SZA, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, the indie supergroup boygenius, and bandleader Jon Batiste are among the top nominees for the 66th annual Grammy Awards. This year’s nominations are dominated by young women.
SZA received nine nominations, the most of any artist, for her album “SOS.” The album spent 10 weeks at the top of the Billboard chart and led to a highly demanded arena tour. The hit song “Kill Bill” is nominated for both record and song of the year. The Grammy Awards ceremony will take place on Feb. 4 in Los Angeles.
Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo will compete against SZA in all three top categories. Swift’s album “Midnights” and Rodrigo’s album “Guts” are both nominated for best album, while Swift’s “Anti-Hero” and Rodrigo’s “Vampire” are nominated for both record and song.
The nominations were announced by the Recording Academy, the nonprofit organization behind the Grammys, in an online stream on Friday morning.
Miley Cyrus and Jon Batiste are also contenders in multiple prestigious categories. Cyrus’s hit song “Flowers” is nominated for record and song of the year, and her album “Endless Summer Vacation” is nominated for best album. Batiste, who won album of the year in 2022 for “We Are,” is nominated for best album for “World Music Radio” and his tracks “Worship” and “Butterfly” are nominated for record and song, respectively.
Boygenius, the project of indie-rock artists Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus, is nominated for record of the year with “Not Strong Enough” and best album with “The Record.”
Swift, Rodrigo, Cyrus, boygenius, Batiste, and Brandy Clark each received six nominations, while Billie Eilish and Victoria Monét received seven. Bridgers also received a seventh nomination through her collaboration with SZA.
The soundtrack for “Barbie,” curated by producer Mark Ronson and featuring female artists like Eilish, Dua Lipa, and Nicki Minaj, received a total of 11 nominations in seven categories.
The nominees for best new artist include Victoria Monét, Noah Kahan, Jelly Roll, Fred again.., Coco Jones, the War and Treaty, Gracie Abrams, and Ice Spice.
In previous years, the Grammys faced criticism for not adequately recognizing female artists. This year’s nominations, which feature many women, are seen as a sign of progress in the industry.
The nominations also include surprises, particularly in the country music categories. Luke Combs, who had a hit with a cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” was nominated for country solo performance but not record of the year. Zach Bryan, a songwriter who found success with his self-titled album, was only recognized in country categories. Morgan Wallen, whose album was a blockbuster this year, was not nominated, possibly due to controversy surrounding his use of a racial slur.
The nominations for the Grammy Awards were determined by the voting members of the Recording Academy. The winners will be announced at the ceremony in February.
This year’s Grammy Awards will feature a total of 94 categories, the most in 13 years. The eligibility window for nominations was from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 15, 2023.