Courtney Barnett has been nominated for Grammy in the elite Best New Artist category – beating some big names in the business to get there (as Madonna, Rihanna and Justin Bieber were snubbed).
Barnett recieved a massive plug this year when she appeared on the The Ellen Show, the same day that (oh, no big deal) Michelle Obama was in attendance, which gave Barnett arguably one of her most high-profile audiences to date.
Other gay musicians to shine include are neo-soul group the Internet, featuring out lesbian rapper Syd the Kyd, who are nominated for best Best Urban Contemporary Album. The rapper was a longtime member of the now-defunct hip-hop collective Odd Future, which also featured out R&B artist Frank Ocean.
Out musician Brandi Carlile is nominated for her fantastic album The Firewatcher’s Daughter in Best Americana Album category.
Legendary folk singer and out lesbian Janis Ian is nominated for Best Spoken Word Album, along with television actress Jean Smart (Designing Women) for their reading of Isabel Miller’s novel Patience and Sarah, a lesbian love story.
Bisexual blues singer Bettye LaVette (she detailed affairs with men and women in her 2013 memoir A Woman Like Me), is nominated for Best Blues Album.
The artists and producers behind Fun Home, featuring music from the Broadway show, are nominated for Best Musical Theater Album. The show is based on lesbian cartoonist Alison Bechdel’s memoir of the same name.
Lesbian composer Laura Karpman’s Ask Your Mama, featuring words by the late gay poet Langston Hughes, has been nominated in three classical categories: Best Classical Compendium, Best Classical Engineered Album, and Best Classical Producer.
Also, although the band itself features no out LGBT members, Los Tigres Del Norte created a buzz this year when it released the album Realidades, featuring “Era Diferente,” a song about a lesbian teenager who falls in love with her best friend. Realidades is nominated in this category. They have been nominated for Best Regional Mexican Music Album
