grammy awards
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The Recording Academy has let its members know, via email, of some changes, one of which will likely be unwelcome news to many: It will no longer provide complimentary tickets to its official Grammy afterparty to all current year nominees. This year’s Grammy Celebration, the afterparty’s official name, will be hosted by the Grammy Museum […]
At the 2024 Grammy ceremony on Feb. 4, host Trevor Noah was nominated for best comedy album for the second time for I Wish You Would, but lost to Dave Chappelle’s What’s in a Name?. The Recording Academy hasn’t announced who will be hosting the 2025 Grammys on Feb. 2, but these two comedians are likely to both be nominated again for best comedy album – Chappelle for The Dreamer and Noah for Where Was I.
Chappelle has been nominated five times in this category – and has never lost in this category. (He did lose in 2022 when one of his albums, 8:46, in which he discussed the 2020 police murder of George Floyd, was judged to be not primarily comedic and was moved to best spoken word album.)
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If Chappelle wins again, he’ll stand just behind Bill Cosby for the most wins in this category. Cosby won seven times from 1965 and 1987. Chappelle is currently tied with George Carlin and Richard Pryor as runner-up in the category.
Jim Gaffigan has been nominated seven times in this category, but has yet to win. He will likely be nominated again this year for The Prisoner. Gaffigan is the only comedian (and the only non-Grammy winner) who was announced last week as one of the presenters of the Grammy nominations on the livestream on Friday (Nov. 8). Does that mean the academy knows for a fact that he’s going to be nominated and booked him for the livestream so they’d have a happy reaction shot? I don’t think the academy knows that far in advance who is going to be nominated, but his booking on the livestream certainly isn’t a bad sign about his chances for another nod this year.
Adam Sandler, a three-time nominee in this category, is entered for Love You. Sandler and Chappelle are both past recipients of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
Tig Notaro, a two-time nominee in this category, is entered with Hello Again. David Cross, also a two-time nominee, is entered for Worst Daddy in the World.
Joe Rogan is a contender with Burn the Boats. The Joe Rogan Experience is considered one of the most influential podcasts, though his politics do not align with that of most Grammy voters (as evidenced by the fact that only Democratic presidents and first ladies tend to be nominated for best audio book recording.) Burn the Boats is Rogan’s latest Netflix special.
Conan O’Brien, who won his fifth Primetime Emmy in September for Conan O’Brien Must Go, is entered with Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend: Quinquennial Celebration, a collaboration with Sona Movsesian and Matt Gourley.
Taylor Tomlinson, the host of After Midnight, which follows The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on CBS, is entered with Have It All.
Nikki Glaser, who is set to host the 2025 Golden Globes telecast on Jan. 5, is entered with Someday You’ll Die. Jo Koy, who hosted that show earlier this year, is entered with Live From Brooklyn. Ricky Gervais, who hosted the Globes five times between 2010 and 2020, is entered with Armageddon.
Several other potential nominees have also hosted awards shows. Marlon Wayans, who co-hosted the MTV VMAs in 2000 with his brother, Shawn Wayans, is entered with Good Grief. Kevin James, who hosted the People’s Choice Awards in 2001-02, is entered with Irregardless. Jack Whitehall, who hosted the Brit Awards four years running, from 2018-21, is entered with Settle Down.
Other notable contenders on the entry list of 94 albums include Shane Gillis’ Beautiful Dogs, Demetri Martin’s Demetri Deconstructed and Matt Rife’s Lucid – A Crowd Work Special.
Our Fearless Forecast
Dave Chappelle, The Dreamer
Jim Gaffigan, The Prisoner
Trevor Noah, Where Was I
Tig Notaro, Hello Again
Adam Sander, Love You
Just a few weeks after finally being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cher could receive a Grammy nomination for best traditional pop vocal album for her first holiday album, Christmas. The nominations will be announced on Friday Nov. 8.
The worlds of rock and roll and traditional pop were once far apart, but those worlds been coming together in recent years as genre lines blur across the board. Six artists who are in the Rock Hall have won Grammys in this category – Joni Mitchell (for Both Sides Now), Rod Stewart (Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III), Paul McCartney (Kisses on the Bottom), Willie Nelson (Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin and My Way, a tribute to Frank Sinatra), Elvis Costello (Look Now, with the Imposters) and James Taylor (American Standard).
Should Cher’s album win when the Grammy Awards are announced on Feb. 2, it would be the first holiday album ever to win in this category, though many have been nominated.
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Cher has won just one Grammy over the course of her six-decade career – best dance recording for her 1999 megahit, “Believe.” Her nominations stretch back to 1965, when Sonny & Cher were nominated for best new artist.
Cher is vying for a nomination in the traditional pop category with Stephanie J. Block, who portrayed the icon in The Cher Show on Broadway in 2019, winning a Tony Award for best actress in a musical. Block is represented with her own Christmas album, Merry Christmas, Darling. (The title track is a cover version of the ballad made famous by the Carpenters in 1970.)
Several other Christmas albums are vying for nominations, including Brandy’s Christmas With Brandy, Johnny Mathis’ Christmas Time Is Here, Seth MacFarlane & Liz Gillies’ We Wish You the Merriest, Gregory Porter’s Christmas Wish and Jim Brickman’s Brickman Sings Christmas. Brandy has received 12 Grammy nominations over the years, winning for “The Boy Is Mine,” her Billboard Hot 100-topping collab with Monica. This would be her first nomination in this category.
Mathis is a four-time nominee in this category. He was nominated in 1991, the year the category was introduced. But Mathis’ history with the Grammys goes back much further than that. He received his first nomination in 1960, the third year of the Grammys, for his exquisite recording of “Misty.” Shockingly, Mathis, 89, has yet to win a Grammy in competition. He received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2003.
MacFarlane is a three-time nominee in this category. This is his second collab with Gillies.
Stewart is vying for a nomination with Swing Fever, a collab with Jools Holland. Stewart is a five-time nominee in this category, winning once.
Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends: A Celebration (Live at the Sondheim Theatre) is a strong contender. Last year, two of the nominees in this category were salutes to the legendary Broadway composer, who died in 2021 at age 91. Liz Callaway was nominated for To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim. A Various Artists collection, Sondheim Unplugged (The New York City Sessions), Vol. 3, was also nominated last year. “Old Friends,” which is part of the title of the new collection, is a highlight of Sondheim’s 1981 show Merrily We Roll Along, which won a Tony for best revival of a musical in June.
Another celebration of legendary Broadway composers is on the entry list — My Favorite Things: The Rodgers & Hammerstein 80th Anniversary Concert (Live from Theatre Royal Drury Lane/ 2023.
Broadway legend Patti LuPone is entered with A Life in Notes. LuPone has won Tonys for her performances in Evita, Gypsy and Company. Ben Platt, who won a Tony, Daytime Emmy and Grammy for Dear Evan Hansen and related projects, is entered with Honeymind. Nine-time Grammy winner Dave Cobb was one of the album’s producers.
Raye & the Heritage Orchestra are entered with My 21st Century Symphony (Live at Royal Albert Hall). Raye has a good chance to receive a best new artist nomination next week. She took home six Brit Awards in March.
Two albums by past Grammy winners for best new artist are vying for nominations — Norah Jones’ Visions and Paula Cole’s Lo. Jones has received two nods in this category.
Janis Siegel and Yaron Gershovsky are entered with The Colors of My Life. Siegel is a nine-time Grammy winner for her work with Manhattan Transfer. Straight No Chaser has two albums on the entry list – 90s Proof and Stocking Stuffer.
Other notable albums on the entry list of 78 albums include Crowded House’s Gravity Stairs, Toby Gad’s Piano Diaries – The Hits, Gaither Vocal Band’s Let Me Be There, Il Divo’s XX: 20th Anniversary Album, Joe Jackson’s Mr. Joe Jackson Presents Max Champion in ‘What a Racket!,’ Ingrid Michaelson’s For the Dreamers, Steven Pasquale with John Pizzarelli’s Some Other Time and The Sound of Rusic by the cast of Rupaul’s Drag Race.
Our Fearless Forecast
Brandy, Christmas With Brandy
Cher, Christmas
Ben Platt, Honeymind
Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends: A Celebration (Live at the Sondheim Theatre)
Rod Stewart & Jools Holland, Swing Fever
Being a Grammy voter may sound glamorous, but it’s a lot of work if you do it right, or even close to right. That’s because, in the first round of voting, the Recording Academy presents voting members with really long lists of titles and asks them to select the five they think are most worthy of a nomination.
How long is “really long”? This year, voters had to wade through alphabetical lists of 780 entries for record of the year, 707 for album of the year, 978 for song of the year and 323 for best new artist. And that’s just the Big Four categories!
Can you imagine how much time and mental effort it would take to contentiously pick your five favorite anythings from a list of 978 contenders? If that task were less overwhelming, it seems likely that the quality of voting would go up – and that the percentage of voting members who completed it would go up. If the voters were presented with a list of, say, 100 contenders, it would turn a daunting task into a manageable, and maybe even pleasurable, one. (That number could go up a bit, to 125, 150 or 200, but of course the higher it goes up, the less benefit would be realized.)
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My idea is to have a group of knowledgeable, plugged-in and fair-minded people cull the massive entry lists and bring them down to a more reasonable length. Big hits would probably remain on the list, as would non-hits that people on the panel spoke up for.
You might say, “Didn’t the Recording Academy just get rid of Nomination Review Committees a few years ago — now you’re talking about bringing them back?” Good recall on the review committees, including the primary one, which determined the final nominees in the Big Four categories every year from the ceremony held in 1996 through the one held in 2021. Most Grammy-watchers (including me) were happy to see that committee disbanded, but there’s an important distinction to be made: The academy had the review committee at the tail-end of the process, after voting members had voted and just before the nominations were announced.
Here’s how it worked back then: The committee members selected their five favorites from the top 20 or 25 vote-getters from rank-and-file voters. They essentially second-guessed the voters, which always struck me as elitist, as if their taste and judgment was superior to that of the voters. I’m suggesting putting the committee at the front-end of the process. They wouldn’t be second-guessing anybody, but simply performing a reality check by eliminating the records, albums, songs and artists that have little to no chance of being nominated, but which clog up the list.
And why do I say you shouldn’t hold your breath for this actually happening? Many voting members like to see their entries on the list. If they didn’t see them anymore, they might not see any point in renewing their membership. Member dues are $150 per year. If, say, 2,000 of the current 13,000 voting members walked away because they missed seeing their names on the entry list, that’s $300,000 in lost revenue each year for the Recording Academy. But do the Grammys really want people voting who are that shallow and motivated only by narrow self-interest?
It’s not just the Big Four categories that have large numbers of entries. A total of 33 categories on this year’s Grammy ballot had 200 or more entries. Of those 33, 14 had 300 or more entries. In addition to the Big Four, the categories with 300+ entries are best music video (637), best global music performance (456), best engineered album, non-classical (456), best arrangement, instruments and vocals (444), best jazz performance (420), best instrumental composition (395), best American roots song (373), best alternative music performance (331), best pop solo performance (314) and best American roots performance (310). These categories could also stand a trim, either by this committee or by committees closer to these genres and fields of endeavor.
A small point, but just so there’s no confusion, voters are tasked with picking their five favorites in the Big Four categories, even though there are eight eventual nominees in those categories. That slight numerical difference doesn’t matter, but presenting the voting members with a reasonable task does.
10/21/2024
It’s the old saying “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
10/21/2024
From Beyoncé‘s “Texas Hold ‘Em” to Sabrina Carpenter‘s “Espresso,” several 2024 Billboard Hot 100 hits are strong contenders for top honors at the 2025 Grammys — but there are also a handful of older songs that could pop up when nominations are announced on Nov. 8.
According to the rules and guidelines handbook for the 67th annual Grammy Awards, recordings must be commercially released, nationally distributed, and available from any date within the eligibility period (Sept. 16, 2023, to Aug. 30, 2024) through at least Jan. 3, 2025 – the date of this Grammy year’s final-ballot voting deadline. Furthermore, unless otherwise instructed upon submission, the academy will use the original album version of a song for screening and verification purposes. This means that a hit like Tate McRae‘s “Greedy” — which was released on Sept. 15, 2023 — is ineligible for the 2025 Grammys in its original form, but can still be considered for a nomination in a different iteration, such as an acoustic or live version.
It’s not uncommon for an alternate version of a song to earn a Grammy nod — especially if the track in question gained prominence after the eligibility period for its original version closed. Live albums and single recordings have been nominated (and won) in the past, especially in the decades before the Academy enacted major overhauls of the ceremony’s categories.
In 2011, the last year the Grammy for best female pop vocal performance was presented, a live version of Beyoncé’s “Halo” earned a nod. The year prior, the original studio version of the song won in that category, becoming Beyoncé’s first and only victory in the pop field. The following year, Adele swept the ceremony with her 21 album — including a best pop solo performance win for “Someone Like You” — making the album and the original version of its tracks ineligible for future ceremonies. In 2013, she triumphed with a second consecutive win in the category thanks to a live version of “Set Fire to the Rain” recorded at the Royal Albert Hall. The British powerhouse would go on to win this particular award twice more — “Hello” (2017) and “Easy On Me” (2023) — making her the all-time biggest winner in this category.
In 2015, a whopping three of the five nominated tracks in best pop solo performance were alternate versions: Pharrell Williams‘ “Happy (Live),” John Legend‘s “All of Me (Live),” and Sam Smith‘s “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version).” The Williams and Legend tracks were both released during the eligibility period for the 2014 Grammys but reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 during the eligibility period for the following year’s ceremony. The original version of Smith’s smash was eligible, but his label (Capitol Records) opted to submit the Darkchild version instead. Ultimately, Williams beat out the competition and took home his first and only solo win in the pop field.
In 2019, a solo live version of Camila Cabello‘s “Havana,” which originally featured a rap verse from Young Thug, reaped a bid in this category, but it lost to Lady Gaga‘s “Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Going?)” — a piano version of the title track from her Joanne LP, which earned a pair of nods the year prior.
Before best pop duo/group performance was introduced in 2012, live versions helped two bands win best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals. Maroon 5 won with “This Love (Live)” in 2006, and Train won with “Hey, Soul Sister (Live)” in 2011.
Outside of the pop categories, live versions often do well in the rock field. Since it was established in 1990, four of the winners for best metal performance have been live renditions, with the most recent being Judas Priest‘s 2010 victory for “Dissident Aggressor (Live).” Back in 2001, before the best female rock vocal performance category was discontinued, Sheryl Crow won with a live version of “There Goes the Neighborhood,” the original version of which lost in the same category at the 1999 ceremony.
The R&B categories are a bit frostier toward alternate versions. Just one live rendition has ever won in any R&B performance category; Stevie Wonder and Take 6‘s “Love’s in Need of Love Today (Live)” — a cover of the opening track from 1976’s Songs in the Key of Life — took home best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals in 2003. Beyoncé earned a nod for best female R&B vocal performance in 2009 for her live rendition of her 2003 hit “Me, Myself and I.” (She lost to Alicia Keys‘ “Superwoman.”)
In 2023, Latto‘s “Big Energy (Live)” became the first live rendition to earn a nomination for best melodic rap performance, ultimately losing to Future, Drake and Tems‘ “Wait for U.”
Live and alternate versions face the toughest battle in the general field categories of record and song of the year. Sam Smith’s aforementioned “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)” won both record and song of the year, but no live version has ever been nominated (or won) in either category.
Here’s a round-up of 2024 Hot 100 hits that were submitted under alternate versions to skirt eligibility rules for the 2025 Grammys.
Tate McRae, “Greedy”
Most of the 113 albums vying for Grammy nominations for best children’s music album are by artists best-known for that genre. But the list also includes several well-known pop stars, and even a famous actor.
John Legend is entered with My Favorite Dream, which debuted and peaked at No. 5 on Billboard’s Kid Albums chart in September. The EGOT recipient is a 12-time Grammy winner. His biggest hit is the ballad “All of Me,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in May 2014.
Lisa Loeb, best known for “Stay (I Missed You),” with the Nine Stories, a No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 in August 1994, is entered with That’s What It All About, with the Hollow Trees. Loeb won in this category in 2018 for Feel What U Feel.
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Patrick Stump, best known as the frontman for Fall Out Boy, is entered with Music From and Inspired by Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends. Stump composed the theme music for the TV show, which has aired on Disney Jr. since 2021. Fall Out Boy has received two Grammy nods — best new artist and best rock album for M A N I A. The band has notched four top 10 hits on the Hot 100, topped by “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race,” which debuted and peaked at No. 2 in February 2007.
Singer-songwriter Christina Perri is entered with songs for pixie. She cracked the Kid Albums chart with two albums with similar titles, Songs for Carmella and Songs for Rosie. Perri has had three top 30 hits on the Hot 100 (“Jar of Hearts,” “A Thousand Years” and “Human”).
Walk Off the Earth & Romeo Eats are entered with Buon Appetito. Walk Off the Earth is a Canadian indie pop band that cracked the top half of the Billboard 200 with three albums in the 2010s.
Actor William Shatner is entered with Where Will the Animals Sleep?, which debuted and peaked at No. 5 on Kid Albums in June.Shatner has received two Grammy nods in the category now known as best audio book, narration, and storytelling recording. He was nominated at the ceremony held earlier this year for Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder. Shatner won Primetime Emmys for The Practice and Boston Legal and was voted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2006.
As noted, most of the entries are from the artists from the world of children’s music. Among them: 123 Andrés, a husband-and-wife duo that creates children’s music in both English and Spanish. They are entered with Jamming on the Job, Vol. 1, a collab with Pierce Freelon. 123 Andrés won in this category in February for We Grow Together Children’s Songs.
Another of the entries competing for a nod this year is The Kids at North Station by Adam Blackstone Jr., Kennedy Anderson, Amg Kidz, The Teentations, Melodic Haven and B.A.A. Blackstone is the 9-year old son of music director Adam Blackstone, who has amassed seven Primetime Emmy nods. He won in 2022 for outstanding music direction for The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent.
Other pop artists who have been nominated in this category in recent years are Beth Nielsen Chapman in 2014 and Ladysmith Black Mambazo in 2018.
All Grammys count the same toward someone’s career Grammy total, but we all know they’re not really on an equal footing. Every media outlet on Earth will report the winners of album of the year and record of the year next Feb. 2, but good luck trying to find out who won best regional roots music album (we’ll have it, of course).
Some categories are far more competitive than others. There are 20 times as many entries in this year’s most populated category, song of the year (978), as in this year’s least populated categories, best traditional blues album and best gospel album, both of which have just 53 entries.
Since final-round voting for the 67th Grammy Awards opened Friday (Oct. 4), Grammy voters have been conscientiously poring over the entry lists for 89 of the 94 Grammy categories (or so Recording Academy leaders fervently hope). The nominees in the other five categories are determined by committees.
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The number of entries in five of the six categories in the General Field increased compared to last year. There are 780 entries for record of the year (up from 615 last year); 707 for album of the year (up from 476); 978 for song of the year (up from 642); 61 for songwriter of the year, non-classical (up from 58); and 200 for producer of the year, non-classical (up from 195).
The only General Field category that saw a drop in entries compared to last year is best new artist. There were 323 entries this year, down from 405 last year. That’s the smallest number of entries in this category in five years.
Note that the number of entries for songwriter of the year, non-classical, which is in its third year, is only about one-third of the number of entries for producer of the year, non-classical, which was introduced in 1974. That’s probably because of the newer category’s restrictive rules, which were intended to put the focus on songwriters who are not also artists or producers.
My main takeaway from this annual exercise – these categories are highly competitive. As noted, there are 978 songs vying for just eight slots in song of the year. When somebody says “It’s an honor just to be nominated,” they’re not just being polite. Okay, maybe they are, but it really is an honor. 970 eligible and entered songs this year will not be nominated for song of the year.
If you’re curious, the five categories where the nominations are determined by committees, rather than by voters at large, are best recording package, best boxed/special/limited edition package, best album notes, best historical album, best remixed recording and best immersive audio album. (The nominations in a sixth category, best remixed recording, were decided by committee last year, but this year the voters will make the determination.)
First-round voting for the 67th annual Grammy Awards opened on Friday (Oct. 4). Voters have until Oct. 15 to make their choices. Nominations will be announced on Nov. 8. Final-round voting runs from Dec. 12 through Jan. 3. The winners will be revealed on Feb. 2 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Here are the 16 categories with most entries this year, and the 16 categories with the fewest. (Ties prompted us to bump up from 15 to 16 in both cases.)
Categories with the most entries
(in descending order)
Song of the year, 978
Record of the year, 780
Album of the Year, 707
Best music video, 637
Best global music performance, 456
Best engineered album, non-classical, 456
Best arrangement, instruments and vocals, 444
Best jazz performance, 420
Best instrumental composition, 395
Best American roots song, 373
Best alternative music performance, 331
Best new artist, 323
Best pop solo performance, 314
Best American roots performance, 310
Best Americana performance, 290
Best arrangement, instrumental or acapella, 290
Categories with the fewest entries
(in descending order)
Best contemporary blues album, 73
Best Latin jazz album, 73
Best music film, 72
Best R&B album, 70
Best choral performance, 67
Best classical solo vocal album, 64
Best large jazz ensemble album, 63
Songwriter of the year, non-classical, 61
Best bluegrass album, 61
Best regional roots music album, 61
Best roots gospel album, 60
Best score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media, 59
Best musical theater album, 59
Best compilation soundtrack for visual media, 58
Best traditional blues album, 53
Best gospel album, 53
Milli Vanilli made Grammy history in 1990, becoming the first (and still the only) act to have a Grammy revoked. Their best new artist award was stripped from them after it became known that the duo hadn’t sung on their smash debut album Girl You Know It’s True.
But Milli Vanilli’s Grammy saga may not be over. The acclaimed documentary Milli Vanilli is among 72 films vying for a Grammy nomination for best music film. The award is given for concert/performance films or music documentaries. Awards are generally presented to the artist, video director and video producer, though we’ll have to wait for the announcement of the nominations on Nov. 8 to see exactly who is being nominated in each case this year. The entry list, from which voting members vote in the first-round of voting, shows the name of the artist in each case for identification purposes, but includes no director or producer credits.
Three past winners in the category are represented. The Beatles, who won for The Beatles Anthology (and had two subsequent titles also win in the category, though they didn’t personally win for those), are entered with Now and Then – The Last Beatles Song (Short Film). Michael Jackson, who won for Making Michael Jackson’s Thriller, is entered with Thriller 40. U2, which won for Zoo TV: Live From Sydney, is entered with Kiss the Future.
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Coldplay, who have been nominated three times in the category (though they have yet to win), is entered with Music of the Spheres: Live at River Plate. The band’s Music of the Spheres album was nominated for album of the year and best pop vocal album last year.
Three past nominees in the category are entered again this year. The Beach Boys are entered with The Beach Boys; Bon Jovi with Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story; and Travis Tritt with Country Chapel. Jon Bon Jovi received the MusiCares Person of the Year honor on Feb. 2.
Taylor Swift/The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) is also entered. The doc documents one of the most successful concert tours of all time. Taylor Swift is the only four-time Grammy winner for album of the year and is almost certain to be back in the running in that category this year with The Tortured Poets Department.
The Greatest Night in Pop, which tells the story of the recording of the 1985 smash “We Are the World,” is entered. The film received a Primetime Emmy nomination for outstanding documentary or non-fiction special, but lost to Jim Henson Idea Man. Among the producers of the film: Lionel Richie, who co-wrote the song with Michael Jackson, and Harriet Sternberg, a close associate of the late Ken Kragen, who spearheaded the project.
Jon Batiste’s American Symphony, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award for best documentary feature film late last year (though it wasn’t ultimately nominated), is also entered here. Meanwhile, Céline Dion, who performed on the Eiffel Tower in Paris at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics on July 26, is entered with I Am: Céline Dion.
Several films that are linked to albums that have received Grammy nominations in the past are still in the running. We’ve already told you about Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres: Live at River Plate. In addition, Lady Gaga, who was nominated for best pop vocal album four years ago for Chromatica, is entered with Gaga Chromatica Ball, and Lil Nas X, who was nominated for album of the year three years ago for Montero, is entered for Long Live Montero.
The list also features numerous films by or about musicians who have died. In addition to Jackson, they include Chet Atkins (The Making of We Still Can’t Say Goodbye – A Musicians’ Tribute to Chet Atkins and His Legacy Remembered); Syd Barrett (Have You Got It Yet? The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd); James Brown (James Brown: Say It Loud); June Carter Cash (June); Roy Hargrove (Hargrove); Jerry Lee Lewis (Trouble in My Mind); and Ryuichi Sakamoto (Ryuichi Sakamoto/Opus). A previous film about Brown, Mr Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown, was nominated in 2016.
Willie Nelson, who has always been prolific, is the only artist with two films on the entry list — Willie Nelson & Family and Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration.
Thriller 40 isn’t the only anniversary release on the ballot. Weezer’s The Blue Album LIVE/Spotify THIRTY – the 30th Anniversary is also listed.
Stax: Soulsville U.S.A. is entered. A previous film about the fabled record company, Great Performances: Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story, was nominated in 2009.
Jennifer Lopez’s This Is Me… Now: A Love Story, which was made amid the star’s rekindled romance with Ben Affleck, is on the entry list, even though the couple separated in April and Lopez filed for divorce in August.
Other films of note on the entry list include Sheryl Crow & Jason Isbell featuring Don Isbell’s The Art of Music; Melissa Etheridge’s I’m Not Broken; The Kid LAROI’s Kids Are Growing Up: A Story About a Kid Named LAROI; Cyndi Lauper’s Let the Canary Sing; Kacey Musgraves’ Apple Live Music Live: Kacey Musgraves; Run DMC’s Kings From Queens; Paul Simon’s In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon; and, Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza.
First-round voting opened Friday (Oct. 4). Voters have until Oct. 15 to make their choices. Nominations will be announced on Nov. 8. Final-round voting runs from Dec. 12 through Jan. 3. The winners will be revealed on Feb. 2 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
The Grammys often talk about honoring an artist’s intent. Their screening committee did just that in at least two cases this year, allowing Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter to compete for best country album, and Dolly Parton’s Rockstar to compete for best rock album. Both albums could have been slotted in the best pop vocal album category, but the Grammys went along with the artists’ intentions.
Albums often wind up right on the border between two or more genres. That’s bound to happen more and more as artists increasingly cross genre lines. In those cases, the Recording Academy’s screening committee endeavors to put it in the most suitable category.
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Here are more albums whose placement was less-than-certain.
Jimmy Buffett’s last studio album, Equal Strain on All Parts, is entered for best Americana album, rather than best pop vocal album. Buffett died in September 2023.
Charli XCX’s sixth studio album, brat, is entered for best dance/electronic album rather than best pop vocal album.
Doja Cat’s Scarlet 2 Claude, a reissue of her fourth studio album, Scarlet, is entered for best rap album rather than best pop vocal album.
Twisters: The Album is entered for best compilation soundtrack for visual media rather than best country album.
All three Latin albums that made the top 10 on the Billboard 200 in the eligibility period are entered in different categories. Bad Bunny’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana is entered for best música urbana album. Kali Uchis’ Orquídeas is entered for best Latin pop album. Peso Pluma’s Éxodo is entered for best música Mexicana album (including Tejano).
Several top 10 albums weren’t entered at all, including Zach Bryan’s The Great American Bar Scene, Drake’s For All the Dogs and Ed Sheeran’s Autumn Variations.
Travis Scott’s Days Before Rodeo wasn’t eligible. The mixtape was released independently on his SoundCloud account in August 2014.
In other news, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones could be headed for their first Grammy showdown. The two legendary groups are both entered for best rock performance – The Beatles for “Now and Then” and The Stones for “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” (featuring Lady Gaga). If both groups are nominated, it will be the first time they have ever faced off on a Grammy ballot. The Grammys were resistant to rock in the years the bands were at their peak. The Beatles, being the world-shakers they were, were often nominated, but The Stones weren’t nominated in any category until 1978, when Some Girls was up for album of the year.
First-round voting opened Friday (Oct. 4). Voters have until Oct. 15 to make their first-round choices. Nominations will be announced on Nov. 8. Final-round voting runs from Dec. 12 through Jan. 3. The winners will be revealed on Feb. 2 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.