The list of contenders has been revealed for the 62nd Grammy Awards, and it’s peppered with Texan stars. This year, our Lone Star hopefuls include both veterans and newcomers — and there are a lot of them: more than a dozen total.
The awards air Jan. 26 on CBS, but speculation about the winners begins today. Here are all the hometown stars we’re rooting for.
Jimmie Vaughan
Best Traditional Blues Album for Baby, Please Come Home
The Oak Cliff-born blues guitarist is well-acquainted with the gilded gramophone. He’s racked up 4 wins and 7 nominations over the course of his long career.
Now, in his eighth time up for the award, he’ll contend with four other heavyweights over the award for Best Traditional Blues Album, which he took home in 2001 for Do You Get the Blues? (and fell just short of in 2010 for Jimmie Vaughan Plays Blues, Ballads & Favorites.)
Post Malone
Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Sunflower”
Despite his Grapevine roots, Posty has never quite never quite made an impression as a “Dallas artist.” Blame the Soundcloud era, in which artists’ geographic roots don’t factor into their public personae the way they might have back in the old days.
This year, the 24-year-old, who was just in town for his namesake Posty Fest, is up for two nominations: Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, both for his song “Sunflower.” Last year, he got on the ballot for four awards, but didn’t come away with any.
Maren Morris
Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Common”
It’s been a while since her debut single “My Church,” took off, catapulting her into stardom and promoting listeners to anoint her as a “savior of traditional country sounds,” to use our critic Kelly Dearmore’s words. That tune gave Morris her first Grammy win. Since then, she’s gone up for nine more.
“Common” is the song that’s under consideration this year for what would be the singer’s second trophy. She’s been in Nashville for a while now (bye-bye, Arlington!) but we think of her fondly nonetheless.
Liz Rose
Best Country Song for “It All Comes Out in the Wash” (performed by Miranda Lambert, co-written with Hillary Lindsey and Lori McKenna)
The venerable songwriter has produced hits for Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift and more recently, just for herself. She’s on the ticket this year for It All Comes Out in the Wash, the tune she Hillary Lindsey and Lori McKenna wrote for fellow Texan Miranda Lambert.
The Jonas Brothers
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Sucker”
The Brothers’ reunion earlier this year was, by our account, the most talked-about pop comeback story of 2019. They’re in between Dallas performances right now; their next is on Dec. 6. How they’ll top those solid-colored suits they wore last time is anyone’s guess.
Jazzmeia Horn
Best Jazz Vocal Album for Love & Liberation
Here’s something funny the 28-year-old jazz vocalist and Booker T. alum told us in August: Nobody had hired her to perform in Dallas in years. “Most of my family has never seen me in my glory,” she said to Thor Christensen. “The core of my community — all these people that knew me when — they’ve never seen me onstage,” she said. “I guess I have to be a little more famous to play in Dallas.”
Well, how’s this for famous? Her album Love & Liberation is in the running for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Most of the tunes are originals, but there’s also a version of Erykah Badu’s “Green Eyes” on the record, the Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Mercer standard “I Thought About You” and a few other interpretations.
Kirk Franklin
Best Gospel Performance/Song for “Love Theory” and Best Gospel Album for Long Live Love
No surprises here. If the Fort Worth-born gospel legend wins this time, it’ll be either the 15th or 16th award to arrive atop his pile. Last year he took home two wins.
Energia Norteño
Best Regional Mexican Musical Album for Poco A Poco
The norteño style that the band has as its bread and butter is most popular in Chihuahua and San Luis Potosí, the Mexican state from which its members hail. They cut their teeth playing weddings and quinceañeras around the metroplex. Their album Poco A Poco is now a contender for Best Mexican Music Album.
Gabriel Kunda
Best R&B Album for 1123 (by BJ The Chicago Kid)
Here’s someone who may not be on your radar, although there’s a good chance you’ve heard him before — as a voice actor, he’s done movie and TV work for TNT, Disney, Fox, FX and MLB Network, among others.
Gabriel Kunda is credited on the album 1123 by BJ The Chicago Kid which is nominated in the Best R&B Album category. Kunda worked on vocal arrangements and voiceovers for the album. He’s a former Mansfield Summit High School student with a degree in music education from Dallas Baptist University. So how did he get hooked up with an mega-famous rapper from the Midwest?
In 21st-century fashion, of course. Kunda and his friend and business partner Jariuce Banks post videos of themselves with other friends singing and harmonizing to different songs on social media. Last year, BJ came across the videos and told the duo he was interested in working with them for his upcoming album. The following week, they were at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles where they worked with BJ and his team on vocal arrangements and voiceovers. Welcome to 2019.
You can hear Kunda singing background vocals on songs like “Champagne” and “Get Away”, but you can also hear his voiceover work on “Playa’s Ball” and 1123’s Playa’s Intro.”
Others nominations
Kal Banx – production on Revenge of the Dreamers III by Dreamville and J. Cole (Best Rap Album)
John Congleton – engineer on Norman F—ing Rockwell! by Lana Del Rey (Album Of The Year)
Tayla Parx – composer, vocal producer, background vocalist on Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande (Album of the Year)
J. White Did It – production on I Am > I Was by 21 Savage (Best Rap Album)
Cardo – production on I Am > I Was by 21 Savage (Best Rap Album) and Championships by Meek Mill