It’s Grammy time again! The nominations for the 67th Grammy Awards have just been announced and, like always, there is a wide variety of emotions and opinions felt by the students and faculty at Westminster.
The Grammy Awards is hosted by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, more commonly known as The Recording Academy. The aim of the Awards aligns closely with the mission of the Academy itself, “to recognize excellence in the recording arts and sciences, cultivate the well-being of the music community, and ensure that music remains an indelible part of our culture.” Nominations are made from 25 fields, ranging from pop, rock, and rap to jazz, classical, and reggae, as well as production and postproduction work. Additionally, nominations are possible in four more general categories including record, album, song of the year, and best new artist. The total number of awards this year has increased since last year– from 86 to 91, with famous winners from previous years like classics such as Frank Sinatra’s Come Dance with Me!, pop trendsetters like Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and more modern icons like Taylor Swift’s Folklore and Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly.
Nominations this year include the likes of famous superstars such as Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Billie Eilish to smaller, lesser-known artists like Kim Gordon, Queen Sheba, and Keyon Harrold. Beyonce’s 11 nominations lead the pack with her country-inspired album Cowboy Carter for Album of the Year and her record “Texas Hold ‘Em” for Record of the Year.
While there are 91 possible awards, the most prestigious awards are Record of the Year and Album of the Year. Nominations for Record of the Year include “Now and Then” by The Beatles, “Texas Hold ‘Em” by Beyoncé, “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter, “360” by Charlie XCX, “Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish, “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar, “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan, and “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone. Nominations for Album of the Year include New Blue Sun by André 3000, Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé, Short n’ Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter, Brat by Charlie XCX, Djesse Vol. 4 by Jacob Collier, Hit Me Hard and Soft by Billie Eilish, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan, and The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift.
“All the artists that were nominated are all incredibly talented, but I think that ‘Birds of a Feather” should win because, in my own personal opinion, I think that it is lyrically the best out of all the other songs that were nominated,” junior Sallie Dotson said in relevance to Record of the Year.
“I don’t think the Beatles should’ve been nominated because it takes away from artists who are currently writing,” said Dotson. “That’s not to say that the Beatles are not talented and that it shouldn’t have been released, but the song being written so long ago kind of goes against the category it was nominated for– Record of the Year.”
The song that Dotson refers to is “Now and Then” by the incredibly influential English rock band The Beatles. The song’s history starts back in the year 1978, as a ballad demo recording by the late John Lennon that was ultimately left unfinished. It was considered for a single during the 1995 Beatles Anthology but was once again abandoned due to production difficulties. Finally, in 2023, 45 years after the first original recording, the song was released to the public, with guitar parts by the late George Harrison from the earlier 1995 recordings, studio recordings by Paul McCartney and Ringo Star from 2022, and perhaps most surprisingly vocals from John Lennon by utilising AI technology to extrapolate his voice from the original demo. However, there is the question of whether or not the song should have been nominated after being partially written and recorded in both 1978 and 1995. Nonetheless, the song has made Grammy history by being the first ever song to be nominated that features AI in its production.
“I want either Brat, New Blue Sun, or The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess to win because I think they’re all by artists that are under-recognised for their unique musical talents and should be rewarded for that,” said junior Cate Costello.
Another student, however, had a different opinion on who should win the award.
“I want Hit Me Hard and Soft to win. I think that Billie’s album will go down as one of the greatest albums in history,” said junior Caryssa Snyder.
Juniors Chloe Li, Caroline Werdesheim, Reyha Parsh, Taylor Walstad, and Virginia Willis all agreed that Eilish should be the one to win this award.
Other students such as Zuri Quintero and Hansika Yerramsetti, along with Walstad and Parsh, all voiced their support for Short n’ Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter to win the award.
It’s not just students that are invested in the Grammys, however. In fact, the Upper School’s own Director of Bands Will Pitts is actually a voting member of the aforementioned Recording Academy.
“In all of it, I’m kind of wanting to think about how it makes me feel, like I’m wanting to just enjoy it,” he said. “It forces me to listen to a lot of new music because I want to be an educated voter in that process. And it forces me to kind of just take a step back and not critique it from how it’s made or construction or this or that but truly think about it from the totality of what am I enjoying about this.”
In this, Pitt suggests that emotion, more than its production or structure, is his main driving factor in deciding what to vote for.
“I’m a little torn right now between Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar in terms of record of the year,” said Pitts. “I’m a little more clear on Album of the Year with Cowboy Carter… to me, I feel like I’ll probably lean on voting for [Chappell Roan] for Best New Artist and then Beyoncé would be my vote for Album of the Year.”
Out of the students and teachers interviewed, Pitts was the only one who voiced his support for Beyoncé.
“And then just in general, you know, especially in the categories that are not really music that I listen to all the time, it’s kind of important for me to really take a step back and think about, you know, is this something new? Is this something exciting? Do I enjoy it? How does it fit?” said Pitts.
No matter what your opinions are of this year’s nominations for the Grammys, we can still come together and recognise music’s enduring ability to evolve from the past and inspire the future. These nominations not only highlight the collective creative achievements of artists but also showcase the diverse and unique stories and styles that have influenced these artists and that go on to shape the global musical landscape. So, as the world anticipates the ceremony, let these selections remind us of music’s power to connect, challenge, and celebrate our shared humanity.
Edited by Kavya Athota
