Dance/Electronic Field: Preparing for the 60th Grammys at Madison Square Garden

The Grammys have come a long way since their inaugural year in 1959. Categories have been added, removed, and edited throughout the Grammys’ history. The four most popular and watched categories have consistently been Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. Makes sense as these are the four categories not contained by a specific genre. However, today we will be taking a look at one of the newest and rapidly growing categories, Dance/Electronic.

Interestingly enough, the first year for the Best Dance Record was introduced in 1998 and was won by Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder for their track “Carry On”. Since 1998, the winners of this award have ranged from artists like Janet Jackson in 2002 for “All For You” to Zedd in 2014 for “Clarity”. As of late the category has catered more towards producers with The Chainsmokers and Daya winning last year for “Don’t Let Me Down’. Other nominees include artists like Daft Punk, Justice, Swedish House Mafia, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and David Guetta to name a few.

The newest category of electronic came in 2005 as Best Dance/Electronic Album. Although the official name of the category has been changed about three or four times over the years, that hasn’t prevented some of the biggest producers in the world from claiming the award.  The Chemical Brothers have been nominated for the award five times and have won it twice. In addition, Skrillex is the only artist to have achieved the award two years in a row as we saw in 2012 and 2013 for “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” and “Bangarang”. Skrillex would go on to have an explosive year in 2013 after tying Kanye West and claiming three awards. However, last year’s winner for Dance Album was Flume for his highly acclaimed album “Skin” that was met with massive reception upon release.

Although the majority of electronic tracks, albums, and producers are generally contained to these categories, we’ve seen them start to blend over in recent years. Last year, The Chainsmokers received nominations for Best New Artist, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, and Best Dance Record that would go on to win. One of the few other electronic producers to receive a Best New Artist nomination was Skrillex in 2012.

The nominations for the Grammys 2018 are set to be released on November 28th. The Grammys will be taking place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday, January 28th. This will mark the 60th year of the Grammys and it’s likely to be one of the biggest yet. Stay tuned for more info regarding The Grammys and keep your eyes peeled for the nominations of the electronic categories, who do you think will make the cut this year?

Photo One: Frederick M. Brown
Photo Two: Jason Merritt
Photo Three: Frederick M. Brown

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