The biggest night in music is coming up and Global Citizen artists are up for some huge wins.
The nominations for the 64th annual Grammy Awards, taking place on Jan. 31, 2022, were announced on Tuesday, and some of our favorite advocates and changemakers made it onto the ballots of some exciting categories.
From Jay-Z becoming the most nominated artist in Grammy Awards history with a record-breaking total of 83 nominations, to Jon Batiste dominating this year's ballots with 11 nominations, the upcoming Grammys are sure to be Global Citizen star-studded.
Record of the year and album of the year nominees include Global Citizen Live performers Doja Cat and Billie Eilish, while our favorite chart-topping K-pop group BTS are up for best pop duo/group performance. One World: Together at Homeperformers Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, Kacey Musgraves ,and more are all up for nominations across the categories.
Whether these music powerhouses take home awards this January or not, their activism, philanthropy, and advocacy with Global Citizen have made them all champions in our eyes.
So without further ado, here are the 26 (!) Global Citizen artists nominated for 2022 Grammy Awards.
BTS
South Korean K-pop group and special presidential envoys BTS topped the charts with their summer hit “Butter”, which has now earned them a nomination in the category of best pop duo/group performance. BTS joined Global Citizen from Seoul in September for Global Citizen Live, a 24-hour global broadcast uniting the world in the mission to defeat poverty and defend the planet.
Doja Cat
Doja Cat delivered an unforgettable performance in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris this September at Global Citizen Live. Now, the “Kiss Me More” singer whose new album Planet Her dominated radio waves all year is up for record of the year, album of the year, song of the year, best pop duo/group performance, best pop vocal album, best melodic rap performance, and best rap song for her feature on Saweetie’s “Best Friend.”
Billie Eilish
One of our favorite environmentalists and Gen Z icon, Billie Eilish, collected a hefty amount of nominations this year for her new album Happier Than Ever. The Global Citizen Live performer rocked the stage in NYC in September and is now up for a whole collection of nominations including record of the year, album of the year, song of the year, best pop solo performance, and best pop vocal album.
Jon Batiste
Global Citizen Live performer, Jon Batiste, racked up the highest number of nominations this year, a whopping total of 11, for his new album We Are and work related to the Disney animated film Soul. Batiste’s nominations include record of the year, album of the year, best traditional R&B performance, best R&B album, best improvised jazz solo, best jazz instrumental album, and more.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift kept her fans fed these past two years with the pop icon’s surprise albums and re-recorded releases of her hit albums Fearless and Red. The One World: Together at Home artist’s new album Evermore is up for album of the year, an award she has won three times before.
Femi Kuti
Activist and musician Femi Kuti, who joined Tiwa Savage, Davido, and his son Made Kuti for Global Citizen Live in Lagos this September, received a nomination for best global music performance for “Pà Pá Pà” and was nominated with his son Made in best global music album for Legacy+.
Lady Gaga
One World: Together at Home curator and artist Lady Gaga, alongside Tony Bennett, was nominated for record of the year, album of the year, best pop duo/group performance, best traditional pop vocal album, and best engineered album (non-classical).
Coldplay
This year, British rock band Coldplay released their new album Music of the Spheres, topped the charts with their BTS collaboration “My Universe”, announced an eco-friendly world tour, and performed at Global Citizen Live in NYC. Now, they’re nominated to win a Grammy for best pop duo/group performance for “Higher Power.”
Jay-Z
Jay-Z — who's performed alongside Beyoncé at two Global Citizen Festivals, in NYC's Central Park in 2014 and at Mandela 100 in Johannesburg in 2018 — scored three nominations this year, beating out Quincy Jones for the title of most Grammy nominated artist in history with a total of 83 nominations. Jay-Z has won 23 Grammys in the past and is now nominated for his features on Kanye West’s latest album Donda.
Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney cinched the No. 2 spot of the Grammys’ most-nominated list with his latest album McCartney III. The One World: Together at Home artist picked up two nominations this year for best rock album and best rock song, surpassing Beyoncé and Jones.
H.E.R.
The multi-talented phenom H.E.R. rocked the Global Citizen Live stage in Los Angeles this year. Now her latest album Back of My Mind has scored her nominations in the categories of album of the year, song of the year, best R&B performance, best traditional R&B performance, best R&B song, best R&B album, best contemporary christian music performance/song, and best song written for visual media.
Kacey Musgraves
Country-pop star Kacey Musgraves knows a thing or two about Grammy nominations. The Global Citizen artist has six wins and nine nominations under her belt and this year she’s up for more. Musgraves, who performed at Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 in Johannesburg in 2018 and One World: Together at Home in 2020, is nominated for best country solo performance and best country song for “Camera Roll.”
Ariana Grande
Pop music icon and Global Citizen Festival alum Ariana Grande has been nominated for Grammys 12 times in the past, scoring two wins. This year she’s up for best pop solo performance and best pop vocal album for Positions, and best remixed recording with fellow Global Citizen artist Demi Lovato for their song “Met Him Last Night.”
Justin Bieber
The “Peaches” singer has been nominated 14 times in the past and has won two Grammys. This year, Justin Bieber — who joined us for Global Goal: Unite for Our Future — is nominated for record of the year, album of the year, song of the year, best pop solo performance, best pop duo/group performance, best pop vocal album, best R&B performance, best contemporary christian music performance/song, best American roots song, best song written for visual media, and best music video.
Kendrick Lamar
Lyrical powerhouse, activist, and Global Citizen performer Kendrick Lamar, who played Global Citizen Festival in NYC in 2016, is nominated in two categories this year for “Family Ties”: best rap performance and best rap song.
Ed Sheeran
Who could ever forget Ed Sheeran’s performance at Global Citizen Live in Paris this year, and before that, at Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 in Johannesburg in 2018? The English singer-songwriter is up for song of the year along with Fred Gibson and Johnny Mcdaid for “Bad Habits.”
Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez, who joined us to host VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World in April this year, received a nomination in the category of best latin pop album for her release of Revelacíon.
Cardi B
Outspoken activist Cardi B has been nominated eight times before, securing one win in 2018 for her album Invasion of Privacy. This year the rapper, who joined Global Citizen Festival in NYC in 2018, has been nominated for best rap performance for her hit “Up.”
Foo Fighters
Rock legends and VAX LIVE performers, Foo Fighters, are nominated for best rock performance, best rock song, and best rock album for Medicine at Midnight.
Saweetie
“My Type” rapper Saweetie, who also joined us for VAX LIVE this year, is nominated for best new artist (up against Olivia Rodrigo) and best rap song for “Best Friend” featuring Doja Cat.
FINNEAS
Singer-songwriter and producer FINNEAS is most known for co-writing and producing all of his younger sister Billie Eilish’s music, whom he joined onstage for Global Citizen Live in September, as well as for One World: Together at Home in 2020. FINNEAS not only makes music with his sister, but also has his own solo project for which he released the album Optimist this year. FINNEAS is up for song of the year along with Eilish, but also best new artist.
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson, who's delivered stunning performances at both Global Citizen Prize in 2019 and One World: Together at Home in 2020, received nominations in the categories of best compilation soundtrack for visual media and best song written for visual media.
Alicia Keys
R&B icon Alicia Keys, who's supported Global Citizen Festival in NYC going back to 2013, has been nominated for 29 Grammy awards and has won 15. The activist is nominated for song of the year for “A Beautiful Noise” and best immersive audio album for Alicia.
J Balvin
Columbian singer and rapper J Balvin is up for best música urbana album for Jose. J Balvin joined Global Citizen in 2020 for One World: Together at Home, and for VAX LIVE in April 2020.
Angélique Kidjo
Angélique Kidjo, who joined Global Citizen Live in Paris as a special guest this September, received a nomination, along with fellow Global Citizen Burna Boy, for best global music performance for “Do Yourself.” Kidjo is nominated in the same category for “Blewu”, and is also up for best global music album for Mother Nature.
Black Coffee
South African DJ, songwriter, and producer Black Coffee, who joined us for Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 and for One World: Together at Home, scored a nomination in the category of best dance/electronic music album for Subconsciously.