Beyoncé and Adele are the artists to beat at the Grammy Awards in 2023, and they will compete for all of the main prizes.
Both artists were nominated for album of the year: Adele for her opulent fourth album 30, and Beyoncé for her dancefloor opus Renaissance.
Easy On Me by Adele and Break My Soul by Beyoncé are both nominated for song and record of the year, respectively.
In addition to Swedish pop titans Abba, British musicians Harry Styles and Coldplay are also in the running for best album.
The group won their first nomination for album of the year for last year’s Voyage, which marked their return from a 39-year hiatus.
Beyoncé tops the race with nine nominations, including nods in the dance and R&B categories, as announced on Tuesday.
She is now tied with her husband Jay-Z as the artist with the most Grammy nominations in history, with 88, surpassing Sir Paul McCartney and Quincy Jones.
However, the artist has not won in any of the three major categories (album, record, and song of the year) since 2010’s Single Ladies, which was chosen song of the year.
But if she wins four or more Grammys in February 2019, she will surpass Sir George Solti’s record of 31 Grammys.
Kendrick Lamar is the second most nominated artist this year, with eight nominations for his fourth album Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, and the freestyle The Heart Part 5. Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers is a thoughtful reflection on the state of the world and his moral faults.
Adele and country superstar Brandi Carli share third place with seven nominations apiece.
Taylor Swift’s epic re-recording of 2012’s All Too Well has gotten several nominations, but her most recent album, Midnights, was released too late to be considered for the 2023 field.
Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican rapper, and singer have made history by receiving the first-ever nomination for album of the year for a Spanish-language record.
This summer, his album Un Verano Sin Ti (A Summer Without You) spent 13 weeks at the top of the US Billboard charts.
This year has been exceptional for British artists. In addition to Adele, Harry Styles is nominated for album of the year (Harry’s House) and single and song of the year for Harry’s House (As It Was).
Ozzy Osbourne’s solo album Patient Number 9 receives multiple nods in the rock categories, while the Isle of Wight duet Wet Leg is nominated for a best new act.
albums restricted
Drake and The Weeknd, whose most recent albums would have been considered frontrunners in the major categories, pulled them from consideration. Both musicians have long contended, with some justification, that genre-based Grammy categories marginalize black performers.
The albums of Bruno Mars and Anderson. Paak, whose side project is Silk Sonic, was not submitted. After winning song and record of the year for Leave The Door Open at this year’s ceremony, Mars stated that it “would be insane to ask for anything more” instead of criticizing the voters.
Nicki Minaj objected last month that her popular single Super Freaky Girl was switched from the rap category to the pop category during the shortlisting process. In the end, it was not nominated for any awards.
Other snubs were Elton John, whose hit collaboration with Dua Lipa, Cold Heart, was anticipated to receive a nomination for best pop duo/group performance, and Ed Sheeran, whose fifth studio album was completely overlooked.
However, the Grammys can seem oddly wary of widespread success. At this year’s gala, for instance, Jon Batiste won album of the year for the soulful We Are, knocking out top-selling albums by Olivia Rodriguez and Lil Nas X.
His success bolstered the notion that Grammy voters care more about history and artistic ability than innovation and commercial performance, something that many previous nominees have criticized.
According to the Recording Academy, 44% of the nearly 2,000 new members who have joined the voting organization this year are “from traditionally underrepresented communities.” “And over half of them are under the age of 40,” stated the CEO, Harvey Mason Jr.
Olivia Rodriguez, Cyndi Lauper, and John Legend, among others, announced the nominees via a Livestream broadcast from the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.
Here is an overview of the key categories and potential winners during the ceremony on February 5, 2023.
Recording of the year
Abba – Voyage
Adele – 30
Bad Bunny – Un Verano Sin Ti
Beyoncé – Renaissance
Good Morning Beautiful by Mary J Blige
In These Quiet Days by Brandi Carlile.
Lizzo – Special
The Music of the Spheres by Coldplay
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is a track by Kendrick Lamar.
Harry’s House by Harry Styles
In 2017, Adele’s 25 controversially defeated Beyoncé’s Lemonade in the contest for the greatest album. This year, it’s a rematch.
On stage, Adele stated, “I can’t take this award. I’m flattered, appreciative, and courteous, but my life is Beyoncé.” Ultimately, she kept the trophy, but when it arrived in the mail, it was split in half. That is a symbol.
So, who will win this time around? Beyoncé’s Renaissance is the superior album; it is a daring explosion of dancefloor catharsis that honors the black and gay roots of house music. But Grammy voters frequently opt for “traditional” songwriting over innovation.
Since the 2017 upset, the academy’s membership has been changed, perhaps shifting the scales in Beyoncé’s favor. But Adele has won all thirteen Grammys for which she has been nominated since 2012.
Album of the year
Gayle – ABCDEFU
Lizzo – About Damn Time
Swift, Taylor – All Too Well (10-Minute Version)
As It Was (Harry Styles)
Steve Lacy – Addiction
Break My Soul (Beyoncé)
Simple On Me by Adele
DJ Khaled – God Did
Part 5 of Kendrick Lamar’s The Heart
Bonnie Raitt – Just Like That
This is Taylor Swift’s sixth nomination for song of the year, tying her with Sir Paul McCartney and Lionel Richie for the most nominations in this category. All To Well is a breakup song that initially debuted on her 2012 album Red, but was re-recorded with additional lyrics (and additional juicy facts) last year.
However, Swift has never won best song, and this year’s competition is particularly fierce.
The projected leader is Adele’s Easy On Me, a massive, stormy ballad that sold more copies in the United States than her previous song of the year winner, Hello, and spent 10 weeks at number one.
However, Harry Styles can surpass that. This year, As It Was, a pop song whose agile rhythm conceals lyrics about loneliness and mistrust, dominated the US charts for 15 weeks.
