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Grammy nominations came out in November 2024, and in anticipation of the ceremony on Sunday, The Daily Orange culture staff put together key artists to watch out for. From Doechii’s rising stardom to a pop-heavy album of the year category, Sunday’s ceremony will give audiences plenty to talk about.

Taylor Swift doesn’t need any more Grammys, sorry.
Surprise, surprise. Taylor Swift, with her eons-long worldwide tour that increased global carbon emissions, is up for six Grammys this year. Now, it’s not like we dislike her music. We’ve listened to plenty of it. We’re just annoyed it was so hard to get tickets to the Eras Tour. Blame Ticketmaster for that one. But let’s progress to some newer artists, perhaps. Maybe some that haven’t had a chance at winning a Grammy before.

It’s time for the academy to cap the total number of Grammys an artist can win. Except for Beyoncé (because of course, she’s Beyoncé). Our bets are on Chappell Roan and Kendrick Lamar sweeping major awards this year, because they’ve both stirred the pot. But alas, who knows. It’s becoming more and more convincing that award shows are rigged. This theory will stand true if Swift wins even more Grammys. Swifties, please don’t hunt us down.

New year, same artists.
Another year and the Grammys seem to deliver the same handful of artists we hear on the radio every day. Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Benson Boone’s appearances in the best new artist category are surprising, considering they’ve all experienced a great amount of success before the past year and aren’t novices to the industry. Roan performed at The Governors Ball Music Festival this past summer to an audience of about 120,000 people, and Carpenter debuted her famous single, “Espresso,” at Coachella, which now has over 1.8 billion streams. Call us crazy, but these statistics don’t exactly scream “new artist” to us.

Doechii is certainly deserving of this title, though. Her work blends musical theatre and artistry, and her sound differentiates her from the rest of the nominees. Videos of her performances are circulating social media, showcasing her elaborate costumes, set, props and acting. The level of commitment to setting a scene for her music is admirable.

Even Kendrick Lamar, who’s up for best single and set to perform at the Super Bowl LIX halftime show, called Doechii “the hardest out.” If that’s not a rousing endorsement, then we don’t know what is.

The rock category is dead on arrival.
Rock died in the aughts, but it’s been recovering recently. Yet somehow, even with plenty of great rock artists in the underground and countercultural mainstream, the academy didn’t pay attention to any quality releases this year.

The nominations of Green Day, Pearl Jam and The Rolling Stones make us question what decade we’re living in. None of these are new, creative albums by young, current artists; they’re reflective of an out-of-touch selection committee that seems to be unaware the late ‘90s even happened.

The only band here that deserves any real attention is the Irish band Fontaines D.C. Their 2022 album, “Skinty Fia,” is a thing of beauty. It holds Paul Mescal-level Irish dude coolness, mixed with literary references and a gnarly post-punk atmosphere. But their new album, “Romance,” is a disappointment. It’s corny and stylistically inconsistent, with weird dives into pop. Go figure — the academy nominated “Romance” this year, but not Skinty Fia a few years back. If “Romance” wins, it’s not on its own merit, but because the passé academy missed the boat on the band.

Album of the year remains pop-ular.
An undeniable truth reinforced at the Grammys each year is that pop music dominates the industry. This year is no exception, with more than half of the albums nominated for album of the year falling into the pop genre. While some albums like “Brat” and “Short n’ Sweet” embrace the danceable youthfulness of the genre, others like “Cowboy Carter” and “Hit Me Hard and Soft” incorporate mature elements and lyrics into pop themes.

Taylor Swift is, once again, nominated for the coveted album of the year title. In the past, the singer-songwriter has won the award four times, the first to do so. Swift has received 58 nominations over her career, and won album of the year for a range of country, indie and pop albums. Though many debate the validity of Swift’s wins, “The Tortured Poets Department” did outperform most of this year’s nominees in streaming numbers.

Chappell Roan is nominated this year for the first time in her music career. The artist made waves in the music industry and pop culture spheres alike, delivering arguably the most memorable Governors Ball performance in recent history. Roan quickly earned her spot alongside career-long nominees, making her the biggest underdog of the likely contenders. Roan’s “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” is a symbolic manifestation of America’s return to the performance art of the 2010s and the most deserving of the win, especially considering her long come-up.

Published on January 28, 2025 at 11:46 pm