The Grammys aren’t generally seen as one of the more necessary award shows, with them often seeming either so dramatically out of touch that nobody could possibly care who wins or so desperate to seem hip that the audience of people who would care are left shrugging at the idea of what the hell a Grammy even is. For 2021, though, the Grammy Awards are coming off of a year with very few actual live musical performances anywhere, so people might actually be more interested in seeing famous people singing popular songs on a stage than they have been in other years—an assumption that the Grammys seemed to be leaning into this year with the sheer volume of awards handed out hours before the show had even started. Who watches award shows for the awards anyway?
The Grammy nominations were controversial this year, more controversial than normal at least, with The Weeknd in particular swearing off the show forever over the lack of transparency in how nominations are doled out (he was completely snubbed this year, despite “Blinding Lights” being huge in 2020). Of course, as is often the case lately when award show nominations are controversial (like with the Golden Globes a few weeks ago), the awards handed out during the show itself were largely straightforward.
Harry Styles won his first Grammy, Bad Bunny won his first non-Latin Grammys Grammy, Folklore won Album Of The Year (after Taylor Swift was shut-out for the rest of the night) and Beyoncé broke the all-time record for Grammy wins, all of which are pretty tough to argue with. It’s not that the Grammys always get everything right, but it’s worth remembering that a lot of the fireworks tend to go off before the show actually starts.
A partial list of winners and nominees is below (with winners in bold), while the full list of winners will be available at the Grammys website once they’ve been announced.
Record of the Year
“Black Parade,” Beyoncé
“Colors,” Black Pumas
“Rockstar,” DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
“Say So,” Doja Cat
“Everything I Wanted,” Billie Eilish
“Don’t Start Now,” Dua Lipa
“Circles,” Post Malone
“Savage,” Megan Thee Stallion
Album of the Year
Chilombo, Jhené Aiko
Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition), Black Pumas
Everyday Life, Coldplay
Djesse Vol. 3, Jacob Collier
Women in Music Pt. III, Haim
Future Nostalgia, Dua Lipa
Hollywood’s Bleeding, Post Malone
Folklore, Taylor Swift
Best R&B Performance
“Lightning & Thunder,” Jhené Aiko featuring John Legend
“Black Parade,” Beyoncé
“All I Need,” Jacob Collier featuring Mahalia and Ty Dolla Sign
“Goat Head,” Brittany Howard
“See Me,” Emily King
Best Pop Vocal Album
Changes, Justin Bieber
Chromatica, Lady Gaga
Future Nostalgia, Dua Lipa
Fine Line, Harry Styles
Folklore, Taylor Swift
Best Rap Song
“The Bigger Picture,” Dominique Jones, Noah Pettigrew and Rai’shaun Williams, songwriters (Lil Baby)
“The Box,” Samuel Gloade and Rodrick Moore, songwriters (Roddy Ricch)
“Laugh Now, Cry Later,” Durk Banks, Rogét Chahayed, Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Ron LaTour and Ryan Martinez, songwriters (Drake featuring Lil Durk)
“Rockstar,” Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, Ross Joseph Portaro IV and Rodrick Moore, songwriters (DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch)
“Savage,” Beyoncé, Shawn Carter, Brittany Hazzard, Derrick Milano, Terius Nash, Megan Pete, Bobby Session Jr., Jordan Kyle Lanier Thorpe and Anthony White, songwriters (Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé)
Song of the Year
“Black Parade,” Denisia Andrews, Beyoncé, Stephen Bray, Shawn Carter, Brittany Coney, Derek James Dixie, Akil King, Kim “Kaydence” Krysiuk and Rickie “Caso” Tice, songwriters (Beyoncé)
“The Box,” Samuel Gloade and Rodrick Moore, songwriters (Roddy Ricch)
“Cardigan,” Aaron Dessner and Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
“Circles,” Louis Bell, Adam Feeney, Kaan Gunesberk, Austin Post and Billy Walsh, songwriters (Post Malone)
“Don’t Start Now,” Caroline Ailin, Ian Kirkpatrick, Dua Lipa and Emily Warren, songwriters (Dua Lipa)
“Everything I Wanted,” Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
“I Can’t Breathe,” Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas, songwriters (H.E.R.)
“If the World Was Ending,” Julia Michaels and JP Saxe, songwriters (JP Saxe featuring Julia Michaels)
Best Latin Pop or Urban Album
“YHLQMDLG,” Bad Bunny
“Por Primera Vez,” Camilo
“Mesa Para Dos,” Kany García
“PAUSA “Pausa,” Ricky Martin
“3:33,” Debi Nova
Best Melodic Rap Performance
“Rockstar,” DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
“Laugh Now, Cry Later,” Drake featuring Lil Durk
“Lockdown,” Anderson .Paak
“The Box,” Roddy Ricch
“Highest in the Room,” Travis Scott
Best Pop Solo Performance
“Yummy,” Justin Bieber
“Say So,” Doja Cat
“Everything I Wanted,” Billie Eilish
“Don’t Start Now,” Dua Lipa
“Watermelon Sugar,” Harry Styles
“Cardigan,” Taylor Swift
Best Country Album
Lady Like, Ingrid Andress
Your Life is a Record, Brandy Clark
Wildcard, Miranda Lambert
Nightfall, Little Big Town
Never Will, Ashley McBryde
Best Music Video
“Brown Skin Girl,” Beyoncé
“Life Is Good,” Future Feat. Drake
“Lockdown,” Anderson .Paak
“Adore You,” Harry Styles
“Goliath,” Woodkid
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
Run To The Water, Cody Carnes
All Of My Best Friends, Hillsong Young & Free
Holy Water, We The Kingdom
Citizen Of Heaven, Tauren Wells
Jesus Is King, Kanye West
Best Song Written For Visual Media
“Beautiful Ghosts” [From Cats], Andrew Lloyd Webber & Taylor Swift (Taylor Swift)
“Carried Me With You” [From Onward], Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth (Brandi Carlile)
“Into The Unknown” [From Frozen 2], Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez (Idina Menzel & AURORA)
“No Time To Die” [From No Time To Die], Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas Baird O’Connell (Billie Eilish)
“Stand Up” [From Harriett], Joshuah Brian Campbell & Cynthia Erivo (Cynthia Erivo)
Best Music Film
Beastie Boys Story, Beastie Boys, Spike Jonze
Black Is King, Beyoncé
We Are Freestyle Love Supreme, Freestyle Love Supreme
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, Linda Ronstadt
That Lil Ol’ Band From Texas, ZZ Top
Best American Roots Performance
“Colors,” Black Pumas
“Deep in Love,” Bonny Light Horseman
“Short and Sweet,” Brittany Howard
“I’ll Be Gone,” Norah Jones and Mavis Staples
“I Remember Everything,” John Prine
Best Metal Performance
“Bum-Rush,” Body Count
“Underneath,” Code Orange
“The In-Between,” In This Moment
“Bloodmoney,” Poppy
“Executioner’s Tax (Swing Of The Axe)—Live,” Power Trip
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
“Un Dia (One Day),” J Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny and Tainy
“Intentions,” Justin Bieber featuring Quavo
“Dynamite,” BTS
“Rain on Me,” Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande
“Exile,” Taylor Swift featuring Bon Iver
Best Rap Album
“Black Habits,” D Smoke
“Alfredo,” Freddie Gibbs and the Alchemist
“A Written Testimony,” Jay Electronica
“King’s Disease,” Nas
“The Allegory,” Royce Da 5’9”
Best Rap Performance
“Deep Reverence,” Big Sean Featuring Nipsey Hussle
“Bop,” DaBaby
“What’s Poppin,” Jack Harlow
“The Bigger Picture,” Lil Baby
“Savage,” Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé
“Dior,” Pop Smoke
Best Progressive R&B Album
Chilombo, Jhene Aiko
Ungodly Hour, Chloe X Halle
Free Nationals, Free Nationals
F*** Yo Feelings, Robert Glasper
It Is What It Is, Thundercat
Best R&B Song
“Better Than I Imagine,” Robert Glasper, Meshell Ndegeocello and Gabriella Wilson, songwriters (Robert Glasper featuring H.E.R. and Meshell Ndegeocello)
“Black Parade,” Denisia Andrews, Beyoncé, Stephen Bray, Shawn Carter, Brittany Coney, Derek James Dixie, Akil King, Kim “Kaydence” Krysiuk and Rickie “Caso” Tice, songwriters (Beyoncé)
“Collide,” Sam Barsh, Stacey Barthe, Sonyae Elise, Olu Fann, Akil King, Josh Lopez, Kaveh Rastegar and Benedetto Rotondi, songwriters (Tiana Major9 and Earthgang)
“Do It,” Chloe Bailey, Halle Bailey, Anton Kuhl, Victoria Monét, Scott Storch and Vincent Van Den Ende, songwriters (Chloe X Halle)
“Slow Down,” Nasri Atweh, Badriia Bourelly, Skip Marley, Ryan Williamson and Gabriella Wilson, songwriters (Skip Marley and H.E.R.)
Best Alternative Album
Hyperspace, Beck
Fetch the Bolt Cutters, Fiona Apple
Punisher, Phoebe Bridgers
Jaime, Brittany Howard
The Slow Rush, Tame Impala
Best Rock Performance
“Shameika,” Fiona Apple
“Not,” Big Thief
“Kyoto,” Phoebe Bridgers
“The Steps,” Haim
“Stay High,” Brittany Howard
“Daylight,” Grace Potter
Best Rock Song
“Kyoto,” Phoebe Bridgers, Morgan Nagler, and Mashall Vore (Phoebe Bridgers)
“Lost In Yesterday,” Kevin Parker (Tame Impala)
“Not,” Adrianne Lenker (Big Thief)
“Shameika,” Fiona Apple (Fiona Apple)
“Stay High, Brittany Howard (Brittany Howard)
Best Rock Album
A Hero’s Death, Fontaines D.C.
Kiwanuka, Michael Kiwanuka
Daylight, Grace Potter
Sound & Fury, Sturgill Simpson
The New Abnormal, The Strokes
Best New Artist
Ingrid Andress
Phoebe Bridgers
Chika
Noah Cyrus
D Smoke
Doja Cat
Kaytranada
Megan Thee Stallion
31 Comments
No body at the Grammys truly wins.(Don’t get me wrong, the nominees are enormously wealthy and have legions of fans, but now they have…a tiny gramophone statue to commemorate their record sales. Isn’t a big framed gold or platinum LP already there for that task?)
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
Run To The Water, Cody Carnes
All Of My Best Friends, Hillsong Young & Free
Holy Water, We The Kingdom
Citizen Of Heaven, Tauren Wells
Jesus Is King, Kanye WestGetting a Grammy nomination is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but losing in an obscure category to a guy who has 20+ Grammys already is so cold.
Contemporary Christian music is making a comeback, and this time, it is personal.
Um, I’m not sure “losing to a guy with lots of awards” quite captures the situation there. They didn’t lose to Michael W Smith or some Christian music scene-stalwart. Hard to dive into this without offending someone, but Metallica no longer has shit to say about their loss to Jethro Tull after this. I mean…wow.
They basically lost to Satan or the equivalent.
but Metallica no longer has shit to say about their loss to Jethro Tull after this.
This is the second time in the past week that I’ve seen somebody make almost the exact same comment. Not only is it weak tea creatively (that incident gets referenced in the comments of every single Grammys article) but it’s show no understanding of what happened.
First off, Metallica weren’t salty about losing to Jethro Tull. They were a little incredulous but they made a funny, self-effacing joke a few years later when they won for the Black Album.
It was everybody else that completely livid that the Grammy’s first metal award went to a synth-heavy, prog-folk album from an over-the-hill band whose biggest hit, 18 years previous, was only questionably “hard rock”.
The Grammys were so embarrassed by such a ridiculous gaffe (and they were already getting hammered over the Fresh Prince) that they killed the award. To this day, Jethro Tull’s Crest of a Knave is the only winner for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental.
Last I checked, this isn’t the first nor the last award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album nor did it go to the least popular nominee, much less a nominee who shouldn’t even be in that category (because whatever its faults, Jesus is King was specifically created and marketed as a Christian album)
Cool. Now talk about how Maria Callas was robbed.
Her 1958 Met Opera contract termination was one of the biggest blunders of Rudolf Bing’s tenure, as seen in her subsequent 1965 return.
That would be silly! Everybody knows that the Grammys for Best Opera Recording goes to the conductor. Why would Maria Callas win it?
Besides, Callas’ best performances were before the Grammys started in 1959 (hell, her Tosca was what? 1953?) Considering they didn’t start giving Opera awards until 1961 and she gave up performing in 1965, it was pretty doubtful she would ever receive anything other than her lifetime Grammy (again, only pretending that they gave Grammys to Opera singers which they didn’t)
It’s more like Tom Brady enrolling for three credits in Clemson’s theater tech program and then winning the Heisman. Like yes, okay, he technically almost certainly was the best player, but he has access to a level of resources the other competitors could only dream of and it’s sort of embarrassing that he was even competing.
Although the Grammys did blow a golden opportunity for trolling him by giving it to one of the artists no one who doesn’t go to youth group has ever heard of.
Hey, if you’ve got a better Grammy analogy, love to hear it. All I’m saying is that it would probably sting just a bit to lose a religious title to a tabloid star, much as it may to lose a Metal title to a flutist.
Your choice to classify Kanye as a “tabloid star” is weird. Kanye is one of the most successful music stars of the past 20 years selling millions and millions of records and a couple of those records are continually argued as masterpieces.
If anything, all the other members of the rinky dink Christian Contemporary music ghetto should be shaking their heads and saying, “how can we compete with THAT!” I would say Doobie’s Tom Brady analogy is better.
You’re right, Kanye & co are never in tabloids. I’m so weird!
Metallica never had shit to say. And Justice For All was terribly recorded crap. Every bit of talent in that band died in a bus crash and the remainder hung around living off his rep for the next 35 years.
This is the biggest insult they’ve done in a while.
Jim “Kimo” West, guitarist for “Weird Al” Yankovic, won Best New Age Album.
Best Metal Performance should have gone to Jethro Tull, even though they were not nominated.
I forgot Body Count was back together!
I’m not old yet! There was still one metal nominee I’ve heard of!
I mean, “Cop Killer” was a pretty good song. I feel like they missed the boat by about a few decades giving Body Count a Grammy now, though!
THUNDERCAT got— Best Progressive R&B Album.OK, yeah, we’re done here.
Best Metal Performance“Aqualung,” Jethro Tull“Underneath,” Code Orange“The In-Between,” In This Moment“Bloodmoney,” Poppy“Executioner’s Tax (Swing Of The Axe)—Live,” Power TripNot a-fucking-gain…
So Folklore and Future Nostalgia were nominated for both Album of the Year and Pop Album of the Year, yet Folklore wins for Album but not Pop. I don’t follow the Grammys beyond reading this column each year but can someone explain this to me? Seems to me logically if an album is good enough to win Album of the Year over a rival, it should be able to win over the same rival in its genre specific category too.
This isn’t even the first time something like that happened. Arcade Fire won Album of the Year in 2011 for The Suburbs, but lost the Best Alternative Album award to Brothers by The Black Keys.
I’m sure there’s other examples that people who actually care about the Grammy’s could bring up.
I guess, arguably, an album could be very good generally, but not representationally for its genre? Like it could be a hybrid of two genres? Making it a great album but not a great “pop” album.
Folklore fits really badly into genre categories. They stuck it in pop, but, well.. So it is a very strong album, but if asked if it was the best pop album of the year, voters vent “wha?”
Thundercat is one step closer to an EGOT, so that’s cool.
If these are just going to be a celebration of pop performances, perhaps we should just consider abolishing the Emmys altogether? What’s the point? It’s not about art or craft but rather sales. Why do we have an awards show for sales? Isn’t money its own reward?The Album of the Year category is abysmal and embarrassing to humans. Nobody thinks most of those are even considerable for such an emotion. Why is Alternative in its own category? Because pop knows it can’t compete with art? Why is Beck nominated? LOL.The whole categories thing with the Grammys is godawful. Why can’t it even be remotely like the Oscars and say more than what the profits were for your single? Why not run the best pop against the best hip hop, against rock and against alternative for a real big surprise of the night? Why not nominate what are actually some of the more critically appraised albums? And why not make it interesting and pull in ratings and profits for the network? Why not attract more eyes? What’s the point of this sham?Couldn’t you at least be half-right? The Oscars manage that and people actually try to care. And last year they were completely right! Parasite was an incredible film! I wish we treasured music in this country for its intelligence and cultural value like we did movies. We shouldn’t celebrate shitty pop music, we should never celebrate the lowest common denominator. And by far the worst thing about it all is that the way these awards are currently run is horribly sexist, racist and wealth-ist and success-ist. Save that for the Billboard awards. We should celebrate the good music, can’t we do that? Not bland pop music for 14-year olds?
oh.. you adorable idealist.
Until I saw the nominees I was wondering wtf The Weeknd was smoking and wondering if he just got tired of performing the same two songs for over a year while dressed like 80’s Lionel Ritchie and looking like he lost a fight. Now I’m wondering why he wasn’t nominated given the competition. I mean, Doja Cat was a nominee and both the girl and her music are beyond basic.
Also, do people just see Taylor Swift’s name and just go “its great” no matter what she puts out? I’d put both Gaga and Grande’s last three albums over Swift’s. Hell, I’d put Post Malone over it and I low key hate everything he’s done that wasn’t Sunflower. Of the nominees for Album of the Year, I’d have definitely gone for Dua Lipa or Jhene Aiko.
I’m good with Billie Eilish’s wins though. Her more recent songs have grown on me.
Clearly Kanye won because people were afraid of what he’d do if he didn’t. Clearly. /s (the album was meh but I have no idea how any of the competition sounds)
I’d probably have gone for Royce Da 5’9 over Nas last year though. Whoops.