The late rapper scored three nominations while the Cranberries were recognized with one.
Despite being gone too soon, a few artists were recognized posthumously on Wednesday when the Recording Academy released the nominations for the 2020 GRAMMY Awards.
Rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was killed at the age of 33 in March, is nominated for three GRAMMYs -- Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for "Racks in the Middle," plus Best Rap/Sung Performance for "Higher" with DJ Khaled and John Legend. In total, he earned four nominations in his career, including a nod for Best Rap Album in 2019.
Speaking with ET at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, Khaled recalled what he told Hussle about their collaboration. "I told Nip when we were making the record, 'We gonna get some awards. We gonna get nominated,'" Khaled said. "I'm just grateful for the nomination and grateful to work with the king, Nip."
Also recognized was The Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan, who died unexpectedly in January 2018 at the age of 46. The group disbanded following the release of their final album, In the End, in April 2019. Remarkably, despite releasing seven prior studio albums, In the End earned O’Riordan and the band their first-ever GRAMMY nomination, for Best Rock Album.
Elsewhere, the compilation album, Chris Cornell, earned a nomination for Best Recording Package for art directors Barry Ament, Jeff Ament, Jeff Fura and Joe Spix. The nomination comes two years after the rock singer's death in May 2017 at the age of 52. Earlier this year, at the 61st annual GRAMMYs, Cornell won the award for Best Rock Performance for the song "When Bad Does Good." His children accepted the honor on his behalf.
Additionally, Broadway legends Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's posthumous presence was felt during this year's nominations. The duo are listed as the composer and lyricist, respectively, for the Oklahoma! revival, which is nominated for Best Musical Theater Album. And while they aren't nominees, per se, their work on the Sound of Music classic "My Favorite Things" was heavily sampled in Ariana Grande's "7 Rings," which is up for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.
The 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards hosted by Alicia Keys will take place in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020 and broadcast live on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
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