Updated Jan. 5, 2021.

The 2021 GRAMMYs are just around the corner, and now the nominations are in for the coveted honor of Album Of The Year. While we'll have to wait until the 63rd GRAMMY Awards air on CBS on Sunday, March 14, to find out who will win, let's take a look at which albums have been nominated for one of the most anticipated GRAMMY Awards each year.

CHILOMBO - Jhené Aiko

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Jhené Aiko's third studio album, inspired by Hawaii's landscape and traditional music, was released on March 6, 2020. Acting as executive producer, the GRAMMY-nominated performer teamed up with collaborators Fisticuffs and Lejkeys, who produced 18 of the album's tracks. Aiko also stacked the album with additional big-name collaborators, Nas, Ty Dolla Sign and Future, as well as John Legend, Miguel and H.E.R.

"At some point, I realized that a part of my purpose is to help people get through things," she recently told GRAMMY.com in an Up Close & Personal interview. "Now that I'm studying sound healing and know the importance of sound, I just feel like it's my responsibility as a musician to really take care of the sounds that I put into the music."

Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition) - Black Pumas

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Nominated for Best New Artist at the 62nd GRAMMY Awards, the Austin-based psych-soul duo released their debut studio album in 2019 to critical acclaim. "Black Pumas are the answer to the exciting question of what it would sound like if Sam Cooke or Neil Young joined the Wu-Tang Clan," wrote the Guardian.

"...It feels good because it doesn't feel like we tried to cheat the system or anything," GRAMMY-winning guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada told GRAMMY.com last year about their first-time nominations. "There was legit just people out there that believed in what were doing. And if we weren't getting the GRAMMY nomination, we'd still be playing shows. And if we weren't playing shows, we'd be still recording in the studio. We'd be doing this no matter what, but it's pretty amazing."

Everyday Life - Coldplay

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Seven-time GRAMMY-winning pop-rock headliners Coldplay released their eighth studio in November 2019. It featured a number of returning producers and collaborators with whom the band had previously worked, such as The Dream Team (Rik Simpson, Dan Green, Bill Rahko), Davide Rossi and Emily Lazar. "It's Coldplay's rangiest and deepest release by orders of magnitude, maybe even their best," Rolling Stone raved in their four-star review. 

Djesse Vol. 3 - Jacob Collier

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Four-time GRAMMY winner Jacob Collier released his fourth studio album in August 2020. Stacked with guests, Djesse Vol. 3 features Kimbra, Tank and the Bangas, Jessie Reyez, T-Pain, Daniel Caesar, Ty Dolly $ign, Tori Kelly and more.

"The thing about when I make music," the composer and arranger recently told GRAMMY.com, "is that a lot of the decisions that may feel quite technical are basically based in feelings. It's based on an emotional decision."

Women In Music Pt. III - HAIM

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The L.A. sisters' highly anticipated third album dropped in summer 2020 to wide critical acclaim. Co-produced by Danielle Haim and longtime collaborators Ariel Rechtshaid and Rostam Batmanglij (formerly of Vampire Weekend), WIMPIII is Haim's favorite record to date. "For the first time, with this record, I don't think I'll ever get sick of it," Alana told GRAMMY.com earlier in the year. "We've always been confident but this is our third record, our third time around the sun if you will, and even thinking back to Days Are Gone (2013), we didn't know anything in the studio." Danielle agreed: "We knew the fundamentals of production when we first got into it, but now we know so much more.

Future Nostalgia - Dua Lipa

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Released in March 2020, the Best New Artist GRAMMY winner's second studio album purposefully leaned all the way into an irresistible disco-pop vibe, featuring such writers and producers as Jeff Bhasker, Ian Kirkpatrick, Stuart Price and The Monsters & Strangerz.

"I wanted to do something that felt fresh and new, something that touched on a memory, something that always rings so true to me, especially in my childhood," Dua told GRAMMY.com earlier this summer about the album. "To be able to recreate that in a modern way was an absolute dream for me. I'm so happy that I stood by and honed in on that sound that I love. It makes me feel so good. I'm really proud of this record because I feel like I found my [footing] as an artist and as a songwriter. I really wrote things that I absolutely love. It's definitely a milestone for me in my career."

Hollywood's Bleeding - Post Malone

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Released in the fall of 2019, the singer-rapper's third studio album features guest appearances from DaBaby, Future, Halsey, Meek Mill, Lil Baby, Ozzy Osbourne, Travis Scott, SZA, Swae Lee and Young Thug. Producers, meanwhile, included Andrew Watt, BloodPop, Brian Lee, Carter Lang, DJ Dahi, Emile Haynie, Frank Dukes and Malone himself. "Hollywood's Bleeding is immediately Post Malone's most listenable work and may well be the catchiest album you hear in 2019," Consequence of Sound wrote at the time of release.

Folklore - Taylor Swift

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In July 2020, multi-GRAMMY winner and pop titan Taylor Swift surprise-dropped her eighth studio album, folklore. The announcement came with no advance singles or prior news around a 2020 album, in contrast to the four-month teasers and singles in the lead up to 2019's GRAMMY-nominated Lover.

"Before this year I probably would've overthought when to release this music at the 'perfect' time, but the times we're living in keep reminding me that nothing is guaranteed," Swift wrote in a social media post around releasing the low-key, stripped-down folklore, which featured production from Jack Antonoff and The National's Aaron Dessner. "My gut is telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world. That's the side of uncertainty I can get on board with. Love you guys so much."

2021 GRAMMYs: Complete Nominees List

The Recording Academy has partnered with leading online learning platform Coursera on GRAMMY GO, a new online initiative to offer classes tailored for music creators and industry professionals.

This partnership empowers the next generation of the music community with practical, up-to-the moment digital content that provides wisdom for both emerging and established members of the industry. Continuing the Academy’s ongoing mission to serve all music people, courses cover a variety of specializations tailored to creative and professional growth. 

GRAMMY GO on Coursera includes courses taught by Recording Academy members, featuring GRAMMY winners and nominees and offers real-life lessons learners can put to work right away.

Starting today, enrollment is open for GRAMMY GO’s first Coursera specialization, "Building Your Audience for Music Professionals," taught by Joey Harris, international music/marketing executive and CEO of Joey Harris Inc. The course features Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and five-time GRAMMY winner Jimmy Jam, 10-time GRAMMY nominee Janelle Monáe and three-time GRAMMY winner and the 2024 GRAMMYs Best New Artist Victoria Monét. This foundational specialization will help participants gain the skills, knowledge and confidence to build a strong brand presence and cultivate a devoted audience within the ever-changing music industry. 

The partnership’s second course, launching later this summer, aims to strengthen the technological and audio skills of a music producer. "Music Production: Crafting An Award-Worthy Song" will be taught by Carolyn Malachi, Howard University professor and GRAMMY nominee, and will include appearances by GRAMMY winner CIRKUT, three-time GRAMMY winner Hit-Boy, artist and celebrity vocal coach Stevie Mackey, five-time GRAMMY nominee and Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr., and 15-time GRAMMY winner Judith Sherman. Pre-enrollment for "Music Production: Crafting An Award-Worthy Song" opens today.

"Whether it be through a GRAMMY Museum program, GRAMMY Camp or GRAMMY U, the GRAMMY organization is committed to helping music creators flourish, and the Recording Academy is proud to introduce our newest learning platform, GRAMMY GO, in partnership with Coursera," said Panos A. Panay, President of the Recording Academy. "A creator’s growth path is ongoing and these courses have been crafted to provide learners with the essential tools to grow in their professional and creative journeys."

"We are honored to welcome GRAMMY GO, our first entertainment partner, to the Coursera community," said Marni Baker Stein, Chief Content Officer at Coursera. "With these self-paced online specializations, aspiring music professionals all over the world have an incredible opportunity to learn directly from iconic artists and industry experts. Together with GRAMMY GO, we can empower tomorrow's pioneers of the music industry to explore their passion today."

GRAMMY GO also serves as the music community’s newest digital hub for career pathways and editorial content that provides industry insights for members of the industry; visit go.grammy.com for more. For information and enrollment, please visit the landing pages for "Building Your Audience for Music Professionals" and "Music Production: Crafting An Award-Worthy Song."

Meet 5 GRAMMY Nominees Who Started At GRAMMY U: From Boygenius Engineer Sarah Tudzin To Pentatonix’s Scott Hoying

As a founding member of the National Recording Preservation Board, the Recording Academy was instrumental in lobbying and getting the board created by Congress. Now, the Library of Congress has added new treasures to the National Recording Registry, preserving masterpieces that have shaped American culture.

The 2024 class not only celebrates modern icons like Green Day’s punk classic Dookie and Biggie Smalls' seminal Ready to Die, but also honors vintage gems like Gene Autry’s "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and Perry Como’s hits from 1957. These recordings join over 650 titles that constitute the registry — a curated collection housed within the Library’s vast archive of nearly 4 million sound recordings. 

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced these additions as essential pieces of our nation’s audio legacy, each selected for their cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance. This selection process is influenced by public nominations, which hit a record number this year, emphasizing the public's role in preserving audio history.

Read more: Inside Green Day's Intimate "Right Here, Right Now" Global Climate Concert In San Francisco

"The Library of Congress is proud to preserve the sounds of American history and our diverse culture through the National Recording Registry," Hayden said. "We have selected audio treasures worthy of preservation with our partners this year, including a wide range of music from the past 100 years, as well as comedy. We were thrilled to receive a record number of public nominations, and we welcome the public’s input on what we should preserve next."

The latest selections named to the registry span from 1919 to 1998 and range from the recordings of the all-Black 369th U.S. Infantry Band led by James Reese Europe after World War I, to defining sounds of jazz and bluegrass, and iconic recordings from pop, dance, country, rock, rap, Latin and classical music.

"For the past 21 years the National Recording Preservation Board has provided musical expertise, historical perspective and deep knowledge of recorded sound to assist the Librarian in choosing landmark recordings to be inducted into the Library’s National Recording Registry," said Robbin Ahrold, Chair of the National Recording Preservation Board. "The board again this year is pleased to join the Librarian in highlighting influential works in our diverse sound heritage, as well as helping to spread the word on the National Recording Registry through their own social media and streaming media Campaigns."

Tune in to NPR's "1A" for "The Sounds of America" series, featuring interviews with Hayden and selected artists, to hear stories behind this year’s picks. Stay connected to the conversation about the registry via social media and listen to many of the recordings on your favorite streaming service.

For more details on the National Recording Registry and to explore more about the selections, visit The Library of Congress's official National Recording Registry page.

National Recording Registry, 2024 Selections (chronological order)

1. "Clarinet Marmalade" – Lt. James Reese Europe’s 369th U.S. Infantry Band (1919)

2. "Kauhavan Polkka" – Viola Turpeinen and John Rosendahl (1928)

3. Wisconsin Folksong Collection (1937-1946)

4. "Rose Room" – Benny Goodman Sextet with Charlie Christian (1939)

5. "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" – Gene Autry (1949)

6. "Tennessee Waltz" – Patti Page (1950)

7. "Rocket ‘88’" – Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats (1951)

8. "Catch a Falling Star" / "Magic Moments" – Perry Como (1957)

9. "Chances Are" – Johnny Mathis (1957)

10. "The Sidewinder" – Lee Morgan (1964)

11. "Surrealistic Pillow" – Jefferson Airplane (1967)

12. "Ain’t No Sunshine" – Bill Withers (1971)

13. "This is a Recording" – Lily Tomlin (1971)

14. "J.D. Crowe & the New South" – J.D. Crowe & the New South (1975)

15. "Arrival" – ABBA (1976)

16. "El Cantante" – Héctor Lavoe (1978)

17. "The Cars" – The Cars (1978)

18. "Parallel Lines" – Blondie (1978)

19. "La-Di-Da-Di" – Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick (MC Ricky D) (1985)

20. "Don’t Worry, Be Happy" – Bobby McFerrin (1988)

21. "Amor Eterno" – Juan Gabriel (1990)

22. "Pieces of Africa" – Kronos Quartet (1992)

23. Dookie – Green Day (1994)

24. Ready to Die – The Notorious B.I.G. (1994)

25. "Wide Open Spaces" – The Chicks (1998)

21 Albums Turning 50 In 2024: 'Diamond Dogs,' 'Jolene,' 'Natty Dread' & More

Following a two-year hiatus, the GRAMMY Museum and Recording Academy are reinstating the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame on its 50th anniversary. The momentous event will be celebrated with an inaugural gala and concert on Tuesday, May 21, at the NOVO Theater in Los Angeles; tickets and performers for the event will be announced at a later date. As part of the return, 10 recordings, including four albums and six singles, will be newly inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame later this year.

The GRAMMY Hall Of Fame was established by the Recording Academy's National Trustees in 1973 to honor recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that are at least 25 years old. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of the recording arts with final ratification by the Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees. There are currently 1,152 inducted recordings in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. View the full list GRAMMY Hall Of Fame past inductees.

This year, the GRAMMY Museum’s GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Gala will be the first of what will become an annual event, and includes a red carpet and VIP reception on the newly opened Ray Charles Terrace at the GRAMMY Museum, followed by a one-of-a-kind concert at the NOVO Theater in Downtown Los Angeles.

The inaugural gala and concert is produced by longtime executive producer of the GRAMMY Awards, Ken Ehrlich, along with Chantel Sausedo and Ron Basile and will feature musical direction by globally renowned producer and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes. For sponsorship opportunities, reach out to halloffame@grammymuseum.org.

Keep watching this space for more exciting news about the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame!

2024 GRAMMYs: See The Full Winners & Nominees List

In the midst of GRAMMY Week, The Recording Academy, Gold House and Pacific Bridge Arts Foundation came together for the first-ever Gold Music Alliance reception — an intimate, yet powerful celebration of the Pan-Asian community's vast contributions to the music industry.

"This is the first gathering, but it's definitely not going to be the last," promised Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, in opening remarks at the Jan. 31 event, which was held at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City, California. "We're going to continue to grow, we're going to continue to evolve. This organization and this group of constituents, music makers — it's going to be a powerful platform to make a difference. The importance of this group is so the Academy can listen and learn and understand."

As the son of Harvey Mason Sr. — the acclaimed jazz drummer from Fourplay and original drummer of Herbie Hancock's The Headhunters — Mason jr.'s entire life has revolved around music. Even though he's always been immersed in sound, Mason jr. understands that he needs to keep his ears open to other perspectives within the industry.

"We don't know everything that's going on in every group of music makers or music people," he said, "so having different groups being able to get together, have insight and give us feedback — how can we serve better? How can we represent your group, your constituency, your community better? We need to understand what's missing, what's lacking, how can we get it better?"

Harvey Mason jr. speaking with guests at the Gold Music Alliance Reception on Jan. 31, 2024 | Anna Webber / Getty Images

"Thank you, Harvey, for listening," said Jonathan Yip, who is currently serving as a Trustee, and is the first AAPI+ Trustee elected to the Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees from the Los Angeles Chapter. "You nailed it! That is exactly what we need. We need allies and, with you and the Recording Academy backing us and what we're trying to do here, it means everything to us. So thank you very much for that.

"When I first moved out to LA in 2001, I worked at a couple different record labels, and when I would go in there, I didn't see anybody that looked like me," Yip, a two-time GRAMMY winner for his producing work as part of Stereotypes on "That's What I Like" by Bruno Mars, which took home golden gramophones for Song Of The Year and Best R&B Song in 2018, added. "But, what I did notice 20 years forward, I see a lot, and I think the growth of our community within the music industry is something to be proud of."

Yip acknowledged how important it is to have the Recording Academy's support in pushing the Gold Music Alliance initiative, which he said will "help bridge the gaps in the future and the younger people in our community to give them opportunities to be creative." And the GRAMMY Week reception wasn't just impactful because of the promise in the room, but because it's a moment that the community has long hoped for. 

"We've all been in the music industry where we've always wanted a voice, we've always wanted that visibility," Yip noted. "So for us to be here, to be able to reach out to the community and let them know that it's accessible, that we're here and we have a voice — that to me is a huge moment."

With its mission grounded in lifting Asian founders, creative voices, and leaders, Gold House has played a pivotal role in working with major media companies to help reshape screens in TV and film, with successes like Beef and Everything Everywhere All at Once. Now, the nonprofit organization is bringing its passion to the music business by sponsoring the Inaugural Gold Music Alliance GRAMMY Week reception.

"We all know that awards are so critically important to all of our creative industries, and voting bodies have historically looked very singular," noted Gold House CEO Bing Chen. "So we are so excited to be able to diversify, not just for representation, but for creative excellence, the next waves of artists, producers, musicians and companies."

DJ Virman at the Gold Music Alliance Reception on Jan. 31, 2024 | Anna Webber / Getty Images

As Frankie Yaptinchay, Amazon Music's Senior Product Manager, Audience Development & Creative Partnerships,  added, the hope and vision of the Gold Music Alliance is that it will be around for generations to come.

"I think the big thing the Gold Music Alliance is doing is we want to build accessibility," said Yaptinchay, who also serves as governor of the Pacific Northwest chapter of the Recording Academy. "We want to build accessibility, for not only us and the creators, and executives, but for the next generation. We want to use the vehicle that the Recording Academy has built and the prestige and share that with our community. I think this is our time to be visible, our time to speak up, and I'm really really excited we can do this.”

"We are all about uplifting the next generation in music," agreed Annie Lam, executive director of Pacific Bridge Arts Foundation. The nonprofit was founded by Far East Movement, the first Asian-American group to top the Billboard Hot 100 charts with their 2010 party hit "Like a G6". The group's Kev Nish is integrated in every aspect of the event, serving as PBA's Chair of the Board and founder, a Gold House board member, and the Recording Academy's Los Angeles Chapter Governor; his bandmate DJ Virman provided the musical accompaniment for the reception.

"The work that we do is really shaped by their journey and experiences," Lam continued, highlighting some of their programs, including The Bridging Arts Talk, which features GRAMMY nominees, GRAMMY winners and music executives. "We are so proud that all of these leaders are part of our network to give back, because we know the value of mentorship and how important they are and we are working step by step to knock down those barriers. We're still fighting the good fight and hope that you will continue to work with us to keep up with the movement."

Before the event came to a close, Grace Jun Baca, Recording Academy Director of Governance, Member & Industry Relations, expressed her thanks for those who helped make the event a success.

"Tonight was made possible because of the support of Ryan Butler, VP DEI and DEI's DREAM (Diversity Reimagined by Engaging All Musicmakers) Initiative, serving underrepresented groups at the Academy, and of course the ultimate green light from CEO Harvey Mason, jr. Like Harvey said, this is only the beginning. There's much more to come!"

The Recording Academy's Los Angeles Chapter Honored Its Musical Family At 2024 GRAMMY Nominee Celebration