2015 Grammy Nominations: Snubs and Surprises

The only thing I can say is yikes. The Grammys are notorious for having questionable nominees and a propensity to stick to what they know, but this year was probably one of the worst in recent memories for the general field. While there were a few gems dispersed throughout the genres, there was an overall stale sentiment.

Saying this, here are the biggest snubs, surprises, and shocks of the 2015 Grammy Nominations.

Surprises

Sam Smith Sweeps
We were expecting nominations for Best New Artist, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year, but tacking on Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Solo Performance, and Album of the Year nominations classify Smith’s romp at the Grammys as an all out sweep of the nominations. Now the question is whether he can give Beyonce a run for her money in AOTY.

“All About that Bass” in Song AND Record of the Year
Meghan Trainor had a sleeper hit when she released “All About that Bass” this summer, so it was expected that she would reap a Song of the Year nomination. However, a nomination in the more prestigious Record of the Year category was shocking and somewhat frustrating.

Miley Lands a Nom
With snubs last year for “Wrecking Ball” and “We Won’t Stop” it was a surprising entry in the Best Pop Vocal Album category. Either way, it looks like the new and disapproved Miley Cyrus can add a Grammy nomination under her belt.

Brandy Clarke and HAIM crash the Best New Artist category
Best New Artist tends to have one surprise that’s an absolute shock to Grammy pundits, in this case it was little known country singer Brandy Clarke who snuck in to the category along the pantheons of chart topping artists Sam Smith, Iggy Azalea, and Bastille. However, this year another small artist was able to sneak in. HAIM has been gaining popularity in the indie circles, but didn’t really hit too much mainstream success (most people still don’t know how to pronounce their name).

Beck in Album of the Year
I adored Beck’s Morning Phase when it was released earlier this year, but it was on NOBODY’S radar for the Grammys, let alone Album of the Year. With an impressive 4 nominations, it’s about time Beck got his due, even if he did fuck up our predictions.

Snubs

The General lack of Beyonce
If you’d excuse the terrible pun, the fact that Beyonce was almost completely left off of the General field categories was an amazing oversight on our part. I mean, yes her album was released a year ago, but no one was expecting her to be this forgotten. Although she did reap an Album of the Year nomination, the fact that “Drunk in Love” was snubbed in both Song and Record of the year was… well, shocking.

Let it Go goes empty-handed
Many pundits forecasted international mega hit “Let it Go” to appear on both the Record and Song of the Year fields, but despite the incredible popularity and Academy-winning reign of the song it failed to catch on with the Grammys.

Pharrell probably isn’t “Happy”
After infecting the radio waves, movie screens, and general population with its adorable attempt to basically reinvent the “hokey pokey,” Pharrell’s “Happy” went without recognition in the General Field, despite the album GIRL reaping an Album of the Year nomination.