Country, Rock Prove to Be Biggest 2024 Grammy Snubs ... Again

by Tyler Glover & Julian Spivey

Photos: Fantasy Records, Warner Records, RCA Records & Dirty Hit

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No Country Music in General Field
 
Once again this year the Grammy Awards have been incredibly cruel to the genre of country music by snubbing it completely from the general field categories of Record, Song and Album of the Year. If you look at the country genre categories you’ll see that the Grammys are completely aware that there was some great country music made during the eligibility period with stuff from Brandy Clark, Chris Stapleton, Zach Bryan, Brothers Osborne and others appearing in the genre-specific categories but apparently the nomination committee body as a whole doesn’t view any of that as worthy of the general category field, which has mostly turned into a category for pop music. It’s gotten to where I truly believe the Grammys should mandate at least one country, rock and hip-hop nominee in the general field categories to at least attempt to even the disjointed and unfair playing field. JS

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"About You" by The 1975 for Song of the Year

"About You" is a song that was on my list of hopes to be nominated for Song of the Year. The haunting and gothic feel of this song truly stays with you. The 1975 sing about how they cannot seem to get their ex off of their mind. They feel like if questioned about it, they would truly ask, "Do you think that I've forgotten about you?" Love truly can be so strong sometimes that even when it ends, it doesn't. The proximity and the way that we show that love for each other may go away but it doesn't. It becomes love that you cannot do something with except think about how it cannot exist the way you want it to. I am normally not into rockish-pop songs but this one truly hits a nerve ... I just wish that the Grammys would have appreciated it the way that I do. TG

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Tanya Tucker 

In 2020, Tanya Tucker finally won a Grammy at the age of 61. Tucker had been nominated for Grammys over the years but had never been able to turn one of those into a win until then. Tucker won two Grammys: Best Country Album for While I'm Livin and Best Country Song for "Bring My Flowers Now." This album and song were easily some of the best country music released in recent years so when Tucker released her latest album, Sweet Western Sound, I expected the Grammys to continue to shower Tucker with love. This was especially due to the amazing song, "Ready As I'll Never Be," which really does continue some of the themes of her Grammy-winning song, "Bring My Flowers Now." I guess the Recording Academy thought it might have resembled the other work too much maybe. TG

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Foo Fighters in General Field 

At least the Grammys didn’t completely snub rock music in the general field categories this year with boygenius receiving an Album of the Year nod for The Record and a Record of the Year nom for “Not Strong Enough,” but the Foo Fighters took a lot of pain and tragedy with the death of longtime bandmate and drummer Taylor Hawkins and the death of frontman Dave Grohl’s beloved mother Virginia and turned it into truly one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band’s greatest albums in But Here We Are. The band did receive love in the rock genre specific categories but has been known to break into the general field categories in the past making this year’s snub seem all the worse. JS

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"Dear Insecurity" by Brandy Clark & Brandi Carlile for Song of the Year 

“Dear Insecurity,” the collaboration between Brandy Clark and Brandi Carlile on Clark’s self-titled album, being nominated for Song of the Year was one of my hopes for that category. When I first heard this song, there was not a single lyric that did not feel like it applied to me. Every line delivered so beautifully by Clark and Carlile just hits you in your soul. You feel sadness for what you have felt, you feel happiness that you aren't alone and you feel like you can find the strength to deal with it all through this song. This song truly is like a therapy session for the soul. I am surprised the Academy overlooked this song for Song of the Year, especially considering that they have really been recognizing Carlile in recent years for her amazing vocals and songwriting talent. Knowing this is a song that truly will affect so many people makes it hard to believe that it could not touch the hearts of Grammy voters as it did mine. TG

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Jason Isbell in General Field

So, Jason Isbell not being nominated in the general field categories of Song and Record of the Year this year isn’t all that surprising. I felt he had better stuff on his Weathervanes album to submit in those categories than “When We Were Close” and “Save the World” respectively, but the fact that he’s never been able to break through into those categories like some of his Americana brethren in Brandi Carlile and Sturgill Simpson steams me, especially because he’s dominated the Americana/American Roots categories at the Grammys every time he’s released an album for the last decade. JS

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What do you think was the biggest Grammy Award snub?