Grammy Rules That’ll Make You Question Everything You Know

Strike up the band because it’s almost time for the 2025 Grammys.

The 67th annual awards event, which is being hosted by Trevor Noah, will air live on both CBS and Paramount+ from 8 p.m. EST on February 2nd.

In my expert opinion, music enthusiasts are eagerly anticipating a stellar lineup of nominees this year. Among them, I’m thrilled to highlight the phenomenal Beyoncé, who has an impressive 11 nods for her album “Cowboy Carter.” Joining her in the limelight are Charli XCX, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, and Billie Eilish – each of them garnering seven nominations. If you’re curious about who else made it to the list, let me assure you there’s no need for any more pleading: Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, and Chappell Roan are all in the running with six nominations each (for a complete rundown, check out the link provided).

Have you ever pondered over the specifics of how artists end up being nominated for a Grammy? Let us walk you through it in just under two weeks’ time.

During the specified timeframe (Sept. 16, 2023 – Aug. 30, 2024), artists and record labels can submit their works for Grammy consideration. These submissions are then scrutinized by specialists within the respective genres to make sure they conform to the category requirements. Once this process is complete, the initial round of voting ensues.

On this site, you’re asked to vote within your area of knowledge. You can cast votes in a maximum of 10 categories spread across up to three genre divisions and also the six general field categories: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, Producer of the Year, Non-Classical and Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical.

After being tallied by an independent auditing company, the results are revealed as the Grammy nominations. In the final round, Academy members can choose a winner for up to 10 categories spanning up to three genre categories. Additionally, they have the opportunity to select a winner in the four general categories: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist.

The site advises that for maintaining the integrity of the voting process, members should cast their votes solely in categories where they share similar status or expertise with the nominees.

Every year, I eagerly await the moment when the independent firm tallies up the votes and announces the winners during the broadcast. It’s a thrilling experience, especially since there’s a slightly different process for Craft categories like Best Music Video, Best Historical Album, and Best Album Notes. These nominations are determined by dedicated committees instead of just the general vote.

However, it’s not as simple as it seems, as there are some surprising rules to keep in mind. For instance, did you know that a tie is possible or that an album can be nominated in one genre category while some of its songs can be nominated in another?

As we gear up for the 67th Grammy Awards at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, where the Academy will be raising funds for wildfire relief and honoring first responders following the recent L.A. fires, make sure to read on to discover more fascinating Grammy rules that might just catch you off guard!

As a die-hard fan, it’s not always a perfect symphony when it comes to categorizing artists and their work by The Recording Academy and myself. I might have my heart set on one specific award, but the rules clearly state that they have the authority to place any selection into the category they deem suitable.

Justin Bieber, in a November 2020 post, expressed his bafflement when his album “Changes” was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album rather than Best R&B Album at the 2021 Grammys. He wrote, “To the Grammys, I am deeply honored to be recognized and valued for my artistic endeavors. I take great care in creating my music. With that said, I aimed to produce an R&B album with ‘Changes.’ It is perplexing to me that it’s not being classified as an R&B album.

Despite some criticism, the Academy remains firm with its decision, valuing the artist’s intentions and striving for fair evaluation of excellence in music. In regards to Justin Bieber, the CEO expressed that if he felt his song belonged in a specific category, then their aim is to respect that intention. They put great effort into ensuring artists’ work is respected and categorized appropriately.

For an album to be eligible for nomination in a specific genre category, it should have over half of its playing time dedicated to that particular music type, as per the Academy’s guidelines. However, an album can belong to one genre field, while individual tracks from the album might be contenders in different genre fields.

For example, Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” was nominated for Best Country Album, but her track “Bodyguard” is up for Best Pop Solo Performance and her collaboration with Post Malone on “Levii’s Jeans” is a nominee for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Similarly, her song “Spaghettii” featuring Shaboozey and Linda Martell is a contender for Best Melodic R&B Performance, while “Ya Ya” is nominated for Best Americana Performance.

However, it’s important to note that a single song cannot be nominated in multiple genre categories.

Curious about how often an artist can be nominated in specific categories? That depends on the rules set by each organization. For example, according to the Academy, artists can only receive one nomination for Best New Artist but there’s no limit for Song of the Year.

Interestingly, Brandi Carlile made history in 2022 when she became the first woman to be nominated twice in the Song of the Year category with her tracks “Right on Time” and “A Beautiful Noise,” both featuring Alicia Keys.

Regarding Album of the Year, an artist can only receive one nomination per year, unless they are nominated with a co-nominee for their second nomination, or if they have two different co-nominees for their Album of the Year nominations in the same year.

For future Grammy Awards years, the academy retains the flexibility to adjust the total number of categories from the current 94, as they can remove any category if there are not enough eligible entries. If a category is removed, the affected entries may be reclassified into one or more other categories at the academy’s discretion.

The eligibility period for the 2025 Grammys was from Sept. 16, 2023 to Aug. 30, 2024.

According to the Academy’s guidelines, only fresh recordings issued during the eligible timeframe can be submitted for the GRAMMY Awards. These recordings should be commercially available, broadly distributed across the country, and accessible from any point within the eligibility period right up until the deadline for this year’s Final Round voting. A “new recording” is referred to as material that has been recently captured (within five years of its release date) and hasn’t been previously made public.

In certain instances, multiple individuals or groups can receive awards within a specific category. For example, Jazmine Sullivan, Bruno Mars, and Anderson .Paak’s duo Silk Sonic were both winners in the Best R&B Performance category at the 2022 Grammys. Interestingly, Anderson .Paak also shared the win for Best Rap Performance with Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future, and James Blake at the 2019 awards ceremony.

In terms of choosing the winner of the trophy, the rules indicate that the process doesn’t provide a clear, hierarchical outcome where there’s a first, second, and subsequent placers.

If a Grammy is taken back after it has been handed out, the rules specify that “no award will be given in that category for that year.” While this doesn’t happen often, in 1991, Sinéad O’Connor refused to attend the Grammys where her album “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” won Best Alternative Music Performance.

In a letter to the Academy, Sinéad criticized the “deceptive and damaging materialistic values” of the music industry as reported by the Los Angeles Times. However, she emphasized that her criticism wasn’t aimed at the Grammys specifically but rather at the music industry and artists in general for not focusing more on important issues and not doing enough to help others.

It’s not uncommon for people to have different opinions about who deserves a Grammy. In some cases, there might even be questions raised about who truly deserves the Grammy award.

According to the rulebook, it’s the GRAMMY Awards Department of the Recording Academy that determines who receives a GRAMMY Award. If there’s any dispute about this decision, it must be submitted in writing to the Recording Academy’s Executive Committee. The Executive Committee has the ability to examine, discuss, and make a decision on the challenge, and their decision will carry the same weight as the Board of Trustees for this specific purpose. Once the challenger receives the decision in writing, it becomes final.

It’s worth noting that the number of band members can influence how many awards a group receives following a win, as per The Recording Academy’s rulebook. Specifically, groups with nine or fewer members each receive an individual award, while larger groups receive one trophy for the entire ensemble. For example, all four members of U2—Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr.—each received a trophy for their 22 wins, making them the most-awarded rock act in history, with U2 itself being recognized as the winner.

2025-02-02 15:18

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