Middle Tennessee State University alumni and former students may need their own virtual seating section at the upcoming 63rd annual Grammy Awards.
The MTSU-trained professionals will be recognized in multiple genres in the ceremony set for Sunday, Jan. 31, on CBS, including one category where the universityâs grads had a hand in every nominated project and others where theyâre competing against themselves.
The new slate of nominees, for work ranging from performance to songwriting to engineering in country, contemporary Christian, gospel, folk and roots music released between September 2019 and Aug. 31, 2020, includes:
⢠2000 Department of Recording Industry alumnus Jason A. Hall and 2014 audio production grad Jimmy Mansfield, who are looking at their third consecutive year of Grammy nominations together, this time for both their teamwork and independent efforts on four of the five best country album candidates.
⢠Their fellow alumnus, 2012 audio production graduate Jeff Braun, whose mixing work on the remaining country album project by Ingrid Andress, âLady Like,â also earned him a Grammy nomination.
⢠2000 School of Music alumnus Wayne Haun, a producer/songwriter whose work on three of the five best roots gospel album nominees has him competing with himself again, just as he did at the 2018 awards ceremony.
⢠Former student and multi-Grammy winner Lecrae Moore, known professionally as Lecrae, whoâs back in the golden circle for two new efforts: best contemporary Christian music performance, âSunday Morning,â with gospel icon Kirk Franklin and a best gospel performance/song co-writing nod for âCome Togetherâ for Rodney Jerkins Presents: The Good News.
⢠2009 music business alumna Laura Rogers and her sibling, Lydia Slagle, who perform as The Secret Sisters and are nominated for two new Grammys: best folk album for “Saturn Return,” their fourth release, and for writing a best American roots song on it, âCabin.â
⢠Former student Hillary Scott and her bandmates in Lady A, multi-Grammy winners who are nominated for best country duo/group performance for their song âOcean.â
Hall and Mansfield, whoâve worked together on multiple artistsâ award-winning projects, have been Grammy-nominated for their work on country albums released in 2018, 2019 and now 2020, including work by Eric Church, Little Big Town, the Brothers Osborne and Brandy Clark. Hall won a 2005 best rock gospel album Grammy for his work with Audio Adrenaline.
For the 2020 nominations, the two are credited for their work on Ashley McBrydeâs âNever Willâ and Miranda Lambertâs âWildcardâ country albums. Hall also is nominated as engineer for Little Big Townâs âNightfallâ and Mansfield for mixing Clarkâs âYour Life is a Recordâ country albums.
Their friendly competition in the category, Braun, has mixed releases for Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Hunter Hayes and fellow MTSU alumnus Mitchell Tenpenny. Heâs played a role in four No. 1 hits so far and has a nomination for a Country Music Association single of the year.
Haun has been nominated for seven previous Grammys and has won more than 30 Gospel Music Association/Dove Awards and three BMI Music Awards.
Heâs nominated in the 63rd annual Grammys for producing his longtime collaborators Ernie Haase & Signature Soundâs âSomething Beautifulâ album and The Erwinsâ âWhat Christmas Really Means.â Haun also provided orchestral arrangements for The Crabb Familyâs â20/20â album in this category, though he didnât produce it.
Moore won the Grammy for best gospel album at the 2013 awards for his 2012 release “Gravity,” then won again for his 2014 contemporary Christian song, âMessengers,â featuring For God & Country. He co-wrote that winning song with Grammy-winning 2003 music business graduate Torrance âStreet Symphonyâ Esmond.
A rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor, Moore has so far released nine solo studio albums, including 2014âs “Anomaly,â which was the first to top both Billboard’s Top 200 and gospel listings.
The Rogers sistersâ 2017 album, “You Don’t Own Me Anymore,” was a crowdfunded project that garnered the duo’s first Grammy nomination, also in the best folk album category. Americana superstar Brandi Carlile and her longtime collaborators and bandmates Tim and Phil Hanseroth returned to produce âSaturn Return.â
Scott, Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley won the first of their five Grammys in 2009 for âI Run to You,â then commenced a two-year dance through the country album, performance and record of the year categories that also earned 1980 recording industry alumnus L. Clarke Schleicher three engineering Grammys. The trio, called Lady Antebellum since its 2006 founding, changed its name this summer to remove slavery-related connotations in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests.
Scottâs 2016 independent album âLove Remainsâ also won her Grammy Awards for best contemporary Christian music album and best contemporary Christian music performance/song.
Alumni winners work on new nominated projects
Under Grammy rules, awards for best album and record of the year go to the winning artist, producers and/or engineers. The song of the year and best song awards go to the songwriter, and performance awards go to the artist.
More Grammy-winning MTSU alumni arenât singled out for nominations at the upcoming 63rd annual ceremonies, but their work on Grammy-nominated projects merits recognition.
For example, F. Reid Shippen, a 1994 recording industry graduate who last January brought home his fifth career Grammy since 2001 for co-producing, engineering and mixing Gloria Gaynorâs best roots gospel album, âTestimony,â also produced best country solo performance nominee Mickey Guytonâs debut album, âBridges,â this year.
Since only artists are credited on performance nominations, his work on Guytonâs groundbreaking âBlack Like Meâ from the album wonât be formally recognized.
2009 Master of Fine Arts alumnus Aaron Raitiere has two co-written cuts on McBrydeâs country album nominee: âVoodoo Dollâ and âSparrow.â Raitiere won his first Grammy at this past Januaryâs ceremonies for co-writing âIâll Never Love Againâ for âA Star is Bornâ in the best song for visual media category.
Similar positive predicaments face 2006 music business grad Sean McConnell and 2001 music business grad Luke Laird.
McConnell co-wrote âThe Daughters,â âWine, Beer, Whiskeyâ and âProblem Childâ on best country album nominee Little Big Townâs âNightfall,â and 2018 best country song winner Laird co-wrote âThe Past is the Pastâ with Clark on her nominated album.
Songwriters arenât listed in album nominations, under Grammy rules â but of course they still get the boost in royalties from Grammy-fueled purchases, streams and airplay.
The Grammy ceremony will be held at Los Angelesâ Staples Center. Plans are still being finalized regarding how much can be in-person and how much will be virtual because of the pandemic.
MTSU alumni, former or current students, and faculty from across the university have been a part of nearly 100 Grammy Award nominations in the last decade. So far 11 have won a total of 32 Grammys, including seven repeat recipients, in categories from classical to pop to country to gospel since 2001.
In April, MTSUâs Department of Recording Industry made Billboardâs annual list of Americaâs top music business schools for the seventh year, once again joining its counterparts across the country as top producers of ready-to-work music industry pros.
For more information about the Department of Recording Industry in MTSUâs College of Media and Entertainment, visit http://mtsu.edu/recording-industry. For more on the School of Music, visit http://mtsu.edu/music.
More details about the upcoming Grammy Awards ceremony are available at http://Grammy.com. Links to videos for many of the nominated projects are included at https://mtsunews.com/mtsu-grammys-preview-2021.