30 Must-Hear Albums In 2022

(L - R): Machine Gun Kelly, Charli XCX, Saweetie, Earl Sweatshirt, Rosalía

(Source Photos L - R): Rich Fury/Getty Images for dcp; Jason Koerner/Getty Images; Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for iHeartRadio; Marc Grimwade/WireImage; Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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30 Must-Hear Albums In 2022: Kendrick Lamar, Cardi B, Rosalía, Machine Gun Kelly, Charli XCX, Saweetie & More

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2022 has no shortage of new albums to keep your shuffle hard at work. GRAMMY.com compiled a list of 30 upcoming releases — from Kid Cudi, Earl Sweatshirt, Combo Chimbita, Dolly Parton, and Guns N' Roses — to keep you moving in the new year.
Brennan Carley
Britt Julious
Ilana Kaplan
Ernesto Lechner
Rob LeDonne
Jessica Lipsky
Victoria Moorwood
Mosi Reeves
Jack Tregoning
Taylor Weatherby
GRAMMYs
Jan 7, 2022 - 1:28 pm

Editor's Note: This piece has been updated to reflect release dates and album titles announced after publishing. 

While it may feel like there's not much to look forward to during yet another wave of COVID-19, music fans around the world are eagerly waiting to load their playlists with new releases as 2022 gets underway.

And there's certainly plenty to look forward to: Along with The Weeknd, who released his fifth studio album, Dawn FM, on Jan. 7, superstars like Machine Gun Kelly, Camila Cabello, Dolly Parton, Guns N' Roses, and Rosalía have all announced or teased albums coming this year.

The pandemic may have slowed things down, but there's no stopping artists in 2022. Keep an eye out for these 30 albums from ENHYPEN, Mitski, Saweetie, Bastille, and many more.

The Weeknd, Dawn FM

Release date: Jan. 7

Only a year removed from his incendiary Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, the crowned pop prince of Canada returns with the semi-surprise Dawn FM, a hotly anticipated follow-up to his record-breaking 2020 release, After Hours (you know, the one with "Blinding Lights" and "Save Your Tears" on it).

As The Weeknd's album teasers promised, Dawn FM delivered sinister synthesizers, a vocal appearance from Jim Carrey, and old-man makeup that's arguably only slightly less distressing than his wax-faced After Hours persona.Max Martin is back (on lead single "Take My Breath"), and other guests include Tyler, the Creator and Oneohtrix Point Never.

As for what the three-time GRAMMY winner wants his listeners to take away from his latest work? "Picture the album being like the listener is dead," The Weeknd told Billboard. Capisce? — Brennan Carley

ENHYPEN, DIMENSION : ANSWER 

Release date: January 10

Seven-piece boy group ENHYPEN may still be relatively new to the K-pop scene (the band formed in 2020 on the Korean survival competition show "I-Land"), but they're already making moves to put themselves in the ranks of BTS and EXO. Their latest release, DIMENSION : ANSWER, marks the group's first studio repackage album, expanding on their 2021 debut set, DIMENSION : DILEMMA.

DIMENSION : ANSWER will feature three new tracks,: "Polaroid Love," "Outro : Day 2," and lead single "Blessed-Cursed." Fans got a first taste of the three B-sides thanks to an album preview the group released on Jan. 4, which teased a wide array of sounds: punchy pop-sprinkled production on "Polaroid Love," sultry R&B vocals with "Outro : Day 2," and guitar-heavy rock on "Blessed-Cursed." With such vast musical prowess, DIMENSION : ANSWER may just be the group's ticket to K-pop superstardom. — Taylor Weatherby

Read More: 5 Rising Korean Artists To Know Now: STAYC, ENHYPEN, ITZY, TOMORROW X TOGETHER & ATEEZ

Cordae, From a Bird's Eye View

Release date: Jan. 14

Cordae set the bar high with his GRAMMY-nominated debut album The Lost Boy and emerged as one of the most exciting new talents of 2019, making his return to the game with his hotly anticipated second album.

The Maryland-raised rapper held fans over with his Just Until… EP last April before launching into his album rollout with the braggadocious hit, "Super" and a collaboration with Lil Wayne, "Sinister." The 24-year-old wordsmith — known for his reflective, carefully-crafted raps — said From a Bird's Eye View was inspired by "a life-changing trip to Africa, enduring the loss of a friend gone too soon and evolving as an artist and a man." 

The album will also mark Cordae's first full-length effort since the official disbanding of his YBN collective in 2020. — Victoria Moorwood

Animal Collective, Time Skiffs

Release date: Feb. 4

Followers of experimental pop adventurers Animal Collective have waited six years for a new album following 2016's Painting With. At last, the four-piece will release Time Skiffs, an album full of otherworldly harmonies and mind-opening melodies.

Animal Collective has released two singles from the LP so far: the gently psychedelic "Prester John" and the equally trippy "Walker." The latter is a tribute to Scott Walker, the prolific singer-songwriter who died in 2019. Its beautifully intricate music video, directed by band member Dave Portner and his sister Abby, brings the Time Skiffs album cover to life in vivid detail. — Jack Tregoning

Avril Lavigne, Love Sux

Release date: Feb 25 

Like everything Y2K, pop-punk is making a comeback. And nearly 20 years since the release of her seminal pop-punk debut Let Go, Avril Lavigne brings back her pop-punk princess persona in all its glory — combat boots and all. In early November, the "Sk8r Boi" singer shared her the angsty anthem "Bite Me," first new single in over two years, featuring Travis Barker.

With the new music, Lavigne also shared she had signed to the drummer extraordinaire's label DTA Records. Her seventh studio album is set to be the artist's first LP since her more traditional pop LP Head Above Water in 2019. — I.K.

Bonobo, Fragments

Release date: Jan. 14

Like everyone else around the world, electronic shapeshifter Simon Green had a very unusual past two years. The British musician and DJ, better known as Bonobo, found himself grounded in his adopted home of Los Angeles, itching for new inspiration to get through the pandemic. His wanderings took him from a tent in the Californian desert to a new appreciation for modular synths back home in lockdown, all with a nervous eye on the precarious state of the world.

This activity fed into a flood of music which we'll soon hear on Bonobo's seventh studio album, Fragments, out on Ninja Tune. Fragments features guests including Jamila Woods, Joji and Kadhja Bonet, while channeling influences from UK bass, Detroit techno and global music through Bonobo's widescreen lens. The producer is already up for two Best Dance/Electronic Recording awards at this year's GRAMMYs, for "Heartbreak," his collaboration with Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, and "Loom," with Ólafur Arnalds. Bonobo begins a tour of the US in February, giving fans a few precious weeks to soak up the album before its live debut. — J.T.

Earl Sweatshirt, SICK

Release date: Jan. 14

With a decade-plus of acclaimed projects such as 2018's Some Rap Songs, Earl Sweatshirt is both an underground hero and a critic's darling. He hasn't achieved the same level of mainstream success as former Odd Future colleagues Tyler, the Creator and Syd – which is fine with him.

Judging from SICK's lead track "2010," where he pays homage to his mother in cryptic terms, the 10-track album promises to be another collection of stylized verses, dusty beats and autobiographical confessions (albeit rendered in a clearer voice than his previous album, 2019's lo-fi affair Feet of Clay). As its title suggests, SICK was inspired by the pandemic. "My whole thing is grading things on the truth, you know what I mean? However expansive or detailed the truth is," he told Rolling Stone. — Mosi Reeves

iann dior, On To Better Things

Release date: January 21

After blasting onto the scene with his 24kgoldn team-up (and runaway smash) "Mood" in 2020, iann dior hasn't slowed down, releasing an EP and countless other collabs. On To Better Things marks dior's first full-length album since 2019, serving up 15 tracks that will help the rapper truly come into his own.

Like the Lil Uzi Vert-assisted "V12" and the racing single "Let You," On To Better Things will see dior further explore his capabilities as a rapper while also tapping into his alt-pop/rock sensibilities. Judging by his previous releases, dior won't be afraid to get raw and real on his latest project as he opens up about love, relationships and loyalty. There may be glimmers of hope on the album, though, as dior captioned a post teasing the album, "life is better now." — T.W.

Dive Deep: 9 Revolutionary Rap Albums To Know: From Kendrick Lamar, Black Star, EarthGang & More

Combo Chimbita, IRÉ

Release date: Jan. 28

The melding of cumbia beats and psychedelic vibes was embraced during the '70s by many pioneering outfits in Peru and Colombia. Since the release of their 2017 debut, New York quartet Combo Chimbita has built on that foundation, amping up the mystical tinge of its material through the soulful chanting of extraordinary vocalist Carolina Oliveros. 

Always ready to speak up on social and political issues, Chimbita uses cumbia as a starting point, adding swashes of funk and soul, Afro guitar lines and atmospheric samples. The band's new album expands its palette, enhancing lead single "Oya" with a video shot at the ruins of Puerto Rico's abandoned Intercontinental Hotel. A tour with the awesomeLido Pimienta will follow soon. — Ernesto Lechner

Aaliyah, Unstoppable

Release date: January 2022

Anticipation surrounding Aaliyah's fourth album has been building since 2012, when Blackground Records released "Don't Think They Know," which paired the late singer's vocals with Chris Brown, and a Drake collaboration, "Enough Said." The long-awaited arrival of her back catalog to streaming last fall added fresh fuel for a project that has been controversial, with some diehard fans questioning whether it honors Aaliyah's legacy.

Unstoppable includes guests like Snoop Dogg, Future and Ne-Yo. The first single, a woozy ballad titled "Poison," features The Weeknd as well as lyrics originally written by the late Static Major. "Some of the people Aaliyah liked are on the album. She loved Snoop Dogg," Blackground CEO and Aaliyah's uncle Jomo Hankerson told Billboard. "Everything I do at Blackground is always with her in my heart and my mind." — M.R.

Read More: For The Record: How Aaliyah Redefined Her Sound And Herself On One In A Million

Bastille, Give Me the Future

Release date: Feb. 4

If the pandemic had even a glimmer of a bright side, it comes courtesy of musicians like Bastille pivoting and positioning their art to address the present, as Give Me the Future promises to do.

Bandleader Dan Smith had already begun work on the English pop-rock group's fourth album before COVID-19 threw a wrench in his plans, but the pandemic made the album's probing themes seem that much more prescient. Glistening songs like "Thelma + Louise" and the vocoded "Distorted Light Beam" dig more deeply into Bastille's exploration of escapism when the troubles of the world are thundering outside our windows, all with the help of new collaborators Rami Yacoub and One Republic's Ryan Tedder. We promise it's way more fun than it sounds. — B.C.

Mitski, Laurel Hell

Release date: Feb. 4

Mitski almost pressed pause on her music career which, according to a Rolling Stone interview, was "shaving away my soul little by little." After a final performance, "I would quit and find another life."  Fortunately, though, Mitski has stuck with it.

Three years since the release of her fifth studio album Be the Cowboy, the indie singer-songwriter is set to share her forthcoming project Laurel Hell. While the majority of the LP was penned in 2018, it wasn't mixed until 2021, making it the longest the singer has spent on one of her records. What listeners can expect is a transformative set of songs that pair Mitski's signature vulnerability with uptempo dance beats and, ultimately, catharsis. — Ilana Kaplan

Guns N' Roses, Hard Skool EP

Release date: Feb. 25 

In 2021, 36 years after the band first formed in the hard rock hotbed of Los Angeles, Guns N' Roses returned with two new singles. This productive streak was remarkable enough in itself given the group's notoriously haphazard release schedule. The singles "ABSUЯD" and "Hard Skool" are doubly remarkable, though, because they usher in a new EP that brings beloved members Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan together again after 28 years.

Reinterpreted from the band's Chinese Democracy sessions, "ABSUЯD" features a raw, punk-tinged sound that surprised some fans before rewarding repeat listens. "Hard Skool," meanwhile, harkens back to the classic sound that Guns N' Roses perfected in the late 1980s. The Hard Skool EP will feature the two 2021 singles alongside live renditions of GNR favorites "Don't Cry" and "You're Crazy." To mark this new era, the band is touring arenas throughout 2022, reuniting Axl, Slash and Duff as a powerhouse onstage trio. — J.T.

Take a Look Back: Guns N' Roses' 'Appetite For Destruction' | For The Record

Charli XCX, CRASH

Release date: March 18

Pop polymorph Charli XCX has been promising fans her sellout era for months now ("tip for new artists: sell your soul for money and fame," she tweeted last July), ushered in with last summer's "Good Ones" and buoyed into the holidays with "New Shapes," a powerhouse team-up with Caroline Polachek and Christine and the Queens.

CRASH is the fifth and final album she owes Atlantic Records — a benchmark not lost on fans or Charli herself. For it, Charli promises edge-of-your-seat appearances from Rina Sawayama, frequent collaborator A. G. Cook, and frequent Weeknd cohort Oneohtrix Point Never. Come for the bloody album artwork, stay for the cheeky, self-aware pop concoctions contained within. — B.C.

Dolly Parton, Run, Rose, Run

Release date: March 2022

The beloved, multi-GRAMMY Award-winning singer-songwriter Dolly Parton has built a career as a trailblazer, so it stands to reason that her next musical effort would carry on that grand tradition. Run, Rose, Run is an album of original tunes taking its energetic moniker from a companion novel that Parton co-authored with the acclaimed writer James Patterson.

According to Parton, the accompanying album consists of "all new songs written based on the characters and situations in the book" and centers on a tale about a girl who treks to Nashville to pursue her dreams. Adds Patterson, "the mind-blowing thing about this project is that reading the novel is enhanced by listening to the album and vice versa." Both projects are dropping in tandem. It's a unique undertaking that celebrates a smoldering passion for music; but if you've been following the legend's career, would you expect anything less? — Rob LeDonne

Maren Morris, Humble Quest

Release date: March 25

GRAMMY-winning singer Maren Morris has conquered modern country music with her soulful solo material and even forayed into pop (just mentioning "The Middle" will glue its sticky chorus to your every waking moment for the next week). So whatever magic Morris might make with her highly anticipated third album, Humble Quest, is cause enough for celebration.

Morris kicked off her next LP with "Circles Around This Town," an expansive, freewheeling single that blends the echoing production of her 2016 debut HERO and super-personal lyrics of 2019's GIRL. The album will be Morris' first since the untimely 2019 passing of her longtime creative partner busbee, but her partnership with pop hitmaker Greg Kurstin (who produced "Circles Around This Town" as well as four GIRL tracks) hints that this next project is going to be a timeless trip and an emotional walloping. — B.C.

Thomas Rhett, Where We Started / Country Again: Side B

Release date: April 1 / Fall 2022

Though country music has always been the core of what Thomas Rhett has done since his debut album (2013's It Goes Like This), the star's 2021 set, Country Again: Side A, was more traditional than his past projects. Clearly his roots (along with the unexpected pandemic-induced downtime) sparked a bout of inspiration, as Rhett announced in November that he'll be releasing Side B as well as another LP, titled Where We Started, in 2022.

Surprisingly, Side B won't be coming first. But it will create one cohesive Country Again narrative once it arrives, as Rhett promised in an interview with Rolling Stone last year — though he did hint that Side B will feature production that's "a smidge more experimental" than Side A. His latest single, the wistful "Slow Down Summer" hints that Where We Started will also bring back more of the pop-leaning production he's incorporated in his previous albums.

Still, that doesn't mean he'll lose sight of the country boy that has been unleashed: In writing all of this music, Rhett told his producers (per Rolling Stone), "This is the direction I'm headed in, and I think I'm gonna be here for a long time." — T.W.

Read More: Saddle Up With The Best Country Song Nominations | 2022 GRAMMYs

Jack White, Fear of the Dawn / Entering Heaven Alive

Release date: April 8 / July 22 

Epic ambition fuels the very essence of rock 'n' roll and Jack White has embodied the genre's weakness for glamour, dissonance and excess since his days with The White Stripes. The reckless propulsion of "Over and Over and Over" — off 2018's Boarding House Reach — proved that he has kept the bravado in his songwriting very much alive. 

2022 will find the multi-GRAMMY Award winning singer/guitarist releasing two full-length albums: Fear of the Dawn, led by the wonderfully bombastic single "Taking Me Back," will also include a collaboration with rapper Q-Tip. No details are available on July's Entering Heaven Alive, but the appearance of two albums in the same year is the kind of grandiloquent gesture that rock is in need of more than ever before.  — E.L.

Swedish House Mafia, Paradise Again

Release date: TBA, ships April 15

When GRAMMY-nominated Swedish House Mafia announced they were getting back together (and this time for good), fans were cautiously optimistic. The trio of DJ-producers — Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso and Axwell —  promised a host of new music to mark their return, and so far they've kept to their word. The comeback began with the dark, guest-free "It Gets Better," which deviated from the big-room EDM sound championed by the Swedes up to their split in 2013.

From there, the trio delivered "Lifetime," featuring Ty Dolla $ign and 070 Shake, and "Moth to a Flame," featuring The Weeknd, which became their first major hit of the new era. This flurry of activity sets the stage for Swedish House Mafia's first full album, Paradise Again. As Ingrosso told NME, the album will combine their trademark "Scandinavian melodies with dark production and hard sounds." Starting July 2022, the DJs embark on their first tour in a decade, playing 44 dates throughout the US, UK and Europe. — J.T.

Jason Aldean, Georgia 

Release date: April 22

Jumping on country music's 2021 double album trend, Jason Aldean issued Macon, the first half of his own two-disc set, Macon, Georgia, in November. The title is an homage to his hometown, which he refers to as a "melting pot" that shaped his music, according to Country Now. Yet, the 30-song project expands on Aldean's signature country-rock sound without steering too far away from what fans have grown to love, as evidenced with both Macon and Georgia's crooning lead single, "Whiskey Me Away."

Like its predecessor, Georgia will include 10 new songs and five live recordings of his biggest hits, essentially creating Aldean's first-ever live album.With the aptly titled track "Rock and Roll Cowboy" to boot, Georgia helps make Macon, Georgia a career highlight for Aldean. — T.W.

Machine Gun Kelly, Born with Horns

Release date: TBD 

The upcoming sixth studio album from enigmatic rocker Machine Gun Kelly, ominously titled Born with Horns, was rumored to drop on New Year's Eve 2021, but it seems Kelly had a change of heart tweeting "See you in 2022." While the release date continues to be murky, there is some solid information about the highly anticipated fresh slate of music from the multi-hyphenate rockstar.

For one, the album is produced by fellow rock luminary Travis Barker and includes the decidedly dark single "Papercuts." "It feels more guitar-heavy for sure, lyrically it definitely goes deeper, but I never like to do anything the same," Kelly said of Born with Horns in an interview with Sunday TODAY, noting it'll also mark a personal evolution. "I'm not scared anymore, there's nothing holding me back from being my true self — and my true self can't be silenced, can't be restrained." — R.L.

Watch Now: Up Close & Personal: Machine Gun Kelly On Working With Travis Barker & Influencing The Next Decade Of Music

Camila Cabello, Familia

Release date: TBD

There's perhaps never been a better advertisement for an album than Camila Cabello's edition of NPR's Tiny Desk. Released last fall, the session begins with three old songs and ends with two Familia cuts strong enough to bowl you over. In just 20 minutes, the former Fifth Harmony singer genuflects at the altar of pop's past while steering its ship into the future.

"Don't Go Yet" brims with the promise of comfort as it opens with a warm flamenco guitar. "La Buena Vida" is a Mariachi-based explosion of emotion and evocation, anchored by Cabello's arresting vocals. Whereas her prior albums sought to cement the 24-year-old amidst her contemporaries, the uber-personal Familia seems likely to propel her into a whole new pedigree of artistry. — B.C.

Rosalía, MOTOMAMI

Release date: TBD 

In 2018, Rosalía's cinematic El Mal Querer signified a before-and-after for the music of Spain and Latin America. A visionary blend of flamenco, hip-hop and confessional torch song, the album introduced her to the world as an intellectual, musicologist and pop diva wrapped up into one slick sonic package. Subsequent singles (2019's "Haute Couture" was a gorgeous slice of electro-pop) demonstrated that Rosalía's path to global domination relies on a voracious curiosity for disparate styles and high-profile collaborators such as Billie Eilish and Bad Bunny. 

Titled MOTOMAMI, Rosalía's much anticipated release includes "LA FAMA," a deliciously distorted bachata duet with The Weeknd. We can only imagine what other wonders Rosalía's remarkable imagination has dreamed up for this, her first full-length album since becoming a cultural icon. — E.L.

Saweetie, Pretty Bitch Music

Release date: TBD

Saweetie is set to finally release her debut album, Pretty Bitch Music, this year. After first announcing the project in 2020, the Bay Area native's star power has exploded, reaching new heights last year with major endorsements, her first GRAMMY nominations and a "Saturday Night Live" debut. Pretty Bitch Music was initially slated to arrive in 2021, but Saweetie postponed the effort for some additional fine-tuning.

"I'm just living with it to ensure it's perfect," she told Hollywood Life in August. "I'm really challenging myself and I just want to ensure that I put out a body of work that [will] symbolize art."

Pretty Bitch Music is expected to include Saweetie's 2x Platinum-certified collaboration with Doja Cat, "Best Friend" and her single "Tap In" with production by Timbaland, Lil Jon and Murda Beatz, among other heavy-hitters. — V.M.

Kid Cudi, Entergalactic

Release date: TBD

Three years after it was announced, Kid Cudi's animated music adventure for Netflix is set to arrive this summer, as the rapper declared during his set at Rolling Loud California in December. "I got some tasty surprises," he told fans before offering a snippet of unreleased music that may be on the soundtrack. 

Not much else is known about the project, which takes its title from a song on Cudi's 2009 debut Man on the Moon: The End of Day, and which co-creator Kenya Barris referred to as "the most ambitious thing" in a 2019 interview with Complex.

Entergalactic might not be where Kid Cudi stops in 2022, either: Amid his Rolling Loud teases, he said, "I want to drop another album before [Entergalactic]... I really am excited about all this new s***, this new music to give to you guys. So that's why I'm teasing this s*** now, 'cause it's comin' out soon." — M.R.

Beach House, Once Twice Melody

Release date: throughout 2022

Nearly four years since the release of their seventh studio album aptly titled 7, Beach House is slowly unveiling their latest record Once Twice Melody. But instead of dropping all 18 tracks at once, the dreamy indie duo has been giving fans a taste of their new sound in four chapters.

Once Twice Melody is a significant shift as it's the first album produced in full by the band. Beach House also thought about its structure completely differently than they had in the past. "It didn't just feel like a regular, like another album of ours, it felt like a larger, newer kind of way of looking at our music," singer Victoria Legrand told Apple Music. Instead, they view it as "cinematic" and "literary." What fans can expect, they say, is "a lot of love" and "a sacredness of nature." — I.K.

Kendrick Lamar, TBA

Release date: TBD

One of our most celebrated artists of his generation may make his triumphant return this year.  Although it's been nearly five years since Kendrick Lamar released his GRAMMY- and Pulitzer Prize-winning album DAMN, Lamar has remained busy. In 2018, Lamar  curated the Black Panther soundtrack and he's also made guest appearances on tracks by artists as varied as Nipsey Hussle, Anderson .Paak, U2 and his cousin, Baby Keem. 

But Lamar has been mostly mum about his own music, save for an August blog post titled "nu thoughts." "Love, loss, and grief have disturbed my comfort zone, but the glimmers of God speak through my music and family," he wrote, adding that his next album will be his last with Top Dawg Entertainment. It's the sort of thoughtful, precise announcement (and perhaps a hint to his album's content) that fans have come to expect from the notoriously private rapper. Lamar will thankfully make an appearance at this year's Super Bowl in February. — Britt Julious

Read More: Black Sounds Beautiful: How Kendrick Lamar Became A Rap Icon

Cardi B, TBA

Release date: TBD

Despite the slow-burning success of her single "Bodak Yellow," few could have predicted the popularity of Cardi B'sdebut album, Invasion of Privacy. A critical and commercial success, "Invasion of Privacy" won Best Rap Album at the 61st Grammy Awards, making Cardi the first woman to win in the category. That's why anticipation for her sophomore record is so high.

Cardi's brand of hip-hop is provocative and fun, and her two singles (possibly from the record) seem to confirm that same mood is still present in her music. In 2020, she dropped "WAP," a cultural reset of a collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion, and in 2021, she released "Up," which later inspired a viral TikTok dance challenge. As with many artists, the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the release of Cardi's new album. But late last year on Instagram Live, Cardi said she has "lots of jobs now" and one of them is to "put out this album next year." Hopefully fans won't have to wait too long. — B.J.

Koffee, TBA

Release date: TBD  

If Koffee's latest single is any indication, the youngest GRAMMY Award winner for Best Reggae Album is planning a glorious homecoming in 2022. Sung with a wide smile you can nearly hear, "West Indies" is a dancehall love letter to the islands and an upbeat promise for what the singer has in store on her first full-length.   

"I want to speak of a solution and of a way that we can come together and get along, even when things are going wrong," Koffee told Rolling Stone.

Although the pandemic halted her album recording and nixed her first Coachella performance, Koffee defies the dour attitude of much of the past two years. On "West Indies," Koffee assures that she's partying and having the time of her life — her as-yet-untitled album will likely soundtrack yours while you do the same. — Jessica Lipsky

Read More: The Women Essential To Reggae And Dancehall

Girl Ultra, TBA

Release date: TBD 

Few musical experiences are as uplifting as listening to a singer/songwriter's follow-up to a brilliant debut, where they enhance the scope of their craft with new influences and sounds. Nuevos Aires, Girl Ultra's first full-length album, was just that – a breath of fresh air for Latin R&B, anchored on the purity of her voice and collaborations with Ximena Sariñana and Cuco (for the languid hit "DameLove.") 

Following that 2019 release, the artist also known as Mariana de Miguel returns with a new EP. Lead single "Amores de Droga" evokes the sophistication of Everything But The Girl, combining smoldering vocalizing with cool electro grooves. A study in contrasts, it finds the Mexico City chanteuse reaching a pinnacle of inspiration. — E.L.

The Pandemic Robbed Music Of Its Rapport. These Immersive Experiences Are Restoring It In Mind-Blowing Ways.

Grammys Newsletter

59th GRAMMY Awards nominees in 2017
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Beatles to Jack White: 59 reasons to watch the 59th GRAMMYs

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From Beyoncé, Rihanna and Adele to Justin Bieber, Chance The Rapper, Drake, and Kanye West, here are 59 storylines to follow
Tim McPhate
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am

You've seen the official 59th GRAMMY nominations list, but do you really know the nominees? In case you're not sure, we've dissected the categories to bring you 59 must-know factoids about this year's nominations class. While these facts won't help you predict the winners, they're certain to impress your friends at your GRAMMY viewing party. Read all 59 facts below and be sure to follow your favorite artists on Music's Biggest Night.
 

1. Beyoncé

Beyoncé received nine GRAMMY nominations this year, more than any other artist. She now has 62 career nominations, extending her lead as the most-nominated female artist in GRAMMY history.

2. Lukas Graham

Lukas Graham's "7 Years" is nominated for Record Of The Year. The Danish group is just the second group or duo from continental Europe to receive a nomination in this category. The first was Daft Punk. The French duo won three years ago for "Get Lucky" (featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers).

3. Rihanna

Rihanna received her third Record Of The Year nomination for "Work" (featuring Drake). All three of these nominations are for collaborations. Rihanna was previously nominated for "Umbrella" (featuring Jay Z) and Eminem's "Love The Way You Lie" (on which she was featured).

4. Beyoncé

Beyoncé landed her fifth Record Of The Year nomination with "Formation." (This counts "Say My Name," which she recorded as a member of Destiny's Child.) This puts her in a tie with Barbra Streisand as the woman with the most career nominations in this category.

5. Adele

Adele's 25 is nominated for Album Of The Year. The singer's previous album, 21, won in this category five years ago. This is the first time an artist's follow-up to an Album Of The Year winner has been nominated in this category since Bob Dylan's Love And Theft (the follow-up to Time Out Of Mind) was a 2001 nominee.

6. Justin Bieber, Drake

Canadians Justin Bieber and Drake are among the nominees for Album Of The Year for Purpose and Views, respectively. Bieber, from London, Ontario, and Drake, from Toronto, are each vying to become the first Canadian solo artist in 20 years to win the category. Celine Dion won for Falling Into You for 1996.

7. Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd

Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd, who were nominated for Album Of The Year last year for their albums To Pimp A Butterfly and Beauty Behind The Madness, respectively, are nominated in the same category this year as featured artists on Beyoncé's Lemonade.

8. Sturgill Simpson

Sturgill Simpson's A Sailor's Guide To Earth is nominated for both Album Of The Year and Best Country Album. Simpson produced his album. It's the first entirely self-produced album to receive an Album Of The Year nomination since 2014, when two such albums — Beck's Morning Phase and Pharrell Williams' Girl — were nominated.

9. "Hello"

"Hello," which Adele co-wrote with Greg Kurstin, is nominated for Song Of The Year. A different song with the same title, by Lionel Richie, was nominated in this category 32 years ago. This marks the first time in GRAMMY history that two different songs with the same title have been nominated in this category.

10. "I Took A Pill In Ibiza"

Mike Posner's "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" is nominated for Song Of The Year. Posner wrote the song. It's vying to become the first song written by a single songwriter to win in this category since Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" (2007).

11. Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran is looking to become the first songwriter in GRAMMY history to win Song Of The Year two years in a row. Sheeran won in this category last year for "Thinking Out Loud" (which he co-wrote with Amy Wadge). He's nominated this year for "Love Yourself" (which he co-wrote with Justin Bieber and Benjamin Levin aka Benny Blanco).

12. Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris

Kelsea Ballerini and Maren Morris are both nominated for Best New Artist. This marks the first time in GRAMMY history that two country artists have received nominations in this category in the same year.

13. The Chainsmokers

The Chainsmokers are only the second electronic dance music artist to receive a Best New Artist nomination. Skrillex, a 2011 nominee, was the first.

14. Chance The Rapper

Chance The Rapper is nominated for Best New Artist. The rapper, 23, wasn't even born in 1989 when Tone Loc became the first rap artist to receive a nomination in this category.

15. Anderson .Paak

Anderson .Paak is nominated for both Best New Artist and Best Urban Contemporary Album for Malibu. He is the first artist to be nominated for both of these awards in the same year since Frank Ocean four years ago. (Ocean's Channel Orange won Best Urban Contemporary Album.)

16. Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for the second year in a row. The rock legend is nominated for Fallen Angels. Dylan is the fourth GRAMMY nominee to have won a Nobel Prize. The other three are Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama and Toni Morrison.

17. Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson received his third nomination in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category. The country legend is nominated for Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin. Nelson was previously nominated for Moonlight Becomes You (1994) and American Classic (2009).

18. Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand could win her first GRAMMY in 30 years. The star is nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway. Her most recent GRAMMY win was for her first Broadway collection, The Broadway Album, which won for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female (1986).

19. Best Pop Vocal Album

For the first time in 11 years, female solo artists take four of the five nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album. Adele, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, and Sia are nominated alongside Justin Bieber.

20. Herb Alpert

Herb Alpert is among the nominees for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for Human Nature. (The title track is the John Bettis/Steve Porcaro song made famous by Michael Jackson.) Alpert received his first GRAMMY nominations (and awards) for 1965 for his work with the Tijuana Brass. 

21. Jack White

Jack White, who is nominated for three GRAMMYs this year, will be honored for his contributions "behind the glass" at the Producers & Engineers Wing's annual GRAMMY Week celebration on Feb. 8, 2017. White is nominated for Album Of The Year as one of the featured artists and producers on Beyoncé's Lemonade; Best Rock Performance for "Don't Hurt Yourself" with Beyoncé (her first nomination in a Rock Field); and Best American Roots Song for "City Lights."

22. Best Rock Performance

Two of this year's nominees for Best Rock Performance were recorded live on television programs. Alabama Shakes' "Joe" was recorded for the PBS series "Austin City Limits." Disturbed's version of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound Of Silence" was recorded on TBS' "Conan."

23. Megadeth

The title track from Megadeth's album, Dystopia, is among the nominees for Best Metal Performance. This is the band's 12th nomination in this category (including nominations in the discontinued Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance category). The band is seeking to win their first GRAMMY.

24. Iggy Pop

Iggy Pop earned his first nomination since 1988: Best Alternative Music Album for Post Pop Depression. In 2016 Pop appeared at the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. Live for a wide-ranging talk with Josh Homme as part of the Museum’s A Conversation With series.

25. Radiohead

Radiohead are vying to become the first four-time winner for Best Alternative Music Album. The band is nominated for A Moon Shaped Pool. Radiohead won in this category for OK Computer (1997), Kid A (2000) and In Rainbows (2008). Radiohead are currently tied with the White Stripes as the only three-time winners in the category.

26. Solange

Solange's "Cranes In The Sky" is nominated for Best R&B Performance, marking her first career nomination. Solange's older sister, Beyoncé, has won nine of her 20 GRAMMYs to date in R&B performance categories.

27. Rihanna

Rihanna is vying to become the first repeat winner in the Best Urban Contemporary Album category (which dates to 2012). Her album Anti is nominated this year. Unapologetic won three years ago.

28. Jay Z, Kanye West

The Throne aka Jay Z and Kanye West are nominated for Best Rap Performance with Drake for "Pop Style." If they win, it would be their eighth collaboration to score a GRAMMY. Their previous wins together are "Swagga Like Us," "Run This Town" (which won two GRAMMYs), "Otis," "N****s In Paris" (which won two GRAMMYs), and "Church In The Wild."

29. Drake

Drake's "Hotline Bling" is nominated for Best Rap/Sung Performance. The category was formerly known as Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. The change was made to expand the category beyond collaborations between rappers and vocalists to include recordings by a solo artist who blurs the lines between rapping and singing. Drake is the first beneficiary of that change.

30. De La Soul

De La Soul's Best Rap Album-nominated And The Anonymous Nobody, which they crowdfunded via Kickstarter, is looking to become the first crowdfunded album to win the category. De La Soul were first nominated for a 1989 GRAMMY for Best Rap Performance.

31. Kanye West

Kanye West's The Life Of Pablo is nominated for Best Rap Album. West is a four-time winner in this category. Only Eminem has received more awards (six) in the category.

32. Best Country Duo/Group Performance

Three pop or rock artists are nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Elle King is nominated as a featured artist on Dierks Bentley's "Different For Girls." P!nk is nominated as Kenny Chesney's duet partner on "Setting The World On Fire." Pentatonix are nominated for their rendition of Dolly Parton's "Jolene," which features Parton.

33. Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton is nominated with Pentatonix for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Jolene." A master of collaborations, this is Parton's 18th GRAMMY nomination for recordings in conjunction with other artists. Collaborators over the years have included Norah Jones, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, and Kenny Rogers.

34. Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn is among the nominees for Best Country Album for Full Circle. She won in this category 12 years ago with Van Lear Rose. If she wins again, she'll become the first female solo artist to win in this category twice. Lynn, 84, received her first GRAMMY nomination 50 years ago for "Don't Come Home A Drinkin'."

35. Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna

Hillary Lindsey and Lori McKenna, who collaborated (along with Liz Rose) on "Girl Crush," last year's winner for Best Country Song, are competing against each other in the category this year. Lindsey is nominated for co-writing the Keith Urban hit "Blue Ain't Your Color." McKenna is nominated for writing the Tim McGraw hit "Humble And Kind." If either woman wins this year, she would become the first songwriter to win back-to-back awards in this category since Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Shania Twain won for "You're Still The One" (1998) and "Come On Over" (1999).

36. Shirley Caesar

With her two nominations for Best Gospel Performance/Song and Best Gospel Album, Shirley Caesar is looking to add to her 11 career GRAMMYs, which is the highest total for a female gospel artist. Caesar is among the 2017 recipients of The Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award.

37. Kirk Franklin

Kirk Franklin could become the first artist to win twice in the Best Gospel Album category (which dates to 2011). Franklin won the 2011 award for Hello Fear. He is nominated this year for Losing My Religion.

38. Hillary Scott

Hillary Scott, who has won seven GRAMMYs as a member of Lady Antebellum, is nominated for two awards for a family project (Hillary Scott & The Scott Family). Love Remains is nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album. "Thy Will," a track from the album, is nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.

39. Joey+Rory

Joey+Rory's Hymns is among the nominees for Best Roots Gospel Album. The duo received their first career nomination last year for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Joey Martin Feek, the female half of this married couple, died on March 4, 2016.

40. Vince Gill

Vince Gill's "Kid Sister" is nominated for Best American Roots Song. Gill has won two of his 20 GRAMMY Awards to date for songwriting. "I Still Believe In You" (1992) and "Go Rest High On That Mountain" (1995) were both voted Best Country Song.

41. William Bell

Stax Records veteran William Bell, whose R&B hits date to 1966, is nominated for two GRAMMYs. This Is Where I Live is nominated for Best Americana Album. "The Three Of Me," a track from the album, is nominated for Best Traditional R&B Performance. Bell wouldn't be the first R&B veteran to win for Best Americana Album. Mavis Staples took the 2010 award for You Are Not Alone.

42. Judy Collins

Judy Collins is nominated for Best Folk Album for Silver Skies Blue, a collaboration with Ari Hest. Collins received her first GRAMMY nomination 53 years ago for her album, Judy Collins #3. It was nominated for Best Folk Recording.

43. Ziggy Marley

Ziggy Marley is vying to win his seventh GRAMMY in the Best Reggae Album category for his album Ziggy Marley. Marley won his first three awards in the category for albums on which he fronted Ziggy Marley And The Melody Makers.

44. Anoushka Shankar

Anoushka Shankar is among the nominees for Best World Music Album for Land Of Gold. Shankar's late father, Ravi Shankar, won twice in this category, for Full Circle: Carnegie Hall 2000 (2001) and The Living Room Sessions (2012). This is Anoushka Shankar's sixth nomination in this category (counting one in the discontinued Best Contemporary World Music Album category).

45. Patti Smith

Punk-rock poet Patti Smith is nominated for Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling) for the second year in a row. She is nominated this year for M Train. She was nominated last year for Blood On Snow. This would be Smith's first GRAMMY win.

46. Best Comedy Album

Three of the five nominees for Best Comedy Album — Margaret Cho's American Myth, Tig Notaro's Boyish Girl Interrupted and Amy Schumer's Live At The Apollo — are by female performers. This is the first time that female performers have accounted for three of the nominees in the history of this category (which goes back to 1958, the first year of the GRAMMY Awards).

47. Kinky Boots

The Original West End Cast Album from Kinky Boots is nominated for Best Musical Theater Album. The Broadway cast album from the show won in this category three years ago. Kinky Boots is vying to become the fourth show to win twice in this category (with two different recordings of the score). The first three were Gypsy, West Side Story and Les Misérables.

48. Steve Martin, Edie Brickell

The Original Broadway Cast album to Bright Star is among the finalists for Best Musical Theater Album. Steve Martin and Edie Brickell collaborated on the score. The two musicians won a GRAMMY three years ago for Best American Roots Song for "Love Has Come For You."

49. Amy

The soundtrack to Amy, a film about the late Amy Winehouse, is nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media. The film itself won a GRAMMY last year for Best Music Film. A win this year would mark the first time a film and its companion soundtrack each won in their category.

50. Straight Outta Compton

The soundtrack to the hit film Straight Outta Compton is a nominee for Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media. The nomination comes in the same year that N.W.A's landmark 1988 album of the same name is inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame.

51. "Vinyl"

Vinyl: The Essentials Season 1, featuring music from the HBO series, is nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media. It's vying to become the second TV soundtrack to win in this category, following Boardwalk Empire, Volume 1, which won five years ago. Boardwalk Empire was also a HBO series.

52. John Williams

John Williams, one of the top winners in GRAMMY history, received his 66th career GRAMMY nomination for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Williams has now received nominations for six of the seven Star Wars films he has scored. (The lone film in the franchise he did not receive a nod for was 2002's Star Wars: Episode II — Attack Of The Clones.)

53. "Stranger Things"

Both Stranger Things Volume 1 and Stranger Things Volume 2 — composed by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein — are nominated for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media. This is the first time in the category's history two albums from the same TV series have been nominated.

54. Ryuichi Sakamoto, The Revenant

The Revenant, composed by Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto, is nominated for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media. Sakamoto won in this category 28 years ago for The Last Emperor, which he composed with Cong Su and David Byrne.

55. Suicide Squad

Two songs from the film Suicide Squad are nominated for Best Song Written For Visual Media. They are "Heathens" (Tyler Joseph, songwriter) and "Purple Lamborghini" (Shamann Cooke, Skrillex & Rick Ross, songwriters). Last year, two songs from Fifty Shades Of Grey were nominated in this category.

56. Max Martin

Max Martin is nominated for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical. The Swedish hit-maker won in this category two years ago. If he wins again this year, he'll become the first producer to win twice in the space of three years since Rick Rubin, who won the 2006 and 2008 awards.

57. Judith Sherman

Judith Sherman could win Producer Of The Year, Classical for the third year in a row. To date, only one producer has won this award three years running. Robert Woods won for 1987, 1988 and 1989.

58. The Beatles

The Beatles: Eight Days A Week The Touring Years is vying for Best Music Film. It would be the third Beatles-related film to win in this category (or its predecessor category, Best Music Video, Long Form). The Beatles Anthology won the 1996 award. The Beatles Love—All Together Now won the 2009 award.

59. Special Merit Awards

Current nominees Herb Alpert, Blind Boys Of Alabama, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn, Ennio Morricone, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Barbra Streisand have been previously honored by The Recording Academy with Special Merit Awards. (Lifetime Achievement Award: Blind Boys Of Alabama, Bowie, Dylan, Kristofferson, Lynn, Nelson, Parton, and Streisand.; Trustees Award: Alpert and Morricone).

The 59th GRAMMY Awards will take place Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017, live from Staples Center in Los Angeles and broadcast on the CBS Television Network from 8–11:30 pm ET/5–8:30 pm PT. Follow Recording Academy/GRAMMYs on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and use #GRAMMYs to join the conversation.

'2018 GRAMMY Nominees' album
News

'2018 GRAMMY Nominees' Album, Featuring 21 Hits, Available Now

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Get your copy of the genre-spanning compilation featuring 60th GRAMMY nominees Bruno Mars, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Pink, Kesha, Kenny Chesney, and more
Tim McPhate
GRAMMYs
Jan 12, 2018 - 6:30 am

Available now, the 2018 GRAMMY Nominees album features a 21-deep track listing reflecting the world's top recording artists and emerging talent.

The collection commemorating the 60th GRAMMY Awards nominees includes Album Of The Year nominees Childish Gambino, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Lorde, and Bruno Mars; and Song Of The Year nominees Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber, Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid, and Julia Michaels, among others. See the full track listing below.

1. Bruno Mars, "24K Magic"
2. Kelly Clarkson, "Love So Soft"
3. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Feat. Justin Bieber, "Despacito" (Remix)
4. Kendrick Lamar, "HUMBLE."
5. Lorde, "Green Light"
6. Childish Gambino, "Redbone"
7. Jay-Z, "The Story Of O.J."
8. Zedd & Alessia Cara, "Stay"
9. Lady Gaga, "Million Reasons"
10. Imagine Dragons, "Thunder"
11. Portugal. The Man, "Feel It Still" 
12. The Chainsmokers & Coldplay, "Something Just Like This" 
13. P!nk, "What About Us"
14. Logic Feat. Alessia Cara & Khalid, "1-800-273-8255"
15. Julia Michaels, "Issues"
16. Kesha, "Praying"
17. Chris Stapleton, "Broken Halos"
18. Little Big Town, "Better Man"
19. Thomas Rhett Feat. Maren Morris, "Craving You"
20. Lady Antebellum, "You Look Good"
21. Kenny Chesney, "All The Pretty Girls"  

Pick at your copy at any of the below links:

A portion of album proceeds benefits the year-round work of the GRAMMY Museum and MusiCares — two charitable organizations founded by the Recording Academy that focus on music education programs and critical assistance for music people in need.

The 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be broadcast live on CBS Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT.

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Mary J. Blige to Katy Perry: 57th GRAMMY nominee facts

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Dig deeper with 57 fun facts about this year's class of GRAMMY nominees, including Iggy Azalea, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Sam Smith, Taylor Swift, Pharrell Williams, and more
Tim McPhate
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am

By now you've seen the full list of 57th GRAMMY nominees. But with 83 categories, it's a lot of information to absorb. We've dissected the list to bring you factoids about this year's nominees that are sure to make you the star attraction at your group GRAMMY viewing party. So dig in with our list of 57 Fun Facts About The 57th GRAMMY Nominees and mark your calendar for Music's Biggest Night on Sunday, Feb. 8 from 8–11:30 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. 

Sam Smith is nominated for each of the "Big Four" awards — Album, Record and Song Of The Year and Best New Artist. At 22, he's the second youngest artist ever to achieve that feat. Mariah Carey was just 20 when she was nominated for all four awards 24 years ago.

Female artists account for four of the five Record Of The Year nominees. It's the first time in 16 years — and only the fourth time in GRAMMY history — that women have dominated the category to that degree.

"Fancy" by Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX is just the second all-female collaboration to receive a Record Of The Year nomination. The first was "The Boy Is Mine," the 1998 smash by Brandy and Monica.

"Shake It Off" is Taylor Swift's third single to receive a Record Of The Year nomination. The sassy smash follows "You Belong with Me" (2009) and "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" (2012).

Sia's "Chandelier" is the year's only work to be nominated for both Record Of The Year and Best Music Video.

Pharrell Williams is competing with himself for Album Of The Year. He's nominated for his own album, Girl, and as a co-producer for both Beyoncé's Beyoncé and Ed Sheeran's X.

Beck is nominated for Album Of The Year for Morning Phase. He's the first artist to be nominated in this category in each decade from the 1990s through the 2010s. He was previously nominated for Odelay (1996) and Midnite Vultures (2000).

Beyoncé is nominated for Album Of The Year for the second time, for Beyoncé. She was nominated five years ago for I Am… Sasha Fierce. Beyoncé has amassed 53 GRAMMY nominations, more than any other female artist.

Ed Sheeran's sophomore album, X, has the shortest title of any Album Of The Year finalist in GRAMMY history. The old record was held jointly by James Taylor's JT, Peter Gabriel's So and Adele's 21.

Another album titled X, by Chris Brown, is nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album. Brown won the 2011 award for Best R&B Album for F.A.M.E.

Hozier, a Song Of The Year finalist for "Take Me To Church," was born in Bray County, Wicklow, Ireland. Other Irish songwriters that have been nominated for this top GRAMMY include Gilbert O'Sullivan and U2.

Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass," which is nominated both for Record and Song Of The Year, is not the first GRAMMY-nominated song to celebrate a woman's "bass." Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back" won for Best Rap Solo Performance for 1992.

Brandy Clark, who is nominated for Best New Artist and Best Country Album, received her first GRAMMY nomination a year ago for Best Country Song. She was a co-writer (with Shane McAnally & Kacey Musgraves) of Miranda Lambert's hit "Mama's Broken Heart."

Haim, comprising sisters Este, Danielle and Alana Haim, are the first sister trio to receive a Best New Artist nomination.

Two all-female collaborations — "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX and "Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj — are competing for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Either would become the first all-female collabo to win in the Pop Field since "Lady Marmalade," the 2001 smash by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink.

Tony Bennett is vying for his 12th award in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category. He's nominated for Cheek To Cheek, a collaboration with Lady Gaga. Bennett is by far the most frequent winner in the category. Michael Bublé is second with four wins.

With Cheek To Cheek, Lady Gaga is vying to take best album honors in a third genre. She previously won for Best Electronic/Dance Album for The Fame (2009) and Best Pop Vocal Album for The Fame Monster (2010).

Johnny Mathis, nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Sending You A Little Christmas, received his first GRAMMY nomination in 1960, the third year of the awards. His classic rendition of "Misty" was nominated for Best Vocal Performance, Male — Single Or Track.

Miley Cyrus received her first GRAMMY nomination for Bangerz, which is a finalist for Best Pop Vocal Album. Her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, received a 1992 nomination for Best New Artist.

Coldplay, who are nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album for Ghost Stories, have previously won for Best Alternative Music Album (twice) and Best Rock Album (once).

Katy Perry is nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. This brings Perry's career total of nominations to 13. She is looking for her first win.

Deadmau5 is nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for the third time in the past four years. The Canadian musician is nominated for his seventh studio album, While (1

Mary J. Blige is nominated for Best Dance Recording as the featured artist on Disclosure's "F For You." The versatile singer has won nine GRAMMYs in four distinct genres: R&B, rap, pop, and gospel.

Slipknot, nominees for Best Metal Performance for "The Negative One," won the 2005 award in this category with "Before I Forget."

Two tracks from a tribute album to the late Ronnie James Dio are nominated for Best Metal Performance. They are Anthrax's "Neon Knights" and Tenacious D's "The Last In Line." Dio died in 2010.

The Black Keys, nominated for Best Rock Album for Turn Blue, won in that category two years ago with El Camino. Their album before that, Brothers, won the 2010 award for Best Alternative Music Album.

U2's 13th studio album, Songs Of Innocence, is nominated for Best Rock Album. All five of the band's studio albums since 1994, when this category was introduced, have been nominated for this award. U2 have amassed 46 GRAMMY nominations, more than any other group.

Jack White, nominated for Best Alternative Music Album for his second solo album, Lazaretto, won three times in this category with the White Stripes. If he wins again this year, he'll become the first four-time winner in the category's history.

St. Vincent is vying to become just the second female solo artist to win for Best Alternative Music Album. Sinéad O'Connor won the first-ever award in the category for her 1990 album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who rose to fame on "The Cosby Show," is nominated for Best Traditional R&B Performance as a featured artist on Robert Glasper Experiment's "Jesus Children." (The track also features Lalah Hathaway.)

Love, Marriage & Divorce by Toni Braxton and Babyface is nominated for Best R&B Album. It's vying to become the second collaboration to win in that category. Wake Up! by John Legend and the Roots took the 2010 award.

Robert Glasper Experiment are vying for Best R&B Album for Black Radio 2. Their initial Black Radio won the 2012 award in this category.

Two tracks from Lecrae's seventh studio album, Anomaly, were nominated in very different categories. "All I Need Is You" is a finalist for Best Rap Performance. "Messengers," featuring For King & Country, is nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.

With The Marshall Mathers LP 2, Eminem is vying to win Best Rap Album for the sixth time. Eminem's five previous wins make him the category leader. Kanye West is second with four wins.

Schoolboy Q was featured on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' The Heist, which was last year's winner for Best Rap Album. This year, the Los Angeles rapper is nominated in that category with his own album, Oxymoron.

Childish Gambino, nominated for Best Rap Album for Because The Internet, is the musical persona of actor Donald Glover, best known for his role on the TV series "Community."

Neil Patrick Harris received his first-ever GRAMMY nomination this year. The actor and frequent awards show host is nominated for Best Musical Theater Album for Hedwig And The Angry Inch.

Keith Urban, nominated for Best Country Solo Performance for "Cop Car," amassed four GRAMMYs for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in a six-year span (2005 through 2010).

"Meanwhile Back At Mama's" by Tim McGraw featuring Faith Hill is nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. It's their sixth nomination for vocal performance as a team.

The Band Perry are vying to become the third artist to win a GRAMMY for a recording of "Gentle On My Mind." John Hartford (the song's composer) and Glen Campbell both won 1967 GRAMMYs for recordings of the song.

Paul Epworth is vying for his second award in the category of Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical. He won three years ago, chiefly for his work on Adele's 21. This year, his projects included Paul McCartney, Foster The People and FKA Twigs.

Swedish hit-maker Max Martin is nominated for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical for the first time. In addition, he's nominated for both Record and Song Of The Year for his work on Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off."

Current nominees Beck and Jack White are among the artists who will perform at the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year tribute gala honoring Bob Dylan on Feb. 6.

Aloe Blacc received his first career nomination for Best R&B Album for Lift Your Spirit. Blacc is among the artists who will perform at Lean On Me: A Celebration Of Music And Philanthropy, the 17th Annual GRAMMY Foundation Legacy Concert taking place Feb 5.

Taylor Swift is the lone nominee who is the subject of a current exhibit at the GRAMMY Museum. Featuring personal photographs, handwritten lyrics, tour costumes, and more, The Taylor Swift Experience is on display through May 10.

Iggy Azalea is nominated for Best Rap Album for The New Classic. Should she win, Azalea would become the first female solo artist to take home the award.

Tom Petty's nod for Best Rock Album for Hypnotic Eye with the Heartbreakers is his 18th career nomination. Petty won his first GRAMMY for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for 1989 for Traveling Wilburys Volume One. The Traveling Wilburys featured Petty and, among others, George Harrison, who is one of this year's Special Merit Awards recipients.

Paramore's Hayley Williams and Taylor York are up for Best Rock Song for the group's "Ain't It Fun." This marks the second time the two musicians have received a nomination in a songwriting category. They were previously nominated for "Decode," which was a 2009 finalist for Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media.

English rock group Bastille are among this year's nominees for Best New Artist. They are vying to become the first English collective to take home the honor since Sade won the award for 1985.

Former President Jimmy Carter is nominated for Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling) for A Call To Action. If he takes the award, Carter will become the third former or future president with two GRAMMY wins, joining Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Carter is scheduled to present the award to Bob Dylan at the 2015 Person of the Year gala.

Gloria Gaynor's We Will Survive: True Stories Of Encouragement, Inspiration, And The Power Of Song is also nominated for Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling). At 35 years, Gaynor has the longest gap between nominations of any current nominee. Her last nominations were for 1979, including a win for Best Disco Recording for "I Will Survive."

Ziggy Marley and Anoushka Shankar are nominated for Best Reggae Album and Best World Music Album, respectively. Both artists' fathers — Bob Marley and Ravi Shankar — are GRAMMY winners and Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipients.

Kendrick Lamar's "I" is the lone song with a one-letter title to be nominated this year. It's up for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.

"The Monster" by Eminem featuring Rihanna is among the nominees for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. The two stars received a 2010 nomination in this category for "Love The Way You Lie."

"Weird Al" Yankovic and Louis C.K. each received nominations for Best Comedy Album. Each has previously won in the category: Yankovic for Poodle Hat (2003); Louis C.K. for Hilarious (2011).

With six GRAMMY wins, Carrie Underwood has the most GRAMMYs by an "American Idol" alumnus. She's up for two more this year: Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

What do Arcade Fire, Tony Bennett, Glen Campbell, Alison Krauss, Barbra Streisand, Taylor Swift, and U2 have in common? Besides all being current nominees, they've all released albums that have won Album Of The Year honors.

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The 56th GRAMMY Awards: The Guessing Game (Part 2)

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THE GRAMMYs
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 3:22 pm

(Editor's Note: The winners for the 56th GRAMMY Awards are not known until they are announced during the Pre-Telecast and GRAMMY telecast on Sunday, Jan. 26. The following blog offers predictions that do not reflect the opinions of The Recording Academy, GRAMMY.com or Recording Academy voting members. The Academy's voting members, all involved in the creative and technical processes of recording, participate in the nominating process that determines the finalists in each GRAMMY category; and the final voting process that determines the GRAMMY winners. For more information on the GRAMMY Awards process, visit GRAMMY.org.)

The pundits are pontificating, the more than 12,000 Recording Academy voters have cast their ballots, and the 56th GRAMMY Awards, airing on CBS Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, is just around the corner, so what better time to survey this year's GRAMMY field and offer a few observations?

As I pointed out in my first blog, in which I peered into the crystal ball for the nominations, the following are my personal educated guesses in the General Field and select GRAMMY categories from my perspective as a longtime professional observer.

Record Of The Year
Certainly no one can quibble with this year's nominees. There's consensus that Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams' "Get Lucky," Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive," Lorde's "Royals," Robin Thicke Featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams' "Blurred Lines" and Bruno Mars' "Locked Out Of Heaven" were the most ubiquitous songs of the past year, both in terms of airplay and critical acclaim. That said, Mars, with four current nominations and a total of 14 prior GRAMMY nominations and one win (Best Pop Male Vocal Performance for "Just The Way You Are" in 2010), seems ripe for recognition — complete with the heat surrounding his upcoming Super Bowl halftime performance — though any of the other four wouldn't be a surprise.

Album Of The Year
This category includes a nominee from pop (Sara Bareilles), dance (Daft Punk), country (Taylor Swift), and two hip-hop artists (Kendrick Lamar and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis). Album Of The Year has a diverse history (recent winners include Mumford & Sons, Adele, Arcade Fire, Swift, and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss), and the presence of two rap acts might split that vote. Could that open the door for Bareilles, or another coronation for Swift, whose Fearless garnered the nod in 2009? That's what I'm thinking.

Song Of The Year
The competition is strong in this category, which recognizes songwriters, with Record Of The Year nominees "Locked Out Of Heaven" and "Royals" represented, Pink Featuring Nate Ruess' "Just Give Me A Reason" and Katy Perry's tour de force "Roar." But here's guessing that Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' "Same Love" captures the political zeitgeist this year, just as the Dixie Chicks ("Not Ready To Make Nice") and Bruce Springsteen ("Streets Of Philadelphia") have in years past.

Best New Artist
Once again, a mixed genre bag, with UK dub-step artist James Blake, Compton, Calif., hip-hop hopeful Kendrick Lamar, country newcomer Kacey Musgraves and Brit folkie Ed Sheeran forming a strong batch of contenders. However, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' DIY success story and overturning of hip-hop orthodoxy in areas of bling and sexuality could just make the difference here.

Best Pop Solo Performance
Could this be where Justin Timberlake gets his due for the smash "Mirrors"? Or will Bareilles' "Brave" get the nod? Also in the mix are Perry's "Roar," Mars' "When I Was Your Man" and Lorde's "Royals." With not-so-perfect 20/20 foresight, I'm going with JT here.

Best Pop Vocal Album
A tough one to call, with pop starlet Lana Del Rey (Paradise) and the presence of General Field nominees Lorde (Pure Heroine), Mars (Unorthodox Jukebox) and Thicke (Blurred Lines) all accounted for, but I think this is where Timberlake (The 20/20 Experience — The Complete Experience) will reign.

Best Rock Performance
Deserving veterans David Bowie ("The Stars [Are Out Tonight]"), Led Zeppelin ("Kashmir"), Jack White ("I'm Shakin"), and Queens Of The Stone Age ("My God Is The Sun") are all represented here, along with last year's Best New Artist nominees Alabama Shakes ("Always Alright"), but I don't think newcomers Imagine Dragons' Record Of The Year nominee "Radioactive" will be denied.

Best Rock Song
Paul McCartney and Nirvana ("Cut Me Some Slack"), the Rolling Stones ("Doom And Gloom") and Black Sabbath ("God Is Dead?") are nominated, along with Muse ("Panic Station") and Gary Clark Jr. ("Ain't Messin 'Round), but I believe the presence of Dave Grohl with a living legend like Macca makes "… Slack" a "cut" above the rest.

Best Rap Album
Lamar (Good Kid, M.A.A.D City) and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (The Heist) face off against the reigning hip-hop triumvirate of Jay Z (Magna Carta … Holy Grail), Kanye West (Yeezus) and Drake (Nothing Was The Same). My call? Lamar edges out his Seattle rivals to snare the prize.

Best Country Album
If Swift (Red) doesn't claim Album Of The Year, this will be a worthy consolation over a strong field, including Musgraves (Same Trailer Different Park), Jason Aldean (Night Train), Tim McGraw (Two Lanes Of Freedom) and Blake Shelton (Based On A True Story).

You've read my predictions. Who do you think GRAMMY voters will choose?