2018 Grammy Nominations

The 2018 Grammy Nominations were announced today.

In the General Categories, country artists were shut out, with multiple nominations going to Childish Gambino, Luis Fonsi, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, and Bruno Mars.

Top country nominees include Sam Hunt, Jason Isbell, Alison Krauss, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, and Chris Stapleton.

A complete list of nominees can be found here.

General Categories

Album of the Year

  • Childish Gambino, Awaken My Love!
  • Jay-Z, 4:44
  • Kendrick Lamar, DAMN.
  • Lorde, Melodrama
  • Bruno Mars, 24K Magic

Record of the Year

  • Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber, “Despacito”
  • Childish Gambino, “Redbone”
  • Jay-Z, “The Story of O.J.”
  • Kendrick Lamar, “HUMBLE.”
  • Bruno Mars, “24K Magic”

Song of the Year

  • “Despacito” – Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi & Marty James Garton
  • “4:44” – Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson
  • “Issues” – Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels & Justin Drew Tranter
  • “1-800-273-8255” – Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury & Khalid Robinson
  • “That’s What I Like” – Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip

Best New Artist

  • Alessia Cara
  • Khalid
  • Lil Uzi Vert
  • Julia Michaels
  • SZA

Country & Country-Adjacent Categories

Best Country Album

  • Kenny Chesney, Cosmic Hallelujah
  • Lady Antebellum, Heart Break
  • Little Big Town, The Breaker
  • Thomas Rhett, Life Changes
  • Chris Stapleton, From a Room: Volume 1

Best Country Solo Performance

  • Sam Hunt, “Body Like a Back Road”
  • Alison Krauss, “Losing You”
  • Miranda Lambert, “Tin Man”
  • Maren Morris, “I Could Use a Love Song”
  • Chris Stapleton, “Either Way”

Best Country Duo/Group Performance

  • Brothers Osborne, “It Ain’t My Fault”
  • Zac Brown Band, “My Old Man”
  • Lady Antebellum, “You Look Good”
  • Little Big Town, “Better Man”
  • Midland, “Drinkin’ Problem”

Best Country Song

  • “Better Man” – Taylor Swift
  • “Body Like a Back Road” – Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally & Josh Osborne
  • “Broken Halos” – Mike Henderson & Chris Stapleton
  • “Drinkin’ Problem” – Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne & Mark Wystrach
  • “Tin Man” – Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert & Jon Randall

Best Roots Gospel Album

  • The Collingsworth Family, The Best of the Collingsworth Family, Volume 1
  • Larry Cordle, Give Me Jesus
  • Joseph Habedank, Resurrection
  • Reba McEntire, Sing it Now: Songs of Faith and Hope
  • Karen Peck & New River, Hope for All Nations

Best Americana Album

  • Gregg Allman, Southern Blood
  • Brent Cobb, Shine On Rainy Day
  • Iron & Wine, Beast Epic
  • Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, The Nashville Sound
  • The Mavericks, Brand New Day

Best American Roots Performance

  • Alabama Shakes, “Killer Diller Blues”
  • Blind Boys of Alabama, “Let My Brother Live”
  • Glen Campbell, “Arkansas Farmboy”
  • Leonard Cohen, “Steer Your Way”
  • Alison Krauss, “I Never Cared For You”

Best Americana Roots Song

  • “Cumberland Gap” – David Rawlings & Gillian Welch
  • “I Wish You Well” – Raul Malo & Alan Miller
  • “If We Were Vampires” – Jason Isbell
  • “It Ain’t Over Yet” – Rodney Crowell
  • “My Only True Friend” – Gregg Allman

Best Bluegrass Album

  • Michael Cleveland, Fiddler’s Dream
  • The Infamous Stringdusters, Laws of Gravity
  • Bobby Osborne, Original
  • Noam Pikelny, Universal Favorite
  • Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, All the Rage: In Concert, Volume One

 

8 Comments

  1. Yeah, I don’t get the country album nominees at all. Outside of Stapleton, that’s a weak slate. I’m not sure what was eligible…but, you have to think they could have done better selecting the nominees there.

    Also, it’s funny to look at solo country performance/song, and see four good/great nominees…and “Body Like a Back Road”.

  2. Windy City would be eligible for album and should have been nominated. The only reason I can think of to exclude it is because it was all covers.

  3. Yeah, the Country Album category is definitely weak, especially for the Grammy’s. On a positive note, it’s nice to see Midland get some recognition in a couple other categories. Despite all the controversy about their background, I think they are by far one of the best things going in the mainstream right now.

  4. Pleasant surprises:
    “It Ain’t Over Yet” making it in for Best American Roots Song.
    Alison Krauss nod for “Losing You.”
    The big three general categories acknowledging that hip-hop is the creative center of music right now. Kendrick Lamar was expected, but the nods for Jay-Z, Logic, and Childish Gambino, over easier picks like Ed Sheeran, show that the panels get it right, even if the overall voting population usually doesn’t.

    Disappointments:

    Americana field was tough this year. My guess is that Krauss submitted her album there instead of for Best Country Album, and Dixie Chicks/Beyonce missed out by choosing the Americana field instead of Country, where the anemic competition for Best Duo/Group probably would’ve gotten them a nomination and then a win.

    But no room for Rhiannon Giddens anywhere? Freedom Highway outshines every one of this year’s nominees.

    I was also hoping that Jason Isbell would sneak in there for the overall Album of the Year category, which made room for Sturgill Simpson last year. I keep waiting for Isbell to get the Stapleton treatment. Bruno Mars could’ve stepped aside for him.

    And it’s been said already, but the Best Country Album lineup is a travesty without Miranda Lambert. It was a bad year for mainstream country, but not so bad that Thomas Rhett and Lady Antebellum should be nominated while Lambert is left on the sidelines.

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