The 2021 Grammys are almost here!
Before tonight's award ceremony airs on CBS, we're revisiting all the nominees who could potentially make music history if they win during tonight's broadcast.
Beyoncé scored nine nods this year, leading all other nominees, including Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa and Roddy Ricch, who each earned six. Megan Thee Stallion, Justin Bieber, DaBaby and Billie Eilish follow, all having received four. As for the coveted Album of the Year title, Taylor, Dua, Post Malone, Jhené Aiko, Black Pumas, Coldplay, Jacob Collier and Haim will face off against one another.
What makes this year's Grammys particularly exciting is that these artists—and others, from BTS to Harry Styles—are poised to not only take home a trophy or two at tonight's highly anticipated ceremony, but also carve their names into Grammys history.
Megan Thee Stallion could make her mark as well as Billie Eilish, who swept the 2020 Grammys.
While everyone's rooting for different artists, there's one thing we can all agree on: This past year, music has been one of the few things that's provided a much-needed respite.
Through all of the uncertainty, albums like folklore, Hollywood's Bleeding, Fetch the Bolt Cutters and Chilombo all had our backs.
And now, we get to celebrate them!
Keep scrolling to see all of the history-making moments to look out for at tonight's 2021 Grammys.
Beyoncé not only extended her record as the most-nominated female artist in Grammy history (with 79 overall nods), she also tied with Paul McCartney to become the second most-nominated artist of all time. The first? Her husband Jay-Z, who received three nominations this year, and Quincy Jones. Both have 80 overall nominations.
Additionally, Queen Bey was previously tied with Barbra Streisand for the most Record of the Year nominations for a female artist, but after receiving not one but two ROTY nods—the surprise release "Black Parade" and her feature on Megan Thee Stallion's "Savage"—she holds the title all on her own.
Oh, and did we mention Beyoncé is just the second artist in history to score two Record of the Year nominations? Yep! Pharrell Williams was the first, making history in 2014 when he scored two ROTY nods: one as a featured artist on Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" and one as a featured artist on Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines."
All in all, Beyoncé could walk away from the 2021 Grammys as the most awarded female artist in Grammys history.
For that to happen, she has to win four of her nine nominations. If she wins eight, she will hold the record for the most Grammy wins of all time!
"Dynamite" is nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, and if BTS comes out on top, they'd be the first K-pop act to ever win in a major Grammys category!
The group—made up of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook—already made history in 2019, becoming the first-ever K-pop act to present at the Grammys. That same year, they also became the first K-pop act to be nominated for Best Recording Package.
Megan Thee Stallion is up for Best New Artist, and if she wins, she'll become the first female hip-hop artist to do so since Lauryn Hill 22 years ago.
Taylor Swift is poised to tie Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra and Paul Simon's record for the most Album of the Year wins ever for an artist.
She's nominated in the category for her latest album folklore, which was well-received by critics and fans alike, strengthening her chances. Plus, history could be on her side: The last two Album of the Year winners were, like Taylor, solo female artists (Kacey Musgraves and Billie Eilish).
Even if Taylor doesn't win Record of the Year, she's already made history by being nominated for Song of the Year for "cardigan," which she co-wrote with Aaron Dessner.
Why? This is her fifth nom in the category—more than any other female songwriter in Grammy history!
Harry Styles is a first-time Grammy nominee!
His second solo album Fine Line scored a total of three nods—Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Solo Performance for "Watermelon Sugar" and Best Music Video for "Adore You". If he wins big, he'll be the first One Direction member to take home a Grammy.
Nine-time nominee Post Malone could wind up taking home his first-ever Grammy.
Even if that's not the case, the rapper's already accomplished a huge feat, as he's the fourth artist in Grammy history—joining only Frank Sinatra, Roberta Flack and Steve Winwood—to be nominated for Record of the Year three years in a row. Post scored a nod for "rockstar" (featuring 21 Savage) in 2019, "Sunflower" with Swae Lee in 2020 and this year, "Circles."
Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell won Song of the Year last year for "Bad Guy," and they're nominated again in 2021; this time, for her dream-inspired single "Everything I wanted."
If the brother-sister finds themselves victorious, they'd be the first songwriters in Grammy history to win back-to-back awards in the category.
Keep up with everything Grammys-related here!
(Originally published Nov. 24, 2020 at 11:36 a.m. PT)