Bonnie Raitt on her first Grammy nomination for songwriting

Bonnie Raitt is no stranger to Grammy Awards. Not only has she won 10, she’s been nominated 30 times, including four nominations this year. But surprisingly, this year she’s received her first nomination as a songwriter, with her tune “Just Like That” up for Song of the Year.

“I was never expecting this song of the year nomination. But I was very proud of the song, especially since it was so inspired by John Prine, and we lost him,” she tells the New York Times. “I put my heart and soul into every record, and I never know which ones are going to resonate. But I can tell people are really moved, looking out there in the audience.”

Raitt will be in attendance at this Sunday’s Grammys, where she’ll perform in the tribute to Fleetwood Mac‘s Christine McVie, and it sounds like for many artists Grammy night is about way more than trophies.

“I think all of us are like a kid in a candy store backstage,” she shares. “My favorite story about the Grammys was going through the metal detector at the Staples Center, at the afternoon ceremony. I was in the line between two guys in Slipknot, and the guy behind me is like in a Hannibal Lecter kind of a mask, and he goes, ‘I really dig your music!’”

She says, “I wouldn’t have expected Slipknot guys to know me. You know, maybe a ‘My mom loves you’ kind of thing, but he was clearly a fan. And I just never expected the number of people that come up and tell each other that. I got to tell Dave Grohl what a fan I am of the Foo Fighters, and he was so surprised on the red carpet.”