Rufus Du Sol leads Australian nominees for 2023 Grammy Awards
Rufus Du Sol and For King & Country score Grammy nods, while the lead nominee is pop singer-songwriter Beyonce, who has now amassed 88 career nominations.
Sydney alternative dance trio Rufus Du Sol is once again among the nominees for the Grammy Awards, where it is in contention for two trophies at the US record industry’s annual celebration of artistic excellence.
Ahead of a ceremony to be held in Los Angeles in February, the group is up for best dance/electronic music album for Surrender, and best dance/electronic recording for On My Knees.
In both categories, the Australian group is up against a true titan of global pop music: Beyonce Knowles-Carter.
Rufus Du Sol won its first Grammy Award in the latter category in April for its song Alive. Next Thursday in Sydney, it is also in contention for seven trophies at the ARIA Awards; two days later, it will begin a major Australian tour in support of its fourth album, Surrender.
Speaking with The Australian recently about its ARIA nominations, and how he and his bandmates treat that sort of external industry validation, Rufus Du Sol keyboardist Jon George described awards as akin to the cherry atop the proverbial cake of making life-changing art.
“That’s always the sentiment for us; we’re not talking about it or thinking about it when we’re writing music in the studio, and I think that’s what’s worked for us,” he said. “(Making music) is more of a selfish endeavour in many ways. Because there’s three people’s inputs, from the feeling to the lyrics, what we’re trying to create in the studio becomes quite universal.”
“It’s really cool to hear the feedback of how it’s helped people personally in their lives. We’ve been hearing that for a while now, all of these amazing stories of pivotal points in peoples’ lives, helping them through a situation. This extra bit of it, with award ceremonies – it seems a little superficial compared to all of that I just mentioned.”
As well at the 65th Grammys, which announced its nominees on Wednesday morning, For King & Country – a pop duo composed of Sydney-born brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone – is up for best contemporary Christian music performance/song, for a track titled For God Is With Us.
The Nashville-based brothers have previously won four awards in the Christian song and album categories, most recently in 2020.
Australian artists aside, the lead nominee is Knowles-Carter, who picked up nine nominations including album of the year for Renaissance; she has now amassed 88 career nominations.
That number brings her level with her husband, the rapper Jay-Z, who now both share the title of most nominated artist in Grammy history. With 28 trophies to her name already, if Knowles-Carter wins at least four awards next year, she will become the artist with the most Grammy wins overall.
US hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar is a nominee in eight categories, including album of the year for Mr Morale and the Big Steppers. The Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper will soon visit Australia for a six-date arena tour that begins in Perth on December 1 and ends in Brisbane on December 12.
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