Alissia got some very good news on Friday, when she became only the ninth woman (or team of women) to receive a Grammy nomination for producer of the year, non-classical.
Alissia’s only previous Grammy nod was for production and songwriting work on the deluxe edition of Mary J. Blige’s Good Morning Gorgeous, which was nominated for album of the year two years ago. (Her full name, Alissia Benveniste, appeared on her songwriting credit for “Love Without the Heartbreak,” which she co-wrote with Blige, Anderson .Paak and Rogėt Chahayed.)
Her credits during the current eligibility year included tracks by Rae Khalil, BJ the Chicago Kid, Jamila Wood and Lion Babe.
The Recording Academy introduced the producer of the year, non-classical category at the 1975 Grammy ceremony. Thom Bell, one of the architects of the Philly Soul sound, was the inaugural winner. In all this time, no woman has ever won in the category, either on her own or as part of a collaboration.
It’s a very different story in the producer of the year, classical category. Three women have won multiple times in that category, which was introduced five years after producer of the year, non-classical. Judith Sherman has won seven times, which puts her in a tie with David Frost, Steven Epstein and Robert Woods for the most wins by anyone in the category’s history. Joanna Nickrenz has won twice (once alongside Marc Aubort). Elaine Martone has also won twice.
Alissia is competing this year with D’Mile (Dernst Emile II), who is nominated in the category for the third year in a row; Daniel Nigro, nominated in the category for the second year in a row; and fellow first-time nominees Ian Fitchuk and Mustard (Dijon Isaiah McFarlane).
Who will win when the 67th annual Grammy Awards are presented on Feb. 2 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles? Hard to say, but it won’t be Jack Antonoff, who won the last three years in a row, but wasn’t nominated this year.
Here are all the women who have been nominated for producer of the year, non-classical. The years shown are the years of the Grammy ceremonies.
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Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman (1985)
Notes: Wendy & Lisa were nominated as part of Prince and the Revolution alongside Prince, Matt Fink, Brownmark and Bobby Z. This was one of three nominations the ensemble received that year.
Sample Credits: Prince and the Revolution’s Purple Rain – Music from the Motion Picture and the following tracks or singles from the album – “Computer Blue,” “I Would Die 4 U,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Purple Rain” and “Take Me With U.”
Who Won That Year?: There was a tie! David Foster for the first time, and the team of Lionel Richie & James Anthony Carmichael for the first and only time.
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Janet Jackson (1990)
Notes: Jackson was nominated alongside Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who had won in the category three years earlier on their own. This was one of four nominations she received that year. Her brother, Michael Jackson, had won alongside Quincy Jones in 1984.
Sample Credits: Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 and its singles “Miss You Much,” “Rhythm Nation,” “Escapade,” “Alright,” “Come Back to Me” and “Love Will Never Do (Without You),” all of which made the top five on the Hot 100. (Jackson co-produced “Black Cat,” also a top five hit, with Jellybean Johnson.)
Who Won That Year?: Peter Asher for the second time.
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Mariah Carey (1992)
Notes: Carey was nominated alongside Walter Afanasieff, who would go on to win in the category eight years later on his own. This was one of two nominations she received that year.
Sample Credits: Her sophomore album Emotions, which included six tracks she and Afanasieff co-produced, including the No. 2 Hot 100 smash “Can’t Let Go.”
Who Won That Year?: David Foster for the second time.
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Paula Cole (1998)
Notes: Cole was the first woman nominated on her own, without a male collaborator(s). This was one of seven nominations she received that year.
Sample Credits: Her sophomore album This Fire, which included the singles “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?,” “I Don’t Want to Wait” and “Me.”
Who Won That Year?: Babyface for a record-setting fourth time.
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Sheryl Crow (1999)
Notes: This was one of six nominations she received that year.
Sample Credits: Her third album The Globe Sessions, which included the singles “My Favorite Mistake,” “There Goes the Neighborhood” and “Anything but Down.”
Who Won That Year?: Rob Cavallo for the first time.
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Lauryn Hill (1999)
Notes: This was the only time that two women were separately nominated for producer of the year, non-classical in the same year. This was one of 10 nominations Hill received that year.
Sample Credits: Her debut solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which included the singles “Doo Wop (That Thing),” “Ex-Factor” and “Everything Is Everything.” Also: Aretha Franklin’s “A Rose Is Still a Rose”
Who Won That Year?: Rob Cavallo.
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Lauren Christy (2004)
Notes: Christy was nominated as part of production team The Matrix, alongside Graham Edwards and Scott Spock. This was one of two nominations she received that year.
Sample Credits: Liz Phair’s “Extraordinary” and “Why Can’t I?,” Hilary Duff’s “So Yesterday” and “Where Did I Go Right?,” Lillix’s “It’s About Time” and The Troys’ “What Do You Do.”
Who Won That Year?: The Neptunes for the first time. (The duo’s Pharrell Williams has since won two more times on his own.)
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Linda Perry (2019)
Notes: This was Perry’s only nomination that year.
Sample Credits: Willa Amai’s “Harder Better Faster Stronger,” Dorothy’s 28 Days in the Valley, Various Artists’ Served Like a Girl (Music From and Inspired by the Documentary Film).
Who Won That Year?: Pharrell Williams for the third time.
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Alissia (2025)
Notes: This is Alissia’s only nomination this year.
Sample Credits: Rae Khalil’s “Don’t Matter,” “Irreplaceable (Interlude)” and “Is It Worth It”; BJ the Chicago Kid’s “Honey” (featuring Chlöe) and “Spend the Night” (collab with Coco Jones), Jamila Wood’s “Bugs” and Lion Babe’s “Love Takeover.”
Who Won That Year?: TBD on Feb. 2.
Women Who Have Been Nominated for the Producer of the Year Grammy – Sign Ya Self