On Monday, December 7, 2015, The Recording Academy announced nominations for the 58th Annual Grammy Awards in all 83 categories for recordings released during the Eligibility Year October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015. Reflecting a diverse blend of talented music makers, this year’s nominees were selected from more than 21,000 submissions entered.
As the only peer-based music award, the Grammy Awards are voted on by The Academy’s membership body of creators across all disciplines of music, including recording artists, songwriters, producers, and engineers. Final-round Grammy ballots will be mailed December 16 and the preeminent award for excellence in music will be presented Monday, February 15, 2016, live from Staples Center in Los Angeles and broadcast on the CBS Television Network from 8 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).
This year, Kendrick Lamar leads nominations with 11, followed by Taylor Swift and The Weeknd, who each earn seven. Additionally, music producer/songwriter Max Martin receives six nominations and mastering engineer Tom Coyne, rapper Drake, and engineers/mixers Serban Ghenea and John Hanes each earn five nominations.
“The diversity in the creative community is what makes music a universal language, and it’s gratifying to see the vibrancy of today’s artistic landscape reflected in this year’s nominations—a testament to The Academy’s voting members,” says Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. “Artists are pushing boundaries in exciting ways, making it an exceptionally strong year for music.”
Mix magazine congratulates all of the audio production professionals—producers, recording engineers, mix engineers and mastering engineers—who were involved in all of the nominated projects. Audio production nominations include the following (note: More or less than 5 nominations in a category is the result of ties):
Record Of The Year
Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s)
and/or Mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s), if other than the artist.
1. REALLY LOVE
D’Angelo And The Vanguard
D’Angelo, producer; Russell Elevado & Ben Kane,
engineers/mixers; Dave Collins, mastering engineer
Track from: Black Messiah
[RCA Records]
2. UPTOWN FUNK
Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars
Jeff Bhasker, Bruno Mars & Mark Ronson, producers; Josh
Blair, Serban Ghenea, Wayne Gordon, John Hanes, Inaam
Haq, Boo Mitchell, Charles Moniz & Mark Ronson,
engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer
Track from: Uptown Special
[RCA Records]
3. THINKING OUT LOUD
Ed Sheeran
Jake Gosling, producer; Jake Gosling, Mark ‘Spike’ Stent &
Geoff Swan, engineers/mixers; Stuart Hawkes, mastering
engineer
Track from: X
[Atlantic]
4. BLANK SPACE
Taylor Swift
Max Martin & Shellback, producers; Serban Ghenea, John
Hanes, Sam Holland & Michael Ilbert, engineers/mixers;
Tom Coyne, mastering engineer
Track from: 1989
[Big Machine Records]
5. CAN’T FEEL MY FACE
The Weeknd
Max Martin & Ali Payami, producers; Serban Ghenea, John
Hanes & Sam Holland, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne,
mastering engineer
[Republic]
Album Of The Year
Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s) & Mastering Engineer(s), if other than the artist.
1. SOUND & COLOR
Alabama Shakes
Alabama Shakes & Blake Mills, producers; Shawn Everett,
engineer/mixer; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer
[ATO Records]
2. TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY
Kendrick Lamar
Bilal, George Clinton, James Fauntleroy, Ronald Isley, Rapsody,
Snoop Dogg, Thundercat & Anna Wise, featured artists; Taz Arnold,
Boi-1Da, Ronald Colson, Larrance Dopson, Flying Lotus, Fredrik
“Tommy Black” Halldin, Knxwledge, Koz, Lovedragon, Terrace
Martin, Rahki, Sounwave, Tae Beast, Thundercat, Whoarei &
Pharrell Williams, producers; Derek “Mixedbyali” Ali, Thomas
Burns, James “The White Black Man” Hunt, 9th Wonder & Matt
Schaeffer, engineers/mixers; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
[TDE/Aftermath/Interscope]
3. TRAVELLER
Chris Stapleton
Dave Cobb & Chris Stapleton, producers; Vance Powell,
engineer/mixer; Pete Lyman, mastering engineer
[Mercury Nashville]
4. 1989
Taylor Swift
Jack Antonoff, Nathan Chapman, Imogen Heap, Max Martin,
Mattman & Robin, Ali Payami, Shellback, Taylor Swift, Ryan
Tedder & Noel Zancanella, producers; Jack Antonoff, Mattias
Bylund, Smith Carlson, Nathan Chapman, Serban Ghenea, John
Hanes, Imogen Heap, Sam Holland, Michael Ilbert, Brendan
Morawski, Laura Sisk & Ryan Tedder, engineers/mixers; Tom
Coyne, mastering engineer
[Big Machine Records]
5. BEAUTY BEHIND THE MADNESS
The Weeknd
Lana Del Rey, Labrinth & Ed Sheeran, featured artists;
Dannyboystyles, Ben Diehl, Labrinth, Mano, Max Martin, Stephan
Moccio, Carlo Montagnese, Ali Payami, The Pope, Jason
Quenneville, Peter Svensson, Abel Tesfaye & Kanye West,
producers; Jay Paul Bicknell, Mattias Bylund, Serban Ghenea, Noah
Goldstein, John Hanes, Sam Holland, Jean Marie Horvat, Carlo
Montagnese, Jason Quenneville & Dave Reitzas, engineers/mixers;
Tom Coyne & Dave Kutch, mastering engineers
[Republic]
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses.)
1. BEFORE THIS WORLD
Dave O’Donnell, engineer; Ted Jensen, mastering engineer
(James Taylor)
[Concord Records]
2. CURRENCY OF MAN
Maxime Le Guil, engineer; Bernie Grundman, mastering
engineer (Melody Gardot)
[Verve/Universal]
3. RECREATIONAL LOVE
Greg Kurstin & Alex Pasco, engineers; Emily Lazar,
mastering engineer (The Bird And The Bee)
[Rostrum Records]
4. SOUND & COLOR
Shawn Everett, engineer; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer
(Alabama Shakes)
[ATO Records]
5. WALLFLOWER
Steve Price, Jochem van der Saag & Jorge Vivo, engineers;
Paul Blakemore, mastering engineer (Diana Krall)
[Verve Music Group/Universal]
Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
A Producer’s Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses.)
1. JEFF BHASKER
• Ain’t Gonna Drown (Elle King) (T)
• Burning Doves (Mikky Ekko) (T)
• Burning House (Cam) (T)
• Grand Romantic (Nate Ruess) (A)
• Last Damn Night (Elle King) (T)
• Never Let You Down (Woodkid Featuring Lykke Li) (T)
• Runaway Train (Cam) (T)
• Uptown Special (Mark Ronson) (A)
2. DAVE COBB
• Delilah (Anderson East) (A)
• Little Neon Limelight (Houndmouth) (A)
• Smoke (A Thousand Horses) (S)
• Something More Than Free (Jason Isbell) (A)
• Southernality (A Thousand Horses) (A)
• 3 (Honeyhoney) (A)
• Traveller (Chris Stapleton) (A)
3. DIPLO
• B**** I’m Madonna (Madonna Featuring Nicki Minaj)
(S)
• Doctor Pepper (Diplo Featuring CL, Riff Raff & OG
MacO) (S)
• Golden (Travie McCoy Featuring Sia) (S)
• Lean On (Major Lazer Featuring MØ & DJ Snake) (S)
• Peace Is The Mission (Major Lazer) (A)
• Skrillex And Diplo Present Jack Ü (Skrillex And Diplo)
(A)
• Where Are Ü Now (Skrillex And Diplo With Justin
Bieber) (T)
4. LARRY KLEIN
• Currency Of Man (Melody Gardot) (A)
• Freedom & Surrender (Lizz Wright) (A)
• Heartland (Indra Rios-Moore) (A)
• I’m Leaving You (Florence K) (A)
• Parker’s Place (Parker Bent) (A)
• Speaking In Tongues (Luciana Souza) (A)
• Tenderness (JD Souther) (A)
5. BLAKE MILLS
• Sound & Color (Alabama Shakes) (A)
Best Surround Sound Album
Classical or non-classical. For vocal or instrumental albums in any
genre. Must be commercially released on DVD-Audio,
DVD-Video, SACD, Blu-Ray or surround download and must
provide a new surround mix of four or more channels. Award to the
surround mix engineer, surround producer (if any) and surround
mastering engineer (if any).
1. AMDAHL: ASTROGNOSIA & AESOP
Morten Lindberg, surround mix engineer; Morten
Lindberg, surround mastering engineer; Morten
Lindberg, surround producer (Ingar Heine Bergby &
Norwegian Radio Orchestra)
[2L (Lindberg Lyd)]
2. AMUSED TO DEATH
James Guthrie, surround mix engineer; James Guthrie
& Joel Plante, surround mastering engineers; James
Guthrie, surround producer (Roger Waters)
[Columbia/Legacy]
3. MAGNIFICAT
Morten Lindberg, surround mix engineer; Morten
Lindberg, surround mastering engineer; Morten
Lindberg, surround producer (Øyvind Gimse, Anita
Brevik, Nidarosdomens Jentekor &
Trondheimsolistene)
[2L (Lindberg Lyd)]
4. SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONY NO. 7
Erdo Groot, surround mix engineer; Erdo Groot,
surround mastering engineer; Philip Traugott,
surround producer (Paavo Järvi & Russian National
Orchestra)
[Pentatone]
5. SPES
Morten Lindberg, surround mix engineer; Morten
Lindberg, surround mastering engineer; Morten
Lindberg, surround producer (Tove Ramlo-Ystad &
Cantus)
[2L (Lindberg Lyd)]
Best Engineered Album, Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
1. ASK YOUR MAMA
Leslie Ann Jones, John Kilgore, Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum
& Justin Merrill, engineers; Patricia Sullivan,
mastering engineer (George Manahan & San Francisco
Ballet Orchestra)
[Avie Records]
2. DUTILLEUX: MÉTABOLES; L’ARBRE DES
SONGES; SYMPHONY NO. 2, ‘LE DOUBLE’
Dmitriy Lipay, engineer; Alexander Lipay, mastering
engineer (Ludovic Morlot, Augustin Hadelich & Seattle
Symphony)
[Seattle Symphony Media]
3. MONTEVERDI: IL RITORNO D’ULISSE IN PATRIA
Robert Friedrich, engineer; Michael Bishop, mastering
engineer (Martin Pearlman, Jennifer Rivera, Fernando
Guimarães & Boston Baroque)
[Linn Records]
4. RACHMANINOFF: ALL-NIGHT VIGIL
Beyong Joon Hwang & John Newton, engineers; Mark
Donahue, mastering engineer (Charles Bruffy, Phoenix
Chorale & Kansas City Chorale)
[Chandos]
5. SAINT-SAËNS: SYMPHONY NO. 3, ‘ORGAN’
Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers;
Keith O. Johnson, mastering engineer (Michael Stern &
Kansas City Symphony)
[Reference Recordings]
Producer Of The Year, Classical
A Producer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
1. BLANTON ALSPAUGH
• Hill: Symphony No. 4; Concertino Nos. 1 & 2;
Divertimento (Peter Bay, Anton Nel & Austin Symphony
Orchestra)
• Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil (Charles Bruffy, Phoenix
Chorale & Kansas City Chorale)
• Sacred Songs Of Life & Love (Brian A. Schmidt & South
Dakota Chorale)
• Spirit Of The American Range (Carlos Kalmar & The
Oregon Symphony)
• Tower: Violin Concerto; Stroke; Chamber Dance
(Giancarlo Guerrero, Cho-Liang Lin & Nashville
Symphony)
2. MANFRED EICHER
• Franz Schubert (András Schiff)
• Galina Ustvolskaya (Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Markus
Hinterhäuser & Reto Bieri)
• Moore: Dances & Canons (Saskia Lankhoorn)
• Rihm: Et Lux (Paul Van Nevel, Minguet Quartet &
Huelgas Ensemble)
• Visions Fugitives (Anna Gourari)
3. MARINA A. LEDIN, VICTOR LEDIN
• Dances For Piano & Orchestra (Joel Fan, Christophe
Chagnard & Northwest Sinfonietta)
• Tempo Do Brasil (Marc Regnier)
• Woman At The New Piano (Nadia Shpachenko)
4. DAN MERCERUIO
• Chapí: String Quartets 1 & 2 (Cuarteto Latinoamericano)
• From Whence We Came (Ensemble Galilei)
• Gregson: Touch (Peter Gregson)
• In The Light Of Air – ICE Performs Anna Thorvaldsdottir
(International Contemporary Ensemble)
• Schumann (Ying Quartet)
• Scrapyard Exotica (Del Sol String Quartet)
• Stravinsky: Petrushka (Richard Scerbo & Inscape
Chamber Orchestra)
• What Artemisia Heard (El Mundo)
• ZOFO Plays Terry Riley (ZOFO)
5. JUDITH SHERMAN
• Ask Your Mama (George Manahan & San Francisco
Ballet Orchestra)
• Fields: Double Cluster; Space Sciences (Jan Kučera,
Gloria Chuang & Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra)
• Liaisons – Re-Imagining Sondheim From The Piano
(Anthony de Mare)
• Montage – Great Film Composers & The Piano (Gloria
Cheng)
• Multitude, Solitude (Momenta Quartet)
• Of Color Braided All Desire – Music Of Eric Moe
(Christine Brandes, Brentano String Quartet, Dominic
Donato, Jessica Meyer, Karen Ouzounian, Manhattan
String Quartet & Talujon)
• Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated!
(Ursula Oppens)
• Sirota: Parting The Veil – Works For Violin & Piano
(David Friend, Hyeyung Julie Yoon, Laurie Carney &
Soyeon Kate Lee)
• Turina: Chamber Music For Strings & Piano (Lincoln
Trio)
Best Opera Recording
Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal
Soloists.
1. JANÁČEK: JENŮFA
Donald Runnicles, conductor; Will Hartmann, Michaela
Kaune & Jennifer Larmore; Magdalena Herbst,
producer (Orchestra Of The Deutsche Oper Berlin;
Chorus Of The Deutsche Oper Berlin)
[Arthaus]
2. MONTEVERDI: IL RITORNO D’ULISSE IN PATRIA
Martin Pearlman, conductor; Fernando Guimarães &
Jennifer Rivera; Thomas C. Moore, producer (Boston
Baroque)
[Linn Records]
3. MOZART: DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Diana Damrau, Paul
Schweinester & Rolando Villazón; Sid McLauchlan,
producer (Chamber Orchestra Of Europe)
[Deutsche Grammophon]
4. RAVEL: L’ENFANT ET LES SORTILÈGES;
SHÉHÉRAZADE
Seiji Ozawa, conductor; Isabel Leonard; Dominic Fyfe,
producer (Saito Kinen Orchestra; SKF Matsumoto
Chorus & SKF Matsumoto Children’s Chorus)
[Decca]
5. STEFFANI: NIOBE, REGINA DI TEBE
Paul O’Dette & Stephen Stubbs, conductors; Karina
Gauvin & Philippe Jaroussky; Renate Wolter-Seevers,
producer (Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra)
[Erato]
For the complete list of nominations, go to www.grammy.com/nominees.
