Opinion | Thoughts on the 66th Grammy nominations

Grammy season is finally upon us, and I am beyond excited. As an avid music listener, I always find it fun to see which of my favorite artists gets nominated for such prestigious awards. This year was no exception as it gave many amazing artists the opportunity to compete for a Grammy. Even though these artists are very talented, I have some very strong opinions on who I think should win and who will most likely win in certain categories. 

In total, the Grammys have 91 categories, but there are only about 24 main categories that the public seems to care most about. I only care about 15 categories. This includes some of the more popular nominations like best new artist, record of the year and album of the year. 

Starting with record of the year, there are eight nominees in this category. The songs nominated are “Worship” by Jon Batiste, “Not Strong Enough” by boygenius, “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, “On My Mama” by Victoria Monét, “Vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo, “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift and “Kill Bill” by SZA. 

This year, the competition is fierce, and I think everyone in this category has a strong chance of winning. These artists have dominated the charts and are soaring in popularity right now. I would love to see SZA take home the Grammy for “Kill Bill” because I believe she truly deserves it after having such a successful year. The only sneak that I think is on here is “Worship” by Jon Batiste. You never really hear anything about him or his music in the media, but The Academy seems to love him anyway. 

For song of the year, the eight nominees this year are “A&W” by Lana Del Rey, “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift, “Butterfly” by Jon Batiste, “Dance the Night” by Dua Lipa, “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, “Kill Bill” by SZA, “Vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo and “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish. For people who are unfamiliar with the differences between song and record of the year, song of the year focuses on the writing of the song and its writers, while record of the year will recognize the artist, producers and engineers of the song. 

By comparing each song based on its lyricism, I want “What Was I Made For?” to win in this category. Lyrically, it’s beautiful, and the song’s meaning is just as amazing. The Academy also just loves Billie Eilish, as she has been super successful when it comes to the Grammys. In this category, we have yet another Jon Batiste sneak. 

Best new artist also has eight nominees this year and happens to be one of my favorite categories because Ice Spice is nominated, and I would love to see her win. The other artists up for best new artist are Gracie Abrams, Fred Again Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan, Victoria Monét and duo The War and Treaty. 

If Ice Spice doesn’t win this category, I can already imagine how people will react on social media — myself included. This year was truly Ice Spice’s year. She released an EP and a deluxe version of that EP, had three major collaborations — one of them being “Barbie World” with Nicki Minaj, which was in the hit movie Barbie, a song with PinkPantheress that literally blew up and the public loves her. The only actual competition that I think Ice Spice has is Noah Kahan. In the past couple of months, I feel like he has really risen in popularity within the general media. 

By going on tour, having songs trend on TikTok and recently releasing a song with Hozier, I feel like Kahan’s chances of winning this Grammy are incredibly high as well. 

Last but not least, album of the year. By far, this is the one of the main categories at the Grammys that everyone looks forward to. It is one of my favorite categories, especially when some of my favorite artists are in it. This year the nominees for album of the year are “World Music Radio” by Jon Batiste, “the record” by boygenius, “Endless Summer Vacation” by Miley Cyrus, “Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard” by Lana Del Rey, “The Age of Pleasure” by Janelle Monaé, “Guts” by Olivia Rodrigo, “Midnights” by Taylor Swift and “SOS” by SZA. 

I need SZA to win this Grammy. The songs that were produced on “SOS” never fail to remind me why I love SZA as an artist. The lyrics, the beat and the melodies are just so good, and I need the Grammys to finally recognize her talent. I also think that boygenius and Lana Del Rey have a good chance of winning as well, and I would be happy to see them win. Both artists make wonderful music that the Academy should also recognize. 

But if “Midnights” or “Guts” won in this category, I would honestly see it as a major upset. I don’t think either of these albums deserves to win simply because I don’t think they’re good, especially when you compare them to their competition. Both albums are mediocre, ‌with each album only having a few enjoyable songs. I would honestly hate to see Swift or Rodrigo take home the Grammy here. 

Out of all the artists nominated, the one artist that I will make sure to watch is SZA. She is currently up for nine Grammys, which makes her the artist with the most nominations for 2024. As I previously mentioned, SZA had a successful year with the release of “SOS,” and it’s about time we recognize her work. I truly think that 2024 is going to be her year, and hopefully we will see a SZA sweep at this year’s awards.

Danae Poteat writes primarily about pop culture and current events. Write to her at dmp152@pitt.edu.