Grammy Awards 2023 nominations: snubs, surprises and twists

There have been some questionable choices this year

Beyonce received the maximum number of nominations for the 2023 Grammys, with nine nods. Reuters

Harry Styles is nominated for six Grammy Awards. The next ceremony will take place on February 5. Invision / AP

Adele will go head to head with Beyonce in the Album of the Year category. Reuters

Kendrick Lamar is nominated for eight awards. AP Photo

Mary J Blige bagged six nominations. Invision / AP

DJ Khaled also has six nods. Invision / AP, File

Taylor Swift is nominated for Best Country Song and Song of the Year. AFP

Wet Leg is nominated for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album. Reuters

Coldplay have three nominations. Reuters

Lizzo has five nominations. Reuters

Doja Cat has four nominations. Reuters

Yeah Yeah Yeahs' album Cool It Down is nominated for Best Alternative Music Album. AFP

It wouldn't be the Grammys without a healthy dose of surprises, snubs and head-scratchers, and the list of nominees for the February gala did not disappoint.

The following is a list of hot takes about the nominations: the open questions, amusing oddities — and questionable choices.

Will Beyonce finally triumph?

Beyonce, 41, is no stranger to the Grammys: she is the Recording Academy's winningest woman, and is tied with her husband, the rap mogul Jay-Z, for the most nominations with 88.

But even as she rules over the Grammy record books, Queen Bey is also among the show's most snubbed artists.

Over her storied career, she's only triumphed in the top categories once: in 2010, she won Song of the Year for Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).

Beyonce and Adele will go head to head for Album of the Year. AFP

Beyonce had not one but two chances in 2021 to capture Record of the Year, but it instead went to Billie Eilish, who had swept the top four categories a year prior.

It was hard not to see a parallel with 2017's slights against Bey, who notoriously lost Album of the Year to Adele.

In both cases, Adele and Eilish said their awards should've gone to Beyonce.

Adele and Beyonce will face-off again next year — and the Beyhive is waiting with bated breath to see if it's finally their Queen's year.

Is Viola Davis next for EGOT?

It's one of those Hollywood things that has entered the pop culture lexicon: EGOT. It signifies the rare club of performers — less than 20 of them — who have won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. And Viola Davis could be next.

The actress has been nominated for a Grammy in the Best Audiobook, Narration and Storytelling Recording category for reading her recent memoir, Finding Me.

Viola Davis is in line for an EGOT. Getty Images / AFP

Her competitors are rather formidable. Comedian Mel Brooks already has an EGOT. Lin-Manuel Miranda is an Oscar away. Jamie Foxx and Questlove are both Oscar and Grammy winners.

Davis won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Fences opposite Denzel Washington, and a Tony — her second — for the same role a few years earlier. She won an Emmy for Best Actress in a Drama Series for How to Get Away with Murder in 2015.

'Cancelled'?

The past few years have seen swirling debate over how to separate art from the artist — or whether to do so — and concerns over "cancelling" entertainers accused of harmful behaviour offstage.

But one year after comedian Louis CK — who admitted to sexual misconduct — took home a Grammy, he's nominated in the Best Comedy Album category once again.

Accused of sexual misconduct, Louis CK is up for Best Comedy Album. Invision / AP

And his competition includes Dave Chappelle, who has come under fire for doubling down on his sets deemed by some to be transphobic.

Chris Brown — who pleaded guilty to felony assault of his former girlfriend, megastar Rihanna, and later accused of rape in a separate case — received a nod for Best R&B Album for the deluxe version of his work Breezy.

And Canadian band Arcade Fire won a nomination for WE in the Best Alternative Music Album category, as lead singer Win Butler faces multiple accusations of sexual misconduct.

Polarising country singer Morgan Wallen — who came under fire after a video surfaced that captured him using a racial slur — was however shut out of the Grammy nominations.

Rosalia shunned, Coldplay praised

Many of the Grammy perennials have returned — but a handful of expected contenders were muted, or sidelined altogether.

Bad Bunny received a long-deserved nod for Album of the Year, but was inexplicably excluded from Song and Record of the Year — his standout smash Titi Me Pregunto has been blaring from US car stereos for months — as throwback artists including ABBA and Bonnie Raitt swept into the top categories.

Spanish singer Rosalia was left out of more prestigious categories despite her critically acclaimed album. EPA

Rosalia was relegated to the Latin Rock and Alternative categories as her buzzy, critically acclaimed album Motomami was left out of more prestigious fields, while the absence of rap queens Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion was stark.

Yet some of the Grammy darlings who continue to churn out work that critics count as past their prime persisted, with Coldplay and Brandi Carlile earning a crop of nominations as they've done year after year.

Scroll through the gallery below to see some of the best-dressed women at the Grammys 2022

Dua Lipa, wearing black buckled Versace, arrives at the 64th Grammy Awards on April 3, 2022. AFP

SZA, wearing a floral gown. AFP

Olivia Rodrigo, wearing black Vivienne Westwood. AFP

Lady Gaga, wearing a black and white Armani Prive gown. AFP

Billie Eilish, wearing black Rick Owens. AFP

Chloe Bailey, wearing silver Valentino. AFP

Avril Lavigne, wearing a layered black dress. AFP

Carrie Underwood, wearing a yellow gown. EPA

Kourtney Kardashian, wearing a black Givenchy jumpsuit, with Travis Barker. AFP

HER, wearing a yellow kaftan Dundas jumpsuit. AFP

Hailey Bieber, wearing a column Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello dress. AFP

Tinashe, wearing a pink latex dress. AP

A back view of Tinashe's bowed dress. EPA

Megan Thee Stallion, wearing a Robert Cavalli animal print dress. AFP

Paris Hilton, wearing a sheer silver dress. EPA

Saweetie, wearing hot pink Valentino. AFP

Saweetie later changed into a black Oscar de la Renta gown for a second red carpet appearance. AFP

Yola, wearing a purple gown. AP

Donatella Versace, wearing a green mini dress with matching boots. AFP

Cynthia Erivo, wearing a silver gown. EPA

Lily Aldridge, wearing a black dress. EPA

Rachel Zegler, wearing taupe tulle Dior. EPA

Halsey, wearing a bodiced black and burgundy dress. AFP

Chrissy Teigen, wearing a full pink gown. AFP

St Vincent, wearing a resplendent pink dress with ruffled sleeves. AFP

Arlo Parks, wearing shorts and an oversized jacket. AP

Sofia Carson, wearing a green gown. EPA

Tayla Parx, wearing a green jumpsuit with foam spikes. AP

Tiffany Haddish, wearing a sequinned gown. AFP

Joni Mitchell, wearing a floral top and trouser set with a red beret. AFP

Addison Rae, wearing a white slip dress. AFP

Maren Morris, in a snake skin print dress. AFP

A close-up of Dua Lipa's Bulgari jewellery. AFP