Today brought tears and a wonderful morning start for Joey Martin Feek and her husband, Rory Feek, of the country music duo Joey + Rory, as they discovered they received their first Grammy Award nomination for best country duo/group performance. Joey, 40, who recently entered hospice with terminal cervical cancer, is enjoying a "very special Christmas" celebration with family in her hometown of Alexandria, Ind.
Other country nominees for the same category as Joey+Rory were the Brothers Osborne; Charles Kelley, Dierks Bentley & Eric Paslay; Little Big Town; and Blake Shelton featuring Ashley Monroe. Rhythm and blues star Alicia Keys made an exclusive appearance on "CBS This Morning" on Monday to kick off the nominations for the 2016 Grammy Awards.
In an upbeat Facebook post on Monday, Rory posted: "[I] woke my bride up this morning with a baby in my arms and the news that our version of "If I Needed You" was nominated for a Grammy. As her excitement and tears flowed into mine, she said, 'How can that be?'"
Rory, 50, stated their first Grammy nomination surprised the musical pair, because their song "received no radio airplay...no press... no critical acclaim."
He also shared a clip of the tune's music video, which documents the birth of daughter Indiana, 21 months, who has Down syndrome.
"God is so good," Rory reflected on the Grammy development. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
The Grammy ceremony will be held on Feb. 15, 2016 in Los Angeles. Here are the nominees for some of the Grammy Awards' biggest categories.
Best New Artist:
Courtney Barnett
James Bay
Sam Hunt
Tori Kelly
Meghan Trainor
Record of the Year:
"Really Love," D'Angelo and The Vanguard
"Uptown Funk," Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
"Thinking Out Loud," Ed Sheeran
"Blank Space," Taylor Swift
"Can't Feel My Face," The Weeknd
Song of the Year (songwriter's award):
"Alright," Kendrick Duckworth, Mark Anthony Spears and Pharrell Williams
"Blank Space," Max Martin, Shellback and Taylor Swift
"Girl Crush," Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose
"See You Again," Andrew Cedar, Justin Franks, Charles Puth and Cameron Thomaz
"Thinking Out Loud," Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge
Album of the Year:
"Sound & Color," Alabama Shakes
"To Pimp a Butterfly," Kendrick Lamar
"Traveller," Chris Stapleton
"1989," Taylor Swift
"Beauty Behind the Madness," The Weeknd
Best Pop Solo Performance:
"Heartbeat Song," Kelly Clarkson
"Love Me Like You Do," Ellie Goulding
"Thinking Out Loud," Ed Sheeran
"Blank Space," Taylor Swift
"Can't Feel My Face," The Weeknd
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
"Ship to Wreck," Florence + The Machine
"Sugar," Maroon 5
"Uptown Funk," Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
"Bad Blood," Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar
"See You Again," Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth
Best Pop Vocal Album:
"Piece by Piece," Kelly Clarkson
"How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful," Florence + The Machine
"Uptown Special," Mark Ronson
"1989," Taylor Swift
Best Rock Album:
"Chaos and the Calm," James Bay
"Kintsugi," Death Cab for Cutie
"Mister Asylum," Highly Suspect
"Drones," Muse
".5: The Gray Chapter," Slipknot
Best Alternative Music Album:
"Sound & Color," Alabama Shakes
"Vulnicura," Bjork
"The Waterfall," My Morning Jacket
"Currents," Tame Impala
"Star Wars," Wilco
Best Urban Contemporary Album:
"Ego Death," The Internet
"You Should Be Here," Kehlani
"Blood," Lianne La Havas
"Wildheart," Miguel
"Beauty Behind the Madness," The Weeknd
Best R&B Album:
"Coming Home," Leon Bridges
"Black Messiah," D'Angelo and The Vanguard
"Cheers to the Fall," Andra Day
"Reality Show," Jazmine Sullivan
"Forever Charlie," Charlie Wilson
Best Rap Album:
"2014 Forest Hills Drive," J. Cole
"Compton," Dr. Dre
"If You're Reading This It's Too Late," Drake
"To Pimp a Butterfly," Kendrick Lamar
"The Pinkprint," Nicki Minaj
Best Country Album:
"Montevallo," Sam Hunt
"Pain Killer," Little Big Town
"The Blade," Ashley Monroe
"Pageant Material," Kacey Musgraves
"Traveller," Chris Stapleton
