2024 Grammy Nominations Breakdown: Don’t “Snooze” on Female Artists

The 2024 Grammy Award nominations prove that 2023 was a year defined by female artists. Women dominated the Big Three categories (Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year) this year, with only one man, Jon Batiste, being nominated in all three. Miley Cyrus had a big year with a surprising six nominations when she was historically excluded from the Grammy Awards. And, as expected, industry favorites Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, and Olivia Rodrigo also came up big with six nominations. However, leading the pack, SZA takes nine nominations home this year, followed by Phoebe Bridgers and Victoria Monet with 7.

Victoria Monet’s Grammy success comes after being told by MTV just months before that it was “too early in [her] story” for a VMA’s performance. However, Monet’s story is years in the making. Jaguar II is Monet’s fifth album; her first was dropped in 2015. While “On My Mama” is Monet’s first viral hit, she is a Pop/R&B veteran. She has had a hand in creating almost all of Ariana Grande’s hits, some of the most notable being “thank u, next”, “34+35”, and “7 Rings”. She also wrote for Chloe x Halle, Doja Cat, BLACKPINK, and Fifth Harmony. Victoria Monet is a triple threat as an artist as she’s a talented writer, dancer, and singer; it’s about time she receives the accolades and recognition she deserves.

As always with the Grammys, there were some notable snubs in the nominations this year. The most criticism from music fans comes in the Best New Artist Category, with many shocking snubs this year. A PinkPanthress nomination was absent despite the massive success of “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2” and a handful of nominations for her collaborator, Ice Spice. Reneé Rapp was expected to be a shoo-in for Best New Artist since her album Snow Angel is the biggest solo debut for a female artist this year, but she got zero recognition from the Academy. Peso Pluma had a massive year thanks to his hit “Ella Baila Sola” and, for his contributions to corridos tumbados and Mexican music as a whole, definitely deserved a nod. Mitski, an indie music veteran, has also been snubbed this year. Despite being over a decade into her groundbreaking music career, she's only received one Grammy nomination. This year, she put out her most acclaimed album yet, The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We, and even had her first Billboard Hot 100 entry with “My Love Mine All Mine”. Finally, nominations were expected but not delivered for RAYE for My 21st Century Blues, a powerful piece about her struggles in the music industry that received praise for an incredible vocal performance and stand-out production.

Time will tell if the Recording Academy follows its usual pattern and gives the awards to industry favorites or shakes up the status quo and gives some of the year’s unexpected yet influential standouts their flowers.