SZA stands out, Taylor Swift poised to make history: See the 2024 Grammy nominations list

If this year’s class of top Grammy nominees proves anything, it’s that persistence pays off and girl power still exists.

While plenty of familiar names abound, including Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Miley Cyrus and Olivia Rodrigo – who all fared respectably with six nominations each – the biggest catch went to SZA with a leading nine nominations for the 2024 Grammy Awards, to be held on Feb. 4 in Los Angeles.

Of her 24 career nominations, the alt-R&B/soul songstress born Solána Rowe has won only once and has never been nominated as a solo artist in the major categories of record and song of the year, as she is for “Kill Bill”, nor album of the year, as she is for “SOS”.

Following SZA’s impressive haul of nods are Phoebe Bridgers, Victoria Monét and audio engineer Serban Ghenea with seven each and Jack Antonoff, Jon Batiste, boygenius, Brandy Clark, Cyrus, Eilish, Rodrigo and Swift with six apiece.

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Bridgers, who is part of the indie folk rock trio boygenius with Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, has been nominated four times before this year. Six of her seven nominations for the 2024 ceremony are with boygenius, including record of the year (“Not Strong Enough”) and album of the year (“The Record”).

Recording Academy President Harvey Mason jr. believes this crop of nominees showcases “the aspirational nature of what we do. They really set the stage for the next group of people who come up because they’re going to see themselves in the nominations. The Grammy voters have done what we’ve asked them to do – listen intently to the music and evaluate it and in the mind of 12,000 voters, there is a tendency to hear the evolution of art.”

This is also a notable year for relative veteran Cyrus, who, despite her significant popularity and consistent chart presence since 2007, only snagged two career nominations leading into this year’s list. Her “Endless Summer Vacation” marks her initial arrival in the album of the year category, while “Flowers” drops her in the record and song of the year races for the first time.

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The frequently lauded Swift – 52 career nominations and 12 wins – can potentially add even more achievements to her resume.

Her album of the year nod for “Midnights” ties her with Barbra Streisand for the most nominations by a female artist in the category (each has six). If Swift wins the prestigious album of the year, she will be the first to earn the honor four times. She’s tied with Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder with three victories.

“I think Taylor has a 1 in 8 chance of winning that category,” Mason says with a laugh referencing the total number of nominees. “But seriously, she has a really good shot. She’s had an incredible year with a massive record and she’s profoundly talented. But it’s a tough category – there are some great records in there.”

Among the 94 Grammy categories are three newcomers: best African music performance, best alternative jazz album and best pop dance recording.

The “big four” categories – song, record and album of the year, plus best new artist – have also been pared down from 10 nominees in each to eight.

“I want us to honor as much music as possible and respect as many creators as possible and the move to 10 (in 2021) was an opportunity to do that,” Mason says. “But we listen and learn and evaluate and the music community felt 10 was too many and maybe there was some dilution with that many nominees. We’ll see how eight goes because, you know, there’s a lot of talent that are nine, 10, 11 and 12 too.”

The eligibility period for the 66^th annual Grammy Awards ran from Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 15, 2023. The ceremony will air live from the Crypto.com Arena on CBS and stream live and on demand on Paramount+ (8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST).

Grammy 2024 nominations in key categories (see the full list here):

Record of the year

“Worship” Jon Batiste

“Not Strong Enough” boygenius

“Flowers” Miley Cyrus

“What Was I Made For?" (From The Motion Picture "Barbie") Billie Eilish

“On My Mama” Victoria Monét

“Vampire” Olivia Rodrigo

“Anti-Hero” Taylor Swift

“Kill Bill” SZA

Album of the year

“World Music Radio” Jon Batiste

“the record” boygenius

“Endless Summer Vacation” Miley Cyrus

“Did You Know That There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” Lana Del Rey

“The Age Of Pleasure” Janelle Monáe

“GUTS” Olivia Rodrigo

“SOS” SZA

“Midnights” Taylor Swift

Song of the year (goes to songwriter)

“A&W” Jack Antonoff, Lana Del Rey & Sam Dew, songwriters performed by Lana Del Rey

“Anti-Hero” Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift, songwriters performed by Taylor Swift

“Butterfly” Jon Batiste & Dan Wilson, songwriters performed by Jon Batiste

“Dance The Night" (From Barbie The Album) Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters performed by Dua Lipa

“Flowers” Miley Cyrus, Gregory Aldae Hein & Michael Pollack, songwriters performed by Miley Cyrus

“Kill Bill” Rob Bisel, Carter Lang & Solána Rowe, songwriters performed by SZA

“Vampire” Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters performed by Olivia Rodrigo

“What Was I Made For?" (From The Motion Picture "Barbie") Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell, songwriters performed by Billie Eilish

Best new artist

Ice Spice

Gracie Abrams

Fred again

Jelly Roll

Coco Jones

Noah Kahan

Victoria Monét

The War And Treaty

Best pop solo performance

“Flowers” Miley Cyrus

“Paint The Town Red” Doja Cat

“What Was I Made For?" (From The Motion Picture "Barbie") Billie Eilish

“Vampire” Olivia Rodrigo

“Anti-Hero” Taylor Swift

Best pop duo/group performance

“Thousand Miles” Miley Cyrus Featuring Brandi Carlile

“Candy Necklace” Lana Del Rey Featuring Jon Batiste

“Never Felt So Alone” Labrinth Featuring Billie Eilish

“Karma” Taylor Swift Featuring Ice Spice

“Ghost In The Machine” SZA Featuring Phoebe Bridgers

Best pop vocal album

“Chemistry” Kelly Clarkson

“Endless Summer Vacation” Miley Cyrus

“GUTS” Olivia Rodrigo

“(Subtract)” Ed Sheeran

“Midnights” Taylor Swift

Best music video

“I'm Only Sleeping” The Beatles

“In Your Love” Tyler Childers

“What Was I Made For” Billie Eilish

“Count Me Out” Kendrick Lamar

“Rush” Troye Sivan

Best rap performance

“The Hillbillies” Baby Keem Featuring Kendrick Lamar

“Love Letter” Black Thought

“Rich Flex” Drake & 21 Savage

“SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS” Killer Mike Featuring André 3000, Future And Eryn Allen Kane

“Players” Coi Leray

Best rap album

"Her Loss” Drake & 21 Savage

“MICHAEL” Killer Mike

“HEROES & VILLIANS” Metro Boomin

“King's Disease III” Nas

“UTOPIA” Travis Scott

Best rap song

“Attention” Rogét Chahayed, Amala Zandile Dlamini & Ari Starace, songwriters performed by Doja Cat

“Barbie World" (From "Barbie The Album") Isis Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr. & Onika Maraj, songwriters performed by Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice Featuring Aqua

“Just Wanna Rock” Mohamad Camara, Symere Woods & Javier Mercado, songwriters performed by Lil Uzi Vert

“Rich Flex” Brytavious Chambers, Isaac "Zac" De Boni, Aubrey Graham, J. Gwin, Anderson Hernandez, Michael "Finatik" Mule & Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, songwriters performed by Drake & 21 Savage

“SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS” Andre Benjamin, Paul Beauregard, James Blake, Michael Render, Tim Moore & Dion Wilson, songwriters performed by Killer Mike Featuring André 3000, Future And Eryn Allen Kane

Best R&B album

“Girls Night Out” Babyface

“What I Didn't Tell You (Deluxe)” Coco Jones

“Special Occasion” Emily King

“JAGUAR II” Victoria Monét

“CLEAR 2: SOFT LIFE EP” Summer Walker

Best R&B performance

“Summer Too Hot” Chris Brown

“Back To Love” Robert Glasper Featuring SiR & Alex Isley

“ICU” Coco Jones

“How Does It Make You Feel” Victoria Monét

“Kill Bill” SZA

Best R&B song

“Angel” Halle Bailey, Theron Feemster & Coleridge Tillman, songwriters performed by Halle

“Back To Love” Darryl Andrew Farris, Robert Glasper & Alexandra Isley, songwriters performed by Robert Glasper Featuring SiR & Alex Isley

“ICU” Darhyl Camper Jr., Courtney Jones, Raymond Komba & Roy Keisha Rockette, songwriters performed by Coco Jones

“On My Mama” Dernst Emile II, Jeff Gitelman, Victoria Monét, Kyla Moscovich, Jamil Pierre & Charles Williams, songwriters performed by Victoria Monét

“Snooze” Kenny B. Edmonds, Blair Ferguson, Khris Riddick-Tynes, Solána Rowe & Leon Thomas, songwriters performed by SZA

Best country solo performance

“In Your Love” Tyler Childers

“Buried” Brandy Clark

“Fast Car” Luke Combs

“The Last Thing On My Mind” Dolly Parton

“White Horse” Chris Stapleton

Best country duo/group performance

“High Note” Dierks Bentley Featuring Billy Strings

“Nobody's Nobody” Brothers Osborne

“I Remember Everything” Zach Bryan Featuring Kacey Musgraves

“Kissing Your Picture (Is So Cold)" Vince Gill & Paul Franklin

“Save Me” Jelly Roll With Lainey Wilson

“We Don't Fight Anymore” Carly Pearce Featuring Chris Stapleton

Best country song

“Buried” Brandy Clark & Jessie Jo Dillon, songwriters performed by Brandy Clark

“I Remember Everything” Zach Bryan & Kacey Musgraves, songwriters performed by Zach Bryan Featuring Kacey Musgraves

“In Your Love” Tyler Childers & Geno Seale, songwriters performed by Tyler Childers

“Last Night” John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin & Ryan Vojtesak, songwriters performed by Morgan Wallen

“White Horse” Chris Stapleton & Dan Wilson, songwriters performed by Chris Stapleton)

Best country album

“Rolling Up The Welcome Mat” Kelsea Ballerini

“Brothers Osborne” Brothers Osborne

“Zach Bryan” Zach Bryan

“Rustin' In The Rain” Tyler Childers

“Bell Bottom Country” Lainey Wilson

Best Latin pop album

“La Cuarta Hoja” Pablo Alborán

“Beautiful Humans, Vol. 1” AleMor

“A Ciegas” Paula Arenas

“La Neta” Pedro Capó

“Don Juan” Maluma

“X Mí (Vol. 1)” Gaby Moreno

Best música urbana album

“SATURNO” Rauw Alejandro

“MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO” Karol G

“DATA” Tainy

*This category received fewer than 40 entries, so only three nominations are presented

Best rock album

“But Here We Are” Foo Fighters

“Starcatcher” Greta Van Fleet

“72 Seasons” Metallica

“This Is Why” Paramore

“In Times New Roman...” Queens Of The Stone Age

Best rock performance

“Sculptures Of Anything Goes” Arctic Monkeys

“More Than A Love Song” Black Pumas

“Not Strong Enough” boygenius

“Rescued” Foo Fighters

“Lux Æterna” Metallica

Best rock song

“Angry” Mick Jagger, Keith Richards & Andrew Watt, songwriters performed by The Rolling Stones

“Ballad Of A Homeschooled Girl” Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters performed by Olivia Rodrigo

“Emotion Sickness” Dean Fertita, Joshua Homme, Michael Shuman, Jon Theodore & Troy Van Leeuwen, songwriters performed by Queens Of The Stone Age

“Not Strong Enough” Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers & Lucy Dacus, songwriters performed by boygenius

“Rescued” Dave Grohl, Rami Jaffee, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett & Pat Smear, songwriters performed by Foo Fighters

Best global music album

“Epifanías” Susana Baca

“History” Bokanté

“I Told Them...” Burna Boy

“Timeless” Davido

“This Moment” Shakti

Best song written for visual media

“Barbie World” (From "Barbie The Album") Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr. & Onika Maraj, songwriters performed by Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice Featuring Aqua

“Dance The Night” (From "Barbie The Album") Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters performed by Dua Lipa

“I'm Just Ken” (From "Barbie The Album") Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters performed by Ryan Gosling

“Lift Me Up” (From “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Music From And Inspired By”) Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Robyn Fenty & Temilade Openiyi, songwriters performed by Rihanna

“What Was I Made For?“ (From "Barbie The Album") Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell, songwriters performed by Billie Eilish

Best comedy album

“I Wish You Would” Trevor Noah

“I'm An Entertainer” Wanda Sykes

“Selective Outrage” Chris Rock

“Someone You Love” Sarah Silverman

“What's In A Name?” Dave Chappelle

Best musical theater album

“Kimberly Akimbo”

“Parade”

“Shucked”

“Some Like It Hot”

“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street”

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Grammy nominations full list: SZA, Taylor Swift lead 2024's nominees