Bieber, Drake, Kaytranada Head Canadian Grammy Nominees

By FYI Staff

The nominees for the 2021 Grammy Awards were announced this morning (Nov. 24). Heading the list was Beyonce, with nine nominations, followed by Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa and Roddy Ricch, who each earned six.

As per usual, Canada is well-represented, while, also typically, there is immediate controversy over some of the big names not included. High on that list are Bob Dylan, Luke Combs, and The Weeknd, who was snubbed with zero noms just two days after being one of the big winners at The American Music Awards.

Fellow Canadian mega-stars Justin Bieber and Drake fared much better, earning four and three nods respectively, while noted engineer Shawn Everett grabs four nominations. Bieber is named for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (Intentions - feat. Quavo), Best Pop Solo Performance (Yummy),  Best Pop Vocal Album (Changes) and Best Country Duo/Group Performance, for 10.000 Hours, by Dan + Shay feat. Justin Bieber.

Drake is nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance (Laugh Now, Cry Later - Drake ft. Lil Durk), Best Rap Song (for co-writing Laugh Now, Cry Later), and Best Music Video, for Life Is Good - Future ft. Drake.

Montreal producer/recording artist Kaytranada has turned heads by being named in three categories, the important New Artist of the Year, Best Dance/Electronic Album (for Bubba) and  Best Dance Recording, for 10%, feat. Kali Uchis.

Engineer Shawn Everett is a dominant force in the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Grammy category, nominated for Black Hole Rainbow (by Devon Gilfillian), Hyperspace (by Beck), and Brittany Howard's Jaime, for which he is nominated as both engineer and mastering engineer (Brittany Howard).

Canadian producer/songwriter Stephen Kozmeniuk produced Dua Lipa’s hit album Future Nostalgia, up for Album and Best Pop Vocal Album, while Torontonian Drew Jurecka is nominated in the Record of the Year category as engineer/mixer on Dua Lipa's Don't Start Now.

Adam Feeney is featured in the prestigious Song Of The Year category for co-writing Post Malone's Circles, a song featured on Malone's Album of the Year-nominated Hollywood’s Bleeding. Frank Dukes has a production credit on both that song and album. 

Another Canadian featured in the Song Of The Year category is JP Saxe, for co-writing (with Julia Michaels) If The World was Ending, the hit song by JP Saxe feat. Julia Michaels. Canadian Nari Atweh (Magic!) is one of the co-writers of Best R&B Song nominee Slow Down (by Skip Marley & H.E.R.).

The late Leonard Cohen is cited for Best Folk Album, for his posthumous release Thanks for the Dance, while fellow Montrealer Rufus Wainwright is up for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, for Unfollow The Rules.

Polaris Music Prize winner Lido Pimienta is up for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album for Miss Colombia, and Jagged Little Pill, the musical inspired by Alanis Morissette's smash hit album of the same name, is nominated for Best Musical Theater Album.

Torontonian Sevn Thomas produced the Giveon EP, Take Time, up for Best R&B album, while Sam Ellis, from Cambridge, ON, is a co-writer of the Ingrid Andress hit More Heart Than Mine, nominated for Best Country Song.

A nominee for Best Spoken Word Album is Alex Trebek – The Answer Is... , from Ken Jennings, honouring the late Canadian game show host. Best known as Weird Al Yankovic's longtime guitarist, Jim West is cited in the New Age Album category.

Toronto video/film director Director X (Julien Lutz) is up for Best Music Video (Life Is Good - Future featuring Drake), and the Canadian director/producer team of  Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen is cited in the Best Music Film category for That Little Ol’ Band From Texas, Z.Z. Top.

BC producer Jayda G is a contender for Best Dance Recording, for her track Both of Us. Toronto drummer/composer Larnell Lewis is a member of the jazz group Snarky Puppy, up for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, for Live at the Royal Albert Hall. 

A track by Deadmau5, Imaginary Friends (Morgan Page Remix), earns a nomination for American Morgan Page in the Best Remixed Recording category, and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin is cited in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo for Destination Rachmaninov - Arrival (Daniil Trifonov and The Philadelphia Orchestra).

Thanks to Nick Krewen for helping compile this list.

The 63rd annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast by CBS from Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 31. See a full list of Grammy Award nominations here