According to a new story from the New York Times, the Grammys agreed to increase the number of nominees in key categories only 24 hours before the public announcement of nominations for the 2022 award presentation.
The decision resulted in an increase of eight to 10 candidates in categories such as Album of the Year, allowing Kanye West’s Donda and Taylor Swift’s Evermore to be placed on the list. The extension helped Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” and Abba’s “I Still Have Faith in You” make the cut for the Record of the Year category, which was raised to 10 instead of eight.
Due to the increased number of candidates permitted, Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More” featuring SZA and Carlile’s “Right on Time” were added to the Song of Year category, while Baby Keem and Arooj Aftab were added to the Best New Artist category. According to the New York Times, musicians who were promoted to each category were only those who ranked ninth and tenth on the list, as stated by Harvey Mason Jr., the Recording Academy’s chief executive. There were only five candidates in each of the aforementioned categories before to 2018.
“For us this is all positive movement,” Mason said about the expansion of nominees. “This is us honoring more great artists, more great music, giving artists an opportunity to shine and showcase.” Mason added that the change will “make room for more music, more artists and more genres.”
The 64th annual Grammys are set to take place on January 31, 2022 at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena.