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The young guard, women, and people of colour: the 2020 Grammy nominations are a breath of fresh air

Truth Hurts, except if you’re Lizzo. Little known to mainstream audiences a year ago, the songwriter has been nominated for eight prizes at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for the deluxe version of Cuz I Love You, Record and Song of the Year for Truth Hurts, and Best New Artist.

Right behind her are 17-year-old Billie Eilish and master of memes Lil Nas X, with six nominations each. Other notable nominees include Beyoncé, Lana Del Rey, Bon Iver, Vampire Weekend, and others. 

lizzo 2019 grammy nominations 2019 grammy awards

Featuring younger and more diverse artists such as Lizzo, Billie Eilish and more, the 2020 Grammy Awards are trying hard to be representative of the new pop.

It’s a fresh breeze blowing through the Grammys, which has often been reluctant to reward young artists and has been criticised for its treatment of women and artists of colour. Each in their own way, Lizzo and Billie Eilish are the faces at the forefront of pop. On one side, messages of body positivity and black self-love. On the other, Gen Z terror-pop and sad girl bedroom confessions. Welcome to pop 2.0.

Of the 899 individuals who have been nominated for the last six Grammy ceremonies, 90.7 percent were men and 9.3 percent were women. This year, the list of nominations is dominated by women. Lil Nas X, cultural sensation of 2019 with his hit Old Town Road, is also a representative of diversity as one of the very few rappers who has declared himself openly gay. 

Check out the major categories below, and view the full list of nominations here.

Record of the Year

“Hey, Ma” — Bon Iver
“Bad Guy” — Billie Eilish
“7 Rings” — Ariana Grande
“Hard Place” — H.E.R.
“Talk” — Khalid
“Old Town Road” — Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus
“Truth Hurts” — Lizzo
“Sunflower” — Post Malone & Swae Lee

Album of the Year

“I,I”- Bon Iver
“Norman F***ing Rockwell” — Lana Del Rey
“When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go” — Billie Eilish
“Thank U, Next” — Ariana Grande
“I Used to Know Her” — H.E.R.
“7” — Lil Nas X
“Cuz I Love You” — Lizzo
“Father of the Bride” — Vampire Weekend

Song of the Year

“Always Remember Us This Way” — Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey & Lori McKenna, songwriters
“Bad Guy” — Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters
“Bring My Flowers Now” — Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth & Tanya Tucker, songwriters
“Hard Place” — Ruby Amanfu, Sam Ashworth, D. Arcelious Harris, H.E.R. & Rodney Jerkins, songwriters
“Lover” — Taylor Swift, songwriter
“Norman F***ing Rockwell” — Jack Antonoff & Lana Del Rey, songwriters
“Someone You Loved” — Tom Barnes, Lewis Capaldi, Pete Kelleher, Benjamin Kohn & Sam Roman, songwriters
“Truth Hurts” — Steven Cheung, Eric Frederic, Melissa Jefferson & Jesse Saint John, songwriters

Best New Artist

Black Pumas
Billie Eilish
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
Maggie Rogers
Rosalia
Tank and the Bangas
Yol