2022 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 9/30/22 at 8:00pm

Today was the cutoff date for eligibility for the Grammy awards. Into the Woods just made it and perhaps it’s a recency bias, but I hope this gets nominated and wins. I’m sure they’ll nominate the music man album because Hugh is, well, Hugh. They will probably nominate a strange loop due to the fact the Broadway production won the tony. Other possibilities off the top of my head: MJ, Six, Mr. Saturday Night, Flying Over Sunset, and Caroline or Change. I’m sure I’m missing others so feel free to add them. 

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 9/30/22 at 8:25pm

ITW is definitely a frontrunner! Strange Loop comes in Second. Music Man in Third. That's my prediction.

[quizking101]

Posted: 9/30/22 at 9:22pm

I think it’s going to be

- A STRANGE LOOP

- MJ

- INTO THE WOODS

- SIX (The Live OBC)

- CAROLINE, OR CHANGE

The winner is going to be either ASL or ITW. I think it’s too close to call

 

 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/30/22 at 11:05pm

The winner is going to be MJ.

[pethian]

Posted: 9/30/22 at 11:16pm

CATSNYrevival said: "The winner is going to be MJ."

Almost certainly.

 

[Markie27]

Posted: 9/30/22 at 11:18pm

Into The Woods should and would win.  Hands down.  Lush orchestration, sublime cast.  One of the best Broadway Cast Recording of all time.  

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 9/30/22 at 11:24pm

I think it's been discussed before in other Grammy threads but I've forgotten.  Who actually votes on this category?  Is it the same group that votes on the other awards or is there a musical theater-specific group?  Judging from Bridgerton's win I'm guessing the former but I don't really know how the Grammys work.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 10/1/22 at 12:07am

Any voting member can nominate and vote in any category. However, there are limitations to the number of fields and categories within those fields you can cast a vote in. I believe they changed it recently so that you can vote in a total of three fields and within those fields 10 categories? (Don’t quote me on that.) The Musical Theater field only has one category, so if a voter votes in that category, that’s an entire field they’re committing to.

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 10/1/22 at 11:02am

Always watch out for some concept album or concert recording to swoop in here for a nomination!

I think Into the Woods, MJ, SIX, and A Strange Loop are all good for nominations with one spot up for grabs. Maybe Music Man, or Caroline, or Flying Over Sunset. Or perhaps something from the West End like Bonnie and Clyde?

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 10/1/22 at 1:27pm

I love both the Music Man and Into the Woods albums. They are sublimely made, orchestrated, mixed, performed. 

I LOVE A Strange Loop, but the sound of that show and of the album bothers me to this day. As much as I'd love for Michael R. Jackson to get a Grammy, I'd rather the award go to a well made album.

And we can't rule out the OBC Live album of Six. It's a phenomenon. 

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 10/14/22 at 4:24pm

Concord shared their eligible albums for consideration:

A Chorus Line España 
Into The Woods
Mr. Saturday Night
Together At A Distance (Sierra Boggess/Julian Ovenden)
The Visitor
Drag: The Musical

 

Updated On: 10/14/22 at 04:24 PM

[DCS]

Posted: 10/14/22 at 6:49pm

The whole Grammy nominating and voting process is a bit of a joke to everyone who has ever been involved in it.  Nominators tend to go for shows or performers they know.  None of them ever listens or is even aware of all the albums that are eligible.  When making predictions about what will be nominated, always look for the shows with the most publicity or with a familiar name attached.

My predictions are:

MJ (Michael Jackson songs guarantee a nomination here), The Music Man (they know who Hugh Jackman is!), Into The Woods (they have heard of Stephen Sondheim, even if most of them have never seen a Sondheim musical), Six (their kids have been playing this non-stop since they discovered the London recording), and A Strange Loop (a Tony Award win helps here since most Best Musicals winners get in)

The whole Grammy process needs to be overhauled so that it's a nominating committee that actually has some background in musical theatre and makes a real effort to listen to all the eligible entries.  Voting in this category should also be restricted to people qualified to judge these types of recordings.

As to the winner, I would suspect it will be MJ (they already know all these songs and love them) or The Music Man (they would LOVE to give a Grammy to Hugh Jackman)

[jo]

Posted: 10/15/22 at 2:22am

Hugh Jackman won a Grammy as principal soloist for a movie musical (The Greatest Showman). This is a separate category from Best Musical Theatre Album. To win, as principal soloist, the Grammy rules that one must have sung at least in 51% of the material. I am not sure if this is the same rule for Best Musical Theatre album.

The very first Grammy for a musical theatre album was won by the original Music Man in 1957!

The 2022 cast recording is a beautiful reproduction of the music of the revival, including dance sequences and dialog to relate to the characterizations. 

Updated On: 10/15/22 at 02:22 AM

[David10086]

Posted: 10/15/22 at 10:35am

WOW! I never realized that cast recordings were awarded Grammys. Is this a category that's never televised ?  

Is this how each cast member can earn a Tony and a Grammy on their resume - if the production they're in wins both ? 

[jo]

Posted: 10/15/22 at 11:10am

David10086 said: "WOW! I never realized that cast recordings were awarded Grammys. Is this a category that's never televised ?

Is this how each cast member can earn a Tony and a Grammy on their resume - if the production they're in wins both ?"

Revised rules as of July 2018 --

"

The Grammy Awards: Best Musical Theater Album

• The Best Musical Theater Album GRAMMY® honors excellence in the performance(s) in and production of musical theater recordings. Elements of the corresponding stage production are not considered in evaluating the recording.


• It's not just Broadway cast albums that are eligible. All recordings of scores of musical theater works created to support an underlying dramatic intention or theme can be considered. This includes recordings of Off-Broadway, Broadway, regional works, studio cast recordings, concept albums, "live," "in concert" television performances, and revivals.


• As with all GRAMMY categories, if 40 or more eligible albums are submitted, five albums are nominated.
Note: 25-39 submissions yield three nominated albums.


• Similar to other categories, there is a Screening Committee, consisting of highly qualified experts in the field, who help ensure that the submitted albums meet all eligibility requirements for the category.
Note: Screening Committees do not determine the nominated albums.


• And the GRAMMY for the Best Musical Theater Album goes to... the album producer(s), principal vocalist(s) who have contributed significant performance(s), and lyricist(s) and composer(s) of more than half of the new score."

 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/15/22 at 1:00pm

The nominees are:

Caroline, or Change
Into the Woods
MJ
Mr. Saturday Night
Six
A Strange Loop

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 11/15/22 at 1:06pm

Kind of shocked Hugh Jackmans name alone couldn’t get The Music Man album nominated. 

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 11/15/22 at 1:06pm

A solid group!

Into the Woods is definitely the clear front runner, but, however much it pains me, I've learned to never count out MJ. 

Loling at Mr. Saturday Night getting in, but not Music Man. 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/15/22 at 1:09pm

Complete list of nominees in the category (oof, none of the Six queens nominated):

Caroline, Or Change
John Cariani, Sharon D Clarke, Caissie Levy & Samantha Williams, principal vocalists; Van Dean, Nigel Lilley, Lawrence Manchester, Elliot Scheiner & Jeanine Tesori, producers; Jeanine Tesori, composer; Tony Kushner, lyricist (New Broadway Cast)

Into The Woods (2022 Broadway Cast Recording)
Sara Bareilles, Brian d'Arcy James, Patina Miller & Phillipa Soo, principal vocalists; Rob Berman & Sean Patrick Flahaven, producers (Stephen Sondheim, composer & lyricist) (2022 Broadway Cast)

MJ The Musical
Myles Frost & Tavon Olds-Sample, principal vocalists; David Holcenberg, Derik Lee & Jason Michael Webb, producers (Original Broadway Cast)

Mr. Saturday Night
Shoshana Bean, Billy Crystal, Randy Graff & David Paymer, principal vocalists; Jason Robert Brown, Sean Patrick Flahaven & Jeffrey Lesser, producers; Jason Robert Brown, composer; Amanda Green, lyricist (Original Broadway Cast)

Six: Live On Opening Night
Joe Beighton, Tom Curran, Sam Featherstone, Paul Gatehouse, Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss, producers; Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast)

A Strange Loop
Jaquel Spivey, principal vocalist; Michael Croiter, Michael R. Jackson, Charlie Rosen & Rona Siddiqui, producers; Michael R. Jackson, composer & lyricist (Original Broadway Cast)

Updated On: 11/15/22 at 01:09 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/15/22 at 1:21pm

Does the Grammy typically go to the musical that wins Best Musical at the Tonys? Anyway, I think A Strange Loop or MJ will win. 

[Marlothom]

Posted: 11/15/22 at 1:37pm

Does this mean we can officially add "Grammy nominated artist" to Ms. Shoshana Bean's credits? 

[Ke3]

Posted: 11/15/22 at 1:39pm

HeyMrMusic said: "Complete list of nominees in the category (oof, none of the Sixqueens nominated):

Six: Live On Opening Night
Joe Beighton, Tom Curran, Sam Featherstone, Paul Gatehouse, Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss, producers; Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast)"

Much like the lack of Tony nods, the show's unique structure leaves the cast unawarded. You can only submit 4 principal soloists to win the actual Grammy. Lage scale ensembles can only be awarded Winners Certificates. 

[BwayinVan]

Posted: 11/15/22 at 1:47pm

I kinda surprised the Queens didn’t get nominated as principle soloists considering the 6 of them sing the whole show…

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 11/15/22 at 2:02pm

How on earth did Mr. Saturday Night get in here? In a sixth slot, no less! Over The Music Man!

Into the Woods should definitely win, it's a perfect album. But I have a sneaking suspicion they will go MJ (well produced versions of songs they already know and love) or A Strange Loop (they will want their own opportunity to reward the Best Musical winner and most artistically daring of the bunch).

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/15/22 at 2:04pm

We’ve had exceptions in the past, like the entire cast of Dear Evan Hansen, the entire principal cast of Hamilton, Matilda… I know rules have been somewhat changed since those, but I would hope they make such an exception for Six. Perhaps they can still update the list of nominees (they’ve done that in the past).