LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� Killing her ex? That鈥檚 a bad idea. Writing 鈥淜ill Bill鈥� and releasing her critically acclaimed earlier this year? That was a great one. SZA is the lead contender for the 66th , with nine nominations announced Friday.
鈥淜ill Bill,鈥� her revenge anthem cloaked in an R&B ballad, earned her nods for record of the year, song of the year, and best R&B performance. 鈥淪OS鈥� is also up for album of the year and best progressive R&B album. The 2024 ceremony will mark the second time for record, album, and song of the year in the same year.
And just like 鈥淏arbie鈥� will be seen 鈥� and heard 鈥� at the Grammys. Music from earned 11 nominations, including nabbing four of the five slots in the visual media song category.
If there is an overall trend in the 2024 nominations, it鈥檚 that female acts outperformed their male counterparts. The majority of leading nominees are women and include superstars like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Miley Cyrus and Olivia Rodrigo. In both the record and album of the year categories, the only man represented is
鈥淪eeing the women nominees this year, and the number of them, was not a surprise but it was something that made me happy,鈥� the Recording Academy CEO and President told The Associated Press. He believes that representation allows the next group of creators to look at the nominees and say: 鈥淢aybe somebody will love what I do one day, or maybe I have an opportunity to express myself or voice my thoughts like that person.鈥�
SZA, of course, leads the charge, also picking up nominations for best traditional R&B performance (鈥淟ove Language鈥�), best R&B song (鈥淪nooze鈥�), best melodic rap performance (鈥淟ow鈥�), and best pop duo/group performance (鈥淕host in the Machine鈥�). The last features , who 鈥� alongside Victoria Mon茅t, the only leading nominee also up for best new artist 鈥� boasts the second-most nominations with seven.
Six of Bridgers鈥� nods are with her band boygenius, nominated for the first time for record of the year, album of the year, best rock performance, best rock song, best alternative music performance, and best alternative music album.
Also earning six nominations: Swift, Rodrigo, Cyrus, Eilish, Batiste and producer Jack Antonoff.
Only recordings released between Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 15, 2023 were eligible.
In addition to Mon茅t, the best new artist category is rounded out by , Fred again.., Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, and The War and Treaty.
For album of the year, it's again Batiste, boygenius, Cyrus, Rodrigo, Swift, and SZA, but with the addition of Lana Del Rey鈥檚 鈥淒id you know that there鈥檚 a tunnel under Ocean Blvd鈥� and Janelle Mon谩e鈥檚 鈥淭he Age of Pleasure.鈥�
The song of the year category features Del Rey鈥檚 鈥淎&W,鈥� Swift鈥檚 鈥淎nti-Hero,鈥� Batiste鈥檚 鈥淏utterfly,鈥� Cyrus鈥� 鈥淔lowers,鈥� SZA鈥檚 鈥淜ill Bill,鈥� Rodrigo鈥檚 鈥渧ampire,鈥� and two tracks from Dua Lipa鈥檚 鈥淒ance The Night鈥� and Eilish鈥檚 鈥淲hat Was I Made For?鈥�
While 鈥淚鈥檓 Just Ken鈥� from 鈥淏arbie鈥� did get a nomination, it鈥檚 in a songwriting category 鈥� so actor Ryan Gosling is not up for a Grammy.
What else is missing? Some fans may notice a dearth of Latin and country musicians in the main categories.
鈥淲e need to do more work with our country voters and continue to invite more country voters to the process,鈥� says Mason jr. 鈥淎nother thing that surprised me was, as big of a year that Latin had this year, (that) we didn鈥檛 have more Latin representation in some of the general fields.鈥�
鈥淲e want to make sure that our membership is representative of the music that鈥檚 being created and concerned,鈥� he added. 鈥淪o, these nominations always inform us on what we鈥檙e going to do over the next few years. And these nominations in particular have told us we need to continue to reach out and communicate with the voting groups within country and Latin.鈥�
There are at the 2024 Grammys: best pop dance recording, best African music performance and best alternative jazz album. Four of the five acts in the best African music performance category are nominated for the first time: ASAKE & Olamide for 鈥淎mapiano,鈥� Davido featuring Musa Keys for 鈥淯NAVAILABLE,鈥� Ayra Starr for 鈥淩ush,鈥� and Tyla for 鈥淲ater.鈥� The fifth is the already Grammy-winning for 鈥淐ity Boys.鈥�
The 2024 Grammy Awards will air Feb. 4 live on CBS and Paramount+ from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Maria Sherman, The Associated Press
