Usher, Atticus Ross, Jay-Z Among 2024 Emmy Nominees
The 2024 Emmy nominations are live, and as usual there are some musical artists in the mix. Some of them come from people who do a lot of work in both the music and film/TV realm: Donald Glover (who has a new album out this week) is up for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for his work on Mr. & Mrs. Smith, while Selena Gomez picked up a nod for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Only Murders In The Building. But there are others nominated for more expressly musical ventures.
Usher is among the nominees for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) for his Super Bowl halftime show, as is Jay-Z, one of the performance’s producers. (Jay won an Emmy last year for his work on Rihanna’s halftime show.) Billy Joel: The 100th — Live At Madison Square Garden is nominated in a parallel category, Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded). Lionel Richie is nominated for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special as an executive producer of The Greatest Night In Pop.
The Outstanding Music Direction race pits Fred Armisen (Late Night With Seth Meyers) against Adam Blackstone and Don Was for their work on the 2023 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony. Meanwhile Nine Inch Nails member Atticus Ross and his collaborators Leopold Ross and Nick Chuba are nominated for two awards related to their work on Shogun: Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) and Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music.
Speaking of NIN, the music-obsessed pop-prestige series The Bear earned a record 23 comedy nominations, a hilarious feat for one of the least haha-funny “comedies” on TV. Among those nods is former Odd Future hypeman and Loiter Squad cast member Lionel “L-Boy” Boyce for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. In a just world, Hacks would beat The Bear for Outstanding Comedy Series.
The Emmys will air 9/15 on ABC. The full nominees list is here.