Everything to expect from the long awaited 2021 Grammys today
The Grammys will join the rest of the award show season tonight as it goes virtual for the first time ever. Originally set for January 31, the awards got pushed back six weeks as COVID-19 spiked again in Los Angeles and will now take place today, on March 14, with many of the top nominees set for an in-person audienceless performance. Beyoncé leads the nominations with nine, but the stars of the evening are set to be Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa, both of whom are nominated in six categories, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year, and favourites to win.
Swift is returning to the Album of the Year category for the first time since 2016’s 1989 album. Despite being a steady winner of Grammys earlier in her career, she hasn’t won any since her 2016 single Bad Blood featuring Kendrick Lamar. This year is being seen by commentators and fans as Swift’s year, as she recorded two widely acclaimed albums this year during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She is also in the process of re-recording her first six albums after acquiring her previous manager Scooter Braun acquired the rights to them in 2019. Braun recently sold them to a private equity firm called Shamrock Capital, landing a deal that—on top of netting him a reported $300 million—will likely see him continue to profit from Swift’s music going forward.
The showdown of the night will be between Swift and Grammy darling-in-waiting Lipa, who compete against each other in five of their six categories. But don’t count out Lipa, whose Future Nostalgia made waves as one of the first big pop albums of the pandemic, helping to usher in a disco revival that reverberated throughout pop in 2020. Lipa made it into the Record of the Year nominations while Swift missed out but landed a nomination in Best Song for Visual Media with her song “Beautiful Ghosts”.
However, Grammy snubs were especially glaring this year: the Weeknd, a three-time winner whose album “After Hours” held the Billboard 200′s top slot for four consecutive weeks, seemed to make as many headlines as the nominees. The singer accused the Grammys of being “corrupt” after noting his absence from the nominees announced in November.
In terms of performances, the full lineup for the Grammys this evening is Bad Bunny, Black Pumas, Cardi B, BTS, Brandi Carlile, DaBaby, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, Mickey Guyton, Haim, Brittany Howard, Miranda Lambert, Lil Baby, Lipa, Malone, Chris Martin, John Mayer, Megan Thee Stallion, Maren Morris, Ricch, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift.
The Grammys nominations for the main categories are as follows:
Album of the Year
Chilombo, Jhené Aiko
Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition), Black Pumas
Everyday Life, Coldplay
Djesse Vol. 3, Jacob Collier
Women in Music Pt. III, Haim
Future Nostalgia, Dua Lipa
Hollywood’s Bleeding, Post Malone
folklore, Taylor Swift
Record of the Year
“Black Parade,” Beyoncé
“Colors,” Black Pumas
“Rockstar,” DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
“Say So,” Doja Cat
“everything i wanted,” Billie Eilish
“Don’t Start Now,” Dua Lipa
“Circles,” Post Malone
“Savage,” Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé
Best New Artist
Ingrid Andress
Phoebe Bridgers
Noah Cyrus
Chika
D Smoke
Doja Cat
Kaytranada
Megan Thee Stallion
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Jack Antonoff
Dan Auerbach
Dave Cobb
Flying Lotus
Andrew Watt
Best Pop Solo Performance
“Yummy,” Justin Bieber
“Say So,” Doja Cat
“everything i wanted,” Billie Eilish
“Don’t Start Now,” Dua Lipa
“Watermelon Sugar,” Harry Styles
“cardigan,” Taylor Swift
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
“Un Dia (One Day),” J Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, and Tainy
“Intentions,” Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
“Dynamite,” BTS
“Rain on Me,” Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande
“exile,” Taylor Swift featuring Bon Iver
Best Dance Recording
“On My Mind,” Diplo and Sidepiece
“My High,” Disclosure, Aminé, and Slowthai
“The Difference,” Flume featuring Toro y Moi
“Both of Us,” Jayda G
“10%,” Kaytranada featuring Kali Uchis
Best Dance/Electronic Album
KiCk i, Arca
Energy, Disclosure
Planet’s Mad, Baauer
Bubba, Kaytranada
Good Faith, Madeon
Best Rock Performance
“The Steps,” Haim
“Stay High,” Brittany Howard
“Not,” Big Thief
“Shameika,” Fiona Apple
“Kyoto,” Phoebe Bridgers
“Daylight,” Grace Potter
Best Metal Performance
“Bum-Rush,” Body Count
“Underneath,” Code Orange
“The In-Between,” In This Moment
“Bloodmoney,” Poppy
“Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe) — Live,” Power Trip
Best Rock Song
“Kyoto,” Phoebe Bridgers
“Lost in Yesterday,” Tame Impala
“Not,” Big Thief
“Shameika,” Fiona Apple
“Stay High,” Brittany Howard
Best Rock Album
A Hero’s Death, Fontaines D.C.
Kiwanuka, Michael Kiwanuka
Daylight, Grace Potter
Sound & Fury, Sturgill Simpson
The New Abnormal, the Strokes
Best Alternative Music Album
Fetch the Bolt Cutters, Fiona Apple
Hyperspace, Beck
Punisher, Phoebe Bridgers
Jaime, Brittany Howard
The Slow Rush, Tame Impala
Best Rap Performance
“Deep Reverence,” Big Sean featuring Nipsey Hussle
“BOP,” DaBaby
“Whats Poppin,” Jack Harlow
“The Bigger Picture,” Lil Baby
“Savage,” Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé
“Dior,” Pop Smoke
Best Melodic Rap Performance
“Rockstar,” DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
“Laugh Now Cry Later,” Drake featuring Lil Durk
“Lockdown,” Anderson .Paak
“The Box,” Roddy Ricch
“Highest in the Room,” Travis Scott
Best Rap Song
“The Bigger Picture,” Lil Baby
“The Box,” Roddy Ricch
“Laugh Now Cry Later,” Drake featuring Lil Durk
“Rockstar,” DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
“Savage,” Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé
Best Rap Album
Black Habits, D Smoke
Alfredo, Freddie Gibbs and the Alchemist
A Written Testimony, Jay Electronica
King’s Disease, Nas
The Allegory, Royce Da 5’9”
