2021 Grammy nominations announced

Grammy Awards poster — (Image credit: The Recording Academy)

This year's Grammy Nominations are in, and for the first time in the organisation's history all the nominees in the Best Rock Performance category are either women or – as in the case with New York indie rockers Big Thief – led by a woman.

Joining Big Thief amongst the nominees are Fiona Apple for Shameika, Haim for The Steps, Alabama Shakes' singer Brittany Howard for Stay High, Phoebe Bridgers for Kyoto, and Grace Potter for Daylight.

The category has only been in existence since 2012, and is an amalgam of previous categories including Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and Best Rock Instrumental Performance. It's been won in the past by artists including Foo Fighters, Imagine Dragons and Leonard Cohen, but never by a solo female artist (Alabama Shakes won the award for Don't Wanna Fight in 2016).

Similar ground is covered in the Best Rock Song category, with Bridgers, Big Thief, Apple and Howard included alongside Lost in Yesterday by psychedelic rockers Tame Impala, while the Best Rock Album award adds singer-songwriter Grace Potter into the mix with her album Daylight. The other albums nominated are A Hero’s Death by Fontaines D.C., Michael Kiwanuka's Kiwanuka, Sound And Fury by Sturgill Simpson and The New Abnormal from The Strokes.

The Best Metal Performance award will be a shoot-out between Body Count's Bum-Rush, Underneath by Code Orange, The In-Between by In This Moment, Poppy's Bloodmoney, and a live version of Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe) by Power Trip, taken from the band's Live in Seattle 05.28.2018 album.

In other news, the Grammy Awards have way too many categories.

The 2021 Grammys will be hosted by The Daily Show host Trevor Noah, and will be broadcast on CBS on Sunday, January 31 at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.