Drake earned four Grammy Award nominations on Friday, making him one of the top Canadian contenders alongside roots singer Allison Russell.
TORONTO — Drake received four Grammy Award nominations on Friday, ending his boycott of the awards and putting him on par with roots singer Allison Russell as one of the top Canadian contenders.
This marks a comeback for the Toronto rapper, whose relationship with the Recording Academy has been rocky in recent years, causing him to withdraw his name or not submit at all. Last year, he won a single Grammy for his featured vocals on another rapper’s song.
His 2022 album “Her Loss” was considered for nominations, including best rap album.
Montreal singer-songwriter Russell also earned four nods, including best Americana album for “The Returner.”
Victoria’s Spiritbox received a nomination for best metal performance, their first Grammy nomination.
Spiritbox, led by the husband-and-wife team of guitarist Mike Stringer and vocalist Courtney LaPlante, garnered the nomination for Jaded, the lead single from The Fear of Fear, released on Nov. 3.
Several other Canadian musicians also found themselves competing for multiple awards.
Engineer and mixer Serban Ghenea received seven nominations, including record and album of the year categories for his work with Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, and Jon Batiste.
Drake’s collaborations were also featured.
His work with 21 Savage on the song “Rich Flex” was nominated for best rap performance, while their track “Spin Bout U” was nominated for best melodic rap performance. He also received a nomination for his songwriting on “Rich Flex” in the best rap song category.
Russell’s nominations included recognition for the song “The Returner” in the best Americana performance and American roots song categories, as well as a nomination for the track “Eve Was Black” in the best American roots performance category.
Other notable Canadian nominees included Deadmau5 and Cirkut in the dance categories, Rufus Wainwright and Joni Mitchell in the best folk album race, and Alvvays in the alternative music performance category.
Badbadnotgood, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Spiritbox, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, and Ben Wendel also received nominations in various categories.
“Star Trek” actor William Shatner was among the Canadian nominees in the best audio book category.
The 66th Grammy Awards will be broadcast on Feb. 4 on Citytv and CBS.
— With a file from the Times Colonist
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2023.
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