FEATURE:
Queens on Top
IN THIS PHOTO: SZA was nominated for nine GRAMMY Awards on 9th November/PHOTO CREDIT: Gianni Gallant for Rolling Stone
Following the GRAMMY Awards Nominations, It Is Clear Women in Music Are Ruling
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I will end with a playlist…
IN THIS PHOTO: Phoebe Bridgers received seven GRAMMY nominations/PHOTO CREDIT: JJ Geiger for TIME
of songs from artists who have been nominated for next year’s GRAMMY Awards. The ceremony takes place on 4th February. It is the most prestigious ceremony in the music calendar. When the category nominees were announced yesterday (10th November), there was a lot of reaction to the names included. With nearly all the major and most-nominated names being women, it is encouraging that their talent and value is properly being acknowledged. In past years, the GRAMMY voting committee have been accused or including fewer women and artists of colour than they should be. Things have changed quite dramatically in recent years. 2024 is a fully stocked celebration of music queens! I shall continue more on this thought. Even if the most nominated women are mainstream and larger artists, there is still some more upcoming talent who have been given a nod. The Guardian reported the fact the categories are dominated by women:
“Female artists are set to dominate next year’s Grammy awards with SZA, Phoebe Bridgers, Victoria Monét and Taylor Swift leading the way.
SZA has scored the most nominations with nine overall for her album SOS and the songs from it, covering pop, rap and R&B fields. The singer has so far won one Grammy from her 14 previous nominations. She competes in the record of the year category with Billie Eilish, boygenius, Jon Batiste, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift and Victoria Monét.
Victoria Monét, Phoebe Bridgers and the mixing engineer Serban Ghenea all follow with seven nominations apiece. Monét is also nominated in the category of best new artist alongside others including Ice Spice and Jelly Roll.
Both song and record of the year categories are almost entirely female with just Batiste as the male nominee in both. Batiste won five key Grammy awards in 2022.
Swift, with six nominations, could potentially make Grammys history if she wins album of the year, which would make her the first artist ever to win in that category four times. Rodrigo, who has previously won three Grammy awards, has scored six nominations for her album GUTS and the song Vampire.
The Barbie album has also made a strong showing with 12 nominations and songs from Eilish, Nicki Minaj and Dua Lipa featuring prominently. Songs from the soundtrack make up four out of the five nominees for best song from visual media.
Nominees beyond the world of music include Meryl Streep, Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders and Dave Chappelle, for audiobook, storytelling or comedy awards.
This year sees three new categories: best African music performance, best alternative jazz album and best pop dance recording. Kylie Minogue and Troye Sivan are among the nominees for the latter category.
Notable snubs include country singer Morgan Wallen, who scored just one nomination for Last Night for best country song. The song has spent 16 weeks at No 1 in the US this year”.
I am going to include a playlist with the main categories represented. I am thrilled that incredible artists like SZA and Dua Lipa have nominations. It is no surprise to see Taylor Swift got nominations. Lana Del Rey is long overdue GRAMMY recognition. There are also quite a few nominations for songs/artists featured on the Barbie soundtrack. Dua Lipa and Billie Eilish are among those represented there. It is sign that, even if festivals are not fast to balance their line-ups, women are producing the most captivating and impressive music. The recognition from award ceremonies like the GRAMMYs does show that the talent is very much out there! From modern legends to some incredible rising acts, few festivals have any excuse to ignore what is right in front of them! I am putting together a few playlists at the moment, as award ceremonies and festivals are announcing their shortlists/acts. It is a nice way to end the year. Getting some tantalising details and teasers before next year’s award shows and festivals! There has been a lot of reaction around the GRAMMY Awards and those who have been included – and some pointing out there are notable omissions (many ask why PinkPantheress was not nominated, in spite of the fact she is a terrific breakthrough artist). From Victoria Monét to Coco Jones, there is a bounty of queens rubbing shoulders with one another. Not to take away from other genders. It is especially great to see so many great women getting included and highlighted! Come February when 2024’s GRAMMY Awards takes place, we hope that as many queens as possible…
WALK away with prizes.