
Life&Style’s Zoe Maddock invites us to explore her predictions of who will sweep The Grammys this year and who will surprise us
Each year The Grammys roll around and make waves within both the music industry and internet discourse. This year is no exception. Social media often laments the predictability of the awards’ recipients and accuse it of being rigged to favour some artists, however as we come into this award season there is a buzz in the air about the possibility that maybe The Grammys shall surprise us this year. The nominations were released in November, giving ample time to discuss nominees and possible winners before the February ceremony.
The genre that dominated much of 2024’s musical landscape was pop, which has been reflected within the nominations for many of the ‘big 4’ categories. Most nominees for Album of the Year are to be expected, with Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé heading up the category; however, the rogue additions of André 3000 and Jacob Collier have come under fire for taking up spots from albums that made more Cultural noise in 2024. The pop category is stacked with 2024’s powerhouse albums, making the winner a tough call
However, The Academy may finally decide that this year it is Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter that should take it home. Jay-Z pointed out in his acceptance speech for 2024’s Global Impact Award that Beyoncé has ‘the most Grammys, never won Album of the Year, that doesn’t work’. Perhaps those words have haunted the voting committee, a Cowboy Carter win may tell a larger story than one of musical achievement. If Beyoncé does win, she would become the second Black woman to have won the category
Beyoncé would be the second Black woman to have won, 25 years after Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1999; an embarrassing statistic that casts a shadow on The Grammys reputation.
Record and Song of The Year often get conflated with one another; the key distinction is that Record is based on production while Song of the Year is about songwriting. Despite these technical definitions, the nominees tend to reflect popularity and chart success. Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck, Babe!’, is nominated in both categories, and I believe that Song of the Year is hers to lose. Record of the Year features Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Espresso’, Charli xcx’s ‘360’, Beyoncé’s ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’, Billie Eilish’s ‘Birds of a Feather’ and Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ which all pose as serious contenders to take the award. Considering its monumental impact on the discourse, I’d like to see Lamar win.
Best New Artist is the final of these ‘big 4’ categories, and potentially the most exciting, as we get to see who The Academy has crowned as the new face of the music industry. The category does not focus solely on artists who debuted that year, but rather which artists had their most successful year of their career so far. Last year Victoria Monet took home the title after her album Jaguar II earned commercial and critical acclaim, despite Monet being present in the industry for over a decade. I would expect Chappell Roan is the bookies favourite, with 2024 being dominated by Roan’s unparalleled success. However, Sabrina Carpenter also had an incredibly impressive year with her album Short ’n’ Sweet and of course the inescapable hit ‘Espresso’. Also featured is first-time nominee Doechii, her nomination for Best rap album for her mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal, making her the first Black woman to be nominated for a mixtape.
It is female pop artists who have been shaping the music industry
The biggest snub (throughout all the ‘big 4’ categories) for me is Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine, her sixth number one album which produced two number-one singles in ‘Yes, And?’ and ‘We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)’. While the album boasts three nominations this year, its absence from the main categories cannot be dismissed. Grande fell into hot water at The Grammys during her Thank U, Next era due to experiencing a suppression of ‘creativity & self-expression’ that led to a cancelled performance. The decision not to nominate Grande in these main categories only adds fuel to the fire in conversations about the subjectivity of The Grammys, who seem to hold grudges against artists who have criticised the Academy.
The real winner of 2024 is pop music. The meteoric rise of Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Charli xcx coupled with an endless flow of chart-topping albums from previously established artists like Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, and Beyoncé. The celebration of queer and female artists in this year’s nominations has not gone unnoticed, perhaps marking a long-awaited shift towards inclusion from the Academy. Realistically, The Grammys never fail to surprise me with their awards, so when it comes to predicting the winners, you have to look back at their track record and expect the expected. Perhaps hoping for a more diverse pool of winners is wishful thinking, but it is a step in the right direction.
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