The Nominees
André 3000 – New Blue Sun
Beyoncé – Cowboy Carter
Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
Charli XCX – Brat
Jacob Collier – Djesse Vol. 4
Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft
Chappell Roan – The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department
The Lowdown
This has been a strong year for albums as albums, and not just as collections of songs designed to support a single or two: Both Beyoncé and Swift lived up to that ideal. They’re hardly the only ones, though. Few artists epitomize that like Chappell Roan, whose debut full-length The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess has been a bottomless gold mine of vibrant, deeply felt pop. “‘Good Luck, Babe!’ was the song that finally propelled her,” says Spotify’s Talia Kraines, Senior Editor of Pop, “but it’s been truly fascinating to watch everybody really dig into her catalog — nearly the entire album is in the Spotify Top 200.”
Elsewhere, Billie Eilish’s sharply drawn, yet tenderly felt Hit Me Hard and Soft, says Kraines, “was really her being a twentysomething instead of a teenager — it was incredibly relatable despite her being one of the most famous people in the world.” Charli XCX’s Brat introduced her as a solo artist to a whole new audience while staying true to her future-pop ideals. “We’ve always known she had it in her,” says Kraines. But don’t overlook the unbridled artistry of André 3000’s flute adventure New Blue Sun, just the kind of eclectic release Grammy voters often like to reward.
Who Should Win
Beyoncé – Cowboy Carter
Beyoncé is the winningest artist in Grammy Awards history — but somehow has never won Album of the Year. Cowboy Carter could fix that: It’s an important history lesson about Black contributions to American music, as well as an introduction to the next generation of Black country music. “Uplifting other Black female country artists, and creating important conversations that needed to happen, is so important,” says Kraines. That the album is stuffed with indelible tracks like the slick “Bodyguard” and the sweetly supportive Miley Cyrus duet “II Most Wanted” makes it a contender, too. “The two things stand side by side: the cultural piece and the excellent album,” she says.
Who Will Win
Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department
Can anyone stop Swift’s momentum, especially since she announced The Tortured Poets Department at the 2024 Grammy Awards? “Obviously, the impact of the Eras Tour is hard to ignore, and obviously The Tortured Poets Department has been huge,” Kraines says. “Her whole catalog still continues to stream like crazy, and when she added the new album’s section [to her show], that gave it another boost.” TTPD being produced by Jack Antonoff, who’s currently on a three-year winning streak for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, should help Swift’s case — as well as the hysteria she created on her Eras Tour, which wrapped in December.
