The 2022 Grammy Award nominations are here, and they’ve brought a mixture of surprises, snubs and the usual suspects.
The Grammys are a complicated beast: this year marks a move away from nomination committees, and an expansion of the major categories. As a result, it truly could be anyone’s game when the ceremony takes place on Jan. 31, 2022.
With that in mind, here are three queer folks to root.
Lil Nas X: Record of the Year for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
There’s a slew of nominations that could’ve been listed for Lil Nas X here, an artist who dominated the major categories with his album Montero, but Record of the Year is often regarded as the biggest of them all. Lil Nas X would be a fitting winner, as this song and its album have dominated the cultural conversation in 2021.
At only 22 years old, he has skyrocketed to superstar status this year and it’s hard to argue that Montero isn’t the album of the year. But the song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” with its sensual and tender exploration of gay sexuality, identity and Lil Nas X’s perfect life is a masterfully produced piece of music and a turning point not only in Lil Nas X’s career, but for the music industry and its acceptance of queer artists and their stories.
Will the Grammys recognize that? We’ll have to wait and see.
Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett: Album of the Year for Love for Sale
A surprise Grammy nomination for Gaga and Bennett’s duet album. A spiritual successor to their Grammy-winning Cheek To Cheek, Love for Sale saw our bisexual queen Gaga team up with the 95-year-old Bennett for his swan song.
In an era where Gaga is making headlines for the camp of House of Gucci or the wackiness of Chromatica, it was a pleasant surprise to see her and Bennett score several noms this year.
Brothers Osborne: Best Country Duo / Group Performance for “Younger Me”
This may be one of the most monumental nominations. TJ Osborne, one half of Brothers Osborne, came out as gay earlier this year, and the song “Younger Me” speaks to his struggle with his sexuality. Osborne recently celebrated winning a Country Music Award by kissing his boyfriend during the televised ceremony.
Country music has a long history of homophobia, so to see a gay artists recognized by one of music’s largest instiutions for a song about being gay is great to see. The brothers have several nominations on Grammy night, so we’ll see if the ceremony will play host to another celebratory queer kiss, too.
…and a note about the Chappelle in the room
While we celebrate these historic nominations of queer artists, it’s worth noting that the Grammys are still recognizing several artists who have come under fire for controversial comments while blacklisting others.
Controversial country music artist Morgan Wallen, who was suspended from his record label earlier this year after using racial slurs, did not receive any nominations. However, other artists who’ve recently come under fire for hate speech, racism, homophobia and anti-trans comments were recognized.
DaBaby, who was criticized for homophobic comments at a concert, and Marilyn Manson, accused of assault, received nominations for their work on Kanye West’s Donda.
Dave Chappelle, who’s recently come under fire for his anti-trans comments, and Louis C.K., who’s been accused of sexual assault, were nominated in the spoken word and comedy categories, respectively. Kevin Hart, who was criticized for homophobic comments, also recieved a comedy nomination.
Many social media users were quick to point out that the so-called “cancel culture” many of these celebrities decried doesn’t really exist if they’re still getting recognized by huge awards shows.
We’ll have to wait and see if those nominations turn into wins.
The 2022 Grammy Awards will be held on Jan. 31, 2022. You can view the full list of nominations here.
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