The Recording Academy announced the 67th Grammy nominations on Nov. 8, and while there are many celebrations over well-deserved selections, there have also been many upsets during this award cycle. Music was in abundance this year, with albums from artists like Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, Beyoncé, Andre 3000, Cardi B, Billie Eilish and more.
With a range of award categories and a select few most coveted titles, this award season is bound to bring more upheaval. Many fan favorites are up to bring home more honors, but some emerging artits have also arrived on the scene.
The four major awards of the show are Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist and the highly coveted Album of the Year. Other sought-after awards include Best Rap Album, Music Video of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best R&B Album and more. In total, 94 awards are given out at the Grammys.
To the delight of many, including myself, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX, are ‘receiving their flowers’ in awards this year. Roan and Carpenter have each received six nominations, while Charli XCX received seven.
Roan and Carpenter have both been nominated for Best New Artist, competing for the title with artists like Doechii, Raye, Benson Boone, Shaboozey, Khruangbin and Teddy Swims. In my honest opinion, the decision of the winner should come down to Roan or Carpenter because of the mighty impacts and progress they have both made in the industry over the past year.
Roan’s album, “The Rise and Fall of the Midwest Princess,” is her debut album and has the ability to draw crowds of all ages, making her a great contender for Best New Artist, but also for so many other nominations. Carpenter’s release “Short n Sweet,” however, showcases her growth from her Disney Channel star days, as well as her growth into womanhood and an established musical identity.
But The Grammys are notorious for snubbing artists of both nominations and wins. One of the most infamous snubs was the win of Best Rap Album by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis for their album “Heist” over widely praised albums like “Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City” by Kendrick Lamar, “Magna Carta… Holy Grail” by Jay Z and “Yeezuz” by Kanye West.
I think the biggest snubs from the nomination list year are the exclusion of Dua Lipa’s “Radical Optimism,” Twenty One Pilots’s “Clancy,” The Last Dinner Party’s “Prelude of Ecstasy,” Meghan Thee Stallion’s “MEGHAN” from a shot at any awards and no nomination to Jack Antonoff for Producer of the Year.
Despite past nominations, the Grammys completely disregarded Meghan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa, who have always been contenders at the award show. Stallion’s exclusion, in particular, comes as a shock, with her album having well-known hits like “Hiss,” “Otaku Hot Girl” and “Mamushi.” Her musical night was so prominent this year that she was invited by Vice President Kamala Harris to perform at an August campaign rally in Atlanta.
Ariana Grande, although nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Best Dance/Electronic Performance and Best Dance Pop Recording, was not nominated for any of the most coveted four categories. Despite her album “Eternal Sunshine” being critically praised by Pitchfork, it fell short of a nomination for the Album of the Year category.
Myself, like so many other fans, was shocked to see that not only was she not nominated for Album of the Year, but she was also excluded from Music Video of the Year for her song “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love).” Many fans expected the music video to be nominated for the extensive inspiration from the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind but also for her heartbreaking performance as someone erasing the memories of a past lover.
For all the snubs the award show has this year, they have many more positive and celebratory moments. The nominations of Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter,” Charli XCX’s “Brat” and Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft” are the highly celebrated albums of the Grammy lineup.
Beyoncé has become the most nominated artist this year with eight nominations. She leads with her album’s nominations, crossing genre categories from Best Country Album to Best Pop Solo Performance.
Beyoncé’s lead in the country music categories comes well-deserved, especially as she was completely overlooked for any nominations at the 2024 Country Music Awards.
The biggest question on my mind is why the Recording Academy has continued to nominate Chris Brown. Chris Brown is an alleged abuser and has been canceled by the public numerous times, yet he is nominated this year for two R&B categories.
In spite of his nomination, Muni Long, an R&B artist, leads the R&B nominations. Long, as well as so many other women, dominate the Grammys this year.
This year, the pop girlies have taken over, dominating the majority of nominations to the big four categories. Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Charli XCX are truly the headliners of the categories.
I think the funniest and simultaneously well-deserved nomination is for Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” The song’s purpose of being a diss track against Drake makes it even better, especially after Drake’s failed attempt to win the beef with his diss track “The Heart Part 6”.
Along with Lamar’s diss track, Future and Metro Boomin’s nomination for their joint diss track album “We Don’t Trust You” adds to the nail in the coffin of Drake’s career.
The biggest surprise for me was the nomination of the Beatles for their AI-assisted song “Now and Then.” The song garnered a nomination for both Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance.
The Beatles, while being musical legends, don’t necessarily need to be nominated for a Grammy, especially in a category like Record of the Year. I also think that the use of artificial intelligence for a song is a cool thing to do, but it shouldn’t be able to win these prestigious awards, and it takes away from the group’s original impact on music by equating AI-generated work with their already adored discography. Though a legendary group, I don’t think they deserve a nomination over other artists.
Winners won’t be crowned until February but I leave one final warning for all nominees: don’t forget to thank Beyoncé.
