On Nov. 8, the Recording Academy finally announced the nominees for the upcoming Grammy awards, set to take place on Feb. 2, 2025. This announcement was highly anticipated by fans of all genres, including me. I even stood up and cheered at some of the nominations as I watched the live stream with my friends.
However, as I thought about the nominations more and more, my opinions began to morph. A lot of artists that I, and a lot of other fans, believed should have been nominated were simply left out. With such a big year in music, especially viral hits, it was impossible for the Academy to recognize every single artist, big and small. But, some were simply too massive to miss, and the Academy did just that.
The nominations were not all doom and gloom. Both Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, pop icons who have exploded in fame this past year, secured multiple nominations for their first Grammys, including the coveted Album of the Year nomination. Taylor Swift unsurprisingly earned her self four nominations for her 12th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” and another for her collaboration with up-and-coming star Gracie Abrams.
Beyoncé earned herself the most nominations, sitting at 11, with her album, “Cowboy Carter.” She impressively finds her album in four different genres, with “Cowboy Carter” being considered a Country, Americana, Pop, and Rap album by the Academy. Behind her is Charli XCX, with six nominations for (in my opinion) the album of the summer, “Brat”. Her deluxe album was also considered, as her collaboration with Billie Eilish on “Guess” was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
There were some glaring snubs, however. The first, and possibly one of the most hurtful, is the near-total snub of Ariana Grande for her newest album, “Eternal Sunshine.” Grande was nominated for three Grammys, but fans are the most outraged over her exclusion from the Big Four.
For those who are not aware, the Big Four are the most massive nominations: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. While Grande was obviously not eligible for Best New Artist, she was certainly eligible for the other three categories and was clearly denied her rightful spot among the nominees.
Hozier, who had one of the songs of the year (in a viral sense, at least) with “Too Sweet,” was also noticeably absent in every category. His 2024 album, “Unreal Unearth” and its deluxe edition, were completely excluded.
Twenty One Pilots was snubbed out of every rock and alternative category with their newest outing, “Clancy.” The album performed extraordinarily well on rock and popular charts, reaching number three on the U.S. album charts. The album is the most streamed in their discography, surpassing “Blurryface,” which was the mainstream public’s introduction to the band. The album was denied any Academy recognition despite being their most commercially successful album to date, while “Blurryface” earned the band three Grammys in 2017.
Finally, and one of the most baffling snubs, was the absence of Jack Antonoff for Best Producer. Antonoff, one of the most prolific producers today, has certainly worked to earn this nomination. Antonoff worked on three projects that appeared on the Grammy Nominations list, including “The Tortured Poets Department” and “Short n’ Sweet,” both appearing in the running for Album of The Year. Fans are outraged by this snub, and many have called for him to be included as a late addition.
Personally, I think some of the nomination choices were quite confusing, especially in the Big Four. The Beatles appearing in the running with “Now and Then” for Record of The Year is already a widely criticized pick, mainly because the song was made using AI technologies. While the outcome is a cool novelty song, many fans agree that the project simply is not on par with the other songs in the category. André 3000 is also being criticized for his nomination for Album of the Year. While the album is an impressive work of art, many say there is no chance it will prevail due to its instrumental and generally avant-garde style.
I think that the Grammys, as strange as some of the nominations were, will show the same results as they have in the past. Swift will most likely prevail in her categories (I say this with a hint of cynicism, although I am a Swiftie), Carpenter or Roan will take home Best New Artist, and Beyoncé and Charli XCX will otherwise sweep their categories. I do not think there will be any major surprises among the nominees and who wins, but we will just have to wait and see what February has in store for the music industry.
