The year’s Grammy nominees were announced on 10 November and include industry juggernauts and up-and-comers alike. The winners will be announced at the ceremony on February 4 2024, which will celebrate another year of excellence in popular music. Here we round up the General Field nominees and who we’ll be betting on to win.
Best new artist
Though the number of nominees in this ‘Big Four’ category was reduced from ten to eight this year, the wealth of talent in this line-up is nothing to sneeze at. Nominees include indie-folk underdog Noah Kahan, Eras Tour opening act Gracie Abrams, and veteran songwriter Victoria Monet, who earned seven nominations for her breakout solo album JAGUAR II. But mega-viral Bronx rapper Ice Spice is by far the shoe-in for the win. Ice Spice has had an exceptionally successful 2023, with only mere months between blowing up for her single Munch (Feelin’ U) and collaborating with the likes of Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift.
Nominees:
- Gracie Abrams (Good Riddance)
- Fred again… (Secret Life)
- Ice Spice (Like..?)
- Jelly Roll (Whitsitt Chapel)
- Coco Jones (What I Didn’t Tell You)
- Noah Kahan (Stick Season)
- Victoria Monet (JAGUAR II)
- The War and the Treaty (Lover’s Game)
Our bet to win:
- Ice Spice
Song of the year
This award, which recognises achievements in song writing, is often tricky to predict. One obvious contender is Taylor Swift’s Anti-Hero, which would be her first win in the category. The popular-as-ever Swift, who once told the New York Times that she was a songwriter above all else, would make a satisfying winner. Other logical choices could be Lana Del Rey’s A&W, a monstrous seven-minute song that showcases Del Rey’s writing at its sharpest, and What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish, which captivated cinema audiences around the world for its frank discussion of self-image and womanhood.
Nominees:
- Lana Del Rey, A&W
- Taylor Swift, Anti-Hero
- Jon Batiste, Butterfly
- Dua Lipa, Dance The Night
- Miley Cyrus, Flowers
- SZA, Kill Bill
- Olivia Rodrigo, vampire
- Billie Eilish, What Was I Made For?
Our bet to win:
- Taylor Swift, Anti-Hero
Record of the year
While the song of the year award celebrates song writing, the record of the year award celebrates production and performance. Flowers, Miley Cyrus’s comeback single from the beginning of the year, is an undeniable force. Grammys voters often sway in favour of commercial success, and there are few records that beat Flowers at encapsulating the state of popular music in 2023. The win would be Cyrus’s first ever Grammy. On the other hand, voters may use this category to celebrate one of the year’s other successful artists, such as Olivia Rodrigo or Jon Batiste, who are nominated for vampire and Worship, respectively.
Nominees:
- John Batiste, Worship
- boygenius, Not Strong Enough
- Miley Cyrus, Flowers
- Billie Eilish, What Was I Made For?
- Victoria Monet, On My Mama
- Olivia Rodrigo, vampire
- Taylor Swift, Anti-Hero
- SZA, Kill Bill
Our bet to win:
- Miley Cyrus, Flowers
Album of the year
Though it is tempting to call the biggest category of the night for Taylor Swift’s Midnights, which brought meteoric success for the pop star, it would be her fourth album of the year win, the most for a single artist in history. For this reason, it seems unlikely that Swift will be handed this achievement at such a relatively early stage in her career. SZA’s SOS is a more likely bet, given the album’s own outstanding acclaim and the whopping nine nominations, the most for any artist, it earned this year. A Black woman has not won the award since Lauryn Hill took it home in 1999, and SZA’s excellent sophomore effort more than deserves the recognition.
Nominees:
- Jon Batiste, World Music Radio
- boygenius, the record
- Miley Cyrus, Endless Summer Vacation
- Lana Del Rey, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
- Janelle Monae, The Age of Pleasure
- Olivia Rodrigo, GUTS
- Taylor Swift, Midnights
- SZA, SOS
Our bet to win:
- SZA, SOS
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