Music fans across the world were bonded in their feelings of celebration, excitement and even confusion when the 66 annual Grammy Award nominations were released on November 10.
Grammy frequenters such as Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Jon Batiste, Olivia Rodrigo and Miley Cyrus were all once again included in the nominations this year – with all the above being nominated for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, as well as several other categories.
Unexpected to some, but anticipated for most, was the multitude of nomination for R&B/Pop singer SZA. The musician received nine nominations this year for various tracks and performances off her highly anticipated sophomore album SOS, released in December 2022, six years after her critically acclaimed debut CTRL.
SOS allows SZA to demonstrate her undeniable talent across multiple genres, including both traditional and progressive R&B, pop, rap, alternative and pop-rock, with her remarkable vocal range being utilised across each song and genre. Among these nominations includes Album, Song, Record and R&B Song of the year, alongside many more.
Fans were also ecstatic to see fellow R&B artist Victoria Monét receive seven nominations including Record, R&B Song, R&B Album of the Year, Best New Artist and more. Monét has been previously praised for her writing and production with singers such as Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, and Fifth Harmony, however, masses of fans online believed it was finally time for Monét’s solo music to be held to the same standard. This wish was finally met with her slew of nominations following the August release of her addictive, vocally superpowered album Jaguar II.
Phoebe Bridgers was also met with a landslide of nominations, both for her duet ‘Ghost in the Machine’ with previously mentioned powerhouse SZA, and for the record, which was released as the debut album from boygenius, comprised of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus. Boygenius’ cult following were undoubtedly elated with the onslaught of nominations for the record, which features heartbreakingly raw and emotional lyricism paired against haunting vocal melodies performed by the trio.
Popular artists such as Ice Spice, Gracie Abrams, Noah Kahan, Fred again…. and Coco Jones were nominated for Best New Artist, with the favourites to win being Ice Spice or Coco Jones. All nominated artists have had extremely successful releases this year, and would all be the perfect choice to win.
Other considerable nominations went towards the Barbie soundtrack, particularly the two standout tracks: Billie Eilish’s devastatingly honest ‘What Was I Made For?’, and Dua Lipa’s exhilarating disco track ‘Dance the Night’, both of which topped the charts upon the July release of Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster.
Artists such as Doja Cat, Troye Sivan, and Kelly Clarkson received scatter nominations across the Dance and Pop categories, while the Arctic Monkeys, Paramore and Gorillaz received praise across the Rock categories. Highlights of the R&B category include Janelle Monae, Summer Walker and 6LACK, while Drake, Metro Boomin, Doja Cat and 21 Savage dominated the Rap category. Similar domination occurred in the Country category, with most of the nominations being rewarded to Brandy Clark, Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton and Tyler Childers.
While a majority of fans were pleased with these nominations, a considerable number of popular artists were seemingly left out of the running.
Our own Hozier received no nominations whatsoever for his third album Unreal Unearth, which received more critical acclaim than his first two albums upon release. Many believed the lyricism, which is heavily laced with literary references, primarily to Dante’s ‘Inferno’, would pique the interest of the nominations board, however, that was clearly not the case.
British starlet Raye was also met with zero nominations following the February release of her debut album My 21st Century Blues, featuring the single ‘Escapism’, which dominated the charts for almost six months. With her astounding vocal range and heartfelt songwriting, many believed Raye to be a front-runner for the nominations, especially with the release of the live album My 21st Century Symphony, recorded in front of a live audience at the Royal Albert Hall with The Heritage Orchestra.
