The 67th annual Grammy Awards, set for Sunday at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, will be a big night for some of music’s buzziest stars taking place against a backdrop of hardship for the city that has long been the show’s home.
Beyoncé, this year’s top nominee, could win her first album of the year award for her genre-spanning “Cowboy Carter,” an accolade that has long been elusive for the singer despite the fact that she’s won more Grammys than any other artist. One week before he will headline the Super Bowl halftime show, Kendrick Lamar is nominated in two of the night’s top categories for his nuclear Drake diss “Not Like Us,” which is also the subject of a defamation lawsuit. And the young stars behind some of last year’s most-talked-about songs and albums — including Chappell Roan, Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter — could have breakout nights.
In light of the wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles just weeks ago, some weren’t sure the show would go on as planned. The Recording Academy, the organization behind the Grammy Awards, announced last month that the ceremony would carry on and refocus to raise money for relief efforts and pay tribute to firefighters and other emergency workers who helped save lives and homes.
The awards show on Sunday will honor recordings released from Sept. 16, 2023, through Aug. 30, 2024. Here’s how to watch and what to expect.
What time does it all start?
The ceremony will air live on Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern time (5 p.m. Pacific time) on CBS and stream on Paramount+. Subscribers to Paramount+ with Showtime can access the real-time stream both on-demand and on the live feed of their local CBS affiliate station, while Paramount+ Essential subscribers have access to on-demand the day after the ceremony.
The premiere ceremony, where nearly all of the awards are given out, will air before the prime-time event at 3:30 p.m. Eastern (12:30 p.m. Pacific) on live.grammy.com and the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel. The songwriter and producer Justin Tranter, who is nominated this year for his work on Chappell Roan’s song “Good Luck, Babe!,” will return to host the premiere ceremony, which will feature performances from current nominees including Angélique Kidjo, Béla Fleck and Kelli O’Hara, among others.
Who is hosting?
Trevor Noah, formerly host of “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, will return for the fifth straight year to host the ceremony telecast. This year he’s also a nominee, for best comedy album.
Who are the top contenders?
Beyoncé is up for 11 awards for “Cowboy Carter” and its singles, including record, song and album of the year, in addition to prizes in pop, rap, country and Americana categories.
The other top nominees are the British “Brat” Charli XCX and the shape-shifter Post Malone (with eight nods each), followed by Lamar and Billie Eilish, with seven. Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Taylor Swift each have six.
Carpenter and Roan are also competing for best new artist, a trophy that would be a crowning achievement after a year of rapid pop ascension for both performers. That all-genre category also includes the buzzy “Denial Is a River” rapper Doechii, the “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” country singer Shaboozey and the “Beautiful Things” singer Benson Boone.
Who was snubbed?
There were no expected nods for the pop powerhouse Dua Lipa or the respected bands the Smile and Vampire Weekend. Tommy Richman’s inescapable viral track “Million Dollar Baby” also went unrecognized.
How does voting work?
The Grammys are voted on by more than 13,000 music professionals — performers, songwriters, producers and others with credits on recordings — who are members of the Recording Academy. Members first scan through huge lists of submissions to vote for nominees. After the final ballot is set, they do it again, to select winners. In the past, anonymous committees had the power to overrule members’ selections of nominees; after some controversy those were largely disbanded, though the academy still has the power to reassign submissions if necessary.
The 94 categories are divided into 12 fields, including six awards in the general field and the rest in 11 others divided by genre. Voting members are allowed to cast ballots in up to 10 categories across three genre fields, plus the eight categories in the general field. While members can choose where to vote, they are “directed to vote only in those Fields in which they are peers of the nominees,” according to Recording Academy rules.
Who will present?
This year’s presenters include Anthony Kiedis and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cardi B, Gloria Estefan, Olivia Rodrigo, Queen Latifah, SZA, Taylor Swift, Victoria Monét and Will Smith. (Swift will be making her return to the stage where last year she announced “The Tortured Poets Department,” which is up for five awards.)
Who will perform?
The Grammys often feel like a concert more than an awards show. Sunday night will feature performances from nominated artists including Eilish, Roan, Carpenter, Charli XCX and Shakira, as well as four more nominees for best new artist: Doechii, Boone, and the singer-songwriters Raye and Teddy Swims. An extended tribute to Quincy Jones, who died in November at 91, will spotlight Stevie Wonder and Janelle Monáe, along with Cynthia Erivo, Herbie Hancock, Lainey Wilson and more. Brad Paisley, Brittany Howard, Chris Martin, Jacob Collier, John Legend, Sheryl Crow and St. Vincent will hit the stage for performances focusing on Los Angeles, organizers told Rolling Stone.
Who might make history?
With 32 trophies, Beyoncé has won more Grammys than any other artist — and is the most nominated performer ever, with 99 nods — but she has never won album of the year. “Cowboy Carter,” her meditation on country, R&B, Americana and more, may change that. If she converts her fifth nomination into a win, she would become the fourth Black woman to win the Grammys’ top award.
If Swift takes home that prize instead, it would be her fifth victory in the category — a Grammy record. Eilish and her co-writer and producer, Finneas, could claim their third song of the year prize for “Birds of a Feather,” which would make them the first-ever three-time winners in the category. If Bruno Mars and Dernst Emile II (the songwriter and producer known as D’Mile) win instead as writers on Mars’s Lady Gaga duet “Die With a Smile,” they’d claim the same record.
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