The Grammy Award nominations can aggravate us at times.
There are some years when they force the realisation that, OK, perhaps the Recording Academy voters were correct. … or pretty much right.
And then there are instances like this, when approximately 40 years after they ought to have been honoured for truly innovative pop, ABBA mysteriously receives four nominations, including album of the year. (Hello, “Mamma Mia” and “Waterloo” — even though you weren’t properly recognised, you haven’t been forgotten.)
On February 5, the Grammys’ 65th annual awards presentation will take held in Los Angeles, the Grammys’ longtime host city. Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Adele, and Harry Styles are just a few of the anticipated big names in pop, rap, and R&B who are among the candidates, which were announced on Tuesday.
There are a few unexpected inclusions, such Bonnie Raitt’s inclusion of “Just Like That” in the song of the year list and the eerie prevalence of Christmas CDs in the best traditional pop vocal album category.
But there are still more notable omissions. Here are the harshest criticisms.
It is insulting enough that an artist as influential and lasting as John only has five competitive Grammy Awards to his lengthy career. It would be shameful to disregard his ongoing artistic activity, as is demonstrated by “The Lockdown Sessions,” his chameleonic collection of joint projects with musicians like Lil Nas X and Stevie Nicks. He also failed in his attempt to revive Britney Spears’ career with “Hold Me Closer,” a cover of “Tiny Dancer” from 1971.
Yeezy West
Ye might be eligible for a productivity prize considering that he has a tonne of content to submit, including “Life of the Party” starring Andre 3000 and songs from “Donda 2” (“True Love,” “City of Gods”). But among his divisive racial commentary, relationship instability, and antisemitic tirades, it’s possible that Recording Academy voters, like the majority of us, are sick of all the Kanye.
Sheryl Underwood
Underwood has hardly gone unnoticed with eight Grammys under her belt, including best roots gospel album in 2022 for “My Savior.” However, given the positive reviews for her eighth studio album, “Denim & Rhinestones,” and the popularity of the single “Ghost Story,” her name was anticipated in one or two country categories.
Sheeran, Ed
The Grammys and the ginger British have inconsistent relationships. When he releases some of his most moving music, he is sometimes unfairly neglected. Examples of this are “Thinking Out Loud” and “Shape of You.” Sheeran’s fifth studio album, “Equals,” should have been acknowledged not only for the ubiquitous hits “Shivers” and “Overpass Graffiti,” but also for the true gems “The Joker and The Queen,” “Tides,” and “Visiting Hours.” He is nominated for best pop duo/group performance with Camila Cabello for “Bam Bam.”
Keys, Alicia
The 15-time Grammy winner released an album in December in addition to her work with Ye (“City of Gods”). “Keys” featured a duet with Brandi Carlile called “Paper Flowers,” as well as the unmistakably best R&B song candidate “Best of Me.”
Possibly her most powerful album to date, “Holy Fv— “Should have garnered nominations just for its unadulterated sincerity. The 16 songs on the album are powerful, melodic rockers with a heavy emphasis on the guitar that ebb and flow in accordance with Lovato’s unstable emotional states. Where is the love, you ask?
Nicholas Minaj
The “Super Freaky Girl” recently claimed that Nicki Minaj wanted her music to be acknowledged as rap, but the Recording Academy decided to classify her most recent song, which borrows Rick James’ “Super Freak,” as pop. In the end, Minaj’s entries in any genre were rejected.
Michael Wallen
Wallen remains persona non grata at the Grammys, despite the fact that fans have forgiven the country singer for his previous transgressions, including the time the singer was caught on camera using a racial slur. His massively successful “Dangerous: The Double Album “neither it nor the singles it is now producing (“Wasted on You”) are nominees for the 2022 awards. “Flower Shops,” a duet with fellow country musician Ernest, made a dent on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, but voters chose to overlook it as well.
Legend, John
It’s especially perplexing that Legend, a friendly man with a talent for soothing rhythms, would be overlooked by the Grammys for his solo work (he is nominated for one award as a member of DJ Khaled’s “God Did”). His double album, “Legend,” broadens his range of musical styles with some funk and dance, and the singles “All She Wanna Do” and “Wonder Woman” immediately felt like awards season fodder.
Batiste, Jon
That was a brief romance, isn’t it? The versatile jazz-pop-soul performer won five Grammy Awards last year, dominating the Grammy Awards (out of a whopping 11 nominations), thus she won’t be competing in the Grammy Celebration Redux. None of his noteworthy work, including “L.O.V.E.” with Yung Bae, EarthGang, and Sherwyn and “Sweet” with Pentatonix and Diane Warren, won an award.
“Traumazine,” the rapper’s spicy album, has 18 tracks of unvarnished sincerity. One of the many puzzles surrounding the 2023 nomination list is why voters didn’t like her duet with Dua Lipa (“Sweetest Pie”) or her blunt advice in “Plan B” (“Ladies, embrace yourself, ‘for this… may go ugly”).
Blackpink
The international superstars, who with “Born Pink” became the first female K-pop group to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 list, appeared to be a lock for album of the year as well as song or record of the year for their seductive “Pink Venom.” But with no nominations, voters overlooked their accomplishments in 2022.
Swift, Taylor
Swift’s four nominations, which include song of the year and best music video for her extended version of “All Too Well,” are well-deserved and laudable, but her re-recorded “Red (Taylor’s Version)” probably infuriated many who thought it should have been included in the album of the year category. Swift competed for album of the year and best country album at the 2014 awards show, but she was unsuccessful in both categories.
they force the realisation that, OK, perhaps the Recording Academy voters were correct. … or pretty much right.
And then there are instances like this, when approximately 40 years after they ought to have been honoured for truly innovative pop, ABBA mysteriously receives four nominations, including album of the year. (Hello, “Mamma Mia” and “Waterloo” — even though you weren’t properly recognised, you haven’t been forgotten.)
On February 5, the Grammys’ 65th annual awards presentation will take held in Los Angeles, the Grammys’ longtime host city. Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Adele, and Harry Styles are just a few of the anticipated big names in pop, rap, and R&B who are among the candidates, which were announced on Tuesday.
There are a few unexpected inclusions, such Bonnie Raitt’s inclusion of “Just Like That” in the song of the year list and the eerie prevalence of Christmas CDs in the best traditional pop vocal album category.
