With the Grammy’s fast approaching at the end of this month, nominees are eagerly awaiting who will take home the “Album of the Year” title, regarded as one of the top prizes at the awards ceremony. Country music beauty, Taylor Swift, is up for the award again, after securing the title three times already. With a total of 11 Grammys, she is one of the top contenders. However, with fierce competition from several other artists and a minor setback, how likely is she to pull through this year?
Taylor Swift was initially facing 2 nominations, firstly for her own album “Evermore”, and second, for her collaborations on Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour”. However, a last-minute change in the Academy’s rules meant that all eligible Grammy nominees will have created “new material”. Yet, Swift’s input on the tracks “1 step forward, 3 steps back” and “Déjà vu” were actually interpolated and influenced by two of the songwriters’ older songs – “Cruel Summer” and “New Year’s Day”, prompting Rodrigo to credit Swift on the tracks. However, this incorrect submission has lost Taylor Swift her Grammy nomination on “Sour” as the work does not fall under the “new material” discriminator.
Although Swift’s chance of bagging a fourth Grammy via Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour” is no more, she still stands a significant chance of winning with her own studio album “Evermore”. The release of “Evermore” saw the album reach No.1 in the Billboard charts, which was further bolstered by the release of the album on Vinyl. With a total of 192,000 Taylor Swift vinyl copies sold within the first week, this set a record for weekly vinyl sales, surpassing Jack White’s “Lazaretto” in 2014. With such a large and loyal fanbase, the cultural impact of Swift’s music cannot be denied. This arguably accounts for her previous wins with “Folklore”, “1989”, and “Fearless”, so it would not be surprising if Swift keeps up her reputation (no pun intended!) and takes home the crown for the 4th time running.
Despite Taylor Swift being heralded as the “Queen of Pop”, she is up against a number of emerging pop icons such as Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Doja Cat , Justin Bieber, and Lil Nas X who have all had a significant impact on the music industry in 2021. Moreover, Kanye West’s critically acclaimed and long awaited “Donda” has also been nominated for the prize alongside R&B singer H.E.R’s “Back of My Mind” which could see a different genre other than Pop take the top spot.
The competition this year is tight, and it seems like anyone could win the infamous “Album of the Year” title. Watch this space!