The nominations for the 66th Grammy Awards, due to take place on 5 February, have officially been released and there is a plethora of music to digest and discuss. Due to the enormous number of categories and artists, the focus of this article will be the “Big Four” categories (“Best New Artist”, “Song of the Year”, “Record of the Year” and “Album of the Year”), with brief breakdowns of the various nominees and speculations as to who will win each award.

Best New Artist

• Gracie Abrams
• Fred again..
• Ice Spice
• Jelly Roll
• Coco Jones
• Noah Kahan
• Victoria Monét
• The War And Treaty

According to the Grammys, this category includes artists who have “achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape.” Ice Spice, an American rapper whose popularity has risen exponentially since the success of her debut EP Like…? and numerous collaborations with artists such as PinkPantheress and Nicki Minaj, fits this definition perfectly. Propelled by the virality of her 2022 track ‘Munch (Feelin’ U)’ on TikTok and Twitter, Ice Spice ascended the charts and broke into the mainstream. Fast forward to 2023 and Ice Spice is among the artists with the most top-five singles this year, including ‘Princess Diana’ with Nicki Minaj, ‘Karma’ with Taylor Swift and ‘Boy’s a liar Pt. 2’ with PinkPantheress. Evidently, she is well positioned to take home this category.

A special mention should also go to Victoria Monét, who received the second highest number of nominations this year (seven, the same as Serban Ghenea and Phoebe Bridgers) for her debut RnB/soul album Jaguar II, and Coco Jones, who earned five nominations for her EP What I Didn’t Tell You (Deluxe).

Song of the Year

• Lana Del Rey’s ‘A&W’ – Jack Antonoff, Lana Del Rey, Sam Dew (songwriters)
• Taylor Swift’s ‘Anti-Hero’ – Jack Antonoff, Taylor Swift
• Jon Batiste’s ‘Butterfly’ – Jon Batiste, Dan Wilson
• Dua Lipa’s ‘Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album)’ – Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt
• Miley Cyrus’ ‘Flowers’ – Miley Cyrus, Gregory Aldae Hein, Michael Pollack
• SZA’s ‘Kill Bill’ – Rob Bisel, Carter Lang, Solána Rowe
• Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘vampire’ – Daniel Nigro, Olivia Rodrigo
• Billie Eilish’s ‘What Was I Made For? [From The Motion Picture “Barbie”]’ – Billie Eilish O’Connell, Finneas O’Connell

The sheer amount of talent among the nominees makes this songwriting category anyone’s game. Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, SZA and Olivia Rodrigo are all frequently praised for their incredibly well-written songs – and for good reason. From the reflexive yet melodically genius chorus of ‘Kill Bill’ (“I might kill my ex, not the best idea”) to the poetic verses of ‘Anti-Hero’ (“Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism/Like some kind of congressman?”), there is no clear front runner in this category.

“It’s hard to ignore how many times Jack Antonoff appears on this list”

It’s hard to ignore how many times Jack Antonoff appears on this list. His writing and production on Taylor Swift’s tenth album, Midnights, and Lana Del Rey’s ninth record, Did You Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, has earned him a total of six nominations. However, the artist who has received the most nominations is SZA with nine. After the success of her sophomore album SOS, it would not be surprising if she won this award.

Record of the Year

• Jon Batiste – ‘Worship’
• boygenius – ‘Not Strong Enough’
• Miley Cyrus – ‘Flowers’
• Billie Eilish – ‘What Was I Made For? [From The Motion Picture “Barbie”]’
• Victoria Monét – ‘On My Mama’
• Olivia Rodrigo – ‘Vampire’
• Taylor Swift – ‘Anti-Hero’
• SZA – ‘Kill Bill’

“Record of the Year” is another category stacked with an incredible assortment of tracks from widely regarded artists. ‘On My Mama’, an upbeat horn-laden R&B track, deserves special attention as Monét is the only artist on this list to have also been nominated for Best New Artist. The song has slowly been climbing the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 48, and was crucial in solidifying Monét as a force to be reckoned with in R&B.

Billie Eilish’s ballad ‘What Was I Made For?’ from Barbie has a strong chance of taking this category. Its melancholic lyrics (“When did it end? All the enjoyment”) and association with the box office hit could earn Eilish her eighth Grammy Award after winning all the “Big Four” categories in 2020.

Album of the Year

• Jon Batiste – World Music Radio
• boygenius – the record
• Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation
• Lana Del Rey – Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
• Janelle Monáe – The Age Of Pleasure
• Olivia Rodrigo – GUTS
• Taylor Swift – Midnights
• SZA – SOS

The last of the “Big Four”, this category encompasses albums from a diverse array of genres. For instance, Janelle Monáe’s The Age Of Pleasure includes the R&B/reggae single ‘Lipstick Lover’, a celebration of queer joy that is the jewel in the crown of this excellent record. After their debut album Dirty Computer was nominated for “Album Of The Year” in 2019, it was inevitable that their follow-up would be on the radar of the 2024 awards.

Having won “Album of the Year” in 2021, Jon Batiste also has the potential for a strong showing at this year’s awards, as does Lana Del Rey, whose failure to win “Album of the Year” for Norman Fucking Rockwell in 2020 was widely considered a major snub.

Of all the nominees, it is SZA who is likely to win the most awards, as SOS was a monumental success and spawned many chart-topping tracks.

Overall, the 2024 Grammy Awards feature countless close categories with no clear front runners. For fans and artists alike, the ceremony in February will be an unpredictable night. All that’s left to do is keep our fingers crossed for our favourite artists and wish good luck to all the nominees!