This year, the Grammy nominations were announced on Friday, Nov. 9 and people had a lot to say about it. I can confidently say that the nominations for the bigger categories, such as Record, Album and Song of the Year, are more chronically online than I am. With artists such as Beyoncé (11 nominations by the way, bringing her to an overall total of 99), Charli xcx, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and several more artists and albums, this year’s Grammy nominees are for the girls.
Record of the Year:
This year, I feel that the nominees were pretty expected with Beyoncé for “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM,” Sabrina Carpenter for “Espresso,” Charli xcx for “360,” Billie Eilish for “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” Chappell Roan for “Good Luck, Babe!,” Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone for “Fortnight” and Kendrick Lamar for “Not Like Us.” The only real surprise was The Beatles for “Now and Then” – like many, I didn’t expect to see The Beatles nominated for a Grammy in the year 2024.
I’ll be happy almost no matter who wins this category in February. However, as a Taylor Swift fan, I will say that winning ” Fortnight ” would be annoying, as I don’t believe “Fortnight” is one of her best songs. The nomination almost feels like she was only nominated because of the name she’s made for herself.
Album of the Year:
The nominees here were also pretty easy to assume with “COWBOY CARTER” by Beyoncé, “Short n’ Sweet” by Sabrina Carpenter, “BRAT” by Charli xcx, “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” by Billie Eilish, “The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess” by Chappell Roan and “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT” by Taylor Swift. Albums nominated that I heard less about include “New Blue Sun” by André 3000 and “Djesse Vol. 4” by Jacob Collier.
“THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT” being nominated didn’t come as a surprise but it’s not Swift’s strongest album. There are better options to win.
To quote a friend, Jennie Matos, “Call me delusional but I think ‘COWBOY CARTER’ might be the album that finally gets Beyoncé her Album of the Year win.”
People have been waiting for years for Beyoncé to win AOTY, even back when “Lemonade” lost to Adele’s album “25” and Adele said in her acceptance speech that she couldn’t possibly accept the award.
“But my artist of my life is Beyoncé. And this album to me, the ‘Lemonade’ album, is just so monumental. Beyoncé, it’s so monumental,” said Adele. I’m sure she’d agree that an AOTY win for Beyoncé would be a win for the entire world.
Song of the Year:
Some of the songs in this category are definitely something. There are absolutely deserving songs, such as: “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” “Not Like Us,” “Good Luck, Babe!” and “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM.” As for “Fortnight,” I stand by what I said regarding Record of the Year. The final two in this category include “Die With A Smile” by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga, which I don’t think I heard anything about other than hearing it all over the radio. Finally, we have “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” If this song wins, I’ll have no words; I’ll just be incredibly disappointed in humanity.
Best New Artist:
The artists in this category make sense to me: Benson Boone, Sabrina Carpenter, Doechii, Khruangbin, RAYE, Chappell Roan, Shaboozey and Teddy Swims. Some may disagree with Sabrina Carpenter, but her music has really never done this well outside of a Disney audience until her release of “emails i can’t send” in 2022. I also hear a lot of dislike towards Benson Boone, but in my opinion, he has some bangers outside of his overplayed songs.
Honorable Mentions:
I believe the Best Pop Solo Performance nominees are all perfect, with Beyonce with “BODYGUARD,” Sabrina Carpenter with “Espresso,” Chappell Roan with “Good Luck, Babe!,” Charli xcx with “Apple,” and Billie Eilish with “BIRDS OF A FEATHER.”
Then we have the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance nominations, with “us.” by Gracie Abrams ft. Taylor Swift, “LEVII’S JEANS” by Beyonce and Post Malone, “Guess” by Charli xcx and Billie Eilish, “the boy is mine” by Ariana Grande, Brandy and Monica and “Die With a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.
Next, there are the Best Pop Vocal Album nominees. Ariana Grande snuck in with “eternal sunshine,” alongside “Short n’ Sweet” by Sabrina Carpenter, “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” by Billie Eilish, “The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess” by Chappell Roan and “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT” by Taylor Swift.
And finally, some random songs from other categories that I’m happy are nominated include: “Charm” by Clairo in Best Alternative Music Album, “Saturn” by SZA in Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song, “Cowboys Cry Too” by Kelsea Ballerini with Noah Kahan in Best Country Duo/Group Performance, “Can’t Catch Me Now” [from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes] by Olivia Rodrigo and “The Sound Of Music (Original Soundtrack Recording – Super Deluxe Edition)” for Best Historical Album.