Gearing up for the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards 2019
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The nominations for the 61st Grammy Awards have been announced.
Music’s biggest night is just two months away, and today (7 December) the nominees for categories including album of the year, song of the year and record of the year were revealed.
Janelle Monae’s Dirty Computer, Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour, Brandi Carlile’s By the Way I Forgive You , Kendrick Lamar ’s Black Panther Invasion of Privacy , Drake ’s Scorpion , HER’s Her and Post Malone’s Beerbongs & Bentleys were all nominated for album of the year.
Taylor Swift ’s album Reputation was one of the biggest snubs of the nominations. As it was released last year, missed the deadline for album of the year eligibility at the 2018 Grammys but could have received a nod for the 2019 awards. Swift has been nominated in the category three times and won it twice, for 2010’s Fearless and 2016’s 1989 .
Ed Sheeran found himself in a similar position last year. Despite being one of the biggest-selling albums of 2017, Sheeran’s third album Divide was snubbed for AOTY at the 2018 Grammys and Sheeran only received two nominations, each in the lesser genre categories.
Ariana Grande fans will be disappointed that the pop singer failed to achieve a nomination in any of the main categories, after the release of her album Sweetener and its hit single “No Tears Left to Cry” earlier this year. The Carters – Beyonce and her husband Jay-Z – also missed out on any major nominations for their album Everything is Love.
British singer Ella Mai is the only UK nominee in the four major categories this year. Her hit single “Boo’d Up” is featured in the Song of the Year category.
The Grammy Awards are set to air live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, 10 February, on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
Show all 40 1 /40Albums of the year 2018 Albums of the year 2018 40. Thom Yorke - Suspiria Thom Yorke’s first ever soundtrack summons the darkness of horror, and the terror of blood and evil, over 25 tracks. A handful of these are among Yorke’s best solo work. The Radiohead frontman’s debut piece written for the 007 film Spectre was a sparse piano-led ballad, and “Suspirium”, the first single to be released from this soundtrack, takes that same intimate approach to desolate depths
Albums of the year 2018 39. Interpol - Marauder Marauder is Interpol’s most experimental to date, blending everything from rough garage rock to Motown rhythms. The band appear reinvigorated, brimming with energy and self-assurance.
Albums of the year 2018 38. Brent Cobb – Providence Canyon Brent Cobb’s music is built around people and places. The country artist returns after the release of his acclaimed 2016 album Shine On Rainy Day with Providence Canyon; a slice of blue-collar country offering fresh tales of Southern life
Albums of the year 2018 37. Black Peaks – All That Divides The Brighton metal band’s sublime second album is their most ambitious to date. Enlisting Adrian Bushby (Foo Fighters, Muse) on production was a master-stroke – with his help they offer up vast sonic landscapes that recall the drama of Darion Malakian’s Scars on Broadway record, Dictator
Albums of the year 2018 36. Miya Folick - Premonitions One moment opining the joys of leaving a party to pluck your eyebrows, the next raging over the gaslighting of assault survivors, Miya Folick’s debut album continues her habit of cracking the shiny veneer of pop, and unsettling the exceptions put upon a feminine voice
Albums of the year 2018 35) Suede – The Blue Hour Though their themes remain in the gutter, Suede aspire to monuments, and The Blue Hour will stand as another sordid masterwork
Albums of the year 2018 34. Cat Power - Wanderer Six years after the release of her last LP Sun, Cat Power – whose struggles with alcoholism, addiction and mental health issues have been much publicised – demonstrates “both a newfound sense of calm, and strength” on her new album
Albums of the year 2018 33. Architects - Holy Hell Holy Hell offers up some of the best tracks of the band’s career, with a through-line that maintains Tom Searle's role as an integral part of Architects, particularly on “Doomsday”, while “Hereafter” feels like the song that launches the album’s momentum. Listening to vocalist Sam Carter scream: “I wasn’t braced for the fallout” is intensely cathartic – even non-metal fans will find it hard not to be moved by the band’s sincerity. (RO)
Albums of the year 2018 32. Robyn – Honey Even in discarding such basic pop necessities as melody, Robyn has managed to create a masterpiece. With her first album in seven years, the Swedish singer delivers nine songs that glow and pulse with bittersweet sensuality, sung in a voice that sifts over the synths like icing sugar
Albums of the year 2018 31. Florence & the Machine - High as Hope On Florence & The Machine’s latest album High As Hope, her voice is just as powerful when she holds back. She seems to attribute much of this calmness to her new-found sobriety – she quit alcohol a few years ago and looks back on her twenties with a mix of fondness and regret
Albums of the year 2018 30. Teyana Taylor - Keep that Same Energy She’s not restricted by genre constraints, and K.T.S.E. (Keep That Same Energy) is a pleasant surprise. Embellished with producer Kanye West’s keen ear for samples, it blends Eighties nostalgia with fresh rap and R&B. At the core of the project is Taylor’s love of pleasing herself, her relationship with her husband, and being a mother
Albums of the year 2018 29. The 1975 – A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships On their third and best album, A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships, The 1975 have created what so many post-Radiohead bands couldn’t: a coherent pop statement with enough hope, radical honesty and genre-spanning breadth to make sense across divided generations
Albums of the year 2018 28. Kamasi Washington - Heaven and Earth For a new generation, Kamasi Washington is largely responsible for the revitalised interest in jazz in modern music, most notably with his work on Kendrick Lamar’s jazz-heavy masterpiece, To Pimp a Butterfly. On Heaven and Earth, the Los Angeles saxophonist and band leader splits his second record in two halves: the urgent Earth side explores reality while Heaven deals in dreamy opulence
Albums of the year 2018 27. Novelist – Novelist Guy The 21-year-old south London MC Novelist’s debut album is a clear, concise look at the current social and political landscape of the UK, offering up astute observations on black masculinity and the music industry along the way.
Albums of the year 2018 26. Nils Frahm - All Melody The German composer’s 10th solo album is a stirring, complex work that draws on the concept of connection; a fluidity in the way the universe works
Albums of the year 2018 25. Camila Cabello - Camila Camila Cabello's debut solo album is the first time fans have been able to see her clearly
Albums of the year 2018 24. Mitski - Be The Cowboy On Mitski's brilliant fifth album she is desperate and lonely one minute, hardened and withdrawn the next. Her music, which exists in a space between fierce, guitar-led walls of noise and soft, delicate balladry, feels like an open wound – and Be The Cowboy is no different. (AP)
Albums of the year 2018 23. Years & Years - Palo Santo Frontman Olly Alexander is offering fans their own generational pop icon: a young man who has the courage to put all of that vibrant, dynamic character on full display
Albums of the year 2018 22. Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel On Tell Me How You Really Feel, Courtney Barnett turns her keen eye inwards, exploring anxiety and depression while coming to terms with her own emotional life. Written as her burgeoning stature and hectic touring schedule began to take their toll, these 10 songs are Barnett’s attempt to work through her vulnerability and sadness
Albums of the year 2018 21. Blood Orange - Negro Swan For Negro Swan, Blood Orange’s fourth album, the multi-instrumentalist has dreamed up a 16-song suite that weaves together impressionist psych-pop and interstellar funk, late-Seventies Marvin Gaye and early-Eighties Prince, with some tangled ballads and insomniac blues reminiscent of Elliott Smith and King Krule thrown into the pot “Brother, we’ve seen it all and we’re tired,” Hynes sings on the A$AP Rocky-featuring “Chewing Gum”. In the company of friends, music and tradition, he’s made a kind of spiritual headquarters, somewhere the disheartened can take cover and, with an eye on tomorrow, regroup. (JM)
Albums of the year 2018 20. Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy When she sings off the hook, it’s just another moment where Cardi B runs to her own rhythm: because nothing about Invasion of Privacy is formulaic
Albums of the year 2018 19. Let’s Eat Grandma – I'm All Ears With producer SOPHIE on board (whose own album, also released this year, is well worth your time), they explore the anxieties and frustrations of being a teenage girl through clattering beats and Nokia samples. The result is exceptional
Albums of the year 2018 18. Ghetts – Ghetto Gospel: The New Testament Ghetts re-evaluates much of what he said on Ghetto Gospel, when he was frustrated and angry with the world. Now he looks more to the future, whether on “Next of Kin”, where he speaks from the perspective of a mother carrying her child’s coffin, or “Black Rose”, which addresses fears for his daughter in a society that places double standards on black women. It’s a reminder that grime is so much more than violence and threats. (RO)
Albums of the year 2018 17. Cypress Hill – Elephants on Acid Elephants on Acid is a 21-track monster, loaded with twists and turns that take you as far as Egypt, where Muggs recorded much of “Band of Gypsies” – teaming up with artists on oud, sitar, keyboard and guitar, as well as some of its street musicians. Its lead hook harks back to the glitchy shrieks of “How I Could Just Kill a Man” from their eponymous 1991 debut.
Albums of the year 2018 16. John Grant - Love is Magic His brilliant fourth album Love Is Magic takes listeners on a similar thrill ride, dominated by swirling loops of grand, romantic melody, sly twists of sardonic wit and heart-stopping drops of sheer honesty
Albums of the year 2018 15. Pusha T – Daytona His third record, produced entirely by Kanye West, could easily have been an EP, coming in at just seven songs and 21 minutes. While many fans were disappointed by the erratic and self-indulgent nature of some of West’s other releases, including his own album ye, the beats on Daytona are sample-heavy and superb; the instrumentation is sparse but all the more impactful for it
Albums of the year 2018 14. Nao - Saturn Since her debut single – the AK Paul-featuring “So Good” – was released in 2014, London-based singer-songwriter NAO has hovered around a near-perfect brand of sultry, neo-soul-inflected R&B. Four years later, and she seems to have mastered it
Albums of the year 2018 13. Travis Scott – Astroworld The third solo album from the US artist stars an overwhelming number of (uncredited) guest features, producers and co-writers, but, ultimately, it’s his own, most career-defining work to date.
Albums of the year 2018 12. Troye Sivan - Bloom Bloom captures the A to Z’s of modern queer love with pinpoint precision
Albums of the year 2018 11. Ben Howard – Noonday Dream Howard’s music has always, above all, reflected the shifts and moods in nature, while he sings poetic lyrics in his signature low, warm murmur. On Noonday Dream, he expands on the Cornish landscape that impacted his earlier work and brings in sounds and instruments that spark the imagination for places further afield, in the most exquisite way
Albums of the year 2018 10. Shame – Songs of Praise Distinguishing themselves from the hordes of other white, indie guitar bands that emerged around summer 2017, south London natives Shame manage to make raw, bleeding anger on their debut album sound articulate.
Albums of the year 2018 9. Gaika - Basic Volume Gaika broke new ground on the UK music scene and asserted himself as one of the most provocative and multitalented young artists of this generation with his debut album, Basic Volume
Albums of the year 2018 8. Tamino - Amir Tamino’s music on his debut Amir draws on the old-world romance of his grandfather – a famous Arabic musician and actor ¬– but also embodies the genre-less quality of much modern pop. The musical heritage that is so essential to the 22-year-old’s sound comes to life in the dramatic, sweeping instrumentation on a song like “So It Goes”; haunting, graceful violins, bold drum beats and the shimmer of a tambourine transport the listener entirely.
Albums of the year 2018 7. Mac Miller - Swimming Mac Miller turned his anguish into one of the year’s most disarming records
Albums of the year 2018 6. Colter Wall - Song of the Plains Wall’s songwriting is as stark as it comes: his plain-speaking manner is delivered in a slow, melancholy drawl that paints him as some lonely cowboy – the last man of the West, as he describes in the most matter-of-fact terms how a bullet ripped in to “poor Wild Bill”. There’s no fuss in the instrumentation, either, mostly just gentle picking or brisk, deep thrums on Wall’s acoustic guitar, which are bolstered by icy laps of pedal steel and the occasional harmonica. It’s effective in the simplest of ways – and allows the listener’s imagination to do the rest
Albums of the year 2018 5. Black Panther soundtrack (various artists) Kendrick Lamar co-executive produced the Black Panther soundtrack, has writing credits on its 14 tracks, and appears in various skits and features. But his most essential job on this album is that of the curator, as he brings in a staggering array of talent – from Anderson .Paak, SZA and Future to South African gqom (EDM) artist Babes Wodumo and alt-rapper Yungen Blakrok. Not all the tracks fit as neatly into the film’s biggest moments, but Lamar successfully navigates its most important themes – responsibility, black power, heroism, family dynamics, and loyalty– and weaves them into the music. It makes for a thrilling and deeply immersive journey. (RO)
Albums of the year 2018 4. Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour Kacey Musgraves third album flips between wide-eyed country pop and disco-electronica. Aided by co-writers and producers Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk – both Nashville stalwarts – Musgraves conjures up a feeling of lightness as she melds the traditional and futuristic. At a time where mainstream artists seem forced to dwell on all the doom and gloom we hear on the news, Golden Hour is a reminder that sometimes – often, if you’re looking in the right places – life is beautiful. And you get the feeling that Musgraves could find the beauty in anything. (RO)
Albums of the year 2018 3. Janelle Monae – Dirty Computer Dirty Computer is Monáe’s gift to the LGBT+ community, non-binary people, black men and women… anyone who faces stigma and abuse just for embracing their true selves. It’s a message of love and hope to anyone who fears what is different, but who has capacity to learn and know better. And it’s seemingly a gift to herself, as well. (RO)
Albums of the year 2018 2. Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino feels more like an interlude between AM and a seventh Arctic Monkeys album – a delve into the bizarre, where even the Steinway piano has its own character. On “The Ultracheese”, the descending piano chords symbolise a kind of final bow; the last soliloquy of the night before the curtain closes. Few bands today are as brave as this.
Albums of the year 2018 1. Christine & The Queens – Chris Letissier makes her vintage synths snap, crackle, pop, fizz, freeze, squelch, shimmer and soar. There’s even a shattered glass effect (on “Stranger”) to complete the Old Skool Electronica bingo card. Treble notes bounce from air-cushioned soles. Bass lines lasso your hips. Chiffon layers of Letissier’s Anglo-French vocals glide around your neck and shoulders and roll them back. It’s ridiculously danceable. The quirky lyrical pleas for understanding of early hits like “Tilted” has been replaced by the empowered seduction of “Girlfriend”, on which lines “Don’t feel like a girlfriend/ But lover/ Damn, I’d be your lover” simmer over flickering flames of funk-guitar. In the wonderful world of Christine and the Queens, linguistic borders are as porous as those between gender, era and genre. Vive la fluidité!
It marks the show’s return to the West Coast after the ceremony took place at Madison Square Gardens in New York this year.
Bruno Mars was the biggest winner of the 60th Grammy Awards, being nominated for six awards and winning all of them, including for album of the year and record of the year.
Starting with the 2019 Grammys, the big four categories — Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best New Artist — have increased from five to eight nominees each
The liveblog is now closed
The 61st Grammy Awards take place in LA on Sunday 10 February, 2019.
Key Points Ceremony takes place at the Staples Center in LA in February 2019 Cardi B, Kacey Musgraves, and Janelle Monae are all up for album of the year – more women than men have been nominated in this category for 2019 Taylor Swift and her album Reputation is undoubtedly the biggest snub of the nominations. Ariana Grande and The Carters also missed out on album of the year nominations British acts are almost entirely absent from the major categories, with the exception of Ella Mai, who received a nod for her hit single "Boo'd Up" in the Song of the Year category Show latest update 1544190123 OK some quick take-aways from the nominees so far.... YES JANELLE MONAE!!! Such a thoroughly deserved album of the year nomination for Dirty Computer, which includes her amazing single "Make Me Feel".
Cardi B also received a deserved nomination for her album Invasion of Privacy. I'm not sure about Drake getting a nod for Scorpion as that album was verrrry hit and and miss, but it's likely more to do with the fact that it was undeniably one of the biggest albums of 2018.
Taylor Swift and The Carters (Beyonce and Jay Z!) were both snubbed for the album of the year. I'm more surprised about Swift, given that her album was both a commercial and critical success – undeniably one of the biggest albums of the year.
roisin.oconnor 7 December 2018 13:42
1544190247 There's one more nomination to be announced live, for new artist of the year
roisin.oconnor 7 December 2018 13:44
1544191426 You can check out the nominations in full, here
roisin.oconnor 7 December 2018 14:03
1544191525 We have two soundtrack songs up for Record of the Year: "Shallows" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, and "All the Stars" by Kendrick Lamar ft SZA!
roisin.oconnor 7 December 2018 14:05
1544191575 I'm going to wrap up the liveblog now but you can check out more reaction, news and updates on the 61st Grammy Awards via The Independent later today. Thanks for following!
roisin.oconnor 7 December 2018 14:06
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