Images: Lorde Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Tyler The Creator Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for MRC
The 2022 Grammy Nominations have arrived and, as expected, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and Doja Cat have stormed the main categories. It’s perhaps one of the most predictable list of nominations in a while but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of snubs to point out. Here are the artists that we felt deserved more this year, whether they were snubbed or given just a few nominations.
Lorde
Lorde has been a Grammys darling in the past. She won off her first nominations for Royals and was also nominated for Album Of The Year for Melodrama. The committee showed no love for her latest effort Solar Power. The Jack Antonoff-produced record was polarising but it’s surprising to see her completely shunned from the award ceremony, particularly when Antonoff is nominated, in part for his work on Solar Power.
Tyler, The Creator
Tyler, The Creator is nominated once again in the rap categories but that doesn’t seem like enough. Call Me If You Get Lost is undoubtedly one of the best releases of the year and yet, once again, he’s been shut out of the big categories. Kanye’s DONDA is the only rap album represented in the Album Of The Year. Surely you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who thought that was a better LP than Call Me If You Get Lost.
Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey released two albums this year and while the latter, and better, missed the eligibility period, Chemtrails Over The Country Club is a strong effort. Norman Fucking Rockwell was shown plenty of love at the Grammys a couple of years ago but she hasn’t been given a single nomination this year. It’s perhaps because she’s hard to pin down in the genre categories, traversing a thin line between Pop and Alternative.
The Kid LAROI
The Kid LAROI had a landmark year in the US with two of the biggest singles of the year in Stay and Without You. He picked up a nomination for Best New Artist, an award he could definitely win, but some acknowledgment in the genre categories would’ve been deserved. Stay could’ve even challenged in Record Of The Year particularly given all the love his duet-partner Justin Bieber received for his record Justice.
Wolf Alice
Wolf Alice are basically royalty in the UK but they’re still relatively small fry in the US. That’s perhaps why Blue Weekend - one of the most critically lauded records of the year - was snubbed completely at the Grammys. The rock categories this year are dominated by males and could’ve done with a little Ellie Roswell to make them less of a snooze-fest.
Miley Cyrus
Similarly, Miley Cyrus could’ve made an appearance in the rock category. She knows a Grammy snub all too well but last year’s Plastic Hearts was her best record to date, marking a shift from pop to rock. She’s earned respect from everyone from Joan Jett to Metallica, surely helping to solidify her place as a rockstar. It’s time to take Cyrus out of the Grammys' bad books.
Young Thug
There’s a new Melodic Rap category at the Grammys and yet it doesn’t give any love to the creator of Melodic Rap - Young Thug. His excellent new album Punk is outside of the eligibility period but he’s released a handful of great singles this year and also featured on records by Drake, Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion.
Megan Thee Stallion
Speaking of Megan, she was a winner at the Grammys last year thanks to the Savage (Remix) but has seemingly been forgotten this year. She’s nominated for Best Rap Performance for Thot Shit but her debut album Good News was completely snubbed. At the very least it could’ve earned her a nomination for Best Rap Album - a category that they instead decided to fill with men.
Turnstile
Turnstile’s new album Glow On is definitely one of the year’s best and while it would’ve been a reach to see them included in the Album Of The Year category, a genre nomination should’ve been on the cards. Perhaps the reason for the snub is that nobody can quite decide what category they fit in - hardcore, rock, or alternative.
Halsey
The Grammys aren’t fans of Halsey. She’s had some huge records but it consistently shut out. This year, she’s picked up a Best Alternative Music nomination for If I Can’t Have Love I Want Power. Her most cohesive to date, produced by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor, surely would’ve been a worthy inclusion for Album Of The Year. Maybe it’s asking for too much to go from Grammy snubee to AOTY contender.
Jazmine Sullivan
Jazmine Sullivan’s Heaux Tales came through at the beginning of the year when there was very little good music to celebrate. It’s a masterclass in songwriting and vocals, presenting some of the most vulnerable music of the year. As the Grammys so often do though, they’ve relegated her to the R&B-genre categories, only plucking H.E.R. from those categories to compete for the big awards.
