The 2022 Grammy nominations: 6 big surprises and 2 major snubs

Many of this year's nominees were predictable, but some nominees stood out in ways both good and bad (paging Justin Bieber)

Music Features Grammy
The 2022 Grammy nominations: 6 big surprises and 2 major snubs
Clockwise from top: BTS (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images), Arooj Aftab (Photo: Vishesh Sharma), and Japanese Breakfast (Photo: Stephan J. Cohen/Getty Images)

We now have the complete list of nominations for the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which take place in January 2022, and in general, it’s a safe, conservative roster of contenders. Most of the big artists you might expect to dominate are there—Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Justin Bieber, and more—meaning that the switch to an open and democratic process (instead of the secret committees previously used to pick the nominees) didn’t necessarily change much. This isn’t surprising: Of the major awards shows, the Grammys are perhaps most famous for being perpetually out of touch with the zeitgeist. Still, there were some names we were happier to see than others. Here are eight of the biggest surprises—including one major snub we didn’t see coming.

previous arrowSnub: K-pop still can’t get the respect it deserves next arrow
Snub: K-pop still can’t get the respect it deserves
BTS Photo Kevin Winter Getty Images

Despite being arguably the year that K-pop fully entered the mainstream pop arena, its most popular heralds, BTS, found themselves relegated to the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category, for “Butter.” No matter that the song was a massive hit, or that critically and commercially it did just as well (if not better) than many of the artists nominated for Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year. It seems we still haven’t reached the point where the Academy is going to welcome the genre into its biggest categories. Regardless of whether you are a K-pop fan or not, at this point it feels a bit absurd to keep pretending it’s some niche field of pop.

25 Comments

  • murrychang-av says:

    The older I get the less the Grammys cover a single thing I listen to.  Did Lord Huron get nominated for anything?  They put out a damn good album this year.

    • exolstice-av says:

      I can remember being a teenager in the 90’s and not recognizing most of the Grammy nominees as artists that I listened to, and as I get older I recognize roughly the same amount of artists. 

      • murrychang-av says:

        I feel like I knew more of the artists back when I was a teen in the ‘90s. Maybe because I listened to regular radio and watched MTV whereas these days there are so many other ways to listen to so much more and different music that it’s not all boiled down into 2 delivery services.And it’s not like I don’t listen to new or current artists, it’s just not the kind of stuff that usually gets nominated for a Grammy.  I listen to more new stuff than stuff from the ‘90s, that’s for sure.

        • mytvneverlies-av says:

          Yeah, there was a time when you were pretty much forced to listen to a lot of Grammy noms.And the only way you could find out about music that wasn’t on radio/MTV, aside from a few mags, was from the people you actually knew IRL. That doesn’t even seem real now.

  • project89-av says:

    Homer Simpson : Oh, why won’t anyone give me an award? Lisa Simpson : You won a Grammy. Homer Simpson : I mean an award that’s worth winning. Mr. Simpson’s opinions do not reflect those of the producers, who don’t consider the Grammy an award at all.

  • oldmanschultz-av says:

    Okay seriously, are you goddamn kidding me? In what world is it a surprise that the Grammys got a gigantic jones for dad rock? That is so completely par for the course that I must really worry about the mental well-being of whoever honestly had their fingers crossed for anything else.

    • usernamechecks0ut-av says:

      the bad articles get more clicks for hate comments than they could ever hope for trying to get this pack of writers to drum up an original thought. ship is sinking, thats why theres like 4 people ungreyed in the comments these days and murry is on every damn article multiple times talking to themselves.

    • selburn6-av says:

      Yup….I still remember how Jethro Tull beat Metallica for “best hard rock/heavy metal recording” in 1989.  When Metallica finally won the next year, Lars Ulrich made sure to “thank Jethro Tull for not putting out an album this year.”

      • drew8mr-av says:

        Metallica has 18 noms with 8 wins career wise. Tull has just the one. Why begrudge them? They had a long distinguished career and have sold 60 million records.

    • bassplayerconvention-av says:

      Foo Fighters could put out almost literally anything and the chance it’ll get nominated for a Grammy is north of 95%.

      • oldmanschultz-av says:

        Yup… and they’re not one of the original dad rock bands, but they sure as hell are beloved by dads around the world for their dad rock stylings.

  • genejenkinson-av says:

    If the Grammys ignoring K-pop hastens their fading cultural relevance, then by all means, ignore away

    • soveryboreddd-av says:

      None of my favorites have won any major Grammy’s so who cares. Bowie had to die to finally be recognized. 

  • ibell-av says:

    I’ll be that guy who comes in and asks: “Does anyone really, care about the Grammys? Or Award shows, in general?” I mean, do people still by the Grammy compilation CD? Do they affect sales? Are there strong ratings for the broadcasts? Do they represents the interests/preferences of audiences, or do they contribute to self-congratulatory systems that benefit the wealthy? Someone help me out.

    • soveryboreddd-av says:

      Not really and ratings for award shows have gone down. People realize that they don’t have to sit thru countless ads to watch TV.  

    • jomahuan-av says:

      i don’t know why people would watch it, but it’s pretty much a promotions and networking event. and behind-the-scenes crew get a paycheque, so that’s good.

  • liebkartoffel-av says:

    “Whither art thou, Miley Cyrus?”[pushes glasses up nose]I know you’re using Ye Olde Englishe Speake ironically, but “whither” is an adverb/conjunction meaning “to what place/situation/state of being.” As such—and I’m no early modern English expert—I don’t think “whither art thou” makes sense grammatically. You’d need something like “whither art thou going, Miley Cyrus?” or “whither goest thou, Miley Cyrus?” Regardless, I suspect you aren’t actually asking why Miley Cyrus is leaving but rather wondering why she is absent from the Grammy nominations, in which case a simple “where art thou, Miley Cyrus?” suffices.

  • mightymisseli-av says:

    I won’t claim to be a huge K-Pop fan but of what I’ve heard – is BTS the best band to rep the genre for critical acclaim? BTS’s videos are entertaining, but I like Blackpink’s and GFRIEND’s songs better. Is it just me?

    • tb8s-av says:

      I pretty much exclusively listen to GGs so I can’t speak for BTS, but I think Twice would be a better representation. Eyes Wide Open released during the eligibility window and was arguably their best work until Formula of Love came out this month. I’d also nominate Chungha’s Querencia for its blend of R&B, electronic, and latin influences, and Yerin Baek’s Tellusboutyourself which is a lovely blend of city pop and 90s house. Point being, unless they specifically create a K-Pop category, it’s doubtful we’ll see any true diversity when it comes to that genre.

  • zirconblue-av says:

    I’m not sure what’s supposed to be “embarrassing” about Rob Zombie and Dream Theater getting nominations.  Are they supposed to be disqualified for being “too old”?   How could old people write good music? 

  • smithereen-av says:

    I’ll concede that Rob Zombie and Deftones aren’t at the peak of their cultural relevance or anything, but in 2021 a lineup of the Deftones, Dream Theater, Gojira, Mastodon, and Rob Zombie is a lot less embarrassing than a lineup of AC/DC, a live Black Pumas recording, the corpse of Chris Cornell, the Foo Fighters, and… the Deftones

  • mavar-av says:

    This needs a Grammy nomination lol

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Share Tweet Submit Pin