Question for you: Why do Grammy voters love Taylor Swift for album of the year, but haven't given her song of the year yet?
SZA at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, broadcast live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images
Many of the awards at the 2024 Grammy Awards went as expected. You had to know that by Lainey Wilson Bell Bottom Country it was going to win best country album. It had already won album of the year at both the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Country Music Association Awards. Joni Mitchell Joni Mitchell in Newport [Live] it also seemed like a lock for best folk album. And by Karol G Mañana Será Bonito seemed certain to win best urbana album. Sure enough, all three of these albums won in those categories.
A few singles or songs also looked set to win, such as Tyla's “Water” as the inaugural winner for Best African Music Performance and “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish and Finneas. for Best Song Written for Visual Media. Yes, they won too.
But, as always, there were no shortage of surprises. Trevor Noah, who hosted the show for the fourth consecutive year, was nominated for best comedy album but lost to Dave Chappelle What's in a Name? It was a mild surprise, but Chappelle is such a giant of comedy – this was his fifth win in that category in the past seven years – that he doesn't really qualify as a snub.
The 3-1/2 hour telecast, held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, had something for everyone. Performers ranged from 20-year-old pop superstar Olivia Rodrigo to music legend Joni Mitchell, who is still adding to her considerable legacy in her 80s.
Here are the snubs and surprises from the 2024 Grammy Awards.
-
Snub: SZA
by SZA warning sign lost album of the year, same as Beyoncé's Renaissance did last year SOS was an even bigger success, compared to the rest of the releases of the year, than Renaissance it was. It topped the Billboard 200 for 10 weeks, longer than any other contender for this year's album of the year. SZA was bidding to become the first black woman to win album of the year as top artist since Lauryn Hill won 25 years ago with Lauryn Hill's Bad Education. More than a few R&B and hip-hop fans tonight are saying, “What does it take?”
-
Mystery: Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift won album of the year for a record fourth time, but she also set a record for song of the year. losing for the seventh time. Swift has garnered more Song of the Year nominations than anyone else in Grammy history, but has yet to win in the category. It's a mystery, especially since most agree that songwriting, even more so than singing or performing, is her main talent.
-
Snub: Bruce Springsteen
by Springsteen Only the strong survive seemed to have locked down the best traditional pop vocal album. Since 2000, winners of this category have included pop and rock stars such as Joni Mitchell, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello & the Imposters and James Taylor. Springsteen seemed to fit comfortably on that list. But the prize went to Laufey, a 24-year-old singer from Iceland, for Spellbound. Springsteen, a 20-time Grammy winner, hasn't added to his Grammy collection since 2010.
-
Surprise: Coco Jones
Jones' “ICU” won best R&B performance, beating out SZA's “Kill Bill.” SZA was considered the headliner because “Kill Bill” was nominated for record and song of the year. “METH” was not nominated in any of these categories.
-
Snub: Jon Batiste & Olivia Rodrigo
Both artists went 0-6 on the night. That's more nominations without a win than any other artist this year. Batiste won five Grammys two years ago, including album of the year We are. Rodrigo won three Grammys at the same ceremony, including Best New Artist. A slump after a strong performance like this is almost inevitable and not really a cause for concern. Even a Grammy magnet like Billie Eilish went 0-7 the year of her second album Happier than ever. It happens.
-
Snub: Luke Combs
Combs' “Fast Car” was widely expected to get the record nod of the year. He did not do it. He was expected to win at least the country's best solo performance. He didn't do that either. The award went to Chris Stapleton for 'White Horse'. Stapleton is a highly respected singer. He has won this category four times, twice more than his closest rivals, Willie Nelson and Carrie Underwood. However, the fact remains that after five years of stardom, Combs' Grammy record stands at 0-4.
-
Surprise: Oscar Grammy Scoop
Oscar frontrunners for Best Original Song (“What Was I Made For?” by Barbie) and Best Original Score (Ludwig Göransson's Oppenheimer) won Grammys in the respective categories here. Eilish also performed the song on the Grammy telecast five weeks before she is almost certain to perform it again on the Oscars stage. The Grammys must be feeling pretty good about winning the Oscars in both of their music awards this year.
-
Surprise: PJ Morton
When the Grammy nominations were announced in November, Hazel Monét, 2, made headlines as the youngest Grammy nominee in history. It seemed likely that the “oh, how sweet” factor would propel her to a Best Traditional R&B Performance win for her lead role in Victoria Monét's mom “Hollywood.” The fact that the record also featured the mighty Earth, Wind & Fire was another good reason to believe it would win. Instead, the award went to PJ Morton with Susan Carol for 'Good Morning'.
-
Surprise: Fred again..
Fred won Best Dance/Electronic Music album, beating two artists who had won three times each in the category, Skrillex and The Chemical Brothers. Fred again.. won for Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9, 2022). Skrillex was nominated for Search for Fire; The Chemical Brothers for For this beautiful feelingrespectively.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/lists/sza-grammys-snubs-surprises/