8 Artists Who Didn’t Deserve Their 2023 Grammy Awards Nominations — Sorry

DJ Khaled’s “God Did” shouldn’t compete for song of the year.

The titular track on DJ Khaled’s thirteenth studio album “God Did” is notable only for its slick Jay-Z verse. It’s definitely not Song of the Year—especially considering it’s a category designed to celebrate lyricism.

Earning a nomination for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance is plenty, if not overenthusiastic.

Liso Lizzo’s “Special” Not Album of the Year.

Lizzo’s enigmatic song “About Damn Time” has made a massive cultural impact (thanks in large part to this irresistible TikTok trend) and will rightfully be contending for both records and song of the year.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the project to which it belongs, “Private”.

Lizzo’s fourth album is an underwhelming display of power pop that failed to reach the heights of its predecessor, “Cuz I Love You.” A nod for Best Lyrical Album is fair, but Album of the Year is quite a stretch.

nor Coldplay’s “Spheres Music”.

Even for massive Coldplay fans, it must come as a surprise to see the band receive two nominations for Album of the Year in the last three years – a feat matched only by Taylor Swift.

Chris Martin is a consistent source of decent pop music, sure, but his group is well past its prime. “Music Of The Spheres” isn’t such a cultural landmark as its “Album of the Year” title claims.

In fact, it’s only notable thanks to “My Universe,” the successful collaboration with BTS.

Somehow, Chris Brown is still getting nominated for Grammy Awards.

Chris Brown’s “Breezy (Deluxe)” is nominated for Best R&B Album, which is an insult to his fellow nominees at best — and an insult to abuse survivors at worst.

It remains upsetting that Brown was allowed to compete for music’s biggest awards after he faced repeated accusations of violence against women, including threats, stalking, and even rape.

Arcade Fire was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album, despite credible accusations of sexual misconduct.

Arcade Fire’s “We” will be in the running for Best Alternative Music Album, though winner Win Butler has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women.

Although Butler has “vehemently” denied any non-consensual actions, the optics on his candidacy are certainly questionable.

And to make matters worse, “We” is a bad album.

Lewis C. He was nominated for Best Comedy Album (again) after admitting to repeated sexual harassment.

For the second year in a row, Louis C. It was nominated for Best Comedy Album.

For some reason, the Recording Academy chose to ignore the fact that he had publicly admitted to a pattern of sexual misconduct and then made light of the woman’s trauma.

Machine Gun Kelly’s “Mainstream Sellout” is okay, not deserving of a Grammy.

Machine Gun Kelly has made a fairly impressive pop-rock pivot after starting his career with reductive rap, but that doesn’t put “Mainstream Sellout” anywhere near the level of rockers like The Black Keys or Ozzy Osbourne, my nominees. Kelly for Best Rock Album.

Jack Harlow’s “Come Home the Kids Miss You” pales in comparison to the other nominees for Best Rap Album.

I have no problem with Jack Harlow’s “First Class” getting a nod for Best Rap Melody Performance — but “Come Home the Kids Miss You,” as a comprehensive album, falls short of Harlow’s charm and hit potential.

And juxtaposed with fellow nominees like Kendrick Lamar’s “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers” and Pusha T’s “It’s Almost Dry,” the album’s flaws become even more apparent.