Grammy Awards 2023: 6 biggest talking points from the nominations
Nominations to be announced ahead of the ceremony in LA next year
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Your support makes all the difference.The nominations for the 2023 Grammy Awards have been announced, with a number of artists helping to reveal the nominees.
The first round of voting began on 13 October and ended on 23 October this year. A final round of voting to determine the winners will take place on 14 December.
Among the heavyweights nominated were Taylor Swift and Beyonce, along with British artists including Adele and Harry Styles. It looks like Adele and Beyoncé will once again lock horns as favourites in the major categories.
Announcing the nominees today (15 November) were Olivia Rodrigo, Machine Gun Kelly, John Legend, Luis Fonsi, Smokey Robinson and CBS Mornings anchors Gayle King and Nate Burleson, who will be joined by Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr.
Five new categories have been introduced this year, including Songwriter of the Year (Non-Classical), Best Alternative Music Performance, and Best Americana Performance, plus a special award to the Best Song for Social Change.
Here were the five biggest talking points from the nominations broadcast:
Beyoncé vs Adele – the rematch
It looks like the 2023 Grammy Awards will be a repeat of 2017 where Beyoncé and Adele did battle in the major categories. This year, the pair are once again nominated in the Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year categories. Beyoncé has nine nominations to Adele’s seven. Adele won the last showdown in 2017, sweeping up five Grammys to Beyoncé’s two. Who will come out on top this time?
Wet Leg nominated for New Artist
British indie-rock band Wet Leg were among the nominees for Best New Artist, the nominees of which were announced by last year’s winner Olivia Rodrigo. The band, formed of duo Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers spoke to The Independent earlier this year about newfound fame and acclaim. “We’re just trying to stay on top of the wave,” says Chambers. “Because it is going to end, inevitably,” adds Teasdale.
Beyoncé tied Jay-Z as the most nominated artist in Grammy history
Beyoncé has earned nine nominations for the 65th Grammy Awards, bringing her career total to 88. She now ties with her husband, rapper Jay-Z, who previously held the record with 83 nods. He received five additional nominations for the 2023 Grammys, making his new grand total 88 as well.
Machine Gun Kelly’s joke about his ability to read
While announcing the nominees for the 2023 Grammys, Machine Gun Kelly made fun of himself. “My name’s Machine Gun Kelly and I’ll be attempting to read for the first time today,” he joked, before proceeding to successfully read the names.
Harry Styles still doesn’t deserve his nominations (opinion)
The Independent’s music editor Roisin O’Connor still isn’t convinced by Harry Styles after the singer was nominated for a Mercury Prize earlier this year. She wrote at the time: “The problem with Styles is, for the most part, his songs sound like weak imitations of someone better – as if he’s raided the dressing-up box for Laurel Canyon karaoke. He has no discernible ‘sound’ of his own.” She hasn’t changed her mind.
Nicki Minaj criticises Recording Academy for prioritising new artists
Ahead of the announcement of the 2023 Grammy nominees, Nicki Minaj made headlines after she criticised the Recording Academy for prioritising new artists. Her remarks came after her 2022 song “Super Freaky Girl” was moved from the rap category to the pop category.
Read below for the nominations as they happened.
Harry Styles doesn’t deserve his nominations – according to our music editor
The nominations saw Harry Styles up for a slew of trophies including Song of the Year for “As It Was” and Album of the Year for Harry’s House.
However, our music editor Roisin O’Connor still thinks the former One Direction star is being given more credit than he’s due after being nominated for the Mercury Prize earlier this year.
She wrote for The Independent: “The problem with Styles is, for the most part, his songs sound like weak imitations of someone better – as if he’s raided the dressing-up box for Laurel Canyon karaoke. He has no discernible ‘sound’ of his own...
“The house that Harry built has a lot of style, but little substance.”
Agree?
‘Harry Styles shouldn’t have been shortlisted for the Mercury Prize’
The 2022 Mercury Prize shortlist was dominated by eclectic, brilliant works. With one exception, writes Roisin O’Connor
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