60th Grammy Award Nominations Announced

Here is the official media release from The Recording Academy as it relates to the nominees for the 60th GRAMMY Awards to be presented in early 2018. I can't say I am thrilled about the nominees for the most high-profile categories, but I am happy to see The Mavericks, Chris Stapleton, Aimee Mann, Glen Campbell, Gorillaz, The Rolling Stones, Leonard Cohen, Queens of the Stone Age and Gregg Allman among the names I see on this media release... Robert Kinsler

RECORDING ACADEMY™ ANNOUNCES 60TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS^® NOMINEES  

JAY-Z LEADS GRAMMY^® NOMINATIONS WITH EIGHT; KENDRICK LAMAR FOLLOWS WITH SEVEN, AND BRUNO MARS WITH SIX 

From left: Jerry Dale McFadden, Raul Malo, Paul Deakin
and Eddie Perez of The Mavericks.Photo by Cary Baker, Conqueroo

SANTA MONICA, CALIF. (NOV. 28, 2017)—The Recording Academy™ welcomes this year's class of GRAMMY^® nominees. Already a 21-time GRAMMY winner, JAY-Z leads with eight nominations, followed by Kendrick Lamar (7), Bruno Mars (6), Childish Gambino (5), Khalid (5), No I.D. (5), and SZA (5). Selected from more than 22,000 submissions across 84 categories, the nominations showcase some of the most gifted music makers of the past awards year (Oct. 1, 2016–Sept. 30, 2017). As the only peer-selected music award, the GRAMMY is 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.

"I'm inspired by this year's nominees and the incredible talent each possesses," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. "Their recordings are a true testament to how creatively alive and meaningful our music industry has become. Each nominee uses their craft to inspire, uplift, and tell stories of our world through their artistry. They provide a vibrant soundtrack that represents the highest level of excellence and continues to impact and reflect our culture."

"The beauty of our process begins and ends with the participation of music professionals," said Bill Freimuth, Recording Academy Senior Vice President of Awards. "Our nominations reflect the expertise and passion of Recording Academy voting members."

The final round of GRAMMY voting is Dec. 7–21, 2017. The Recording Academy will present the GRAMMY Awards^® on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, live from Madison Square Garden in New York and broadcast on the CBS Television Network from 7:30–11:00 p.m. ET/4:30–8:00 p.m. PT.

The following is a sampling of nominations from the GRAMMY Awards' 30 Fields and 84 categories.

For a complete nominations list, visit  www.grammy.com.

Record Of The Year:

"Redbone" — Childish Gambino

"Despacito" — Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber

"The Story Of O.J." — JAY-Z

"HUMBLE." — Kendrick Lamar

"24K Magic" — Bruno Mars

Album Of The Year:

"Awaken, My Love!" — Childish Gambino

4:44 — JAY-Z

DAMN. — Kendrick Lamar

Melodrama — Lorde

24K Magic — Bruno Mars

Song Of The Year:

"Despacito" — Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi & Marty James Garton, songwriters (Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber)

"4:44" — Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (JAY-Z)

"Issues" — Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels & Justin Drew Tranter, songwriters (Julia Michaels)

"1-800-273-8255" — Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury, Khalid Robinson, songwriters (Logic Featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid)

"That's What I Like" — Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars)

Best New Artist:

Alessia Cara

Khalid

Lil Uzi Vert

Julia Michaels

SZA 

Best Pop Solo Performance:

"Love So Soft" — Kelly Clarkson 

"Praying" — Kesha

"Million Reasons" — Lady Gaga

"What About Us" — P!nk

"Shape Of You" — Ed Sheeran

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:

"Something Just Like This" ­— The Chainsmokers & Coldplay

"Despacito" — Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber

"Thunder" — Imagine Dragons

"Feel It Still" — Portugal. The Man

"Stay" — Zedd & Alessia Cara

Best Dance/Electronic Album:

Migration — Bonobo

3-D The Catalogue — Kraftwerk

Mura Masa — Mura Masa

A Moment Apart — Odesza

What Now — Sylvan Esso

Best Rock Performance:

"You Want It Darker" — Leonard Cohen

"The Promise" — Chris Cornell

"Run" — Foo Fighters

"No Good" — Kaleo

"Go To War" — Nothing More

Best Alternative Music Album:

"Everything Now" — Arcade Fire

"Humanz" — Gorillaz

"American Dream" — LCD Soundsystem

"Pure Comedy" — Father John Misty
"Sleep Well Beast" — The National

Best Urban Contemporary Album:

Free 6lack — 6lack

"Awaken, My Love!" — Childish Gambino

American Teen — Khalid

Ctrl — SZA

Starboy — The Weeknd

    

Best Rap Album:

4:44 — JAY-Z

DAMN. — Kendrick Lamar

Culture — Migos

Laila's Wisdom — Rapsody

Flower Boy — Tyler, The Creator

Best Country Album:

Cosmic Hallelujah — Kenny Chesney

Heart Break — Lady Antebellum

The Breaker — Little Big Town

Life Changes — Thomas Rhett

From A Room: Volume 1 — Chris Stapleton

      

Best Jazz Vocal Album:

The Journey — The Baylor Project

A Social Call — Jazzmeia Horn

Bad Ass And Blind — Raul Midón

Porter Plays Porter — Randy Porter Trio With Nancy King

Dreams And Daggers — Cécile McLorin Salvant

Best Gospel Album:

Crossover — Travis Greene

Bigger Than Me — Le'Andria

Close — Marvin Sapp

Sunday Song — Anita Wilson

Let Them Fall In Love — Cece Winans

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album:

Rise — Danny Gokey

Echoes (Deluxe Edition) —  Matt Maher

Lifer — MercyMe

Hills And Valleys — Tauren Wells

Chain Breaker — Zach Williams

Best Latin Pop Album:

Lo Único Constante —  Alex Cuba

Mis Planes Son Amarte — Juanes

Amar Y Vivir En Vivo Desde La Cuidad De México, 2017 — La Santa Cecilia

Musas (Un Homenaje Al Folclore Latinoamericano En Manos De Los Macorinos) — Natalia Lafourcade

El Dorado — Shakira

Best Americana Album:

Southern Blood — Gregg Allman

Shine On Rainy Day — Brent Cobb

Beast Epic — Iron & Wine

The Nashville Sound — Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit

Brand New Day — The Mavericks

Best Comedy Album:

The Age Of Spin & Deep In The Heart Of Texas — Dave Chappelle

Cinco — Jim Gaffigan

Jerry Before Seinfeld — Jerry Seinfeld

A Speck Of Dust — Sarah Silverman

What Now? — Kevin Hart

Best Song Written For Visual Media:

"City Of Stars" — Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, songwriters (Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone), Track from La La Land 

"How Far I'll Go" — Lin-Manuel Miranda, songwriter (Auli'i Cravalho), Track from Moana: The Songs

"I Don't Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker) — Jack Antonoff, Sam Dew & Taylor Swift, songwriters (ZAYN & Taylor Swift), Track from Fifty Shades Darker

"Never Give Up" — Sia Furler & Gregg Kurstin, songwriters (Sia), Track from Lion

"Stand Up For Something" — Common & Diane Warren, songwriters (Andra Day Featuring Common), Track from Marshall

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical:

Calvin Harris

No I.D.

Greg Kurstin

Blake Mills

The Stereotypes

ABOUT THE RECORDING ACADEMY

The Recording Academy represents the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all music professionals. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Academy honors music's history while investing in its future through the GRAMMY Museum^®, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares^®, and celebrates artistic excellence through the GRAMMY Awards—music's only peer-recognized accolade and highest achievement. As the world's leading society of music professionals, we work year-round to foster a more inspiring world for creators.

For more information about the Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, follow @RecordingAcad on Twitter, "like" Recording Academy on Facebook, and join the Recording Academy's social communities on Instagram, Tumblr, and YouTube. 

Originality Anchors New Music Titles

Lovers of compelling songwriting, blues music and art rock all have reason to celebrate with the recent release of four outstanding new audio titles.

Artists: Lou Reed & Kris Kristofferson
Title: The Bottom Line Archive: In Their Own Words with Vin Scelsa (BFD/Red)
You might like if you enjoy: Lou Reed, Kris Kristofferson
Tell me more: Lovers of great songs and the artists who create them will want to grab a copy of an essential new two-disc audio collection highlighting music and discussion with legendary songsmiths Lou Reed and Kris Kristofferson. Recorded at the Bottom Line in Greenwich Village in New York on February 2, 1994, the The Bottom Line Archive: In Their Own Words with Vin Scelsa title finds Scelsa discussing the genesis and influences that gave rise to songs with each of the artists, with both Reed and Kristofferson taking turns playing acoustic versions of many of their classics. To the lone accompaniment of their acoustic guitars, Reed performs some of his best-known cuts including "Sweet Jane," and "Romeo Had Juliet" while Kristofferson thrills the intimate audience with beloved works such as "Sunday Morning Coming Down/The Pilgrim," "Help Me Make It Through the Night" and "Me and Bobby McGee." Each artist also performs a favorite from another songwriter, with Kristofferson tackling Leonard Cohen's "Bird on a Wire" and Reed performing Smokey Robinson's "Tracks Of My Tears." Information: BottomLineArchive.com.

Artist: Walter Trout
Title: We're All In This Together (Provogue)
You might like if you enjoy: Joe Bonamassa, Sonny Landreth, Edgar Winter, Charlie Musselwhite, Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Tell me more: A slew of the world's greatest living blues rockers join singer-guitarist Walter Trout on the aptly-titled We're All In This Together, an amazing 14-track disc with a different guest artist paired with Trout on each track. What makes the album so extra special is how wonderful each of the performances capture the style of the guest joining Trout. Kenny Wayne Shepherd teams with Trout on the fiery shuffle "Gonna Hurt Like Hell," both guitar heroes shredding up a storm. Louisiana slide guitar legend Sonny Landreth enhances the beautiful Southern rocker "Ain't Going  Back" with his vocals and guitar work; harmonica great Charlie Musselwhite blasts on the Chicago blues-flavored "The Other Side of the Pillow." And so it goes with artists including Warren Haynes, Eric Gales, Robben Ford, Edgar Winter, Joe Bonamassa and others. But at the end of the day it is Walter Trout who is the star here, having brought together this amazing cast of top-tier players into a cohesive project that shines with its perfect mix of song craft and virtuoso musicianship. Information: MascotLabelGroup.com.

Artist: Jonny Lang
Title: Signs (Concord Records)
You might like if you enjoy: Jonny Lang, Gregg Allman
Tell me more: Jonny Lang is back with another set of impassioned and powerful songs delivered via blues, rock and soul on his latest album Signs. With Lang's tandem skills as lead guitarist and great singer as the anchor, the eclectic range of musical styles works well everywhere. The soulful and lyrically reflective "What You're Made Of," swirling rocker "Bitter End," inspired gospel-tinged "Into the Light" and tender ballad "Bring Me Back Home" are among the many standouts on the disc. The spirit of early Mississippi blues is captured on "Wisdom" with Lang's raspy vocals and blazing guitar layered atop a hypnotic beat; closing out the disc is the genre-defying "Singing Song," a lovely song that celebrates the enduring connection each generation has with song. Information: JonnyLang.com.

Artist: Sparks
Title: Hippopotamus (BMG)
You might like if you enjoy: Sparks, Thomas Dolby, the Cars
Tell me more: Forty-five years into their singularly adventuresome trajectory, art rockers Sparks (brothers Ron and Russell Mael) continue to break new ground with intoxicating, intelligent and inviting music via their 22nd studio album Hippopotamus. The sweeping baroque "Missionary Position," haunting "Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me)," and synth pop number "Bummer" are among the riveting songs where Russell's falsetto vocals and Ron's accomplished keyboard talents lure in the listener. Sparks albums are always marked by original acerbic lyrics that provide more than enough intellectual food for thought and "Hippopotamus" is no exception; "Scandinavian Design," the cinematic "What The Hell Is It This Time?" and "So Tell Me Mrs. Lincoln Aside From That How Was the Play?" challenge with their skewed take on the world. Information: allsparks.com.


Robert Kinsler