Lizzo lands Grammy nominations including Best New Artist and Song, Record, Album of the Year
by Jay Gabler
November 20, 2019
Lizzo, a Detroit-born artist who rose to prominence during her years in Minneapolis; and Bon Iver, the band of nearby Eau Claire's Justin Vernon, were among the big honorees when this year's Grammy nominations were announced.
As had been widely expected, Lizzo was nominated for Best New Artist; her hit "Truth Hurts," though, also landed huge nominations for Song of the Year and Record of the Year, with her album Cuz I Love You landing an Album of the Year nod. With four more nominations to boot, Lizzo is in fact this year's most-nominated artist.
Update, 1:30 p.m. A good day for Lizzo just got better: she'll be the Dec. 21 musical guest on Saturday Night Live.
Bon Iver, a band so unknown to viewers when they won Best New Artist in 2012 that many heard the band's name as "Bonny Bear," were also nominated for Record of the Year ("Hey, Ma") and Album of the Year (I,I).
Many other names familiar to Current listeners also landed in the top categories, including Billie Eilish (becoming the youngest artist to be nominated across all four major categories), Lana Del Rey, Vampire Weekend, Yola, and Maggie Rogers slotted significant nominations. As expected, Lil Nas X earned a Best New Artist nomination as well as Record of the Year for the Billy Ray Cyrus duet version of his viral smash "Old Town Road."
Other Minnesota-connected artists recognized this year include Big Thief, led by Minnesota native Adrianne Lenker, nominated for Best Alternative Music Album (U.F.O.F.). J.S. Ondara, a singer-songwriter from Kenya by way of Minnesota, was nominated for Best Americana Album for his Tales of America. The Gopher State's Okee Dokee Brothers, who've landed multiple past Grammy nominations and won in 2011 for Best Children's Album (Can You Canoe?), are nominated in that category again for Winterland.