The Recording Academy™ announced the GRAMMY® nominees and for the first time, celebrates eight nominees in each of the General Field categories: Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist. This year’s nominees were selected from more than 21,000 submissions across 84 categories, and reflect the wide range of artistic innovation that defined the year in music (Oct. 1, 2017–Sept. 30, 2018). As the only peer-selected music award, the GRAMMY Awards® are voted on by the Recording Academy’s membership body of music makers, who represent all genres and creative disciplines, including recording artists, songwriters, producers, mixers, and engineers.
“Reflection, reevaluation, and implementation have been the driving forces at the Recording Academy over the past year,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. “From convening our Task Force On Diversity & Inclusion and launching our new community-driven membership model, to increasing the number of nominees in the General Field, and to playing a leadership role in the successful passage of the landmark Music Modernization Act, the Recording Academy has reaffirmed its commitment to music creators across all facets of our industry.”
Below are some of the nominees:
Record Of The Year:
“I Like It” — Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin
“The Joke” — Brandi Carlile
“This Is America” — Childish Gambino
“God’s Plan” — Drake
“Shallow” — Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
“All The Stars” — Kendrick Lamar & SZA
“Rockstar” — Post Malone Featuring 21 Savage
“The Middle” — Zedd, Maren Morris & 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)
Best Pop Solo Performance:
“Colors” — Beck
“Havana (Live)” — Camila Cabello
“God Is A Woman” — Ariana Grande
“Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Goin’?)” — Lady Gaga
“Better Now” — Post Malone
Best Pop Vocal Album:
Camila — Camila Cabello
Meaning Of Life — Kelly Clarkson
Sweetener — Ariana Grande
Shawn Mendes — Shawn Mendes
Beautiful Trauma — P!nk
Reputation — Taylor Swift
Best Dance Recording:
“Northern Soul” — Above & Beyond Featuring Richard Bedford
“Ultimatum” — Disclosure (Featuring Fatoumata Diawara)
“Losing It” — Fisher
“Electricity” — Silk City & Dua Lipa Featuring Diplo & Mark Ronson
“Ghost Voices” — Virtual Self
Best Rock Song:
“Black Smoke Rising” — Jacob Thomas Kiszka, Joshua Michael Kiszka, Samuel Francis Kiszka & Daniel Robert Wagner, songwriters (Greta Van Fleet)
“Jumpsuit” — Tyler Joseph, songwriter (Twenty One Pilots)
“MANTRA” — Jordan Fish, Matthew Kean, Lee Malia, Matthew Nicholls & Oliver Sykes, songwriters (Bring Me The Horizon)
“Masseduction” — Jack Antonoff & Annie Clark, songwriters (St. Vincent)
“Rats” — Tom Dalgety & A Ghoul Writer, songwriters (Ghost)
Best Rap Album:
Invasion Of Privacy — Cardi B
Swimming — Mac Miller
Victory Lap — Nipsey Hussle
Daytona — Pusha T
Astroworld — Travis Scott
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 Jazz Vocal Album:
My Mood Is You — Freddy Cole
The Questions — Kurt Elling
The Subject Tonight Is Love — Kate McGarry With Keith Ganz & Gary Versace
If You Really Want — Raul Midón With The Metropole Orkest Conducted By Vince Mendoza
The Window — Cécile McLorin Salvant
Best Gospel Album:
One Nation Under God — Jekalyn Carr
Hiding Place — Tori Kelly
Make Room — Jonathan McReynolds
The Other Side — The Walls Group
A Great Work — Brian Courtney Wilson
Best Latin Pop Album:
Prometo — Pablo Alboran
Sincera — Claudia Brant
Musas (Un Homenaje Al Folclore Latinoamericano En Manos De Los Macorinos), Vol. 2 — Natalia Lafourcade
2:00 AM — Raquel Sofía
Vives — Carlos Vives
Best Song Written For Visual Media:
“All The Stars” — Kendrick Duckworth, Solána Rowe, Alexander William Shuckburgh, Mark Anthony Spears & Anthony Tiffith, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar & SZA), Track from: Black Panther
“Mystery Of Love” — Sufjan Stevens, songwriter (Sufjan Stevens), Track from: Call Me By Your Name
“Remember Me” — Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, songwriters (Miguel Featuring Natalia Lafourcade), Track from: Coco
“Shallow” — Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper), Track from: A Star Is Born
“This Is Me” — Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, songwriters (Keala Settle & The Greatest Showman Ensemble), Track from: The Greatest Showman
Lifetime Achievement Awards:
“Each year, the Recording Academy has the distinct privilege of celebrating music industry giants who have greatly contributed to our cultural heritage,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. “This year, we have a gifted and brilliant group of honorees and their exceptional accomplishments, contributions, and artistry will continue to influence and inspire generations to come.” The Lifetime Achievement Award celebrates performers who have made outstanding contributions of artistic significance to the field of recording, while the Trustees Award honors such contributions in areas other than performance.
This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award honorees are Black Sabbath, George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Billy Eckstine, Donny Hathaway, Julio Iglesias, Sam & Dave, and Dionne Warwick. Lou Adler, Ashford & Simpson, and Johnny Mandel are Trustees Award honorees; and Saul Walker is the Technical GRAMMY® Award recipient.
The final round of GRAMMY voting is Dec. 13, 2018–Jan 9, 2019.
The Recording Academy will present the GRAMMY Awards on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, live from Los Angeles’ STAPLES Center.
Photo Credit: Ga Fullner, Kathy Hutchins, D. Free