Grammys
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When the nominations for the 66th annual Grammy Awards are announced Nov. 10, Taylor Swift and SZA are each likely to receive nods for album, record and song of the year. It will be a bit harder to crack the Big Four categories than it was the last two years: The Recording Academy is cutting the number of nominees in each of those categories from a bloated 10 to eight, which was the magic number from 2018 to 2020. (Before that, it was generally five.)
And this year’s eligibility period closes two weeks earlier than usual, running from Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 15, 2023. Following are Billboard’s best bets for who will be in contention.
In a welcome change, the academy reinstituted a baseline of involvement needed to receive a nomination in this category. Credited and featured artists, songwriters, producers, engineers, mixers and mastering engineers must have worked on at least 20% of an album’s playing time to receive a nod. This is up from no baseline the last two years, when the academy handed out nominations in this category like they were Halloween candy.
Boygenius, The Record
The trio, consisting of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, co-produced its long-awaited debut album with Catherine Marks. Previous “supergroup” collaborations to be nominated in this category include Crosby, Stills & Nash; the all-star Trio consisting of Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris; Traveling Wilburys; and The Three Tenors. Billboard 200 peak: No. 4.
Drake & 21 Savage, Her Loss
This year’s 50th anniversary of hip-hop has received yearlong coverage, which boosts the already good chance that at least one rap album will make the finals. Her Loss was up for album of the year at the BET Awards in June. This would be the third album of the year nomination as a lead or co-lead artist for Drake (following Views and Scorpion) and the first for 21 Savage. Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (one week).
Lana Del Rey, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
Del Rey’s ninth studio album could yield her second nod in this category, following Norman F–king Rockwell! four years ago. Del Rey co-produced the album with Jack Antonoff, Benji, Zach Dawes, Drew Erickson and Mike Hermosa. Billboard 200 peak: No. 3.
Foo Fighters, But Here We Are
One of the Grammys’ favorite bands collaborated with one of the Grammys’ favorite producers, Greg Kurstin, a two-time winner for producer of the year, non-classical. The Foo Fighters’ 11th studio album — their first since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in March 2022 — could yield their third nod in this category. Billboard 200 peak: No. 8.
Olivia Rodrigo, Guts
Rodrigo’s upcoming second album could very well follow her debut, Sour, to an album of the year nod. It was produced by Dan Nigro, who also did the honors on Sour. This would be the second time Rodrigo has been nominated alongside one of her idols, Taylor Swift, in this category. Sour competed with Swift’s evermore two years ago.
SZA, SOS
This tied for album of the year at the BET Awards with Beyoncé’s Renaissance (a Grammy nominee in this category last year). SZA’s second studio album had multiple producers, including Babyface, Jeff Bhasker, Benny Blanco and Shellback. Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (10 weeks).
Taylor Swift, Midnights
This would be Swift’s sixth nomination in this category, which would put her in a tie with Barbra Streisand for the most nods by a woman in Grammy history. Swift co-produced Midnights with Jack Antonoff, Sounwave, Jahaan Sweet and Keanu. She could make history when the Grammys are presented Feb. 4, 2024, becoming the first person to win album of the year four times. She’s currently tied with Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon with three wins each. Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (six weeks).
Morgan Wallen, One Thing at a Time
This would be the first country album to be nominated in this category since Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour five years ago (which won) and the first by a male country artist since Chris Stapleton’s Traveller eight years ago. Joey Moi, Cameron Montgomery, Charlie Handsome and Jacob Durrett co-produced the collection, which is Wallen’s third studio album. Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (15 weeks — longer than any other album since Adele’s 2011 release, 21).
Within Reach: Luke Combs, Gettin’ Old; Miley Cyrus, Endless Summer Vacation; Jelly Roll, Whitsitt Chapel; Noah Kahan, Stick Season; Karol G, Mañana Será Bonito; Lil Baby, It’s Only Me; Metro Boomin, Heroes & Villains; Janelle Monáe, The Age of Pleasure; Paramore, This Is Why; Ed Sheeran, – (Subtract); Sam Smith, Gloria; Tanya Tucker, Sweet Western Sound; Lainey Wilson, Bell Bottom Country
Clockwise: Luke Combs, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift and Rihanna.
Illustration by Andrei Cojocaru. Jeremy Cowart; Brianna Capozzi; Christopher Polk for PMC; Ezra Shaw/Getty Images.
Swift is still looking for her first win in this category, as are past contenders such as SZA and Rihanna. “Calm Down” by Rema & Selena Gomez, which would have been a strong contender, was released before the start of the eligibility year. Rema’s solo recording of the song was entered, but not nominated, for best global music performance last year.
Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”
Cyrus’ father, Billy Ray Cyrus, has received two record of the year nods — for “Achy Breaky Heart” and “Old Town Road,” his collaboration with Lil Nas X. The Cyruses would become just the third parent and child to each receive record of the year nods, following the Sinatras (Frank and Nancy) and the Coles (Nat “King” and Natalie). Billboard Hot 100 peak: No. 1 (eight weeks).
Luke Combs, “Fast Car”
Tracy Chapman’s original version of this song was a 1988 record of the year nominee. This would become only the second song in Grammy history to be the basis of two singles that received record of the year nods. The first was “Mack the Knife.” (Bobby Darin’s recording was the 1959 winner, while Ella Fitzgerald’s was a 1960 nominee.) Hot 100 peak: No. 2 (so far).
Lil Durk & J. Cole, “All My Life”
The melodic chorus on this hip-hop smash gives it broad-based appeal. This would be the first collaboration by two rappers to receive a nod in this category since DaBaby’s “Rockstar” (featuring Roddy Ricch) three years ago. J. Cole finally won his first Grammy (after amassing 12 nominations) four years ago for “A Lot.” Lil Durk is still looking for his first win. Hot 100 peak: No. 2.
PinkPantheress & Ice Spice, “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2”
This is vying to become the third collaboration by two women in the past four years to land a nod in this category. Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage” (featuring Beyoncé) was nominated three years ago, and Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More” (featuring SZA) was a contender two years ago. Hot 100 peak: No. 3.
Rihanna, “Lift Me Up”
This soulful ballad from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrived at the start of the eligibility year. This would be Rihanna’s fourth record of the year nominee, and her first on her own. She was previously nominated for collaborations with Jay-Z (“Umbrella”), Eminem (“Love the Way You Lie”) and Drake (“Work”). Hot 100 peak: No. 2.
SZA, “Kill Bill”
This would be SZA’s third record of the year nominee, and her first on her own. She was previously nominated for collaborations with Kendrick Lamar (“All the Stars”) and Doja Cat (“Kiss Me More”). Hot 100 peak: No. 1 (one week).
Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero”
This would be Swift’s fifth nod in this category. She was previously nominated for “You Belong With Me,” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space.” Swift would be the first artist whose first five nominations in this category were for solo recordings (and not collaborations or group/duo recordings) since Frank Sinatra in the ’50s and ’60s. Hot 100 peak: No. 1 (eight weeks).
Morgan Wallen, “Last Night”
This single and/or Combs’ “Fast Car” would be the first country single (going by Grammy performance category placements) to receive a record of the year nod since Lady A’s “Need You Now” 13 years ago (which won). Taylor Swift’s subsequent “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, but vied for a performance nod in the pop field at the Grammys. Hot 100 peak: No. 1 (13 weeks).
Within Reach: Zach Bryan featuring Maggie Rogers, “Dawns”; Lana Del Rey, “A&W”; Jelly Roll, “Need a Favor”; Labrinth, “Never Felt So Alone”; Coi Leray, “Players”; Lil Uzi Vert, “Just Wanna Rock”; Dua Lipa, “Dance the Night”; Janelle Monáe, “Lipstick Lover”; Paramore, “This Is Why”; P!nk, “Trustfall”; Olivia Rodrigo, “Vampire”; Ed Sheeran, “Eyes Closed”; Toosii, “Favorite Song”; Tanya Tucker & Brandi Carlile, “Ready As I’ll Never Be”
From left: Tanya Tucker & Brandi Carlile, Jelly Roll & Lil Durk.
Illustration by Andrei Cojocaru. Gary Miller/WireImage; Chum Daddy; Katie Jones for WWD.
Last year, six of the 10 record of the year nominees were also nominated for this songwriter’s award. This year, five out of eight could double up. Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” won’t be eligible because it was already well-known. Tracy Chapman was nominated in this category in 1988 for writing it.
“A&W”Songwriters: Lana Del Rey, Jack Antonoff, Sam Dew
Del Rey and Antonoff were nominated in this category four years ago for co-writing “Norman F–king Rockwell.” He won this honor 11 years ago for co-writing fun.’s “We Are Young” (featuring Janelle Monáe). This would be Dew’s first nomination in the category.
“All My Life”Songwriters: Lil Durk, J. Cole, Dr. Luke, Rocco Did It Again!, Ryan OG, LunchMoney Lewis, Theron “Uptown AP” Thomas
This would be Dr. Luke’s third nomination in this category following nods for Katy Perry’s “Roar” and the Doja Cat-SZA collaboration “Kiss Me More.”
“Anti-Hero”Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff
“Anti-Hero” could give Swift a record seventh nomination for song of the year, which would surpass Paul McCartney and Lionel Richie for the most nods in the history of the category. Surprisingly, this would be the first Swift-Antonoff collaboration to be nominated for this award.
“Flowers”Songwriters: Miley Cyrus, Gregory “Aldae” Hein, Michael Pollack
This would be the first nod in this category for all three co-writers. The song is a modern twist on such hits as “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” a nominee in this category 45 years ago, and Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man,” a nominee for best pop solo performance 10 years ago.
“Kill Bill”Songwriters: SZA, Carter Lang, Rob Bisel
This would be SZA’s third nod in this category; she was among the co-writers of “All the Stars” and “Kiss Me More.” Lang was also nominated in this category for co-writing the latter. Bisel was nominated for record of the year as an engineer-mixer on the irresistible pop smash.
“Lift Me Up”Songwriters: Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna, Tems, Ryan Coogler
This would be the first nomination in this category for Rihanna, Tems and director Coogler. Göransson won this award five years ago for co-writing Childish Gambino’s “This Is America.” “Lift Me Up” would be the first Academy Award nominee for best original song to also be nominated for the top songwriting Grammy since “Fight for You” from Judas and the Black Messiah two years ago.
“Need a Favor”Songwriters: Jelly Roll, Rob Ragosta, Joe Ragosta, Austin Nivarel
This song, released as the lead single from Jelly Roll’s breakthrough album, Whitsitt Chapel, has a refreshingly honest and affecting chorus, which begins: “I only talk to God when I need a favor/And I only pray when I ain’t got a prayer.”
“Ready As I’ll Never Be”Songwriters: Brandi Carlile, Tanya Tucker
This would be Carlile’s fifth nomination in this category and Tucker’s second. They previously collaborated on “Bring My Flowers Now,” a nominee here two years ago. “Ready As I’ll Never Be,” which was featured in the 2022 documentary The Return of Tanya Tucker, could also receive a nod for best song written for visual media.
Within Reach: “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2,” PinkPantheress & Ice Spice; “Dance the Night,” Dua Lipa; “Dawns,” Zach Bryan featuring Maggie Rogers; “Eyes Closed,” Ed Sheeran; “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old,” Luke Combs; “Last Night,” Morgan Wallen; “Lipstick Lover,” Janelle Monáe; “Never Felt So Alone,” Labrinth; “Players,” Coi Leray; “Thank God,” Kane Brown & Kaitlyn Brown; “This Is Why,” Paramore; “Trustfall,” P!nk; “Vampire,” Olivia Rodrigo
Clockwise: Gracie Abrams, Ice Spice, Peso Pluma and PinkPantheress.
Illustration by Andrei Cojocaru. Mark Horton/Getty Images; Mike Coppola/Getty Images; Jerry Budar; Mia Teresa.
Though The Record is boygenius’ first album, the trio won’t be eligible here because one of its members, Phoebe Bridgers, is a previous Grammy nominee. She received four nods, including best new artist, three years ago.
Zach Bryan and GloRilla probably won’t be eligible because they were nominated in performance categories last year. The Grammy rulebook makes an exception for such artists, provided they hadn’t at the time of those nominations released enough material to be “eligible in this category for the first time.” Bryan and GloRilla were both eligible and entered for best new artist last year.
The Grammy screening committee will have the final say on whether Coi Leray and Jelly Roll are eligible. Neither has been nominated before, but both have been around awhile. Leray was nominated for best new artist at the BET Awards two years ago, and Jelly Roll has been releasing records since 2011.
Gracie Abrams
Aaron Dessner and Matias Tellez co-produced the singer-songwriter’s first studio album, Good Riddance. Abrams has served as an opening act on Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour tour and Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour. Fun fact: Abrams’ father, J.J. Abrams, won two Primetime Emmy Awards as executive producer/director of Lost.
Ice Spice
The rapper, born Isis Naija Gaston, has landed four top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2023 thanks to collaborations with PinkPantheress (“Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2”) and past best new artist nominees Taylor Swift (“Karma”) and Nicki Minaj (“Princess Diana,” “Barbie World”). Ice Spice was nominated for best new artist at the 2023 BET Awards.
Jelly Roll
The rapper turned country artist had a star-making night in April at the CMT Music Awards, where he performed “Need a Favor” and won three trophies. Jelly Roll, born Jason Bradley DeFord, will turn 39 in December, which would make him the oldest individual nominee in this category since Andrea Bocelli, who was 40 when he was nominated 25 years ago.
Coco Jones
Jones won best new artist at the BET Awards, beating GloRilla and Ice Spice. The former child star was featured on Radio Disney’s The Next Big Thing in 2010-11 and starred in the Disney Channel film Let It Shine in 2012. Her breakthrough track, “ICU,” reached No. 63 on the Hot 100 in May. Jones was also featured on a track on Babyface’s 2022 album, Girls Night Out.
Noah Kahan
The singer-songwriter’s third album, Stick Season, vaulted to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 following the release of an expanded edition in June. It will probably be nominated for best Americana album or best folk album.
PinkPantheress
The British singer-songwriter was nominated for the rising star award at the Ivor Novello Awards in 2022. She won the BBC’s Sound of 2022 poll and has been nominated for three NME Awards. “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2” reached No. 3 on the Hot 100.
Peso Pluma
The Mexican singer-songwriter-rapper born Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija is vying to become the third Latin artist to be nominated in this category in the past five years, following Rosalía and Anitta. Génesis, his third studio album, entered the Billboard 200 at No. 3, becoming the highest-charting regional Mexican album to date.
Bailey Zimmerman
The singer-songwriter’s first studio album, Religiously. The Album, reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200. Zimmerman was nominated for new male artist of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards in May.
Within Reach: Lola Brooke, Doechii, Fifty Fifty, FLO, HARDY, JVKE, Kelela, RAYE, Rema, Toosii, The War and Treaty, Hailey Whitters
This story will appear in the July 15, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Last month, the Recording Academy announced a series of changes to the Grammy Awards to better reflect an evolving music industry. Of those newly instituted guidelines, protocols involving technological advancements in machine learning sparked headlines: “Only human creators” could win the music industry’s highest honor in a decision aimed at the use of artificial intelligence in popular music.
“A work that contains no human authorship is not eligible in any category,” the rules read in part.
As the music industry continues to come to terms with this new technology, so too will the Grammys, says Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason Jr.
“Here’s the super easy, headline statement: AI, or music that contains AI-created elements is absolutely eligible for entry and for consideration for Grammy nomination. Period,” Mason told The Associated Press. “What’s not going to happen is we are not going to give a Grammy or Grammy nomination to the AI portion.”
If an AI or voice modeling program performs the lead vocal on a song, the track would be eligible in a songwriting category, for example, but not a performance category, because “what is performing is not human creation,” he explains. “Conversely, if a song was sung by an actual human in the studio, and they did all the performing, but AI wrote the lyric or the track, the song would not be eligible in a composition or a songwriting category.”
“As long as the human is contributing in a more than de minimis amount, which to us means a meaningful way, they are and will always be considered for a nomination or a win,” he continued. “We don’t want to see technology replace human creativity. We want to make sure technology is enhancing, embellishing, or additive to human creativity. So that’s why we took this particular stand in this award cycle.”
The Recording Academy has long considered setting rules related to AI following the popularity of new songs created alongside AI technology: David Guetta’s “Emin-AI-em”, the AI -compositions of TikTok user @ghostwriter977, Grimes’ voice modeling AI software.
In order to establish their AI guidelines, the Recording Academy engaged in extensive research, including holding tech summits.
“I’ve met with the copyright office. We’ve talked about the future and what that looks like on a federal level and the legislative level,” Mason said, adding that AI conversations “really came to a head in the last six months.”
The new Grammy AI protocols were announced three days after Paul McCartney shared that “the last Beatles record” had been composed using artificial intelligence to extract John Lennon’s voice from an old demo. Without knowing the extent of the technology, Mason couldn’t confirm or deny whether the song would be eligible for a Grammy nomination.
“We’ll see what it turns out to be,” he said. “But I would imagine from the early descriptions that I’ve heard there would be components of the creation that would be absolutely eligible.”
So, can Grammy viewers expect to see work at least partially created with AI nominated for an award as early as next year?
It’s impossible to predict what is submitted. But as Mason affirms, “people are using the technology. I’m imagining it’s going to be involved in a lot of records a lot of songs this year, so we’ll see if some of them get nominated or not, but I’m sure there’ll be some that will be submitted.”
The 2024 Grammy Awards will return to Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, airing live on CBS and livestreamed on Paramount+.
Taylor Swift, SZA, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen and more artists who are expected to dominate the 2024 Grammy nominations have a little more than four months to wait until the nods are announced on Friday Nov. 10. The awards will follow on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024.
The Recording Academy announced key dates for the 2024 Grammy Awards on Thursday (June 29). The show will be held at Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center) in Los Angeles for the 21st time in the past 25 years. It will air live coast-to-coast, meaning music fans on the West Coast won’t have to wait three hours for a tape-delayed broadcast as they still do with some other shows.
The show is scheduled to run for 3 and a half hours, from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. PT. (It has been known to run over.) The show will air on CBS, its network home since 1973, and will stream on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the show airs).
Final-round voting ends on Jan. 4, 2024, a full month before the winners are revealed. Oscar voting has traditionally extended to five days before their telecast, though for the upcoming 96th annual Academy Awards, voting closes 12 days before the telecast. (Here are all the key dates for the upcoming Oscars.)
The Recording Academy last week announced an aggressive outreach to diversify and freshen its membership. It extended invitations to more than 2,800 new voting members and to more than 850 professional (non-voting) members. Last year, it offered membership to 2,000 new voting members, of whom more than 1,300 accepted. This is having a major impact on the composition of the Academy, which has more than 11,000 total voting members. To participate in the entire 66th annual Grammy Awards process, invitees must accept their invitations by July 14.
The Academy also recently released its annual rules and guidelines for the upcoming Grammy Awards. To access the rulebook, go here.
The Recording Academy has not yet announced who will host the Grammy telecast. Trevor Noah served as host the last three years. If he gets the nod again, he’ll become just the fifth person to host the Grammys four or more times. Andy Williams hosted the first seven live telecasts from 1971-77. John Denver hosted six times – in 1978-79 and again from 1982-85. LL Cool J hosted five years in a row from 2012-16. Garry Shandling hosted four times – in 1990-91 and again in 1993-94. (Here, LL reflects on his “amazing run” as Grammy host. Here are five fun facts about Noah.)
Here are key dates for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards season:
Product eligibility period:
Oct. 1, 2022 – Sept. 15, 2023
Online entry period:
July 17, 2023 – Aug. 31, 2023
First-round voting:
Oct. 11, 2023 – Oct. 20, 2023
Nominees announced:
Nov. 10, 2023
Final-round voting:
Dec. 14, 2023 – Jan. 4, 2024
66th annual Grammy Awards:
Feb. 4, 2024
The Recording Academy sent invitations to more than 2,800 new voting members on Wednesday (June 21). That’s more than the 2,000 invitations to new voting members it sent out last year. Of those, nearly 1,300 invitees accepted, according to the Academy. This is having a major impact on the composition of the Academy, which has more than 11,000 total voting members.
To participate in the entire 66th Annual Grammy Awards process, invitees must accept their invitations by July 14.
In addition, the Academy sent invitations to more than 850 professional (non-voting) members today. This is also more than last year, when it sent invitations to more than 600 professional members, of whom more than 500 accepted, according to the Academy.
The Academy currently has more than 2,700 professional members.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. today sent an email to all members of the Academy saying: “Members are the foundation of the Recording Academy. And today, we’re privileged to extend invitations to a remarkable group of close to 3,700 creators and professionals spanning various genres, crafts, backgrounds, and regions to join our mission to cultivate a more enriching world for creators.”
Today at 11 a.m. PT, the Academy is hosting an Instagram Live with selected members of this year’s new class. They include Tony winner and Grammy nominee Myles Frost (MJ: The Musical), Emmy nominee Chrissy Metz (This Is Us) and rapper Rap-Unzel, who got her big break in 2017 when she competed on Jermaine Dupri’s reality TV series The Rap Game. The session will be moderated by Ashley Thomas, the Academy’s senior director of member outreach & systems.
In a recent video which was posted in the Academy’s site, Mason shed light on the fairly recent practice of actively reaching out to prospective new members rather than waiting for them to approach the Academy, which was the way it used to work.
“As of three years ago, we started going out into genres, into communities and saying ‘We need more banjo players, we need more rap artists, we need more women, we need more people of this genre’ and we started inviting people in. That’s how we started to change our membership. We’ve still got a long way to go. That’s how we’re going to get better results.”
The Academy will release data about the demographic breakdown of this year’s class of new inductees after the enrollment period ends on July 14.
Two years ago, the Recording Academy made headlines when it disbanded its controversial “nominations review committees.” So, you may be surprised to learn that in 16 of the 94 categories on the 2024 ballot, committees will still determine the final nominees.
What’s going on here? These are “craft committees,” not “nominations review committees” – though they function in the same way. Typically, these committees are presented with a list of the top 30 choices by rank-and-file voting members. They may choose any five entries they wish from that list. Those become the nominees.
In fact, the Academy is moving two more categories – best music film and best music video – under the umbrella of “craft committees” for the upcoming 66th Annual Grammy Awards. Previously, the nominees in these two categories were determined by rank-and-file voters.
In a Recording Academy-sponsored video released last week, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. explained to rapper Cordae how and why the Academy disbanded its nominations review committees. But in so doing, he left the impression that all committees were a thing of the past, which is not the case.
Here’s what Mason told Cordae: “But as of two years ago, we removed all committees so there are no committees making any decisions. The Academy and the Grammy body is not making any decisions. The voters – 13,000 – vote. The top five-eight-10 vote getters, depending on the category, are considered the nominees. That short list goes back to the same voters. They vote and the top vote-getter wins. Period. Point blank. No other interference. No other effects taking place.”
Mason was likely drawing a distinction in his own mind between “nominations review committees” and “craft committees.” But few outside of the Academy grasp the difference.
(Another point: There are no more categories with 10 nominees. The Academy dropped the number of nominees in each of its Big Four categories to eight. This video may have been taped before that rule tweak took place.)
Earlier this week, Mason shared with Billboard the reason for having craft committees determine the nominees for producer of the year, non-classical and songwriter of the year, non-classical. “The reason craft committees are still employed here is because these nominations are really based on large bodies of work. Anything else in the process is really about a song or a record or a performance and we feel the voters can spend the time to listen to that song/performance and evaluate it. [But here] in order to make sure we’re getting this right, the idea of the craft committee spending the hours and hours it takes to listen to just one potential nominee’s material is worth it to make sure we get it right.”
According to the Academy, all members of craft committees must be voting members of the Academy in the membership class which corresponds to the craft they are being submitted to judge. All must have filled out a documentation form listing six tracks or albums for which they have a credit corresponding to the craft they are being submitted to judge. The credits must be for recordings released in the previous five years.
Committee members may serve a maximum of eight consecutive years. At least 25% of each committee must turn over from the previous year’s committee.
Here are the 16 categories on the 2024 Grammy ballot where the nominees will be determined by craft committees. The first frame lists categories where the committee draws from lists of the voters’ top 30 choices. The second frame lists categories where the committee chooses the nominees without any voter involvement. In both cases, the categories are listed in the order they appear on the Grammy ballot.
Committees Choose the Final Nominees Drawn from Voters’ Top 30 Picks in These 10 Categories:
The Recording Academy is dropping the number of fields on the Grammy ballot from 26 to 11 in an effort to give voters more flexibility in their voting. All Grammy voters can vote in the General Field, which has long consisted of record, album and song of the year, plus best new artist. As of […]
A track and singles category that includes recordings that utilize unique local expressions from across the African continent. Highlighting regional melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic musical traditions, the category includes but is not limited to the Afrobeat, Afro fusion, Afro Pop, Afrobeats, Alte, Amapiano, Bongo Flava, Genge, Kizomba, Chimurenga, High Life, Fuji, Kwassa, Ndombolo, Mapouka, Ghanaian Drill, Afro-House, South African Hip Hop, and Ethio Jazz genres.
Previously, such performances competed for best global music performance, a category that will continue, albeit without African music performances.
Told that some critics have said that one category isn’t enough for an entire continent, Mason responds, “I don’t disagree. It’s a starting point, though. It’s a way for us to celebrate music that’s coming from that continent which is really impressive.”
The larger significance of this new award is that it shows that the Academy, which was founded and long known as the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, is taking a more international view.
“It’s an acknowledgment that music is coming from many different places and that we as an Academy are going to have to make some changes to what we’re doing to make sure we’re honoring it,” Mason says. “It’s not just about Western music. It’s not just about what happens in the U.S. at this point. It’s beyond that. It’s what’s happening around the world. You’ll see us in the future listening and going to different countries. I went to Africa three times in the last year, traveling the world to understand what’s happening, what’s next in music, where are music pockets bubbling, where is the next scene that’s going to explode globally. What does it mean to have borderless music? This is a step in that direction.”
The Recording Academy’s approach to dance/electronic music has long been a mixed bag, with the Grammys attempting to cram the genre’s often extremely different sounds and styles into its pair of dance/electronic categories for best recording and album.
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Now the Recording Academy has taken a major step forward in its approach to the expansive genre with its addition of best pop dance recording. On Tuesday (June 13), the academy announced this new category, along with other new categories for best African music performance and best alternative jazz album.
“This is the biggest victory for dance music at the Grammys in almost 20 years, since the addition of the dance album category in 2005,” says Matt Colon, the former Chairman of the dance/electronic screening committee at the Recording Academy, and also the president of YMU Music and Steve Aoki’s longtime manager.
Indeed for the dance world, this is a big deal. While the collision of house, EDM, IDM, indie electronic and other dance subgenres have made for strange nominee bedfellows over the years, nowhere has the Grammys’ dance/electronic culture war been so acute as with pop dance (or “dance pop,” as the genre is more commonly referred to), the style that rides the line between the two genres with big melodies, center-of-attention vocals and traditional pop structures. In 2005, for example, Britney Spears’ “Toxic” competed with The Chemical Brothers’ “Get Yourself High” for best dance/electronic recording. Spears won.
With the addition of the best pop dance category for 2024, the Grammys are essentially creating a new home for pop-centric dance music at the awards. In doing so, the academy is providing an official space for these kinds of artists while preserving its other two dance/electronic genres for artists and recordings from the more traditional dance/electronic world.
“It was much needed,” says Colon, “because there should be a place for commercial artists who are doing dance songs and dance artists who are making more commercial-leaning music… I think everybody recognizes there’s a difference between what The Chainsmokers or Zedd or Steve [Aoki] or Calvin Harris do, versus what SBTRKT or Mura Masa do.”
“In the same way that rock has many different categories, there is the same need for electronic — as it is a diverse overarching umbrella with many distinct genres,” adds TOKiMONSTA, who was nominated for best/dance electronic album in 2019.
Better representing the size and diversity of the dance world has been a mission for voting members of the dance music community for 25 years, since the genre was incorporated into the awards in 1998 with the addition of best dance/electronic recording. The issue has become particularly resonant in recent years, as house, techno, IDM and other “underground” genres have become greater mainstream forces.
“Genres like house and techno adhere to specific traits that can almost at times be anti-pop,” says TOKiMONSTA’s manager Lewis Kunstler. “I believe dance artists felt being included with pop electronic songs [made] it difficult for people to regard their music to the degree their music deserves.”
The creation of nominee fields that accurately reflect what’s going on in dance has been a particular challenge following the 2021 removal of the Grammys’ nominations review committees. These committees employed a panel of experts (rather than popular vote) to ensure nominations in the two dance/electronic categories accurately reflected the sprawling global scene. General sentiment is that the dance/electronic nominations haven’t been as accurate as possible since their removal.
(To wit, these committees were put in place in the dance/electronic fields in 2013 as a protective mechanism following that year’s infamous nomination for Al Walser, a little-known Los Angeles DJ who was nominated for best dance/electronic recording alongside heavy hitters Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex, Calvin Harris and Avicii.)
The nominations review committee is different from the dance/electronic screening committee, which employs a panel of dance-world experts to review submissions to the two dance categories that may be better suited elsewhere. This committee has, historically, been vexed by dance pop music.
“It was always a struggle with pop artists that leaned dance,” Colon says. “A song had a four on the floor beat, so it was submitted to dance, even though it was just a traditional pop song with all the hallmarks of a pop song… That kind of stuff tended to be shot down [by the screening committee] because the moment those get in, they win by popularity vote. You saw that with Beyoncé last year: Not that she didn’t create a dance album, but the moment there’s a name like that [they tend to win due to name recognition] — because the dance categories are voted on by the entire voting academy.”
While pop royalty like Madonna, Spears, Janet Jacket and Kylie Minogue have all been nominated in the dance/electronic categories, the genres became more explicitly dance/electronic-oriented following the EDM boom of the early 2010s — although the pop structures inherent to EDM presented their own challenges.
“Suddenly you had traditional dance artists creating pop-dance songs and sometimes creating straight-up pop songs, then submitting those to the category and getting offended or upset — sometimes justifiably so — when they didn’t get [approved for] the category,” says Colon. “That has been the largest focus of the screening committee, deciding what is dance and what isn’t, when you have an artist like Steve Aoki or a Tiësto or whomever making a song that straddles the line between dance and pop. It’s been a huge, huge battle internally, and oftentimes it goes either way. The committee tries to stay consistent, but it’s tough.”
It’s notable that the dance pop addition follows the 65th Annual Grammy Awards this past February, as 2023 marked an acutely conflicted year for dance/electronic music at the awards. Many in the dance world celebrated the fact that the genre’s best album award was presented on the live telecast for the first time ever, giving nominees including ODESZA, Diplo, RÜFÜS DÜ SOL and Bonobo a celebrated moment in primetime.
But more controversial was the likely reason behind this telecast inclusion — Beyoncé, who was nominated for (and won), both dance/electronic awards for her house-oriented album Renaissance and its ’90s house revival lead single, “Break My Soul.” Beyoncé’s inclusion in these genres was the subject of sharp debate amongst members of the dance music community, some of whom felt Renaissance was more pop than dance.
A similarly spicy conversation happened regarding the David Guetta/Bebe Rexha track “I’m Good (Blue),” which this year was nominated in the best dance/electronic recording category despite many voters feeling the song — which samples Eiffel 65’s 1998 pop smash “Blue” — is overtly pop.
Per the academy, the new pop dance category recognizes “tracks and singles that feature up-tempo, danceable music that follows a pop arrangement. Eligible pop dance recordings also feature strong rhythmic beats and significant electronic-based instruments with an emphasis on the vocal performance, melody and hooks.”
Thus, the pop dance recording category eases conflict by creating space for dance tracks forged with the pop melodies and structures — which have always been an element of dance/electronic music, and which remain a dominant force in dance in the post-EDM era. (The addition is also a win in that it earns dance/electronic a generally greater presence at the Grammys, via the addition of five more nominees.) Colon predicts pop dance nominees that include “pop artists doing what at least passes as credible dance songs, and dance artists creating the heavily pop leaning songs.”
Importantly, this new category is also a recording rather than performance award, meaning that the track’s producers, engineers and mixers – people at the heart of the dance world — will be honored, along with whichever pop or pop dance star might also make the track.
For a genre that often gets less exposure at the Grammys than juggernauts like hip-hop, Latin, pop and rock, the best pop dance addition is a landmark victory in ensuring the sprawling, global electronic scene is better represented at the awards. Whether one is making dance pop radio bangers or underground drum ‘n’ bass, it’s a development all varieties of electronic artists can get behind.
The Recording Academy has added three new categories for the 66th annual Grammy Awards, which are set for Sunday Feb. 4, 2024 – best African music performance, best alternative jazz album, and best pop dance recording. This brings the total number of categories to 94, the highest total since the number reached an all-time peak of 109 in 2010.
In addition, the existing categories of producer of the year, non-classical and songwriter of the year, non-classical will be moved to the general field. The general field has long consisted of four categories – album, record and song of the year plus best new artist. These four categories are often unofficially called the Big Four.
By moving the producer and songwriter awards to the general field, all Grammy voters can in these non-genre-specific categories without using up a field. (All voters can vote in the general field and then in no more than three other fields.)
Producer of the year, non-classical was added in 1974. Songwriter of the year, non-classical was added last year. Thom Bell and Tobias Jesso Jr. were the inaugural recipients, respectively.
These category additions and amendments were passed at the Recording Academy’s most recent semiannual board of trustees meeting held last month.
“The Recording Academy is proud to announce these latest category changes to our awards process,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “These changes reflect our commitment to actively listen and respond to the feedback from our music community, accurately represent a diverse range of relevant musical genres, and stay aligned with the ever-evolving musical landscape.
“By introducing these three new categories, we are able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artists – and relocating the producer of the year and songwriter of the year categories to the general field ensures that all our voters can participate in recognizing excellence in these fields. We are excited to honor and celebrate the creators and recordings in these categories, while also exposing a wider range of music to fans worldwide.”
With these three new categories, the Academy has added 10 categories in the last three years. That’s the most categories the Academy has added in any three- year period since 1959-61, when it added 12.
Bill Freimuth, the Academy’s former senior vice president, awards, led an effort to pare down the number of categories. The number nosedived from 109 to 78 in 2011, but has since been creeping back up. There is an ongoing debate between those who think “less is more” (that having a glut of categories devalues the award) and those who think “more is more” (that it makes more creators happy, which will turn Grammy critics in the creative community into Grammy boosters).
The Recording Academy accepts proposals from members of the music community throughout the year. The awards and nominations committee, comprised of Academy voting members of diverse genres and backgrounds, meets annually to review proposals to update award categories, procedures and eligibility guidelines.
Here’s a closer look at the three new Grammy categories:
Best African Music Performance
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