Still, the Academy stuck to its decision.
"We always want to respect the artist’s wishes," Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told Pitchfork. "Art’s a funny thing because it’s so subjective, and at the Academy our goal is to honor excellence. At some point, decisions have to be made as to how to compare different things, and it is a very tough process and one I don’t think we get right every time. We use our best efforts to get people where they wanna be and where they should be and try to evaluate them as best as we can."
As for Justin, Harvey added, "If he felt that was that type of a record, then, you know… I’ll just leave it at that. We try really hard to make sure people’s art is respected and evaluated in the right category."
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The Recording Academy Reserves the Right to "Place Any Selection Into the Category It Deems Appropriate"
When it comes to category placement, artists and The Recording Academy aren't always in perfect harmony.
While a musician may want to be considered for one award, the rules state the Academy has the right "to place any selection into the category it deems appropriate."
Justin Bieber voiced his confusion over his album Changes being nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album instead of Best R&B Album at the 2021 Grammys.
"To the Grammys I am flattered to be acknowledged and appreciated for my artistry," he wrote in part of a November 2020 post. "I am very meticulous and intentional about my music. With that being said I set out to make an R&B album. Changes was and is an R&B album. It is not being acknowledged as an R&B album which is very strange to me."
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An Album Can Be Nominated in One Genre Category While Its Tracks Can Be Nominated in Others
In order for an album to be nominated in a specific genre category, that album must feature more than 50 percent playing time of that type of music, according to the Academy's regulations.
"However," the rule book continues, "an album may be in one genre field while one or more tracks from the album may be in a different genre field."
Consider Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, for instance, which received 11 Grammy nominations. While the album is up for Best Country Album, Queen Bey's track "Bodyguard" is in the running for Best Pop Solo Performance and her song "Levii's Jeans" with Post Malone is a contender for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Similarly, her song “Spaghettii” from the album featuring Shaboozey and Linda Martell is a contender for Best Melodic R&B Performance and "Ya Ya" is nominated for Best Americana Performance.
However, a song cannot be nominated in more than one genre category.
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The Number of Times an Artist Can Be Nominated in a Category Depends on the Category
Wondering how many times an artist can be nominated in a particular category? Well, it depends.
For instance, the Academy's rule book states musicians can receive only one nomination in the Best New Artist category but that there's no limit on how many nods they can receive in the Song of the Year group.
In fact, Brandi Carlile made history when she became the first woman to receive two Song of the Year nominations in the same year, with her tracks "Right on Time" and "A Beautiful Noise" featuring Alicia Keys both being contenders at the 2022 Grammys.
As for Album of the Year, the rule book states an artist can receive only one nomination in this group per year unless the following two exceptions apply: The artist's second nomination in this category is with a co-nominee, or the artist's two Album of the Year nominations are with two different co-nominees.
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The Recording Academy Can Withdraw a Category
While there are 94 categories for the 2025 Grammys, the Academy doesn't have to stick with this number every year.
According to the rule book, the organization has the right to "withdraw any Category in any one year if the Academy determines that there is an insufficient number of entries in that Category, and, at the Academy’s discretion, to place the affected entries in one or more other Categories."
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Artists Can Submit Songs They Recorded A While Ago—But There's a Catch
The eligibility period for the 2025 Grammys was from Sept. 16, 2023 to Aug. 30, 2024.
"The GRAMMY Awards are open to new recordings released during the eligibility period," the Academy's guidebook reads. "These recordings must be commercially released, nationally distributed and available from any date within the eligibility period through at least the date of the current year’s Final Round voting deadline."
As for what's considered a "new recording," the guidebook notes this is "defined as material that has been recorded within five years of the release date and not previously released."
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There Can Be Ties
Sometimes, there can be more than one winner in a category.
For instance, both Jazmine Sullivan as well as Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak's duo Silk Sonic took home trophies in the Best R&B Performance category at the 2022 Grammys. Anderson also tied with Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future and James Blake in the Best Rap Performance at the 2019 award show.
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There Are No Runner-Ups If a Grammy Is Declined
When it comes to determining who will take home the trophy, the rules note the "process does not produce a ranked result with a winner and ordered runners-up."
So if a Grammy is rescinded after it's been presented, the guidelines state "no award is given in that category for that year."
Granted, this isn't a common occurrence. But in 1991, Sinéad O'Connor boycotted the Grammys, where her album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got was awarded Best Alternative Music Performance.
In a letter to the Academy, Sinéad slammed the “false and destructive materialistic values” of the music industry, per the Los Angeles Times.
However, the singer clarified to the outlet she was "not criticizing the Grammys in particular" but rather the music industry and artists overall for not bringing more attention to issues and not doing more to help others.
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A Grammy Award Can Be Challenged
Not everyone is going to agree with who should win a Grammy. In fact, challenges can be made to Grammy award entitlement.
"Decisions regarding GRAMMY Award entitlement are made by the Awards Department of the Recording Academy," the rule book notes. "Any challenge to a final entitlement decision by the Awards Department shall be made in writing and addressed to the Executive Committee of the Recording Academy. The Executive Committee is empowered to investigate, consider and decide the challenge, and shall have the authority to act with the power of the Board of Trustees for that purpose. The Executive Committee’s decision shall be communicated to the challenger in writing and shall be final."
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Bands With 10 or More Members Get One Collective Trophy But Groups With 9 or Fewer Members Get Individual Statues
This might not strike the right note with every band.
But according to The Recording Academy's rule book, the number of members in a group determines how many trophies that group gets after winning an award.
"Individuals and eligible members of groups of nine or fewer who are GRAMMY nominees on a winning project receive a GRAMMY Award statuette," the book reads. "Groups of 10 or more members will receive one statuette for the entire group/ensemble which is engraved with the group/ensemble name and sent to the designated group leader. The individual group members are not GRAMMY winners, only the group itself is the winner."
For instance, each of the four members of U2—Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.—received trophies for their 22 wins, making them the most-awarded rock act in history.