Jay-Z, Jon Batiste set milestones as 2022 Grammy nominations are announced
Batiste lead the pack with 11 nominations, while Jay-Z becomes the most nominated artist in Grammy history.
Following the announcement Tuesday of nominations for the 64th annual Grammy Awards, Jay-Z is now the most nominated artist in Grammy history with 83 career nods. Pianist/singer/songwriter Jon Batiste leads the pack for the January 2022 ceremony with 11 nominations, tied for the second-most in a single year in the award’s history.
Jay-Z, born Shawn Corey Carter, received three nominations this year; two for Best Rap Song for his collaborations on DMX’s “Bath Salts” and Kanye West’s “Jail,” and one for a songwriter credit from Justin Bieber’s album, Justice, which is up for Album of the Year.
Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, Carter, who has 23 Grammy wins in his career, was in a two-way tie with producer/composer Quincy Jones for the most nominations with 80 each. Jones now moves into third place after Paul McCartney’s nominations this year put him into second place with 82.
Batiste, the bandleader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is on his eighth studio album but only had three nominations in his career prior to Tuesday’s announcement. His eclectic 2021 release, We Are, fuses genres like R&B, jazz and roots while offering socio-political commentary.
Baptiste also got nods for his contributions to the soundtrack of the Pixar/Disney film Soul, earning his 11 nominations, including Album of the Year for We Are, Best R&B Album and Record of the Year for “Freedom” in the jazz, soul, and classical and roots categories.
Batiste’s 11 nominations for 2022 tie him with Kendrick Lamar, who got 11 nods in 2016 during the campaign for his album To Pimp a Butterfly. The record for the most nominations in a year is 12, held by both the late Michael Jackson in 1984 and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds in 1997.
Four-time Grammy winner H.E.R. received eight more nominations in 2022, bringing her total to an impressive 21 in just four years. Her debut album Back of My Mind earned Album of the Year and R&B Album of the Year nods. Her Oscar-winning song “Fight For You” has two nods for Best Traditional R&B Performance and Best Song Written for Visual Media.
“Damage” is up for both Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance. H.E.R. is also up for Best Contemporary Christian Performance/Song for “Hold Us Together (Hope Mix).”
This year, the four general field categories — Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist — have all increased to 10 nominees per category. Up for Album of the Year along with Batiste and H.E.R. are Lil Nas X for Montero and Kanye West for Donda. Lil Nas X is going up against Batiste for Record of the Year for “Montero (Call Me by Your Name),” Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Cesar and Giveon for “Peaches,” and Silk Sonic’s “Leave The Door Open.”
The aforementioned songs from Silk Sonic, Bieber, Cesar and Giveon, Lil Nas X and H.E.R. are all also up for Song of the Year.
Other standout nominees include rapper Saweetie as Best New Artist, the late Prince for Best Historical Album for his Sign of the Times reissue and Jazmine Sullivan for Best R&B Song for “Pick Up Your Feelings” and Best R&B Album for Heaux Tales. Yebba and Lucky Daye get a nod for Best Traditional R&B Performance for “How Much Can A Heart Take” and Daye also picks up a nod for Best Progressive R&B Album for Table for Two, the EP the song is on.
Cardi B and Megan the Stallion will battle it out for Best Rap Performance for “Up” and Thot S—” respectively, and Nas picks up his 15th nomination for King’s Disease II. He was, until he won last year for King’s Disease, the most nominated artist second only to Brian McKnight (17 nods) without a win. Dave Chappelle, Barack Obama and LeVar Burton will compete for Best Spoken Word Album.
The 64 annual Grammys will air live on CBS Jan. 31, 2022. Here’s the full list of nominations.
Additional reporting by Tonya Pendleton
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