Nominations for the 2020 Grammy Awards were announced on
Wednesday morning (11/20). Leading the
pack is Lizzo, who is up for eight awards. She is followed by Billie Eilish and
Lil Nas X with six nods a piece, and Ariana
Grande and H.E.R. with five nods a piece. A full list of nominees can be
found here.
The Grammy Awards telecast is set to take place January 26.
With the announcement of this year’s Grammy nominees list, VinylBay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, is taking a closer look at some of its
highlights and lowlights. Here are seven things we took away from this year’s announcement.
1.
Women are dominating the big four categories:
The Grammys have been in hot water for the last few years about how women have
been represented in their nominations and winners lists. Tides seem to be
changing though. As Billboard
points out, this is the second year in a row where five of the eight nominees
for Album of the Year and Best New Artist are women. Seven of the eight Song of
the Year nominees are performed by female artists.
2.
But not rap: While the bigger categories seem to
be getting more diverse, the genre categories are still lacking that same
diversity, and in some senses falling backward. That is what seems to have
happened in the rap category this year. Rolling
Stone pointed out that there are no women nominated for any of the rap
categories despite many very eligible artists who are having a moment right
now. Megan Thee Stallion released her debut this year, not to mention had one
of the songs of the summer with “Hot Girl Summer.” Lizzo wasn’t included in the
rap category either, instead putting her in the more female-friendly R&B
categories. The only female artist on the nominations list is Cardi B, who
featured on husband Offset’s single “Clout.” Even the notoriously
male-dominated rock and alternative categories had a few women getting nods for
songs they had top-billing on (Karen O, Brittney Howard, The Cranberries), so
this is a head-scratcher.
3.
Newcomers are reigning king: This seems to be
one of the first years in a while where new artists are dominating the big four
categories. The three top-nominated artists have never been nominated for a
Grammy before. Lizzo and Billie Eilish’s nominations in all four of those major
categories also marks the first time two artists have achieved that feat in the
same year, not to mention they are only the 11th and 12th
artists to
ever do so.
4.
The Grammys still haven’t figured out what K-Pop
is: Considering that K-Pop has exploded in popularity lately, it seems odd that
there are no
artists in the genre nominated for an award, not even in the international
categories (which other award shows have done). With BTS breaking all sorts of
chart records with April’s ‘Map Of The World: Persona,’ this seems like a
bigger than usual snub.
5.
Latin is getting another boost: While the
Recording Academy’s knowledge of K-Pop might be weak, Latin music’s popularity
continues to shine. Rosalia has become the first
Spanish-language artist to be nominated for Best New Artist. Unfortunately,
this is Latin’s only mainstream spot this year. All other tracks are only being
honored in the Latin categories.
6.
Posthumous awards: Nipsey Hustle dominated the
rap categories this year. He got Best Rap Performance and Song nods for his
single “Racks In The Middle,” which was released just weeks before he was
fatally shot, as well as a Best Rap/Sung Performance nod for his featured spot
on DJ
Khaled’s single “Higher.” The Recording Academy also nominated The
Cranberries ‘In The End’ for Best Rock Album, honoring her nearly two years
after frontwoman Dolores O’Riordan’s untimely passing.
7.
Popularity Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Getting the
Nomination: Ultimately, popularity doesn’t seem to be the deciding factor when
it comes to nominations. In the last decade especially, there have been a lot
of head-scratching inclusions on the nominations lists, most notably and controversially
with the big four categories. Bon Iver makes that list again as his album ‘I,I’
was nominated for Album of the Year and its single “Hey Ma” was nominated for
Record of the Year seemingly out of the blue. The album wasn’t necessarily a
big hit overall, topping out at 26 on the Billboard 200 and “Hey Ma” not even
charting on the Hot 100. Bon Iver was in a similar spot in 2012 when he won
Best New Artist over Nicki Minaj. Other odd inclusions for 2020 include Black
Pumas and Tank And The Bangas, who were both nominated for Best New Artist even
though neither one have spent much time on the charts, or appear anywhere else
in the nominations.
The 2020 Grammy nominations list may have its ups and downs,
especially when it comes to inclusion. However, there is no denying that this
year’s awards will be an interesting night of music and firsts.
---
Find music from this years and past Grammy-winning artists
at Vinyl Bay 777. As Long Island’s top new independent record shop, we have
thousands of titles to choose from in a variety of genres to choose from.
Browse our wide selection of new and used vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, music
DVDs, memorabilia and more in store at our Plainview location or online at
vinylbay777.com. With more titles being added to our selection all the time,
you never know what you might find at Vinyl Bay 777.
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