
JON BATISTE led the Grammy nominations Tuesday in a best album field that spanned rap to jazz music and embraced newcomers like teen sensation Olivia Rodrigo and veteran Tony Bennett alike. Batiste and Justin Bieber will compete for the top prize — album of the year — along with Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, R&B artist Doja Cat, singer-songwriter HER, rapper Kanye West, Bennett’s collaboration with Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and rapper Lil Nas X. Batiste’s 10 nominations straddle everything from the top prizes of record and album of the year, to inclusions across R&B, jazz, roots and classical categories. His score for animated film “Soul,” made with Trent Rznor and Aticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails, is also nominated, as are the directors of his music video “Freedom.” The Grammys, the highest honors in the music industry, will be handed out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Jan. 31. Nominees in each of the top three categories — album, song and record of the year — were increased to 10 from eight for the first time. “Adding more nominees is a way to cast a wider net for more music, more artists and more genres,” Recording Academy chief executive Harvey Mason Jr said, announcing the change Tuesday. Eilish (“Happier Than Ever”), Rodrigo (“Drivers License”), Bieber (“Peaches”) and Batiste (“Freedom”) were among the 10 nominees for record of the year, along with Swedish band Abba’s new comeback single, “I Still Have Faith in You.” Swift, an 11-time Grammy winner, snagged a best album nod for her best-selling “Evermore” but was shut out of the other races, disappointing fans who felt she had been snubbed. “NO PROBLEMS TODAY JUST CHAMPAGNE,” Swift tweeted. “SO stoked evermore has been honored like this.” Rodrigo, 18, who burst onto the U.S. charts in January when her single “Drivers License” went viral, got seven nods, including best new artist and album (“Sour”). Batiste, who also leads the band on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” scored nominations across the board, ranging from classical composition and American roots to his music video “Freedom” and album “We Are,” which was inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. “WOW!! Thank you God!! I love EVERYBODY! I’m so grateful to my collaborators and to my ancestors,” Batiste wrote on Twitter. (SD-Agencies) |