It seems like Tyla’s team has big plans for her—they want her to be the next Beyoncé or Rihanna! That’s some pretty ambitious company. I’ll dive into the Grammy nominations in a bit, but first, let’s talk about Tyla’s latest video for her single, “Push to Start.” I actually really like the song, even though it feels a bit like a follow-up to her previous hit, “Water.” Moving forward, though, I think it would be interesting to see her experiment with new sounds, maybe even dip more into pop—it’s such a strong genre right now. But as for “Push to Start,” both the song and the video were great! The visuals were fresh and had that fun energy that’s reminiscent of Beyoncé or Rihanna, so I can really see the direction her team is going for.

It feels like they’re molding her to have that blend of Beyoncé, Rihanna, Shakira, and even a touch of Aaliyah—all artists with their own unique edge and star power. They might be hoping to fill the gap left by Rihanna, who’s pretty much moved on from music to focus on her businesses. Rihanna has said that music gave her a platform, but that she found new ways to express her passions. And while that’s amazing for her, fans do feel a bit of a void now that she’s out of the music scene.

And then there’s the Beyoncé factor. Beyoncé is still a powerhouse in music, but the industry naturally looks to find fresh talent that brings that same star quality we see in icons. It’ll be interesting to watch Tyla’s journey and see if she can truly make a mark in that league.

The music industry has a way of trying to shape new artists into replicas of past superstars. We’ve seen them push Tate McRae as a sort of “next Britney Spears.” They initially positioned Ariana Grande to take up the Mariah Carey mantle, and they tried to frame Olivia Rodrigo as the next Taylor Swift, though Taylor made it clear she wasn’t having any of that. There’s always this hunt for the “next big thing,” and right now, it’s obvious they’re angling for Tyla to be the next superstar of color, possibly even following a path like Beyoncé, Rihanna, or Aaliyah.

But here’s the thing—I really hope Tyla can maintain her own unique identity. A bit of inspiration is natural, but I don’t want her team to lose sight of who she is by pushing her to fit a template. Tyla has her own style and energy, and it would be a loss if her team took her off her path just to follow in someone else’s footsteps.

Grammy Nominees: Beyoncé, Muni Long, Kendrick Lamar, and Others

Now, shifting to the Grammy nominations—every year, the Grammy announcements come with a dose of controversy. Artists get snubbed, and fans are left scratching their heads. This year was no different, and I feel like several deserving artists were overlooked. But that’s how the Grammys operate: it’s a political game, involving a lot of behind-the-scenes campaigning. Artists and their teams often need to rub elbows with the Grammy board and establish connections with people on the voting committee. In some cases, it even involves a bit of money from labels or management to secure those nominations. For established names who have been around long enough, the Grammy nods come more easily. But for those who don’t have that visibility, it can be a struggle to get recognized, and sadly, that’s just the way it goes.

That said, I do want to give props to some artists who did make it into this year’s lineup. A big congratulations to Muni Long! She’s up for three R&B nominations, which is truly well-deserved. Muni has been grinding in this industry for over a decade, and her album Revenge was a solid project. Plus, her hit “Made for Me” really made an impact. She’s absolutely earned these nominations, and I’m hoping she brings home some wins.
Big congratulations to Beyoncé! She’s leading the pack this year with the most Grammy nominations for her album Cowboy Carter. And on top of that, she’s now the most-nominated artist in Grammy history, beating out her husband Jay-Z’s record. That’s huge! But now the big question is—will she actually win in the major categories like Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year? The competition is tough this year, and I feel like the Grammys always nominate her just to make sure she shows up, but will they give her the win this time? Honestly, I’m not sure. But I can almost guarantee she’s not walking away empty-handed. With 11 nominations, she’s definitely going home with something. I’m calling it now—she’s leaving with something, for sure!

Kendrick Lamar’s also got a solid number of nominations this year, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for his track “Not Like Us.” He’s got nods in multiple rap categories too. And, I have to say, it’s kind of wild that some of those nominations are for his diss tracks aimed at Drake. I mean, dang! But let’s be real, Drake’s stopped caring about the Grammys; he doesn’t even submit his music anymore. So I guess the committee’s cool with nominating Kendrick’s diss tracks. Kendrick’s always got love from the Grammys anyway—his label TDE has strong connections with the committee, so he’s pretty much always going to get nominated. That said, Kendrick really held it down for hip-hop this year, and he totally deserves the recognition.

Now, I’ll admit, I was a little surprised to see Chris Brown get some love in the Grammy nominations this year. After everything that’s happened, I thought they kind of blackballed him. But it’s nice to see him back in the mix. And big congratulations to Lucky Daye too, because he got a lot of recognition for his album Algorithm. That album was one of my personal favorites this year—it’s so well-deserved. I really hope he walks away with something because he definitely earned it.
I was so happy to see Coco Jones get a nomination for her song “Here We Go” in the Best R&B Performance category. Since Coco already has a Grammy under her belt, the Academy clearly knows her work, so it’s great to see her continuing to get the recognition she deserves. Big shout-out to Tems as well—she received several nominations, and I loved her album Born in the Wild. She definitely deserves to be recognized, and I’m hoping she walks away with at least one win.

I was also really surprised to see Doja Cat get nominated in four categories! That’s huge for her. Of course, TDE probably played a role in securing those nominations, but she’s absolutely earned it. I’m hoping she takes home something, especially if she wins Best Remix Recording with Cardi and JT. That would be such a cool win for all three of them!

But honestly, huge congrats to all the nominees! I’m not here to hate on anyone who made the list, but we do have to talk about some of the major snubs this year because some of them were just too obvious to ignore.

I know some artists choose not to submit their albums, and that’s totally fine. But typically, labels will submit songs for their artists, and I was surprised that Normani, Tyla, Tinashe, Chloe, Ayra Starr, and Ravyn didn’t get any recognition. Normani, for sure, should’ve been nominated for Dopamine—it’s one of my favorite albums of the year, and it feels like a total snub that she wasn’t even acknowledged. Tinashe, too—she had a solid year, and I thought at least her song “Nasty” would’ve gotten a nod. But since she’s independent, I’m guessing that might’ve hurt her chances. Ayra Starr should’ve definitely been nominated for The Year I Turned 21, and Chloe Bailey deserved more attention as well…

Chlöe Bailey got completely snubbed this year—her album Trouble in Paradise didn’t get a single nomination, and honestly, I have to side-eye her team for that one. Chlöe is signed to Parkwood, Beyoncé’s label, and she’s also under Columbia. If Beyoncé can rack up 11 nominations, surely Chlöe could have gotten at least one, right? She’s even been nominated alongside H.E.R. in the past, so now, nothing? It’s just bizarre.

Chlöe’s response to the snub seemed disappointed but not shocked. You could tell she was trying to keep it positive:

“Okay, so I think they announced all my categories. Didn’t get anything this year, but that’s all right. The music was still great. Go stream Trouble in Paradise.”

Ravyn Lenae also didn’t get any love this year, and that was another shocker. Her album Bird’s Eye was on repeat for me. Tracks like “Love is Blind,” “Candy,” and “Dream Girl” were straight fire. It felt like those songs were made for the Progressive R&B categories, but once again, she was overlooked. She met the deadlines, so it just seems like the Grammys didn’t bother to acknowledge her.

It’s frustrating because when an artist doesn’t have the right investment or connections, they tend to go unnoticed. Tyler also got snubbed this year, which I didn’t see coming. I heard her label tried to submit her for R&B categories, but her music is more Afrobeats and Amapiano. It seems they submitted her in the wrong categories. If they had tried for the African or global categories, she might have had a better shot. But nope—nothing.

Megan Thee Stallion’s exclusion was probably the most shocking, especially since she had such a big year with multiple hits. She should’ve absolutely been nominated. But here’s where I’m not putting the blame on the Grammys—I’m looking at her team. Why didn’t Roc Nation secure those nominations for her? It’s not the first time she’s been snubbed this year, either. She didn’t get a nod at the BET Hip-Hop Awards either.

Megan has a powerhouse team behind her—Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Roc Nation—so why was she left out? She’s already a three-time Grammy winner, so the committee knows her. This doesn’t make sense unless her team dropped the ball—either they didn’t submit her music, or they didn’t push hard enough. It’s possible this could’ve been an intentional move for some publicity or outrage marketing, but I’m still left wondering what went wrong.

And then there’s Nicki Minaj. Her snub isn’t shocking at all, really. Nicki’s basically blackballed from the Grammys at this point. Last year, they played her dirty by announcing she won for Barbie World and then taking it back and giving it to Killer Mike. It was just disrespectful. Nicki’s never won a Grammy, and it’s clear that someone at the Grammys has a personal issue with her. Her snub is beyond frustrating at this point. Her label submitted songs from Pink Friday 2, which was the best-selling female rap album and one of the top-selling rap albums of the year. But of course, she got nothing. It’s not that her team didn’t try—it’s the Grammys refusing to acknowledge her. It’s hard to ignore that this is personal.
Nicki Minaj just announced that her deluxe album The Hiatus will drop on December 13th, and honestly, not getting nominated for a Grammy isn’t going to hold her back. She’s still going to keep racking up sales and streams—because let’s be real, numbers don’t lie. Some artists may chase that Grammy validation, but Nicki? She doesn’t need it.

On the other hand, I saw a lot of fans upset that Ariana Grande didn’t get nominated in some of the major categories. She did get some nods in the pop categories, but when it came to Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year, she was left out, and her fans were not happy about it. Many thought her song We Can’t Be Friends deserved recognition, especially since it was a big hit and one of the top pop songs of the year.

But let’s not forget, the competition in pop music this year is fierce. Ariana’s going up against some heavy hitters like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Beyoncé, and Kendrick Lamar—each of them had a massive year. Even newer artists like Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan had breakout moments. Yes, Ariana did focus more on acting this year, so her music kind of took a backseat. That doesn’t mean she’s out of the race, though—she’s still got those pop nominations, and a win is a win, right?

One cool thing is that she’s nominated for Best Pop Duo with Brandy and Monica for The Boy Is Mine remix. That’s a pretty iconic moment because Brandy and Monica have only won one Grammy in their careers, and it was for The Boy Is Mine. So, if they all win together, it would be an amazing full-circle moment. Ariana joining these two legends to win another Grammy would be so special.

So, that’s a wrap on the snubs. Are you excited about the Grammys? What do you think of all this? Let me know in the comments. And if you liked this video, make sure to like, comment, and share it! Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next time. Bye!

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