Grammy nominations have officially been announced and, no surprise, the women. Are. Dominating. Specifically, the women of pop…and Beyoncé of course. The summer of pop proves it is not just Short n’ Sweet as we continue into Femininomenon Fall. For the first time ever, no men are nominated for Best Pop Album. Four of the five women, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan, are also nominated for the three most coveted awards at the Grammys – album, song, and record of the year, alongside 11 time nominee Beyoncé.
In addition to the big three, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan are also nominated for Best New Artist. While some could argue Sabrina Carpenter is not necessarily a “new” artist – Short n’ Sweet is her sixth studio album – this summer has really catapulted her to stardom, opening for Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” and headlining her own, making her a household name. “Espresso,” arguably her most popular song, was even parodied on SNL. Chappell Roan, on the campier side of musical stardom, brings a different brand of celebrity to the pop princess image, but has had a similarly significant impact on pop culture. Both stars are strong contenders to take the Best New Artist gramophone, but they are also up against some heavy hitters in Benson Boone, Shaboozey, and Teddy Swims.
While the pop princesses have taken the Grammys by storm this season, Beyoncé is in a league all her own. Queen Bey racked up 11 nominations this year alone, many for her breakout country album “Cowboy Carter.” This makes her the most grammy-nominated artist in history with 99 nominations, a record she previously held together with her husband Jay-Z. Beyoncé’s foray into country music shows that she goes with everything. But, will “Cowboy Carter” finally get her that Album of the Year award she has so long been snubbed by? Waiting for Beyoncé to win the ultimate award at the Grammys is the musician’s equivalent of watching Leonardo DiCaprio lose an Oscar time and time again. And after fighting a bear, the Academy thought, “Hey man, you didn’t need to fight a bear, have your Oscar.” Maybe “Cowboy Carter” is Beyoncé’s “The Revenant” and it takes fighting a bear (country music) to get her long deserved award. No matter what, the Beyhive will remain hopeful and only time will tell if Beyoncé will transcend brat summer and prevail over this year’s pop princesses.
Although no one brought their nominations up into the double digits like Queen Bey, there are still some impressive nominees in multiple categories this year. Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, and Post Malone each garnered seven nominations, and Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan each with 6. I repeat, the women are dominating.
As one of only two men to rack up the most nominations, Kendrick Lamar’s diss track is carrying him through awards season. Of his seven nominations, five of them are for his hit “Not Like Us,” the diss track about Drake that threw the nation into a tizzy. “Not Like Us” is also the only song from the rap category nominated for song and record of the year.
Despite all the record breaking and womanly essence, it wouldn’t be an awards show without some pretty big snubs. Noticeably missing from the big three general categories is Ariana Grande’s “Eternal Sunshine.” An already established princess of pop, Arianators were rightfully outraged when her latest album was missing from the nominations in the most prestigious categories. Her single “We Can’t Be Friends” got zero recognition, despite debuting at number 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart. Dua Lipa is another pop girly whose name was noticeably absent from this year’s nominations. Her song “Houdini” was stuck in half the population’s head 24/7, but if you ask the recording academy they’d probably say, “Didn’t Wendy Wiliiams call her Doula Peep?”
Even though there were some seemingly blatant snubs, that unfortunately is the name of the game. Looking ahead into February’s televised awards show, the overwhelming vibes of the upcoming Grammys are pop star central. Hopefully, that means we get some stellar performances to celebrate the pop renaissance we’ve witnessed these past months. The Grammys will air on CBS on February 4th at 8 pm ET!
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