During his Superstar Q&A, Romeo Santos answered questions from a fishbowl, including the song his mom played growing up, his favorite Backstreet Boys track and more.
The eligibility period for the 65th annual Grammy Awards – Oct. 1, 2021, to Sept. 30, 2022 – ends on Friday. So let’s scope out the field of top contenders in what is widely viewed as the most prestigious Grammy category: album of the year.
Related
This is the second year that the Recording Academy will have 10 slots in each of the Big Four categories – album, record and song of the year, plus best new artist. From 1958, the Grammys’ first year, through 2017, there were usually just five nominees for album of the year. (The number of nominees bumped up to six four times.) From 2018-20, there were eight nominees.
First-round voting for the 65th annual Grammy Awards runs from Oct. 13-23. Nominations will be announced Nov. 15. The awards will be presented Feb. 5, 2023, at Crypto.com Arena (formerly, and more elegantly, known as Staples Center) in Los Angeles.
The Grammys have a way of surprising us. Last year, ABBA received a record of the year nomination for “I Still Have Faith in You.” The vocal group had never previously received a nomination in any category. So, their very first nomination was in one of the marquee categories. Go figure. ABBA’s album Voyage was released in this eligibility year. Could it possibly receive an album of the year nod, or was last year’s recognition a fluke? We’ll find out on Nov. 15.
Sure Things
These five albums seem certain to be nominated.
Adele, 30: This would be Adele’s third consecutive album to be nominated in this category. 25 won the 2011 award. 30 won the 2016 award. Adele: One Night Only won five Primetime Emmys earlier this month, including outstanding variety special (pre-recorded). As an executive producer of the special, Adele shared in the latter award, which means she just needs a Tony to secure an EGOT. Ben Winston and Raj Kapoor, who won Emmys as executive producers of the special, are also executive producers of the Grammy telecast. Does that give Adele some kind of home-court advantage here? It does not. But it may boost the chances of seeing an Adele performance on the Grammys, and who wouldn’t be up for that?
Beyoncé, Renaissance: This would be Beyoncé’s fourth album – and her third solo studio album in a row – to be nominated. Bey was nominated for I Am…Sasha Fierce (2009), Beyoncé (2014) and Lemonade (2016). She is vying to become the first woman of color to receive four album of the year nominations (as a lead artist). She’s currently tied with Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and H.E.R. with three nods each in the category.
Harry Styles, Harry’s House: This would be Styles’ first nomination in a Big Four category. Harry’s House won album of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 28. That’s probably not the album of the year award Styles was most hoping for, but it’s something.
Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers: This would be Lamar’s fourth studio album to be nominated, which would enable him to tie Kanye West as the rapper with the most nods in this category (as a lead artist). Unlike West, Lamar’s nominations are for four consecutive studio albums. He was nominated for good kid, m.A.A.d. city (2013), To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) and DAMN. (2017). Lamar is vying to become the first artist from any genre to be nominated with four consecutive studio albums since Billy Joel (1979-83).
Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti: This would be Bad Bunny’s first nomination in a Big Four category. Moreover, this would be the first Spanish-language album to be nominated in this category. Latin crossover pioneer José Feliciano was nominated in 1968 for Feliciano!, but that album consisted of English-language tracks.
Likely Nominees
These five albums seem a tad less certain to be nominated, but are likely to round out the category.
Silk Sonic, An Evening With Silk Sonic: This would be Bruno Mars’ third nomination in this category; Anderson .Paak’s first. Mars was nominated in this category for his debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2011), and won for his third album, 24K Magic (2017). An Evening with Silk Sonic won a BET Award for album of the year on June 26. “Leave the Door Open,” the lead single from the album, won four awards at the 64th annual Grammy Awards in April, including record and song of the year.
Lizzo, Special: This would be Lizzo’s second nomination in this category. She was nominated for the deluxe edition of Cuz I Love You three years ago. Lizzo won her first Primetime Emmy Award for Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls on Sept. 12, which boosted her profile at an opportune moment.
Taylor Swift, Red (Taylor’s Version): This would be Swift’s sixth nomination in this category, which would tie Barbra Streisand for the most nominations by a female artist. Swift has piled up these nominations since 2009. Streisand received her nods over a 24-year period (1963-86). Swift was nominated in this category for the original studio edition of Red. This would be the first time an artist has been nominated both for the original recording and for a re-recording of an album. Red (Taylor’s Version) also contains 14 tracks that weren’t on the standard edition of Red when it was nominated in 2013.
Various, Encanto soundtrack: This would be the first soundtrack from an animated film to be nominated in this category since Beauty and the Beast 30 years ago. In the years since then, only four soundtracks have been nominated in this category. All four were credited to a major player in the recording world – Whitney Houston (The Bodyguard, 1993), Babyface (Waiting to Exhale, 1995), T Bone Burnett (O Brother, Where Art Thou?, 2001) and Kendrick Lamar (Black Panther, 2018). Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote and co-produced all of the songs on Encanto, is of similar stature. Two songs from the album were performed on the Oscar telecast on March 27 – including “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” which wasn’t even nominated.
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Unlimited Love: This would be the band’s second nomination in this category. They were in the running 16 years ago for Stadium Arcadium. The Peppers would become the fifth rock group to receive two album of the year nods since 2000, following U2, Radiohead, Foo Fighters and Coldplay. The Peppers received the Global Icon Award at the VMAs on Aug. 28. Is that going to make a difference here? Hell, it can’t hurt.
Top Alternates
These next dozen albums may just miss being nominated. They are prime candidates to move up if any of the presumed front-runners falters:
Brandi Carlile, In These Silent Days: This would be Carlile’s second nod in this category. She was nominated four years ago for By the Way, I Forgive You. “Right on Time,” the album’s lead single, was nominated last year for record and song of the year.
Miranda Lambert, Palomino: This would be Lambert’s first nomination in a Big Four category. Palomino would be the first country album to receive an album of the year nod since Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour four years ago (which went on to win the award). Palomino is nominated for album of the year at the upcoming CMA Awards on Nov. 9.
Future, I Never Liked You: This would be Future’s first nomination in a Big Four category as a lead artist. He was nominated for album of the year as a featured artist on Drake’s Views (2016).
Robert Plant/Alison Krauss, Raise the Roof: These artists won the 2008 award in this category for their first collaboration, Raising Sand. Their long-awaited second collab didn’t sell nearly as well. That said, Krauss is a 27-time Grammy winner. (Among female artists, only Beyoncé has won more.) Her trophies include a second album of the year winner, O Brother, Where Art Thou?.
Ed Sheeran, =: This would be Sheeran’s second nomination in this category. He was nominated eight years ago for x. “Bad Habits,” the lead single from =, was nominated last year for song of the year.
The Weeknd, Dawn FM: This would be The Weeknd’s second nomination in this category. He was nominated seven years ago for Beauty Behind the Madness.
Post Malone, Twelve Carat Toothache: This would be Posty’s third album of the year nomination. He was nominated for Beerbongs & Bentleys (2018) and Hollywood’s Bleeding (2020).
Drake, Honestly, Nevermind: This would be Drake’s third album of the year nomination (as a lead artist). He was nominated for Views (2016) and Scorpion (2018).
Summer Walker, Still Over It: This would be Walker’s first nomination in any category.
Steve Lacy, Gemini Nights: This would be Lacy’s first nomination in a Big Four category. He has received two nods for best urban contemporary album.
Elton John, The Lockdown Sessions: This would be Elton’s fourth nomination in this category. He was nominated for Elton John (1970), Caribou (1974) and Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975). Elton, 75, would be one of the oldest nominees in this category (as a lead artist). Tony Bennett, who was 95 when he was nominated last year for a collab with Lady Gaga, holds the hard-to-beat record.
BlackPink, Born Pink: The female quartet is vying to become the first K-pop act to receive a nomination in a Big Four category. BTS has been nominated for best pop duo/group performance in each of the last two years (for “Dynamite” and “Butter”), but they’ve had a hard time cracking the Big Four categories. Step aside, boys, let the girls have a shot at it.
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Cardi B is having the final say in her Twitter feud with fellow rapper Akbar V.
Following online jabs back and forth between the duo, including some comments by Akbar bringing up the rumor that Cardi’s husband Offset had cheated on her with rapper Saweetie, the “I Like It” star took to Instagram on Monday (Sept. 26) to share a sultry photo with her man.
“I fight for my b—-es and I’m fighting over d— too,” she captioned a photo set, in which she’s seen with her hand on Offset’s chest, as the Migos rapper leans against a door frame. Cardi is wearing a a satin black maxi dress that exposes a size-able portion of her bottom.
The tension between Cardi and Akbar V seemed to have bubbled over when Cardi began celebrating that the music video for her GloRilla collab “Tomorrow 2” garnered 6 million views on YouTube. In response to what seemed to be some subtweeting about the accomplishment on Akbar V’s part, Cardi tweeted, “I don’t really like the internet games …My dms is open and also the streets!” and “I don’t gotta @ I can change a bi— life just by a mention….AND YES I HIT THEM DIRECTLY ,I don’t do the internet!!”
While screenshots showed that Cardi reached out to Akbar privately and cleared things up, the duo began trading insults on Twitter about having kids, chart success and the Offset cheating allegations. “I hate a h-e that throw rocks and hide their hands ..been subtweeting me for months and now you wanna make it about another woman as a shield. Stand on your sh–!!!” Cardi tweeted.
Even Offset himself got involved after Akbar claimed he called her, and shared what she thought was his phone number. Her original tweet was then taken down for violating the platform’s rules. “Bi— that’s not my number, why would I call you when bi— already handling you lame a– h-e,” Offset wrote.
Spotify is vowing to remove racist, anti-semitic and other hate content from its platform following a new report that says music from a number of white supremacist acts is “prevalent” on the streaming service.
The report, published by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Thursday (Sept. 22), found a total of 40 white supremacist acts hosted on Spotify, violating the platform’s rules against “dangerous content.” According to the report, “extremist” musical sub-genres encompassed by these artists include Fashwave, electronic music that espouses white supremacist ideology; Rock Against Communism, a sub-genre of punk that promotes racism and antisemitism; and National Socialist Black Metal (NBSM), a sub-genre of metal that espouses fascism and white supremacy.
The ADL noted that several of these acts — many of which it says shared links to “other extremist spaces” directly in their profiles — are “verified” artists on Spotify, giving them license to use the service’s built-in tools to help surface their music on playlists (the verification process is automatic once an artist claims their profile via the Spotify for Artists portal.) To cite one example, the report claimed that a keyword search on Spotify for the term “Fashwave” alone turned up a total of 72 playlists created by Spotify users, with titles including 14/88 (a white supremacist code) and Right Wing Death Squad. It also highlights instances of Spotify-generated algorithmic playlists curated for individual users that incorporate white supremacist content.
In February 2022, the ADL published a separate report that found Spotify’s platform rules were lacking and “loosely defined,” leading Spotify to update those rules to add “a much more explicit anti-extremism policy,” according to the new report. But the organization alleges those rules “do not appear to be strictly enforced” and notes that users wishing to flag such content can only do so on the Spotify desktop app, with the mobile version lacking similar functionality. (Spotify confirms it’s working on adding a reporting method to the mobile app.)
“Despite adding explicit anti-extremist guidelines to their content policy, Spotify allows extremist content to flourish,” the Sept. 22 report reads. “Between the extremist content found in some artists’ bios, the white supremacist messaging in some band’s lyrics and the white supremacist imagery found in the cover art, Spotify still has considerable work to do in implementing its new policy.”
Spotify’s current platform rules prohibit content “that incites violence or hatred towards a person or group of people based on race, religion, gender identity or expression, sex, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, veteran status, age, disability or other characteristics associated with systemic discrimination or marginalization.” This includes “praising, supporting, or calling for violence against a person or group of people based on the characteristics listed above”; “dehumanizing statements about a person or group based on the protected characteristics listed above”; and “promoting or glorifying hate groups and their associated images, and/or symbols.”
In a statement to Billboard regarding the ADL report, a Spotify spokesperson says the company “takes content concerns very seriously, and we leverage a variety of algorithmic and human detection measures to ensure that all of the content on our platform is in keeping with our Platform Rules.” These measures include a team of in-house “experts” that “regularly reviews and takes action against violative content on our platform.”
Since Jan. 1, the spokesperson claims that over 12,000 podcast episodes, 19,000 playlists, 160 music tracks and nearly 20 albums that violate Spotify’s policies against hate content globally have been removed, including “much of the content” referenced in the most recent ADL report. But Billboard‘s own search on Monday (Sept. 26) found multiple playlists labeled “Fashwave,” “Rock Against Communism” and “NBSM,” as well as the music of acts mentioned in the report, including IronMensch, Elessar, OBNX, Kushfrost and Mayhem. In response, Spotify says its teams “reviewed all of” the content flagged by ADL and “took action on those that violated” its platform rules.
“We recognize that even with our continued innovation and investments when it comes to moderation, there is always more work to be done,” the spokesperson added. “For this reason, we established the Spotify Safety Advisory Council to help ensure our policies, enforcement mechanisms, and partnerships address the needs of our community of global users, creators, and artists. We also remain open to engaging in a dialogue with organizations, including the ADL, so that we might benefit from their expertise and continue to improve the safety of our platform.”
Established in June, the Spotify Safety Advisory Council includes individuals and organizations who have been tasked with helping the platform “evolve its policies and products in a safe way while making sure we respect creator expression,” according to a press release at the time. “Our council members will advise our teams in key areas like policy and safety-feature development as well as guide our approach to equity, impact, and academic research,” though they do not make enforcement decisions about specific content or creators. Founding members and partner organizations on the council include the Dangerous Speech Project, represented by professor Susan Benesch and Tonei Glavinic; the Center for Democracy and Technology, represented by Emma Llansó; and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, represented by Dr. Katherine Pieper and Dr. Stacy L. Smith.
The problem of hate content isn’t new to Spotify. In 2017, the company removed a number of white supremacist acts that had been designated as racist “hate bands” by the Southern Poverty Law Center after a Digital Music News investigation turned up more than two dozen on the platform. And while the ADL report specifically targets Spotify — a prominent target given its status as the largest music streaming service globally — it’s not the only platform that has been criticized for hosting hate content. In 2020, a BBC investigation found “racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic content” hosted on multiple services, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and Deezer, leading all four companies to take steps to remove it.
Life has been good for David Guetta and Bebe Rexha in recent weeks, though they’re no sure bet to retain the U.K. singles chart crown.
Guetta and Rexha’s hit “I’m Good (Blue)” (via Parlophone) faces a stiff challenge from Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” (EMI), which powers to No. 2 on the midweek chart.
Following the first 48 hours in the chart week, just a “handful of units” separated the two singles, the OCC reports, with “I’m Good (Blue)” still at the top of the leaderboard.
Also noteworthy on the Official Chart Update is Luude and Mattafix’s “Big City Life” (Warner Records), which is on track for a 10-7 lift, for what would be a new peak, while homegrown grime star Stormzy should grab his 25th top 40 appearance with “Mel Made Me Do It” (0207/Merky). The seven-minute tune is storming to a No. 13 debut.
Over on the albums chart blast, D-Block Europe leads tight race with Lap 5, which could give the London hip-hop act its first chart leader.
At this early stage, nothing is certain.
Take That founding member Mark Owen is just 1,000 chart units adrift in second place with Land of Dreams (BMG), his first solo record in nearly a decade, while Australian pop-rock act 5 Seconds Of Summer’s fifth album 5SOS5 (BMG) is close behind at No. 3 on the midweek survey.
Less than 1,600 units separate D-Block Europe’s latest from Sports Team’s Gulp! (Island), which debuts at No. 4 on the Official Chart Update.
Also, look out for top ten finishes for Editors (EBM, currently at No. 6 via PIAS Recordings) and Beth Orton (Weather Alive, at No. 8 via Partisan) when the chart is published this Friday.
