Archie Marks breaks down this year’s Grammy nominations, and whether or not they differ from the award show’s questionable track record
The week beginning 11th of November, 2024, will surely go down as one of the most consequential in history. Not only did America decide its next president, not only did People Magazine decide the Sexiest Man Alive, but the Grammy nominations for this year have been unveiled. The results (of all three, but the latter especially) are… surprising.
Of course, there were a few safe bets prior to the nominations announcement. Grammy darlings Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Beyoncé are, predictably, all up for the big awards (the latter of those leading the pack, with a whopping eleven nominations for her country-crossover album Cowboy Carter). This year’s big pop success stories – namely Chappell Roan, Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter – have also, as expected, been acknowledged for their efforts in peppering the charts with hits. XCX in particular has been grafting for years, and it is undeniably gratifying that BRAT, her sixth album, has finally gotten her the recognition she deserves.
There are also the usual ‘wildcard’ picks
Aside from these aforementioned easy guesses, Grammy favourites Post Malone, Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar have received nominations. There are also the usual ‘wildcard’ picks: records that received little to no buzz within the culture but have been nominated for the music industry’s top prizes anyway. This year, that unfortunate accolade goes to Jacob Collier, with his technically impressive but dull-as-cardboard album Djesse, Vol. 4. Rapper André 3000 has also received nominations for his ambient flute album New Blue Sun, not because the album made massive cultural waves but ostensibly because it was made by André 3000 (remember OutKast?).
These wildcard picks point to the Grammys’ history of being out-of-touch, their decisions largely influenced by politics and playing favourites. In 2015, for example, Beck’s album Morning Phase won Album of the Year (AOTY) over the bookies’ favourite, Beyoncé’s self-titled record. This was perceived by many critics to be a sympathy move, with Beck being ‘overdue’ a win for the eleven albums he already had under his belt. But surely this raises questions about how credible the Grammys are at actually recognising the highest-quality music of each year.
The Grammys also have an uncomfortable history when it comes to recognising minorities. Kanye West’s blockbuster album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was shut out of the AOTY category in the 2012 ceremony, despite winning Best Rap Album; Tyler, the Creator’s albums Igor and Call Me If You Get Lost suffered the same fate in 2020 and 2022 respectively, even though both were critically revered and went number-one in the States.
The Grammys also have an uncomfortable history when it comes to recognising minorities
Earlier this year, Jay-Z reflected on how Beyoncé’s status as the most-nominated artist in the Grammys’ history hadn’t yet translated into an AOTY win (Beyoncé often wins in minor categories, like Best Urban Contemporary Album for Lemonade). There is a possible (read: definite) racial bias at play here. While Beyoncé’s albums, like clockwork, are often the front runner for AOTY every time she releases, a white person ends up winning; Harry Styles’ Harry’s House over Renaissance, Adele’s 25 over Lemonade, the aforementioned Beck upset. In fact, the last Black woman to win AOTY was Lauryn Hill in 1999 – last century.
What makes this year’s nominations mildly disruptive, then, is their relative diversity. This year, for example, marks the first that the Best Pop Vocal Album category has only female nominees; Black rising stars Shaboozey and Doechii have received five and three nominations apiece, including one each for Best New Artist. Doechii also joins other queer artists like Chappell Roan and Billie Eilish in opening the floodgates for greater LGBTQIA+ representation at the Grammys. For a ceremony traditionally rewarding cishet white male talent, this year’s nominations are a step forward into embracing the diverse future of music.
The nominations are also shockingly accurate to the mainstream’s music tastes
The nominations are also shockingly accurate to the mainstream’s music tastes. The wildcard picks, previously rampant and inescapable, are now few and far between, and the major categories largely have their finger on the pulse of what people actually listen to (many expected that Charli xcx, for example, would be relegated solely to the dance/electronic categories). More than any set of Grammy picks in recent years, this feels like a ceremony prioritising great music over politics. In fact, the only proper snub this year was Ariana Grande, whose seventh record Eternal Sunshine was nominated for just three gongs; the album was shockingly shut out of AOTY, and its single ‘We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)’ – one of 2024’s biggest hit songs – failed to yield a Song or Record of the Year nomination.
We will have to wait until the 2nd of February next year to see if the wins are as diverse as the nominations (if Jacob Collier wins AOTY, I will elect to stay off social media for the foreseeable future). For now, though, the Grammys are making baby steps. They are imperfect, problematic even, and why the music industry views them as its most prestigious award remains a mystery. But this year’s nominations point to a brighter future for the Grammys, one where they do what they set out to do – ‘recognize excellence in the recording arts’ – and finally strike the right chord.
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