Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent lose Grammy nominations for Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Sour’
The Recording Academy have rescinded the names of Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff and Annie Clark – aka St. Vincent – as part of the list of nominees on Olivia Rodrigo‘s 2022 Album Of The Year Grammy nomination for her debut ‘Sour’.
Swift, Antonoff and Clark were originally listed as part of the credited writers for the nomination, given Swift’s 2019 single ‘Cruel Summer’ was interpolated on Rodrigo’s top-five 2021 single ‘deja vu’. Both Swift and Antonoff were also credited for Rodrigo’s song ‘1 step forward, 3 steps back’, which interpolates Swift’s 2017 song ‘New Years Day’. This was done in accordance with the Academy’s new rule that everyone who served as a credited songwriter on an album nominated in the category shares the nomination.
The Academy have since, however, changed this rule to reflect those that directly wrote songs for the album – as opposed to those whose work is interpolated or referenced.
A statement from the Recording Academy (shared via Billboard) reads as follows:
“During the submission process, the Academy received credits from the label for the track ‘deju vu’. Last week, we received the correct credits from the label that recognize Annie Clark, Jack Antonoff and Taylor Swift as songwriters of an interpolation on the track ‘deja vu’. In keeping with current Grammy guidelines, as songwriters of an interpolated track, Clark, Antonoff and Swift are not nominees in the album of the year category for ‘Sour’.”
The statement concludes by noting that both Swift and Antonoff are already nominated in the Album Of The Year category for Swift’s 2020 album ‘evermore’.
Curiously, Hayley Williams and Josh Farro – who were added as songwriters to Rodrigo’s ‘good 4 u’ following comparisons to Paramore‘s ‘Misery Business’ – were not listed as nominees alongside Swift, Antonoff and Clark.
This rescinded nomination from a Grammys category follows on from Marilyn Manson‘s quiet removal from Kanye West‘s Best Rap Song nomination. The change was made due to the nomination changing from ‘Jail Pt. 2’ – which features Manson on backing vocals and a verse from controversial rapper DaBaby – to ‘Jail’, which features Jay-Z.