The girls of the Grammys and Jon Batiste
What happened? Where are the men? Those were the questions that turned up after the announcement of the female-dominated list of nominees in the Grammy Awards 2024.
What happened indeed? “This happened because Harry Styles did not release an album,” was the usual joking reply.
Remember, it has been often said and it still is, that Beyonce’s Renaissance should have won for Album of the Year at the 65th Grammy Awards early this year. But unfortunately, she lost out to Harry’s Harry’s House. So maybe the girls are out for revenge and have left the male 66th Grammy hopefuls panting by the wayside.
And now for a look at who these extraordinary females are:
R&B sensation SZA is the leader with nine nominations including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for her deliciously wicked Kill Bill, and Album of the Year for the chart record-breaking SOS.
Phoebe Bridges, with seven nods, pop, indie-folk singer, songwriter and producer for her work with the alternative rock band Boy Genius, including Song of the Year for Not Strong Enough and Album of the Year for The Record.
Victoria Monet, R&B singer and songwriter also with seven nods for the Best R&B Album nominated Jaguar II, the single Oh My Mama for Record of the Year and for herself as Best New Artist.
Taylor Swift with six noms, including Record and Song of the Year for Anti-Hero, and Album of the Year for Midnights. Only six? Even Swiftie cannot have everything. She is up against formidable competition at next year’s Grammys, but I am sure she will still go home with one of two.
Miley Cyrus, in a very strong comeback mode this year, also with six nods, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for Flowers and Album of the Year for Endless Summer Vacation.
Brandy Clark, country music singer and songwriter with six noms including for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for Buried. She also wrote music for Best Theater Album nominee Shucked.
Olivia Rodrigo, pop singer and songwriter also with six nods, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for Vampire, Album of the Year for GUTS, and even a Best Rock Song for Ballad of a Home-schooled Girl.
Among the other females who figured prominently in the nominations are Billie Eilish for What was I Born for as Record of the Year and Song of the Year; Lana Del Ray for Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard and Janelle Monae for The Age of Pleasure as Album of the Year; and Kelly Clarkson for Chemistry as Best Pop Vocal Album.
The other music artists who made the magic circle, all of them with six nominations each are Jack Antonoff, who is producer and songwriter and frequent Swift collaborator, and Serban Ghenea, Canadian recording engineer and mixer for his work also with Swift’s Midnights, Rodrigo’s GUTS and Jon Batiste’s Worship.
Now, now, speaking of Batiste, aside from the members of Bridges’ band BoyGenius, the only male artist to make the cut in the major Grammy categories is the singer with an incredible soulful voice, incredible multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Batiste with six nominations.
Among Batiste’s nods are Record of the Year for Worship, Album of the Year for World Music Radio and Song of the Year for Butterfly. He is also a well-known TV personality because he and his band Stay Human provided music in The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Anybody nominated in awards like the Grammys gets an even chance and Batiste has been consistently great with his work. For proof, check out his We Are album. So, for all we know, he might just stand up for all those non-nominated guys.
This means that Batiste might just pull the rug out from under those girls and their high heels and march off with those little Grammy gramophones come Feb. 4, 2024.
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