Beyoncé, Harry Styles and the Battle of Pop Giants – The Hollywood Reporter

In 2017, Grammy voters expressed their love for Beyoncé’s Lemonade with an album of the year nomination, it was Adele‘s big album 25 who won the ultimate honor. In the US alone, it sold 10 million copies within a year (an unprecedented 3.38 million copies sold in its first week) – in a climate where hitting 1 million was heroic. “Hello”, indeed!

That storyline could be repeated at the 2023 Grammys, where Beyoncé’s Renaissance and Adele’s 30 will once again compete for album of the year.

But there are other heavyweights poised to disrupt the night: Like Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar can finally win his first top album trophy thanks to the success of his fifth release, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. Bad rabbits A summer without you is the most popular album of 2022, not to mention the first Latin project to be nominated for the best Grammy in the show’s 65-year history – and a win for him would end the dominance of Latin music in the enhance pop culture.

Many of us have lived in Harry’s house during the past year as we watched the former One Direction singer become pop’s certified “It” boy with his Mick Jagger-esque stage presence and addictive, deafening melodies. Other major Grammy contenders for top awards are Lizzo, Brandi Carlile, Mary J. Blige, Jay Z and Taylor Swift. Here, THR takes a look at the key players, from most to least number of nominations, competing for album of the year and other categories at the 2023 Grammys.

BEYONCÉ

NOMINATIONS 2023 9

CAREER NOMINATIONS 88

GRAMMY WINS 28

Beyoncé has only won one top Grammy to date – song of the year for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).” And if she doesn’t win one of the big three (Album, Song, or Record of the Year) at the 2023 Grammys, she’ll still walk away from the show making history if she wins three of the nine nominations. Then she ties the record for most Grammy wins of all time, set by the late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti, who died in 1997, winning 31 awards. One or two of those three might be in the dance category, for best dance/electronica album (Renaissance) and best dance/electronica recording (“Break My Soul”). And with bids in the R&B categories, Beyoncé is poised to become the queen of the Grammys.

KENDRICK LAMAR

NOMINATIONS 2023 8

CAREER NOMINATIONS 47

GRAMMY WINS 14

Rap’s had a bad history of winning the major categories at the Grammys. It wasn’t until 2019 that the genre finally took over, winning the Grammys for Record and Song of the Year thanks to Childish Gambino’s “This Is America.” And only two rap-based acts have won album of the year: Lauryn Hill and OutKast. If there’s one rapper who takes the big honour, it’s Lamar. One thing we know for sure: Lamar will conquer at least the rap categories.

ADELE

NOMINATIONS 2023 7

CAREER NOMINATIONS 25

GRAMMY WINS 15

Despite the great competition, there was no chance Adele would lose the three major Grammys in 2012 21 and “Rolling in the Deep” and in 2017 with 25 and “Hello.” But times have changed and voters will not have an easy time with the singer this time. While 30 was critically acclaimed and “Easy on Me” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the album and song were not big enough to guarantee wins. What Adele will most likely add to her gramophone collection: best musical film for Adele: Just one nightwhich won all five Emmys for which it was nominated.

BRANDI CARLILE

NOMINATIONS 2023 7

CAREER NOMINATIONS 24

GRAMMY WINS 6

Carlile has become a critical darling at the Grammys, earning multiple nominations over the past five consecutive years – not just for her own music, but for her work as a producer and songwriter for others and her country music supergroup, The Highwomen. And this year, she’s reached new heights: In addition to nominations in the country and American roots fields, she scored her first-ever nominations in rock (Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for “Broken Horses”). And if voters from the country, rock, Americana, folk and bluegrass genres align, then Carlile’s In these quiet days could be a loud winner, especially for album of the year.

HARRY STYLES

NOMINATIONS 2023 6

CAREER NOMINATIONS 9

GRAMMY WINS 1

No one has had the year that Styles has. Launching several top 10 hits, “As It Was” nearly set a record for most weeks at No. 1. Harry’s house dominated on streaming services and the charts. And his exciting live shows have become a must-see, even if you weren’t a huge fan before going. He’s already won a Grammy — Best Pop Solo Performance for “Watermelon Sugar” — but he’s finally competing in the big three for the first time, and he’s got a chance to be the next Briton to dominate America’s biggest music show.

MARIA J. BLIGE

NOMINATIONS 2023 6

CAREER NOMINATIONS 37

GRAMMY WINS 9

The last time one of Blige’s albums entered the Grammys was at the 2009 show, so it was a nice surprise when the Recording Academy announced that Good morning beautiful was awarded six times this year. But it’s not shocking – the two-time Oscar nominee is indeed the queen of hip-hop soul. And she has some special helpers who work as secret weapons: HER and Anderson .Paak, contemporary stars that Grammy voters love. HER wrote and co-produced Blige’s title track, while .Paak contributed to several tracks on the album, including “Here With Me,” which is nominated for Best R&B Performance.

LIZZO

NOMINATIONS 2023 5

CAREER NOMINATIONS 13

GRAMMY WINS 3

It’s about time Lizzo wins another Grammy, if the voters have their way. She was the top nominee on the 2020 show with her major label debut album and ubiquitous hit “Truth Hurts,” which won the award for Best Pop Solo. She’s back again with the TikTok-approved jam “About Damn Time,” and the song’s success helped her album Special score nominations for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album.

JAY-Z

NOMINATIONS 2023 5

CAREER NOMINATIONS 88

GRAMMY WINS 24

Jay-Z held the record for most Grammy nominations of all time, until his wife flipped the script this year. Renaissance helped Beyoncé to 88 nominations, and funnily enough, Jay-Z’s five nominations this year match the feat. And what’s even sweeter? Two of Jay-Z’s nominations are for his contributions to Beyoncé’s album. His other three are for his guest verse on DJ Khaled’s “God Did,” which is nominated for “song of the year,” “best rap performance,” and “best rap song.”

TAYLOR SWIFT

NOMINATIONS 2023 4

CAREER NOMINATIONS 46

GRAMMY WINS 11

Taylor Swift’s latest album, Midnights, qualifies for the Grammys in 2024, but she still has a chance to own the show in 2023. She could achieve one of her goals and win her first-ever Song of the Year honor — an award reserved for writers — with the re-release of her 2012 song “All Too Well.” The short film made for the song, which Swift directed and is being pushed for the Oscar battle, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Music Video. Her other bids include best country song (“I Bet You Think About Me”) and best song written from visual media (“Carolina”).

BAD BUNNY

NOMINATIONS 2023 3

CAREER NOMINATIONS 9

GRAMMY WINS 2

Shockingly, Bad Bunny only earned three Grammy nominations after launching the year’s biggest album and monster hits like “Tití Me Preguntó” and “Me Porto Bonito” (featuring Chencho Corleone). Neither the deserved song nor the record of the year nods, something the Recording Academy has to answer for. And while there’s no category for Latin songs at the Grammys — only Latin albums — the situation begs a question: Did Bad Bunny’s team try to subject it to the rap or global music categories, but was relegated to another genre kicked? He did receive one nomination in pop: Best Pop Solo Performance for “Moscow Mule.” But with the year he had, Bad Bunny’s music should have been celebrated across multiple categories and genres.

This story first appeared in the December 16 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.