10 LGBTQ Musicians Who Could Win Grammys This Year
From Lil Nas X and Elton John to Halsey and Brandy Clark, here are 10 LGBTQ musicians who could take home Grammy gold on Sunday.
With each passing year, the Grammys seem to get gayer and gayer, and that’s a wonderful thing. This shift may show that music industry insiders are interested in rewarding work from queer artists, or perhaps that mainstream channels are more open to promoting those voices, which in turn helps their chances at the biggest award ceremony in the music world.
At the 2022 ceremony, quite a few artists who identify as part of the LGBTQ community are up for prizes. Some even rank as among the most-nominated names — and they might soon become the top winners.
The list below includes 10 musicians, but there are quite a few others — such as Kaytranada, Tayla Parx, a member of Japanese Breakfast, to name just a few — who are also worthy of knowing.
Here are 10 LGBTQ musicians who might win Grammys this year.
Arlo Parks
21-year-old prodigy Arlo Parks is still relatively new to the music industry, but already she’s earned the praise of critics and seemingly everyone else in the business. Up for two Grammys at her first time at the ceremony, the singer-songwriter is nominated for both Best Alternative Music Album and the even-more-competitive Best New Artist.
In early 2021 as she was promoting her stunning debut full-length Collapsed in Sunbeams, Parks told The Independent that she identifies as bisexual.
Brandi Carlile
This year, Brandi Carlile has earned the very rare honor of being nominated against herself in the Song of the Year category. She’s up for the honor for her solo single “Right on Time” as well as the tune “A Beautiful Noise,” a duet with Alicia Keys that was first presented during the TV special Every Vote Counts: A Celebration of Democracy. Carlile, who has been married to her wife Catherine Shepherd for a decade, has already won half a dozen Grammys.
Brandy Clark
Joining Carlile in her Song of the Year nomination for the all-female anthem “A Beautiful Noise” is fellow country powerhouse Brandy Clark, who once told MetroWeekly, “I’m one-hundred percent a lesbian.” Impressively, Clark and Carlile share two nominations at the 2022 Grammys, as they are also up for Best American Roots Performance for their collaborative single “Same Devil.”
Elton John
For the third time in his career, Elton John is in the running for the Album of the Year Grammy, though not for any new work of his own. The piano player and singer is credited as a featured artist on Lil Nas X’s Montero, which could end up the winner. The two artists collaborated on the tune “One of Me,” and that’s enough to earn him another nod.
Halsey
Halsey has long been overlooked by the Grammys, even though they’ve been nominated several times in the past. At the 64th annual ceremony, Halsey’s most recent full-length If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power is one of the five titles nominated for Best Alternative Music Album. Will this be the year they finally become a Grammy-winning star?
Lady Gaga
Early in her career, Lady Gaga made it clear that she identifies as part of the LGBTQ community, and while she doesn’t talk much about her experiences with women, she has remained a staunch ally.
Already a 12-time Grammy winner, the pop superstar has five more chances to win this time around, including in two of the top four categories. All of her nods are shared with frequent duet partner Tony Bennett, and the pair will almost surely pick up at least one trophy.
Lil Nas X
Once labeled nothing more than a one-hit wonder, Lil Nas X has proven them all wrong, and now he’s looking to score some more gold (he already has two Grammys to his name). The viral sensation, who has been very vocal about being gay, is nominated for Album of the Year for Montero, his debut full-length, as well as both Record and Song of the Year for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).”
Nas is also nominated in one of the rap categories for “Industry Baby,” on which he sings the line, “I don’t fuck bitches, I’m queer, hah,” which must be a first.
Linda Perry
The track “A Beautiful Noise” credits not one, not two, but three women who identify as lesbians as songwriters, and they all share a Song of the Year nomination together. In addition to Carlile and Clark, producer and songwriter Linda Perry is also a potential winner of the honor.
The woman who was once married to actress Sara Gilbert is hoping to claim the category on her second opportunity, as she was nominated for the same trophy nearly two decades ago for Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful.”
Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus’ most recent album, the pop-rock effort Plastic Hearts, was completely passed over by Grammy voters, but she still managed to sneak in anyway. The former Hannah Montana star scored her second-ever nomination as a credited artist on Lil Nas X’s Montero, as the two worked on the track “Am I Dreaming.” The nod brings her into the top categories for the first time, as she could possibly win Album of the Year.
St. Vincent
While she prefers not to put a label on her sexuality — she once told Rolling Stone, “I believe in gender fluidity and sexual fluidity” — St. Vincent has romantically been linked to women in the past, including supermodel Cara Delevingne.
Already a Grammy winner, the woman otherwise known as Annie Clark is aiming to not only score her second Best Alternative Music Album trophy, but she also stands a good shot at earning Album of the Year. She’s credited as a writer on the single “Deja Vu” from Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour, which could very well be named the champion.
The Grammys are Sunday, April 3, starting at 8 p.m. on CBS. Visit grammy.com to see the full list of nominees and for more information on how to tune in over streaming and on the internet.
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