Photo illustration: Vulture; Photos: WireImage (Joseph Okpako, Kevin Mazur), Dana Jacobs/FilmMagic

The Grammy nominations are here, without any attention to whether we can actually deal with more controversial results of a new vote. If anything, this one is a little more progressive: The Academy’s years-long project to expand and diversify its membership appears to be paying off, with a younger and especially more female-rich slate this year (just don’t look at the rock categories) . As always, there are still headaches, such as major nominations for the Beatles and Jacob Collier. But there is also plenty to celebrate, including Beyoncé’s huge return and Charli XCX’s surprising show. Before the Academy heads back to the polls, let’s go over some notes and surprises.

We’ve come a long way since 2017, when the Grammys launched “Daddy Lessons” from the country field. Beyoncé didn’t just earn her first country nomination Cowboy Cartershe appeared across the board, in Best Country Solo Performance (for “16 Carriages”), Best Country Duo/Group Performance (for “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus), Best Country Song (for “Texas Hold ‘Em”) , And Best Country Album. She even got a Best Americana Performance nod for “Ya Ya”! The Academy’s rural voters have become slightly more progressive than the Nashville institutions that continue to reject Bey, so this isn’t revolutionary. But such a widespread embrace is definitely a big win for her. And she didn’t even have to please the Nashville record executive to get there.

Beyoncé finished with 11 nominations, a new record for her (and breaking her tie with her own husband for the most Grammy nods ever, at 99). In addition to the country categories, she also appeared in pop and rap, along with the Generals. Her only miss was a surprising critique of the award for Best R&B Song. The R&B field has always been generous to Beyoncé, even with her dance project Renaissance. But maybe Cowboy Carter just didn’t have the right number; her entry, “Tyrant,” feels like a piece, with a violin loop and a Dolly Parton feature.

Before today, Charli xcx had been nominated for only two Grammys, both for Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy.” So while I was expecting her breakthrough Brat to be represented, I had reservations about the extent to which the Grammys would embrace her. The joke is on me. Charli received seven nods and was in second place for most of the day, including Album, Record and Song of the Year. But if you really want to see how much the Academy was into that, look a little further down: “360” is nominated for Best Music Video and AG Cook is nominated for Best Remix Recording for “Von Dutch.” Brat even got a nod for best recording package for that viral cover. These nominations could signal support within the Academy’s departments – and could be a prediction of one Brat AOTY winter comes February.

The two biggest pop breakouts of 2024 appeared everywhere they were expected: all the Big Four categories, along with Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album. That gives us very little clarity as to who the Best New Artist frontrunner is. But as of today, I’m choosing Carpenter for two reasons. Firstly, she was nominated for several songs in Record and Song of the Year – ‘Espresso’ and ‘Please Please Please’ respectively – which could be a sign that voters are a little more interested in her music. And two, Short and sweet appeared in Best Engineered Album, which might earn her more respect among engineering voters. But this race will last for months.

From the bizarre 2021 Grammys, Jacob Collier’s AOTY name Djesse Vol. 3 seemed most shocking: Collier’s project had never charted on the Billboard 200. It turned out not to be a fluke. Collier has a chance to win the same prize, with Djesse Vol. 4the final part of his cerebral series. Collier also earned a place in the arrangement categories for the sixth year in a row. Call him your favorite musician’s favorite musician.

Congratulations to the Beatles for their first nomination for Record of the Year since 1971. It’s a farewell letter to “Now and Then,” the band’s likely last song, which John Lennon began writing in 1977 but left unfinished until now could come, with new audio restoration technology. I had seen ‘Now and Then’ sneak into Song of the Year, but Record of the Year might make more sense given its technical achievement.

How’s this for a return: twenty-one years after winning Album of the Year for Outkast’s double opus Speakerboxxx/The love belowAndré 3000 is back in the running, with his jazz flute album New blue sun. The Academy, meanwhile, has never cooled on Three Stacks — he picked up a pair of trophies last year for his article in Killer Mike’s “Scientists & Engineers” — but it’s pretty impressive to see his embrace by a whole new wing of voters is embraced. (He’s also up for Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Instrumental Composition.) Jazz voters recently flexing their muscles in the Generals, with awards for Jon Batiste and Samara Joy, means André 3000 could have a decent shot at a second AOTY trophy .

Shaboozey’s runaway hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” was somehow snubbed in Record of the Year, usually the category that most reflects the charts. Yet the song still received some mainstream love in Song of the Year, a surprise to many who thought the Academy wouldn’t appreciate Shaboozey’s spin on J-Kwon’s rap hit “Tipsy.” (It’s more than deserved, as I noted earlier – such an interpolation takes the ear of a good songwriter!) That rounds out a great day for Shaboozey – who also earned some accolades in the Best New Artist and Country categories , plus a Best Melodic Rap Performance nod alongside Beyoncé and Linda Martell for ‘Spaghettii’ – and for Jerrel Jones, aka J-Kwon, who deserves the award are also the first two Grammy nominations.

With Shaboozey earning a solid showing for “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” there just wasn’t room for one fourth new artist to crack the top categories. That hurt Benson Boone, who earned just one nomination for Best New Artist despite having one of the most streamed songs of the year.

Earlier this year, the Academy changed the criteria for Songwriter of the Year to make the award more accessible to artists who also write songs for other artists. No one benefited from that more than Raye, who earned both Best New Artist and Songwriter of the Year awards. Her writing portfolio includes three of her own songs, along with the most random assortment of work you’ve ever seen: Beyoncé’s “Riiverdance,” Jennifer Lopez’s “Dear Ben, Pt II,” and a Rita Ora song.

He still earned five nominations, thanks to his work with Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter. But after five straight nominations – and three straight wins – for Producer of the Year, the Academy is finally making room for others in that category.

At this point, Taylor Swift is a given in the top categories at the Grammys — and she’s done it right again, with a nod to Album of the Year for The department of tortured poets and record and song of the year for “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone. But in the pop field, Swift actually underperformed. She missed out on the award for Best Pop Solo Performance for “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” which isn’t a total shock in such a competitive category. But “Fortnight” also missed out on Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, which could be bad news for Swift’s chances for records and songs. Swift still got a nod to “us” there. featuring Gracie Abrams, but what does it mean that voters chose that song over her own hit single?

Country singer-songwriter Megan Moroney was a highly tipped choice ahead of this year’s nominations, thanks to her viral song ‘Tennessee Orange’ and follow-up album Am I okay? Although she somehow didn’t earn a single nomination, two of her co-writers have been nominated for Songwriter of the Year, for songs they co-wrote with Moroney. If voters liked those songs so much, why didn’t they have room for Moroney himself?

Exactly zero of the acts nominated for Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song or Best Rock Album are nominated for the first time. Once again, rock voters are sticking to what they know: Pearl Jam, Green Day, the Black Keys, St. Vincent and of course the Beatles and the Stones. Congratulations to the Black Crowes on their first nomination since 1991, I think?

It’s rare to see a single woman in Best Metal Performance, one of the most male-dominated Grammy categories in its 36-year history. But this year, for the first time ever, there are three: Marina Viotti (with Gojira and Victor Le Masne), Poppy (with Knocked Loose) and the female-fronted Spiritbox. They all have a chance to win – as long as voters don’t give Metallica their vote eighth trophy instead.

More than forty years into their careers, both indie rock legends are finally nominated for their music the first time – and with two each, in Best Alternative Music Performance and Album.

Everyone knows that women have led the decade in hip-hop so far. The Grammys have tacitly acknowledged this, now nominating a female rapper in the Best New Artist category for five years in a row (including this year’s well-deserved recognition for Doechii). But this year’s rap nominations finally made it clear. At least one woman is nominated in every rap category, including three in the crowded Best Rap Performance, a majority in Best Melodic Rap Performance and the first woman in Best Rap Album since 2018. There are still a few typical Grammy picks (congratulations , Common & Pete Rock), but overall, the rap field hasn’t looked this fresh in years.

Just ask Linda Martell, a country-soul pioneer who earned her first-ever Grammy nomination in Best Melodic Rap Performance.

No less than three The Hot 100 number 1s compete here, between ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’, ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ and ‘I Had Some Help’ by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen. The other two slots go beyond ‘The Architect’ by AOTY winner Kacey Musgraves and ‘I Am Not Ok’ by Jelly Roll. The Academy didn’t even have room for its favorite country artist, Chris Stapleton!

Well, they didn’t nominate Jessica Pratt or Sufjan Stevens, but it was quietly a good day for indie singer-songwriters. Clairo capped a breakout year with a nod for Best Alternative Music Album, while Waxahatchee earned her first career nod in Best Americana Album, and Adrianne Lenker (solo and with Big Thief) added to her tally with Best Folk Album.

After Tyla’s debut album was controversially moved from R&B to pop, the nominations did little to restore confidence in the Academy’s ability to handle African music. Rema and Tems are both (deservedly) nominated in Best Global Music Album, despite their rapprochement with pop, R&B and hip-hop – which raises questions about why Tyla it was also not possible to log in there. Tems even earned a nomination for Best R&B Song, showing that R&B voters themselves are certainly open to recognizing African music. Meanwhile, the Best African Music Performance category is already being westernized, with Chris Brown for ‘Sensational’, his foray into Afrobeats alongside Davido and Lojay.

Although Cave was previously nominated for Best Musical Film and Best Recording Package.