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ICYMI: Highlights From The 2019 Grammy Nominations!
Written by Brooke Sharland. Published: December 08 2018
Well, it’s about that time of year again. Awards
Season is in FULL swing. With the Golden Globe nominations
announced this week, and with Oscars nominations coming soon, it
was time to also get the nominations for the 61st annual Grammy
Awards. Now, we’re not gonna break down EVERY nomination (there’s
84 categories!), so let’s talk about some major
highlights!
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
Thoughts: Because Cardi B
dominated charts this year, I have a feeling she’ll take home this
award. Though I’d love to see “All The Stars” or “This is America”
take this one, I have a feeling it’ll be Cardi. Makes sense, she
totally deserves it, this has been her year!
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
Thoughts: I NEED the Black Panther album to
win. That thing was CHOCK FULL of amazing songs, I was truly blown
away listening for the first time. Plus, so many amazing artists
are featured on it, so it’s kind of like ~everyone~ wins. And,
since it’ll totally dominate every other award show this year, why
not take home a Grammy too?
Song of the
Year
"ALL THE STARS" - Kendrick Lamar & SZA
"BOO'D UP" - Ella Mai
"GOD'S PLAN" - Drake
"IN MY BLOOD" - Shawn Mendes
"THE JOKE" - Brandi Carlile
"THE MIDDLE" - Zedd, Maren Morris &
Grey
"SHALLOW" - Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
"THIS IS AMERICA" - Childish Gambino
Thoughts: Lots of good
songs nominated in this category. This is so tough! I love “In My
Blood” by Shawn Mendes because I think 2018 was the year that
people (especially celebrities) really started to open up about
mental illness to break apart the stigma that surrounds it. So, I’d
love to see Shawn take this one home. (Plus, the video he posted when he found out he was nominated
was TOO CUTE). While I’d love Shawn to win, the three frontrunners
I have in my head are: “The Middle” (song of the summer, duh), “All
The Stars” (just so good), and “Shallow” (because I hear at least
one person humming it daily).
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
Thoughts: “God is a
Woman” BETTER take this one home. Did y’all SEE that performance
from the VMAs? Iconic. No further questions.
Best Pop Duo/Group
Performance
"FALL IN LINE" - Christina Aguilera featuring Demi Lovato
"DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART" - Backstreet Boys
"'S WONDERFUL" - Tony Bennett & Diana Krall
"SHALLOW" - Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
"GIRLS LIKE YOU" - Maroon 5 featuring Cardi
B
"SAY SOMETHING" - Justin Timberlake featuring Chris
Stapleton
"THE MIDDLE" - Zedd, Maren Morris &
Grey
Thoughts: I LOVE that the
Backstreet Boys are nominated! It feels like the good ole days. And
“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” is a BOP so this nomination is well
deserved. Additionally, SO happy Christina and Demi are nominated!
The song is truly an amazing collaboration, worthy of a nomination
and a win! They are the winners in my book, but I can see pretty
much any of these nominees taking home the award. This is some
tough competition!
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
Thoughts: First of all,
the fact that Taylor Swift only has one nomination this year is a
TRAGEDY. Did you guys even LISTEN to this album? It’s amazing and
Taylors comeback was TRULY a whole moment in pop culture. But, at
least she was nominated in this category, alongside so many of her
friends and artists that also had amazing pop albums this year! I
personally will probably root for Shawn Mendes (the album was SO
good), but in my heart I root for everyone, because anyone could
really take it; they’re all deserving as HECK.
Best Music
Video
"APES**T" - The Carters
"THIS IS AMERICA" - Childish Gambino
"I'M NOT RACIST" - Joyner Lucas
"PYNK" - Janelle Monáe
"MUMBO JUMBO" - Tierra Whack
Thoughts: I would LOVE to
see “This is America” or “I’m Not Racist” take this one. If you’ve
seen the videos (which, if you haven’t… what are you doing?),
you’ll understand what I mean. Both were really powerful and I’m
happy they’re getting the attention they deserve! Truly, all the
videos nominated are very deserving. “PYNK”, “MUMBO JUMBO”, and
“APES**T” were all STUNNING visually, so this is recognition well
deserved. Guess we’ll have to wait and see who wins!
What are your thoughts? Is there anyone you thought
got snubbed? Who would you like to see win some of these
categories?
You can read the full list of all categories and
nominees here.
The 61st
annual Grammy Awards will air Sunday, February 10,
2019.
(Image via Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images)
- Brooke
Sharland, YH Contributing Writer