The 2021 Grammy Awards: What The Hell...?
Well, what a roller coaster today has been. The nominations for the 2021 Grammy Awards have been announced today, and I’m pretty much going to give my thoughts on what the Grammys have deemed the best in music from the past year (almost). Let’s just get into it.
In this section, I’ll be talking about the nominees. I’ll be saving my opinions on them for the next section. Leading the pack with 9 nominations is Beyoncé, with her single “Black Parade” being nominated for Song and Record of the Year. She also was nominated for Best Music Film for her Disney+ film BLACK IS KING. Her other source of nominations was from her remix of Megan Thee Stallion’s breakout “Savage.”
The choices for Album of the Year were pretty eclectic this year. Those belong to Jhené Aiko’s third album Chilombo, the deluxe edition of soul outfit Black Pumas’ self-titled debut, Coldplay’s reunion album Everyday Life, British musician Jacob Collier’s third volume of his Djesse quartet, indie trio HAIM’s Women in Music Pt. III, Dua Lipa’s pop odyssey Future Nostalgia, Post Malone’s mega-hit Hollywood’s Bleeding, and Taylor Swift’s venture into indie-alt music folklore.
Best New Artist is also pretty competitive. Country singer Ingrid Andress, indie darling Phoebe Bridgers, Nigerian rapper Chika, pop balladeer Noah Cyrus, Inglewood rapper D Smoke, R&B starlet Doja Cat, the trippy producer Kaytranada, and 2020’s biggest breakout star Megan Thee Stallion.
Best Pop Vocal Album is a pretty strange category this year. Justin Bieber’s second comeback album Changes, Lady Gaga’s return to weirdness Chromatica, Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia, Harry Styles’s 70s throwback Fine Line, and Taylor Swift’s folklore are vying for that honor.
In the rock categories, it’s a tight race for nearly all the categories. For Best Rock Performance, Fiona Apple’s “Shameika,” Big Thief’s “Not,” Phoebe Bridgers’s “Kyoto,” “The Steps” from HAIM, “Stay High” by Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard, and “Daylight” from Grace Potter all compete for the award.
I’d also love to give a shoutout to the nominees in Best Metal Performance for a very particular reason. Songs from “Bum-Rush” from Body Count, “Underneath” from Code Orange, “The In-Between” from In This Moment, and a live rendition of “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)” Power Trip song is here, but in particular, I’d like to shout “BLOODMONEY” by Poppy. The album that this was a single from, I Disagree, is one of my favorite albums in recent memory, but I had recently found out that a friend of mine worked with Poppy on the writing of “BLOODMONEY,” one of my favorite songs off this album. You know who you are, and I wish you and Poppy the best of luck at the ceremony. 🖤🤍
Best Rock Album is also a great category. Fontaines D.C.’s A Hero’s Death, Michael Kiwanuka’s self-titled album, Daylight by Grace Potter, Sound & Fury by Sturgill Simpson, and The New Abnormal by The Strokes are here, and this is quite a tight race to me.
The Best Rock Song nominees are mainly the same as the Best Rock Performance nominees, but substitute Brittany Howard for Tame Impala’s “Lost in Yesterday.”
Best Alternative Album is also a pretty great category this year, although it does severely lack a very deserving album. Fetch the Bolt Cutters from Fiona Apple, Beck’s Hyperspace, Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers, Jaime by Brittany Howard, and Tame Impala’s The Slow Rush are the nominees in another pretty great category.
I’m only going to do Best Progressive R&B Album in the R&B category because that’s really the only category I paid attention to. Those nominees are Jhené Aiko’s Chilombo, Chloe x Halle’s Ungodly Hour, The Free Nationals (Anderson .Paak’s backing band) with their self-titled debut, jazz legend Robert Glasper’s Fuck Yo Feelings, and funk wizard Thundercat with It Is What It Is.
Now, the rap categories are certainly something else this year. The Best Rap Performance nominees are “Deep Reverence” by Big Sean and the late Nipsey Hussle, “BOP” by DaBaby, “WHAT’S POPPIN” by Canadian breakout Jack Harlow, the culturally poignant “The Bigger Picture” by Lil Baby, Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé’s “Savage,” and “Dior,” the late Pop Smoke’s breakout track.
Best Melodic Rap Performance is most likely a new category, but this name is awful. Change it, please. The nominees are “ROCKSTAR” by DaBaby and Roddy Ricch, “Laugh Now Cry Later” by Drake and Lil Durk, “Lockdown” by Anderson .Paak, “The Box” by Roddy Ricch, and “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM” by Travis Scott.
I’m legitimately blown away by the Best Rap Album nominees this year. These are Black Habits by D Smoke, Alfredo by Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist, A Written Testimony by Jay Electronica (and Jay-Z, technically), King’s Disease by Nas, and The Allegory by Royce da 5’9”. This was kinda crazy, but my true feelings are below.
Best Rap Song is basically the same as Best Rap Performance, but substitute “WHAT’S POPPIN” with “ROCKSTAR” and you have that list.
Now, the Record of the Year nominees, which is the production, mastering, and mixing aspects of a song. The nominees are “Black Parade” by Beyoncé, “Colors” by Black Pumas, “ROCKSTAR” by DaBaby and Roddy Ricch, “Say So” by Doja Cat, “everything i wanted” by Billie Eilish, “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa, “Circles” by Post Malone, and “Savage” by Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé.
Song of the Year focuses on the songwriting aspects of a song. The nominees are “Black Parade” by Beyoncé, “The Box” by Roddy Ricch, “cardigan” by Taylor Swift, “Circles,” “Don’t Start Now,” “everything i wanted,” “I Can’t Breathe” by H.E.R., and “If The World was Ending” by JP Saxe and Julia Michaels.
Alright, here’s the spicy part. What do I think of these nominations? My answer: What the hot and crispy, Kentucky Fried fuck happened here? WHERE THE FUCK IS THE WEEKND? I’m legitimately shocked that The Weeknd came out with 0 nominations. After Hours is one of the biggest albums of 2020, and “Blinding Lights” broke the record for being the biggest Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 ever. That awful Justin Bieber track “Yummy” got nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance. They heard the sounds and read the lyrics and said “Yeah, this is trash. Nominate it.” Best Rap Album is something I’m genuinely happy about. I haven’t heard Smoke D’s album yet, but the other nominees I’m pretty happy about. I think RTJ4 should’ve been included in there, but I’m not bad at this crop of choices. If I had to pick a winner, Alfredo would be the definite choice for me. Also, passed-away artists didn’t get any love. Mac Miller and Juice WRLD each went without a single nomination for their posthumous projects, Circles and Legends Never Die. One of the things that I’m happy with is how many newer artists are being finally being recognized, Phoebe Bridgers, Jhené Aiko, Kaytranada, and Poppy being among them. While I wasn’t a fan of Aiko’s Chilombo, this might inspire me to go back to it. Along with that, artists that I’d be discovering because of this. Black Pumas, Jacob Collier, and the Free Nationals are artists I’m very excited to dive into.
While there is a decent amount to like in these nominees, the glaring mistake of snubbing The Weeknd, After Hours, and “Blinding Lights” are, ironically enough, too bright to ignore. This, along with the countless snubs among the rap genre over the years, is starting to build up to a very bad history. If it wasn't bad enough already, The Weeknd’s snub might have finally pushed it over the edge.
In this section, I’ll be talking about the nominees. I’ll be saving my opinions on them for the next section. Leading the pack with 9 nominations is Beyoncé, with her single “Black Parade” being nominated for Song and Record of the Year. She also was nominated for Best Music Film for her Disney+ film BLACK IS KING. Her other source of nominations was from her remix of Megan Thee Stallion’s breakout “Savage.”
The choices for Album of the Year were pretty eclectic this year. Those belong to Jhené Aiko’s third album Chilombo, the deluxe edition of soul outfit Black Pumas’ self-titled debut, Coldplay’s reunion album Everyday Life, British musician Jacob Collier’s third volume of his Djesse quartet, indie trio HAIM’s Women in Music Pt. III, Dua Lipa’s pop odyssey Future Nostalgia, Post Malone’s mega-hit Hollywood’s Bleeding, and Taylor Swift’s venture into indie-alt music folklore.
Best New Artist is also pretty competitive. Country singer Ingrid Andress, indie darling Phoebe Bridgers, Nigerian rapper Chika, pop balladeer Noah Cyrus, Inglewood rapper D Smoke, R&B starlet Doja Cat, the trippy producer Kaytranada, and 2020’s biggest breakout star Megan Thee Stallion.
Best Pop Vocal Album is a pretty strange category this year. Justin Bieber’s second comeback album Changes, Lady Gaga’s return to weirdness Chromatica, Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia, Harry Styles’s 70s throwback Fine Line, and Taylor Swift’s folklore are vying for that honor.
In the rock categories, it’s a tight race for nearly all the categories. For Best Rock Performance, Fiona Apple’s “Shameika,” Big Thief’s “Not,” Phoebe Bridgers’s “Kyoto,” “The Steps” from HAIM, “Stay High” by Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard, and “Daylight” from Grace Potter all compete for the award.
I’d also love to give a shoutout to the nominees in Best Metal Performance for a very particular reason. Songs from “Bum-Rush” from Body Count, “Underneath” from Code Orange, “The In-Between” from In This Moment, and a live rendition of “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)” Power Trip song is here, but in particular, I’d like to shout “BLOODMONEY” by Poppy. The album that this was a single from, I Disagree, is one of my favorite albums in recent memory, but I had recently found out that a friend of mine worked with Poppy on the writing of “BLOODMONEY,” one of my favorite songs off this album. You know who you are, and I wish you and Poppy the best of luck at the ceremony. 🖤🤍
Best Rock Album is also a great category. Fontaines D.C.’s A Hero’s Death, Michael Kiwanuka’s self-titled album, Daylight by Grace Potter, Sound & Fury by Sturgill Simpson, and The New Abnormal by The Strokes are here, and this is quite a tight race to me.
The Best Rock Song nominees are mainly the same as the Best Rock Performance nominees, but substitute Brittany Howard for Tame Impala’s “Lost in Yesterday.”
Best Alternative Album is also a pretty great category this year, although it does severely lack a very deserving album. Fetch the Bolt Cutters from Fiona Apple, Beck’s Hyperspace, Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers, Jaime by Brittany Howard, and Tame Impala’s The Slow Rush are the nominees in another pretty great category.
I’m only going to do Best Progressive R&B Album in the R&B category because that’s really the only category I paid attention to. Those nominees are Jhené Aiko’s Chilombo, Chloe x Halle’s Ungodly Hour, The Free Nationals (Anderson .Paak’s backing band) with their self-titled debut, jazz legend Robert Glasper’s Fuck Yo Feelings, and funk wizard Thundercat with It Is What It Is.
Now, the rap categories are certainly something else this year. The Best Rap Performance nominees are “Deep Reverence” by Big Sean and the late Nipsey Hussle, “BOP” by DaBaby, “WHAT’S POPPIN” by Canadian breakout Jack Harlow, the culturally poignant “The Bigger Picture” by Lil Baby, Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé’s “Savage,” and “Dior,” the late Pop Smoke’s breakout track.
Best Melodic Rap Performance is most likely a new category, but this name is awful. Change it, please. The nominees are “ROCKSTAR” by DaBaby and Roddy Ricch, “Laugh Now Cry Later” by Drake and Lil Durk, “Lockdown” by Anderson .Paak, “The Box” by Roddy Ricch, and “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM” by Travis Scott.
I’m legitimately blown away by the Best Rap Album nominees this year. These are Black Habits by D Smoke, Alfredo by Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist, A Written Testimony by Jay Electronica (and Jay-Z, technically), King’s Disease by Nas, and The Allegory by Royce da 5’9”. This was kinda crazy, but my true feelings are below.
Best Rap Song is basically the same as Best Rap Performance, but substitute “WHAT’S POPPIN” with “ROCKSTAR” and you have that list.
Now, the Record of the Year nominees, which is the production, mastering, and mixing aspects of a song. The nominees are “Black Parade” by Beyoncé, “Colors” by Black Pumas, “ROCKSTAR” by DaBaby and Roddy Ricch, “Say So” by Doja Cat, “everything i wanted” by Billie Eilish, “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa, “Circles” by Post Malone, and “Savage” by Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé.
Song of the Year focuses on the songwriting aspects of a song. The nominees are “Black Parade” by Beyoncé, “The Box” by Roddy Ricch, “cardigan” by Taylor Swift, “Circles,” “Don’t Start Now,” “everything i wanted,” “I Can’t Breathe” by H.E.R., and “If The World was Ending” by JP Saxe and Julia Michaels.
Alright, here’s the spicy part. What do I think of these nominations? My answer: What the hot and crispy, Kentucky Fried fuck happened here? WHERE THE FUCK IS THE WEEKND? I’m legitimately shocked that The Weeknd came out with 0 nominations. After Hours is one of the biggest albums of 2020, and “Blinding Lights” broke the record for being the biggest Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 ever. That awful Justin Bieber track “Yummy” got nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance. They heard the sounds and read the lyrics and said “Yeah, this is trash. Nominate it.” Best Rap Album is something I’m genuinely happy about. I haven’t heard Smoke D’s album yet, but the other nominees I’m pretty happy about. I think RTJ4 should’ve been included in there, but I’m not bad at this crop of choices. If I had to pick a winner, Alfredo would be the definite choice for me. Also, passed-away artists didn’t get any love. Mac Miller and Juice WRLD each went without a single nomination for their posthumous projects, Circles and Legends Never Die. One of the things that I’m happy with is how many newer artists are being finally being recognized, Phoebe Bridgers, Jhené Aiko, Kaytranada, and Poppy being among them. While I wasn’t a fan of Aiko’s Chilombo, this might inspire me to go back to it. Along with that, artists that I’d be discovering because of this. Black Pumas, Jacob Collier, and the Free Nationals are artists I’m very excited to dive into.
While there is a decent amount to like in these nominees, the glaring mistake of snubbing The Weeknd, After Hours, and “Blinding Lights” are, ironically enough, too bright to ignore. This, along with the countless snubs among the rap genre over the years, is starting to build up to a very bad history. If it wasn't bad enough already, The Weeknd’s snub might have finally pushed it over the edge.
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