THE GRAMMYS
GET IT RIGHT
Credit where credit is due: Grammy largely got it right this time.
The current crop of nominations, particularly in the Big Four (“General”) categories, is far more reflective of the musical moment than any in the last few years.
There’s a lot to celebrate here, notably Geffen breakout Olivia Rodrigo's being nominated in all of the top categories and nabbing seven nods in all; the acknowledgment of Def Jam superstar Justin Bieber's significance to the culture, indicated by eight noms, including Album, Record, Song and—vitally important to the artist himself—Best R&B Performance; top-tier and rap noms for Columbia unicorn Lil Nas X; big noms for Kemosabe/RCA’s Doja Cat; love for Not So Fast/Epic’s GIVĒON; and BNA nods for Columbia’s The Kid LAROI, Warner’s Saweetie, Broken Bow’s Jimmie Allen, Republic’s Glass Animals and highly decorated Brit Arlo Parks (PIAS). Moreover, Imperial/Republic’s (via Ingrooves) Bo Burnham and MCA Nashville’s Kacey Musgraves were both recognized, deservedly, despite having been shifted around.
The mix, as ever, includes some surprises, including a big haul for Verve’s Jon Batiste (hitherto best known as Stephen Colbert’s bandleader), whose We Are is a New Orleans-inflected R&B romp; top-tier love for Secretly Group’s alternative project Japanese Breakfast (aka gifted singer/songwriter Michelle Zauner); and a BNA look for New Amsterdam’s Pakistani singer/songwriter/composer/producer Arooj Aftab, whose music is a lovely fusion of traditional and modern sounds.
We’ll dig into the genres and other stuff in a bit, but for now we have to salute Harvey Mason Jr. and team for a very solid at-bat. This, by and large, is what the Grammys are supposed to do: honor the biggest movers in music culture and stir in some discovery. They should get a trophy or something.
