The Biggest 2023 Grammy Nomination Snubs

Making history two years ago as the first Spanish-language act to be nominated for Best New Artist, you would think her latest critically acclaimed album, Motomami, would place Rosalia in at least one of the major three categories (Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Record Of The Year) However, the superstar, coming off an amazing album, was boxed into only the Latin Rock and Alternative category. 

Encanto is nominated for three Grammys, but all are outside of the big three categories. For a song to be No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks and not get nominated for Song Of The Year or Record Of The Year was a clear snub. 

Nicki Minaj, widely regarded as the greatest female rapper to ever live, received her first Grammy nomination in 2011. Now, 11 years later and with 100 million records sold, Nicki has yet to win a Grammy. She expressed her disappointment recently in regard to her song, "Super Freaky Girl" being moved from the rap to pop category, making it harder to receive a nomination or win. And unfortunately, she will go another year Grammy-less as her song wasn't nominated.   

Electronic and dance categories this year were taken by a shocking surprise with major acts, such as Beyonce and Drake, releasing dance albums. The landscape of music is leaning more toward dance, house, or EDM-influenced music, which is why it's essential to nominate acts who have been putting in work for years, like Fred Again. The track "Turn On The Lights Again," with his boiler room performance alone is Grammy-worthy.   

The rap category is often met with much-deserved criticism of the nominees and winners. This year was ok, but was repetitive and lacked range with essentially the same artists being nominated in song, album, and performance. 

Dave's "Starlight" was snubbed from Best Rap Song, even though this track was the first UK No. 1 to be written and produced by one person since 2014. Tracks like "Super Gremlin" by Kodak Black and "London" by Bia and J. Cole could've very well been nominated for Best Rap Song. 

JID's The Forever Story is the most notable rap album snub, along with acts such as Westside Boogie, Denzel Curry, and Vince Staples all having a reasonable argument to be nominated. 

Rarely do we see country artists get nominated or win in any of the big four categories and this year is no different. Notably, acts such as Zach Bryan were clear-cut snubs for Best New Artist or even Album Of The Year with American Heartbreak. Miranda Lambert's Palomino also had a strong case for an Album of the Year nod.

Afro-beats artists are able to win in the categories of Global Music Albums and Performance, however, the day must soon come that we see artists such as Wizkid, Burna Boy, Tems, and more infiltrate a top four category. A clear snub was Omah Lay's album, Boy Alone, which should have been nominated for Best Global Music Album and Best Global Music Performance. Omah Lay himself should've been nominated for Best New Artist.