SZA Leads the 2024 Grammy Nominations as Women Outpace Men in Leading Categories

SZA is the lead contender for the 66th Grammy Awards, with nine nominations announced Friday.

“Kill Bill,” her revenge anthem cloaked in an R&B ballad, earned her nods for record of the year, song of the year, and best R&B performance. “SOS” is also up for album of the year and best progressive R&B album. The 2024 ceremony will mark the second time SZA has been nominated for record, album, and song of the year in the same year.

And just like at the box office, “Barbie” will be seen — and heard — at the Grammys. Music from the hit film’s soundtrack earned 11 nominations, including nabbing four of the five slots in the visual media song category.

If there is an overall trend in the 2024 nominations, it’s that female acts outperformed their male counterparts. The majority of leading nominees are women and include superstars like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Miley Cyrus and Olivia Rodrigo. In both the record and album of the year categories, the only man represented is Jon Batiste.

“Seeing the women nominees this year, and the number of them, was not a surprise but it was something that made me happy,” the Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason jr. told The Associated Press.

He believes that representation allows the next group of creators to look at the nominees and say: “Maybe somebody will love what I do one day, or maybe I have an opportunity to express myself or voice my thoughts like that person.”

SZA, of course, leads the charge, also picking up nominations for best traditional R&B performance (“Love Language”), best R&B song (“Snooze”), best melodic rap performance (“Low”), and best pop duo/group performance (“Ghost in the Machine”). The last features Phoebe Bridgers, who — alongside Victoria Monét, the only leading nominee also up for best new artist — boasts the second-most nominations with seven.

Six of Bridgers’ nods are with her band boygenius, nominated for the first time for record of the year, album of the year, best rock performance, best rock song, best alternative music performance, and best alternative music album.

Also earning six nominations: Swift, Rodrigo, Cyrus, Eilish, Brandy Clark, Batiste and producer Jack Antonoff.

Only recordings released between Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 15, 2023 were eligible.

In addition to Monét, the best new artist category is rounded out by Gracie Abrams, Fred again.., Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan and The War and Treaty.

For album of the year, it's again Batiste, boygenius, Cyrus, Rodrigo, Swift, and SZA, but with the addition of Lana Del Rey’s “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd” and Janelle Monáe’s “The Age of Pleasure.”

The song of the year category features Del Rey’s “A&W,” Swift’s “Anti-Hero,” Batiste’s “Butterfly,” Cyrus’ “Flowers,” SZA’s “Kill Bill,” Rodrigo’s “vampire,” and two tracks from the “Barbie” soundtrack: Dua Lipa’s “Dance The Night” and Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?”

While “I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie” did get a nomination, it’s in a songwriting category — so actor Ryan Gosling is not up for a Grammy.

What else is missing? Some fans may notice a dearth of Latin and country musicians in the main categories.

“We need to do more work with our country voters and continue to invite more country voters to the process,” says Mason jr. “Another thing that surprised me was, as big of a year that Latin had this year, (that) we didn’t have more Latin representation in some of the general fields.”

“We want to make sure that our membership is representative of the music that’s being created and concerned,” he added. “So, these nominations always inform us on what we’re going to do over the next few years. And these nominations in particular have told us we need to continue to reach out and communicate with the voting groups within country and Latin.”

There are three new categories at the 2024 Grammys: best pop dance recording, best African music performance and best alternative jazz album. Four of the five acts in the best African music performance category are nominated for the first time: ASAKE & Olamide for “Amapiano,” Davido featuring Musa Keys for “UNAVAILABLE,” Ayra Starr for “Rush,” and Tyla for “Water.” The fifth is the already Grammy-winning Burna Boy for “City Boys.”

The 2024 Grammy Awards will air Feb. 4 live on CBS and Paramount+ from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

When wildfires destroyed parts of Los Angeles this week, real estate agent Jenna Cooper started asking friends for clothing and other items to help people in need.

Her request spread quickly through a network of powerful women. Actors including Sharon Stone and Halle Berry responded, providing sweaters, shoes, clothing, handbags, belts, pajamas and more pulled from their own collections.

"I'm packing up my entire closet," Berry wrote on Instagram. "If you live in the Southern California area, I urge you to do the same. This is something we can do right now."

Cooper, who also runs a home goods store called +COOP, cleared half the space to create a pop-up shopping experience for displaced people to take what they need. Many Angelenos lost entire homes in the fires, which were still burning on Friday.

Stone circulated information about the donations on social media, which helped attract publicity. She and her sister, Kelly Stone, contributed clothing, bedding and more, and Kelly volunteered to assist shoppers.

"The first thing they need when they come in the store is a hug," Kelly Stone said. She then said to shoppers, "Show me pictures of yourself, how do you dress?" so she could direct them to sweaters or trench coats that reflected their style.

At the store on Friday, a therapy dog named Jackie Robinson greeted people at the door. Inside, they looked through racks of dresses and coats, stacks of denim, shelves of shoes and baskets of handbags.

Offerings ranged from packages of fresh underwear from Target to new or lightly used Zara dresses and some Gucci and Ferragamo shoes in the mix.

Cooper said she received donations and volunteer support from power players across Los Angeles, including actors, executives, lawyers, restaurant owners and moms. Her network of real estate agents in New York was sending gift cards, she said.

One Hollywood stylist came with two large bags of items from her closet and was enlisted to help organize the store for shoppers over the weekend.

"I know people who have lost everything, and even people I don't know I'm devastated for," said Lisa Cera, who has worked for celebrities including the Kardashians and Lenny Kravitz. "I decided I'm just going to bring whatever I can."

Ellen Bennett was choosing items for her 72-year-old mother, who lost her home in the Eaton fire on the east side of Los Angeles. Bennett said she selected "the basics," including socks, sweaters, pants, a jacket and a pair of running shoes.

"She left her house with her dog and a bag and just a few things. She thought she would come back," Bennett said of her mother, adding, "It's so special and beautiful that in this time of tragedy, people are rising up and helping each other."

Store owner Cooper said she helped a man find a pair of sneakers so he could run on the beach, something he had not done since the fires erupted. She said she was overwhelmed by the response to her idea to help.

"This is a city of love, and everybody wants to support each other," Cooper said.

SZA Leads the 2024 Grammy Nominations as Women Outpace Men in Leading Categories