Olivia Rodrigo, H.E.R., Bruno Mars top FilAm nominees at 2022 Grammy Awards
US PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN with Filipino American award winning singer and song writer Olivia Rodrigo at the White House
Two Filipino Americans – Olivia Rodrigo and Vallejo-born H.E.R. – are top nominees in the 2022 Grammy Awards.
The Grammys, the highest honors in the music industry, will be handed out at ceremony in Los Angeles on January 31, 2022.
A third Fil-Am nominee is rapper Saweetie who has two nominations. She is up for Best New Artist alongside Olivia Rodrigo and Best Rap Song for Best Friend. She recently won Best New Artist at the 2021 MTV VMAs, so it’s a much-deserved nomination.
A fourth FilAm, the multi-awarded Bruno Mars, is also a nominee in four categories but with a group called “Silk Sonic” which teams him up with Anderson Paak for their song “Leave the Door Open.” Bruno Mars is the winningest FilAm singer-composer with 11 Grammy awards.
“Leave The Door Open,” the debut hit and 2021 summertime anthem from Bruno Mars and Anderson’s critically-acclaimed album An Evening with Silk Sonic, is nominated in four categories – Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best R&B Song
Rodrigo was nominated in seven categories, including each of the Big Four categories in the 64th annual Grammy Awards, namely, album, record and song of the year for “Driver’s License” plus best new artist, making her the first FilAm artist to score the feat.
With this feat, Olivia makes history as the first-ever Filipino American to be nominated for the Big Four categories at the same award show. She also is the second youngest person in history to be nominated for the big awards in the same show.
Singer and songwriter H.E.R., who is Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson in real life, on the other hand, got eight nominations, including the top category Album of the Year.
The writers of “I Can’t Breathe” by H.E.R won the song of the year in the 2021 Grammy Awards.
H.E.R. was nominated for best song written for visual media for “Fight for You” from “Judas and the Black Messiah,” which won the Oscar earlier this year.
H.E.R. and her fellow “Fight for You” songwriters Dernst Emile II (aka D’Mile) and Tiara Thomas also notched a song of the year nomination, and H.E.R. earned a nod in the traditional R&B performance category for that song.
The 18-year-old Rodrigo is fresh from taking home the trophy for New Artist of the Year in her debut at the 2021 American Music Awards on November 21, earning her the record for most wins in one year by a first-time nominee.
“Thank you so much to the AMAs and to the fans who voted for this award,” the “High School Musical” veteran said when she accepted her award.
“It means so much to me. Writing songs is my favorite thing in the whole world, and I am so grateful for everyone who has embraced my music,” Rodrigo added.
Rodrigo also made debut at the AMA awards performing her song with her guitar.
According to critics, Rodrigo has become the breakout music star of 2021 with her massiva viral hit “Drivers License” in January and followed by “Sour” and the single “Good for U” in the spring.
Rodrigo, in an ABS-CBN report, thanked her supporters after getting multiple Grammy nominations.
Rodrigo has been nominated in seven categories for the Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Solo Performance, and Best Music Video.
“[Woke] up this morning to 7 Grammy nominations. When I was younger, my family lived a few blocks from the Staples Center, where the Grammys took place every year,” Rodrigo said in an Instagram post.
“I would always walk outside the arena and look at the plaques on the ground with all the winners’ names in wide-eyed wonder,” she added.
The FilAm singer and songwriter said getting nominated for a Grammy is “the most meaningful.”
“Many dreams have come true for me this year but this one is probably the most meaningful,” said Rodrigo on learning of her nomination.
“[I] went to the Grammy museum so many of my free weekends [because] I was so fascinated by the history of the show and all of the incredible musicians that made it up,” she said.
“Many dreams have come true for me this year but this one is probably the most meaningful. Thank you to everyone who has believed in me and supported the songs I write. And thank you to @recordingacademy for the recognition. I’m beyond humbled. Truly a day I will never forget.”
Rodrigo’s album “SOUR” caught the attention of music fans with its angst-filled and heartbreak tracks. This is evident in her first three singles “drivers license,” “deja vu,” and “good 4 u” which were relatable to many fans, who dedicated them to their exes.
Her album, according to the ABS-CBN report, also reveals the tremendous power of her raw self-expression, poetic specificity, and talent at illustrating complex emotions in high-impact pop songs. (Jo Erlinda Maufit)
