The 2024 Grammys: Nominations, Predictions, and Standouts

The Grammys, an awards show created to acclaim artists and producers for their accomplishments, will be airing on February 4, 2024. Let’s look at the nominees in the major categories, along with my award predictions and standouts.

Record of the Year

“Worship” — Jon Batiste
“Not Strong Enough” — boygenius
“Flowers” — Miley Cyrus
“What Was I Made For?” — Billie Eilish
“On My Mama” — Victoria Monét
“Vampire” — Olivia Rodrigo
“Anti-Hero” — Taylor Swift
“Kill Bill” — SZA

You may recognize Jon Batiste from his many wins at the 2022 Grammys, but his new music did not receive nearly as much attention as his album, We Are. For this reason, I don’t believe he’ll be taking the win for this category. Out of these options, “Kill Bill” is my prediction – SZA’s album took over the world upon its release, with this lead single being no exception.

Album of the Year

World Music Radio — Jon Batiste
the record — boygenius
Endless Summer Vacation — Miley Cyrus
Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd — Lana Del Rey
The Age of Pleasure — Janelle Monáe
Guts — Olivia Rodrigo
Midnights — Taylor Swift
SOS — SZA

In my opinion, this is one of the best albums that the Grammys have chosen in recent years by far. Though this may be controversial to some, I don’t believe that Midnights deserves the win in this category. It’s a fun return to the pop genre for Swift, but compared to some of her other works as well as the others in this category, it falls short. Despite this, it is my prediction for this category, as Taylor Swift has taken the world by storm and this album broke nearly every record in the books.

My favorite out of these categories is boygenius’ the record, but the Grammys are known for their disfavor of Indie and Alternative music in the general categories, so they are less likely to win here. Another standout in this category is Lana Del Ray’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, but for the same reasoning as boygenius, I don’t believe this will take home the win.

Song of the Year

“A&W” — Lana Del Rey
“Anti-Hero” — Taylor Swift
“Butterfly” — Jon Batiste
“Dance The Night” — Dua Lipa
“Flowers” — Miley Cyrus
“Kill Bill” — SZA
“Vampire” — Olivia Rodrigo
“What Was I Made For?” — Billie Eilish

For the same reasons that I believe Swift will win Album of the Year, I predict she will win this category as well. “Anti-Hero” broke records and took over the world, serving as the heart and soul of her Midnights album. However, “A&W” absolutely deserves the win in this category. Throughout the entirety of Lana Del Ray’s career, she’s been snubbed from Grammys, but this song is one of her most deserving from her entire discography.

Best New Artist

Gracie Abrams
Fred Again..
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Coco Jones
Noah Kahan
Victoria Monét
The War and Treaty

If Ice Spice doesn’t win this category, it’s a national travesty. Though Noah Kahan and Victoria Monét deserve acclaim, they don’t hold a candle to Ice Spice’s impact this year. It was nearly impossible to exist in 2023 without hearing some of her music, whether “Boys a Liar,” “Barbie World,” or one of her many other hits.

Overall, the Grammys lineup this year is one of the best in recent years. Of all artists nominated this year, my standouts are SZA and boygenius. SZA has a total of nine nominations this year and boygenius has seven. SZA dominated the pop culture world this year with her first album release since 2017, SOS, containing multiple hits with incredible production and overall quality. The lead single off her new album, “Kill Bill”, has already received numerous awards and is bound to secure more in the Grammys.

Though SZA’s album is amazingly constructed and well-made, my standout and favorite out of all the nominations this year has to be boygenius. If you haven’t already given their debut album, the record, a listen, I highly recommend it. It’s a beautiful collection of songs from a band comprised of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus – all critically acclaimed artists with stunning lyricism and hard-hitting themes. Bridgers has received Grammy nominations in the past for her album Punisher, but the group’s return to music after the release of their 2018 EP deserves more acclaim than I believe the Grammys will give them.

Though I have many predictions for this year’s Grammys, I would not be surprised if the unexpected occurs and every one of my guesses is incorrect. The Grammys has never been uneventful, with this year being no exception.