It’s hard to argue with the longstanding impact British and Irish artists have had on the music industry, and the nominees at this year’s upcoming Grammy Awards prove just that.
Taking place in Los Angeles on February 2, a handful of British and Irish acts have been nominated for a golden gramophone trophy, joining US stars including Beyoncé, Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift.
But which musicians from this side of the pond are nominated, and what chance do they stand of winning?
Charli XCX
2024 belonged to no other artist more than Charli XCX, with lime green memes and a messy, party-girl spirit taking over the summer thanks to her lauded album, Brat. Charli has received a whopping eight nominations for this year’s awards, which include:
We’re pretty certain that she has the trophies for Dance Pop Recording and Dance/Electronic Album in the bag, and if we’re being honest, she more than deserves the coveted Album of the Year prize, too.
She’s got stiff competition in other categories, though. Guess goes against Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ smash Die with a Smile, while Record of the Year and Pop Solo Performance will be a close race with pop titans Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, her collaborator Billie Eilish and the undisputed queen of the Grammys, Beyoncé.
The Beatles
The Beatles haven’t been nominated for a Grammy Award since 1997. While we can’t say we’re surprised at this fact (half of its members are dead and they haven’t made any new material), Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr took Now and Then – an abandoned ballad written by John Lennon in the 70s – and revived it (with the help of AI), to make what they’ve called the band’s last ever single.
The song has earned two nods for:
Will they win? It’s likely. They’re indisputably the biggest and most influential band of all time and, as previously mentioned, this will be their last release. It would be out of character for the academy not to grant them one or two last tokens of appreciation.
Jacob Collier
He may not be a headline maker in the same way as his fellow nominees, but Jacob Collier’s jazz talents are wholly impressive. The London-born, six-time Grammy winner is up for three awards this year:
With the exception of Jon Batiste’s 2019 win, jazz albums haven’t had a winning history at the Grammys for decades, often being pipped to the post by pop, rock and country albums. Collier’s Djesse Vol. 4 would make a wildcard choice, but he’s got his other two wins locked in, especially his collaboration with John Legend and Tori Kelly.
Raye
Tooting’s Raye will be hoping to replicate her success at last year’s Brit Awards – where she was the night’s biggest winner – stateside. Her first-ever Grammy nominations are:
As a songwriter, Raye’s talents – and CV – are impressive. In addition to writing music for Little Mix, John Legend, Ellie Goulding and David Guetta, this year she’s written tracks for Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez – so she’s definitely in with a good chance for the Songwriter of the Year award.
It would be incredible to see her take the Best New Artist gong, but with competition so tough – in the form of Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Shaboozey and Doechii – a Raye win could be unrealistic.
Disclosure, Fred Again and Four Tet
Both the brother duo and the former Grammy winner are up for the award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording, Disclosure for She’s Gone, Dance On, and Fred Again for his Baby Keem collaboration Leavemealone.
Four Tet, who produced Leavemealone, is also nominated for the track, alongside his own keyboard-driven release Loved. This one feels too close to call, as all three acts – who have either won or been nominated before in similar categories in the past – are up again Kaytranda and Justice, two more big names in dance music.
Four Tet is also nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album, but it’s widely believed that Charli XCX will take that gong home on the night.
Idles
The Bristolian quintet released their critically acclaimed album Tangk last year, which caught the attention of Grammy voters. The band has been nominated for three awards in the ceremony’s rock category:
Competition is again, tough: the band find themselves up against legends like The Beatles and Pearl Jam and more well-known bands like Green Day, so a win may come as surprise – but never say never.
Fontaines D.C.
The same could be said for Ireland’s post-punk group Fontaines D.C., who are nominated in two categories:
The Rolling Stones
Rock veterans The Rolling Stones are one of the legacy acts both Idles and Fontaines D.C. are up against in the Best Rock Album category, where the now three-piece are nominated for Hackney Diamonds, their UK number one album released in 2023.
As Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners and with a win for Best Traditional Blues Album as recently as 2018, the band are considered well in the lead in the race for the Best Rock Album award.
Marsha Ambrosius
The Liverpudlian R&B singer has been building a steady profile stateside for some years now, contributing to tracks by Alicia Keys, Busta Rhymes, Justin Timberlake and The Game and reaching number 2 on the US charts back in 2011 with her debut album, Late Nights & Early Mornings.
This year she finds herself nominated for Best Traditional R&B Performance with her song Wet, which was produced by her long-time collaborator Dr. Dre.
Although she stands a great chance at taking the trophy, she’s up against Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Michael McDonald, so it could be tight.
Jordan Adentunji
Northern Irish rapper and singer Adetunji garnered attention for posting his alternative brand of hip-hop to TikTok, which quickly landed him a record deal with RCA.
He’s nominated for a remix of his breakthrough single Kehlani – a tribute to the American singer, the remix of which she appears on. His competition for the Best Melodic Rap Performance award includes big stars like Beyoncé and Future, and with Beyoncé’s impressive history at the awards, it wouldn’t come as a shock if she nabbed this year’s award.
