Anticipation rises within the world of music for the 68th annual Grammys, held on Sunday, Feb. 1. From the usual suspects to up-and-coming artists, we’ll be breaking down the artists, nominations, and the major categories of this year’s Grammy awards.
There are many core award sections of the Grammys, including “Album of the Year,” “Song of the Year,” “Best New Artist,” and other sections for genres, such as rock, pop, electronic, and more. Leading the “Album of the Year” nominations are Sabrina Carpenter’s “Man’s Best Friend,” Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX,” and Tyler, the Creator’s “CHROMAKOPIA.” Each album debuted at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 200 and contains songs that are also nominated for other categories.
The nominations for song of the year introduce not only other artists to the competition, but a soundtrack as well. The song “Golden” from the “KPop Demon Hunters” soundtrack, which spent seven weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 17 weeks on the Billboard Hot 200, is a top contender for the award, and the only song from a soundtrack to be nominated for the category. Other nominees for “Song of the Year” include rapper Doechii’s “Anxiety,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild,” and Bad Bunny’s “DtMF.”
This year, the highlights of the Grammys aren’t just veteran artists, but up-and-coming artists as well. Leading the “Best New Artist” category are groups as well as solo artists, who all blew up this year over social media. Contenders for the win include girl group KATSEYE (best known for their single “Gnarly”), solo artist Sombr (recognized for his hit songs such as “Undressed” and “Back to Friends”), and singer Alex Warren (whose song “Ordinary” stayed no.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 non-consecutive weeks).
Although each rising artist blew up over social media platforms– namely TikTok–they each have their own unique charms that separate them from each other, making it extremely difficult to predict who will take the win. KATSEYE boasts its diverse members, but is managed by a K-pop concentrated company, HYBE. The group performs English songs of several genres with the management style of a K-pop group, attracting listeners from all sides of the music spectrum. Sombr deeply connected to millions of Gen Z listeners through his music and performance style, which was the key to his breakthrough in the industry. Lastly, Alex Warren featured choral undertones in several of his songs, which brought an emotional, folk-like style to the table.
The Latin categories of the Grammys are often overlooked compared to the bigger, more global categories. This year, however, the Latin sections feature artists who are recognized worldwide, bringing more attention to the underrated awards portion. Artist Bad Bunny leads the category “Best Música Urbana Album” with his album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” followed by “Mixteip” by J Balvin. Rauw Alejandro is in the running to win “Best Latin Pop Album” with his album “Cosa Nuestra,” and KAROL G competes with her album “Tropicoqueta.”
Overall, the most nominations went to Kendrick Lamar with a whopping total of nine. His nominations are spread across several categories, such as “Record of the Year”, “Best Rap Performance”, and “Best Rap Album”. The rapper is also nominated for the duo categories “Best Melodic Rap Performance” and “Best Pop Duo/Group Performance” for his collaborations with his fellow rap artist SZA. With a plethora of top-notch nominees across every category, this year’s Grammys promises to be full of impossible predictions, energetic performances, and close matches—things that no Grammy award show is complete without.
