year, and her album has such terrific range and invention. She will, hopefully, squeak this.

Will win: Billie Eilish
Should win: Billie Eilish

Song of the year

Lady Gaga Always Remember Us This Way
Billie Eilish Bad Guy
Tanya Tucker Bring My Flowers Now
HER Hard Place
Taylor Swift Lover
Lana Del Rey Norman Fucking Rockwell
Lewis Capaldi Someone You Loved
Lizzo Truth Hurts

Piano-driven ballads dominate the songwriting category, including Taylor Swifts only big nomination. Lover is such classic American songcraft, though Lewis Capaldis powerful Someone Like You is the best of these ballads and it would be a British win to remember. Eilish is streets ahead in terms of songwriting innovation and should win for that Duh! alone. But, while Truth Hurts most famous lyric (I just took a DNA test, turns out Im 100% that bitch) may have been plagiarised and its British author later added to the credits, Lizzo has this sewn up. The lyrics are hilarious, and it is a massively successful example of that new school of songwriting where a single melody is repeated over and over until the brainwashed public is involuntarily chanting it and then clawing hopelessly at their faces.

Will win: Lizzo Truth Hurts
Should win: Billie Eilish Bad Guy

New artist

Black Pumas
Billie Eilish
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
Maggie Rogers
Rosala
Tank and the Bangas
Yola

Nice to see some country-soul curveballs here in the excellent Black Pumas and Yola, though the less said the better about the tune-free Tank and the Bangas at any rate, theyre all making up the numbers. Maggie Rogers didnt really break beyond her fanbase with her underrated debut album, and Im sure the Academy will see Lil Nas X merely as a two-hit wonder. Lizzos debut album came out in 2013, whereas Eilish has only just turned 18 and feels like the rightful owner of this award. But you can bet than every Latinx voter is going to be going for the astoundingly talented Rosala, who won big at the Latin Grammys and could cause an upset here.

Will win: Billie Eilish
Should win: Billie Eilish

Pop solo performance

Beyonc Spirit
Billie Eilish Bad Guy
Ariana Grande 7 Rings
Lizzo Truth Hurts
Taylor Swift You Need to Calm Down

Just as performances where you cry, shout and climb inside the carcass of a bear win you Oscars, the leading pop award rather behoves you to give it some welly not for nothing has Adele won it three times. Eilish and Grandes variously murmured and chatted performances will appear to the Academy like weirdo arthouse choices here, and even Swift is in a relatively conversational mode. Beyoncs ponderous Spirit was the lame old wildebeest eaten by the younger jackals on the Lion King soundtrack, so this is Lizzos to lose.

Will win: Lizzo
Should win: Billie Eilish

Rock performance

Bones UK Pretty Waste
Gary Clark Jr This Land
Brittany Howard History Repeats
Karen O & Danger Mouse Woman
Rival Sons Too Bad

Anyone looking for evidence of backroom dealing in the Academy might well make Bones UK their exhibit A: Pretty Waste is the kind of creative vacuum beloved only of nihilistically cocaine-addicted LA music industry execs looking for something to soundtrack rock bottom. The rest is pretty good. Rival Sons riffs and hollering make them the most tangibly rock thing here Karen O essays 60s pop, and Brittany Howards History Repeats is a kind of bluesy funk tune, but with mainstream rock stranded out on a sandbar while rappers and pop stars taunt it on jetskis, they need to blur the genre lines. Gary Clark Jr could edge this with his politically charged This Land, half-rapped over a heavily skanking backing.

Will win: Gary Clark Jr
Should win: Rival Sons

Rap performance

J Cole Middle Child
DaBaby Suge
Dreamville feat JID, Bas, J Cole, Earthgang & Young Nudy Down Bad
Nipsey Hussle feat Roddy Ricch & Hit-Boy Racks in the Middle
Offset feat Cardi B Clout

Many voters hearts will go with Nipsey Hussle, whose murder last year robbed the world of a skilful, soulful MC who united backpacker hip-hoppers and mainstream rap fans. Racks in the Middle also features Roddy Rich, who has broken through spectacularly over the last year. But the track pales next to two others here: DaBabys Suge is a slowly prowling piece of minimalism that makes Offset sound fussily overworked in comparison; its ridiculous that DaBaby isnt up for best new artist. He is rather damaged goods after a series of run-ins with the law, however. That could hand Middle Child the win, on which J Cole raps as if hes high-stepping across the surface of a lake, his triplet time full of balletic grace.

Will win: J Cole
Should win: DaBaby

Country solo performance

Tyler Childers All Yourn
Ashley McBryde Girl Goin Nowhere
Willie Nelson Ride Me Back Home
Blake Shelton Gods Country
Tanya Tucker Bring My Flowers Now

If you scoff at country, youll probably always scoff at country, but this spread of songs shows off the admirable breadth of the genre and may pique your interest yet. Willie Nelsons song is a bit something-and-nothing; Tanya Tuckers Bring My Flowers Now is nominated in the song of the year category, and its live-for-today message and simple piano backing will appeal across the Academy, but its rather workmanlike. Ashley McBryde outdoes her in the ballad stakes, but its Tyler Childers and Blake Shelton both strongly channelling the gospel and soul music that not so secretly underpins country who are the strongest here. Childers song would make for a classy first wedding dance, while Sheltons stirring ode to proud Christian labour, while deeply unfashionable, will have you gazing soulfully across a cornfield.

Will win: Tanya Tucker
Should win: Tyler Childers

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jan/24/grammys-2020-who-will-who-should-win-lizzo-billie-eilish-ariana-grande-lana-del-rey-rosalia

Catharsis queen: how Billie Eilish became the voice of Gen Z and the Grammys

With her radical style and songs of self-loathing, the singer has swept the board at this years biggest music awards and inspired devotion from her fellow teenagers

Just before Billie Eilish won album of the year at the Grammys on Sunday night, she was caught on camera. Please dont be me, please, she appeared to be saying, as if appalled by her own success.

It had been an extraordinary evening. The 18-year-old whispery pop innovator swept all of the big four categories album of the year, record of the year, song of the year and best new artist with her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?. She became only the second person in history to do so and the first woman and youngest person (the first person to win all four of these awards in one go was Christopher Cross, in 1981). She also broke a record previously held by Taylor Swift. A decade ago, Swift became the youngest person to win album of the year, aged 20. Eilish unseated her, with an offering that would never have seemed likely to seduce the mainstream. As her brother and collaborator Finneas explained in their acceptance speech: We wrote an album about depression and suicidal thoughts and climate change We stand up here confused and grateful.

Back when Swift was the one sweeping awards ceremonies with country-tinged love songs, no one would have predicted that her successor would look and sound like Eilish: a deadpan goth who was once described by rapper Tyler, the Creator as a 17-year-old girl who dresses like a quarterback. But for anyone who has been paying attention, Eilishs Grammys dominance shouldnt come as a surprise. After all, she is the quintessential Generation Z pop star (and the first true global star to be born in this millennium), with a teenage fanbase clamouring around her just as intensely as one did around Swift a decade ago.

The singer has been making music since the age of 13, when she and Finneas (then 17) created Ocean Eyes, a gentle swarm of an electronic pop song, in his bedroom. They uploaded it to SoundCloud and the song went viral thanks to Eilishs fragile falsetto vocal and the pairs talent for a sweeping, evocative hook. But as they kept writing together helped by their actor/artist parents, who homeschooled them in music theory and slept in the living room of their Los Angeles home to give them the room to create Eilishs appeal deepened.

Eilish
Eilish with her five Grammy trophies. Photograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Weaving in snippets of field recordings, including a dental drill, and samples from the US version of The Office, the pair developed a strange, experimental kind of pop music that borrows from the world of ASMR YouTube videos (in which closeup recordings of whispers and hair-brushing are used to trigger a tingling response). The dark, depressive themes of Eilishs lyrics (I wanna end me, goes one of her catchiest refrains), her low-key vocal style and her androgynous fashion sense may have held her back from mainstream pop fame in the past. But to Gen Z, those are all the things that make her beloved: shes a nonchalant, nihilistic figure who rejects everything that pop girls have historically been told they have to be in order to be successful. Where peoples idea of a pop star has traditionally been upbeat, bombastic and focused on performance, Eilish is moody and quiet, made for streaming in the background or playing on your headphones. In some ways, you might say Taylor Swift has been succeeded by the anti-Taylor Swift.

Her style is the first thing many notice about her and the biggest signal that she refuses to be boxed into gendered expectations of pop stars. At the Grammys on Sunday, she wore a black and green customised Gucci suit that covered her body entirely covered, the loosely cut trousers trailing over her sneaker-clad feet. In a Calvin Klein campaign last year, she explained that the reason she dresses in baggy clothes is that nobody can have an opinion because they havent seen whats underneath. Nobody can be like: Shes slim-thick, Shes not slim-thick, Shes got a flat ass, Shes got a fat ass. No one can say any of that because they dont know.

She knows all too well the scrutiny that the bodies of female stars are subject to and, in true Gen Z fashion, she has chosen to opt out of all that noise. Her stylist, Samantha Burkhart, once told Vogue Australia that Eilish lives in this place of genderlessness and ambivalence towards clothing, which I think is very freeing in a lot of ways. She is not buying into the hypersexualised idea of what femininity is.

If pop music under the reign of Swift, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga in the 00s was about choruses you could scream, Eilishs is pop music to weep into your pillow. Her latest single, Everything I Wanted, is an aching, gentle meditation on how her sudden rise to fame made her suicidal; an older cut, the creepy Idontwannabeyouanymore, is a bitter expression of low self-esteem and negative self-talk. For kids who feel as if they are battling these same issues, Eilishs self-loathing can sound like catharsis.

And there are a lot of them. In the UK, there has been a 48% rise in anxiety and depression among teenagers in the past 15 years. This is a generation who have been contending with austerity, fear of the climate crisis, ever-growing exam pressures and social media scrutiny as they have grown up and a generation who are constantly failed by a lack of access to mental health services. Yet it is also a generation who are more acutely aware of theirmental illness than others one American survey found that Gen Zers were 27% more likely to report their mental health as poor than adults.

Eilish
Eilish on stage in Inglewood, California. Photograph: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

This isnt to say Eilishs introspective style is unprecedented rather, it harks back to the emos who ruled the early 00s a genre that is currently experiencing a revival of its own. My Chemical Romance, who captured a generation of misfits with their breakout single Im Not Okay (I Promise) in 2004, recently sold out their two UK comeback shows in minutes. Eilish, along with eyelinered contemporaries including Lauv and Yungblud, is their spiritual successor without the thrashing guitars. If you removed the hushed ballad audio from the video of her hit When the Partys Over, in which she wears thick chains and bleeds black liquid from her eyes, it could easily pass for a 00s emo classic.

One thing, of course, that sets her apart is her gender. The emo mould of the 00s was undoubtedly male. Hannah Ewens, a music journalist and the author of Fangirls: Scenes from Modern Music Culture, notes that: Shes not singing like, say, Britney did about being a girl and teen heartbreaks, shes leaning into the darkness in her whole vibe as an artist, in a way that iconic male artists like Slipknot and Marilyn Manson did. Shes doing what iconic rock artists did before her exploring themes like darkness, mental health and being aggressively yourself whatever the consequence, with a very strong visual element and aesthetic, but its authentically updated for a Gen Z audience.

This blurring of genre and gender is what Ewens believes has won Eilish a fanbase across demographics and, unusually, the approval of critics and the Grammys committee, too. Its quite rare for someone with a teen-girl-heavy fanbase to be accepted in this way critically, Ewens says. Possibly it has something to do with the fact that shes encapsulating something thats zeitgeist-y, new and ultimately fairly genderless.

A pop star shouldnt have to deny or cloak her femininity in order to be taken seriously and that is a battle that Swift has recently taken on, with songs such as The Man that address stark differences in the way male and female musicians are talked about. Eilish herself says she owes a debt to Swift who seemed to foresee Eilishs success In a speech she gave at the Billboard Women in Music event in 2014. While accepting her woman of the year gong, Swift said: Right now, your future woman of the year is somewhere in a piano lesson, in a choir, and we need to take care of her. In 2019, Eilish won the same award and remembered that when Swift won: I was 11 at the time, and I was in a choir and learning to play piano, and you took care of me.

But even so, the new pop-girl archetype that Eilish is creating is a radical departure from what we have expected of pop heroines in the past. It is impossible to say what the next star to break Eilishs record for Grammy wins will look or sound like she appears to be one of those rare artists whose unlikely breakthrough signals a turning point for the whole industry. Her totally untested route to fame indicates that, for this generation, the unspoken rules that 00s female pop stars had to follow may finally be starting to fall away.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jan/27/billie-eilish-gen-z-grammys

Suspended Grammys chief Deborah Dugan alleges sexual misconduct in Recording Academy

The academys chief executive alleges sexual harassment, voting corruption and rape coverup within the organisation

Deborah Dugan, the chief executive and president of the Recording Academy, which organises the Grammy awards, who was suspended last week after a misconduct allegation, has countered with her own 44-page legal complaint five days before 2020s awards ceremony. In it, she alleges sexual harassment and voting corruption in the company. Her most serious claim is the academy was aware of allegations that her predecessor Neil Portnow, who was chief executive from 2002 to 2019, raped an unnamed female recording artist.

The filing written by her legal team reads that after she was hired, Ms Dugan was hauled into a conference room and told for the very first time that a foreign recording artist (and member of the academy) had accused Mr Portnow of raping her following a performance that she gave at Carnegie Hall. The news was presented to Ms Dugan as though the board had just learned of the allegation. In reality, they were well aware of the allegation at the time Ms Dugan agreed to take on the CEO position, but never told her. The allegation of assault was, she was told, the real reason his contract was not renewed in 2019. She claims she was nonetheless pressured by the then chairman John Poppo to rehire Portnow as a consultant with a $750,000 salary.

Former
Former Recording Academy chief executive Neil Portnow. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

At the time, Portnow did not give reasons for stepping down as chief executive, and only said that he wanted to create a smooth transition for his successor. The end of his tenure had been heavily marred by comments he made in 2018, in the wake of very few female winners at that years Grammys, that female creatives needed to step up if they were to succeed.

Portnow has not yet responded to the rape allegation. The academy released a statement dismissing Dugans accusations. It reads in part: It is curious that Ms Dugan never raised these grave allegations until a week after legal claims were made against her personally by a female employee.

Dugan was placed on administrative leave last week, following the allegation of misconduct. A memo from the interim chief executive to academy members earlier this week gave further details, saying Dugan fostered a toxic and intolerable work environment and was abusive and bullying. Academy board member Christine Albert told the New York Times that Dugans leadership style had clashed with the academy, saying: What we expected was change without chaos.

In Dugans filing, she calls the academys allegation that she asked for $22m to resign flat out false. A further statement from her lawyer Douglas Wigdor alleges she was offered millions of dollars to drop all of this and leave the academy, and was put on leave when she refused, and says Dugan repeatedly raised concerns throughout her entire tenure at the academy, not just now following her suspension.

Elsewhere in her legal filing, made to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Dugan alleges that she was sexually harassed by entertainment lawyer Joel Katz, who is general counsel for the academy. She says he acted extremely inappropriately during a business dinner in May 2019, repeatedly remarking on her physical appearance and attempting to kiss her and woo her. Katzs lawyer said her recollection was false and Mr Katz categorically and emphatically denies her version of that evening.

She also alleges corruption in the academys voting procedures. She gives the example of a song longlisted for the 2019 song of the year award, which was ranked 18th place out of 20 songs by the nominations committee, but which nevertheless ended up on the shortlist as the artist behind the song sat on the committee and was represented by a member of the Grammys board. She alleges that the nomination committees added in artists who werent selected by the academys voting pool.

Her complaint says that the Grammys board has decided to shroud the process in secrecy, and ultimately controls, in large part, who is nominated and manipulates the nominations process to ensure that certain songs or albums are nominated when the producer of the Grammys [Ken Ehrlich] wants a particular song performed on the show. The academy has not responded to these specific allegations beyond the aforementioned dismissal of Dugans filing.

Deborah
Deborah Dugan at the Latin Grammys in November 2019. Photograph: Eric Jamison/Invision/AP

Dugans filing says that the alleged behaviour was made possible by a boys club mentality in the company. In an accompanying statement, her legal team said those accused used tactics reminiscent of those deployed by individuals defending Harvey Weinstein.

The EEOC will now work to determine whether Dugans allegations have merit, and whether her suspension discriminates against her. Whatever the outcome, it is a damaging episode for a company that was trying to rehabilitate its image: as well as criticism of its bias towards male winners, artists including Frank Ocean, Kanye West and Drake have criticised the awards in recent years over a lack of support for non-white musicians in major categories.

In 2018, Michelle Obamas former chief of staff Tina Tchen was hired to head up a taskforce to examine how the Grammys operate. Its final report, published in December, proposed greater diversity in academy members and changes to voting procedures.

The 2020 Grammy awards take place on Sunday, with Lizzo earning the most nominations with eight, ahead of Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X with six each.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jan/22/suspended-grammys-chief-deborah-dugan-alleges-sexual-misconduct-in-recording-academy

Grammy awards 2020: Billie Eilish wins big, Kobe Bryant tributes pour in

Eighteen-year-old Billie Eilish took home the Grammys biggest awards on a night marked by tributes to Kobe Bryant, Nipsey Hussle and more

Billie Eilish reigned supreme at the Grammys on Sunday night, winning five awards including best new artist, album of the year and song of the year for Bad Guy a high point for Generation Z on a night otherwise defined by solemnity for those who have passed too soon.

The shadow of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others mere hours before the show, loomed large over a ceremony held at the Staples Center in which he played for the Los Angeles Lakers for over 20 years. Were all feeling crazy sadness right now, said returning host Alicia Keys to a room in which Bryants retired jersey numbers shone brightly overhead. Were literally standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built.

Bryants death marred a ceremony already jaded by controversy surrounding the awards governing Recording Academy. The Academys president, Deborah Dugan, was recently ousted following allegations of sexual misconduct; Dugan countered with a legal filing last week in which she alleged sexual harassment and voting corruption in the company, and that her predecessor Neil Portnow raped an unnamed female recording artist. Its only been two years since Portnow said female artists needed to step up in order to be recognized, a comment which spiked long-simmering frustration with the Grammys diversity of voting and awards.

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Alicia Keys and Lizzo lead tributes to Kobe Bryant at Grammy awards video

But while last years ceremony showcased feisty defiance and shout-outs to female empowerment, this years event mostly sidestepped any swipes at the recording academy in favor of vulnerability and remembrance. Tributes to Bryant rained throughout the show, from opening performer and pop solo performance winner (for Truth Hurts) Lizzo to DJ Khaled to a strategically placed jersey in Lil Nas Xs staging of Old Town Road. DJ Khaled and John Legend sang Higher, a rousing tribute to the late rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was shot and killed in Los Angeles at 33 last April. Demi Lovato returned to the stage for the first time since she nearly died of a drug overdose in July 2018, to belt Anyone, a song she wrote four days before the hospitalization; choked by tears, she stopped and started the song over. Best country album and song winner Tanya Tucker, accompanied by Brandi Carlile on piano, silenced the room with Bring My Flowers Now, a chastened song on cherishing your loved ones while you can. We all think we got the time until we dont, she sang.

Still, there were plenty of the usual and much-hyped Grammy moments collaborations meant to hype audiences across genres and age, such as Aerosmith re-teaming with Run DMC for a chaotic rendition of their 1985 crossover hit Walk This Way. Tyler, The Creator brought in Boyz II Men for a concept piece from his best rap album winner Igor, and Usher slickly saluted Prince with help from a pole-dancing FKA Twigs.

Ariana
Ariana Grande performs 7 Rings. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Along with Eilish, who performed her hit When The Partys Over with brother Finneas, the ascendant generation of performers represented high points for the stage. Spanish sensation Rosala flamenco-danced her way through Malamente, Lil Nas X remixed Old Town Road again with assists from Billy Ray Cyrus (with whom he won best pop duo performance), K-pop band BTS, Mason Ramsay and a banjo-slinging Diplo. The Jonas Brothers returned to the Grammy stage in triumphant black and gold suits and Ariana Grande re-enacted her music video for 7 Rings, complete with returning an engagement ring to its box.

The big winner, however, was Eilish, who won the nights three biggest awards in the last half hour of the telecast, leaving her seemingly both bowled over and exasperated. I think Ariana deserves this, she said of her win for album of the year for her debut, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Im not going to waste your time thank you very much.

We wrote an album about depression and suicidal thoughts and climate change and being a bad guy, whatever that means, added her brother and collaborator Finneas, who also won for producer of the year, non-classical. We stand up here confused and grateful.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jan/26/grammy-awards-2020-billie-eilish-wins-big-kobe-bryant-tributes-pour-in

Lizzo, Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X top 2020 Grammy nominations

Lizzo scores eight nominations with Eilish and Lil Nas X on seven, but British artists largely snubbed in major categories

The 17-year-old pop sensation Billie Eilish has become the youngest artist to be nominated in all four of the most prestigious Grammy award categories: record, album and song of the year, and best new artist.

Her gothic, innovative single Bad Guy, which topped the US charts, is nominated in the song and record categories, while her similarly chart-topping album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is nominated for the album prize. She completed a sweep of the top categories with a best new artist nomination, and has six nominations in all. Her album engineers got a nod in the best engineered album category, including her brother and collaborator Finneas, who received three nominations.

The most nominations were for Lizzo, who received eight, including in the top four categories. The powerhouse Minneapolis singer, known for her vociferous support of body positivity as well as her showboating flute solos, has been a slow-burn success, first releasing music in 2013 but scoring breakthrough hits this year with Juice, Tempo and US No 1 hit Truth Hurts.

Lil Nas X received six nominations, including three in the top categories, predominantly for his song Old Town Road. It is indisputably one of the most successful songs of the year, breaking a US chart record with its 19 consecutive weeks at No 1 Mariah Carey and Boyz II Mens duet One Sweet Day had held the honour since 1996. All three of Eilish, Lizzo and Lil Nas X have never received a Grammy nomination before.

Ariana
Ariana Grande, who receives five nominations. Photograph: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

R&B singer HER scored five nominations, including record, album and song of the year, with Ariana Grande also earning five, including record and album of the year her first appearances in the major categories. Wisconsin singer-songwriter Bon Iver was nominated four times, including record and album of the year, while Beyonc in a relatively minor year with no solo album release still managed to secure four nominations, for her Lion King soundtrack work as well as her Coachella concert film, Homecoming.

While recent years have seen Grammy success for the likes of Ed Sheeran and Adele, British artists were mostly shut out of the top four categories. Lewis Capaldi received a nomination for song of the year for his ballad Someone Like You, which has topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Bristol country-soul singer Yola was nominated for best new artist, and received three further nominations in American roots categories.

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke earned three nominations in specialist categories, with Chemical Brothers scoring three, and two for R&B singer Ella Mai. Other nominated Brits include the 1975, Bring Me the Horizon, James Blake and Elvis Costello. A surprise inclusion was Bones UK, a Camden rock band who, despite their low profile, secured a nomination for best rock performance with their song Pretty Waste.

Lil Nas X also crops up in the rap categories, this time with his single Panini in the running for rap/sung performance. The genres biggest prize, best rap performance, features a posthumous nomination for Nipsey Hussle, the LA star who was shot dead in April.

Snubs include to Taylor Swift, who might have expected more than just one nomination in major categories song of the year for Lover, the only song in the category to feature a single songwriter and Ed Sheeran, whose collaborative album No 6 Collaborations Project only generated one nomination, for pop vocal album. Sam Smith received no nominations for their major US hit Dancing With a Stranger, nor did Halsey, whose single Without Me spent 29 weeks in the US Top 10 and went five times platinum.

The total lack of nominations for Solanges acclaimed album When I Get Home, or Bruce Springsteens Western Stars, is also surprising the Guardian has asked their record labels if their albums were put forward for nomination.

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A British success story … Yola. Photograph: Alysse Gafkjen

Grammy nominations 2020: the major categories

Album of the year
Bon Iver i, i
Lana Del Rey Norman Fucking Rockwell!
Billie Eilish When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Ariana Grande Thank U, Next
HER I Used to Know Her
Lil Nas X 7
Lizzo Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)
Vampire Weekend Father of the Bride

Record of the year
Bon Iver Hey, Ma
Billie Eilish Bad Guy
Ariana Grande 7 Rings
HER Hard Place
Khalid Talk
Lil Nas X ft Billy Ray Cyrus Old Town Road
Lizzo Truth Hurts
Post Malone & Swae Lee Sunflower

Song of the year
Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey & Lori McKenna, songwriters (Lady Gaga) Always Remember Us This Way
Billie Eilish OConnell & Finneas OConnell, songwriters (Billie Eilish) Bad Guy
Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth & Tanya Tucker, songwriters (Tanya Tucker) Bring My Flowers Now
Ruby Amanfu, Sam Ashworth, D. Arcelious Harris. H.E.R. & Rodney Jerkins, songwriters (HER) Hard Place
Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift) Lover
Jack Antonoff & Lana Del Rey, songwriters (Lana Del Rey) Norman Fucking Rockwell
Tom Barnes, Lewis Capaldi, Pere Kelleher, Benjamin Kohn & Sam Roman, songwriters (Lewis Capaldi) Someone You Loved
Steven Cheung, Eric Frederic, Melissa Jefferson & Jesse Saint John, songwriters (Lizzo) Truth Hurts

Best new artist
Black Pumas
Billie Eilish
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
Maggie Rogers
Rosala
Tank and the Bangas
Yola

Best pop album
Beyonc The Lion King: The Gift
Billie Eilish When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Ariana Grande Thank U, Next
Ed Sheeran No 6 Collaborations Project
Taylor Swift Lover

Best rock album
Bring Me the Horizon Amo
Cage the Elephant Social Cues
The Cranberries In the End
I Prevail Trauma
Rival Sons Feral Roots

Bon
Bon Iver. Photograph: Publicity Image

Best alternative music album
Big Thief UFOF
James Blake Assume Form
Bon Iver i, i
Vampire Weekend Father of the Bride
Thom Yorke Anima

Best urban contemporary album
Steve Lacy Apollo XXI
Lizzo Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)
Georgia Anne Muldrow Overload
Nao Saturn
Jessie Reyez Being Human In Public

Best rap album
Dreamville Revenge of the Dreamers III
Meek Mill Championships
21 Savage I Am > I Was
Tyler, the Creator Igor
YBN Cordae The Lost Boy

Best R&B album
BJ the Chicago Kid 1123
Lucky Daye Painted
Ella Mai Ella Mai
PJ Morton Paul
Anderson .Paak Ventura

Best dance/electronic album
Apparat LP5
Chemical Brothers No Geography
Flume Hi This Is Flume (Mixtape)
Rfs Du Sol Solace
Tycho Weather

Best country album
Eric Church Desperate Man
Reba McEntire Stronger Than the Truth
Pistol Annies Interstate Gospel
Thomas Rhett Center Point Road
Tanya Tucker While Im Livin

Best Americana album
Calexico and Iron & Wine Years to Burn
Madison Cunningham Who Are You Now
Keb Mo Oklahoma
JS Ondara Tales of America
Yola Walk Through Fire

Best Latin pop album
Luis Fonsi Vida
Maluma 11:11
Ricardo Montaner Montaner
Alejandro Sanz #ELDISCO
Sebastian Yatra Fantasa

Best gospel album
Kirk Franklin Long Live Love
Donald Lawrence Presents the Tri-City Singers Goshen
Gene Moore Tunnel Vision
William Murphy Settle Here
CeCe Winans Somethings Happening! A Christmas Album

Best pop solo performance
Beyonc Spirit
Billie Eilish Bad Guy
Ariana Grande 7 Rings
Lizzo Truth Hurts
Taylor Swift You Need to Calm Down

Best pop duo/group performance
Ariana Grande and Social House Boyfriend
Jonas Brothers Sucker
Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus Old Town Road
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello Seorita

Best traditional pop vocal album
Andrea Bocelli S
Michael Bubl Love (Deluxe Edition)
Elvis Costello and the Imposters Look Now
John Legend A Legendary Christmas
Barbra Streisand Walls

DaBaby.
DaBaby. Photograph: Earl Gibson III/REX/Shutterstock

Best rap performance
J Cole Middle Child
DaBaby Suge
Dreamville ft JID, Bas, J.Cole, Earthgang and& Young Nudy Down Bad
Nipsey Hussle ft Roddy Ricch and Hit-boy Racks in the Middle
Offset ft Cardi B Clout

Best traditional R&B performance
BJ the Chicago Kid Time Today
India.Arie Steady Love
Jerome Lizzo
Real Games Lucky Daye
Built For Love PJ Morton & Jazmine Sullivan

Best rap/sung performance
DJ Khaled ft Nipsey Hussle & John Legend Higher
Lil Baby and Funna Drip Too Hard
Lil Nas X Panini
Mustard ft Roddy Ricch Ballin
Young Thug ft J Cole & Travis Scott The London

Best rap song
Chancelor Bennett, Cordae Dunston, Uforo Ebong and Daniel Hackett, songwriters (Ybn Cordae ft Chance the Rapper) Bad Idea
Noel Cadastre, Aubrey Graham, Anderson Hernandez, Khristopher Riddick-tynes, William Leonard Roberts Ii, Joshua Quinton Scruggs, Leon Thomas Iii and Ozan Yildirim, songwriters (Rick Ross ft Drake) Gold Roses
Jermaine Cole, Dacoury Natche, 21 Savage & Anthony White, songwriters (21 Savage ft J Cole) A Lot
Ermias Asghedom, Dustin James Corbett, Greg Allen Davis, Chauncey Hollis Jr and Rodrick Moore, songwriters (Nipsey Hussle ft. Roddy Ricch and Hit-boy) Racks in the Middle
DaBaby, Jetsonmade and Pooh Beatz, songwriters (DaBaby) Suge

Best R&B song
Dernst Emile Ii, David Swagg Rcelious Harris, HER and Hue Soundzfire Strother, Songwriters (H.E.R. Ft. Bryson Tiller) Couldve Been
Emily King and Jeremy Most, Songwriters (Emily King) Look at Me Now
Chris Brown, Tyler James Bryant, Nija Charles, Aubrey Graham, Anderson Hernandez, Michee Patrick Lebrun, Joshua Lewis, Noah Shebib and Teddy Walton, songwriters (Chris Brown ft Drake) No Guidance
David Brown, Dernst Emile Ii & Peter Lee Johnson, Songwriters (Lucky Daye) Roll Some Mo
PJ Morton, Songwriter (PJ Morton ft Jojo) Say So

Best rock performance
Bones UK Pretty Waste
Gary Clark Jr This Land
Brittany Howard History Repeats
Karen O and Danger Mouse Woman
Rival Sons Too Bad

Best metal performance
Candlemass ft. Tony Iommi Astorolus: The Great Octopus
Death Angel Humanicide
I Prevail Bow Down
Killswitch Engage Unleashed
Tool 7empest

Best country solo performance
Tyler Childers All Yourn
Ashley McBryde Girl Goin Nowhere
Willie Nelson Ride Me Back Home
Blake Shelton Gods Country
Tanya Tucker Bring My Flowers Now

Best country duo/group performance
Brooks and Dunn with Luke Combs Brand New Man
Brothers Osborne I Dont Remember Me (Before You)
Dan and Shay Speechless
Little Big Town The Daughters
Maren Morris ft Brandi Carlile Common

Brandi
Brandi Carlile. Photograph: Brandi Carlile/Alysse Gafkjen

Best country song
Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth and Tanya Tucker, songwriters (Tanya Tucker) Bring My Flowers Now
Jeremy Bussey & Ashley Mcbryde, songwriters (Ashley McBryde) Girl Goin Nowhere
Miranda Lambert, Hillary Lindsey, Lori Mckenna and Liz Rose, Songwriters (Miranda Lambert) It All Comes Out in the Wash
Eric Church, Clint Daniels, Jeff Hyde & Bobby Pinson, Songwriters (Eric Church) Some of It
Shay Mooney, Jordan Reynolds, Dan Smyers and Laura Veltz, songwriters (Dan and Shay) Speechless

Best rock song
Danny Carey, Justin Chancellor, Adam Jones and Maynard James Keenan, songwriters (Tool) Fear Inoculum
George Daniel, Adam Hann, Matthew Healy & Ross MacDonald, songwriters (The 1975) Give Yourself a Try
Ezra Koenig, songwriter (Vampire Weekend) Harmony Hall
Brittany Howard, Songwriter (Brittany Howard) History Repeats
Gary Clark Jr., Songwriter (Gary Clark Jr) This Land

Producer of the year, non-classical
Jack Antonoff
Dan Auerbach
John Hill
Finneas
Ricky Reed

Best compilation soundtrack for visual media
Various artists The Lion King: The Songs
Various artists Quentin Tarantinos Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Taron Egerton Rocketman
Various artists Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper A Star Is Born

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/nov/20/lizzo-billie-eilish-and-lil-nas-x-top-2020-grammy-nominations

6 things you need to know about the 2018 Grammys

The 2018 Grammy nominations landed on Tuesday, just as contentious as ever. But more inclusive and diverse this time, likely due to the implementation of online voting. Here are the big takeaways from the list of nominees.

1) Hip-hop and R&B are the dominant genres

Only four non-hip-hop and R&B artists garnered nominations in the top categories while more than nine hip-hop and R&B artists are in the running for these highly coveted awards. Latin dance number “Despacito” is up for record of the year and song of the year. Lorde’s Melodrama is nominated for album of the year. Julia Michaels’ empowering anthem “Issues” is also up for song of the year with the rising star also nominated for best new artist.

Jay-Z, Bruno Mars, Childish Gambino, the Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, and SZA take up most of the top nominations with a few other artists like Logic and Khalid rounding out the rest of the nominees.

2) SZA is carrying the torch for women

The alternative R&B songstress holds the most nominations for a female artist this time around, nabbing five for her 2017 release CTRL. It was an immediate hit this summer, debuting at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America with the album selling over 500,000 copies. SZA is nominated for best new artist, best R&B performance, best R&B song, best urban contemporary album, and best rap/sung performance.

3) Jay-Z leads the pack

The highly celebrated rapper has eight nominations, followed by Kendrick Lamar with seven for his album DAMN. and Bruno Mars trailing in third with six for 24K Magic. Childish Gambino, Khalid, and producer No I.D. have five nominations each.

Jay Z, whose decades-long career has produced 14 No. 1 albums and received over 74 nominations, has won over 21 Grammys but has yet to take home album of the year.

4) Lady Gaga snubbed

The Mother Monster is only up for best pop performance and best pop vocal album this year, which might come as a shock after the dramatic release of her fifth studio album Joanne that was her fourth No. 1 album and catapulted her to high-profile appearances at the Super Bowl, SNL, and even a Netflix documentary in 2017.

Despite the mixed reaction to her release, 2017 was still a good year for Lady Gaga whose album went on to be certified platinum and sell over 1 million copies. Her two previous albums, The Fame and Born This Way, were up for awards in top categories like album of the year.

Other high-profile snubs include Katy Perry, Alicia Keys, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Ed Sheeran, and Harry Styles.

5) A white male artist was not nominated for album of the year

And for the first time since 1999! That year solidified Lauryn Hill as the queen of neo-soul R&B, and women held down this top nomination with Madonna (Ray of Light), Sheryl Crow (The Globe Sessions), Garbage (Version 2.0), and Shania Twain (Come On Over) up for the award that ultimately went to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

The last time a Black artist took home the award was in 2003 when OutKast won for Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.

Whatever happens on Grammy night, it’ll be a rare event as Jay-Z, Bruno Mars, Lorde, Kendrick Lamar, and Childish Gambino duke it out.

6) Fresh faces everywhere

Thanks to streaming platforms like Spotify and SoundCloud, this past year has seen a lot of new artists take off with many notching top spots on the charts. Alessia Cara, Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert, Julia Michaels, and SZA are the best new artist nominees. This is perhaps the most representative Grammy lineup of what younger generations are actually listening to in ages. SoundCloud rappers and other internet sensations like Cardi B, Migos, and Tyler the Creator load up the rap categories as well.

Fans are excited, too:

Of course, some were a little miffed their faves were not nominated.

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James Corden to present 2017 Grammys

The Late Late Show host, known for his star-studded Carpool Karaoke segments, will take over from LL Cool J, who has hosted the last five years

James Corden will host the 2017 Grammy awards.

The actor and host of The Late Late Show will commandeer the 59th annual music awards, taking over from LL Cool J, who has hosted for the last five years.

I am truly honored to be hosting the Grammys next year, Corden said, according to Variety. Its the biggest, most prestigious award show in music and I feel incredibly lucky to be part of such an incredible night.

Corden, who originally gained fame in the UK with the sitcom Gavin and Stacey, has gained strong reviews for his new incarnation as a chatshow host, winning an Emmy earlier this year for outstanding interactive program. His star-studded segment Carpool Karaoke has been a big success, with more than 2bn views on YouTube.

He also has experience with awards shows after hosting the Brit awards five times, as well as the Tonys earlier this year.

Thanks to Carpool Karaoke, weve all been on some incredible rides with James, and the Recording Academy couldnt be more excited to welcome his passion and enthusiasm for music, both as an entertainer and a fan, to the Grammy stage on February 12, said Neil Portnow, CEO of the Recording Academy. Hes got big shoes to fill after the magnificent run we had with LL Cool J, but James Corden is a commanding, dynamic showman who, we believe, is perfect to host the Grammy awards.

The nominations for next years Grammys will be announced 6 December.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/22/james-corden-grammys-host-2017

Latin Grammys: Jennifer Lopez steals the show at politically muted awards

The singer and her ex-husband Marc Anthony created the nights most talked about moment to cap off overall theme of unity in difficult times ahead

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony stole the show on Thursday night as the Latin Grammy awards delivered an entertaining and unifying evening in Las Vegas.

After months of enduring divisive comments towards immigrants and the Latino community by Trumps campaign, there was an expectation of more political statements on the biggest night for the Latin music industry.

Last year for example, legendary Mexican bands Man and Los Tigres Del Norte performed the powerful Somos Ms Americanos (We Are More Americans) and held up a sign that read Latinos Unidos No Voten Por Racistas (Latinos United Dont Vote For Racists) in response to the president-elects comments about Mexican immigrants being criminals and rapists.

Instead, the Grammys decided to take a note from Michelle Obama and go high by highlighting the importance of unifying and looking forward to the future as the gala celebrated the best from this past years music, including notable performances from J Balvins Safari which featured Pharell Williams, BIA and Sky and Bronx-born Prince Royce.

Music moves us, makes us think, allow us to feel, said host and singer Roselyn Snchez. And tonight will make us feel so proud of who we are and where we come from.

There were some strong moments where artists expressed their views and spoke out, including the opening song by Pablo Lpez and Juanes, Tu Enemigo (Your Enemy), where Cirque du Soleil acrobats joined them on stage to give a message of peace and unity.

The Mexican actor Diego Luna, made the biggest political impression on the night when he said a few words as he was presenting the award for song of of the year. I have a message for all of the Latinos on this side of the border, he said as he stood next to Julieta Venegas. Together we can fight hate and discrimination.

Singer
Singer Julieta Venegas and Diego Luna present at the Latin Grammy awards. Photograph: Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images

The night, however, belonged to Marc Anthony as the Grammys celebrated his illustrious career.

In honor of his recent Latin Recording Academys Person of the Year award, the 48-year-old singer took center stage by performing a medley of his great successes including I Need to Know, Tu Amor Me Hace Bien and Vivir Mi Vida, the latter causing the ladies to take off their heels to leave their seats and dance.

His ex-wife, Jennifer Lopez, then joined him on the stage to sing a great rendition of Olvdame y Pega La Vuelta (Forget Me And Get Out Of Here), originally made famous by the Argentine duo Pimpinela. After the song ended, the crowd roared and celebrated this once-adored couple. Marc is a living legend who keeps giving us classics that will stay with us forever, said Lopez after the performance.

But the highlight of the evening came right after when the entire arena encouraged them to kiss, which they did.

Univision (@Univision)

Un beso dice ms que mil palabras. Loveit! @JLO @MarcAnthony #LatinGRAMMY #UnidosPorLaMusica pic.twitter.com/w3i4bZtXUq

November 18, 2016

The awards came at a difficult time for the Latino community and before the awards, stars had spoken out about fears over the election result.

Donald Trump has won the results show it, Puerto Rican rapper Wisin, who won song of the year with Enrique Iglesias, told Fox News Latino on Wednesday. But it doesnt mean that us as Latinos are going to sink. On the contrary, we must push forward and not see us by our nationalities Mexican, Boricua, Cubans, Dominicans. We are all a family and that is how we should see it. If we do, big things will happen.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/18/latin-grammys-jennifer-lopez-marc-anthony