While Atlanta doesn’t loom as large in the list as it has in some years, there was one bright spot for the city when the announcement of the nominees for the 2022 Grammy Awards were announced Tuesday. Lil Nas X gives Atlanta a presence in the major Grammy categories with a nod for album, record and song of the year for “Montero.” He scored a total of five nominations, also being recognized in the best music video and best melodic rap performance categories.
Lil Baby popped up in five places, too, mostly as a featured artist with J. Cole, Kanye West and H.E.R. He also scored a best contemporary Christian music performance/song nomination for “We Win” with Kirk Franklin.
Overall, the biggest nominee was recent Oscar winner and genre-spanning musician Jon Batiste with 11. Next up were Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and H.E.R. with eight each. Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo each came away with seven nods after the Recording Academy wrapped up the announcements, which began at noon Eastern time on Tuesday, Nov. 23.
More artists with Atlanta ties popped up as featured artists or contributors on albums or tracks by Doja Cat (Gunna, Young Thug among them), Kanye West (Mike Will Made-It, Lil Yachty) and J. Cole (21 Savage).
A best rap performance nomination for Drake’s “Way 2 Sexy” features Atlanta’s Young Thug and Future.
Savannah-born producer Dave Cobb received three nods, for song of the year as one of the songwriters of Brandi Carlile’s “Right on Time,” and for record of the year as one of the producers of the track. He also got a best country song nomination as a co-writer on Chris Stapleton’s “Cold.”
Metal stalwarts Mastodon are back in the best metal performance category, too, for “Pushing the Tides.”
Georgia-born mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton’s “Unexpected Shadows,” a recording of songs by American composer Jake Heggie, was nominated for best classical solo vocal album.
Atlanta-based record label Dust-to-Digital’s “Excavated Shellac: An Alternate History of the World’s Music” was nominated in the historical album category.
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