Looking at this year's roster of the 2022 Record Of The Year nominees for the 2023 GRAMMY Award show, there's two stories to be told: superstar comebacks made a killing, and the new crop of stars are proving to be equally as powerful.

The past year has given us much-anticipated returns from titans like Adele, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige, and even ABBA made a triumphant comeback after nearly 40 years. And while genre-melding mainstays Lizzo, Doja Cat and Brandi Carlile continued to crank out hits, Steve Lacy had a true breakthrough moment, and Harry Styles’ latest evolution solidified him as a pop icon.

Suffice to say, the race for Record of the Year — which is awarded to the artist and the producer(s), recording engineer(s) and/or mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s) — is going to be hotly contested at the 2023 GRAMMY Awards show. From Beyoncé's foray into dance music to Styles' unstoppable chart-topper, the winner is far from a sure thing. 

Before tuning into the 2023 GRAMMYs on Feb. 5, 2023, get fully acquainted with this year's 2022 Record Of The Year nominees below. 

The 2023 GRAMMY nominations are officially here. See the complete list of nominees across all 91 GRAMMY categories.

ABBA — "Don't Shut Me Down"  

After almost four decades away from the limelight, Swedish pop royalty ABBA made a joyous return in 2021 with the dual single, "I Still Have Faith In You" and "Don't Shut Me Down." The latter opens with the ageless sound of Agnetha Fältskog's voice over gently plucked strings, evoking the opening swell of a Broadway musical. Then the disco guitars hit, and we're right back in ABBA's world.

"Don't Shut Me Down" helped usher in an unexpected next act for the beloved group, including a new album, Voyage, and a groundbreaking live show featuring their de-aged "digital avatars." As band member Björn Ulvaeus told The Guardian, their new music was written "absolutely trend-blind" to preserve its essential ABBA-ness. Luxuriating in the rich, open-hearted sound of "Don't Shut Me Down," you'd think no time had passed at all. 

Adele — "Easy On Me"

Adele has built a highly decorated career on the gale-force strength of her emotions, and 'Easy On Me' is no exception. Released as the lead single from the British superstar's first album in six years, 30, "Easy On Me" taps into the pain of her divorce and its toll on her son.

Written as a plea for understanding from a mother to her child, the result is a rousing piano-led torch song as only Adele can make. With her emotions laid bare, "Easy On Me" set the stage for the 15-time GRAMMY winner's latest era. 

"There's something hopeful about it, as well as sad," Adele told Radio 1 of her comeback ballad. "Obviously I bawled my eyes out when I was writing it and singing it." As ever, her toil was our gain. 

Beyoncé — "BREAK MY SOUL"

Back in June, Beyoncé set the internet alight by casually updating her Instagram and Twitter bios with the message, "6. BREAK MY SOUL midnight ET." Fittingly for its late-night drop, "BREAK MY SOUL" saw the 28-time GRAMMY winner coming for house dance floors.

With a four-to-the-floor beat that references Robin S's classic "Show Me Love," Bey's banger also pulls in elements of hip-hop and bounce music to thrilling effect. Reteaming with Tricky Stewart and The-Dream — the co-producers on Bey’s Song Of The Year-winning smash "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" — the pop hitmaker skillfully paid homage to house music's Black queer roots in the context of a post-pandemic anthem. 

Generous and bursting with life, "BREAK MY SOUL" provided the perfect entrance to Beyoncé's seventh album, Renaissance, which followed the next month with heavyweight club credentials. 

Mary J Blige. — "Good Morning Gorgeous"

In the week before she took to the stage at the 2022 Super Bowl for over 100 million viewers, R&B icon Mary J. Blige seized the moment to release her 14th studio album, Good Morning Gorgeous. On the rousing title track, Blige moves past heartbreak to preach self-love above all else — a message embraced and amplified by fans on TikTok.

That silky, yet powerful voice — familiar from 2000s classics like "Family Affair" and "Be Without You" — is once again the centerpiece on "Good Morning Gorgeous," backed by warm bass and steadily strumming guitars. Blige co-produced the song with her frequent collaborator D'Mile and five-time GRAMMY winner H.E.R., the latter of whom considered the assignment a dream come true. 

Ever honest in her music, Blige told "Good Morning America" she "had to learn how to love myself out of a negative place." Self-acceptance looks great on her. 

Brandi Carlile featuring Lucius — "You and Me on the Rock"

After revisiting the past in her bestselling memoir, Broken Horses, Brandi Carlile returned to her pen and paper to conjure her seventh album, In These Silent Days. The album opens strikingly with Carlile's GRAMMY-nominated hit, "Right On Time," before easing into "You and Me on the Rock" — now, another GRAMMY-nominated single.

Deeply personal and quietly romantic, "You and Me on the Rock" reflects on the solid foundation of Carlile's home life with her wife, Catherine, and their two daughters. "Me out in my garden and you out on your walk/ Is all the distance this poor girl can take," the six-time GRAMMY winner sings to her love, evoking a scene of  blissfully domestic groundedness. 

Produced by folk and country lifers Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings, "You and Me on the Rock" also features Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of indie-pop group Lucius on backing vocals. As Carlile described it to Stereogum, "The song just felt really feminine to me."  

Doja Cat — "Woman"

On her GRAMMY-nominated third album, Planet Her, Doja Cat invited listeners into a world entirely of her own creation. After seeing success with the album’s first three singles — the GRAMMY-winning SZA collab "Kiss Me More," the Weekend-featuring hit "You Right" and the top-10 jam "Need To Know" — Doja kept the momentum alive with "Woman."

To craft the song's distinctive Afrobeats-inspired sound, Doja turned to a brains trust of producers who are practiced in dancehall, reggae, pop and R&B: Crate Classics, Linden Jay, Aynzli Jones and Yeti Beats. For all the sleekness of the production, Doja holds center stage, stepping lithely between singing and rapping on the theme of female empowerment. Top it all off with her immaculately choreographed dancing in the song’s music video, and consider Doja Cat a triple threat.

Steve Lacy — "Bad Habit"

"You can't surprise a Gemini," Steve Lacy croons with breezy nonchalance on "Bad Habit," the second single from his 2022 album, Gemini Rights. That sentiment might be true, but even someone as effortlessly cool as Lacy was surprised by the runaway success of his breakout hit.

A laidback rumination on a could-have-been love affair, "Bad Habit" caught fire on TikTok before beginning its unlikely ascent to No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100, unseating the weeks-long reign of Harry Styles' "As It Was." (Now, the two meet again in this very category.)

With its loping guitar, funk synths and Lacy's never hurried vocals, "Bad Habit" isn't your typical chart hit. Before taking off on his own, Lacy honed his pared-back melodies and Prince-inspired hooks as part of alternative R&B group the Internet, as well as in collaboration with the likes of Solange and Kendrick Lamar. Those experiences all inform "Bad Habit" — but even Lacy admits that his newfound solo success "still doesn't feel real yet."

Kendrick Lamar — "The Heart Part 5"

Having secured his place in the hip-hop pantheon, Kendrick Lamar is not one to coast on reputation. On "The Heart Part 5" — a brilliantly dense rap masterclass released ahead of his fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers — Lamar sounds as urgent as ever. The "Heart" series of standalone releases began in 2010, with each signaling the start of a new era for the Compton rapper.

"The Heart Part 5" sees the 14-time GRAMMY winner lay out his state of the union over a restless beat that samples Marvin Gaye's "I Want You," helmed by production outfit Beach Noise. Flipping that song's sultry strut, Lamar raps in long, detailed verses about the challenges and contradictions of Black life, delivering diamond-cut lines like, "Desensitized, I vandalized pain." Accompanied by a video that uses deepfake technology to morph Lamar into Black celebrities, "The Heart Part 5" is a pure artistic statement that deepens on each listen. 

Lizzo — "About Damn Time"

As Lizzo was nearing completion on her fourth album, Special, the three-time GRAMMY winner got the feeling something was missing. Eager to channel the uplifting confidence of her 2019 hit, "Good As Hell," Lizzo created "About Damn Time" — and found that positivity and then some.

Co-produced by Lizzo’s trusted producer Ricky Reed and hitmaking songwriter/producer Blake Slatkin, "About Damn Time" delivers an infectious disco-funk beat and a slew of instantly quotable (and very Lizzo-esque) lines. With a viral TikTok dance to boot, "About Damn Time" hit its stride as summer warmed up, and landed Lizzo her second No. 1 hit. 

After the "major traumas and hard experiences" of recent years, Lizzo told Audacy she "wanted to write a song that allowed us to take a moment and celebrate our survival, and celebrate how far we've come." Mission accomplished.<em></em>

Harry Styles — "As It Was"

Harry Styles staked his claim on 2022 with the announcement of his third album, Harry's House, offering up "As It Was" as an early gift. The lead single rushes along with gleaming synth-pop melodies and an achingly catchy chorus, elevating the pop-rock sounds of Styles’ previous album, 2019’s Fine Line — and subsequently launching him into an even bigger superstar stratosphere.

From the moment of its release, "As It Was" went on an unstoppable run, becoming the longest-running U.S. No. 1 by a UK act on the Billboard Hot 100, with 15 weeks in the top spot. Ironically, "As It Was" is lyrically centered on loneliness, but its racing melody disguises the song as a feel-good hit — and that might just be what makes "As It Was" so special.

It also marks a big moment for Styles and his right-hand men, co-producers/co-writers Tyler Johnson and Kid Harpoon. "As It Was" earned Styles his first nominations for Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year, and Harry’s House notched his first Album Of The Year nod.

2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List

 The 2023 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 65th GRAMMY Awards, returns to Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, and will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8-11:30 p.m. ET/5-8:30 p.m. PT.

The eligibility period for the 65th GRAMMY Awards is Friday, Oct. 1, 2021 – Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. All eligible awards entries must be released within this timeframe.

The Recording Academy and GRAMMY.com do not endorse any particular artist, submission or nominee over another. The results of the GRAMMY Awards, including winners and nominees, are solely dependent on the Recording Academy’s Voting Membership.

Brandi Carlile has been making waves in the Americana community for nearly two decades. But in 2019, Carlile's career began a different — and much bigger — trajectory thanks to a little song called "The Joke." 

The lead single from her sixth studio album, By the Way, I Forgive You, "The Joke" is dedicated to marginalized communities who constantly feel underrepresented and unloved by society. As a trailblazer in the LBGTQIA+ community, her impassioned vocal performance struck fans and critics alike.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, we revisit the day "The Joke" helped Carlile win her first golden gramophone, for Best American Roots Performance. (It was one of three GRAMMYs Carlile took home that night, as "The Joke" also won Best American Roots Song and By the Way, I Forgive You won Best Americana Album.)

"It's our first GRAMMY!" Carlile cheered alongside her longtime collaborators Phil and Tim Hanseroth. "This means so much to me [...] and Dave Cobb, who wrote this song and brought the best out in us. We can't thank you enough."

Carlile went on to praise her team at Elektra Records and her family. "So many people to thank, but I'm violently shaking right now," she added, then passed the mic to the Hanseroth twins. 

Before the trio left the stage, Carlile quipped, "Whoever we forgot, forgive us. You know we love you, and you know we're terrified!" 

Press play on the video above to watch Brandi Carlile's complete acceptance speech for Best American Roots Performance at the 2019 GRAMMYs, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

The Rise Of Brandi Carlile: How Her Emotive Songwriting & Delivery Made Her One Of Americana's Most Versatile Stars

In the past year, artists in the LGBTQIA+ community have continued to create change and make history — specifically, GRAMMY history. Last November, Liniker became the first trans artist to win a Latin GRAMMY Award when she took home Best MPB Album for Indigo Borboleta Anil; three months later, Sam Smith and Kim Petras became the first nonbinary and trans artists, respectively, to win the GRAMMY Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their sinful collab "Unholy."

Just those two feats alone prove that the LGBTQIA+ community is making more and more of an impact every year. So this Pride Month, GRAMMY.com celebrates those strides with a playlist of hits and timeless classics that are driving conversations around equality and fairness for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Below, take a listen to 50 songs by artists across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum — including "Unholy" and Liniker's "Baby 95" — on Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora.

When the second Barbie teaser landed like a hydrogen bomb made of memes, the world got the first inkling this would be a very musical movie.

That was by way of the Beach Boys' "Fun, Fun, Fun," rendered chopped and screwed and vaguely menacing. ("Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun!" the heavily altered Boys intone, over and over and over.) Now, it's clear that the sunny '60s hit was just, ahem, the tip of the iceberg.

As Rolling Stone reports, the Barbie soundtrack — known as Barbie The Album — will be a veritable toybox of the biggest pop stars today. Those are: Ava Max, Charli XCX, Dominic Fike, Dua Lipa, FIFTY FIFTY, GAYLE, HAIM, Ice Spice, Kali, Karol G, Khalid, Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, PinkPantheress, Ryan Gosling (!), Tame Impala, and the Kid Laroi.

That's not even all of them — more artists will be announced closer to Barbie The Album's release date, on July 21. (That's also the day the film drops.) Until then, read on for everything we could find about the Barbie soundtrack… so far.

Mark Ronson Is The Executive Music Producer

The seven-time GRAMMY-winning record producer and songwriter, who's worked with everyone from Lady Gaga to Paul McCartney to Adele, is at the helm. "This Ken helped make a whole soundtrack," Ronson tweeted, acknowledging his involvement.

The Soundtrack Contains 17 Songs

That's as per Apple Music, which details the lion's share of the tracklist. (Tracks six and 11 are TBD). Check it out for very Barbie song titles like Lizzo's "Pink," Ryan Gosling's "I'm Just Ken" and Dominic Fike's "Hey Blondie." And…

Barbie Girls, In A Barbie World

…yes, you read that right: Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice will team up with Aqua to perform "Barbie World" — a new version of the classic "Barbie Girl" song, which appears in the official trailer.

Dua Lipa's "Dance The Night" Is A Contender For The Centerpiece

On May 25, Dua Lipa dropped the official music video for "Dance the Night." (The three-time GRAMMY winner also plays Mermaid Barbie in the film.) 

Aside from her 2022 collaborative track with Megan Thee Stallion, "Sweetest Pie," Lipa's been quiet since the Future Nostalgia era; "Dance the Night" captures the magic of hits like "Levitating" and cements her as the post-pandemic disco queen.

Something Is Happening With Lady Gaga

The official Barbie Twitter account seemingly confirmed rumors of Lady Gaga's involvement when they tweeted eye emojis at Gaga's promise of "something exciting." Wait and see, we suppose.

No Beach Boys Tunes Are Known To Be On The Soundtrack — Yet

It remains to be seen whether "Fun, Fun, Fun" will simply be a trailer song or play some key part in the film proper. With a catalog literally filled to the brim with beach-getaway bangers, they could play a key role in Barbie's musical world. Again: wait and see.

Nicki Minaj Is Here For A Very Good Reason

As Rolling Stone points out: what is Nicki Minaj's most famous persona? You guessed it. Expect the Harajuku Barbie to loom large on the soundtrack — and perhaps, at least spiritually, in the film.

Keep checking back as more details about the Barbie soundtrack come to light!

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The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, recording legend, icon of empowerment. No matter how one refers to Tina Turner, her passing constitutes a seismic loss that marks the end of a shining cultural legacy which leaves in its wake an industry-shaping career. Throughout her eight GRAMMY wins and 25 nominations, Turner’s vast and generation-spanning musical output proved equally entertaining and inspirational.

The icon died on May 24 at her home near Zurich, Switzerland. She was 83.

"Tina Turner broke barriers for women on and off the stage throughout her incredible career," said Harvey Mason jr, CEO of The Recording Academy, of Turner who received GRAMMY’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 and is a three-time inductee to the GRAMMY Hall of Fame. "She amazed audiences worldwide with her electrifying performances, including on our GRAMMY stage in 1985 and 2008, and was an undeniable rockstar who paved the way for so many with her signature style and powerful vocals. She will be greatly missed by all the people she touched around the globe."

It’s a sentiment shared by the music industry, and world, at large. "She was truly an enormously talented performer and singer,"Mick Jaggerwrote on social media. "She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me so much when I was young and I will never forget her." On her website, Beyoncé — who performed with Turner at the 50th GRAMMY Awards — paid tribute to her "beloved Queen," writing, "I love you endlessly. I’m so grateful for your inspiration and all the ways you paved the way. You are strength and resilience. You are the epitome of power and passion."Elton John put it simply: "We have lost one of the world's most exciting and electric performers," he wrote. "She was untouchable."

Turner’s untouchable talent famously embodied two phases. First, her tumultuous collaboration with husband Ike Turner, during which they performed as a duo and yielded hits including the oft-covered "Proud Mary." The instantly-recognizable song earned the couple a GRAMMY Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Group in 1972 and was inducted in the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 2003. In her triumphant second act, Turner broke away from the partnership. She reinvented herself as a solo performer, improbably transitioning from a '60s and '70s-era rocker to arena pop star in the 1980s. 

For her efforts, the singer swept the major categories at the 1985 GRAMMY Awards, winning Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "What’s Love Got To Do With It." She also took home the golden gramophone for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Better Be Good To Me."

One of her most indelible hits, Turner utilized "What's Love Got To Do With It" as a call to action, becoming brutally honest about her abusive relationship with her ex-husband along the way. Turner later recalled toRolling Stone that when she left Ike in July 1976, "I had nothing. I didn’t even know how to get money. I had a girl working for me who had worked for Ike, because she knew about ways of getting money. I didn’t know how to do any of that stuff." She later devised what’s considered one of the greatest comebacks in music history.

First offered to Donna Summer — who sat on the track before ultimately passing — songwriter Terry Britten later revealed that she thought "What’s Love Got to Do With It" was "awful." Turner didn't like the song either, but recorded it following encouragement from her manager, Roger Davis.

"I said, 'If it doesn't work out, we won't use it. So let's give it a go,'" Britten recalled in her 2021 documentary, Tina.  It wasn’t until Turner laid down her vocal track that the song was elevated from pop confection into a showcase for the vocal powerhouse. "They weren't used to a strong voice standing on top of music," Turner said in the documentary. "But I converted it and made it my own."

Turner’s deft musical translation is evident throughout her eclectic discography, from the blues-inflicted rock she performed as Ike & Tina Turner, to pop anthems like 1989’s "The Best" (which became a trademark and, naturally, the title of a popular greatest hits album).  In 1962, she was nominated for her first GRAMMY Award for Best Rock and Roll Recording for "It’s Gonna Work Out Fine,"  her and Ike’s hit from the previous year which was offered to them after songwriter Rose Marie McCoy saw their energetic stage show at the Apollo. 

It was an auspicious early hit for Turner, who would become a staple of the category for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female. Decades later, she earned back-to-back wins in the category for "One of the Living" and "Back Where We Started" in 1986 and 1987, a nomination for "Better Be Good To Me" in ‘88, and took home the golden gramophone in ‘89 for Tina Live in Europe, among many others. 

"My songs are a little bit of everybody’s lives who are watching me," said Turner to Rolling Stonein the midst of her hot streak in 1986. "You gotta sing what they can relate to. And there are some raunchy people out there. The world is not perfect. And all of that is in my performance; I play with it."

Born Anna Mae Bullock, Turner’s journey to musical dynamo began on the farmlands of Tennessee where she discovered early on her passion for artistic expression. "As a girl, every chance I got, I’d go to our local movie theater and memorize scenes so I could reenact them," she recalled in 2021 the Harvard Business Review. "Although I did have a bit of singing training in high school and even learned some opera, my voice and dance abilities have mostly come naturally to me." 

That vocal prowess and inimitable energy as a performer was on full display throughout her life behind the microphone, one of the most memorable examples being "River Deep-Mountain High." Inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 1999, her duet with Ike was produced by Phil Spector who Turner said had him cut her vocals ad nauseam to spectacular results. "I must have sung that 500,000 times," she told Rolling Stone after the publication ranked the track No. 33 of their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "I was drenched with sweat. I had to take my shirt off and stand there in my bra to sing." 

Upon her death, the New York Times called her "a magnetic singer with explosive power." That power was visible on and off the stage, both in her artistry and ability to soldier on in the face of the numerous obstacles.  In a 2005 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Turner explained, "There's an expression, 'You'll never get out of this world alive.' It's true. We won't. Go forward. Do your best with your makeup, hair, and clothes." 

In that same interview, Turner also mused about her legacy, touching on the inspiration she doled out by being her authentic self. "My wish is to give the kind of truth to people that will help them change their minds. When that happens, I'll be the best that I can be."

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