Grammys
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After the breakthrough year she has had, Sabrina Carpenter is likely to contend in multiple categories when Grammy nominations are announced Nov. 8. Her latest studio project, Short n’ Sweet, is considered a shoo-in for a best pop vocal album nod and could potentially be up for album of the year. And she could even land a nomination for best new artist — despite Short n’ Sweet being her sixth full-length.
How can an artist who has released six albums be in the conversation for best new artist? Because, while the Grammys set a minimum number of releases an artist must have to qualify in this category (five singles/tracks or one album), there is no maximum. Instead, the Grammys’ rules and guidelines booklet says nominations for the honor hinge on when “the artist had attained a breakthrough or prominence” — and it delegates that determination to a screening committee.
So Carpenter’s potential nomination comes down to whether the screening committee thinks she had achieved prominence as of Sept. 15, 2023, the last day of the previous eligibility year. At that point, the highest she had ever climbed on the Billboard Hot 100 was a decidedly decaf No. 48, for “Skin” in February 2021. She performed on the MTV Video Music Awards’ preshow on Sept. 12, 2023. (This year, by contrast, her medley of three hits that had each reached the top three on the Hot 100 was a highlight of the main show.)
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Megan Moroney is another not-quite-so-new artist whom the screening committee will likely discuss at length. She had a No. 30 hit on the Hot 100 in May 2023 with “Tennessee Orange,” and her popularity has continued to build since: In May 2024, she won new female artist of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards.
Other top contenders in the category this year, including Chappell Roan, Benson Boone, Shaboozey, Teddy Swims, Sexyy Red and Reneé Rapp, more clearly fit the best new artist criteria the Grammys outline.
The rules in this category have changed over the years as the Recording Academy has struggled to strike just the right balance: not too strict, not too lenient. In the past, the academy has sometimes disqualified artists for reasons that may now seem petty; take Whitney Houston, who had recorded a couple of duets prior to releasing her debut album and was therefore deemed ineligible, or singer-songwriter Richard Marx, who had contributed a song to a soundtrack. Other times, the academy has leaned too far in the other direction. Robert Goulet won in 1963, two years after he became a star in the Broadway musical Camelot. When Alessia Cara claimed the prize in 2018, it was nearly two years after her ballad “Here” hit the top five on the Hot 100.
Three past winners for best new artist — Crosby, Stills & Nash (who won in 1970), Jody Watley (1988) and Lauryn Hill (1999) — wouldn’t be eligible under today’s rules. David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash were all already known for their work in previous groups, as were Watley (in Shalamar) and Hill (Fugees).
Perhaps the academy should have just named the award “best new or developing artist” or “best breakthrough artist” to skirt the issue of whether these talents were truly new, but given the marquee award’s notoriety, such a change is now unlikely. Voters are probably stuck with best new artist — along with the yearly debates over who should and shouldn’t qualify for it.
And if Carpenter isn’t just nominated but steps onto the stage on Grammy night to accept the award, well, it won’t be without precedent. In 2001, Shelby Lynne won the accolade — precisely six albums into her career.
This story appears in the Oct. 5, 2024, issue of Billboard.
On Thursday (Oct. 3), one day before first-round voting opens for the 67th annual Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy released its 2024 Membership Report. The most eye-popping statistic: 66% of the current Grammys electorate has joined since the Recording Academy introduced its new membership model in June 2019. Under that model, the academy invites large new member classes to join, with an eye on boosting the numbers of women, people of color and people under 40 in the academy.
Thus, the voting membership that delivered album, record and song of the year to Adele in 2017 and those same three awards to Bruno Mars in 2018 is much different today. We started to see a shift in voting patterns in February 2019, even before the new membership model was introduced, when Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” became the first hip-hop hit to win record or song of the year. (It won both.) That same year, Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour won album of the year.
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Since 2019, approximately 8,700 creators have become voting members of the Recording Academy. Of that total, more than 2,000 joined just this year. There are now more than 13,000 total voting members, according to the Academy.
Other key takeaways from the report include:
Boosting Numbers of Women
In 2019, the Recording Academy set an ambitious goal to add 2,500 women voting members by 2025. With a year to go, the Academy has already surpassed this goal, adding more than 3,000 women voting members. Since 2019, the percentage of women voting members has grown by 27%.
Increasing Racial Diversity
The Academy reports that the percentage of people of color has grown by 65% since 2019 among voting members. Since 2019:
The percentage of Black or African American+ members has grown by 90%.
The percentage of Hispanic or Latin+ members has grown by 43%.
The percentage of AAPI+ (Asian American or Pacific Islander) members has doubled, reflecting a 100% increase.
The current voting membership, counting the new voting members added this year, is 49% white or Caucasian; 38% people of color; and 13% prefer not to disclose or unknown. That “people of color” slice breaks down like this: 19% Black or African American+; 10% Hispanic or Latin+; 4% Asian or Pacific Islander; 2% prefer to self-describe; and other smaller slices.
The current voting membership is 66% men; 28% women; 6% prefer not to disclose/unknown; and other, smaller slices.
Too Much Jazz. Not Enough Country
By genre, the current voting membership is 27% pop; 19% jazz; 17% R&B; 17% rock; 13% American roots; 13% alternative; 12% classical; 10% global music; 10% Latin music; 10% other; 10% rap; 9% dance/electronic; 9% country; 8% gospel/Christian; 8% visual media; 7% contemporary instrumental; 5% new age; 4% children’s; 4% musical theatre; 3% reggae; 3% spoken word; and 1% comedy. (Members could select more than one genre.)
Jazz and classical are overrepresented, relative to their share of the music market. Country lags behind its share of the music market.
By area of specialization, the current voting membership is 46% songwriters/composers; 33% producers; 33% instrumentalists; 32% vocalists; 19% engineers; 12% arrangers; 6% other; 4% music video; 3% album packaging; 3% album notes writers; 2% music supervisors; 2% conductors; 2% spoken word.
In a letter accompanying the release of the report, Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in part: “The Recording Academy membership has never been more reflective of the music community than it is today. It has more women, more People of Color, and a broad representation of diverse genres and crafts. But we’re not just celebrating numbers. Our organization has been fundamentally transformed by this extraordinary infusion of new talent, making us an unquestionably better, stronger, more successful, and more impactful organization.
“And we’re not done yet. Even though we’ve made huge strides towards creating a diverse and representative membership body, there is still much work to be done. We want to recruit more young voters, because the future of music is in their hands. We want to see an increase in the percentage of women and people of color, because our goal must always be to accurately represent our community.
“And as we globalize our mission, we want a membership body that reflects every corner of the music world.”
Mason added some specifics in an interview with Billboard this week. “It’s been a very intentional effort to try and make sure that our membership is the most relevant, the most diverse. …We’re not just trying to build numbers. We’re looking at, what is the music community made up of? … A big goal for us is to make sure that we’re matching or coming close to the community that makes music. That’s not the same as the general population of our country. We know that R&B/hip-hop is roughly 33%-34% of all music created and consumed. We know what the numbers are for Latin music, women, and other groups. We have a rough idea of what the numbers feel like.”
On July 26, Mason sent a pointed letter, via email, to the Academy’s voting members, “It’s about the current year and the quality of the work, period!,” he implored. “There should be no other rationale for voting. If you are taking into account an artist’s older work, or their reputation, or race, or gender, what label they are on, who their manager is, how many friends participated in the project, or anything else like that, you’re not doing your job.”
Talking to Billboard, Mason expressed a little more sympathy for members who may be inclined to take other factors into account, though he again said he hoped the focus would be on the music. “Voters have their own ideas around how they vote and what they chose to vote for and we want to give them some latitude to be able to do that but it’s my hope and I believe it’s the Academy’s desire that our voters will evaluate the music based on the merit of that music exclusively. It’s not about past sins [of the academy]. It’s not about genre representation. It’s really about the quality of the music. My hope is that people listen to the music and evaluate it based on the merits.”
At another point in the conversation, he said “The whole idea of this membership [drive] is not just to hit numbers, it’s to try to get the right results and the right outcome.”
Asked to be more specific about that statement, Mason said, “I’m not saying the positive result is any specific album or genre winning any specific award. I’m just looking for accuracy and relevance and making sure the outcomes are reflective of what’s happening in music. I don’t care what genre that is. I’m definitely not looking at making reparations [for past Grammy outcomes]. I’m just saying the outcomes for our academy … are all driven by our membership and if we have the right membership, we’re a better organization.”
First-round voting for the Grammy Awards opens on Friday Oct. 4 at 9 a.m. PT, and closes on Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. PT. Grammy nominees will be announced on Nov. 8. Final-round voting will be held from Dec. 12 to Jan. 3. All voting members, including those welcomed in the 2024 new class, are eligible to participate in the voting process. The 67th annual Grammy Awards will be held on Feb. 2 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The host has yet to be named. Trevor Noah hosted the last four Grammy telecasts.
The 66th annual Grammy Awards were held on Sunday, Feb. 4. Ben Winston, Raj Kapoor and Jesse Collins were executive producers. Hamish Hamilton directed. The show received a Primetime Emmy nomination for outstanding variety program (live), but lost to The Oscars (which was also executive produced by Kapoor). The Recording Academy has yet to announce the host, producer or director of the 2025 show.
Harvey Mason Jr. quietly re-upped with the Recording Academy in September for another four years as CEO. Mason first assumed the role of permanent CEO on May 13, 2021, after having served on an interim basis for the previous 16 months. His three-year contract with the academy ran through July 31 of this year.
There was no announcement in September about Mason’s decision to stay in his job. “It was kind of right in the middle of a lot of things that were going on with us at the academy,” he explained in an interview with Billboard about the academy’s new member class. “We’re doing a lot of things that we’re excited about that I felt probably deserved more attention than [my contract extension]. I just want to keep my head down and do the work.”
Under Mason, the academy has undergone dramatic changes since it officially terminated former president/CEO Deborah Dugan on March 2, 2020, after she had been placed on administrative leave six weeks earlier. Dugan, who served only five months in the job, took over from longtime president/CEO Neil Portnow.
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Mason said he’ll continue to have the freedom to do outside music projects. “Luckily, I’m allowed to continue to be very creative — run my business, make music, be in the studio. So, it actually gives us a different perspective. I think it’s a good thing for the CEO of the Grammys and the Recording Academy to be in the studio working.”
As late as Feb. 27, when Billboard interviewed Mason about the success of Bob Marley: One Love, on which he was credited as executive music producer, he said wasn’t sure if the was going to stay at the academy. “I don’t think either side has made a commitment yet or firm decision as to what’s going to take place after July,” he remarked at the time.
Before he became CEO, Mason received five Grammy nominations — three of them for his work in film and TV, on the soundtracks to Dreamgirls, Pitch Perfect 2 and Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.
But he has taken himself out of Grammy contention as long as he is CEO. “I’ve committed to not putting my name on the ballot because I wouldn’t want my job at the Academy to influence how somebody viewed a project or voted for a project,” he said in February.
But other people who work on those projects can submit their own names. “I don’t want to punish people that do great work. So, others can submit, I won’t submit and I will not be getting a nomination or win while I’m in this role.”
On another topic, Mason said the academy has made no decision about what to do about the Salute to Industry Icons Award that Sean “Diddy” Combs received in January 2020, in light of his current legal woes.
Federal prosecutors on Sept. 17 unsealed a criminal indictment against Combs over sweeping allegations of sexual abuse, accusing him of running a racketeering conspiracy that included sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson and bribery.
Mason said that if Combs is convicted, “We’d have to take a look at that, as it was an honorary award. So, it’s a little bit different than a Grammy. I don’t think we would be in the business of retracting people’s Grammys, but I don’t think I’ll speculate on an honorary award and how we would handle that until I see what happens going forward.”
If you’re tempted to wish Chappell Roan some good luck, babe, at the 2025 Grammys, save it. The 26-year-old pop star isn’t gunning for any other major awards this cycle, even after winning best new artist at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards.
In her cover story interview with The Face published Monday (Sept. 16), Roan explained why she’s “kind of hoping” she doesn’t take home any trophies for her massive debut album era with The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. “My mom would love to go to the Grammys or the Brits,” she told the publication. “[But] I’m kind of hoping I don’t win, because then everyone will get off my a–: ‘See guys, we did it and we didn’t win, bye!’ I won’t have to do this again!”
The “Hot to Go!” artist went on to explain what’s more important to her than a golden gramophone statuette: sustainability. “That’s my biggest goal right now,” she said. “My brain is like: Quit right now, take next year off. This industry and artistry f–king thrive on mental illness, burnout, overworking yourself, overextending yourself, not sleeping. You get bigger, the more unhealthy you are. Isn’t that so f–ked up?”
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“The ambition is: How do I not hate myself, my job, my life, and do this?” she added. “Because right now, it’s not working. I’m just scrambling to try to feel healthy.”
Roan has been open about feeling overwhelmed in the face of sudden super fame, the negative aspects of which she compared to an “abusive ex-husband” in the cover story. But whether she’s ready for it or not, the Missouri native is expected to snag nominations for many of the major Grammy categories ahead of February’s ceremony, particularly best new artist.
And if the Sept. 11 VMAs are any indication, Roan is a shoo-in. After delivering a fiery Joan of Arc-inspired performance of her Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit “Good Luck, Babe!” on the UBS Arena stage in New York, the musician beat out Tyla and Gracie Abrams for best new artist.
“I dedicate this to all the drag artists who inspire me, and I dedicate this to queer and trans people who fuel pop,” she said during her acceptance speech. “To the gays, who dedicate my songs to someone they love or hate … for all the queer kids in the Midwest watching right now, I see you. I understand you, because I am one of you.”
Tito Jackson’s death on Sunday Sept. 15 at age 70 has put a spotlight on the Jackson 5 (later the Jacksons), which had a string of classic hits in the 1970s and ’80s.
You may be surprised to learn that the J5 never won a Grammy. Michael Jackson won 13 Grammys, but all were for his solo career.
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Three J5 classics – “I Want You Back,” “ABC” and “I’ll Be There” – have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which functions as a second chance for the Recording Academy to honor great recordings.
The J5 have yet to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy, though Michael received a posthumous lifetime achievement award in 2010.
The J5 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 by their old pal Diana Ross, who was credited with having discovered them. (Whether or not she actually discovered them, she did lend her name to their 1970 debut studio album, which was titled Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5.) Michael was inducted into the Rock Hall as a solo artist in 2001.
Here are the three Jackson 5 records that were nominated for, but did not win, Grammys.
“ABC” (1970)
Nominated for: Best contemporary vocal performance by a duo, group or chorus
Lost to: Carpenters, “Close to You”
Notes: Both family acts were red-hot at the time. “Close to You” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and was Billboard’s No. 1 song of the summer for 1970. “ABC,” which topped the Hot 100 for two weeks, was the J5’s second No. 1 hit of 1970 (out of a career-launching volley of four consecutive No. 1 hits). “Close to You” was also nominated for record of the year (unlike “ABC”), which showed its strength with Grammy voters. “ABC” and “Close to You” have both been voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, a sign that both are now regarded as top-tier classics.
Fun fact: Michael was known to be a fan of the Carpenters.
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“Dancing Machine” (1974)
Nominated for: Best R&B vocal performance by a duo, group or chorus
Lost to: Rufus’ “Tell Me Something Good”
Notes: “Dancing Machine” was an important record in the J5’s career. It not only became their biggest Hot 100 hit in three years, but it showed them to be all grown up, with little trace of the bubblegum of such early hits as “ABC.” The record peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 behind Ray Stevens’ inane novelty hit “The Streak,” a look at the then-hot fad of streaking (see also: the streaker who raced across the stage behind David Niven on the 1974 Oscars). Stevie Wonder wrote the beyond-funky “Tell Me Something Good,” which was Rufus’ first Hot 100 hit. It reached No. 3.
Fun fact: The J5 performed “Dancing Machine” on The Carol Burnett Show in 1974 and on Cher’s solo TV show the following year. Cher, who did not lack for nerve, joined the group in a medley of five of their hits, capped by “Dancing Machine.”
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Triumph (1980)
Nominated for: Best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocal
Lost to: The Manhattans’ “Shining Star”
Notes: How were Grammy voters expected to compare performances on full albums like Triumph with performances on singles like “Shining Star”? Good question. (The Recording Academy no longer pits albums and singles against each other in performance categories.)
Triumph reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200, becoming the group’s first top 10 album since the J5 (which had four top 10 albums) evolved into the Jacksons in 1976. Triumph spawned four Hot 100 hits on the Hot 100: “Lovely One” (No. 12), “Heartbreak Hotel” (No. 22). “Can You Feel It” (No. 77) and “Walk Right Now” (No. 73). None of them were as big as “Shining Star,” which reached No. 5, becoming the second-biggest group by the old-school R&B vocal group, whose “Kiss and Say Goodbye” reached No. 1 in the summer of 1976.
Fun fact: The Manhattans were signed to Columbia, sister label to The Jacksons’ Epic. That may have made CBS Records’ post-Grammys party a little awkward that year.
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Many Grammy winners for best new artist have gone on to long and distinguished careers. The Beatles, the GOAT of all groups, won the award in 1965. Mariah Carey, the queen of Christmas and one of the top artists in pop and R&B history, won in 1991. Adele, who has the longest-running No. 1 album by a solo woman in Billboard 200 history, won in 2012. Billie Eilish, who won nine Grammys and two Oscars before her 23rd birthday, won in 2020.
Two eventual EGOT recipients, Marvin Hamlisch and John Legend, are past best new artist winners.
Other past winners of note include Bobby Darin (the first winner, in 1959), Jose Feliciano, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Carpenters, Carly Simon, Natalie Cole, Culture Club, Cyndi Lauper, Sade, Bruce Hornsby & the Range, Tracy Chapman, Toni Braxton, Sheryl Crow, LeAnn Rimes, Lauryn Hill, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood and Sam Smith.
All of the aforementioned acts have received at least one additional Grammy nomination since their best new artist wins. But 13 past winners for best new artist haven’t been nominated for a Grammy since their night of glory. We’re not including this year’s winner, Victoria Monét, because she obviously hasn’t had an opportunity yet to add to her nomination tally.
We’re also not including four groups that haven’t been nominated since winning best new artist because one or more members were nominated on their own. America wasn’t nominated after winning in 1973, but Dan Peek, a member of that trio, was, for best gospel performance, contemporary or inspirational, for his album All Things Are Possible. Culture Club wasn’t nominated after winning in 1984, but Boy George was, twice – best pop vocal performance, male for “The Crying Game” and best dance recording for “When Will You Learn.”
Hootie & the Blowfish weren’t nominated after winning in 1996, but Darius Rucker won best country solo performance for “Wagon Wheel.” And fun. wasn’t nominated after winning in 2013 (no surprise since they haven’t released another album since their win), but Jack Antonoff and Nate Ruess have both been nominated since that night. Ruess received two nods for “Just Give Me a Reason,” his hit collab with P!nk. Antonoff has won nine Grammys since that night.
Here’s a list of past winners for best new artist who haven’t been nominated for a Grammy since.
Robert Goulet
If you win the Grammy Award for album of the year, it stands to reason that you must have also won whatever genre album award you competed for. And most album of the year winners since 1995, when the Grammys introduced numerous genre album categories, have won also won in the appropriate genre album categories. […]
Olivia Rodrigo has good reason to be “Obsessed” with the Grammy eligibility rules, specifically the one that states: “Tracks from an album released during last year’s eligibility period are eligible in the current eligibility period, provided the same tracks were not entered the previous year and the album did not win a Grammy.”
That means that Rodrigo’s “Obsessed,” a single from the deluxe Guts (Spilled) edition of her 2023 album Guts, is eligible for the 67th annual Grammy Awards. The single was released on March 22, 2024, well within the eligibility period for the 2025 Grammys (Sept. 16, 2023 to Aug. 30, 2024). It was not entered in last year’s awards process (the focus was on “Vampire,” which was nominated for record and song of the year and best pop vocal performance, and “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl,” nominated for best rock song). And crucially, Guts didn’t win a Grammy, though it was nominated for both album of the year and best pop vocal album at the ceremony.
On the other hand, if Noah Kahan were to look over the Grammy rulebook, he might find less to cheer about. Stick Season (Forever), which was released on Feb. 9, 2024, will not be eligible to compete for album of the year. Here’s the rule from the Grammy rulebook: “Updated, revised or expanded versions of previously submitted albums will not be eligible.”
Stick Season (Forever) is an expanded version of Kahan’s Stick Season album, which was released on Oct. 14, 2022. An earlier expanded version, Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever), was entered for album of the year and best Americana album at the ceremony that was held earlier this year. It wasn’t nominated in either category, but it was “submitted.” (Kahan’s only Grammy nomination to date is best new artist at the ceremony held earlier this year.)
Current voting and professional members of the Recording Academy are hunkering down today and tomorrow – or, at least, the Academy fervently hopes they are – to enter recordings for the 67th annual Grammy Awards. The submission window closes on Friday Aug. 30 at 6 p.m. PT.
The rules and guidelines handbook for the 67th annual Grammy Awards runs 75 pages – and it’s not exactly a “beach read.” Fortunately, the Academy prepared a one-page summary of “Basic Guidelines.” We combed through that document to cull these eight highlights.
Recordings must meet these three basic eligibility guidelines.
There are just two more days for current voting and professional members of the Recording Academy to enter recordings for the 67th annual Grammy Awards. The submission window closes Friday (Aug. 30) at 6 p.m. PT.
The entry process has changed in recent years. There used to be no limit to the number of entries members could make. Some members took advantage of that liberal policy and submitted a large number of entries, causing the entry list to bloat. The Academy now allows each voting or professional member just five “courtesy entries” before charges apply.
Furthermore, in an effort to get procrastinators to make their entries in timely fashion, those entry fees escalate the closer we get to the eligibility cut-off. The charge for members was $40 per entry from July 17-July 31 (what the Academy calls “early bird pricing”) and $75 per entry from Aug. 1-Aug. 22 (standard pricing). In this final week, it is $125 per entry (final deadline pricing). (In all cases, these are the charges for entries beyond the five courtesy entries.)
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In its rules, the Academy notes: “There will be no refunds for any entries once submitted to the Recording Academy, including those entries found to be ineligible.”
Media companies may also enter entries, but they don’t get five courtesy entries. And their charges were higher for the first two submission submission periods – $65 through July 31 and $95 through Aug. 22. The final deadline pricing charge for media companies is the same as for members – $125 through Aug. 30.
The Recording Academy defines a media company as “a legitimate business entity whose core business function is to create, aggregate and promote audio and/or video content for multiple artists for commercial purposes, and must have product in national U.S. commercial distribution on our approved streaming platforms within the current eligibility period. It cannot just be an imprint in name only for the artist.” Media companies pay an annual $180 registration fee.
It is the submitter’s responsibility to provide streaming links or physical product in some cases. “Without streaming links or commercially released product (if applicable), your entries cannot be screened or verified, which can result in disqualification,” the Academy notes.
Physical product must be submitted for consideration in five craft categories – best recording package, best boxed or limited edition package, best immersive audio album, best album notes and best historical album. Rules note “If you made entries in craft categories that require physical product, you will receive a separate email detailing the product required and further shipping instructions. Include a copy of the packing list with shipped product. Send in as soon as possible but no later than Sept. 6.”
No physical product is necessary in six other craft categories – best engineered album, non-classical; best engineered album, classical; best immersive audio album; best instrumental composition; best arrangement, instrumental or acapella; and best arrangement, instruments and vocals.
The Academy notes “Prior to the first round of voting [which opens on Oct. 4], we will be sending each submitter an email showing final category placement of their entries.”
The eligibility period for the 67th Grammy Awards is Sept. 16, 2023 – Aug. 30, 2024. First-round voting runs from Oct. 4 through Oct. 15. Nominees will be announced on Nov. 8. Final-round voting runs from Dec. 12 through Jan. 3, 2025. The Grammys will be presented on Feb. 2, 2025 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars have won a combined 28 Grammy Awards – 13 for her, 15 for him – so it doesn’t take a genius to know that their newly-released collaboration, “Die With a Smile,” is a strong contender for Grammy nods. The song was released on Aug. 16, two weeks before the close of eligibility for the 67th annual Grammy Awards.
The instant smash has a good chance of nominations for record of the year, song of the year and best pop duo/group performance.
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Both artists have been nominated multiple times for record of the year for previous collaborations. Mars has been nominated three times for collaborations – as a featured artist on B.o.B.’s “Nothin’ on You” and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk!” and as the co-lead artist with Anderson .Paak on Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open.” If he is nominated again for “Die With a Smile,” he’ll break out of a tie with Jay-Z and Rihanna as the artist with the most record of the year nods as part of a collab.
Gaga has been nominated for record of the year with two previous collabs – “Shallow” with Bradley Cooper and “I Get a Kick Out of You” with Tony Bennett. Counting all singles, not just collabs, this would be Mars’ seventh record of the year nod; Gaga’s fourth.
The Grammy nominations will be announced on Nov. 8. The 67th annual Grammy Awards will be presented on Feb. 2, 2025 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Gaga and Mars co-wrote and co-produced “Die With a Smile” with Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II and Andrew Watt. James Fauntleroy was an additional co-writer.
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Mars has one of the best batting averages of any artist in Grammy history. He has won 15 awards from just 31 nominations. Adele at one point had won 15 awards from just 18 nominations, but her batting average came down to earth a bit when she won just one award from seven nominations in 2023. (Her current standing – 16 awards from 25 nods – is still pretty great!)
Gaga has won 13 awards from 36 nominations.
While it’s too early to predict who is going to win in the marquee categories, if “Die With a Smile” does win record of the year, Mars would set a big Grammy record: the first artist to win record of the year four times. He’d break out of a tie with Paul Simon, who has won three times (counting two Simon & Garfunkel classics).
Mars won the award in 2016 as a featured artist on Ronson’s “Uptown Funk!,” in 2018 for the solo smash “24K Magic” and along with Anderson .Paak in 2022 for Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open.”
If it wins song of the year, Mars and D’Mile would become the first three-time winners in that category. They are currently in a tie with Henry Mancini & Johnny Mercer, Billie Eilish & Finneas O’Connell, Adele, Brody Brown, James Horner, Will Jennings and the members of U2, with two wins each.
Mars previously won song of the year for co-writing “That’s What I Like” and “Leave the Door Open.” D’Mile previously won for co-writing H.E.R.’s “I Can’t Breathe” and “Leave the Door Open.”
If “Die With a Smile” wins record or song of the year, it would be Gaga’s first win in a so-called Big Four category (album, record or song of the year plus best new artist).
If the collab wins best pop duo/group performance, it would be Gaga’s record-setting third win in that category, following wins for pairings with Cooper (“Shallow”) and Ariana Grande (“Rain on Me”). Gaga is currently tied with SZA with two wins each in the category (which was introduced at the 2012 ceremony).
Gaga and Mars share another Grammy common bond: Neither was nominated for best new artist, despite both getting off to hot career starts. In both cases it’s because they blew up so fast that they ran afoul of Grammy eligibility rules in that category.
Gaga was entered in the best new artist competition for the awards that were presented in 2009, but she wasn’t nominated. She was nominated that year for best dance recording for “Just Dance,” her Hot 100-topping collab with Colby O’Donis. That nomination precluded her from getting a second shot at best new artist the following year (which is the norm in that category for artists whose breakthroughs don’t neatly fall into one Grammy eligibility year).
Mars was never even entered for best new artist. He received seven nominations at the awards that were presented in 2011, winning best pop vocal performance, male for his Hot 100-topping “Just the Way You Are.” But because his first full-length album hadn’t been released by the close of that eligibility year – it was released four days later, on Oct. 4, 2010 – he wasn’t eligible for best new artist that year. And he wasn’t allowed in the category the following year because he was, by that point, a Grammy winner. (That’s what you call a Grammy Catch-22.)
The failure of both artists to be nominated for best new artist hasn’t seemed to unduly slow their career momentum.
“Die With a Smile” is expected to challenge for a debut inside the top 10 on next week’s Billboard Hot 100. The chart will be unveiled on Monday (Aug. 26).