The Grammys have unveiled the nominees for the 65th annual ceremony – and there is a steady shining rainbow light on this year’s list of noms.
Brandi Carlile’s In These Silent Days scored a total of seven nominations including Album of the Year and Record of the Year. Steve Lacy also scored a nomination for Record of the Year as well as Song of the Year for “Bad Habit”.
Sam Smith and Kim Petras earned a nom for “Unholy”. This marks Smith’s seventh nomination while Petras welcomes her first. Meanwhile, comedian Randy Rainbow picked up his first Grammy nod for Best Comedy Album — a category where he’ll go up against the very divisive Dave Chappelle.
The list of queer nominees at this year’s Grammys is wildly diverse: DJ/producer Kaytranada, country star T.J. Osborne of Brothers Osborne, Latinx R&B singer Omar Apollo, Brazilian singer Anitta, and indie art pop singer Perfume Geinus.
In addition, Michael R. Jackson’s Tony award-winning unapologetically Black and queer musical A Strange Loop (hurry up and see it before it closes in January 2023!) scored a nomination for Best Musical Theater Album.
It is no surprise that GLAAD Media Award honoree Beyoncé is the most nominations with RENAISSANCE, her queer opus honoring her Uncle Johnny. With her nine nominations, Queen Bey officially ties with her hubby Jay Z as the most nominated artist in Grammy history with 88 noms each. In addition, Lady Gaga’s Top Gun: Maverick anthem “Hold My Hand” scored two Grammy nods while Lizzo received five nominations for Special.
“Celebrating the miracle of music is at the core of everything we do at the Recording Academy and today we are proud and honored to celebrate music’s power to lift people up and to bring them together,” said Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy in a statement. “I’m energized by this year’s slate of nominees and how each of them uses their craft to inspire us, and to remind us that music is our universal language. Each of these deserving nominees has helped to provide the world with an incredible soundtrack and is a true testament to how vibrant our entire music community truly is.”
The 65th annual Grammys ceremony is set to take place in Los Angeles at the Crypto.com Arena on February 5, 2023. It will broadcast live on CBS and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+. Click here for the complete list of nominations.