The walls that separate genres are coming down, which complicates things for the screening committee that decides where records should compete in the annual Grammy Awards process.
Here are some albums that probably gave the screening committee pause – and where they are competing in the 66th annual Grammy Awards process:
Bruce Springsteen’s Only the Strong Survive, a collection of classic R&B and soul songs, is competing for a nod for best traditional pop vocal album. (There is no traditional R&B album category.) The traditional pop category, long the domain of such crooners as Tony Bennett and Michael Bublé, has embraced more contemporary pop and rock artists in recent years. Winners since 2000 include Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now, Paul McCartney’s Kisses on the Bottom, Elvis Costello & the Imposters’ Look Now and James Taylor’s American Standards.
Springsteen has won album awards in three different categories – best contemporary folk album for The Ghost of Tom Joad (1996), best rock album for The Rising (2002) and best traditional folk album for We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006).
Shania Twain’s Queen of Me, which reached No. 2 on Top Country Albums and No. 10 on the Billboard 200, is vying for a nod for best pop vocal album. The crossover star won best country album for The Woman in Me (1996).
The 1975’s Being Funny in a Foreign Language is vying for a nod for best pop vocal album rather than best rock album or best alternative music album. The band’s only Grammy nod to date was for its song “Give Yourself a Try,” which was nominated for best rock song four years ago.
Hozier’s Unreal Unearth is vying for a nod for best rock album, but Arctic Monkeys’ The Car is competing for a nod for best alternative music album. Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, Boygenius’ The Record and Gorillaz’s Cracker Island are also vying for nods in the best alternative music album category.
Kali Uchis’ Red Moon in Venus is competing for a nod for best progressive R&B album, where it faces SZA’s blockbuster SOS, as well as high-profile albums like Daniel Caesar’s Never Enough, Diddy’s The Love Album: Off the Grid and Janelle Monae’s The Age of Pleasure.
Barbie: The Album and Metro Boomin Presents Spider-Man: Across the Spider Verse, both of which reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200, are vying for nods for best compilation soundtrack for visual media.
Noah Kahan’s Stick Season is competing for a nod for best Americana album. The album has been a hit on a broad range of charts. It reached No. 1 on Rock & Alternative Albums and Americana/Folk Albums and No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
First-round voting for the 66th annual Grammy Awards opened on Wednesday (Oct. 11) and closes Oct. 20. Nominees will be announced on Nov. 10 (five days earlier than last year). The final-round voting window extends from Dec. 14 through Jan. 4, 2023 (same as last year). Winners will be announced on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, at Crypto.com Arena (formerly known as Staples Center) in Los Angeles.