Sturgill Simpson Got An Album Of The Year Nod & No One Knows Who He Is

The Album Of The Year award is one of the biggest honors that the Grammys can bestow on an artist. Winner or not, it's an honor just to be nominated — it proves the artist is at the top of their field. So, imagine the confusion when many fans saw the Album Of The Year nominees and didn't recognize one name on the list. Though Sturgill Simpson's album A Sailor's Guide To The Earth is nominated for the coveted award, plenty of people on Twitter have zero clue who this dude is. I am by no means a music connoisseur, but full disclosure: I, too, was unable to identify the Grammy nominee. Unlike Justin Bieber, Drake, Adele, and Beyoncé, who were also nominated this year, Simpson isn't a tabloid staple or red carpet darling. As far as we know, he's never had a pet monkey confiscated or ignited a series of Becky With The Good Hair memes. For most people, his face is completely unrecognizable. That's not to say Simpson came out of nowhere: he's a country music artist who has three solo albums under his belt, with his most recent debuting at the top of the country charts and number 3 on the Billboard 200 list. His album Metamodern Sounds in Country Music was nominated in 2015 for the Best Americana Album award, which, apparently, is a category. Twitter isn't shy about not knowing who the heck this country music star even is:

Obviously, Simpson has plenty of fans. But for the average fan who prefers pop tunes to country tracks, Simpson is just another unidentifiable white guy.