The 66th annual Grammy Awards, taking place on Sunday at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, is poised to be a big night for young women.
SZA is the top nominee, with nine nods for her album “SOS,” which topped the Billboard 200 for 10 straight weeks. Taylor Swift, who rocked the entertainment world with her record-breaking Eras Tour, and Olivia Rodrigo, the 20-year-old singer-songwriter with a proclivity for rock, are both competing with SZA for the three major all-genre categories: best album, record and song. Joining them are a host of other female artists, including boygenius, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish and Victoria Monét. The sole male performer contending for the top three competitions? Jon Batiste.
But the biggest winner of the night could be the musicians behind “Barbie,” Greta Gerwig’s meditation on what it means to be a woman today. The film’s soundtrack garnered 11 nominations across seven categories, with a mix of artists that includes Eilish, Dua Lipa, Nicki Minaj and Sam Smith.
This emphasis on female representation is notable because the Recording Academy, the organization behind the Grammys, has been criticized in the past for failing to adequately recognize women. In recent years, the Grammys have worked to bring in a younger, more diverse membership, with the goal of making the voting process more transparent and fair.
The awards show on Sunday will honor recordings released from Oct. 1, 2022 through Sept. 15, 2023. Here’s how to watch and what to expect.
What time does it all start?
The ceremony will air live on Sunday, at 8 p.m. Eastern time (5 p.m. Pacific time) on CBS and stream on Paramount+. Subscribers to Paramount+ with Showtime will have access to the real-time stream via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service, as well as on demand in the United States, while Paramount+ Essential subscribers will only have access to on-demand the day after the special airs.
Before the prime-time event, the premiere ceremony, where nearly all of the prizes will be given out, will air at 3:30 p.m. Eastern (12:30 p.m. Pacific) on live.grammy.com and the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel. That ceremony will by hosted by the songwriter Justin Tranter and feature performances from Brandy Clark (a six-time nominee this year), Robert Glasper and Laufey, among others.
Who is hosting?
Trevor Noah, formerly host of “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, will return for the fourth straight year.
Who are the top contenders?
Just behind SZA’s nine nominations, the R&B singer Monét and the indie rocker Phoebe Bridgers of boygenius both have seven, while Batiste, boygenius, the Americana singer-songwriter Clark, Cyrus, Eilish, Rodrigo and Swift have six nods apiece.
SZA’s “Kill Bill,” Swift’s “Anti-Hero,” Rodrigo’s “Vampire,” Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” from the “Barbie” soundtrack and “Flowers” by Cyrus are up for both record and song of the year. Batiste’s “Worship” is up for record, and “Butterfly” for song.
Releases by Batiste, Cyrus, Rodrigo, Swift and SZA will compete for best album, alongside boygenius’s “The Record,” Lana Del Rey’s “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” and Janelle Monáe’s “The Age of Pleasure.”
Best record is rounded out by boygenius’s “Not Strong Enough” and Monét’s “On My Mama,” while song’s entrants include Del Rey’s “A&W” and Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night.”
The competition for best new artist pits Monét against Gracie Abrams, Fred again.., Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan and the War and Treaty.
Who was snubbed?
There was no best new artist nomination for Peso Pluma, a Mexican star who had a breakout year in 2023. Last year’s top country artists, such as Morgan Wallen (who had Billboard’s best-selling album of the year) and Oliver Anthony Music (who rocketed to No. 1 with “Rich Men North of Richmond”) were also notably absent from this year’s top categories. And Paul Simon’s “Seven Psalms” surprisingly did not receive any all-genre nominations despite being the kind of soulful and musically complex project Grammy voters typically eat up.
Who will present?
This year’s presenters include Christina Aguilera, Lenny Kravitz, Lionel Richie, Mark Ronson, Maluma, Meryl Streep, Samara Joy, Taylor Tomlinson and Oprah Winfrey.
Who will hit the stage?
The show will feature performances from nominated artists, including Eilish, SZA, Lipa, Rodrigo, Travis Scott, U2, Luke Combs, Burna Boy and Joni Mitchell, who will be making her Grammy debut. Billy Joel will perform his first pop song in nearly two decades.
What are the new categories?
The 66th Grammys will feature three new categories: best African music performance, best alternative jazz album and best pop dance recording.
Who might make history?
All eyes will be on Swift as she seeks to win album of the year for a fourth time, which would make her the first four-time champ at 34 years old. “Anti-Hero” could also take both record and song of the year, two categories she has not won yet despite her many nominations. SZA could win album of the year for “SOS,” which would make her the first Black woman to win the award in 25 years.
Christopher Kuo
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