Miley Gets Love, Rap Gets Nothing

Are we all still mad at the Grammys for snubbing Beyoncé last year by giving Harry Styles the top prize instead? Probably, but that’s about to be old news. The Recording Academy announced its 2024 Grammy nominations on Friday morning, and—guess what!—there’s a whole new crop of awards contenders to argue about.

SZA leads the pack of nominees with nine nods total for her long-awaited (and, clearly, well worth the wait) sophomore album, SOS. And to no one’s surprise, Taylor Swift continues her world-dominating year, picking up six nominations, including Album of the Year for Midnights and Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Anti-Hero.”

All of that was to be expected, but because this is the Grammys we’re talking about, Friday’s nominations also gave us plenty of snubs and surprises to pore over. Let’s unpack it all.

SURPRISE: Women stepped the f*ck up

Five years after former Recording Academy CEO Neil Portnow told women they needed to “step up” if they wanted more Grammy hardware, the ladies are getting the last laugh. All of the contenders for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year are from female artists—including Swift, SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, and Lana Del Rey—except for one (Jon Batiste, that interloper).

SURPRISE: This Barbie is a Grammy nominee!

The Grammys have always loved a soundtrack (see: The Bodyguard, Saturday Night Fever, Black Panther), but it still seemed like a long shot for Barbie The Album to snag as many nods as it did. It seems even the Recording Academy wasn’t immune to this year’s Summer of Barbie, as the soundtrack to Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar blockbuster racked up coveted Song of the Year nods for both Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa, as well as four out of the five nods for Best Song Written for Visual Media (can you say “Grammy nominee Ryan Gosling”?!?!)

SNUB: Morgan Wallen remains iced out

Despite being one of the country world’s biggest stars, Wallen has yet to earn a single Grammy nomination. A lot of experts had predicted that might change this year, considering his chokehold on the charts in 2023; his album topped the Billboard 200 for 16 weeks (longer than any other album since Adele’s 21), and his hit “Last Night” was the most commercially successful song of the year. But because he’s probably still best known to the public as the guy whose videotaped use of the N-word made national news in 2021, he’s still persona non grata for the Recording Academy.

SURPRISE: Boygenius are strong enough to dominate the Grammys

The supergroup of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker will have a lot to celebrate when they hit the Saturday Night Live stage this weekend. Boygenius is among the most-nominated acts this year, thanks to their debut, The Record, which is up for Album of the Year. They also snagged nods in Best Alternative Music Album, Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Alternative Music Performance.

SNUB: Where’s the hip-hop?

OK, so it wasn’t a particularly strong year for hip-hop; at least not on the charts. But artists like Travis Scott, Gunna, and even known Grammy hater Drake still seemed to have a shot at some of the big categories. And yet, the lack of rap is staggering—the genre was completely shut out of three of the big four categories this year.

SURPRISE: Miley Cyrus finally gets her flowers

It may come as a surprise—or not, depending on your taste for constant sonic and aesthetic reinvention—but before this year, Miley Cyrus had only two Grammy nominations to her name. This morning, she quadrupled that number, earning six more off the back of her eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation. Most notably, she’s up for Album of the Year and Record of the Year and Song of the Year for her Bruno Mars-referencing hit “Flowers.” (Side note, has anyone checked on Liam Hemsworth today?)

SURPRISE: Victoria Monét is one to watch

Real pop heads have recognized Victoria Monét’s talents for years, but the R&B princess’s 2023 album Jaguar II clearly struck a chord with the rest of the world. Monet, 34, has been nominated in the past for work with bestie Ariana Grande, but this year, she’s flying solo with a whopping seven nods, including two of the biggies: Record of the Year and Best New Artist.

SNUB: Not a lot of Latin music love

At least, not where many people were expecting it. A year after Bad Bunny made history by becoming the first artist with a Spanish-language album to snag an Album of the Year nod, a lot of people were hoping Colombian singer-songwriter Karol G might follow in his footsteps. But not so: Despite her Mañana Será Bonito being nominated for Album of the Year at the Latin Grammys, she got no love from the Recording Academy on Friday. Neither did Mexican singer-songwriter Peso Pluma, who seemed like a lock for Best New Artist after his huge, hit-making summer.

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