JiveDash

Sure, the Grammy Awards seem simple. Your favorite artists win some hardware for their best bops, and everyone wears sparkly outfits on the red carpet. But if you actually pay attention to the Recording Academy's coveted categories, you’ll probably realize that it’s a little more complicated than it seems at face value. There are three separate awards for the Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year, and TBH, it’s all kinds of confusing. Here is what those award categories actually mean.

Song of the Year

Miley Cyrus is up for Record, Song, and Album of the Year at the 2024 Grammys.

This is the most deceptively obvious award. It sounds like it just goes to the best jam of the year, but it’s slightly more complex than that. Song of the Year is actually a songwriter award for the single or track that was released during the eligibility period, which for the 66th Grammy Awards is October 1, 2022 - September 15, 2023. This year’s nominees include:

• "A&W" by Lana Del Rey
• "Anti-Hero" by Taylor Swift
• "Butterfly" by Jon Batiste
• "Dance The Night" by Dua Lipa
• "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus
• "Kill Bill" by SZA
• "Vampire" by Olivia Rodrigo
• "What Was I Made For?" by Billie Eilish

Record of the Year

Like Miley, SZA is nominated in all three categories for her track "Kill Bill" and her sophomore album SOS.

At the Grammys, a record is not a vinyl you bought at Urban Outfitters and have yet to actually play. Here, “record” means a single track. This award honors the artist for their performance and the work of the producers, recording engineers, mastering engineers, and mixers. These are the records nominated this year:

• "Worship" by Jon Batiste
• "Not Strong Enough" by boygenius
• "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus
• "What Was I Made For?" by Billie Eilish
• "On My Mama" by Victoria Monét
• "Vampire" by Olivia Rodrigo
• "Anti-Hero" by Taylor Swift
• "Kill Bill" by SZA
  

Album of the Year

Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus—aka supergroup boygenius—snagged noms for all three categories, too.

Album of the Year is the award for a whole-ass album. To be eligible, it has to have at least five new full songs and be 15 minutes long or be 30 minutes long, with as many damn tracks as it wants. The award goes to artist as well as any featured artists, songwriters, producers, engineers, and mixers. Here are the albums in the running:

• World Music Radio by Jon Batiste
• the record by boygenius
• Endless Summer Vacation by Miley Cyrus
• Did You Know That There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd by Lana Del Rey
• The Age Of Pleasure by Janelle Monáe
• GUTS by Olivia Rodrigo
• Midnights by Taylor Swift
• SOS by SZA

To sum it all up...

Song of the Year is for the writing of a single track. Record of the Year is for the performance and production of a single track. Album of the Year is for a full album. The end!

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