Culture

LGBTQ+ Artists Cleaned Up the 2022 Grammy Nominations


 

They say awards aren’t everything. But on our way to total world domination, it would be nice for queer people to cart off with a bunch of Grammys, would it not? Leave it to Lil Nas X and Brandi Carlile to lead that effort, scoring five nods each on the list of nominees announced Tuesday by the Recording Academy.

Both artists have a shot at winning the music industry’s top honors, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Lil Nas X will compete in those categories with his debut album’s title track, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” and Carlile with “Right on Time,” which the lesbian singer-songwriter recently performed on SNL.

The full list of 2022 nominees includes several more openly queer artists across a range of genres. Perhaps it’s no surprise that the alt category is absolutely dominated by queer women and nonbinary acts. Halsey, Arlo Parks, Japanese Breakfast, and St. Vincent are all facing off in the Best Alternative Music Album category, which just shot to No. 1 on America’s Best Places to Live. (Can one buy an entire awards category on Zillow? We would like to find out.)

Country musician T.J. Osbourne, who came out as gay in February, was nominated with the Osbourne Brothers duo for Best Country Album. The siblings were also nominated for their performance of the song “Younger Me,” a moving message of self-acceptance addressed to T.J.’s younger self.

Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of the LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization GLAAD, noted that the number of nominations for queer musicians reflected a major sea change. “The vast inclusion of LGBTQ artists amongst this year’s Grammy nominees highlights not only a growing shift in cultural acceptance, but also the dominant impact that LGBTQ artists are making across the music industry,” Ellis said in a statement.

Speaking especially of the year’s undisputed queer MVP, Ellis went on, “Lil Nas X continues to open doors for greater LGBTQ inclusion in rap and hip-hop, which will undoubtedly inspire and empower a new generation of artists to embrace their authenticity and individuality.”

“Don’t have to win a single award,” the Montero rapper wrote on Twitter. “Truly thankful for all the insight this year has brought me. and thankful for the journey,” he added, with a weeping-openly emoji that summed up our feelings exactly.

We agree completely with Lil Nas X: He doesn’t have to win a single award. He has to win several. We’ll be watching closely to make sure he gets his due.

The Grammy Awards will air on CBS on Monday, January 31, 2022.

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