Grammy 2022: Taylor Swift, Kanye West added to nominees in last-minute changes

The recently released Grammy 2022 nominees list saw music moguls like Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber among others getting nods in many important categories. However, a report by New York Times has revealed that Taylor, Kanye and other pertinent artists' nominations came after the Record Academy decided to expand the number of artists under major categories like record of the year, album of the year among others. 

While revealing the nominations on Tuesday, the academy noted that the expansion comes as an initiative to recognise more talent, genres, music and 'embrace the spirit of inclusion'. The report also notes that the step comes amid their effort to inject more transparency after receiving criticism from prominent artists like The Weeknd, who earlier deemed that Grammy's were "corrupt". 

Taylor Swift, Kanye's nominations came after category expansion? 

West and Swift, who were already nominated for other categories saw their name added to the 'album of the year' nominee list in last-minute changes. The rapper’s Donda album and Taylor's  Evermore have joined the list comprising of albums by Olivia Rodrigo, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, H.E.R., Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X and Jon Batiste.

The report also mentions that Lil Nas X’s Montero (Call Me by Your Name), as well as ABBA’s I Still Have Faith in You were last-minute additions to the record of the year category. Lastly, the Doja Cat’s Kiss Me More, and Right on Time by Brandi Carlile were brought in late under the songwriters’ song of the year category while Baby Keem and the composer Arooj Aftab got through the best new artist list after similar changes. 

The nominations have been made from the erstwhile 8 to 10, with reports suggesting that the last-minute additions were absent from the 'final nominations list', which was curated several days ago. Recording Academy’s president and CEO Harvey Mason Jr. spoke with Times and noted that the additions came after they witnessed Latin Grammy's go up to 12 nominations. He denied that Taylor and Kanye West's inclusions were made to increase the television ratings. 

 The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held in Los Angeles on January 31, 2022. 

(IMAGE: AP)