Album of the Year:
The prestigious Album of the Year award at the 2024 Grammys has six albums from female artists out of the eight albums in total. This year in music has seen female artists from a variety of genres working hard on their passion projects. This has seen the succinct, often concept-driven albums that are accurately representative of their desired sounds, from the “feminine rock” of Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS, to the Afrobeat and reggae-driven influences in Janelle Monae’s songs in The Age of Pleasure. It is commendable that the Grammys has given a diverse range of genres a fighting chance at receiving this accolade, with boygenius’ indie rock album, to the R&B and soul-driven albums from SZA and Jon Batiste. It could be a record-breaking fourth Album of the Year win for fan-favourite Taylor Swift, or even a first Grammy win altogether for Lana Del Rey or Miley Cyrus. Here are the Muse Music Team’s predictions for the Grammys’ Album of the Year winner, 2024:
Reuben Virk: SOS, SZA
Niamh Kitson: Midnights, Taylor Swift
Alexandra Pullen: The Record, boygenius
Song of the Year:
Following the consistent trend of the Grammys’ nominations, the songs listed for Song of the Year are mostly taken from the albums nominated for Album of the Year, with the exception of ‘Dance The Night’ and ‘What Was I Made For?’, both taken from the 'Barbie' soundtrack. While the 54th Grammy guidelines suggest that the award is presented “without regard to album sales or chart position”, it is interesting to consider whether the songs selected are the most representative of the respective artists’ sound, or whether they are just the most commercially prominent single. Crucially, the award goes to the songwriter, compared to Record of the Year which goes to the recording team. Notably, Jack Antonoff has a writing credit on both ‘Anti-Hero’ and ‘A&W’, distinguishing him as the most nominated songwriter in this category. Here are the Muse Music Team’s predictions for the Grammys’ Song of the Year winner, 2024:
Reuben Virk: ‘What Was I Made For?’, Billie Eilish
Niamh Kitson: ‘What Was I Made For?’, Billie Eilish
Alexandra Pullen: ‘Anti-Hero’, Taylor Swift
Best New Artist:
Having first been presented at the second Grammy Awards in 1960, some previous winners of Best New Artist include The Beatles, Amy Winehouse and Megan Thee Stallion. Even the list of past nominees boasts big names such as Phoebe Bridgers and Led Zeppelin. The criteria for the category states that nominees must be “a new artist who releases…the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist”. This year though, we see a recognition of some musicians who have been in the industry for years. Out of this list, it’s interesting that only Gracie Abrams and Ice Spice have actually come to prominence in the past year, whereas the likes of Coco Jones and Fred again.. have been making music for a long time. It is also notable that the category covers a wide variety of genres, from indie folk with Noah Kahan to country and gospel with The War and Treaty. Even without winning the award, these artists are bound to influence the music world with the nomination alone. Our predictions:
Reuben Virk: Victoria Monét
Niamh Kitson: Fred Again..
Alexandra Pullen: Ice Spice
The full nominations for these categories are as follows:
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
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 O’Connell.
Best New Artist:
Gracie Abrams
Fred again..
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Coco Jones
Noah Kahan
Victoria Monét
The War and Treaty.
