Less is, many times, more.
That old adage often apples in life — and it sure applies with Grammy nominations.
When the Big 4 categories — Album, Record and Song of the Year — were first expanded from five to eight nominees in 2018, and then to 10 in 2021, it made it trickier for the true class acts of the field to emerge victorious.
While five nods still feel like more than enough for the elite categories, the decision to downsize back to eight nominees for the 2024 Grammy Awards is a step in the right direction.
Still, aside from a few obvious contenders — ahem, Taylor Swift — there really aren’t eight worthy enough nominees to announce on Friday, in a live stream at 11 a.m. EST on Grammy.com.
Here’s who will likely wind up competing for the top trophies when music’s biggest night goes down on Feb. 4, 2024 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
RECORD OF THE YEAR
Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”
Lana Del Rey, “A&W”
Luke Combs, “Fast Car”
Morgan Wallen, Last Night”
Lil Durk featuring J. Cole, “All My Life”
Rihanna, “Lift Me Up”
Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero”
SZA, “Kill Bill”
Tanya Tucker, “Ready as I’ll Never Be”
Hard to believe that among her 17 Grammy wins, Swift has still not taken home this prestigious prize —although she has been nominated previously for “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space.” Travis Kelce’s boo is a shoo-in for her fifth nod, along with Combs, Cyrus and SZA. And, really, all problematic issues aside, how could they deny Wallen for a country record that spent 16 weeks atop the pop chart this year?
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Boygenius, “The Record”
Miley Cyrus, “Endless Summer Vacation”
Lana Del Rey, “Do You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd”
Drake and 21 Savage, “Her Loss”
Foo Fighters, “But Here We Are”
Taylor Swift, “Midnights”
SZA, “S.O.S.”
Lainey Wilson, “Bell Bottom Country”
No way that Swift doesn’t get a chance to extend her record as the winningest woman in this category, after picking up her third Album of the Year gramophone for “Folklore” in 2021. And her only real competition this year would seem to be SZA.
SONG OF THE YEAR
Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”
Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero”
SZA, “Kill Bill”
Morgan Wallen, Last Night”
Lana Del Rey, “A&W”
Lil Dark featuring J. Cole, “All My Life.”
Rihanna, “Lift Me Up”
Tanya Tucker, “Ready as I’ll Never Be”
This feels like another battle between Swift, SZA and Cyrus. But don’t count out Tucker, especially since “Ready as I’ll Never Be” was co-written by Grammy darling Brandi Carlile.
BEST NEW ARTIST
Gracie Abrams
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Coco Jones
Noah Kahan
Lainey Wilson
Pink Pantheress
Peso Pluma
Somehow Jelly Roll is eligible for this award, although he began dropping recordings as a rapper way back in 2011. But the just-anointed CMAs New Artist of the Year will likely be going toe to toe with his “Save Me” collaborator Wilson — the newly crowned CMAs Entertainer of the Year, who herself isn’t exactly a newbie on the block.