The 2024 Grammy nominee list dropped today, with Aphex Twin, James Blake, Disclosure and Fred Again among the nominees for Best Dance/Electronic Recording.
This year the music industry awards introduced three new categories: Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album and (relevant to our interests) Best Pop Dance Recording. (Naturally, David Guetta dominates the new category, because the Grammies are gonna Grammy.)
The nominee list was released amid serious allegations aired in a lawsuit against the Academy and its former CEO. Earlier this week, a woman filed suit accusing the ex-CEO of the Grammy Awards, Neil Portnow, of rape in 2018 when, she claims, Portnow spiked her drink and sexually assaulted her. Portnow has denounced the suit, filed in the state Supreme Court in Manhattan under the terms of the Adult Survivors Act, as “completely false.”
The Recording Academy is also named as a defendant in the suit. In the filing, the victim claims she contacted the Recording Academy later in 2018 about Portnow. The allegations first surfaced in 2020 after Portnow’s successor, Deborah Dugan, filed a complaint against the Academy after she was dismissed and referenced the woman’s allegations.
In a separate statement, the Academy said the claims were “without merit” and that they “intend to vigorously defend the Academy in this lawsuit.”
It’s not possible to avoid mentioning the allegations in tandem with this story about the Academy, its leadership, and its response to sexual assault allegations. In 2018, when the incident took place, the Grammies were held in the spotlight of the #TimesUp and #MeToo movement, an awareness campaign against sexual abuse, harassment and rape culture. The Grammy Awards that year highlighted the Academy’s performative “solidarity” with victims of sexual assault and the ass-covering by music industry leadership. Pop stars wore a white rose in support of “equal representation in the workplace, for leadership that reflects the diversity of our society, workplaces free of sexual harassment and a heightened awareness of accountability that our sisters started on January 1st.”
With that said, these would be your nominees:
2024 Grammy Awards Nominees for Dance / Electronic Music
Best Dance/Electronic Recording
For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances. Vocal or Instrumental. Singles or tracks only.
Blackbox Life Recorder 21F
Aphex Twin
Richard D James, producer; Richard D James, mixer
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James Blake
James Blake & Dom Maker, producers; James Blake, mixer
Higher Than Ever Before
Disclosure
Cirkut, Guy Lawrence & Howard Lawrence, producers; Guy Lawrence, mixer
Strong
Romy & Fred again..
Fred again.., Stuart Price & Romy, producers; Fred again.. & Stuart Price, mixers
Rumble
Skrillex, Fred again.. & Flowdan
Fred again.. & Skrillex, producers; Skrillex, mixer
Best Pop Dance Recording
For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances. Vocal or Instrumental. Singles or tracks only.
Baby Don’t Hurt Me
David Guetta, Anne-Marie & Coi Leray
Johnny Goldstein, Toby Green, David Guetta & Mike Hawkins, producers; Serban Ghenea, mixer
Miracle
Calvin Harris Featuring Ellie Goulding
Burns & Calvin Harris, producers; Calvin Harris, mixer
Padam Padam
Kylie Minogue
Lostboy, producer; Guy Massey, mixer
One In A Million
Bebe Rexha & David Guetta
Burns & David Guetta, producers; Serban Ghenea, mixer
Rush
Troye Sivan
Styalz Fuego, Novodor & Zhone, producers; Alex Ghenea, mixer
Best Dance/Electronic Music Album
For vocal or instrumental albums. Albums only.
Playing Robots Into Heaven
James Blake
For That Beautiful Feeling
The Chemical Brothers
Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022)
Fred again..
Kx5
Kx5
Quest For Fire
Skrillex
Best Remixed Recording
(A Remixer’s Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses for identification.) Singles or Tracks only.)
Alien Love Call
BADBADNOTGOOD, remixers (Turnstile & BADBADNOTGOOD Featuring Blood Orange)
New Gold (Dom Dolla Remix)
Dom Dolla, remixer (Gorillaz Featuring Tame Impala & Bootie Brown)
Reviver (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Remix)
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, remixer (Lane 8)
Wagging Tongue (Wet Leg Remix)
Wet Leg, remixers (Depeche Mode)
Workin’ Hard (Terry Hunter Remix)
Terry Hunter, remixer (Mariah Carey)