You could be forgiven for expecting the worst before the 2016 Grammy nominations were announced this morning–the awards has a history, especially in recent years, of ignoring quality and just blindly nominating whatever sold the most copies.
This year’s crop is better than usual, though, with no Mumford and Sons to be seen and several strong contenders leading the pack. Time to break down what Grammy got right … and what it got wrong.
The good
Kendrick Lamar’s 11 nominations: It might be penance for snubbing Lamar for Macklemore in 2014, or it might be a sign of the Grammys finally coming to its senses. Either way, the fact that Kendrick Lamar leads every other artist, even Taylor Swift, in terms of nominations is a sure sign things are going to be fine. Let’s hope he can at least take home the awards for Album of the Year (“To Pimp A Butterfly”) and Song of the Year (“Alright”). — JT
Tons of Taylor: The mega-star deservedly earned nods for Album of the Year (“1989”), Record of the Year and Song of the Year (both for “Blank Space”), among other nominations (7 in total). In fact, I’m surprised a new category wasn’t created just to make sure T-Swift was getting enough recognition. — MP
Dance is best: This year’s nominations for Best Dance Album are pretty stellar. Even “Caracal,” an album by Disclosure that failed to meet the expectations its debut set, should be included. All nominees, from Caribou and Jack U to Jamie xx and the Chemical Brothers, deserve inclusion. No matter who gets the final nod, it’s one of the more memorable categories in recent memory. — JT
The Dr. is in: I don’t think all of us are still shocked that there was a new Dr. Dre album this year, and extremely relieved that “Compton” turned out so well. He might have been nominated anyway out of respect even if the record was lousy, but it wasn’t. –MP
A$AP Rocky’s “L$D” video getting a nod: Not to spoil our upcoming roundup of the year’s best music videos, but A$AP Rocky’s adventurous, trippy and epic visual for “L$D” is going to rank pretty high. The Dexter Navey and Rocky-directed clip is unmissable for its colorful effects and how it perfectly captures the “At.Long.Last.A$AP.” highlight. While it’s tough to think the Grammys and A$AP Rocky are a match made it heaven (he was also nominated in 2014 for “Fuckin’ Problems”), if he wins (he won’t), it’ll be much deserved. — JT
The bad
Bad rap: There’s just no excuse for leaving Vince Staples out of the Best Rap Album group. As someone who’s never been into Drake, it hurts to see him there but Staples’ stunning “Summertime ’06” left out. –MP
Best New Artist should be Best Who? Artist: Besides Courtney Barnett, do any of these artists (James Bay, Sam Hunt, Tori Kelly, Meghan Trainor) inspire confidence or even recognition? I sort of get Trainor’s inclusion because of the utter ubiquity of “All About That Bass,” but when Fetty Wap gets snubbed for absolutely dominating the charts with “Trap Queen” and “My Way” and coming out of nowhere, this exclusion is a huge head scratcher. I also had to Google Sam Hunt. Bad list. — JT
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Halsey snubbed: I know I’ve preached for Halsey all year, and I’m not going to stop: Her album debuted at No. 2, she’s sold out tons of huge shows and, oh, yeah, her record “Badlands” is great. How does that not warrant at least a Best New Artist nod? –MP
The ‘Why Didn’t You Pick X’ Airing of Grievances: Every year, complaining about the Grammys not picking your favorite artist is a fruitless but fun activity so here goes nothing: I am so upset! The Grammys should have included Fetty Wap, Sleater-Kinney (for Best Alternative or Best Rock Album) Carly Rae Jepsen (for Best Pop Vocal Album), “Surf” (a little confused on if it was even eligible, but if it was this is pretty egregious), Sufjan Stevens, Father John Misty, and everything else I listen to argle bargle bargle. **Throws laptop out of a Tribune Tower window — JT
Timeline problems: This is an annual complaint, so let’s keep it going: The time period covered by the Grammys is stupid. This year’s noms were taken from albums released Oct. 1, 2014-Sept. 30, 2015, which is why it feels like Taylor Swift’s “1989” and Nicki Minaj’s “The Pinkprint” are too old to be included. Nope, they came out late last year. I know an early-year awards ceremony needs a cutoff date, but Grammy needs to fix the ever-present feeling of, “Wait, why wasn’t that nominated last year?” — MP
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