Grammy nominations are finally here, and although awards won’t be given out until February, they have the online music community talking. It is no different at KSLU, Saint Louis University’s club where students can host radio broadcasts. Many shows will mention The Grammy Awards, but it was covered in depth on Sunday, Nov. 10 on Ava Moran and Justin Dobry’s show, “At Your Apartment.” Here is a review of what went on in the hour.
Pop & Dance/Electronic
The best pop vocal album category is interesting because it includes two Grammy newcomers, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, and some Grammy veterans, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande. Either way, this category is a toss-up, as all artists have had big years for streaming. Charli XCX dominates the electronic category with her album “BRAT” being nominated for best dance/electronic album and song “Von Dutch” being nominated for best dance pop recording. Her songs “Guess” with Billie Eilish and “Apple” have been nominated for best pop duo and best pop solo performance, respectively, meaning she could go home with four awards in February.
Rock
The best rock album category is led by industry darlings like Green Day, The Rolling Stones and Pearl Jam, as well as some more modern bands like IDLES and Fontaines D.C. Legendary guitarist and former White Stripes member, Jack White, has also been nominated for his new album, “No Name.” Another category to look for is for best rock performance which includes the Beatles track “Now and Then,” which was released posthumously using AI to isolate John Lennon’s vocals from an old demo track. If the song wins, it will bring their total to eight Grammys.
Rap
The best rap album is headlined by Future and St. Louis’ own Metro Boomin’s album “We Don’t Trust You.” This album’s standout track was “Like That” featuring Kendrick Lamar which began the legendary Drake-Lamar conflict that dominated the first half of this year. Both “Like That” and Kendrick Lamar’s later track “Not Like Us” are also nominated for best rap performance and best rap song. “Not Like Us” is also nominated for song of the year and record of the year in the general category, meaning the Compton-native could take home four Grammys in a year where he only released four songs.
Country
The country categories indicate progression within the genre as many more women and people of color have been nominated than in recent years. Women are the majority in the album of the year category with nominations for Beyonce, Kasey Musgraves and Lainey Wilson. “16 Carriages” and “Ya Ya” off of Beyonce’s album “Cowboy Carter” have been nominated for best country song and best americana performance, respectively, which marks a victory for the Texas native whose 2024 album was the cause of much debate over genre politics. Many people did not want her album to enter the country charts as they believed she was too pop for the genre. The best country song and best country performance categories are headlined by “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey, the son of Nigerian immigrants, whose breakout song spent 15 weeks at #1 on the Billboard charts.
“At Your Apartment” airs weekly at 8 p.m. on KSLU radio. Dobry and Moran cover new music, things happening in the music industry and review concerts. Go to onlineradiobox.com and search KSLU to find it!
