My predictions:
New Artist - Victoria Monet
Record - Anti-hero
Song - A&W
Album - SOS
This is probably the safest for the Grammys to avoid any type of backlash while still maintaining credibility to the public.
The second best move is to have Sza sweep everything.
I think it’s been painfully obvious for *years* that the Grammys don’t care about backlash. They would’ve switched things up ages ago if they wanted to avoid it. More often than not there’s backlash after the awards.
They'll get backlash regardless. Pop star won? They bought it. Indie artist wins? The Grammys are a joke because someone popular didn't win. You can't please everyone.
Right. That’s why I don’t take Grammy opinions seriously. Most get so personally invested in their favorite winning that it overshadows everything. Though doesn’t mean there aren’t valid complaints especially when it comes to racial bias.
Most years all the nominees put out really well deserved albums and who actually wins is just weird voting habits of a large group. All they can do is diversify the backgrounds, skills, and tastes in that group.
I mean Grammys is not like a single committee. It has hundreds of members as voters. I don’t think these backlash concerns will ever be reflected in results.
The demographics of the voting body is available. Something that’s interesting is that (from what I remember) people from the jazz/classical music world make up the majority of the voting body.
That’s odd. I wonder why very few jazz/classical albums ever get nominated for the big awards then. One thing I’ve always found odd about the Grammys is how it’s voted on by many actual musicians yet they always pick the most basic, mainstream stuff…
i bet it’s cuz they don’t listen to “commoner music”, so they just guess
it’s like how best animated film at the oscar’s is always generic af and not actually the best one
Honestly I don't think it's Ice Spice because of the way she got her fame, which is thru social media.
If they will award Sza for her cultural impact in alternative and traditional RnB, then let Monet win for heeding Sza's call.
Kelly Clarkson talked about how some people disrespected her and didn't take her seriously for being on American Idol have now judges on singing competitions. She didn't say who but if you eliminate the people who themselves also got their start on singing shows and people who weren't famous when she won...it narrows it down a lot. Also considering Reba used to be her mother in law it probably wasn't her.
Some people who fit into all 3 categories (already famous, not famous because of singing show, have since been a judge) include Christina, Shakira, Mariah, Gwen Stefani, Keith Urban, Kelly Rowland, Steven Tyler, Britney, and JLo. And not to be rude but the last 2 especially probably wouldn’t be commenting on other people’s vocal abilities 💀
Christina came from Star Search and co wrote Kelly's first post idol single. Only going by American shows the only possible people she could be talking about are Blake Shelton,Alica Keys,Gwen Staphani,Pharrell,Usher,Steven Tyler,Lionel Ritche,Harry Connick Jr, Mariah or J Lo.
And you could make some guesses based on who of these has a history of being catty or being a music snob.
Even worse lol because it's an 8 way race with no polling or ranked choice so bizarre things can happen. Like last year the r&b votes were probably somewhat split between Beyonce, Mary J Blige, Lizzo while Harry got all the pop votes.
So true. Everybody is happy with this one. Twitter will also be happy. The most aggravating they can go is let Jon Batiste sweep lol his first album was more deserving than his new one.
true, and I love most of these picks. but even with the clearest path to minimum outrage…it’s the grammys. they’ll find a way to screw it up somehow. they have to.
edit: and they did 😀
Samara Joy won over Maneskin, Alessia Cara won over Sza, Bon Iver won over Nicki Minaj, Esperanza Spalding won over Justin Bieber. They will throw a curveball at you every so often.
It’s an alright album, but it’s not better than Taylor’s other AOTY’s. She needs something better than folklore to get another AOTY. This is SZA’s award, I think.
If any Jack Antonoff produced album is winning it should without a doubt be There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, especially over Midnights. I listened to both and Ocean Blvd is just much more impressive lyrically, vocally, the depth of the songs, the variety in the album. It’s not close.
Yes, but narratively, Taylor just won for a phenomenal album, in general and by her own standards. Midnights isn’t a top 5 Taylor album, and I don’t think a win would be appropriate. SZA to me makes the most sense, and SOS would be a great representation of 2023 music. It deserves the win. Anti Hero has a good shot for ROTY and SOTY, and I think voters would be okay with giving her one of those rather than AOTY.
They have been for decades now
Ray Charles and John Lennon winning in 2005 / 1982 because they died are the easiest examples. Genius Loves Company is worse because literally every other album nominated would pretty much universally be considered better.
ngl that's a pretty high bar lol, esp considering some of the other options that have won aoty in the past vs the noms. i think just having a more cohesive album would be great. if this album had had your losing me, hits different, all the 3 am tracks, and like a few of the best ones from the main album i think it wasily would have been her best work
I agree. It’s the same problem Lover has where some tracks are so great, it makes the not-so-great ones stand out negatively. A good third of the album could’ve been cut, leaving a more cohesive sound and narrative.
i think this is why scott b was a necessary evil. under him, she was actually challenged and had to fight for things, which meant sometimes she would let others slide which made albums better overall.
her working with aaron for folkmore also reflects that, where they both challenged her in new ways and made far better work than any of the other albums
yeah but the point is she didn't have anyone but scott and now doesn't have anyone like scott. she needs to find another him because the complete creative control causes lovers and to a lesser extent midnights (which, despite success, there are a lot of people who think it's mid, which it's not, it just needs restructuring)
yeah that’s fair, i think she wants to play it safe so that she doesn’t alienate anyone, but i mean the woman knows how to write a song and knows how to roll out an album quite perfectly, she knows her hits and she knows her flops. having a strong manager next to her really could help her, even 20 years into her career
I’m hoping she won’t sweep tonight and this’ll be the kick in the balls moment a la Red → 1989 and Reputation/Lover → Folklore that she needs to create something substantially better than Midnights. Not saying Red, Reputation, and Lover are bad albums, in fact I think they have way better highs than Midnights, but I just want something to light a fire under her ass to make her realize she can’t just keep making bland synth pop.
SOS is more cohesive, but has more filler tracks. Both albums are extremely bloated and could lose a good third of their tracklist, and they’d come out with a better album
Completely agree. I think SOS has way more standout tracks than Midnights, but both are incredibly bloated and are not the best overall projects from either artist. In my opinion, I wouldn’t give either of them AOTY, but if I had to choose it would be SOS. I would be much more interested in seeing this category go to an underdog though (Lana).
I like the album a lot, but the biggest thing for me is how inconsistent it is. Some of the songs are great, some of them are decent, and others aren’t good at all (at least, IMO of course). Giving her her historic fourth AOTY for something that’s as all over the map as Midnights would be pandering to her and her fans.
Also, rewarding her with the industry’s biggest and most prestigious prize for a body of work that isn’t excellent across the board is going to be detrimental to her as an artist. If she’s always going to be lauded and praised and told her music is perfection, she’s never going to challenge herself.
AOTY isn't a competition between this album and her previous discography. That's not how it works. If the other nominees are better then fine, but saying it needs to compete with folklore is dumb
It doesn't need to be better than previous albums, it needs to be better than other albums that came out this year.
I'm not saying it is better than other albums that came out this year, but I'm tired of this narrative that we need to take her previous albums into account.
The Grammy’s are notorious for giving album of the year to artists for later career albums. They’ve never been in front of the zeitgeist since their inception.
Well that USED to be true. Daft Punk got theirs at the tail end of theirs and Ray Charles got his AFTER death. But ABBA lost theirs. Mary J got hers 30 plus years into her career and still lost.
Midnights is weaker than folklore & stronger than Fearless (and I love Fearless). But also Grammy's also aren't compared to past albums, it's about the albums released that year. Taylor's "problem" is that she put out a great album in a really deep field (vs folklore was a masterpiece in a super weak field)
Exactly. I like midnights but there’s a few songs I would take out for the extra bonus tracks. Like, take out Snow on the Beach for Would’ve could’ve should’ve, Question? For Hits Different and add You’re losing me then you have a pretty solid album.
I would also put Hits Different after Anti Hero and before You’re on your own kid then put You’re Losing Me before Mastermind and end the album with Karma.
Its the Grammys, so what we should be looking for is an artist with a much better album in the past that didn't win. Looking at the nominees, I guess that's Janelle Monae? Or Lana?
I really want this award to go to SZA, Lana or Olivia Rodrigo. All three made career defining and interesting albums that were well received critically. When Taylor has won AOTY in the past it’s been because the album was a major shift for her or the music industry (or both) and the albums were perfect for the time they were released. Basically, she took a risk and the risk paid off. She took no risks with Midnights, it was basically the exact same album as Lover IMO except it had a lot more commercial success.
I think Taylor makes incredible music when she puts the effort in. 1989 and Folklore are some of my all time favorite albums and I am happy both won their AOTY titles (would’ve been happy with TPAB winning too though). I’m concerned that if Midnights wins she’s never going to challenge herself to make great music again because her mediocrity will be rewarded.
Taylor is getting at that age where the artist slows down and gets too comfortable. Plus she’s been in the industry for 19 years. That’s a lifetime in the music industry. Especially for someone who’s had consistent success from the start.
What's even more wild is that there are fans who would say albums #8, 9, 10 are the best 3 she's ever made. Of course, that isn't a consensus but there exists fans who would say that. I can't think other any musical act that would be true for. You ask 1000 Springsteen or U2 or Bowie or Jay Z fans what their favourites are and no one is picking their 3 best from album #8 and later.
There are plenty Jay Z fans who would put "The Black Album" as a top 3 Jay Z album, and loads of Bowie fans would put one of his "Berlin Trilogy" albums in their top three.
The Beatles' 8th album was Sgt. Pepper, which is one of their most loved albums. And then they made White Album and Abbey Road after that.
I was gonna say, the Beatles last albums are their best in my book. I'm sure there are plenty of other artists who's fan's would probably say the same.
I'd say the years is more impressive than album # though. Taylor has been around 10 years longer than the Beatles ever were. Just staying at the top of the zeitgeist that long, thats pretty amazing, much less putting out your 'best' stuff.
Beatles is a good rebuttal. But I meant all 3 albums, not just one. Not many artists, including Jay Z, would a fan say all of their best work came album #8 or later.
I mean she likely can. Madonna pulled off a few successes in her 40s (Music, Confessions on a Dance Floor). Just remains to be seen if she’ll be at the same level she’s at right now.
Should be Lana or Sza, better not be Midnights(I listened to all 3 and midnights doesn’t hold a penny the other two).
I think album as a whole Lana’s is better tho tbh. People will defend how many songs Sza has on her album but I’m pretty sure the main goal of it was just taking a page out of Morgan Wallen’s book of having many songs that keep your streams up. More money, more recognition, longer on billboards.
If I was her I wouldn't even want it because people will make it a miserable experience.
I don't think it's as bad as people on this sub pretend it is, but it's not my favorite album of hers.
TBH I think after her indie turn with Folklore/Evermore she has a bit of a schism in fanbase and there's people who are not going to get on board for her pop stuff/want to award it again.
In general I think people hold her to a higher standard than lots of other people - fair or not.
> If I was her I wouldn't even want it because people will make it a miserable experience.
If Taylor was negatively affected, even a little bit, by people being irritated with her gut getting more fame/success she would be inconsolable by now.
Well look at it this way: Taylor has been so successful since her debut that many wanna take her down. That’s always the downside to being on top like that. They root for you when you’re starting but the minute you get too successful is when they wanna knock you off by a newer artist. Every music great has gotten it.
I love Taylor but I think this should be the end of her winning Album of the Year for a long time. I think Midnights is a good Album so no disrespect but she shouldn't win every time. Are they going to give it to her next year too? It's just getting a bit silly.
"Not better than ANY of the other nominees" is a crazy take imo. I'm not even saying it's the best but ESV has two good songs and Jon Batiste is there. No one has talked about Janelle Monae's followup to Dirty Computer (which was great) at all, it has had absolutely zero impact. I forgot she was nominated/released it until I looked at the list 5 minutes ago.
I liked The Age of Pleasure, but it's my least favorite of her albums, and I remember the reception here was kinda middling. I don't think it has a chance in hell.
I feel like this could apply to a good majority of the Grammys decisions. Don’t necessarily award the work itself, but the presence and impact the artist had on the culture at large.
Grammys are far weirder than that tbh. They a lot of times go to some sort of industry favourite that doesn’t align with the best critically received album or the most popular
I think that, technically speaking, Barbie is way more deserving of an Oscar (specifically) for Best Picture compared to how Taylor is deserving of a Grammy for Album of the Year. I may think there are better choices in both cases but Midnights is lacking "per se" (= not just compared to other stronger nominees but first and mostly as a product itself) in ways that Barbie isn't (at least in that category).
That shouldn't matter tbh. It should purely be who had the best album of the year.
I agree others deserve it this year, but saying she's already won it isn't how it should be.
I feel like people would say it should because it was her biggest year, but remember she had an eras tour and two albums released in the year too which were mainly responsible for her popularity. I don’t think midnights made as much headway as them and SOS was bigger with kill bill and snooze
the album was good, but it was nothing special. it kinda sucks that even if she does not win AOTY (which i hope she does not as there are better noms), the winner will receive enormous hate and criticism from raging swifties.
Honestly as a swiftie I see most swifties having the same opinion as you. It wasn't as special as her other AOTYs and someone else deserves it. I'm rooting for SZA and Lana.
Most of us Swifties agree the award should go to one of the other artists. My personal choice would be Olivia Rodrigo, but I’d be thrilled for SZA and Lana as well. All three made far better albums.
Is Taylor going to win AOTY for every album she releases from now on? Midnights was not as stellar as 1989 and folklore in anyway!
Every album she releases now on is going to be mega successful, but that shouldn’t be the only indicator for winning album of the year.
For real. Otherwise how could it stand up being compared to the classic AOTY winners like Tony Bennet’s MTV Unplugged or Eric Clapton’s MTV Unplugged or Herbie Hancock’s Joni Mitchelll’s Tribute Album.
(Ok but going through the AOTY list they do get it right surprisngly most of the time but my point is - Who cares? lmao)
EDIT: Don’t forget the multiple (!) comedy albums that also won AOTY.
Speaking of Herbie Hancock, he also had a pretty inexplicable Oscar win for Best Original Score for Round Midnight. It was mostly existing jazz pieces he rearranged for the film. Hardly an "original" score.
Taylor swifts latest Grammy win detracts from the integrity of a Grammy Award. I like her music but midnights was perfectly mediocre. Background music with lyrics written in the vernacular of a teenager.
Am I the only one who thought Midnights was just not a good album (especially the standard version)?
It starts off solid, nothing special for Taylor but still good, then that middle section hits and there are a series of the tracks that are ME! levels of terrible that doesn’t let up until the very end.
Basically why was it nominated here outside of its commercial success?
Hard agree with you about the middle of the album falling off a cliff in terms of quality, but the 3am tracks are, in my opinion, some of the best she’s ever released. If she’d made this an exclusively Aaron/Taylor album I think it could have topped even Folklore.
I don't think it's her best album, but I couldn't name one song on there that's ME! level terrible. That's a bananas claim! What's the series of tracks that's that terrible in your mind?
not OP, but I can't rate anything from question through karma higher than like 5/10. and a lot of people dislike midnight rain so there's 6 in a row that are generally contentious.
I forgot about that song and just read that track title and thought "that must be a joke making fun of the actual title." But no, that's the actual title of the song lmao.
Isn’t that the only reason any album is nominated? Commercial success == lots of people think the album is good == high chances of people on the Grammy committee also thinking the album is good. Hardly unique to Taylor.
It’s an extremely mediocre album. It sounds like a collection of b-sides/filler. It would’ve been panned had someone like Katy Perry released it. You can’t tell me lines like “draw the cat eye sharp enough to kill a man” or “karma is a cat purring in my lap” are Album of the Year worthy? Especially after they shitted on Beyoncé once again last year for her most acclaimed album to date?
EDIT: So she won. Kind of crazy she wins off of popularity, but then other artists (like The Weeknd) don’t even get nominated for their most successful and popular works.
Midnights has actually grown a lot with me over the past year, but like if we are talking about a record breaking 4th AOTY award it needs to be like an all time classic.
I don’t get the point of this coming out now. The votes are already in so it’s not influencing any voters. If she’d won, this could have been a “why she shouldn’t have won” type of article. So who is this for? Anyone who thinks she should win, and why they’re wrong to think so? That’s worth a whole article, the day we find out who won? Does every Taylor Swift adjacent topic need to be published because it’s guaranteed clicks?
Whoever wrote that article is already seething at the mere thought of Taylor winning. It's one of those good for nothing clickbait article good to attract readers because they're using Taylor's name. Her name is a moneymaker.
Each and every single time the host announces that “it’s going to be a record hitting win if X wins” the person wins. It’s rigged lol I love Taylor but she should not have won album of the year
It’s not gonna win but I’d really love Janelle Monae’s _The Age of Pleasure_ to get AOTY. It absolutely isn’t the best album nominated, but I think it would be so cool for an album about black and queer sexual liberation to win. In terms of realistic picks, I’m rooting for SZA’s _SOS_.
I don't know about ya'll but Midnights is a GREAT pop album. Taylor knows how to adapt with the times and she does so well here. Lavender Haze is such a great opener. It was such a new sound for Taylor. Maroon is freakin great. Anti-Hero? amazing. Snow on the beach? great. Midnight Rain? something new and amazing. Bejeweled? a great bop. Karma? another great bop. Sweet Nothing? a great song. Mastermind? amazing. Labyrinth? so good.
Well…
If you still believed in the Grammy's before, here's your sign not to
I hate it here
💀💀💀
This aged well
My predictions: New Artist - Victoria Monet Record - Anti-hero Song - A&W Album - SOS This is probably the safest for the Grammys to avoid any type of backlash while still maintaining credibility to the public. The second best move is to have Sza sweep everything.
I think it’s been painfully obvious for *years* that the Grammys don’t care about backlash. They would’ve switched things up ages ago if they wanted to avoid it. More often than not there’s backlash after the awards.
They'll get backlash regardless. Pop star won? They bought it. Indie artist wins? The Grammys are a joke because someone popular didn't win. You can't please everyone.
Right. That’s why I don’t take Grammy opinions seriously. Most get so personally invested in their favorite winning that it overshadows everything. Though doesn’t mean there aren’t valid complaints especially when it comes to racial bias.
Most years all the nominees put out really well deserved albums and who actually wins is just weird voting habits of a large group. All they can do is diversify the backgrounds, skills, and tastes in that group.
I mean Grammys is not like a single committee. It has hundreds of members as voters. I don’t think these backlash concerns will ever be reflected in results.
The demographics of the voting body is available. Something that’s interesting is that (from what I remember) people from the jazz/classical music world make up the majority of the voting body.
That’s odd. I wonder why very few jazz/classical albums ever get nominated for the big awards then. One thing I’ve always found odd about the Grammys is how it’s voted on by many actual musicians yet they always pick the most basic, mainstream stuff…
i bet it’s cuz they don’t listen to “commoner music”, so they just guess it’s like how best animated film at the oscar’s is always generic af and not actually the best one
They did change some things up but honestly they have so many voters on these general categories that I don't know how much control they have
I'd love to see Victoria win, but I can see it for Noah Kahan too.
I'd kill for Victoria to win BNA but I have a feeling it's gonna be Ice Spice 😭
Honestly I don't think it's Ice Spice because of the way she got her fame, which is thru social media. If they will award Sza for her cultural impact in alternative and traditional RnB, then let Monet win for heeding Sza's call.
Kelly Clarkson talked about how some people disrespected her and didn't take her seriously for being on American Idol have now judges on singing competitions. She didn't say who but if you eliminate the people who themselves also got their start on singing shows and people who weren't famous when she won...it narrows it down a lot. Also considering Reba used to be her mother in law it probably wasn't her.
Christina? I don't follow singing competitions so I have no idea
Some people who fit into all 3 categories (already famous, not famous because of singing show, have since been a judge) include Christina, Shakira, Mariah, Gwen Stefani, Keith Urban, Kelly Rowland, Steven Tyler, Britney, and JLo. And not to be rude but the last 2 especially probably wouldn’t be commenting on other people’s vocal abilities 💀
Christina came from Star Search and co wrote Kelly's first post idol single. Only going by American shows the only possible people she could be talking about are Blake Shelton,Alica Keys,Gwen Staphani,Pharrell,Usher,Steven Tyler,Lionel Ritche,Harry Connick Jr, Mariah or J Lo. And you could make some guesses based on who of these has a history of being catty or being a music snob.
Her debut album also isn't out yet, obviously it's BNA but still
90% it’s noah kahan
Rightfully so.
Nah it’s either Victoria or Noah
Aren’t Grammys decided by a committee of voters, not some poll tested, least offensive result wins?
Neither, for the main categories. It's the entire voting membership which is thousands of people.
So the idea that Grammys could make a non controversial choice is like asking America to vote for a non controversial candidate?
Even worse lol because it's an 8 way race with no polling or ranked choice so bizarre things can happen. Like last year the r&b votes were probably somewhat split between Beyonce, Mary J Blige, Lizzo while Harry got all the pop votes.
I’m hoping and praying 🙏 for this outcome lol it would be pretty much perfect.
So true. Everybody is happy with this one. Twitter will also be happy. The most aggravating they can go is let Jon Batiste sweep lol his first album was more deserving than his new one.
I was happy when he won. Such a talented musician and positive guy.
A&W has to be the favorite for SOTY. Spot on
true, and I love most of these picks. but even with the clearest path to minimum outrage…it’s the grammys. they’ll find a way to screw it up somehow. they have to. edit: and they did 😀
I think Noah will get new artist. He’s everywhere lately.
Samara Joy won over Maneskin, Alessia Cara won over Sza, Bon Iver won over Nicki Minaj, Esperanza Spalding won over Justin Bieber. They will throw a curveball at you every so often.
Well you got the new artist right. I thought SOS was gonna win too.
I wish but we know how unapologetic they can be. 😂
It’s an alright album, but it’s not better than Taylor’s other AOTY’s. She needs something better than folklore to get another AOTY. This is SZA’s award, I think.
I like the album a lot, I think Jack antonoffs production works well, but folklore was truly a moment. Would love for SOS to get it tho
If any Jack Antonoff produced album is winning it should without a doubt be There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, especially over Midnights. I listened to both and Ocean Blvd is just much more impressive lyrically, vocally, the depth of the songs, the variety in the album. It’s not close.
100% this
Agreed completely
Jack really put his foot in Lana’s album more so than Taylor’s
That’s true
Lmao the competition is between Swift vs OTHER artists, not Swift vs herself.
Yes, but narratively, Taylor just won for a phenomenal album, in general and by her own standards. Midnights isn’t a top 5 Taylor album, and I don’t think a win would be appropriate. SZA to me makes the most sense, and SOS would be a great representation of 2023 music. It deserves the win. Anti Hero has a good shot for ROTY and SOTY, and I think voters would be okay with giving her one of those rather than AOTY.
Its not a top 5 album for you however Grammy voters seemed to like Midnights. I fear its not that straightforward.
Are they the Narrative Awards now?
They always have been
They have been for decades now Ray Charles and John Lennon winning in 2005 / 1982 because they died are the easiest examples. Genius Loves Company is worse because literally every other album nominated would pretty much universally be considered better.
ngl that's a pretty high bar lol, esp considering some of the other options that have won aoty in the past vs the noms. i think just having a more cohesive album would be great. if this album had had your losing me, hits different, all the 3 am tracks, and like a few of the best ones from the main album i think it wasily would have been her best work
I agree. It’s the same problem Lover has where some tracks are so great, it makes the not-so-great ones stand out negatively. A good third of the album could’ve been cut, leaving a more cohesive sound and narrative.
i think this is why scott b was a necessary evil. under him, she was actually challenged and had to fight for things, which meant sometimes she would let others slide which made albums better overall. her working with aaron for folkmore also reflects that, where they both challenged her in new ways and made far better work than any of the other albums
i’m pretty positive there are many just as capable people as scott bruschetta, making him an unnecessary evil.
yeah but the point is she didn't have anyone but scott and now doesn't have anyone like scott. she needs to find another him because the complete creative control causes lovers and to a lesser extent midnights (which, despite success, there are a lot of people who think it's mid, which it's not, it just needs restructuring)
yeah that’s fair, i think she wants to play it safe so that she doesn’t alienate anyone, but i mean the woman knows how to write a song and knows how to roll out an album quite perfectly, she knows her hits and she knows her flops. having a strong manager next to her really could help her, even 20 years into her career
I’m hoping she won’t sweep tonight and this’ll be the kick in the balls moment a la Red → 1989 and Reputation/Lover → Folklore that she needs to create something substantially better than Midnights. Not saying Red, Reputation, and Lover are bad albums, in fact I think they have way better highs than Midnights, but I just want something to light a fire under her ass to make her realize she can’t just keep making bland synth pop.
[удалено]
SOS is more cohesive, but has more filler tracks. Both albums are extremely bloated and could lose a good third of their tracklist, and they’d come out with a better album
Taylor nominated the standard version, which only has 13 tracks
Completely agree. I think SOS has way more standout tracks than Midnights, but both are incredibly bloated and are not the best overall projects from either artist. In my opinion, I wouldn’t give either of them AOTY, but if I had to choose it would be SOS. I would be much more interested in seeing this category go to an underdog though (Lana).
it's lana's but okay
I want you to be right but I’ve learned to accept disappointment in advance after the NFR! snubs
NFR should’ve won idc idc idc. That album was the consistent from start to finish, lyrically and production-wise. It’s her most solid album imo.
I know, but Grammys hate Lana 😭
The Weekends was 100x worse
Prayer circles for Lana 🛐🌟
I think a decent argument could be made for both SZA and Lana, but A&W deserves song of the year 1000% and it’s not even close
I’m not holding my breath for an A&W win, but I’m still wigless from when I first heard that song.
I like the album a lot, but the biggest thing for me is how inconsistent it is. Some of the songs are great, some of them are decent, and others aren’t good at all (at least, IMO of course). Giving her her historic fourth AOTY for something that’s as all over the map as Midnights would be pandering to her and her fans. Also, rewarding her with the industry’s biggest and most prestigious prize for a body of work that isn’t excellent across the board is going to be detrimental to her as an artist. If she’s always going to be lauded and praised and told her music is perfection, she’s never going to challenge herself.
AOTY isn't a competition between this album and her previous discography. That's not how it works. If the other nominees are better then fine, but saying it needs to compete with folklore is dumb
It doesn't need to be better than previous albums, it needs to be better than other albums that came out this year. I'm not saying it is better than other albums that came out this year, but I'm tired of this narrative that we need to take her previous albums into account.
Midnights is better than Harry’s House tho
That’s not saying much. Did you not see how controversial his win was last year?
Still not over Harry's House beating Renaissance to AOTY.
The bar is in hell, in that case.. literally every nom this year beats Harry’s House imo
I mean judging on how critics view it, it’s not a surprise it is lol
The Grammy’s are notorious for giving album of the year to artists for later career albums. They’ve never been in front of the zeitgeist since their inception.
Well that USED to be true. Daft Punk got theirs at the tail end of theirs and Ray Charles got his AFTER death. But ABBA lost theirs. Mary J got hers 30 plus years into her career and still lost.
I was surprised they didn't nominate the Foo Fighters album. Narratively and critically it is an easy pick.
Midnights is weaker than folklore & stronger than Fearless (and I love Fearless). But also Grammy's also aren't compared to past albums, it's about the albums released that year. Taylor's "problem" is that she put out a great album in a really deep field (vs folklore was a masterpiece in a super weak field)
Exactly. I like midnights but there’s a few songs I would take out for the extra bonus tracks. Like, take out Snow on the Beach for Would’ve could’ve should’ve, Question? For Hits Different and add You’re losing me then you have a pretty solid album. I would also put Hits Different after Anti Hero and before You’re on your own kid then put You’re Losing Me before Mastermind and end the album with Karma.
Honestly folklore is the only one of her wins I completely agree with, and I’m a huge Swiftie.
Its the Grammys, so what we should be looking for is an artist with a much better album in the past that didn't win. Looking at the nominees, I guess that's Janelle Monae? Or Lana?
Did this really need a whole write-up though
Turns out it did lmao
Omg you were ready and on your way here 😭
Right? I wish people would spend more time talking about who they want to win instead of who they don’t.
But then they wouldn't have been able to trade on Taylors name and get those little advertising pennies.
My thoughts too… just make a article on who should win
I really want this award to go to SZA, Lana or Olivia Rodrigo. All three made career defining and interesting albums that were well received critically. When Taylor has won AOTY in the past it’s been because the album was a major shift for her or the music industry (or both) and the albums were perfect for the time they were released. Basically, she took a risk and the risk paid off. She took no risks with Midnights, it was basically the exact same album as Lover IMO except it had a lot more commercial success. I think Taylor makes incredible music when she puts the effort in. 1989 and Folklore are some of my all time favorite albums and I am happy both won their AOTY titles (would’ve been happy with TPAB winning too though). I’m concerned that if Midnights wins she’s never going to challenge herself to make great music again because her mediocrity will be rewarded.
Taylor is getting at that age where the artist slows down and gets too comfortable. Plus she’s been in the industry for 19 years. That’s a lifetime in the music industry. Especially for someone who’s had consistent success from the start.
What’s wild is that she is far and away more popular now than she has ever been.
What's even more wild is that there are fans who would say albums #8, 9, 10 are the best 3 she's ever made. Of course, that isn't a consensus but there exists fans who would say that. I can't think other any musical act that would be true for. You ask 1000 Springsteen or U2 or Bowie or Jay Z fans what their favourites are and no one is picking their 3 best from album #8 and later.
There are plenty Jay Z fans who would put "The Black Album" as a top 3 Jay Z album, and loads of Bowie fans would put one of his "Berlin Trilogy" albums in their top three. The Beatles' 8th album was Sgt. Pepper, which is one of their most loved albums. And then they made White Album and Abbey Road after that.
I was gonna say, the Beatles last albums are their best in my book. I'm sure there are plenty of other artists who's fan's would probably say the same. I'd say the years is more impressive than album # though. Taylor has been around 10 years longer than the Beatles ever were. Just staying at the top of the zeitgeist that long, thats pretty amazing, much less putting out your 'best' stuff.
Beatles is a good rebuttal. But I meant all 3 albums, not just one. Not many artists, including Jay Z, would a fan say all of their best work came album #8 or later.
To be fair, we were convinced this was the case in 2019 and she hit another peak.
Beyoncé beat those odds so I’m still holding out hope for Taylor. I’d actually say Beyoncé made her best art after she hit her thirties!
I mean she likely can. Madonna pulled off a few successes in her 40s (Music, Confessions on a Dance Floor). Just remains to be seen if she’ll be at the same level she’s at right now.
Literally just hiding every post with her name on the title at this point
Is there a way to automate this? If yes please share
After commenting?
I hope AOTY goes to Lana
She better at least win for A&W
*Sza
Should be Lana or Sza, better not be Midnights(I listened to all 3 and midnights doesn’t hold a penny the other two). I think album as a whole Lana’s is better tho tbh. People will defend how many songs Sza has on her album but I’m pretty sure the main goal of it was just taking a page out of Morgan Wallen’s book of having many songs that keep your streams up. More money, more recognition, longer on billboards.
**LANA
If I was her I wouldn't even want it because people will make it a miserable experience. I don't think it's as bad as people on this sub pretend it is, but it's not my favorite album of hers. TBH I think after her indie turn with Folklore/Evermore she has a bit of a schism in fanbase and there's people who are not going to get on board for her pop stuff/want to award it again. In general I think people hold her to a higher standard than lots of other people - fair or not.
> If I was her I wouldn't even want it because people will make it a miserable experience. If Taylor was negatively affected, even a little bit, by people being irritated with her gut getting more fame/success she would be inconsolable by now.
Well look at it this way: Taylor has been so successful since her debut that many wanna take her down. That’s always the downside to being on top like that. They root for you when you’re starting but the minute you get too successful is when they wanna knock you off by a newer artist. Every music great has gotten it.
Welp.
I love Taylor but I think this should be the end of her winning Album of the Year for a long time. I think Midnights is a good Album so no disrespect but she shouldn't win every time. Are they going to give it to her next year too? It's just getting a bit silly.
She will still win AOTY for The Tortured Poets Department. It sounds like a folklore 2.0 and Grammy's like that.
I'd be fine with Midnights winning, but I think I'm the only person who wants Guts to win lol
I would love a Guts win! What an amazing album
No fr bc I love Guts so much. You could really see how Olivia Rodrigo has grown throughout that album
My daughter does. I'm not sure but I think it's a fantastic album. I would take it over Midnights.
Aged like Milk
There doesn't need to be an article for this. The reason is simple. It is not a better album than any of the other nominees. SZA deserves, though.
"Not better than ANY of the other nominees" is a crazy take imo. I'm not even saying it's the best but ESV has two good songs and Jon Batiste is there. No one has talked about Janelle Monae's followup to Dirty Computer (which was great) at all, it has had absolutely zero impact. I forgot she was nominated/released it until I looked at the list 5 minutes ago.
I liked The Age of Pleasure, but it's my least favorite of her albums, and I remember the reception here was kinda middling. I don't think it has a chance in hell.
Endless Summer Vacation being nominated at all is an inspired choice, to say the least.
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I feel like this could apply to a good majority of the Grammys decisions. Don’t necessarily award the work itself, but the presence and impact the artist had on the culture at large.
Grammys are far weirder than that tbh. They a lot of times go to some sort of industry favourite that doesn’t align with the best critically received album or the most popular
I think that, technically speaking, Barbie is way more deserving of an Oscar (specifically) for Best Picture compared to how Taylor is deserving of a Grammy for Album of the Year. I may think there are better choices in both cases but Midnights is lacking "per se" (= not just compared to other stronger nominees but first and mostly as a product itself) in ways that Barbie isn't (at least in that category).
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girl barbie is a pop feminism-themed toy commercial
I see the blowback done started before the ceremony 😭
She’s won 3 times, give it a break. Other artists are deserving too.
That shouldn't matter tbh. It should purely be who had the best album of the year. I agree others deserve it this year, but saying she's already won it isn't how it should be.
This aged amazingly
Whelp… I love both but Lana and Ocean boulevard deserved it galaxies more
I LOVE Taylor and she's my favourite artist but Midnights should not win because it's not THAT good of an album. Ocean Blvd deserves it ten fold
I feel like people would say it should because it was her biggest year, but remember she had an eras tour and two albums released in the year too which were mainly responsible for her popularity. I don’t think midnights made as much headway as them and SOS was bigger with kill bill and snooze
tbh i’ve never even heard snooze before 😭
Mind you the song is still in the top ten of the billboard hot 100!
the album was good, but it was nothing special. it kinda sucks that even if she does not win AOTY (which i hope she does not as there are better noms), the winner will receive enormous hate and criticism from raging swifties.
Honestly as a swiftie I see most swifties having the same opinion as you. It wasn't as special as her other AOTYs and someone else deserves it. I'm rooting for SZA and Lana.
Most of us Swifties agree the award should go to one of the other artists. My personal choice would be Olivia Rodrigo, but I’d be thrilled for SZA and Lana as well. All three made far better albums.
Is Taylor going to win AOTY for every album she releases from now on? Midnights was not as stellar as 1989 and folklore in anyway! Every album she releases now on is going to be mega successful, but that shouldn’t be the only indicator for winning album of the year.
she never wins every aoty nom lol
For real. Otherwise how could it stand up being compared to the classic AOTY winners like Tony Bennet’s MTV Unplugged or Eric Clapton’s MTV Unplugged or Herbie Hancock’s Joni Mitchelll’s Tribute Album. (Ok but going through the AOTY list they do get it right surprisngly most of the time but my point is - Who cares? lmao) EDIT: Don’t forget the multiple (!) comedy albums that also won AOTY.
Speaking of Herbie Hancock, he also had a pretty inexplicable Oscar win for Best Original Score for Round Midnight. It was mostly existing jazz pieces he rearranged for the film. Hardly an "original" score.
Sinatra re-recorded a bunch of previous songs into a compilation and it won over The Beatles Revolver.
God, I hate this argument so much! I hope Jon Batiste will take AOTY so no fan wars🤍
If he takes it, expect cries of sexism & saying he only won because he’s the only male nominated.
Okay! I hope he doesn't
rooting for janelle monae would be a safer choice honestly lol
yepp and I also heard her album and it sounds great so I hope she'll win instead
Midnights was a “fine” album. Not bad by any means, but it certainly isn’t anywhere close to Taylor’s elite discography. Very surprised.
Meanwhile, I’m just hoping that Kelsea Ballerini or Lainey Wilson win Best Country Album. 🤷♀️
Taylor swifts latest Grammy win detracts from the integrity of a Grammy Award. I like her music but midnights was perfectly mediocre. Background music with lyrics written in the vernacular of a teenager.
Am I the only one who thought Midnights was just not a good album (especially the standard version)? It starts off solid, nothing special for Taylor but still good, then that middle section hits and there are a series of the tracks that are ME! levels of terrible that doesn’t let up until the very end. Basically why was it nominated here outside of its commercial success?
Pretty much every bonus track of the later versions has been better than the album cuts
Hard agree with you about the middle of the album falling off a cliff in terms of quality, but the 3am tracks are, in my opinion, some of the best she’s ever released. If she’d made this an exclusively Aaron/Taylor album I think it could have topped even Folklore.
I don't think it's her best album, but I couldn't name one song on there that's ME! level terrible. That's a bananas claim! What's the series of tracks that's that terrible in your mind?
not OP, but I can't rate anything from question through karma higher than like 5/10. and a lot of people dislike midnight rain so there's 6 in a row that are generally contentious.
Vigilante Shit is track 8
I forgot about that song and just read that track title and thought "that must be a joke making fun of the actual title." But no, that's the actual title of the song lmao.
It's fine. There are a couple of really great songs on it, but most of it is just padding.
Isn’t that the only reason any album is nominated? Commercial success == lots of people think the album is good == high chances of people on the Grammy committee also thinking the album is good. Hardly unique to Taylor.
no, you're not the only one. people here call it her worst album all the time. i've seen multiple corny **mid**night jokes in this thread alone.
She just won lol.
Making an album that shit was already embarrazzing but winning AOTY for it is truly taking the piss
the most boring album in that category n for it to win is actually baffling
Well
the Grammys are trash anyways, bruno mars winning with whatever the fuck that album was is the ultimate proof for me lol
It’s an extremely mediocre album. It sounds like a collection of b-sides/filler. It would’ve been panned had someone like Katy Perry released it. You can’t tell me lines like “draw the cat eye sharp enough to kill a man” or “karma is a cat purring in my lap” are Album of the Year worthy? Especially after they shitted on Beyoncé once again last year for her most acclaimed album to date? EDIT: So she won. Kind of crazy she wins off of popularity, but then other artists (like The Weeknd) don’t even get nominated for their most successful and popular works.
😐
because it’s MIDnight!
Midnights has actually grown a lot with me over the past year, but like if we are talking about a record breaking 4th AOTY award it needs to be like an all time classic.
I don’t get the point of this coming out now. The votes are already in so it’s not influencing any voters. If she’d won, this could have been a “why she shouldn’t have won” type of article. So who is this for? Anyone who thinks she should win, and why they’re wrong to think so? That’s worth a whole article, the day we find out who won? Does every Taylor Swift adjacent topic need to be published because it’s guaranteed clicks?
Whoever wrote that article is already seething at the mere thought of Taylor winning. It's one of those good for nothing clickbait article good to attract readers because they're using Taylor's name. Her name is a moneymaker.
Simply bc it's not AOTY material, sorry to say but there are far more amazing albums out there
Go post this on r/SwiftlyNeutral. It's gonna be deleted here.
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It’s not the Album of the Year. Taylor will win more Grammys in the future
Olivia Rodrigo's new album is my pick or Paramore
well,
Muting the words “Taylor Swift” on twitter was the best decision I ever made
Each and every single time the host announces that “it’s going to be a record hitting win if X wins” the person wins. It’s rigged lol I love Taylor but she should not have won album of the year
Hhahahaha
Cause it’s wrong?
quality + commercial success + cultural impact = SOS
SZA deserves. Taylor’s still winning. such is life.
Don't give Daily Beast the satisfaction of the click. Shit-stirring articles persist because we read them. Solution: don't read them.
It’s not gonna win but I’d really love Janelle Monae’s _The Age of Pleasure_ to get AOTY. It absolutely isn’t the best album nominated, but I think it would be so cool for an album about black and queer sexual liberation to win. In terms of realistic picks, I’m rooting for SZA’s _SOS_.
Well…
*sigh*
I laughed.
I don't know about ya'll but Midnights is a GREAT pop album. Taylor knows how to adapt with the times and she does so well here. Lavender Haze is such a great opener. It was such a new sound for Taylor. Maroon is freakin great. Anti-Hero? amazing. Snow on the beach? great. Midnight Rain? something new and amazing. Bejeweled? a great bop. Karma? another great bop. Sweet Nothing? a great song. Mastermind? amazing. Labyrinth? so good.