What’s This Playlist All About? This 221-song mix compiles just about every 2019 GRAMMY nominee into one nearly 16-hour package, from pop’s guiltiest pleasures to rock’s most bombastic ventures to hip-hop’s hardest-hitting commentaries. One major thing to note this year: the four big categories—best new artist, record of the year, song of the year, and album of the year—will all have a whopping eight nominees each versus the previous five.What You Get: Kendrick Lamar leads the pack with eight nominations, followed by Drake with seven, then artists like Brandi Carlile, Cardi B, Lady Gaga, Childish Gambino, and H.E.R. close behind. On the playlist itself, nominees from the biggest categories are logically featured first, including Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin’s sizzling party-starter “I Like It” and Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s cinematic tearjerker “Shallow.” Keep scrolling down, and you’ll find Janelle Monae at her funkiest, Kacey Musgraves at her sweetest, and Tony Bennett and Diana Krall at their suavest. In between, catch Australian producer Fisher dish out maddening beats, jazz guitarist Julian Lage unleash killer licks, and Greta Van Fleet resurrect ‘70s rock.Greatest Discovery: The smoky, soulful blues of Kansas City powerhouse Danielle Nicole, whose ‘Cry No More’ is up for Best Contemporary Blues Album.Is a GRAMMY Playlist Necessary? Eh, not really. I mean, unless you’re a real GRAMMY nerd—or just a music masochist—there’s a good chance you won’t care about many (or possibly any) of these categories. That said, it is worth clicking around the list to check for artists and songs you may have missed this past year.
