‘BRAT’ and ‘Romance’ won 36% and 35% of votes respectively from writers, who voted from a list of 10 nominees chosen by the Courier’s music sub-editors. Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Short n’ Sweet’ (7%), the Last Dinner Party’s ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’ (6%) and Billie Eilish’s ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ (6%) were the best of the rest.
Fontaines D.C. won’t get the chance to seek revenge at this year’s real Grammys after missing out on an Album of the Year nod, but they are in the running for Rock Album of the Year alongside Idles and Green Day. Their hit album ‘Romance’ was beloved for its introspective lyricism and innovative songwriting, with lead single ‘Starburster’ charting in six countries.
Charli xcx’s ‘BRAT’ – a boundary-pushing electropop record and global cultural phenomenon – is amongst the favourites to win big at the Grammys next month, including Album of the Year. The Cambridge-born singer has been nominated in a total of six categories, including Record of the Year for her song ‘360’.
Courier writers were more decisive when it came to Song of the Year, with 43% of voters picking Chappell Roan’s hit single ‘Good Luck, Babe’ as their winner. Fontaines D.C. were runners up once again with their emotionally charged ballad ‘Favourite’ winning 32% of the vote. Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Espresso’ (8%), Charli xcx’s ‘Guess’ remix with Billie Eilish (7%) and Tyler, the Creator’s ‘Noid’ (3%) rounded out the top five.
When it came to Music Video of the Year, however, Grian Chatten and co were clear favourites, and their video for their song ‘Bug’ triumphed with 44% of the vote. The video, which stars Barry Keoghan, features scenes from Andrea Arnold’s film ‘Bird’ and was filmed in the Kent town of Gravesend. The Last Dinner Party’s ‘The Feminine Urge’ (16%), which features the band undertaking a ballet class, and Charli xcx’s ‘360’ (13%) were also among our writers’ favourite music videos this year.
