Arts and Entertainment
By Rory McNelley, Newswire Intern
Women and past presidents are ruling over the Grammys this year as they secure nominations for their chance at a golden gramophone.
Five notable women are covering headlines after nominations were released last Friday. Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Billie Eilish all occupy the three major categories: Record, Song, and Album of the Year. Beyonce leads with 11 nominations, beating her record of 10 in 2009. She now has a career total of 99 nominations, more than any other artist in history.
Beyoncé has won a total of 32 Grammys, she has never won Album of the Year, but this year she has another shot at it with “Cowboy Carter.”
Roan and Carpenter are both up for Best New Artist. Some argue that Carpenter, who has been making music since she signed her first record deal at the age of 12, has only resurfaced and doesn’t quite fit into this category. If either Carpenter or Roan manages to win Best New Artist and sweep Record, Song and Album of the Year they will be the first to accomplish it since Eilish in 2020.
Following Beyoncé with 11 nominations, Eilish along with Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone and charli xcx are tied with seven nominations each. Swift, Roan and Carpenter are close behind with six apiece.
Six out of eight of the nominations for Album of the Year and Record of the Year are held by women, one fewer than last year.
On Feb. 2, many fans hope to see Beyoncé finally secure the record or album of the year after they have escaped her grasp for years. Beyoncé faces Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” for Record of the Year, which has surfaced across pop culture and politics since its release during the peak of his feud with Drake.
Senior marketing and entrepreneurship major Meghan Flett spoke about Beyonce’s spotlight amongst this year’s Grammy news.
“Beyoncé’s album was great. I hope to see her finally secure the award for record of album of the year and beating Kendrick’s ‘Not Like Us’ would be legendary” Flett said.
If Beyoncé wins album of the year for “Cowboy Carter,” she will be the first Black woman to do so in the 21st century. It was last won in 1999 by Lauryn Hill for “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.”
The country category is also seeing new faces with both Post Malone and Beyoncé nominated for Country Album of the Year.
In other historic news, former President Jimmy Carter is nominated for Spoken Word Album of the Year, his 10th Grammy nomination. His album entitled Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration was released just before he turned 100 in October.
This album could secure him his fourth Grammy and make him the oldest person to win a Grammy, beating pianist Pinetop Perkins who won at age 97.
First-year Philosophy, Politics, and the Public major Claire Wagner, “This is a historical year for the Grammys, not only is Jimmy Carter the longest living president, he could very soon be the longest living Grammy winner,” said.
