Ariana Grande, once a Grammy darling, did not receive much love from the Recoding Academy this year. Though she had one of 2024’s biggest albums in Eternal Sunshine, she was nominated only thrice, and none came in the top three categories.
We may be witnessing one of the most crowded years in music of the past decade, which means artists like Grande, Dua Lipa, and Megan Thee Stallion, previously favored by the Academy and with massive album releases in the last 12 months, just could not hold a candle to the viral success of the 2024 “it girl” trio — Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX — or the longevity and acumen of the music industry’s heavyweight champions — Beyoncé and Taylor Swift.
The Eternal Sunshine singer was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album, as well as Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Dance Pop Recording for “the boy is mine (Remix)” and “yes, and?” respectively. While that is cause for celebration, Grande’s absence from the Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Music Video, and Best Pop Solo Performance lists have labeled her one of the year’s biggest Grammy snubs.
Eternal Sunshine not only spent two weeks at number 1 on Billboard 200 but it also had two number one hits in “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” and “yes, and?.” Both songs topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for a week after their roll out. Additionaly, “we can’t be friends” had one of the most ingenious music videos of the last year, referencing the film from which Grande borrowed her album title, Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
In it, the singer visits a memory-wiping clinic in order to get over a particularly devastating heartbreak, presumably inspired by her divorce from Dalton Gomez in Sept. 2023. And if we’re talking numbers, the clip was viewed 188 million times, a number that is unrivaled by every nominee in the Best Music Video category, with Eminem’s “Houdini” coming closest with 177 million.
With stats like these it begs the question, “Who did Ariana piss me off on that board,” as one person put it. “We can’t be friends not getting nominated in anything when it’s not only one of the year’s best and biggest songs but also one of Ariana’s best songs is so crazy,” another pointed out.
Her fanbase rushed to lick their favorite artist’s wounds, with words of support that highlighted Grande’s talent regardless of accolades. “Ariana grande is a once in a lifetime musical prodigy in a league so far ahead of everyone else that no award will ever compare to her undeniable talents that speaks for themselves,” said one supporter, with another agreeing that “We can’t be friends & eternal sunshine are objectively exceptional in every single area.”
Fans also recalled that, in 2020, ousted Grammys CEO Deborah Dugan claimed Grande had been replaced in the Song of the Year bracket by an artist who “ranked 18 out of 20” just because they sat on the nominations committee and had a representative in the “academy’s board,” per the Los Angeles Times.
It feels particularly sour since Eternal Sunshine was Grande’s first studio album in four years after the singer took a break from music to pursue acting. She landed the role of Glinda in the screen adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked in 2021 and has since been busy filming and promoting the film and its sequel, which were shot back to back. The first is arriving in theaters this month with early reviews praising Grande’s comedic timing and charm. “Don’t worry everyone, Ariana Grande is coming for the Oscars,” a hopeful and defiantly optiministic “Arianator” campaigned.
Published: Nov 8, 2024 02:24 pm