What does Skrillex have in common with the indie troubadour Bon Iver? Not much, on first glance—but today they inched a little bit closer together when both were nominated for Best New Artist awards in the 54th Grammy Awards, along with J. Cole, Nicki Minaj, and The Band Perry. (Katy Perry’s backup band? We’re not really sure.)
Regardless of who takes the trophy in February, when the awards are announced, the nomination is a striking reminder of how broadly electronic dance music has broken into the overground this year—rarely (if ever) do electronic dance artists break into the top categories of the Grammys.
Even the awards’ strictly dance/electronic categories often feel far removed from what’s happening on the ground in club culture, but this year’s nominees are actually fairly representative of mainstream electronic dance music. Read on for a breakdown of the nominations.
Deadmau5 is up for two Grammys—Best Dance Recording for ”Raise Your Weapon” and Best Dance/Electronica Album for 4x4=12. His protégé Skrillex edges into the same two categories, for ”Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” and its eponymous album, respectively. Robyn also occupies both the track and album category, with “Call Your Girlfriend” and Body Talk, Pt. 3. Naturally, David Guetta doesn’t get left out of either category, with his Avicii collaboration ”Sunshine” up for Best Dance Recording and his cameo-soaked Nothing But The Beat up for Best Dance/Electronica Album.
Swedish House Mafia’s ”Save The World” and Duck Sauce’s ”Barbra Streisand” round out the Best Dance Recording field. (Sadly, Barbra Streisand’s own “Duck Sauce” didn’t make the cut.) Australian electro-pop act Cut Copy are the dark horses in the longplayer category, with their critically acclaimed album Zonoscope.
You’ve got to scroll a ways down the PDF to find Category 66: Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical. You may not be surprised to learn that Skrillex and Deadmau5 both make further appearances here, nor that Afrojack turns up, for his remix of Avicii and Leona Lewis’ “Collide.” But there are two definite wildcards. One is Rosabel, the house duo of Ralphi Rosario and Abel Aguilera, and the other is Photek, the iconic drum ‘n’ bass producer turned soundtrack composer, for his remix of Daft Punk’s “End of Line.”