SZA Tops 66th GRAMMY Nominations with 9, Women Dominate General Field Categories, ‘Barbie’ Album Hits Big

The nominations for the 66th GRAMMY Awards were announced this morning and SZA topped the list with nine nods, including Album of the Year for SOS and Song and Record of the Year for her chart-topper “Kill Bill.”

Phoebe Bridgers (with her band boygenius), Serban Ghenea and Victoria Monét tied with seven apiece, while a huge batch of artists came in with six: Jack Antonoff, Jon Batiste, boygenius, Brandy Clark, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift.

Album of the Year was dominated by women, who earned seven of the eight slots. boygenius (the record), Miley Cyrus (Endless Summer Vacation) Lana Del Rey (Did you know that there‘s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd), Janelle Monáe (The Age of Pleasure), Olivia Rodrigo (GUTS), Taylor Swift (Midnights) and SZA join multi-Grammy winner (including Album of the Year) Jon Batiste with World Music Radio. 

The Barbie soundtrack was a big hit, netting several top nominations including two in Song of the Year; Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” and Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?,” the latter of which was also nominated for Record of the Year, as well as Best Rap Song for “Barbie World” from Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice Featuring Aqua and Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media. Joining those three songs in the Best Song Written For Visual Media category was “I’m Just Ken,” sung by Ryan Gosling. Barbie makes up four of the five slots in that category (with Rihanna’s Oscar-nominated “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.) In all, the film’s score, soundtrack and songs earned 12 nominations across eight categories

“We are thrilled to kick off GRAMMY season with this year’s diverse and genre-bending slate of nominees, representing the best of their craft and an incredible year of music,” said Harvey Mason jr, CEO of the Recording Academy, upon announcing the nominations. “From breakthrough acts to legacy artists, we are amazed by all the musicians recognized for their outstanding contributions to music today. We can’t wait to spotlight these remarkable creators and celebrate another amazing year in music on February 4.”

This year’s eligibility period included recordings released between October 1, 2022 – September 15, 2023. The final round of GRAMMY voting, which will determine GRAMMY winners, will take place December 14, 2023 – January 4, 2024.

The 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards will return to Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, February 4, 2024, and will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8-11:30 p.m. ET/5-8:30 p.m. PT. Prior to the Telecast, the GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony will be held at Peacock Theater at 12:30 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on live.GRAMMY.com and the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel. The 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be produced by Fulwell 73 Productions for the Recording Academy. Ben Winston, Raj Kapoor and Jesse Collins are executive producers.

The following is a sampling of nominations from the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards’ 94 Categories. For a complete nominations list, visit GRAMMY.com.

Album Of The Year
World Music Radio — Jon Batiste
the record — boygenius
Endless Summer Vacation — Miley Cyrus
Did you know that there‘s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd — Lana Del Rey
The Age of Pleasure — Janelle Monáe
GUTS — Olivia Rodrigo
Midnights — Taylor Swift
SOS — SZA

Record Of The Year
“Worship” — Jon Batiste
“Not Strong Enough” — boygenius
“Flowers” — Miley Cyrus
“What Was I Made For?” [From The Motion Picture Barbie] — Billie Eilish
“On My Mama” — Victoria Monét
“vampire” — Olivia Rodrigo
“Anti-Hero” — Taylor Swift
“Kill Bill” — SZA

Song Of The Year
“A&W” — Jack Antonoff, Lana Del Rey & Sam Dew, songwriters (Lana Del Rey)
“Anti-Hero” — Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
“Butterfly” — Jon Batiste & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Jon Batiste)
“Dance The Night” (From Barbie The Album) — Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Dua Lipa)
“Flowers” — Miley Cyrus, Gregory Aldae Hein & Michael Pollack, songwriters (Miley Cyrus)
“Kill Bill” — Rob Bisel, Carter Lang & Solána Rowe, songwriters (SZA)
“vampire” ­— Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters (Oliva Rodrigo)
“What Was I Made For?” [From The Motion Picture Barbie] — Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)

Best New Artist
Gracie Abrams
Fred again..
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Coco Jones
Noah Kahan
Victoria Monét
The War and Treaty

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
Jack Antonoff
Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II
Hit-Boy
Metro Boomin
Daniel Nigro

Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical
Edgar Barrera
Jessie Jo Dillon
Shane McAnally
Theron Thomas
Justin Tranter

Best Pop Vocal Album
chemistry — Kelly Clarkson
Endless Summer Vacation — Miley Cyrus
GUTS — Olivia Rodrigo
– (Subtract) — Ed Sheeran 
Midnights — Taylor Swift

Best Pop Dance Recording
“Baby Don’t Hurt Me” — David Guetta, Anne-Marie & Coi Leray
“Miracle” — Calvin Harris Featuring Ellie Goulding
“Padam Padam” — Kylie Minogue
“One in a Million” — Bebe Rexha & David Guetta
“Rush” — Troye Sivan

Best Dance/Electronic Music Album
Playing Robots Into Heaven — James Blake
For That Beautiful Feeling — The Chemical Brothers
Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022) — Fred again..
Kx5 — Kx5
Quest For Fire — Skrillex

Best Rock Album
But Here We Are — Foo Fighters
Starcatcher — Greta Van Fleet
72 Seasons — Metallica
This Is Why — Paramore
In Times New Roman… — Queens of the Stone Age

Best Alternative Music Album
The Car — Arctic Monkeys
the record — boygenius
Did you know that there‘s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd — Lana Del Rey
Cracker Island — Gorillaz
I Inside the Old Year Dying — PJ Harvey

Best R&B Album
Girls Night Out — Babyface
What I Didn‘t Tell You (Deluxe) — Coco Jones
Special Occasion — Emily King
JAGUAR II — Victoria Monét
CLEAR 2: SOFT LIFE EP — Summer Walker

Best Melodic Rap Performance
“Sittin’ On Top Of The World” — Burna Boy Featuring 21 Savage
“Attention” — Doja Cat
“Spin Bout U” — Drake & 21 Savage
“All My Life” — Lil Durk Featuring J. Cole
“Low” — SZA

Best Rap Song
“Attention” — Rogét Chahayed, Amala Zandile Dlamini & Ari Starace, songwriters (Doja Cat)
“Barbie World” [From Barbie The Album] — Isis Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr. & Onika Maraj, songwriters (Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice Featuring Aqua)
“Just Wanna Rock” — Mohamad Camara, Symere Woods & Javier Mercado, songwriters (Lil Uzi Vert)
“Rich Flex” — Brytavious Chambers, Isaac “Zac” De Boni, Aubrey Graham, J. Gwin, Anderson Hernandez, Michael “Finatik” Mule & Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, songwriters (Drake & 21 Savage)
“SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS” — Andre Benjamin, Paul Beauregard, James Blake, Michael Render, Tim Moore & Dion Wilson, songwriters (Killer Mike Featuring André 3000, Future & Eryn Allen Kane)

Best Alternative Jazz Album
Love In Exile — Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily
Quality Over Opinion — Louis Cole
SuperBlue: The Iridescent Spree — Kurt Elling, Charlie Hunter, SuperBlue
Live At The Piano — Cory Henry
The Omnichord Real Book — Meshell Ndegeocello

Best Country Album
Rolling Up the Welcome Mat — Kelsea Ballerini
Brothers Osborne — Brothers Osborne
Zach Bryan — Zach Bryan
Rustin‘ In The Rain — Tyler Childers
Bell Bottom Country — Lainey Wilson

Best Americana Album
Brandy Clark — Brandy Clark
The Chicago Sessions — Rodney Crowell
You‘re the One — Rhiannon Giddens
Weathervanes — Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
The Returner — Allison Russell

Best Música Mexicana Album (Including Tejano)
Bordado a Mano — Ana Bárbara
La Sánchez — Lila Downs
Motherflower — Flor de Toloache
Amor Como en las Películas de Antes — Lupita Infante
GÉNESIS — Peso Pluma

Best African Music Performance
“Amapiano” — ASAKE & Olamide
“City Boys” — Burna Boy
“UNAVAILABLE” — Davido Featuring Musa Keys
“Rush” — Ayra Starr
“Water” — Tyla

Best Best Song Written For Visual Media
“Barbie World” [From “Barbie The Album”]
Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr. & Onika Maraj, songwriters (Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice Featuring Aqua)
“Dance The Night” [From “Barbie The Album”]
Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Dua Lipa)
“I’m Just Ken” [From “Barbie The Album”]
Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Ryan Gosling)
“Lift Me Up” [From “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music From And Inspired By”]
Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Robyn Fenty & Temilade Openiyi, songwriters (Rihanna)
What Was I Made For? [From “Barbie The Album”]
Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Includes Film And Television)
Barbie — Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, composers
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — Ludwig Göransson, composer
The Fabelmans — John Williams, composer
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny — John Williams, composer
Oppenheimer — Ludwig Göransson, composer

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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