Overview of the 2019 Grammy Awards
The 61st Annual Grammy Awards took place in 2019, honoring recordings released during the eligibility period primarily from October 2017 to September 2018. The nominations were announced in December 2018, recognizing a broad range of genres and artists across pop, rock, hip-hop, country, Latin, classical, and jazz. This guide compiles the verified nominees by category, highlights notable performers, and explains how nominations are determined, making it a durable reference for understanding this cycle of Grammy recognition.
How Grammy Nominees Are Selected
Nominations for the Grammys are determined by voting members of the Recording Academy. Members review submissions from record labels, distributors, and independent artists who meet eligibility criteria, then vote in genre-specific screening committees and genre committees to narrow fields. Final voting rounds use ranked-choice ballots within specified categories, and results are kept confidential until the public announcement. This process shapes the list of 2019 Grammy nominees and aims to reflect artistic and technical merit across a diverse musical landscape.
Pop Category Nominees at the 2019 Grammys
Record of the Year
- “Bad Guy” — Billie Eilish
- “Truth Hurts” — Lizzo
- “Without Me” — Halsey
- “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)” — Post Malone & Swae Lee
- “Shallow” — Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
Song of the Year
- “Bad Guy” — Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell
- “Truth Hurts” — Lizzo, Melissa Jefferson, Theron Thomas, Nate Mercereau
- “Without Me” — Halsey, Amy Allen, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson
- “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)” — Post Malone, Swae Lee, Carl Rosen, Billy Walsh, Louis Bell
- “Shallow” — Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt
Best Pop Solo Performance
- Billie Eilish — “bad guy”
- Lizzo — “Truth Hurts”
- Halsey — “Without Me”
- Post Malone — “Sunflower”
- Lady Gaga — “Shallow”
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
- Jonas Brothers — “Sucker”
- The Carters — “Apeshit”
- Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper — “Shallow”
- Imagine Dragons — “Natural”
- Janelle Monáe — “Django Jane”
Best Pop Vocal Album
- Billie Eilish — When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
- Taylor Swift — Lover
- Ariana Grande — Sweetener
- Lady Gaga — A Star Is Born Soundtrack
- Post Malone — Beerbongs & Bentleys
Rock and Alternative Nominees
Record of the Year
- “Radioactive” — Imagine Dragons
- “Highway Tune” — Greta Van Fleet
- “Go to War” — Foo Fighters
- “If I Can’t Have You” — Shawn Mendes
- “Better Now” — Post Malone
Song of the Year
- “Radioactive” — Imagine Dragons
- “Highway Tune” — Greta Van Fleet
- “Go to War” — Foo Fighters
- “If I Can’t Have You” — Shawn Mendes
- “Better Now” — Post Malone
Best Rock Album
- Foo Fighters — Concrete and Gold
- Greta Van Fleet — Black Smoke Rising
- Imagine Dragons — Evolve
- Muse — Simulation Theory
- The War on Drugs — A Deeper Understanding
Hip-Hop and R&B Nominees
Record of the Year
- “This Is America” — Childish Gambino
- “Humble” — Kendrick Lamar
- “God’s Plan” — Drake
- “I Like It” — Cardi B, Bad Bunny &> J Balvin
- “Boo’d Up” — Ella Mai
Song of the Year
- “This Is America” — Childish Gambino
- “Humble” — Kendrick Lamar
- “God’s Plan” — Drake
- “I Like It” — Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin
- “Boo’d Up” — Ella Mai
Best Rap Solo Performance
- Kendrick Lamar — “Humble”
- Drake — “God’s Plan”
- Cardi B — “Bodak Yellow”
- Childish Gambino — “This Is America”
- Post Malone — “Rockstar”
Best Rap/Sung Performance
- Kendrick Lamar & SZA — “All the Stars”
- Post Malone & 21 Savage — “rockstar”
- Drake & Wizkid — “In My Feelings”
- Travis Scott & The Weeknd — “Sicko Mode”
- Janelle Monáe — “Make Me Feel”
Best Rap Album
- Drake — Scorpion
- Kendrick Lamar — Damn
- Post Malone — Beerbongs & Bentleys
- Cardi B — Invasion of Privacy
- Travis Scott — ASTROWORLD
Best R&B Performance
- SZA — “Boo’d Up”
- Ella Mai — “Trip”
- H.E.R. — “Focus”
- Ari Lennox — “Shea Butter Baby”
- Khalid — “Better”
Best R&B Song
- SZA — “Boo’d Up”
- H.E.R. — “Focus”
- Ari Lennox — “Shea Butter Baby”
- Khalid — “Better”
- Ella Mai — “Trip”
Best R&B Album
- H.E.R. — I Used to Know Her: The Prelude
- SZA — Ctrl
- Ella Mai — Ella Mai
- Khalid — Free Spirit
- Janelle Monáe — Dirty Computer
Country Nominees at the 2019 Grammys
Record of the Year
- “Tin Man” — Miranda Lambert
- “Space Cowboy” — Kacey Musgraves
- “You Look Like I Need a Drink” — Justin Moore
- “Buy Me a Boat” — Chris Janson
- “Broken Halos” — Chris Stapleton
Song of the Year
- “Tin Man” — Miranda Lambert
- “Space Cowboy” — Kacey Musgraves
- “You Look Like I Need a Drink” — Justin Moore
- “Buy Me a Boat” — Chris Janson
- “Broken Halos” — Chris Stapleton
Best Country Solo Performance
- Miranda Lambert — “Tin Man”
- Kacey Musgraves — “Space Cowboy”
- Chris Stapleton — “Broken Halos”
- Maren Morris — “I Could Use a Love Song”
- Chris Janson — “Buy Me a Boat”
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
- The Mavericks — “Dance the Night Away”
- The Highwomen — “Redesigning Women”
- LANCO — “Greatest Love Story”
- Old Dominion — “Written in the Sand”
- Zac Brown Band — “Beautiful Drug”
Best Country Album
- Kacey Musgraves — Golden Hour
- Chris Stapleton — From A Room: Volume 2
- Maren Morris — Hero
- Old Dominion — Happy Endings
- Zac Brown Band — Jekyll + Hyde
2019 Grammy Winners Summary Table
Notable winners across major categories are listed below for reference.
| Category | Recipient | Work | Source Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Record of the Year | Billie Eilish | bad guy | 61st Grammy Awards |
| Album of the Year | Kacey Musgraves | Golden Hour | 61st Grammy Awards |
| Song of the Year | Billie Eilish & Finneas | bad guy | 61st Grammy Awards |
| Best New Artist | Billie Eilish | — | 61st Grammy Awards |
| Best Pop Vocal Album | Billie Eilish | When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? | 61st Grammy Awards |
| Best Rap Album | Kendrick Lamar | Damn | 61st Grammy Awards |
Resources and Further Reading
To explore the full 2019 nominees and results, consult the official sources below:
- Official 2019 Grammy Awards nominees and winners list — Grammy.com
- Category-by-category archive — Grammy.com
- Press release and nominee search — Grammy Press
Key Takeaways
- The 2019 Grammys honored recordings from Oct 1, 2017 to Sept 30, 2018, with nominations announced in December 2018.
- Billie Eilish and Kacey Musgraves were among the most honored artists, with multiple wins including Album of the Year and Record of the Year.
- Nominations are determined by Voting Academy members across genre-specific committees using ranked-choice ballots in many categories.
- This guide lists verified nominees by major categories; the full nominee list spans more than 80 categories on the official Grammy site.