How did current and former San Diegans fare in the 2025 Grammy nominations, which were announced Friday and saw Beyonce earn a field-leading 11 nominations, followed by Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone and Charli xcx?
Quite well, thanks to Pearl Jam, Alicia Keys, Gregory Porter, Anoushka Shankar, Judas Priest and blues dynamo Shemekia Copeland, among others.
A 3-time Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist, former SDSU student Gregory Porter earned his latest nomination on Friday. (Drew A. Kelley)
Jazz-soul powerhouse Gregory Porter, who earned a full football scholarship to SDSU before devoting himself to music, is nominated in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category for “Christmas Wish.” He has two previous Grammy wins to his credit.
Alicia Keys, who lives with her family part of the year in La Jolla, has won 16 Grammys to date. On Friday, she received a Best Musical Theater Album nomination for “Hell’s Kitchen,” which is loosely based on her coming of age in her native New York.
One of her fellow nominees in the same category is the Tony Award-winning musical The Outsiders, which was launched at La Jolla Playhouse in early 2023 before heading to Broadway earlier this year.
Sitar great Anoushka Shankar, who grew up largely in Encinitas, earned her 10th Grammy nomination on Friday (Jennifer Taylor)
Sitar great Anoushka Shankar, now based in London, grew up largely in Encinitas with her legendary musician father, Ravi Shankar, and her mother, Sukanya. Anoushka Shankar has earned nine previous Grammy nominations — including in the categories for Best Global Music, Best Contemporary World Music Album and Best World Music.
Her nomination this time around is for her album, “Chapter II: How Dark It Is Before Dawn.” It is Shankars first nomination in the Best New Age Album category. She is also nomintated in the Best Global Music Performance category for “A Rock Somewhere,” which features her collaborating with Indian vocal star Varijashree Venugopal and English multi-instrumentalist and singer Jacob Collier.
New York City-bred blues singer Shemekia Copeland, who lives in Oceanside, earned three Grammy nominations. They include nods for Best Contemporary Blues Album and Best American Roots Performance, both for Blame It On Eve. Written by John Hanh and Will Kimbrough, Blame It On Eve is also nominated in the Best American Roots Song category. Copeland will perform with her band Jan. 11 at Humphreys Backstage Live on Shelter Island.
Friday was also a good day for Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Pearl Jam. The veteran band received nominations for Best Rock Album and Best Rock Song, both for “Dark Matter.” Pearl Jams members include drummer (and Chula Vista native) Matt Cameron and two former San Diego residents, lead singer Eddie Vedder and guitarist Mike McCready.
Veteran heavy metal band Judas Priest, led by bearded singer Rob Halford (second from left), earned its latest Grammy nomination on Friday. (Artur Tarczewski)
Another Rock Hall-inducted band with a San Diego connection is heavy-metal mainstay Judas Priest, whose lead singer, Rob Halford, has for decades lived on and off in his Balboa Park-adjacent condo. Judas Priest is nominated in the Best Metal Performance category for Crown of Thorns, a song from the bands 2024 album, Invincible Shield.
The winners of the 67th annual Grammy Awards will be announced Feb. 2 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The telecast will air on CBS and Paramount+.