Bruce Springsteen going for 21st Grammy thanks to 'Only the Strong Survive' nomination

Not only do the strong survive, but they also get Grammy nominations.

The Bruce Springsteen soulful 2022 solo album, “Only the Strong Survive,” is nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Pop Category.

While the album is cover versions of '60s and '70s era soul and R&B classics (and more obscure tracks), the Traditional Pop category has historically leaned more toward Great American Songbook and middle-of-the-road fare. Tony Bennett won the category 14 times, and Michael Buble has won five times, including last year for his album “Higher.”

This year, in addition to Springsteen's “Only the Strong Survive,” there are two Stephen Sondheim-related albums up for nomination: “Sondheim Unplugged: The NYC Sessions - Volume Three,” which features performances from Broadway talent, and “To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim,” from the noted Sondheim singer of Broadway and elsewhere.

Laufey's “Bewitched”; Pentatonix's “Holidays Around the World”; and Rickie Lee Jones' “Pieces of Treasure” are also nominated in the category. Jones, perhaps best known for her 1979 hit “Chuck E.'s in Love,” has appeared on stage several times with Springsteen over the decades, including in 2016 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford during an E Street Band concert.

Springsteen's vocal performance on the album was lauded when “Strong Survive” came out. We said his singing was a “revelation” and “Springsteen’s voice here is crushed velvet powered by a heartache override.”

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The Boss focused on his singing or the album, produced by Ron Aniello, who also played most of the instruments.

“It’s great discovering parts of yourself that you may have let slide over the years a little bit, and also going deeper into your talents as you get older,” said Springsteen, 74, previously to the USA Today Network New Jersey. “I found that as you get older you accrue a certain sort of richness in your abilities, and it’s fun to explore that.”

If Springsteen wins, it will be his 21st Grammy. His last was for the song “Working on a Dream” in the Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo, category in 2010. Springsteen postponed E Street Band shows for the rest of this year due to a bout with peptic ulcer disease. The tour relaunches March 19, 2024, at the Footprint Center in Phoenix.

As for other Jersey Grammy nominees, Maplewood native SZA is leading the entire field. She scored nine when the noms were announced on Nov. 10, and most were related to her smash LP, “SOS,” which is up for Album of the Year and Best Progressive R&B Album.

The “SOS” track “Kill Bill” is nominated for Song of the Year and Record of the Year, as well as Best R&B Performance. Other SZA nominations include “Love Language” for Traditional R&B Performance; “Snooze” for Best R&B Song; “Low” for Best Melodic Rap Performance; and “Ghost in the Machine,” her collab with Phoebe Bridgers, for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Jack Antonoff of Colts Neck also scored multiple nominations. He's up for producing Taylor Swift's “Midnights” and Lana Del Rey's “Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” for Album of the Year; producer of Swift's “Anti-Hero” for Song of the Year and Record of the Year; producer and co-writer of Del Rey's “A&W” for Song of the Year; and himself for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.

“Players” by Hackensack's Coi Leray is nominated in the Best Rap Performance; actress Meryl Streep, a Summit native, has a nom in the Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling category for “Big Tree,” written and illustrated by East Brunswick-raised Brian Selznick; and Chris Rock, a long-time resident of Alpine, is in the Best Comedy Album mix for his “Selective Outrage.”

The Grammys are scheduled to take place Feb. 4 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Bruce Springsteen going for Grammy gold for 'Only the Strong Survive'