Andra Day announced the nominees for the top four categories of the 60th Annual Grammy Awards on Tuesday's "CBS This Morning." With a large selection of artists, producers and albums to choose from, the award show’s nominations were highly anticipated.
2017 has brought on many powerhouse albums, from Kendrick Lamar’s “DAMN.” to Lorde’s “Melodrama.” We’ve seen the rise of the most popular Spanish-language song since Los del Rio’s “Macarena” in 1996, and rap and R&B have become the most consumed music genres for the first time ever.
This year's Grammy nominees reflect the significant changes in the music industry and prove that finally the right people are starting to notice. The proof is in the recognition of the large growth of rap and R&B music in recent years. This year seems to be the most diverse the Grammys have ever been, considering it is the first time in its 60-year history that there is not a white male artist nominated for Album of the Year.
Jay-Z leads the pack with eight nominations, including his first Album of the Year nomination for “4:44." He is followed closely by Kendrick Lamar with seven, Bruno Mars with six and Childish Gambino with five. In fact, most of the top nominated artists are rap and R&B performers.
This means a lot for the genre, but it also means there were a lot of snubs for pop artists, and shockingly, one favorite R&B performer. Post Malone did not receive any nominations for his collaboration with 21 Savage, “rockstar.”
Katy Perry was also absent in the nominations, after her album “Witness” failed to secure her a Grammy bid for the first time since her first release, “One of the Boys.” Also, notably absent were producer Jack Antonoff and former boy band member Harry Styles. Antonoff’s significant work in producing pop albums, including Lorde’s “Melodrama,” failed to be recognized, and Style’s notable first album didn’t receive any acknowledgment.
Despite this number of snubs pop artists receive this year, there was still one triumphant return: Kesha received her first ever nominations. Her two nods are for “Rainbow,” her first album release since her major fallout with Dr. Luke. While she didn’t get nominated outside of the pop music categories, she was still recognized at the right time in her career, for one of the biggest comebacks of 2017.
With a wide selection of new artists to choose from, 2018’s Grammys will have a tough fight between notable artists including SZA, Khalid and Lil Uzi Vert.
2018’s Grammy Awards won’t be held until Jan. 28, and there is still plenty of time in the next two months to debate the best choices to win each category. But for now, it’s time to let the artists enjoy their nominations or protest their lack of acknowledgment.
See the full list of Grammy Nominees here.