This reporter previews the 2022 Grammy Awards ceremony, and who might take home the genre-specific awards. PHOTO CREDIT: spotify.com
Music’s biggest night is just around the corner and the Grammy Award nominations have just been announced, but who will the winners be?
The three majors awards of the night are Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year, with many other genre-specific awards presented as well. The ceremony will take place on Jan. 31, 2022 from 8-11 p.m. on CBS.
The nominations for Record of the Year include “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” by Lil Nas X, “Kiss Me More” by Doja Cat featuring SZA, “drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo and “Leave The Door Open” by Silk Sonic among others. This list is filled with incredible tracks that defined the sound of 2021. Personally, I would love to see “Leave The Door Open” or “Kiss Me More” take home the award.
The Song of the Year nominations include many of the aforementioned songs, and some others as well, including two tracks from singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile, “Right on Time” and “A Beautiful Noise” with Alicia Keys. Ed Sheeran is also featured on the list with his song “Bad Habits.” Ultimately, I think this award will go to Rodrigo for “drivers license.”
Album of the Year is another contentious category, with many artists in the running. Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, Taylor Swift, Kanye West and others all have projects nominated. I believe this award will go to Lil Nas X for his album “Montero.” Nas dominated the radio and pop culture this summer and I think he really came into his own with this debut album. The album explores themes about Nas’ sexuality and fame and was exclusively produced by West.
The Best New Artist category is always interesting to watch. Artists like Rodrigo, Baby Keem, The Kid LAROI and Glass Animals are all nominated for the award. Baby Keem’s “The Melodic Blue” was one of the better hip hop releases of 2021, with features from Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott and Don Tolliver, which truly boosted Keem’s young career. Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” is one of the top songs on TikTok and has over 800 million streams on Spotify. However, I ultimately believe the award will go to Rodrigo, as her singles “drivers license,” “good 4 u” and “deja vu” were constantly played on the radio. Rodrigo has become one of today’s biggest pop stars over the past six months.
Two of the biggest rap albums of the year, Kanye West’s “Donda” and Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy,” are both competing for Best Rap Album, along with J. Cole’s “The Off-Season,” Nas’ “King’s Disease II” and Tyler, The Creator’s “Call Me If You Get Lost.” In my opinion. “Call Me If You Get Lost” should take this award; it is arguably the most complete album on the list. Tyler excelled with great storytelling, production and impressive features from Lil Wayne, Pharrell Williams, Lil Uzi Vert and others.
The pop categories have some strong nominations as well, with Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, BTS and Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett all in the mix. The nominations for Best Pop Solo and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance are a toss-up, as the songs on the list are all worthy of an award. I would love to see two legendary artists and friends, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, take home the latter. Bennett is 95 years old and battling Alzheimer’s disease, so seeing him win another award would be so special.
The Grammys is always an incredibly exciting night for music and pop culture, and it gives the chance for fans and artists young and old to celebrate music.