SZA top nominee, but will Taylor Swift steal the show at Grammy Awards?

LOS ANGELES – In what should be a dominating night for female artists, SZA will carry a leading nine nominations into Sunday’s presentations of the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, but she could find herself upstaged in at least some of the top categories by the entertainment world’s most ubiquitous superstar of the moment – Taylor Swift.

SZA, Swift, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo and Jon Batiste are all nominated in the top three Grammy categories of album, song and record of the year, with the competition considered so fierce that it’s unlikely any one artist will sweep all three categories.

SZA has a leading nine nominations heading into Sunday’s 66th annual Grammy Awards. Image: sza/IG

SZA’s “SOS” is considered a strong contender for the big prize of album of the year. But Recording Academy voters could be swayed by the global stardom of Swift, whose “Midnights” album helped power a headline grabbing, record-setting 2023 world tour and whose recent love connection with Super Bowl-bound Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce has only expanded her public profile.

Swift would also make history if she takes home the album of the year prize. She’s won the award three times previously — for “Fearless,” “1989” and “Folklore” — a feat previously achieved only by Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon. No artist has ever won the award four times.

Also battling for album of the year are Batiste for “World Music Radio,” boygenius for “The Record,” Cyrus for “Endless Summer Vacation,” Lana Del Rey for “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd,” Janelle Monáe for “The Age of Pleasure” and Rodrigo for “Guts.”

SZA (“Kill Bill”) and Swift (“Anti-Hero”) are both vying for record and song of the year honors. The record of the year prize goes to the artist and producers, while the song prize is awarded to the songwriter(s). But a formidable foe in both categories is Billie Eilish, who wrote and performed “What Was I Made For?” for the box-office smash “Barbie.”

Other nominees for record of the year are Batiste for “Worship,” boygenius for “Not Strong Enough,” Cyrus for “Flowers,” Victoria Monét for “On My Mama” and Rodrigo for “Vampire.”

Also competing for song of the year honors are Lana Del Rey’s “A&W,” Batiste’s “Butterfly,” Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night,” Cyrus’ “Flowers” and Rodrigo’s “Vampire.”

Swift’s nomination for song of the year is the seventh of her career, the most of any other artist. She was previously tied at six with Paul McCartney and Lionel Richie. Her album of the year nomination is the sixth of her career.

Taylor Swift would make history if she takes home the album of the year prize. She’s won the award three times previously – for “Fearless,” “1989” and “Folklore” – a feat previously achieved only by Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon. No artist has ever won the award four times. FILE PHOTO (Photo by SUZANNE CORDEIRO / AFP)

Phoebe Bridgers, Serban Ghenea and Victoria Monét each have seven overall nominations, followed by Jack Antonoff, Batiste, boygenius, Brandy Clark, Cyrus, Eilish, Rodrigo and Swift, who each have six.

Nominees for the coveted best new artist Grammy are Gracie Abrams, Fred Again, Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan, Victoria Monét and The War and Treaty.

Competition for the top categories was a little tougher this year, since the Santa Monica-based Recording Academy reduced the number of nominees from 10 to eight.

There are 94 Grammy categories this year, and the bulk of those awards will be handed out during the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony, which will begin at 12:30 p.m. at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. That ceremony will be hosted by songwriter/producer Justin Tranter.

Among those set to perform during the Premiere Ceremony are Jordin Sparks, J. Ivy, Larkin Poe, Pentatonix, Sheila E., Brandy Clark, Gaby Moreno and Kirk Franklin. The Premiere Ceremony will stream live at live.grammy.com and on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel.

The main Grammy ceremony and telecast will begin at 5 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena, hosted by Trevor Noah and airing live on CBS. Only a handful of awards, usually less than 10, are actually presented during the main telecast, which stretches for 3 1/2 hours and traditionally features a wide variety of musical performances.

This year’s lineup will feature the first-ever Grammy appearance by Joni Mitchell. Billy Joel, who just released his first new single in 17 years, is also set to take the stage.

Others set to perform are SZA, Eilish, Dua Lipa, Rodrigo, Burna Boy, Luke Combs and Travis Scott. U2 will appear live during the telecast from Sphere in Las Vegas, where the Irish supergroup has been performing in a venue opening residency. (CNS)