“Beyonce” was not only a huge success commercially, it also garnered career-best reviews for her. Instead, the nominees were Beck, Beyoncé’s self-titled album, Ed Sheeran’s “X,” Sam Smith’s “In the Lonely Hour,” and Pharrell Williams’s “Girl.” Beyoncé and Smith seemed to be the front-runners, with most people assuming this would finally be the time that Beyoncé won the award. Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP 2,” Miranda Lambert’s “Platinum,” Jack White’s “Lazaretto,” Ariana Grande’s “My Everything,” and Katy Perry’s “Prism” were all ignored for the top category. “Morning Phase” was nominated in a highly competitive year. So Beck was sure to win one or two awards, but how did he cross over to the general categories? SEE Everything to know about Grammys 2022 And, as we would later see with albums like Taylor Swift’s “1989” and “Folklore,” the Grammys love it when artists change up their formula, especially if they are taking risks. NPR even wrote that, “while Morning Phase isn’t a direct sequel to ‘Sea Change,’ it shares many of the same themes and sounds: less space-funk and more lush ballads, with soaring orchestral parts.” The reviews were there for Beck, and his comeback narrative was strong as well. The album was also compared to his 2002 album “Sea Change,” which had often been listed as one of his best works, and a fan-favorite. The Guardian wrote, “ a slow, almost ethereal affair, a far remove from his more rambunctious records like ‘Odelay’ or ‘Midnite Vultures.’” It was a return to Beck’s folkier side, and a more personal and subdued record than his flamboyant pop/rock efforts. “Morning Phase” was instantly acclaimed, scoring an 81 on Metacritic. Then, after almost six years of darkness, came “Morning Phase.” However, by his 11th studio album, “Modern Guilt,” Beck’s pop-rock sound was starting to wear off with the recording academy despite still being a consistent nominee, he stopped winning after that 2000 win for “Mutations.” Beck then took a break, doing some side projects, as well as recovering from some health issues. That nomination was followed by a lot more Grammy attention, including two Album of the Year nominations (for “Odelay” in 1997 and “Midnite Vultures” in 2001), two Grammys for Best Alternative Music Album (“Odelay” and “Mutations” in 2000), and a bunch more nominations. It wasn’t until his third studio album, “Mellow Gold,” that Beck got his first Grammy nomination for the hit single “Loser.” SEE Grammys announce nominations date for 2022 awards His debut album, the folk-driven “Golden Feelings,” didn’t receive much attention. Beck has been known for making eclectic yet mainstream alternative music. To understand Beck’s landmark win, we first have to take a short look into his previous work.