The biggest snubs and surprises of the 2024 Grammy nominations
An artist some pundits expected to earn zero nominations came out of nowhere to snag 7
- Snub: No PinkPantheress, Sabrina Carpenter or Reneé Rapp for best new artist
- Snub: No Foo Fighters for album of the year
- Surprise: Janelle Monáe for album of the year
- Snub: No Morgan Wallen or Zach Bryan for album of the year
- Surprise: Jon Batiste for a lot of awards
- Snub: No Doja Cat for record of the year
- Surprise: Boygenius for record of the year
- Surprise: Victoria Monét for record of the year
Record scratch.
The 2024 Grammy nominations were revealed Friday, and there were no shortage of curveballs in the mix. Women dominated the top categories, as album of the year and record of the year both consisted of just a single male nominee. Overall, SZA led the pack with 9 nominations, while Phoebe Bridgers, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and the "Barbie" soundtrack also had strong showings.
But the list was missing some big names pundits expected to be there, and one inclusion was a true shocker. These were the biggest snubs and surprises:
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Snub: No PinkPantheress, Sabrina Carpenter or Reneé Rapp for best new artist
The best new artist category consisted of performers like Gracie Abrams and Ice Spice, but a few others were surprisingly given the cold shoulder.
Most notably, many pundits thought 22-year-old PinkPantheress, whose song "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2" charted on the Billboard Hot 100, would make it in, but she received no nominations at all. Other performers missing from best new artist included Sabrina Carpenter, Peso Pluma, Raye and Reneé Rapp.
Snub: No Foo Fighters for album of the year
Foo Fighters got some love with nominations for best rock album, best rock performance and best rock song. Still, they appeared poised for an album of the year nod for "But Here We Are," yet when the nominees for that award were read, there they weren't. The band's track "Rescued" also wasn’t nominated for song of the year or record of the year, as some expected.
Surprise: Janelle Monáe for album of the year
A surprise entrant in the album of the year category was Janelle Monáe, as few analysts thought she’d make it in for "The Age of Pleasure."
Snub: No Morgan Wallen or Zach Bryan for album of the year
Although Morgan Wallen’s song "Last Night" was nominated for best country song, he technically has still never earned a Grammy nomination considering he's not a credited songwriter on it. Outside of that track, none of Wallen's work was nominated, even though his album "One Thing at a Time" was a massive hit this year.
Speaking of country artists, Zach Bryan’s self-titled album, which hit number one on the Billboard 200 chart, was nominated for best country album, but blanked in album of the year.
Surprise: Jon Batiste for a lot of awards
If it wasn't already abundantly clear, the Recording Academy really, really likes Jon Batiste. After his dominance at the 2022 Grammys, the former "Late Show" band leader earned another six nominations on Friday, including album of the year, record of the year, and song of the year.
Snub: No Doja Cat for record of the year
Doja Cat's "Paint the Town Red" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, but while the track was up for best pop solo performance, it was nowhere to be found in record of the year or song of the year.
Surprise: Boygenius for record of the year
It turns out Boygenius is, in fact, strong enough for the Recording Academy, as the indie trio’s "Not Strong Enough" unexpectedly snuck into record of the year in addition to being up for best rock performance and best rock song.
Surprise: Victoria Monét for record of the year
In September, Victoria Monét shared that she wanted to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards, but her "team was told it is ‘too early in my story’ for that opportunity."
Well, the Recording Academy clearly disagrees. Monét earned a whopping seven nominations, tying with Phoebe Bridgers and Serban Ghenea for the second most of any artist. This included record of the year for "On My Mama," which peaked at 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
To put that into perspective, on the awards prediction website GoldDerby, Monét had the literal worst odds of getting nominated for record of the year of any artist and was ranked dead last in 114th place — making this, statistically, the biggest surprise that could have possibly happened. Now that’s what you call an underdog.
The 2024 Grammys will air on Feb. 4 on CBS.
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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