Nominations have been announced for the 59th annual Grammy Awards honoring the year in music (sort of.. their timelines can be very confusing). More than any of the other big 4 awards shows (Tonys, Emmys, Oscars) Grammy nods are largely based on financial success so it's usually the superstars in the major categories and that's true again this year with Beyoncé leading with 9 nominations and other superstars not far behind. The surprise this year was country star Sturgill Simpson (A Sailor's Guide to Earth) sharing the most coveted category "Album of the Year" category with Beyoncé (Lemonade), Adele (25), Justin Beiber (Purpose), and Drake (Views).
Adele's "25" is so great. But if she loses everything she can console herself with her 10 previous Grammys
But since the Grammys have over 80 categories (we are not exaggerating) here at TFE we just focus on those in which film, tv, or stage types are in play. i.e. the ones that can sometimes lead to EGOTing are after the jump.
SPOKEN WORD ALBUM
- The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo - Amy Schumer
- In Such Good Company... - Carol Burnett
- M Train - Patti Smith
- Under the Big Black Sun: A Personal History of LA Punk - John Doe with Tom DeSavia
- Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Inc - Elvis Costello
Carol Burnett has Emmys (of course) and a special Tony but no Oscar or Grammy.
BEST SONG WRITTEN FOR VISUAL MEDIA
- Can't Stop This Feeling from Trolls (Justin Timberlake, etc...)
- Heathens from Suicide Squad (Twenty One Pilots)
- Just Like Fire from Alice Through the Looking Glass (P¡nk, etc...)
- Purple Lambourghini from Suicide Squad (Skrillex & Rick Ross, etc...)
- Try Everything from Zootopia (Sia, Shakira, etc...)
- The Veil from Snowden (Peter Gabriel)
You can probably rule out the Suicide Squad songs for Oscar play but one or two of these others could sneak in to compete with the La La Land songs and Moana's big number for Best Original Song at the Oscars.
BEST COMEDY ALBUM
- ...American...Great... - David Cross
- American Myth - Margaret Cho
- Boyish Girl Interrupted - Tig Notaro
- Live at the Apollo - Amy Schumer
- Talking for Clapping - Patton Oswalt
Notaro lost this category once before and Oswalt and Cho have lost multiple times. Cross and Schumer are newbies. I'm betting this year Oswalt finally wins but what a category, eh?!
BEST MUSICAL THEATER ALBUM
- Bright Star
- The Color Purple
- Fiddler on the Roof
- Kinky Boots
- Waitress
The Grammys are suddenly only honoring two principal soloists (or less!) for Broadway albums which is just awful. The whole principle cast used to be nominated (consider that if they had done this last year most of the Hamilton principle actors would not have Grammys!) and most musicals have more than two major characters! This seems insane because that basically means with a show like The Color Purple with three major female characters one of them (in this case Danielle Brooks who got a well deserved Tony nomination for playing Sophia) will not get a Grammy if it wins because she was not the lead or the most famous cast member (Jennifer Hudson, who did not get a Tony nomination). Crazy-making!
If you're wondering how Kinky Boots is showing up so late after its Tony wins and how it's even here considering Kinky Boots won this same exact Grammy category in 2014. Here's why: this nomination is for the new West End production rather than the original Broadway production. Cyndi Lauper has won both a Tony and a Grammy for Kinky Boots and has an Emmy for her guest actressing on Mad About You so OSCAR IS ALL THAT REMAINS FOR HER EGOT.
BEST COMPILATION SOUNDTRACK FOR VISUAL MEDIA
- Amy (Various Artists)
- Miles Ahead (Miles Davis & Various Artists)
- Straight Outta Compton (Various Artists)
- Suicide Squad (Various Artists)
- Vinyl: The Essentials Season 1 (Various Artists)
Did Suicide Squad really need 3 Grammy nominations? Oh right. Grammys are all about what sells and that was a massive hit at the box office despite being awful in virtually every way a movie can be.
BEST SCORE SOUNDTRACK FOR VISUAL MEDIA
- Bridge of Spies -Thomas Newman
- The Hateful Eight - Ennio Morricone
- The Revenant - Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto
- The Force Awakens - John Williams
- Stranger Things: Vol 1 and Vol 2 - Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
Last year at the Oscars The Revenant was disqualified for Best Original Score but the three other films nominated here for the Grammy were nominated for the Oscar with The Hateful Eight winning.
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
- Formation (Beyoncé directed by Melina Matsoukas)
- River (Leon Bridges directed by Miles Jay)
- Up & Up (Coldplay directed by Vania Heymann & Gal Muggia)
- Gosh (Jamie XX directed by Romain Gavras)
- Upside Down & Inside Out (OK Go direcred by Damian Kulash Jr & Trish Sie)
OK Go has previously won this Grammy (for "Here it Goes Again" in 2007) and Coldplay has been nominated multiple times. Weirdly I don't think Beyoncé has ever been nominated for this particular Grammy unless my eyes deceive me whilst staring at the lists.
Beyoncé has already won 20 Grammys. The only female artist with more is country star Alison Krauss with 27
BEST MUSIC FILM
- I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: Steve Aoki
- The Beatles: Eight Days a Week the Touring Years
- Lemonade
- The Music of Strangers
- American Saturday Night: Live from the Grand Ole Opry
The last two winners in this category (Amy & 20 Feet from Stardom) also won Oscars. Of these films only The Beatles and Music of Strangers are eligible for this year's Best Documentary Oscar