The 2021 Grammy nominations were announced on November 24 and included some of the most surprising contenders in years, so much so that out of 47 nominations we were betting on across seven categories in our predictions center, Gold Derby’s official odds only predicted 19 of them correctly. That means there were 28 nominations that made us do a double take — or triple, quadruple, and quintuple takes in some cases. Scroll down to see which nominees surprised us the most, and see the list of nominations here.
The biggest nominee who wasn’t even on our radar was Jacob Collier, the 26-year-old British multi-instrumentalist who earned an Album of the Year bid for “Djesse Vol. 3.” He previously won four Grammys for Best Arrangement and is nominated in that field again this year. Actually, Collier as yet to lose a Grammy when nominated, so we’ll see what happens when this year’s prizes are announced in January.
We also didn’t expect the general-field love for R&B artist Jhene Aiko, who picked up an Album of the Year nom for her third studio album “Chilombo.” And we were taken by surprise for the second year in a row by Black Pumas, the psychedelic soul duo who earned a shocker Best New Artist nomination in 2020 and now is back with left-field bids for Album of the Year (“Black Pumas”) and Record of the Year (“Colors”).
Even superstar Beyonce surprised us, and we’re used to her being nominated for Grammys. She was already the second most awarded woman and the single most nominated woman in history, and now she has a leading nine bids. We weren’t surprised she was nominated for Record of the Year for “Savage (Remix)” with Megan Thee Stallion, but those Record and Song of the Year noms for “Black Parade” did take many of us aback.
And those are just the tip of the iceberg. See who else walloped us with surprise nominations, including Coldplay, Haim and Noah Cyrus.
OUT OF NOWHERE
These nominees were so shocking they weren’t even in our predictions center
Album of the Year
Jacob Collier, “Djesse Vol. 3”
Best New Artist
Chika
D Smoke
Best Rap Album
D Smoke, “Black Habits”
Royce Da 5’9″, “The Allegory”
BIG SURPRISES
These nominees made the cut despite getting 100/1 odds
Album of the Year
Jhene Aiko, “Chilombo”
Black Pumas, “Black Pumas”
Coldplay, “Everyday Life”
Haim, “Women in Music Pt. III”
Record of the Year
Beyonce, “Black Parade”
Black Pumas, “Colors”
Song of the Year
Beyonce, “Black Parade”
Roddy Ricch, “The Box”
Best New Artist
Noah Cyrus
Kaytranada
Best Pop Album
Justin Bieber, “Changes”
Best Rap Album
Jay Electronica, “A Written Testimony”
Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist, “Alfredo”
Best Country Album
Little Big Town, “Nightfall”
CLOSE CALLS
We knew these contenders had a shot, but they weren’t among our predicted nominees
Record of the Year
DaBaby feat. Roddy Ricch, “Rockstar”
Doja Cat, “Say So”
Billie Eilish, “Everything I Wanted”
Song of the Year
Billie Eilish, “Everything I Wanted”
JP Saxe feat. Julia Michaels, “If the World Was Ending”
Best New Artist
Ingrid Andress
Best Rap Album
Nas, “King’s Disease”
Best Country Album
Ingrid Andress, “Lady Like”
Brandy Clark, “Your Life is a Record”
