Met Gala Monday and Grammy nominations day are perhaps the two most exciting events in the pop culture calendar and definitely the two most exciting days for the pop culture stans on X. Every year the same conversations happen on various social media platforms, stans blasting the nominations for snubbing their favorite artists, random comments saying âI donât even know who that isâ and arguments over the rules of who actually counts as a ânewâ artist.
This year was no different; there was a noticeable absence of nominations for Dua Lipaâs underwhelming Radical Optimism, no album of the year nomination for Ariana Grande and debates over whether Sabrina Carpenter and her five studio albums count as a new artist. But on the whole, this yearâs nominations reflect how big this year in music was and the big categories are incredibly tight to pick from, highlighting just how strong the current music scene is.Â
The Record of the Year category is dominated by female pop artists. While the songs of the summer, âEspressoâ and âGood Luck, Babe!â are nominated, I think the Record of the Year may end up going to The Beatles. Their nomination is legendary, with the song âNow and Thenâ The Beatles once again highlighted how integral their contribution to music history has been. Using AI technology to bring the deceased John Lennon and George Harrisonâs talents back to the forefront is simply iconic. This track allowed a new generation to have a sliver of the same experience that millions of people had in the 60s â hearing a new Beatles song debut for the first time. The Record of the Year category notoriously goes to songs that havenât been huge commercial hits but rather show technical skill and longevity. To honor such a revolutionary band and make history, the chances of a Beatles win are high.Â
One of the most controversial categories of this year is Album of the Year. The snub of Eternal Sunshine by Ariana Grande, and the inclusion of New Blue Sun by Andre 3000 and Djesse Vol.4 by Jacob Collier created a flurry of comments on social media. But I fear that only one album is truly deserving of the award this year. Of course, it has to go to Brat by Charli XCX, an album that changed not only music, bringing dance pop and electronic sounds to the forefront of the music scene, but also changed the culture. Bright green will never be looked at the same, the concept of having a âBrat summerâ has become part of peopleâs vocabulary, and partying is once again having a renaissance.
Chappell Roan has been one of the biggest artists of the last year, drawing record breaking crowds at Lollapolloza and debuting on SNL. One of her six nominations is song of the year for âGood Luck, Babe!â which feels like a certain win. Perhaps, Best New Artist will also go to her or the other it-girl of the moment, Sabrina Carpenter. âEspressoâsâ catchiness and virality means it is certain to grab an award, and its best chances are in the Best Pop solo performance category.
The most awarded artist of all time, Beyonce leads this yearâs nominees with a staggering eleven nods. Beyonce is nominated in many major categories, however amongst such strong competition I think her wins will come exclusively in the Country categories, beating out Grammy darling Kacey Musgravesâ Deeper Well.
Following the back of such a successful year and breaking Grammy records by winning Album of the Year an incredible four times, Taylor Swift is nominated for seven awards. However, The Tortured Poets Department lacks in creativity in comparison to the works it is nominated against, and her best pop duo/ group performance nomination with Gracie Abrams lacks the commercial success of its competitors such as âGuessâ by Charli XCX and Billie Eilish. And so, I would venture as far as to say that Swift will walk away from this yearâs awards empty handed.
Ultimately, I donât think that there will be a grand sweep from one particular artist, as we have seen in previous years. Quite simply, too many artists have had the best years of their careers thus far creating commercially successful, culture shifting music. Weâll just have to wait until February 2025 to see who will actually win.