On Nov. 10 2023, the Recording Academy announced the nominations for the 2024 Grammy Awards that will take place in February. The Grammys are music’s biggest night of the year, giving the top artists and musicians of the year three hours of recognition. One nomination is all someone needs for their career to take off forever.
Besides from the usual fanbase anger of their favorite artists being snubbed, the Grammys have had a lot of controversy around it. In the past few years, The Recording Academy has been called out by fans and artists for the way they choose nominations and winners of the categories. There have been issues of gender and racial equality inside not only the nominations, but The Academy as a whole.
But besides the known problems inside The Academy, the nominations, for the first time ever, seem almost deserved and correct.
Album Of The Year:
The biggest award of the night. According to The Academy, this category is awarded to “artistic achievement, technical proficiency, and overall excellence in the recording industry.” Included in the four categories in the general field, this is the most prestigious Grammy an artist can win. The albums nominated are “World Music Radio” by Jon Batiste, “the record” by Boygenius, “Endless Summer Vacation” by Miley Cyrus, “Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” by Lana Del Ray, “The Age Of Pleasure” by Janelle Monáe, “GUTS” by Olivia Rodrigo, “Midnights” by Taylor Swift and “SOS” by SZA.
The category is packed. From “SOS” which might literally be the album of the year to “the record” being the supergroup made of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, the race is tight, especially since Swift is in the running.
Overall, SZA deserves the win. “SOS” is an incredible album that incorporates R&B roots, perfect sampling and lyrics to draw you in. With her leading the pool with nine nominations including three big four categories, Pop Duo/Group Performance for her song “Ghost in the Machine ” with Bridgers and other genre specific categories, the award is hers.
Record Of The Year:
As a part of the big four categories, The Academy describes this category as “deals with a specific recording of a song and recognizes the artists, producers and engineers who contribute to that recording.” The nominations go to “Worship” by Jon Batiste, “Not Strong Enough” by Boygenius, “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish, “On My Mama” by Victoria Monét, “Vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo, “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift, and “Kill Bill” by SZA.
Like Album of the Year, this category was neck-and-neck. Overall, these are the top records of the year. The award could go one of two ways. The first way is the obvious and safe way, with “Kill Bill,” “Anti-Hero,” or “What Was I Made For?” These three songs are also nominated for Song of the Year, who wins and what they win is the interesting part.
On the other hand, The Academy gives the award to “Not Strong Enough.” Besides being my top pick in the category, this record has everything from scarily relatable lyrics, strong production, and hauntingly beautiful vocals. It might be the best recording on the list. After last year with winners that shocked everyone, they have as much of a chance as anyone.
Song Of The Year
The third category in the big four, The Academy describes it as “Deals with the composition of a song and recognizes the songwriters who wrote the song.” The nominations go to “A&W” by Lana Del Ray, “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift, “Butterfly” by Jon Batiste, “Dance the Night” by Dua Lipa, “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, “Kill Bill” by SZA, “Vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo and “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish.
Overall, all of these nominations are deserved. Each song in this category was created by talented teams, including Swift and Del Ray being nominated with their producer Jack Antonoff, who is nominated for Producer Of The Year. If the category stays true to all elements of the song and not popularity, the award could easily go to Del Ray. “A&W” is a seven minute long ballad with folk, pop, and trap genres shining through, bridging together by the lyrics, “this is the experience of being an American Whore.” This song has everything, and although it may be the underdog, it has a strong chance.
Besides this, the second song on the list that has both the composition and popularity is “What Was I Made For?” by Eilish. Eliish has been a force to be reckoned with for all the years she has been nominated. Besides lyrics that have been described as “girlhood” and being the theme song for the “Barbie ” movie, it has production. Working with her brother Finneas O’Connell, the heartbreaking song forces you to reflect on your childhood. The song builds like your emotions. This song is special, forcing The Academy to pay attention to it.
Best New Artist
Even though it is the last category in the big four, it is one of the most important after Album Of The Year. This award has the ability to create one’s spot in the industry as a whole. The nominees are Gracie Abrams, Fred again.., Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan, Victoria Monét and The War and Treaty.
Realistically, there are three people that should win this award, Ice Spice, Kahan, and Monét. Each have had breakthrough years this year. Monét is nominated for top categories, Kahan has collabed with industry’s best like Kacey Musgraves and Hozier, and Ice Spice has worked with Swift, being nominated in Best Pop Duo/Group for “Karma,” and has gone viral numerous times.
Although all three of these artists deserve the win, Ice Spice taking it. Not only has she came out of nowhere, she made every person on the internet at least know her name if they don’t grow to love her.
Like I stated, the race for these top categories are tight. Anyone who loves music has grown to love each song and artist on the lists throughout all nominations. Everyone is deserving. Everyone had put in their best work. Everyone has fought for a spot to be where they are now. But now it is the time to see who walks away with the gold plated gramophone in their hands.
