This Is What the 2020 Grammy Nominees Looked Like at the Start of Their Career
The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards is coming up at the end of January, and it's hard to ignore this year's stellar list of nominees. From pop stars to country music sensations, there will be an astronomical amount of musical talent present, which means we're in for a night of fantastic performances, but before the big show kicks off, take a look back at what these stars were like when their careers were first taking off. It's incredible to see how far the nominees have come and how much they've transformed through the years.
While you might just be learning her name, Lizzo has been around for quite some time. The Detroit native released her first album, Lizzobangers, in 2013 and quickly followed it up with Big Grrrl Small World in 2015. Not to mention, her recently charting hit "Good as Hell" actually debuted on the soundtrack of the 2016 film Barbershop: The Next Cut.
In 2019, Lizzo reached mainstream success with the release of her third studio album, Cuz I Love You. The popularity of her performance during the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards launched Lizzo into the public eye, and her older music, including the 2016 single "Good as Hell," began to resurface at the top of the charts. In December, she performed on Saturday Night Live with Eddie Murphy serving as host. Her eight Grammy nominations include Best New Artist and Album of the Year.
Before she was the queen we know her to be, Beyoncé started out as many great artists do, as a part of a band. Her lead role in Destiny's Child led the late '90s girl group to become one of the most popular acts of its time. In 2003, Beyoncé went solo for her album Dangerously in Love, producing such hits as "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy." She also turned to the big screen for roles in the hit films, Dreamgirls, Obsessed, and Austin Powers: Goldmember. Luckily her music career never took a hit during her time on the big screen, as she produced numerous solo efforts, churning out bops including "If I Were a Boy," "Irreplaceable," and "Single Ladies."
2019 was a massive year for Queen B. She lent her voice to the Disney remake of The Lion King, which went on to become one of the biggest movies of the decade, raking in over $1 billion at the box office. In addition to conquering the cineplex, the song goddess released a full-length album, The Lion King: The Gift, to accompany the release of the film. Her efforts earned her Grammy noms for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance.
Billie Eilish began her musical career dropping beats on the internet. Her unique style and dreamy melodies quickly gained her popularity among the young crowd, who mainly discovered her on SoundCloud. Her 2017 debut EP, Don't Smile at Me, launched the young performer onto the charts across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.
2019 was a massive year for the 18-year-old performer. Eilish's single "Bad Guy" topped the charts in the US and turned her into a household name. Her debut studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, which she co-produced alongside her brother Finneas, has earned the duo six Grammy Award nominations, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best New Artist.
Before becoming known to the world as Lana Del Rey, the New York native performed under her real name, Lizzy Grant. But after she recorded her second EP in the mid-aughts, she took on her stage name, and Lana Del Rey was born. Her self-titled debut album released in 2010 and quickly gained traction but was later pulled for legal reasons. 2011 served as a breakthrough year for the young artist as her single "Video Games" became a viral sensation, and launched her 2012 album Born to Die onto the top of the charts.
The singer/songwriter released her long-awaited fifth studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!, in August of 2019 and earned two Grammy nominations, one for Album of the Year and the other for Song of the Year. The songstress also lent her vocals to the Charlie's Angels single "Don't Call Me Angel" with Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus. The "Doin' Time" singer is already prepping her next studio album as well as a soon-t0-be-released spoken poetry record.
Shelton has been conquering the country music scene since his debut back in 2001. The lead single, "Austin," off his self-titled debut album quickly rose the country charts, and Shelton has been a mainstay ever since.
For nearly ten years, Shelton has held a coaches chair in the hit singing competition series, The Voice. However, his television tenure hasn't hurt his musical ambitions. 2019 saw the release of his compilation album, Fully Loaded: God's Country, led by the single "God's Country," which earned the star a Grammy nomination for Best Country Solo Performance.
Before cementing his name into music history and entertaining the masses, the Georgia native was busy creating internet memes and comedy videos on Facebook and Vine. All that changed, however, when he discovered a musical beat that would become his first single "Old Time Road" in 2018.
One of the most impressive music debuts from any artist comes in the form of Lil Nas X. The remix of his debut single "Old Town Road," which features the musical talents of Billy Ray Cyrus, hit instant viral fame and is the longest-charting number one song in history. In June of 2019, the artist released an EP titled 7, which also featured the single "Panini." The "Old Town" single earned the young artist six Grammy nominations, including Record of the Year and Best New Artist.
In 2006, Swift was just a country teen with her guitar, and she quickly proved that teenage heartbreak could turn into a massive debut. Her first album, Taylor Swift, led by the single "Teardrops on My Guitar," launched her into global superstardom.
The pop sensation has had a varied year of hits and misses. Her big-screen venture Cats received negative reviews from critics and absolutely tanked at the box office. But on the other hand, her seventh studio album, Lover, produced several chart-topping singles, including "Me!" and "You Need to Calm Down," earning the performer three Grammy noms.
Malone has only been on the scene for a few short years, but his impact has already been significant. His 2016 debut studio album, Stoney, stayed on the charts for 77 weeks, besting Micheal Jackson's Thriller record of 76 weeks. In 2016, the rapper also opened for Justin Bieber's Purpose World Tour while he worked on his follow-up record Beerbongs & Bentleys (2018).
Malone has been riding high since the release of his single "Sunflower" in November 2018. The song, which was produced for the soundtrack of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, stayed atop the charts for several months and earned Malone two Grammy nominations, including one for Record of the Year. The track helms from his third studio album, Hollywood's Bleeding.
Although Lady Gaga has been a performer since she was a teenager, she didn't hit it big until 2006, when she scored a deal with Interscope Records. In 2008, Gaga released her debut album, The Fame, which immediately shot to the top of the charts around the world. You probably remember her first two singles, "Just Dance" and "Poker Face," which were number one in the United States. Gaga quickly became known for her outrageous style and unique stage persona, as well as her beautiful voice.
Gaga has certainly evolved from her days of wearing meat dresses to award shows, and 2019 really gave the world a chance to see her raw musical talent. It was a big year for Gaga: she earned numerous accolades for her lead acting debut in the Bradley Cooper–directed film, A Star Is Born. Gaga starred as Ally and also helped to write much of the soundtrack for the movie, earning several Grammy nominations for her work. She is also gearing up to release her sixth studio album and continues to rock her residency at the Park MGM in Las Vegas.
Today, you know Cardi B as one of the most successful female rappers out there, but this celeb got her start on a very different sort of stage. Cardi is open about her past working as a stripper in New York City before moving on to the entertainment world. In 2015, Cardi joined the cast of the VH1 reality show, Love & Hip Hop: New York, which is how she rose to stardom. She left the show in 2016 to pursue her own career in music, and in 2016, she was nominated for two BET awards. In 2017, "Bodak Yellow" came out, quickly becoming the hit that would launch her to full-on stardom.
After the success of "Bodak Yellow," it didn't take long for Cardi's talent and loud personality to transform her into an A-list star. She has collaborated with huge musicians, won many awards at shows like the MTV Video Music Awards and the American Music Awards, and she even went on tour while pregnant with her first child with her now-husband, Offset. In 2018, Cardi broke records, becoming the most-streamed female artist of the year on Spotify and having the most-streamed album of the year on Apple Music. In 2019, she starred in the hit film Hustlers and took home the Grammy for Best Rap Album, Invasion of Privacy. This year, she carries a Best Rap Performance nomination for her feature on Offset's track, "Clout."
Brandi Carlile has been a big figure in the folk music world since the early 2000s. She released her self-titled first album in 2005, which helped propel her to fame. By the time 2006 was over, Carlile had done a few headlining tours and worked with big artists like Tori Amos and Chris Isaak. In 2007, she released her breakthrough album, The Story.
Carlile is still enjoying plenty of fame and success in the music world. In 2018, she released her sixth studio album, By the Way, I Forgive You, which became the highest-charting album of her career. Former President Barack Obama even featured one of her songs, "The Joke," on his end-of-year playlist. Carlile and her bandmates received six Grammy nominations, pulling in the most nominations of any female in 2019. But the mojo doesn't stop there. For her collaboration with Tanya Tucker on "Bring My Flowers Now," Carlile earned 2020 Grammy nominations for Best Song and Best Country Duo.
It's almost hard to believe the girl in this 2008 photo is the same Ariana Grande we know today. Although Grande always wanted to be an R&B singer, the star got her start as a Nickelodeon actress on the shows Victorious and Sam & Cat. She sang for the Nickelodeon shows, but it wasn't until 2013, when she released her first studio album, Yours Truly, that her music career really started to take off and Grande's image began to change.
This past year has been huge for Grande. She released her fifth studio album, Thank U, Next, along with several incredibly successful singles, including "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" and "7 Rings." Grande's personal life has been a major focus as well: Her ex-boyfriend, Mac Miller, tragically committed suicide, she got engaged to comedian Pete Davidson after being together for only a few weeks, broke it off, then went on to release the ultimate breakup single. It's no surprise she received a handful of Grammy noms.
Back in the day, no one would have guessed that Drake would become such a huge name in the rap industry. He got his start playing teen, Jimmy Brooks, on the series Degrassi: The Next Generation in the early 2000s, looking very different than he does today. In 2007, he left the show to pursue his rap career and released his first mixtape, titled Room for Improvement. In 2009, he signed with Lil Wayne's label, Young Money Entertainment, and released commercial hits including "Best I Ever Had" and "Successful," and the rest is pretty much history.
Drake has been involved in his fair share of scandals (he most recently was the victim of some very angry Kanye West tweets), but he is also known as one of the most successful rappers out there. He's won countless awards and broken many records, collaborating with a mind-boggling number of top musicians and producing a long list of hits. Although Drake didn't release an album in 2019, he earned two nominations for his collaborations with Chris Brown in "No Guidance" and Rick Ross in "Gold Roses."
Back in 2012, you likely knew Camila Cabello as one of the five members of the popular girl band, Fifth Harmony. Cabello appeared on The X Factor in 2012 to form the group, which quickly became successful with the release of their studio album Reflection in 2015. In 2016, Cabello left Fifth Harmony to begin her own solo career.
Cabello's decision to go solo has clearly paid off. In 2018, the singer released her first solo album, Camila, which debuted at number one in the U.S. before going platinum. She went on her own tour, performed as the opening act for Taylor Swift, and headlined her first arena. Her work paid off when she received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance in her collab with real-life partner, Shawn Mendes, on the song "Se?orita."
Shawn Mendes got an interesting start in the music world: He began covering songs on YouTube, then showed off his talents on the app, Vine, in 2013, where he gained such a big following that he got signed with a record label. He released his first single in 2014, and became the youngest artist to debut on the top 25 for Billboard's Hot 100.
This year, Mendes released his self-titled album and went on a world tour. He also had a few television appearances and performed during the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. It's clear that Mendes' career is only just beginning; his music is beloved by fans, and last year, he got his first two Grammy nominations. This year is no different, as the singer holds a Grammy nomination for his collab with Camila Cabello on the song "Se?orita."
This Is What the 2020 Grammy Nominees Looked Like at the Start of Their Career
The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards is coming up at the end of January, and it's hard to ignore this year's stellar list of nominees. From pop stars to country music sensations, there will be an astronomical amount of musical talent present, which means we're in for a night of fantastic performances, but before the big show kicks off, take a look back at what these stars were like when their careers were first taking off. It's incredible to see how far the nominees have come and how much they've transformed through the years.
What was Lana Del Rey's original name?
Solve the daily Crossword
