“You lil’ bewdy!”: Aussie names respond to their Grammy nominations
Australians’ achievements in the global music industry were highlighted when the Grammy nominations were announced over the weekend ahead of the February 10 ceremony.
Keith Urban, who already has four Grammy wins, was in the studio when news broke that ‘Parallel Line’ was nominated for Best Solo Country Performance.
The song, which went gold in Australia, sampled Coldplay’s ‘Everglow’.
“BLOWN AWAY and SO GRATEFUL.!!!” Urban amped up to his social media followers.
LA-based house and techno producer and DJ Paul “Fish” Fisher was no less exuberant about ‘Losing It’.
Standing on the balcony of his apartment, he cheekily yelled out to the block opposite: “OI! You heard of the Grammys? Well, I’ve been nominated, mate.”
“You lil’ bewdy!”
The former Gold Coast pro-surfer (who played Spice Girls music before hitting the waves) turned vlogger to EDM star previewed ‘Losing It’ at Coachella.
The song was nominated for the recent ARIA Awards but lost out to Pnau’s Go Bang.
Christian duo For King And Country explained about ‘Joy’: “Our intent for this song has always been for it to become a unifying anthem in a time of struggle and division – with the hope that we will choose a powerful and unassuming three letter word.
“Seeing that message resonate shows what the power of music can be… to you all who’ve listened/shared/danced to it.”
Los Angeles-based Melbourne-born Sarah Aarons could be heading for the night’s most prestigious award for songwriters.
Aarons was acknowledged for her writing credit on ‘The Middle’, the dance-pop smash by Russian-German record producer Zedd, US production duo Grey and American country singer Maren Morris.
The track is also up for Record of the Year.
24-year old Aarons sang the vocals on the original demo.
The song was recorded by Demi Lovato, Camila Cabello, Anne-Marie, Carly Rae Jepsen, Tove Lo, Bishop Briggs, Bebe Rexha, Lauren Jauregui, Daya, Charli XCX and Elle King before Morris was chosen for the final version.
‘The Middle’ topped the charts in the US, Canada, the UK, Singapore and Belgium, peaked at #7 in Australia and Top 5 in Germany, Czech Republic, Malaysia and Hungary.
Aaron previously had a co-write on ‘Stay’ for Zedd and Alessia Cara, another global smash.
Suffering autoimmune disease, she decided to make the move to LA to do something “incredible” with her life before it was too late.
She was signed to Sony/ATV by joint head of A&R at its Australian operations Maree Hamblion.
She went on to pen songs for the likes of Demi Lovato, Camila Cabello, Khalid, Dua Lipa, Lykke Li and David Guetta.
Scottish born songwriter and producer Stu Crichton, who was based in Australia for some years before relocating to Los Angeles, was involved in three nominations.
Backstreet Boys’ ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’, which he co-produced and co-wrote, is up for Best Group Duo or Group.
Toni Braxton’s Sex and Cigarettes, on which he produced and wrote on some tracks is up for Best RnB album, while
Kygo’s ‘Stargazing’ (Kaskade Remix) is a contender for Best Remixed Recording.
Nashville-based producer, songwriter and drummer Paul Mabury contributed his songwriting skills to Lauren Daigle’s ‘You Say’ which is in the Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song after spending 20 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart.
Los Angeles based Melbourne producer-engineer Christian ‘TEK’ O’Ryan is in Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for his work on the Chromeo album Head Over Heels.
Song-and-dance man Hugh Jackman of The Greatest Showman was nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media.
Producer and songwriter Jon Hume and songwriter sisters Nervo were credited on Sofi Tukker’s breakthrough Treehouse, which is up for Best Electronic/Dance Album.
Composer, self-taught multi-instrumentalist and producer, Lisa Gerrard, is nominated in the Best New Age Album category for Hiraeth, recorded with German percussionist David Kuckhermann and issued on Besant Hall Records.
Gerrard, who emerged in the 1980s with art rock outfit Dead Can Dance, lives on a farm in Gippsland, two hours out of Melbourne, with a menagerie of rescued animals.
Much in demand by Hollywood royalty as Ridley Scott and Hans Zimmer (she’s set to tour Europe as part of a Zimmer concert tribute), Gerrard won a Golden Globe in 2001 for the Russell Crowe-starring Gladiator and has been nominated for an Oscar.
Kendrick Lamar and Drake dominated the nomination ceremony with the most nods.
Those not making the cut were Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Ariana Grande, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and Jay-Z.
Also missing out was Perth-born Troye Sivan who was expected to be in the Best New Artist and Pop categories after the success of ‘Revelation’, his song from the Joel Edgerton-directed film Boy Erased.
But it is up for a Golden Globe.
After this year’s backlash when only one female won a major category (Alessia Cara for Best New Talent), five of the eight noms for Album of the Year and six of the eight for Best New Artist were female.