Grammy 2023 Nominations

It’s that time of year, again! Grammy nominations came out earlier this week and a few things about them surprised me.

First off, Silk Sonic decided to pull out of this year's Grammy Awards, even though they won all four categories they were nominated in last year. It goes without saying that not everyone will be happy with the nominations, and everyone has their own opinions.

So, here are some of my opinions on my favorite categories.

Best New Artist

The nominees in this category are Omar Apollo, DOMi & JD Beck, Muni Long, Samara Joy, Latto, Måneskin, Tobe Nwigwe, Molly Tuttle, and Wet Leg.

Måneskin, One of my favorite bands, is being nominated for their first Grammy, and I think they deserve to win. Their second album “Teatro d'Ira” came out in 2021 and was a mixture of Italian and English songs.

They started performing on the streets of Rome in 2016 and then went on to win Eurovision for Italy with their song “Zitti e Buoni.” Now, they are releasing more singles in English and have an album on the way.

Record of the Year

This year, the nominations go to Don't Shut Me Down, ABBA; Easy On Me, Adele; Break My Soul, Beyoncé; Good Morning Gorgeous, Mary J. Blige; You And Me On The Rock, Brandi Carlile Featuring Lucius; Woman, Doja Cat; Bad Habit, Steve Lacy; The Heart Part 5, Kendrick Lamar; About Damn Time, Lizzo; and As It Was, Harry Styles.

There are so many good records nominated, but I think As It Was by Harry Styles should get the win. The difference between record of the year and song of the year is that record of the year is awarded to the artist and to the producers, recording engineers and/or mixers, and mastering engineers. I think As It Was is a really fun and well-rounded song, which fits the description on the award well.

Song of the Year

This is a songwriter award, which means the song is nominated along with all of the writers on the song. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the eligibility year. This category has caused a lot of controversy on social media. The nominees are abcdefu, GAYLE; About Damn Time, Lizzo; All Too Well (10 Minute Version)(The Short Film), Taylor Swift; As It Was, Harry Styles; Bad Habit, Steve Lacy; Break My Soul, Beyoncé; Easy On Me, Adele; God Did, DJ Khaled; The Heart Part 5, Kendrick Lamar; and Just Like That, Bonnie Raitt.

I think this award should go to Taylor Swift for All Too Well. It is a beautifully written song, in my opinion, and I think it deserves to win.

Album of the Year

The last of the “general categories," this award goes to the artists and to the featured artists, songwriters of new material, producers, recording engineers, mixers, and mastering engineers.

The nominees for this year are Voyage, ABBA; 30, Adele; Un Verano Sin Ti, Bad Bunny; Renaissance, Beyoncé; Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe), Mary J. Blige; In These Silent Days, Brandi Carlile; Music of the Spheres, Coldplay; Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, Kendrick Lamar; Special, Lizzo; and Harry’s House, Harry Styles.

There are so many huge names in this category that anyone winning would make a lot of sense. Personally, I think the award should go to Adele.

There are so many other categories that I didn’t go over, like Rap, Jazz, Pop, Dance/Electronic, Rock, and more. Some repeating names this year are Taylor Swift with four nominations, Beyoncé with nine nominations, Kendrick Lamar with eight, Adele with seven, Harry Styles with six, and Jack Harlow with three nominations. Machine Gun Kelly got his first nomination for Best Rock Album for Mainstream Sellout. Bad Bunny also makes history as the first all-Spanish-language album to ever appear in Album of the Year.