{"id":6691,"date":"2025-11-14T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/hot-takes-cold-truths-about-the-grammys\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T14:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T14:30:00","slug":"hot-takes-cold-truths-about-the-grammys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/hot-takes-cold-truths-about-the-grammys\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0Hot Takes &amp; Cold Truths About The Grammys"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/11\/Beats-Bytes-Weekly-Image-1.jpg\" width=\"1000\" height=\"560\" alt=\"\"><figcaption>\u00a0Hot Takes &amp; Cold Truths About The Grammys<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>On November 7, the nominations were announced for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. The event takes place on February 1, 2026 in L.A. at Crypto.com Arena. The industry is fragmented and watercooler moments are fewer and farther between. There was no \u201csong of the summer\u201d this year, let alone a clear-cut song of the year. It\u2019s more and more an uphill battle to \u201cname that tune\u201d and I\u2019m not sure the Grammys is still the right board to make the call, despite the progress they\u2019ve made. I\u2019m impressed with their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grammy.com\/news\/2026-grammys-nominations-full-winners-nominees-list\" target=\"_blank\">website<\/a>, though, which has cool commentary, fun ways of laying out the nominees, and even a Grammy Music IQ game powered by IBM Watson.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As a culture marketer, I believe that if it\u2019s in the paper today, it\u2019s yesterday\u2019s news. Real-time data is a crucial commodity when it comes to staying on the pulse of culture, and the Grammys are focused on celebrating the year that was, not the year that\u2019s coming. Here are my main takeaways from this year\u2019s nominations:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who is more relevant: Grammys or TikTok?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>More from Spin:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2025\/11\/tyler-the-creator-flog-gnaw-postponed\/\">Tyler, the Creator\u2019s Flog Gnaw Postponed Due To Rain<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2025\/11\/deep-cut-friday-3000-miles-by-tracy-chapman\/\">Deep Cut Friday: \u20183,000 Miles\u2019 by Tracy Chapman<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2025\/11\/massive-attack-forgoing-spotify\/\">Massive Attack\u2019s New Music Won\u2019t Be On Spotify<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With 95 categories, it\u2019s hard for the Grammys not to have some hits. But who do you think wins in terms of media, impressions, and overall relevance? The first ever <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tubefilter.com\/2025\/11\/04\/tiktok-is-doing-its-own-award-show\/?utm_source=www.futureparty.com&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=extremely-offline&amp;_bhlid=b5ef698bc80542dbfc12548ad40b70d7a8a00f5b\" target=\"_blank\">TikTok Awards<\/a> this year or the Grammys? TikTok killed the video star of the MTV days, but I don\u2019t think it will have the influence to upend the entire music business.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Grammy Ecosystem is a System\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Once you are a Grammy darling, it\u2019s a gift that keeps on giving. Does Billie Eilish deserve to be here for songs she released in 2024? Doechii, last year\u2019s breakout star from the show, was nominated for song of the year with \u201cAnxiety,\u201d even though the track was originally released in 2019 (I\u2019ll admit, the track sums up 2025 quite nicely, though). Kendrick is off cycle and still dominating. On the whole, there may be too many familiar Grammy faces for my taste.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Good Year for Hip-Hop at the Grammys, but Not On The Charts\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Grammys gave hip-hop its biggest look yet this year and I\u2019m excited about that. I remember when they didn\u2019t even televise the category. For years, the Academy was out of step with rap\u2019s dominance of culture, so I\u2019m loving the fact that Clipse is getting the respect they deserve with nominations for album of the year, best rap song, best rap album, and more. If \u201cmarketing rollout of the year\u201d was an award, they would be a shoe-in for that, too. Don\u2019t miss their new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gq.com\/story\/clipse-gq-cover-story-interview-men-of-the-year-2025?utm_source=nl&amp;utm_brand=gq&amp;utm_mailing=gq_mustread_110725&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;bxid=5be9e88b3f92a40469fc8b9e&amp;cndid=37972867&amp;hasha=70390620f5c875ac36300ca5a3ab22f7&amp;hashb=67f602f25a18f3f867d63428e51ef88f19a90c7e&amp;hashc=b5cbf1af6bb6d1d554b700ecaca9d06d4b620617c5bd391e6b5b610676712311&amp;esrc=hamburgernav&amp;utm_campaign=gq_mustread_110725&amp;utm_term=GQ_MustReads\" target=\"_blank\">GQ Men of the year<\/a> interview either.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But in terms of real-time data, the Academy is a little late. Last week, for the first time in 35 years, there were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/there-are-no-hip-hop-songs-in-the-us-top-40-for-the-first-time-since-1990-3905278\" target=\"_blank\">no hip-hop songs<\/a> in the <em>Billboard<\/em> Top 40. At least they won\u2019t get hit with the #GrammysSoWhite hashtag like 2017.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>It Takes 10 Years To Be Best New Arist\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The best new artist category is always an exciting way to highlight up-and-comers, and the curse of best new artist has been dispelled in the past decade. I mean, you can\u2019t really have a sophomore slump when you get nominated for your fourth project, right?<\/p>\n<p>See, talent like Addison Rae, Leon Thomas, and recent SNL musical guest Sombr have all been around for many, many years. Music executive Riggs Morales summed it up nicely with this emotional <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DQ3GfZ-jJa-\/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\">post about the Marias<\/a>, who he signed in 2017. Sometimes overnight success takes 10 years. It just seems like the Grammys have lost the plot a bit with this category.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Snubs!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>My personal favorites all got the cold shoulder this year. I\u2019m bummed to not see Role Model get nominated (\u201cSally\u2026\u201d is my jam). Maybe he jinxed himself saying he\u2019d rather be <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/role-model-bares-all-first-sexiest-man-alive-centerfold-11833007\" target=\"_blank\">People\u2019s Sexiest Man of the Year than win a Grammy<\/a>. He got that award, but took his eyes off the prize.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of eyes on the prize, Slick Rick\u2019s <em>Victory<\/em> is a visual masterpiece and a major miss by the Academy. There is no better visual album than this project he put out with Idris Elba and Nas\u2019 Mass Appeal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>BigXthaPlug is my favorite rapper right now. I know he was nominated in 2024 as the XXL Awards\u2019 Best New Artist, but he\u2019s been feeding us hits all year and deserves a look when you talk about artists of the year in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the ultimate snub was of the Grammys themselves. Morgan Wallen, arguably the biggest artist in the country right now, didn\u2019t submit his smash hit album this year, returning to his 2022-2024 stance after last year\u2019s collab with The Weeknd.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sinners Is Actually The Music Moment of The Year\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As someone who doesn\u2019t like scary movies or period pieces, I can say <em>Sinners<\/em> was one of the best movies ever made on so many levels. There\u2019s a reason it\u2019s got a 97 on Rotten Tomatoes. One of my go-to jokes at cocktail parties is to try to point out the three people who didn\u2019t give it a perfect score. There are two scenes in this movie that will stick with me forever as some of the greatest music scenes in movie history. This film is set up for not only a monstrous Grammy outcome, but major Oscar love around the bend.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Stage is Set for Bad Bunny\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Speaking of around the bend, Benito Antonio Mart\u00ednez Ocasio, better known as Bad Bunny, is up in all the top all-genre categories for his latest album, <em>Deb\u00ed Tirar M\u00e1s Fotos<\/em>, which mixes traditional Puerto Rican styles like plena with his more familiar reggaeton and trap. The stage is set for a BIG political statement in California if he crushes the Grammys just a week before he\u2018ll make history with the first all-Spanish performance at the Super Bowl halftime show This is a story worth telling in America right now and I think can be a storybook win if it plays out the way we hope.<\/p>\n<p>Critical opinions aside, The Grammys are an awesome week for the industry with the parties, brunches, meetings, and music. There are so many tentpole moments to tie in brands and enhance storytelling, and many artists will have their \u201cmoment\u201d that will live on for a lifetime. The Clios Music awards take place that week as well, celebrating the best ads and music collaborations. Nue\u2019s very own <a href=\"mailto:alexk@nueagency.com\">Alex Kirshbaum<\/a> is a juror this year, so he\u2019s seeing all of the best in class and is thoroughly inspired.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This is the last year the Grammys will be broadcast with CBS and Paramount. Starting in 2027, they move over to the House of the Mouse, which presents an exciting world of possibilities in which music stars and their stories can be enhanced with the magic of Disney. I wonder with amusement how things will play out over the next few years\u2026<\/p>\n<p><em>Beats + Bytes goes out each week to a capacity larger than <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/crypto.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Crypto.com<\/em><\/a><em>\u2019s arena. Packing out stadiums is one thing, but even more so, I hope this information can inform your job, feed your passion for music, and inspire you in one way or another. It\u2019s a music industry love letter each week. Sharing is caring. If you feel inclined, please send to some friends and colleagues by clicking here: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/nueagency.com\/beatsbytes\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>https:\/\/nueagency.com\/beatsbytes\/<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2021\/07\/the-greatest-rock-stars-of-all-time\/?utm_source=yahoo&amp;utm_medium=bottomlink&amp;utm_campaign=yahoolink\">click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0Hot Takes &amp; Cold Truths About The Grammys On November 7, the nominations were announced for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. The event takes place on February 1, 2026 in&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4378,24,4379],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grammy-awards","category-pushly","category-syndicated"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6691\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}