Here’s everything you need to know about the biggest night in music before your favorite artist takes the stage at the 68th Grammy Awards on Sunday.
What are the Grammys?
The awards show is held annually by the Recording Academy to commemorate and honor the best music from the past year. There are 95 categories split into 12 different fields: 11 genre-specific fields and one field covering music overall. The different genres include pop, Latin, R&B and country.
The eligibility period for this year’s awards was Aug. 31, 2024, to Aug. 30, 2025.
Why should music listeners care about the Grammys?
“It’s just the standard,” said David Barbe, Grammy award-winning producer and director of the University of Georgia’s Music Business Program. “It is an acknowledgement of quality by your peers. And so it was just taken more seriously, the same way that the Academy Awards are.”
Barbe is a member of the Recording Academy and has worked on two Grammy award-winning albums: Booker T. Jones’ “Potato Hole” and Patton Oswalt’s “Talking for Clapping.” Members who meet the necessary criteria and are approved by the organization’s Peer Review Panel are eligible to vote for the awards.
How do voters decide on their pick?
Barbe said he listens to every piece of music nominated in the categories he votes in and decides which piece of work is the best and most deserving. As a voting member, he can vote in the six general field categories and up to 10 additional categories of his choosing.
But what if the voter is torn between multiple nominees? Barbe said he’ll consider whether one of the records was groundbreaking in any way, the artist’s overall body of work and if they’ve received an award before.
Who are the frontrunners of this year’s nominations?
Kendrick Lamar leads the competition with nine nominations, followed by Lady Gaga with seven nods. Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny and Leon Thomas earned six nominations each, while Doechii, SZA and Tyler, the Creator each received five. These nominees’ accomplishments include chart-topping albums, Super Bowl halftime shows and sold-out tours.
Are there any new rules or categories this year?
There are two new categories: Best Album Cover and Best Traditional Country Album. The creation of Best Traditional Country Album has faced criticism on social media, with some music fans claiming it was made with racial bias after Beyoncé’s Best Country Album win at last year’s ceremony. The Recording Academy said the change will enable the academy to make “more space for all the diverse artists who are shaping the future of country music.”
Are there any first-time nominees?
Popular artists Tate McRae, YUNGBLUD and PinkPantheress all received their first nominations this year. So have actors Joe Keery of “Stranger Things,” who goes by Djo in his musical endeavors, and Timothée Chalamet for his work in the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.”
What categories should I be paying attention to?
The four major categories are:
Album of the Year
- Kendrick Lamar – “GNX”
- Lady Gaga – “MAYHEM”
- Leon Thomas – “MUTT”
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Man’s Best Friend”
- Bad Bunny – “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS”
- Tyler, the Creator – “Chromakopia”
- Justin Bieber – “SWAG”
- Clipse, Pusha T & Malice – “Let God Sort Em Out”
Song of the Year
- Kendrick Lamar, SZA – “luther”
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
- Doechii – “Anxiety”
- Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
- ROSÉ, Bruno Mars – “APT.”
- Bad Bunny – “DtMF”
- Billie Eilish – “WILDFLOWER”
- “Golden” – From “KPop Demon Hunters”
Record of the Year
- Bad Bunny – “DtMF”
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
- Doechi – “Anxiety”
- Billie Eilish – “WILDFLOWER”
- Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
- Kendrick Lamar, SZA – “luther”
- Chappell Roan – “The Subway”
- ROSÉ, Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Best New Artist
- KATSEYE
- The Marias
- Alex Warren
- Addison Rae
- Sombr
- Olivia Dean
- Leon Thomas
- Lola Young
When is the ceremony and where can I watch it?
The 68th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on Feb. 1 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Viewers can tune in live on CBS or Paramount+ at 8 p.m. EST or 5 p.m. PST.
Sabrina Felix is a Fink Fellow in the Cox Institute’s Journalism Writing Lab at the University of Georgia.
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