Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, Foo Fighters Among Favorite Grammy Nominations, Biggest Snubs

by Tyler Glover & Julian Spivey

Favorite: Taylor Swift for Album of the Year for “evermore”
Almost everyone that knows me knows that Taylor Swift is my favorite artist! Last year was a highlight for all of us Swifties when Swift became the first woman to win Album of the Year three times for folklore, following her previous wins for Fearless and 1989. My biggest Grammy wish for the 2022 honors was that she would at least be nominated in this category and my wish came true! I will love this artist for “evermore” and I am so excited for this nomination for her! TG

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​Snub: Taylor Swift...everywhere else!
While Taylor Swift was rightfully nominated for Album of the Year, she was snubbed everywhere else. I was not expecting her to lead the nominations this year, but felt she would make it in for Pop Vocal Album, Song of the Year for “Willow” and for Best Music Film for “folklore: the long pond sessions.” It is insane to me that she has THE album of the year but cannot be nominated in her genre categories. This is something that is not uncommon for many artists but in the case of a popular artist like Swift, this is extremely rare. TG

Favorite: Brandi Carlile 
Brandi Carlile’s most recent album In These Silent Days, which was released in October, wasn’t eligible for the 2022 Grammy Awards, but it didn’t stop the lead single “Right On Time” from receiving nominees for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Pop Solo Performance. She’s up against better known and major acts in all three categories, so probably unlikely to win – but I’m glad folks are going to continue to find out the great talent she is through these nominations and hopefully another performance on the telecast. JS

Snub: “Save Your Tears” by The Weeknd feat. Ariana Grande for Record of the Year
The big story when the Grammy nominations were announced last year was the complete snub of The Weeknd. To me, it is probably the most shocking and criminal shutout of an artist in all my years of following the Grammys. Last year, The Weeknd was everywhere with his album, After Hours. He should have easily been nominated for Album of the Year and “Blinding Lights” was THE Song and THE Record of the Year last year regardless of what won at the ceremony. Due to these snubs, The Weeknd has vowed to never submit his work for consideration at the Grammys. However, he was nominated this year for three nominations due to collaborations. This is THE ONE that he should have gotten for sure! It would have been great for the Academy to nominate this wonderful song for “Record of the Year” as kind of a Grammy IOU, especially since it is such a great song that also has the star power of Ariana Grande to it. It still wouldn’t have made it up to him but would have been a start in the right direction, but the Grammys just seemed to be blinded by the lights where he is concerned. TG

Favorite: Foo Fighters
​The Foo Fighters, who were recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, are still top of the rock game after 26 years and received three Grammy Award nominations. The band was nominated for Best Rock Album for the excellent Medicine at Midnight, for Best Rock Performance for “Making a Fire” and Best Rock Song for “Waiting on a War.” The band is up against Paul McCartney in the album and song category and against the late Chris Cornell, who could easily win a posthumous performance Grammy for his memorable cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U.”  JS

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​Snub: Foo Fighters in General Field Categories 
It was nice to see the Foo Fighters nominated multiple times in the rock music categories for their excellent Medicine at Midnight album, but it was a disappointment that the group couldn’t crack the general field categories, which are increasingly becoming more and more pop oriented. Not only were the Foo Fighters snubbed in the Album, Record and Song of the Year categories, but so were all rock artists in general. The general field categories should be for the best in all genres and honestly the Recording Academy should set aside a spot for all the major genres of music to have at least one nominee in each general field category. JS

Favorite: The Marfa Tapes by Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram and Jon Randall
I was thrilled to see The Marfa Tapes, a collaboration between songwriter friends Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, nominated for Best Country Album – it might be my favorite album of 2021. The Marfa Tapes is filled with terrific songs recorded in intimate outdoor settings and everything country music should be about in a time when much of the genre has gone wayward. It’s likely going to lose to Chris Stapleton’s Starting Over, but kudos for the nomination. JS

Snub: Chris Stapleton for “Starting Over” for Album of the Year
Chris Stapleton is a huge country artist that seems to always be an award magnet. In fact, this month at the CMAs, he won five awards: the most of anyone. He has even been nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys before for his album, Traveller. He was nominated for Country Album of the Year as well as for Country Song and Country Solo Vocal Performance. He is a powerhouse in the country genre categories and that should have crossed over into the Album of the Year category as well. TG

Snub: Country Music in General Field
The general field categories (Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist) at the Grammy Awards have 10 nominees in each category and of the 40 nominees across those categories for the 2022 honors was only one single country music nomination – Jimmie Allen for Best New Artist. This is just inexcusable, and I feel like it’s become more and more of a thing in recent years as the general field categories are skewing more and more toward pop only genres. Chris Stapleton’s Starting Over would’ve been the most obvious choice for an Album of the Year nomination or some songs in the Record or Song of the Year categories, but I also would’ve loved seeing The Marfa Tapes by Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram and Jon Randall up for Album of the Year. The major music genres must be included in the general field categories! JS

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Favorite: Carrie Underwood for Best Roots Gospel Album for “My Savior”
Many country artists eventually release a gospel album later in their careers. I have never looked more forward to an artist releasing one until the release of My Savior from Carrie Underwood. From the moment I heard her sing “Jesus, Take The Wheel,” I always looked forward to this day. Her powerful and beautiful voice truly lifts me up when singing about Jesus. I hope she pulls off a win in this category. The Grammys have underappreciated Underwood’s talent. She should have easily broken into the general field with her smash hit “Before He Cheats.” I am glad to see her recognized here. TG

Favorite: Ed Sheeran for Song of the Year for “Bad Habits”
Ed Sheeran has a way of writing hit after hit that tops the charts and has all his fans hitting repeat. I felt that Sheeran’s Divide album should have easily won Album of the Year at the Grammys several years ago. In fact, before the nominations came out, Goldderby.com had him as the frontrunner to win the category. However, the Grammys have given him Song of the Year before for the smash hit, “Thinking Out Loud.” His album = wasn’t eligible for Album of the Year since it was released after the eligibility period ended. However, hopefully, this is a sign that next year, the Grammys will make it up to Sheeran. This nomination is a step in the right direction. TG

​Snub: Gabby Barrett for Best New Artist
With 10 nominations for Best New Artist, the fact that Gabby Barrett was left off the list is not only shocking but appalling. Barrett was everywhere with her hit single, “I Hope.” Every time I turned on the radio, I heard this song and sang at the top of my lungs. The song has a plot twist by the time it gets to the chorus that is very intriguing. We are led to believe this woman is wishing her ex well and for a happy relationship but learn that she wants it all to be set up so that it crashes even harder the way it did when he cheated on her. Barrett even won the equivalent of Best New Artist at the ACM Awards earlier this year and with 10 nominations for Best New Artist, I hope the Academy realizes that they cheated Barrett out of this nomination. TG

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Favorite: Kacey Musgraves for Country Song and Country Solo Performance for “camera roll”
Following her win a few years ago for Album of the Year for Golden Hour, Musgraves released her follow-up called star-crossed. While Golden Hour was about falling in love, star-crossed navigates all the different aspects of a divorce and moving on. One of the best songs on the entire album is called “camera roll.” The song talks about the pain in looking back at the pictures of a relationship that is over but how even though you may not want to look at them, you cannot bring yourself to delete them. It is a heartbreaking song that showcases Musgraves’ Grammy-winning songwriting at its best. I hope the Grammys will agree and not regret the decision when they go back through their camera roll in years to come.

Snub: Kacey Musgraves for Album of the Year for “star-crossed”
While Musgraves’ follow-up break-up album may not have lived up to the  expectations of many, it was a fantastic album. It offered some interesting perspectives that made it an album I feel everyone should hear. My favorite song on the album is “hookup scene.” The song talks about someone who has a one night stand looking to be fulfilled but cannot replace the love that is gone. Likewise, the song, “camera roll” explores how we don’t always want to delete photos no matter how painful the memories are. We also get amazing songs like “breadwinner,” “simple times,” “star-crossed,” and “angel.” While the album may not fully live up to Golden Hour, it is a fantastic album and I feel it should have been in this category especially since there were ten slots.

Favorite: Sturgill Simpson
It’s not often you’ll see an artist receive album of the year nominations in two different genre categories (mostly because artists rarely release more than one album in the eligibility timeframe these days), but that’s exactly what Sturgill Simpson did receiving a Best Bluegrass Album nomination for Cuttin’ Grass – Vol. 1 (Butcher Shoppe Sessions), an album of some of his best career songs redone as bluegrass versions, and a Best Country Album nomination for The Ballad of Dood and Juanita, a traditional sounding concept album telling the story of a love on the Kentucky frontier. He’s probably not the favorite in either category, but this is quite the feat. 

Snub: ​James McMurtry
I’m willing to bet singer-songwriter James McMurtry likely doesn’t give a single goddamn about the Grammy Awards. There’s a good chance his recent album The Horses and the Hounds, which might be the best album of 2021 for my money, wasn’t even submitted for nomination. But for McMurtry’s latest work – truly a masterclass in songwriting – to not be among the albums in the Best American Roots Album category is just jaw-droppingly bad. 

Favorite: All Black Best American Roots Song Category
It wasn’t that long ago when there was a controversy within the Americana genre of music about how white it was and how there weren’t many artists of color breaking through. All five nominees in the Best American Roots Song category for the 2022 Grammy Awards are black, showing a huge growth for the genre. Congrats to Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi for “Avalon,” Valerie June feat. Carla Thomas for “Call Me a Fool,” Jon Batiste for “Cry,” Yola for “Diamond Studded Shoes” and Allison Russell for “Nightflyer” on the nominations. ​