Grammy Nomination Reaction
One week ago, amidst the nonstop coverage of political events, President Bush’s funeral, the Oscar host controversy, and the Golden Globe reveals, the 2019 Grammy nominees were quietly announced.
The nomination revealing was so low-key you may have missed it, but if you did miss it, you may want to check out your candidates. In a word? WOW.
I didn’t know if last year’s shun-Ed-Sheeran-and-pivot-towards-Rap could be topped in terms of post-nomination surprises, but this year’s slate might top it. For reference, here is the full list of nominees.
Where to begin? How’s about with the biggest award of the night.
Album Of The Year, whose contenders are annually previewed by this blog, saw some of the most stunning snubs of the night.
If you read that preview, you know there were two albums I advised you could go ahead and pencil in as surefire nominees. Namely, those were Taylor Swift’s Reputation and Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s Everything Is Love. So, imagine my shock to find that neither made the list this year. Perhaps that’s not as stunning as, say, Ed Sheeran missing the cut last year. Bey and Jay’s release was, as has been the case with the individuals’ last few albums, to relatively limited exposure, as it was initially released solely on the platform Tidal. It also, despite meeting mostly positive reviews, did not approach the critical acclaim that either of their prequels (Lemonade and 4:44) garnered. And of course, the fact that the album’s biggest hit includes a line from Jay-Z that declares, “Tell the Grammys ‘f*** that 0-for-8 shit’,” probably doesn’t help its campaign. Still, you’d think the legacies of the artists alone, and the role they’ve played in the music world the last few years would be enough to secure a nomination.
Swift being excluded is a stunner, too. Even if her luster as “the underdog” has worn off, and Reputation was not unanimously well-received, her hits were everywhere the last year-plus, and her tour dominated the record books. I figured the perennially-nominated pop starlet was a shoo-in. In fact, I figured the ONLY way T-Swift would miss out on a nomination would be if they reserved the mainstream pop representation for Ariana Grande.
Speaking of, perhaps the most noteworthy snub, and the most telling, is Ariana’s. Nobody ruled the year like she did, both on the charts, and in the news. Sweetener was a critical hit as well, and came amidst a very emotional year for Grande. If commercial and critical success, as well as sympathy support were not enough to get a nomination, even in an extended field of 8 nominees, that’s a serious indication the Grammys are trending away from just the biggest names and the more universal appeal.
If there are surprising exclusions, that must mean there are surprising inclusions, so who are the ones that have secured a surprising nom? For starters, veteran Brandi Carlile, who has never been nominated for the top award got one for her February release By The Way, I Forgive You. An even more unexpected nominee was the 20-year old artist Gabi Wilson, known as H.E.R. Not only is the R&B singer fairly underground, her nominated album is from the fall of 2017. It shows impressive memory and well-roundedness on the part of the committee, and both those choices are to be commended; I’m grateful for the introduction to H.E.R. in particular. It’s also surprising to see Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy, Drake’s Scorpion, and the Black Panther album all nominated. Not that any one of those weren’t expected to be serious contenders, but for all 3 of them to get the nod, especially when other hip-hop albums like Everything Is Love and Travis Scott’s ASTROWORLD* didn’t, is fairly surprising.
*Speaking of, I’ll try to leave the editorializing for later Grammys pieces, but it was a real bummer to see these 2 left out. ASTROWORLD was undoubtedly the best Rap release of the year, and Everything Is Love was still a very impressive piece of work from two of the most influential artists of our time.
Other surprises and snubs in other categories are related to many of the same big names. Beyonce and Jay-Z saw nominations solely in the notorious “Best Urban Album” category, and in “Best Music Video” for their track “APESH*T.” Taylor and Ariana were multiple nominees but only in the Pop categories. Justin Timberlake, the ‘Prince of Pop,’ received only one nomination for his divisive release Man Of The Woods, and it was for his collaboration with Country artist Chris Stapleton.
Film soundtracks had a big night on the whole. Black Panther, of course, has already been mentioned, but there was great representation from recent release A Star Is Born, as well as The Greatest Showman, Coco, and Call Me By Your Name.
Another surprise was the dominance of summer tracks. It’s not uncommon to see Summer’s biggest hit sneak into the “Record Of The Year” category, but for so many of them? “God’s Plan” (Drake), “In My Blood” (Shawn Mendes), “Delicate” (Taylor Swift), “I Like It” (Cardi B), “Boo’d Up” (Ella Mai), and “This Is America” (Childish Gambino) are all multiple nominees. Several of those tracks got the rare double nod for “Song Of The Year” and “Record Of The Year.”
In terms of who the favorites are for the major awards? I’ll save the predictions for a bona fide Grammy preview. But in short: who knows? The conventional thinking is to guess the most universally appealing pop candidate. But this year, the nominees that would fit the “biggest” bill are Cardi B, Drake, and Post Malone. But Rap and Hip-hop are always divisive, and a Rap album hasn’t won Album Of The Year since Outkast’s Speakerboxx/The Love Below, in 2004. Brandi Carlile, Janelle Monae, and Kacey Musgraves are going to be the critical darlings of the bunch, but do any of them have the star power to win over a crowded field? It will be fascinating to see.