It’s been nearly six years since Ariana Grande publicly criticized the Grammy Awards’ producers on Twitter and declined to perform at the show, claiming they wouldn’t let her have creative control. Ironically, that year marked the first time she won a Grammy, taking home Best Pop Vocal Album for “Sweetener” despite her absence. Since then, Grande has remained an underdog within the Recording Academy, especially in 2020 when she lost all of the categories she was nominated for with her culture-bending record “thank u, next.” However, with the 2024 release of her acclaimed album “eternal sunshine,” people couldn’t help but notice the record’s absence from the Grammys’ three main categories: Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year. Instead, the album and singles only picked up three nominations across the ceremony’s smaller pop categories.
It’s hard to argue that “eternal sunshine” isn’t one of Grande’s best works. The album’s songwriting, production and themes come across as beautifully mature and poised, a breath of fresh air amongst the sometimes repetitive saga of her past works. Music publications released glowing reviews of the project, with Rolling Stone dubbing it “gorgeously exposed” and giving it a perfect 100 score. Grande captured the emotions of heartbreak in a universally relatable manner. Light, danceable tracks like “supernatural” or “the boy is mine” feel perfectly cohesive even when interspersed with songs that unpack grief and guilt, like “i wish i hated you” or the title track “eternal sunshine.” The album’s healthy dose of emotions demonstrate that moving on from a relationship doesn’t have to all be a negative experience.
You can even play the numbers game to illustrate this project’s success: “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” is one of the few tracks released this year to surpass a billion streams among the likes of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and Billie Eilish’s “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” which were both nominated for ROTY. “Espresso” utilizes a looped Splice beat that repeats across the entire track — not to mention several times throughout music history. While Grande’s single isn’t 100% original, with production slightly reminiscent of Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own,” producer Max Martin’s escalation of emotional strings and synths throughout the verses and bridge produces a new and vibrant musical work that engrosses listeners in Grande’s sonically charming world.
Many also noticed that the music video for “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” was missing from the Grammys’ Best Music Video category — another disappointment, as the video was highly praised for its cinematic recreation of the film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Following the plot of the film, Grande spends most of the music video reminiscing over a past relationship while receiving a medical procedure to remove her memories of that ex-lover. Grande demonstrates her acting skills across the video, and her emotional performance grants the story a life of its own as she pleads with doctors to let her keep just one memory.
While it could be a coincidence, Grande’s fragile relationship with the Recording Academy might suggest that the Academy members are hesitant to nominate someone they have been at odds with. The Weeknd’s monumental Grammys snub in 2021 for his project “After Hours” is largely speculated to have been the result of his decision to perform at the Super Bowl instead of the Grammys, leaving viewers to suspect that the Academy is not against omitting nominations for personal reasons. Grande has repeatedly spoken about not caring about prestige or disagreeing with the institution. Most notably, she expressed public outrage in 2019 when Mac Miller’s parents were invited to the awards ceremony after his passing months prior, only for them to watch him lose the one and only Grammy he was ever nominated for.
Although “eternal sunshine” potentially has the chance to take home three Grammys — Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Dance Pop Recording — this coming February, it’s clear that the project should’ve been nominated in at least one of the major categories and have been a contender for Album Of The Year. There’s no doubt that 2024 gave us incredibly fresh, evocative music — but the Academy left out some of the best.
Contact Amelia Knust at [email protected].