By Ariana Fromm
The nominations for the 67th annual Grammy Awards dropped on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, and this year’s list is full of familiar names. Many of these artists are well-established and have shaped cultural trends and music tastes in recent years. Their influence has reflected the way society engages with music, and some of these names bleed into mainstream pop culture.
Beyoncé, nominated for 11 awards, is now the most nominated artist in Grammy history. Other big artists nominated this year are Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, and Taylor Swift. Many of these artists are contending for multiple awards, trying to put themselves at the top of the music industry.
Compared to the 2024 nominations, there isn’t much diversity in genres and up-and-coming talent. While these high-profile names dominate the industry, many feel that smaller artists have been underlooked.
Zuniyah Euress, junior at The University of Tampa, said that the Grammys don’t necessarily choose good songs but popular ones, which can influence what a person listens to. However, the awards don’t take away from other artists.
“You have people that they nominate and people that they let win, but it doesn’t take away from someone else having good music out,” Euress said. “I feel like people still listen to, I would say, what the Grammys does. [Grammys] choose popular stuff. So it’s not necessarily what everyone likes, not necessarily the most talented stuff.”
Euress said that the influence of the Grammys is limited and doesn’t have a shape on popular or good songs, as people will listen to whatever they think is good.
“I think people are going to listen to whatever they want to. Rather someone wins a Grammy or not,” Euress said. “It’s just kind of like if I were to use Nicki Minaj as an example, she has no Grammy, and we know she’s like, one of the best, if not the best female rap artists of all time, but we still support her.”
UTampa senior Arianna Smith said that she thinks that certain artists shouldn’t be nominated for an award and are nominated because of their celebrity status, not their talent.
“I tend to think some of these award shows are paid off by big celebrities to win Grammys,” Smith said. “Personally, I think Beyoncé’s nomination is a joke. I cannot name a single person I know that listens to her newer albums.”
The Grammy Awards used to be more prestigious, but now, it feels like just another awards show, such as the MTV Video Music Awards and the Billboard Music Awards. Smith said that the Grammys don’t feel as special anymore as even though most of the artists are well-known, there are other artists and songs that she’s never heard of.
“I think the Grammys used to be a really big special event and over the years it has become a typical awards show,” Smith said.
Not only has the awards show changed in the sense that it no longer has diversity in its genres and artists, but it also changes the way people define what music is. This year, the Beatles are listed for two awards for their song “Now and Then,” a track that was made using AI to copy the voices of the late John Lennon and George Harrison. Professor Allen Zimmerman, a communications professor at UTampa, said that it isn’t ethical for that kind of work to be put up for an award.
“I wouldn’t even consider that award-worthy because it’s computer generated like you didn’t do the work. You know, of course, it’s based on an algorithm or something that tries to replicate their sound and all that,” Zimmerman said. “But to me, that’s like, so over the top, it would discredit that entire organization.”
The Grammys seem to be trying to make small changes in their nominees. Zimmerman said that while the Grammys are trying to include more diverse artists, it still feels like it’s mainly focused on the big names.
“It seems to me, they’re going out of their way to include, like, rap artists and other artists from different minority groups in order to make a special, big deal out of recognizing that,” Zimmerman said.
Despite the way some people feel about this awards show, the Grammys are still a big cultural event. The 67th Grammy Awards will be held on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET.