To put it bluntly, the Grammys did an awful job of recognizing the artistry of women at the 2018 show. Quelle surprise. Who could forget Recording Academy president Neil Portnow, in response to the lack of women winners, telling press that women needed “to step up,” a comment that led to an outcry, an emergency task force, and his eventual stepping down.
The question was whether previous mistakes would change who the Recording Academy nominated for 2019 and whether the relatively new addition of online voting would help create a Grammy nominee list that reflected a more diverse listener group. One major change this year is that certain big categories have been expanded; record, song and album of the year, and best new artist categories will now include eight nominees as opposed to five, a move made for “wider-range of recognition.”
Year after year, artists come along who tear at the dated genre distinctions and gilded rules of the Grammys. As previously reported, Cardi B and Post Malone will not be competing for Best New Artist because the former earned two previous nominations last year (so she’s technically not “new”) and as for Post, well, the committee just doesn’t like him? Both seem like glaring omissions in a year where each dominated charts.
But standouts for the women-dominated Best New Artist category included Ella Mai, whose song “Boo’d Up” was one of R&B’s best this year, and country singer Margo Price. Taylor Swift, who typically sweeps these nominations, is notably absent from most categories except for Best Pop Vocal Album. And some nice small surprises included nominations for SOPHIE for a Best Dance/Electronic Album nomination, Mitski for Best Recording Package, Ariana Grande for Best Pop Vocal Album, and St. Vincent for her album Masseduction. Overall, I’m rooting for Cardi B, Janelle Monáe and, of course the inescapable song of the year, “Shallow.”
Fingers crossed we don’t have a Grammys defined by Beerbongs & Bentleys?
Here’s the full list of nominees. And below are the big televised categories:
Record of the Year
“I Like It,” Cardi B
“The Joke,” Brandi Carlile
“This Is America,” Childish Gambino
“God’s Plan,” Drake
“Shallow,” Lady Gaga
“All The Stars,” SZA and Kendrick Lamar
“Rockstar,” Post Malone
“The Middle,” Maren Morris, Zedd, Grey
Album of the Year
Invasion of Privacy, Cardi B
By the Way, I Forgive You, Brandi Carlile
Scorpion, Drake
H.E.R., H.E.R.
Beerbongs & Bentleys, Post Malone
Dirty Computer, Janelle Monáe
Golden Hour, Kacey Musgraves
Black Panther: The Album, Music From And Inspired By, Various Artists
Song of the Year
“All the Stars,” SZA and Kendrick Lamar
“Boo’d Up,” Ella Mai
“God’s Plan,” Drake
“In My Blood,” Sean Mendes
“The Joke,” Brandi Carlile
“The Middle,” Zedd
“Shallow,” Lady Gaga
“This Is America,” Childish Gambino
Best New Artist
Chloe x Halle
Luke Combs
Greta Van Fleet
H.E.R.
Dua Lipa
Margo Price
Bebe Rexha
Jorja Smith
Best Country Album
Unapologetically, Kelsea Ballerini
Port Saint Joe, Brothers Osborne
Girl Going Nowhere, Ashley McBryde
Golden Hour, Kacey Musgraves
From a Room: Volume 2, Chris Stapleton
Best R&B Album
Sex & Cigarettes, Toni Braxton
Good Thing, Leon Bridges
Honestly, Lalah Hathaway
H.E.R., H.E.R.
Gumbo Unplugged (Live), PJ Morton