2024 was undeniably a monumental year for women in the pop music industry. Do you remember 2018, when Neil Portnow, then-president of the Recording Academy, controversially stated that women needed to “step up” after male artists dominated the Grammy Awards that year? Well, seven years later, the tables have turned in the major categories: out of the eight nominees for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year, six are female artists. And although the Best New Artist category is split evenly, the two clear frontrunners are decidedly female: Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter.
It comes as no surprise that the leading nominee is Beyoncé, with a staggering 11 nominations. The two most-nominated artists in Grammy history are, in fact, a married couple: Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who were tied at 88 nominations each until Beyoncé pulled ahead with her latest 11. Her album Cowboy Carter spans multiple genres and features numerous guest artists, qualifying her for several categories, unlike Chappell Roan, who has no supporting collaborators and only competed in pop categories. In addition to Beyoncé’s massive 11 nominations, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, and Charli XCX each earned seven nominations, while Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter received six each.
The Grammys have four general, cross-genre categories collectively known as The Big Four: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. Only 13 artists in Grammy history have been nominated in all four categories in the same year—most recently, Olivia Rodrigo three years ago. In this latest nomination round, both Roan and Carpenter are competing for all four. If either of them manages to sweep, she would become just the third artist to do so, following Christopher Cross in 1981 and Billie Eilish in 2020.
Of the eight albums nominated for Album of the Year, six were predictable: Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet, Charli XCX’s Brat, Billie Eilish’s HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, and Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department. These albums by the six women dominated 2024—not just in sales but also in terms of cultural impact. And the two albums by male artists? Not so much.
One of them, Djesse Vol. 4 by Jacob Collier, a jazz album, is underwhelming in such a strong field. Still, the six-time Grammy winner’s nomination is less surprising than that of André 3000 for New Blue Sun—an epic instrumental odyssey played on the flute. OutKast has a significant legacy in hip hop, but an Album of the Year nomination for this project? Really?
Among male artists, Kendrick Lamar tied with Post Malone for the most nominations, with seven each. The California rapper’s chart-topping single Not Like Us is up for five awards, including Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, Record of the Year, and Best Music Video. Additionally, Like That, his collaboration with Future and Metro Boomin, is nominated for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.
Music’s biggest night will take place on February 2 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.