The Recording Academy has announced its nominees for the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish both earned seven nods, with Doja Cat, Justin Bieber, and H.E.R. all snagging eight. Jon Batiste earned the most nominations, with 11 in total. The ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on January 31 and broadcast on CBS. See the full list here.
Olivia Rodrigo’s seven nominations include Record of the Year (“Drivers License”), Song of the Year (“Drivers License”), and Best New Artist. Her debut Sour is up for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, with “Good 4 U” nominated for Best Music Video. Eilish was nominated in several of the same categories for Happier Than Ever, which earned nods for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, as well as Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Music Video for its title track. Eilish’s accompanying Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles is also up for Best Music Film.
Jon Batiste’s nominations spanned Album of the Year, Best Traditional R&B Performance, Best American Roots Performance, and more.
Doja Cat’s Planet Her was nominated for Album of the Year, as well as Best Pop Vocal Album. “Kiss Me More,” her collaboration with SZA from the album, is up for Best Pop Group/Duo Performance, and “Need to Know” is nominated in the Best Melodic Rap Performance category. Doja Cat earned another nod for her guest spot on the Best Rap Song nominee “Best Friend” by Saweetie, who’s among the Best New Artist nominees.
Due to his work on “Kiss Me More,” “Best Friend,” and Planet Her, Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald received three 2022 Grammy nominations. The producer, who remains in a legal battle with Kesha, was nominated last year under the pseudonym Tyson Trax. Fiona Apple was among the people to criticize the Recording Academy for recognizing Gottwald, especially in light of Kesha’s emotional 2018 Grammy performance of “Praying,” a song that is widely believed to be about Kesha’s alleged experiences of abuse by Gottwald. The producer has denied the allegations, some of which have been dropped.
Justin Bieber and H.E.R. are each up for eight Grammys. Bieber’s “Peaches” is up for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best Music Video. A deluxe version of Justice was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, with “Lonely” up for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and “Anyone” up for Best Pop Solo Performance.
Lil Nas X’s Montero earned its own Album of the Year nod, and “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Music Video. The rapper’s Jack Harlow collaboration “Industry Baby” is up for Best Melodic Rap Performance.
Low earned their first Grammy nomination this year, with Hey What engineer BJ Burton also getting consideration for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Japanese Breakfast is up for two trophies: Best Alternative Music Album for Jubilee and Best New Artist. Arooj Aftab, whose “Mohabbat” is up for Best Global Music Performance, is also nominated in the Best New Artist. Their competition includes Baby Keem, Arlo Parks, Finneas, Glass Animals, the Kid Laroi, and singer-songwriter Jimmie Allen.
The nominations included some surprises, such as the Weeknd’s multiple nods in the Best Melodic Rap Performance category. Although he had declined to submit his work for consideration this year, he earned one nomination in the Best Melodic Rap Performance category via his guest appearance on “Hurricane” from Kanye West’s Donda. He’s also up for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, having appeared on Donda and Doja Cat’s Planet Her. Additionally, Kacey Musgraves’ Star-Crossed was ruled ineligible for Best Country Album, but “Camera Roll,” from the record, was nominated for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance.
Cardi B’s and Megan Thee Stallion’s 2020 single “WAP” had previously been withheld from Grammy consideration due to plans for a 2021 album from Cardi B that never materialized. Instead, Megan Thee Stallion’s “Thot Shit” and Cardi B’s “Up” were both nominated for Best Rap Performance, the only nod for each musician this year. Taylor Swift had announced in July that she would not submit Fearless (Taylor’s Version) for consideration, instead focusing on a campaign for Evermore. That record’s lone nomination was for Album of the Year, although producer Jack Antonoff was nominated for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.
This year, the Grammys feature two new categories: Música Urbana Album and Global Music Performance. Bad Bunny, Karol G, Kali Uchis, J Balvin, and Rauw Alejandro are nominated in the Música Urbana Album category, with Angelique Kidjo earning two Global Music Performance nods for her collaborations with Burna Boy (“Do Yourself”) and Yo-Yo Ma (“Blewu”). Femi Kuti, Wizkid, and Tems join them as nominees.
Each of the “Big Four” categories—Album, Song, and Record of the Year, and Best New Artist—now features 10 nominees in each category instead of eight. The new categories are among several changes that the Recording Academy has made to its Grammy-related processes in recent months, including expanding the pool of voters and adjusting the rules for chart and sales data from “For Your Consideration” advertisements. The institution also ended secret committee nomination for several of its categories, including the Big Four.
Follow all of Pitchfork’s coverage of the 2022 Grammy Awards.
