Grammys 2021 Edition
This year's Grammys prepare to celebrate an eventful and unorthodox year in music.
One of Hollywood’s biggest nights is upon us: the Grammy Awards are tonight! An incredibly unorthodox year inspired artists to think outside their comfort zones, letting their creativity run wild. The result of that was wonderful music, and we celebrate that tonight.
Before we get to the nominations, let’s talk about The Weeknd. And no, I don’t mean the weekend which my phone automatically corrects to the weeknd because it gets me.
Abel Tesfaye (also known as The Weeknd) released his fourth studio album After Hours in 2020. Blinding Lights—you know, that viral TikTok song you definitely learned the choreography to—was not only the most streamed song of 2020, but recently made history as the first song ever to sit on the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 list for an entire year.
Despite widely positive reviews of the album, Tesfaye was ultimately snubbed during this year’s nomination announcements made in November, receiving a total of zero nominations. In response to the outrage, interim President of the Recording Academy gives more detail around the nomination process and their evolving plans around more representation in an interview with Variety. After a successful Super Bowl halftime performance in the books (and a documentary about the making of it in the works), The Weeknd decided to fully boycott the awards moving forward, no longer allowing his label to submit any of his future work for consideration until the secret committees within the Recording Academy are disbanded.
Onward, there is a particularly exciting element of tonight’s ceremony I’m most looking forward to.
24-time Grammy winner and leading the ceremony with 9 nominations this year, Beyoncé could make history. With 4 wins tonight, she’ll become the most decorated female artist in Grammys history — country singer Alison Krauss currently holds this record at 27. With 8 wins, she’ll become the most decorated artist in Grammys history (Sir Georg Solti—a Hungarian-British conductor holds this record at 31). All this to say, she could (sorry Taylor) “have the most Grammys of ALL TIME.”
Now onto the nominations. It’s important to note that there is always an eligibility deadline for consideration — this year, the Recording Academy recognized recordings released between September 1, 2019 and August 31, 2020.
RECORD OF THE YEAR
This award is dedicated to the technical team involved in creating the song: the artist, producers, recording engineers, mixers, and mastering engineers.
NOMINEES: BLACK PARADE // COLORS // ROCKSTAR // SAY SO // EVERYTHING I WANTED // DON’T START NOW // CIRCLES // SAVAGE
MY TOP PICKS
Caroline Ailin & Ian Kirkpatrick, producers; Josh Gudwin, Drew Jurecka & Ian Kirkpatrick, engineers/mixers; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
The production on this record is masterful. You hear undertones of the 80s with the advanced production of today — a sense of future nostalgia. Dua Lipa manifested the sound of her album title into every song on her second studio album.
Beyoncé & J. White Did It, producers; Stuart White, engineer/mixer; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer
“Hips tick tock when I dance” is my new favorite lyric, what about you? Obsessed with this perfect remix of a song that helped define the last year in music. Anything Beyoncé touches turns into gold, and hopefully tonight that’s a Grammy.
SONG OF THE YEAR
This award is dedicated to the songwriters who wrote and composed the song. This may or may not include the artist, depending on songwriting credits.
NOMINEES: BLACK PARADE // THE BOX // CARDIGAN // CIRCLES // DON’T START NOW // EVERYTHING I WANTED // I CAN’T BREATHE // IF THE WORLD WAS ENDING
MY TOP PICKS
Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
Taylor creates honest, soul-baring lyrics that deeply resonate with her fans, and she’s one of the best storytellers in the game. folklore includes three songs that form a classic love triangle told in each party’s perspective (cardigan, august, betty), and Taylor describes this one as a lost romance and why young love is often fixed so permanently within our memories, leaving an indelible mark.
Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
This song is a special dedication to Billie’s relationship with her brother and co-writer, Finneas. Originally titled, “nightmare,” they wrote it together after Billie had a dream of committing suicide. The song is vulnerable, describing their unique, unbreakable bond perfectly in the pre-chorus and chorus.
I had a dream
I got everything I wanted
But when I wake up, I see
You with me
And you say, "As long as I'm here, no one can hurt you
Don't wanna lie here, but you can learn to
If I could change the way that you see yourself
You wouldn't wonder why you hear
'They don't deserve you'"
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
This award is dedicated to the everyone involved in making the album: artist(s) and featured artist(s), songwriter(s) of new material, producer(s), recording engineer(s), mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s) credited with at least 33% playing time of the album, if other than artist.
NOMINEES: CHILOMBO // BLACK PUMAS (DELUXE EDITION) // EVERYDAY LIFE // DJESSE VOL.3 // WOMEN IN MUSIC PT. III // FUTURE NOSTALGIA // HOLLYWOOD'S BLEEDING // FOLKLORE
MY TOP PICKS
Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift, producers; Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner, Serban Ghenea, John Hanes, Jonathan Low & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
Taylor Swift really said “drop everything now” with a double album drop in 2020, becoming the first female artist to debut 8 albums at #1 on the Billboard 200…like, ever. In the dismantling of all her systems, she began writing songs outside the autobiographical and charted onto a new path of storytelling. This whimsical album was the result.
Rostam Batmanglij, Danielle Haim & Ariel Rechtshaid, producers; Rostam Batmanglij, Jasmine Chen, John DeBold, Matt DiMona, Tom Elmhirst, Joey Messina-Doerning & Ariel Rechtshaid, engineers/mixers; Rostam Batmanglij, Alana Haim, Danielle Haim, Este Haim & Ariel Rechtshaid, songwriters; Emily Lazar, mastering engineer
Our third album from the Haim sisters, and their first Grammy nomination since Best New Artist in 2015. The track list is filled with 80s-like jazz production, the mantra of this album is all about being fearless and not holding yourself back, which led to its flawless execution. Now I’m In It and The Steps are probably the main songs on your radar, but the entire album is a wonderful mix — listen more for songs like Los Angeles, Another Try, and Hallelujah.
Hot take: every day, music is becoming more genre-less. We’ve reviewed the top 3 awards in the “general” category, but there are 29 other genre-specific categories with hundreds of awards in the mix. As less music fits into a specific genre, I’m interested to see how the Grammys adapt in the years to come.
Enjoy the ceremony, and let me know your favorite moments!
Cheers,
Donya