Entertainment

The 2020 Grammy Nominations Celebrate Lizzo, Ariana Grande, & Billie Eilish

by Caitlin Gallagher
CBS Photo Archive/CBS/Getty Images

It's time to spend the end of the year listening to the best music of 2019 since the full list of 2020 Grammy nominees was officially announced on Nov. 20. The host of the 2020 Grammys Alicia Keys helped announce the nominations alongside Bebe Rexha, Gayle King, Recording Academy President Deborah Dugan, and Recording Academy Chair of the Board of Trustees Harvey Mason Jr., who all appeared at an early morning press conference for the occasion. Keys herself has already won 15 Grammys, but now she's becoming even more of a staple of music's biggest night as she helped introduce the new class of artists who will be recognized during the 2020 Grammy Awards on Jan. 26.

The eligibility window for the 2020 Grammys was Oct. 1, 2018 to Aug. 31, 2019 — although music fans will note some exceptions with that timeline, like Lizzo's "Truth Hurts." Speaking of Lizzo, she led the Grammy nominations with eight noms, including Best New Artist. Lizzo wasn't the only Best New Artist nominee to receive major recognition since both Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X also earned six nominations. Ariana Grande received five nominations, including Best Pop Solo Performance along with Eilish and Lizzo. And something pretty spectacular happened in that category: Every nominee is a woman with Beyoncé and Taylor Swift rounding out Best Pop Solo Performance.

With the nominations list out, fans now have two months to speculate which superstar will win that Best Pop Solo Performance category as well as all the others during the 2020 Grammys.

Best Pop Solo Performance

  • "Spirit" — Beyoncé
  • "bad guy" — Billie Eilish
  • "7 Rings" — Ariana Grande
  • "Truth Hurts" — Lizzo
  • "You Need To Calm Down" — Taylor Swift

Best R&B Performance

  • "Love Again" — Daniel Caesar and Brandy
  • "Could've Been" — H.E.R. featuring Bryson Tiller
  • "Exactly How I Feel" — Lizzo featuring Gucci Mane
  • "Roll Some Mo" — Lucky Daye
  • "Come Home" — Anderson .Paak featuring André 3000

Best Rap Album

  • Revenge of the Dreamers III — Dreamville
  • Championships — Meek Mill
  • i am > i was — 21 Savage
  • IGOR — Tyler, the Creator
  • The Lost Boy – YBN Cordae

Best Country Song

  • "Bring My Flowers Now" — Tanya Tucker
  • "Girl Goin' Nowhere" — Ashley McBryde
  • "It All Comes Out In The Wash" — Miranda Lambert
  • "Some Of It" — Eric Church
  • "Speechless" — Dan + Shay

Best New Artist

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

Song Of The Year

  • "Always Remember Us This Way" — Lady Gaga
  • "bad guy" — Billie Eilish
  • "Bring My Flowers Now" — Tanya Tucker
  • "Hard Place" — H.E.R.
  • "Lover" — Taylor Swift
  • "Norman F*cking Rockwell" — Lana Del Rey
  • "Someone You Loved" — Lewis Capaldi
  • "Truth Hurts" — Lizzo

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 featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
  • "Truth Hurts" — Lizzo
  • "Sunflower" — Post Malone and Swae Lee

Album Of The Year

  • I,I — Bon Iver
  • Norman F*cking 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 (Deluxe) — Lizzo
  • Father of the Bride — Vampire Weekend

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

  • "Boyfriend" — Ariana Grande & Social House
  • "Sucker" — Jonas Brothers
  • "Old Town Road" — Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
  • "Sunflower" — Post Malone and Swae Lee
  • "Señorita" — Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello

Best Pop Vocal Album

  • The Lion King: The Gift — Beyoncé
  • When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? — Billie Eilish
  • Thank U, Next — Ariana Grande
  • No. 6 Collaborations Project — Ed Sheeran
  • Lover — Taylor Swift

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

  • Sì — Andrea Bocelli
  • love (Deluxe Edition) — Michael Bublé
  • Look Now — Elvis Costello & The Imposters
  • A Legendary Christmas — John Legend
  • Walls — Barbra Streisand

Best Dance Recording

  • "Linked" — Bonobo
  • "Got to Keep On" — The Chemical Brothers
  • "Piece of Your Heart" — Meduza featuring Goodboys
  • "Underwater" — Rüfüs Du Sol
  • "Midnight Hour" — Skrillex and Boys Noize featuring Ty Dolla $ign

Best Dance/Electronic Album

  • LP5 — Apparat
  • No Geography — The Chemical Brothers.
  • Hi This Is Flume (Mixtape) — Flume
  • Solace — Rüfüs Du Sol
  • Weather — Tycho

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album

  • Ancestral Recall — Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah
  • Star People Nation — Theo Croker
  • Beat Music! Beat Music! Beat Music! — Mark Guiliana
  • Elevate — Lettuce
  • Mettavolution — Rodrigo y Gabriela

Best Rock Performance

  • "Pretty Waste" — Bones UK
  • "This Land" — Gary Clark Jr.
  • "History Repeats" — Brittany Howard
  • "Woman" — Karen O & Danger Mouse
  • "Too Bad" — Rival Sons

Best Metal Performance

  • "Astorolus – The Great Octopus" — Candlemass featuring Tony Iommi
  • "Humanicide" — Death Angel
  • "Bow Down" — I Prevail
  • "Unleashed." — Killswitch Engage
  • "7empest" — Tool

Best Rock Song

  • "Fear Inoculum" — Tool
  • "Give Yourself a Try" — The 1975
  • "Harmony Hall" — Vampire Weekend
  • "History Repeats"— Brittany Howard
  • "This Land" — Gary Clark Jr.

Best Rock Album

  • Amo — Bring Me The Horizon
  • Social Cues — Cage The Elephant
  • In the End — The Cranberries
  • Trauma — I Prevail
  • Feral Roots — Rival Sons

Best Alternative Music Album

  • U.F.O.F. — Big Thief
  • Assume Form — James Blake
  • I,I — Bon Iver
  • Father of the Bride — Vampire Weekend
  • Anima — Thom Yorke

Best Traditional R&B Performance

  • "Time Today" — BJ The Chicago Kid
  • "Steady Love" — India.Arie
  • "Jerome" — Lizzo
  • "Real Games" — Lucky Daye
  • "Built for Love" — PJ Morton featuring Jazmine Sullivan

Best R&B Song

  • "Could've Been" — H.E.R. featuring Bryson Tiller
  • "Look at Me Now" — Emily King
  • "No Guidance" — Chris Brown featuring Drake
  • "Roll Some Mo" — Lucky Daye
  • "Sayso" — PJ Morton featuring JoJo

Best Urban Contemporary Album

  • Apollo XXI — Steve Lacy
  • Cuz I Love You (Deluxe) — Lizzo
  • Overload — Georgia Anne Muldrow
  • Saturn — Nao
  • Being Human in Public — Jessie Reyez

Best R&B Album

  • 1123 — BJ the Chicago Kid
  • Painted — Lucky Daye
  • Ella Mai — Ella Mai
  • Paul — PJ Morton
  • Ventura — Anderson .Paak

Best Rap Performance

  • "Middle Child" — J. Cole
  • "Suge" — DaBaby
  • "Down Bad" — Dreamville featuring J.I.D, Bas, J. Cole, EARTHGANG, and Young Nudy
  • "Racks in the Middle" — Nipsey Hussle featuring Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy
  • "Clout" — Offset featuring Cardi B

Best Rap/Sung Performance

  • "Higher" — DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend
  • "Drip Too Hard" — Lil Baby and Gunna
  • "Panini" — Lil Nas X
  • "Ballin" — Mustard featuring Roddy Ricch
  • "The London" — Young Thug featuring J. Cole and Travis Scott

Best Rap Song

  • "Bad Idea" — YBN Cordae featuring Chance The Rapper
  • "Gold Roses" — Rick Ross featuring Drake
  • "A Lot" — 21 Savage featuring J. Cole
  • "Racks in the Middle" — Nipsey Hussle featuring Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy
  • "Suge" — DaBaby

Best Country Solo Performance

  • "All Your'n" — Tyler Childers
  • "Girl Goin' Nowhere" — Ashley McBryde
  • "Ride Me Back Home" — Willie Nelson
  • "God's Country" — Blake Shelton
  • "Bring My Flowers Now" — Tanya Tucker

Best Country Duo/Group Performance

  • "Brand New Man" — Brooks & Dunn with Luke Combs
  • "I Don't Remember Me (Before You)" — Brothers Osborne
  • "Speechless" — Dan + Shay
  • "The Daughters" — Little Big Town
  • "Common" — Maren Morris featuring Brandi Carlile

Best Country Album

  • Desperate Man — Eric Church
  • Stronger Than the Truth — Reba McEntire
  • Interstate Gospel — Pistol Annies
  • Center Point Road — Thomas Rhett
  • While I'm Livin' — Tanya Tucker

Best New Age Album

  • Fairy Dreams — David Arkenstone
  • Homage to Kindness — David Darling
  • Wings — Peter Kater
  • Verve — Sebastian Plano
  • Deva — Deva Premal

Best Improvised Jazz Solo

  • "Elsewhere" — Melissa Aldana, soloist
  • "Sozinho" — Randy Brecker, soloist
  • "Tomorrow Is the Question" — Julian Lage, soloist
  • "The Windup" — Branford Marsalis, soloist
  • "Sightseeing" — Christian McBride, soloist

Best Jazz Vocal Album

  • Thirsty Ghost — Sara Gazarek
  • Love & Liberation — Jazzmeia Horn
  • Alone Together — Catherine Russell
  • 12 Little Spells — Esperanza Spalding
  • Screenplay — The Tierney Sutton Band

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

  • In the Key of the Universe — Joey DeFrancesco
  • The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul — Branford Marsalis Quartet
  • Christian McBride's New Jawn — Christian McBride
  • Finding Gabriel — Brad Mehldau
  • Come What May — Joshua Redman Quartet

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

  • Triple Helix — Anat Cohen Tentet
  • Dance in Nowhere — Miho Hazama
  • Hiding Out — Mike Holober and The Gotham Jazz Orchestra
  • The Omni-American Book Club — Brian Lynch Big Band
  • One Day Wonder — Terraza Big Band

Best Latin Jazz Album

  • Antidote — Chick Corea and The Spanish Heart Band
  • Sorte!: Music by John Finbury — Thalma de Freitas with Vitor Gonçalves, John Patitucci, Chico Pinheiro, Rogerio Boccato, and Duduka Da Fonseca
  • Una Noche Con Ruben Blades — Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and Rubén Blades
  • Carib — David Sánchez
  • Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera — Miguel Zenón

Best Gospel Performance/Song

  • "Love Theory" — Kirk Franklin
  • "Talkin' Bout Jesus" — Gloria Gaynor featuring Yolanda Adams
  • "See the Light" — Travis Greene featuring Jekalyn Carr
  • "Speak the Name" — Koryn Hawthorne featuring Natalie Grant
  • "This Is a Movie (Live)" — Tasha Cobbs Leonard

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song

  • "Only Jesus" — Casting Crowns
  • "God Only Knows" — For King & Country and Dolly Parton
  • "Haven't Seen It Yet" — Danny Gokey
  • "God's Not Done with You (Single Version)" — Tauren Wells
  • "Rescue Story" — Zach Williams

Best Gospel Album

  • Long Live Love — Kirk Franklin
  • Goshen — Donald Lawrence presents The Tri -City Singers
  • Tunnel Vision — Gene Moore
  • Settle Here — William Murphy
  • Something's Happening! A Christmas Album — CeCe Winans

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album

  • I Know a Ghost — Crowder
  • Burn the Ships — For King & Country
  • Haven't Seen It Yet — Danny Gokey
  • The Elements — TobyMac
  • Holy Roar — Chris Tomlin

Best Roots Gospel Album

  • Deeper Roots: Where the Bluegrass Grows — Steven Curtis Chapman
  • Testimony — Gloria Gaynor
  • Deeper Oceans — Joseph Habedank
  • His Name Is Jesus — Tim Menzies
  • Gonna Sing, Gonna Shout — Various Artists

Best Latin Pop Album

  • Vida — Luis Fonsi
  • 11:11 — Maluma
  • Montaner — Ricardo Montaner
  • #ELDISCO — Alejandro Sanz
  • Fantasia — Sebastian Yatra

Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album

  • X 100Pre — Bad Bunny
  • Oasis — J Balvin and Bad Bunny
  • Indestructible — Flor De Toloache
  • Almadura — iLe
  • El Mal Querer — Rosalía

Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)

  • Caminado — Joss Favela
  • Percepción — Intocable
  • Poco a Poco — La Energia Norteña
  • 20 Aniversario — Mariachi Divas De Cindy Shea
  • De Ayer Para Siempre — Mariachi Los Camperos

Best Tropical Latin Album

  • Opus — Marc Anthony
  • Tiempo Al Tiempo — Luis Enrique and C4 Trio
  • Candela— Vicente García
  • Literal — Juan Luis Guerra 4.40
  • A Journey Through Cuban Music — Aymée Nuviola

Best American Roots Performance

  • "Saint Honesty" — Sara Bareilles
  • "Father Mountain" — Calexico and Iron & Wine
  • "I'm on My Way" — Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi
  • "Call My Name" — I'm With Her
  • "Faraway Look" — Yola

Best American Roots Song

  • "Black Myself" — Our Native Daughters
  • "Call My Name" — I'm With Her
  • "Crossing to Jerusalem" — Rosanne Cash
  • "Faraway Look" — Yola
  • "I Don't Wanna Ride the Rails No More" — Vince Gill

Best Americana Album

  • Years to Burn — Calexico and Iron & Wine
  • Who Are You Now — Madison Cunningham
  • Oklahoma — Keb' Mo'
  • Tales of America — J.S. Ondara
  • Walk Through Fire — Yola

Best Bluegrass Album

  • Tall Fiddler — Michael Cleveland
  • Live in Prague, Czech Republic — Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
  • Toil, Tears & Trouble — The Po' Ramblin' Boys
  • Royal Traveller — Missy Raines
  • If You Can't Stand the Heat — Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen

Best Traditional Blues Album

  • Kingfish — Christone "Kingfish" Ingram
  • Tall, Dark & Handsome — Delbert McClinton & Self-Made Men
  • Sitting on Top of the Blues — Bobby Rush
  • Baby, Please Come Home — Jimmie Vaughan
  • Spectacular Class — Jontavious Willis

Best Contemporary Blues Album

  • This Land — Gary Clark Jr.
  • Venom & Faith — Larkin Poe
  • Brighter Days — Robert Randolph and the Family Band
  • Somebody Save Me — Sugaray Rayford
  • Keep On — Southern Avenue

Best Folk Album

  • My Finest Work Yet — Andrew Bird
  • Rearrange My Heart — Che Apalache
  • Patty Griffin — Patty Griffin
  • Evening Machines — Gregory Alan Isakov
  • Front Porch — Joy Williams

Best Regional Roots Music Album

  • Kalawai'Anui — Amy Hānaiali'i
  • When It's Cold - Cree Round Dance Songs — Northern Cree
  • Good Time — Ranky Tanky
  • Recorded Live at the 2019 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — Rebirth Brass Band
  • Hawaiian Lullaby — Various Artists

Best Reggae Album

  • Rapture — Koffee
  • As I Am — Julian Marley
  • The Final Battle: Sly & Robbie Vs. Roots Radics — Sly & Robbie and Roots Radics
  • Mass Manipulation — Steel Pulse
  • More Work To Be Done — Third World

Best World Music Album

  • Gece — Altin Gün
  • What Heat — Bokanté and Metropole Orkest conducted by Jules Buckley
  • African Giant — Burna Boy
  • Fanm D'Ayiti — Nathalie Joachim With Spektral Quartet
  • Celia — Angelique Kidjo

Best Children's Album

  • Ageless Songs for the Child Archetype — Jon Samson
  • Flying High!— Caspar Babypants
  • I Love Rainy Days — Daniel Tashian
  • The Love — Alphabet Rockers
  • Winterland — The Okee Dokee Brothers

Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling)

  • Beastie Boys Book — Various Artists
  • Becoming — Michelle Obama
  • I.V. Catatonia: 20 Years as a Two-Time Cancer Survivor — Eric Alexandrakis
  • Mr. Know-It-All — John Waters
  • Sekou Andrews & The String Theory — Sekou Andrews and The String Theory

Best Comedy Album

  • Quality Time — Jim Gaffigan
  • Relatable — Ellen DeGeneres
  • Right Now — Aziz Ansari
  • Son of Patricia — Trevor Noah
  • Sticks & Stones — Dave Chappelle

Best Musical Theater Album

  • Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations
  • Hadestown
  • Moulin Rouge! The Musical
  • The Music of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - In Four Contemporary Suites
  • Oklahoma!

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media

  • The Lion King: The Songs — Various Artists
  • Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood — Various Artists
  • Rocketman — Taron Egerton
  • Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse — Various Artists
  • A Star Is Born — Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media

  • Avengers: Endgame — Alan Silvestri, composer
  • Chernobyl — Hildur Guðnadóttir, composer
  • Game of Thrones: Season 8 — Ramin Djawadi, composer
  • The Lion King — Hans Zimmer, composer
  • Mary Poppins Returns — Marc Shaiman, composer

Best Song Written For Visual Media

  • "The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy" — Toy Story 4
  • "Girl in the Movies" — Dumplin'
  • "I'll Never Love Again" (Film Version) — A Star Is Born
  • "Sprit" — The Lion King
  • "Suspirium" — Suspiria

Best Instrumental Composition

  • "Begin Again" — Fred Hersch & The WDR Big Band conducted by Vince Mendoza
  • "Crucible for Crisis" — Brian Lynch Big Band
  • "Love, A Beautiful Force" — Vince Mendoza, Terell Stafford, Dick Oatts, and Temple University Studio Orchestra
  • "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Symphonic Suite" — John Williams
  • "Walkin' Funny" — Christian McBride

Best Arrangement, Instrumental Or A Cappella

  • "Blue Skies" — Kris Bowers
  • "Hedwig's Theme" — Anne-Sophie Mutter and John Williams
  • "La Novena" — Emilio Solla Tango Jazz Orchestra
  • "Love, a Beautiful Forc," — Vince Mendoza, Terell Stafford, Dick Oatts, and Temple University Studio Orchestra)
  • "Moon River" — Jacob Collier

Best Arrangement, Instruments, and Vocals

  • "All Night Long" — Jacob Collier featuring Jules Buckley, Take 6, and Metropole Orkest
  • "Jolene" — Sara Gazarek
  • "Marry Me a Little" — Cyrille Aimée
  • "Over the Rainbow" — Trisha Yearwood
  • "12 Little Spells (Thoracic Spine)," — Esperanza Spalding

Best Recording Package

  • Anónimas y Resilientes — Voces Del Bullerengue
  • Chris Cornell — Chris Cornell
  • Hold That Tiger — The Muddy Basin Ramblers
  • I,I — Bon Iver
  • Intellexual — Intellexual

Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package

  • Anima — Thom Yorke
  • Gold in Brass Age — David Gray
  • 1963: New Directions — John Coltrane
  • The Radio Recordings 1939–1945 — Wilhelm Furtwängler and Berliner Philharmoniker
  • Woodstock: Back to the Garden - The Definitive 50th Anniversary Archive — Various Artists

Best Album Notes

  • The Complete Cuban Jam Session —Various Artists
  • The Gospel According to Malaco — Various Artists
  • Pedal Steel + Four Corners — Terry Allen and The Panhandle Mystery Band
  • Pete Seeger: The Smithsonia Folkways Collection — Pete Seeger
  • Stax '68: A Memphis Story — Various Artists

Best Historical Album

  • The Girl From Chicaksaw County - The Complete Capitol Masters — Bobbie Gentry
  • The Great Comeback: Horowitz at Carnegie Hall — Vladimir Horowitz
  • Kankyo Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music 1980-1990 — Various Artists
  • Pete Seeger: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection — Pete Seeger
  • Woodstock: Back to the Garden - The Definitive 50th Anniversary Archive — Various Artists

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical

  • All These Things — Thomas Dybdahl
  • Ella Mai — Ella Mai
  • Run Home Slow — The Teskey Brothers
  • Scenery — Emily King
  • When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? — Billie Eilish

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

  • Jack Antonoff
  • Dan Auerbach
  • John Hill
  • Finneas
  • Ricky Reed

Best Remixed Recording

  • "I Rise (Tracy Young's Pride Intro Radio Remix)" — Madonna
  • "Mother's Daughter (Wuki Remix)" — Miley Cyrus
  • "The One (High Contrast Remix)" — Jorja Smith
  • "Swim (Ford Remix) — Mild Minds
  • "Work It (Soulwax Remix) — Marie Davidson

Best Immersive Audio Album

  • Chain Tripping — Yacht
  • Kverndokk: Symphonic Dances — Ken-David Masur & Stavanger Symphony Orchestra
  • Lux — Anita Brevik, Trondheimsolistene & Nidarosdomens Jentekor
  • The Orchestral Organ — Jan Kraybill
  • The Savior — A Bad Think

Best Engineered Album, Classical

  • Aequa — Anna Thorvaldsdóttir — International Contemporary Ensemble
  • Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 — Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
  • Rachmaninoff — Hermitage Piano Trio — Hermitage Piano Trio
  • Riley: Sun Rings — Kronos Quartet
  • Wolfe: Fire in my Mouth — Jaap Van Zweden, Francisco J. Núñez, Donald Nally, The Crossing, Young People's Chorus of NY City, and the New York Philharmonic

Producer of the Year, Classical

  • Blanton Alspaugh
  • James Ginsburg
  • Marina A. Ledin, Victor Ledin
  • Morten Lindberg
  • Dirk Sobotka

Best Orchestral Performance

  • Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 — Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
  • Copland: Billy the Kid; Grohg — Detroit Symphony Orchestra
  • Norman: Sustain — Los Angeles Philharmonic
  • Transatlantic — Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
  • Weinberg: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 21 — City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra & Kremerata Baltica

Best Opera Recording

  • Benjamin: Lessons in Love & Violence — Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
  • Charpentier: Les Ars Florissants; Les Plaisirs de Versailles — Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble; Boston Early Music Vestival Vocal Ensemble
  • Picker: Fantastic Mr. Fox — Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Boston Children's Chorus
  • Wagner: Lohengrin — Festpielorchester Bayreuth; Festpielchor Bayreuth

Best Choral Performance

  • Boyle: Voyages — The Crossing
  • Duruflé: Complete Choral Works — Ken Cowan; Houston Chamber Choir
  • The Hope of Loving — Conspirare
  • Sander: The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom — Evan Bravos, Vadim Gan, Kevin Keys, Glenn Miller & Daniel Shirley; PaTRAM Institute Singers
  • Smith, K.: The Arc in the Sky — The Crossing

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

  • Cerrone: The Pieces that Fall to Earth — Christopher Rountree & Wild Up
  • Freedom & Faith — PUBLIQuartet
  • Perpetulum — Third Coast Percussion
  • Rachmaninoff - Hermitage Piano Trio — Hermitage Piano Trio
  • Shaw: Orange — Attaca Quartet

Best Classical Instrumental Solo

  • The Berlin Recital — Yuja Wang
  • Higdon: Harp Concerto — Yolanda Kondonassis
  • Marsalis: Violin Concerto; Fiddel Dance Suit — Nicola Benedetti
  • The Orchestra Organ — Jan Kraybill
  • Torke: Sky, Concerto for Violin — Tessa Lark

Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

  • The Edge of Silence - Works for Voice by György Kurtág
  • Himmelsmusik
  • Schumann: Liederkreis Op. 24, Kerner-Lieder Op. 35
  • Songplay
  • A Te, O Cara

Best Classical Compendium

  • American Originals 1918
  • Leshnoff: Symphony No. 4 'Heichalos'; Guitar Concerto; Starburst
  • Meltzer: Songs and Structures
  • The Poetry of Places
  • Saariaho: True Fire; trans; Ciel D'Hiver

Best Contemporary Classical Composition

  • Bermel: Migration Series for Jazz Ensemble & Orchestra — Derek Bermel
  • Higdon: Harp Concerto — Jennifer Higdon
  • Marsalis: Violin Concerto in D Major — Wynton Marsalis
  • Norman: Sustain — Andrew Norman
  • Wolfe: Fire in my Mouth — Julia Wolfe

Best Music Video

  • "We've Got To Try" — The Chemical Brothers
  • "This Land" — Gary Clark Jr.
  • "Cellophane" — FKA twigs
  • "Old Town Road (Official Movie)" — Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus
  • "Glad He's Gone" — Tove Lo

Best Music Film

  • Homecoming — Beyoncé
  • Remember My Name — David Crosby
  • Birth of the Cool — Miles Davis
  • Shangri-La — Various Artists
  • Anima — Thom Yorke