If 2020 has given us one thing — and it really only gave us one thing — it has been great and unforgettable music moments. When the world was at its darkest, we learned the “WAP” dance. When everything felt like it would never be normal again, Taylor Swift dropped folklore, an ode to a life lived in seclusion (in a cottage near the woods, specifically). It’s like the music world was making up for the real world, still currently in the throws of a full-on pandemic.
Part of the joy of listening and loving good music is seeing your faves take home a Grammy trophy. And even though award shows are absolutely wild to watch right now thanks to the hazmat suits, the socially distant — or even completely absent — audiences, and the stark reality that none of this really matters (as BTS fans can attest) in the grand scheme of other world events, I am still psyched to see the names and songs that helped get me through this year popping up on the 2021 Grammy nominations list. So let’s hear it for Haim’s Women In Music Pt.III (hello, “3 AM”), and all of Chloe x Halle’s Ungodly Hour, my personal faves from this difficult and trying year.
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Here are the nominees for the 63rd Grammy Awards, as announced via Grammys.com livestream hosted by Harvey Mason Jr, the Recording Academy’s interim president, and special guests like singers Lauren Daigle and Dua Lipa.
As always, there were a few snubs and surprises. Beyoncé took home nine nominations (a good surprise!), while Selena Gomez, The Weeknd, and Halsey made approximately zero appearances on the nominations. Megan Thee Stallion, fresh off dropping her first album Good News, took home her first couple nominations — the first of many, we're sure — and Taylor Swift pops up a few times, but not nearly as many as Swifties might have expected.
Check out the highlights below:
Best Music Video
“Brown Skin Girl,” Beyoncé
“Adore You,” Harry Styles
“Goliath,” Woodkid
“Life Is Good,” Future feat. Drake
"Lockdown," Anderson.Paak
Best Song Written For Visual Media
"Beautiful Ghosts," Taylor Swift
"Carried Me With You," Brandi Carlile
"Into the Unknown," Idina Menzel and Aurora
"No Time To Die," Billie Eilish
"Stand Up," Cynthia Erivo
Record of the Year
"Circles,” Post Malone
“Savage,” Megan Thee Stallion
"Black Parade," Beyoncé
"Colors," Black Pumas
"Say So," Doja Cat
"Everything I Wanted," Billie Eilish
"Don't Start Now," Dua Lipa
Album of the Year
Chilombo, Jhené Aiko
Black Pumas, 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
Song of the Year
"Black Parade," Beyoncé
"Don't Start Now," Dua Lipa
"Everything I Wanted," Billie Eilish
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"The Box," Roddy Rich
"Circles," Post Malone
"If The World Was Ending," Julia Michaels
"I Can't Breathe," H.E.R.
Best New Artist
Ingrid Andress
Phoebe Bridgers
Chika
Noah Cyrus
D Smoke
Doja Cat
Kaytranada
Megan Thee Stallion
Best Pop Solo Performance
"Yummy," Justin Bieber
"Say So," Doja Cat
"Don't Start Now," Dua Lipa
"Watermelon Sugar," Harry Styles
"cardigan," Taylor Swift
"everything i wanted," Billie Eilish
Best Pop Vocal Album
Changes, Justin Bieber
Chromatica, Lady Gaga
Future Nostalgia, Dua Lipa
Fine Line, Harry Styles
Folklore, Taylor Swift
Best Global Music Album
Fu Chronicles, Antibalas
Twice As Tall, Burna Boy
Agora, Bebel Gilberto
Love Letters Anoushka Shankar
Amadjar, Tinariwen
Best Rap Album
"Black Habits." D Smoke
"Alfredo," Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
"A Written Testimony," Jay Electronica
"King's Disease," Nas
"The Allegory," Royca Da 5'9"
Best Country Album
Lady Like, Ingrid Andress
Your Life Is A Record, Brandy Clark
Wildcard, Miranda Lambert
Nightfall, Little Big Town
Never Will, Ashley McBryde
Best R&B Performance
"Lightning and Thunder," Jhené Aiko feat. John Legend
"Black Parade," Beyoncé
"Goat Head," Brittany Howard
"See Me," Emily King
Best R&B Duo
"Believe It," Partynextdoor feat. Rihanna
"Savage," Cardi B feat. Beyoncé
"Say So," Doja Cat feat. Nicki Minaj
"WAP," Megan Thee Stallion & Cardi B
Best Country Song
"Bluebird," Miranda Lambert
"The Bones," Maren Morris
"Crowded Table," The Highwomen
"More Hearts Than Mine," Ingrid Andress
"Some People Do," Old Diminion