Before 2014 ended, the Recording Academy announced the nominees for the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards. As previously reported, Sam Smith and Beyoncé led the nominations for R&B/soul artists with a total of six.
As we countdown to the biggest night in music, which takes place on February 8, Rated R&B has decided to highlight interesting GRAMMY facts about artists, songwriters and producers in R&B.
We begin our GRAMMY fact rundown with alternative R&B artist and Artium/Def Jam signee Jhené Aiko. The beautiful singer scored three nominations in December including Best Urban Contemporary Album for Sail Out, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “Blak Majik” with Common and Best R&B Song for “The Worst.”
The award for Best R&B Song, formerly known as Best Rhythm and Blues Song and also known as a songwriter’s award, has been awarded since 1969. The award’s first winners were Otis Redding & Steve Cropper for “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay,” performed by Redding.
As we direct our focus to the present year and pending GRAMMY nominees, Aiko has notched an incredible achievement ahead of the ceremony. The Souled Out songbird becomes the third female songwriter to be nominated as the sole songwriter and performer of the nominated record in 13 years.
The two previous singer-songwriters to make this accomplishment were Erykah Badu for “Didn’t Cha Know?” and Alicia Keys for “Fallin” in 2002. The latter songstress won the award.
Collectively, since 1969, Aiko is the fourth woman to be nominated as the only songwriter and performer in the Best R&B Song category. Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys and Erykah Badu are among the remaining.
To find out if Jhené Aiko wins Best R&B Song, watch the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards on Sunday, February 8, 2015 at 8 p.m. on CBS from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
