She might kill her ex.
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The Grammys are for the girls this year. An impressive number of women are nominated for music’s top honors, and now, many of them will be taking the stage too. The boys are performing with girls as well — Brandy is joining Burna Boy along with 21 Savage, while Tracy Chapman will duet her song “Fast Car” with Luke Combs. Grande Girlie Joni Mitchell will take the stage for the very first time in Grammys history. SZA, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, and Olivia Rodrigo are also set to perform — as well as Billy Joel, an honorary girlie after Rodrigo name-dropped him in her 2021 song “Deja Vu.” Variety also reported that Miley Cyrus was rehearsing to perform “Flowers,” which was perhaps meant to be a surprise given that she has yet to officially be announced as a performer.
Meanwhile, SZA, Phoebe Bridgers, and Victoria Monét are some of the night’s top honorees — not to mention Taylor Swift, who’s looking to set some records with Midnights. It all goes down February 4 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Below is everything you need to know before you get the girls together to watch.
SZA leads the Grammy pack with nine nominations for her second album, SOS, including in the top categories of Album, Record, and Song of the Year. Bridgers and Monét are just behind her with seven apiece, followed by the rest of boygenius, Jack Antonoff, Batiste, Brandy Clark, Miley Cyrus, Eilish, Rodrigo, and a little lady named Taylor Swift, all with six each. Women showed up strong when the nominees were announced on November 10, with female artists in seven out of the eight slots for Album, Record, and Song of the Year. SZA has a chance to add some serious hardware, Swift could set a record for Album of the Year wins — or Batiste could surprise us all again after playing the dark horse in 2022. Don’t put it past the Academy.
Even Burna Boy will be joined by a girlie, when Brandy takes the stage for the first time in decades alongside him and 21 Savage for the Grammys’ first-ever Afrobeats performance. Tracy Chapman will make an even rarer appearance to prove she really does like Combs’s “Fast Car” cover, dueting her hit with him. They’re just two legends scheduled, along with Mitchell (for the first time ever), Joel (for the first time in decades), and U2 (live from the Sphere in Las Vegas). SZA, Rodrigo, Eilish, and Lipa are also among the women performing — and some of the night’s top nominees. They could be part of a few brewing Grammy Moments™: a possible Barbie medley between Eilish and Lipa and a chance for Rodrigo to perform with one of her faves, Joel. Travis Scott will also perform.
Nope — it’s Trevor Noah again. The comedian is hosting the Grammys for the fourth consecutive year, the Academy announced on December 13. Hey, at least this show can hold down a host. Noah is also up for some hardware himself this year, in Best Comedy Album for I Wish You Would.
The women are back as announced presenters, however. Christina Aguilera, Meryl Streep, Samara Joy, Taylor Tomlinson, and Oprah Winfrey are all set to present. Oh, and Lionel Richie, Lenny Kravitz, Maluma, and Barbie boy Mark Ronson.
As usual, most of the Grammy Awards will be given out before the televised show. That happens at the Premiere Ceremony, which streams on February 4 beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on YouTube. And with a somewhat loaded list of performers, this year’s may actually be worth tuning in to. They’ll include singer-songwriter Clark, a top nominee with six nods, as well as nominees Laufey, Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, Kirk Franklin, Gaby Moreno, Adam Blackstone, and Bob James. Other performers will include Sheila E., Pentatonix, Larkin Poe, Jordin Sparks, and J. Ivy, plus drummer Harvey Mason Sr., father of the Recording Academy’s own CEO. Songwriter of the Year nominee Justin Tranter will host the preshow; presenters include current nominees Carly Pearce, Natalia Lafourcade, Rufus Wainwright, Patti Austin, and Molly Tuttle, along with Jimmy Jam.
Quite a lot, actually. Most prominently, the number of nominees in the Big Four categories (Album, Record, and Song of the Year, plus Best New Artist) is being reduced from ten to eight. The Academy had upped the nominees in those categories to ten just two years ago, out of diversity concerns; there had been eight nominees since the 2019 awards. Also, the Non-Classical Producer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year will move to the general category, where all Academy members can vote on those awards. The Grammys are adding three awards this year: Best African Music Performance, Best Pop Dance Recording, and Best Alternative Jazz Album. Oh, and at least you won’t have to worry about AI — the Academy added a rule against contributions by artificial intelligence to submissions.
The ceremony will air on CBS and Paramount+ With Showtime on February 4, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
This story has been updated throughout with additional information.
Justin Curto
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