The GRAMMY Award nominations for 2022 were released on Nov. 23, and music lovers are both pleased and surprised. Leading with the most awards of the year is Jon Batiste, with 11 nominations, followed by Doja Cat, H.E.R, and Justin Bieber with eight. 

   Newcomer Olivia Rodrigo also scored nominations in each of the “big four” categories, Best New Artist, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Album of the Year for her debut album, “SOUR.” These big four categories have been through a bit of a renovation in the last few years. Through 2017, these categories held five nominees, and in 2018 the Recording Academy expanded it to eight. Now, there has been an addition of two more nominations per category, making it ten. The New York Times revealed the artists that benefited from this expansion including Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Lil Nas X, Doja Cat, ABBA, Brandi Carlile, and the two Best New Artist adds, Baby Keem and Arooj Aftab. These additions were essentially the people who received the ninth and tenth most votes. 

   In other GRAMMY news, Drake has withdrawn his two nominations upon receiving them. Drake was one of five nominees for Best Rap Album, for “Certified Lover Boy,” and for Best Rap Performance, for his song “Way 2 Sexy” (featuring Future and Young Thug). His motivations are unclear, however it is speculated to be because he is named in lawsuits surrounding the tragedy at the Astroworld festival in Houston last month, where Drake was a guest performer. 

   This year, the ceremony is set for Jan. 31, 2022 and is back indoors at its usual home, the Crypto.com Arena (previously known as the Staples Centre). The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah will return to host the awards show as he was praised for his contributions from last year’s awards.    

   Make sure to tune in that Monday night to watch your favorite artists perform and hopefully take home a GRAMMY.