Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, & St. Vincent No Longer Grammy Nominees For Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour
When the nominations for the 2022 Grammys were announced late last month, Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, and St. Vincent’s Annie Clark were listed among the songwriters credited on Olivia Rodrigo’s Album Of The Year nomination for Sour. Their inclusion came as part of the Recording Academy’s new rule change that all songwriters, producers, recording engineers, mixers, mastering engineers, and all featured artists (even if on just one track) on an album are eligible for the AOTY nomination.
But as Billboard reports, the Academy has rescinded Swift, Antonoff, and Clark’s nominations for Sour because they were not directly involved with the making of the album. Instead, they are listed as songwriters because “deja vu” interpolates “Cruel Summer,” a song that the three of them co-wrote for Swift’s 2019 album Lover. Here’s the Academy’s official statement:
During the submission process, the Academy received credits from the label for the track ‘deju vu.’ Last week, we received the correct credits from the label that recognize Annie Clark, Jack Antonoff and Taylor Swift as songwriters of an interpolation on the track, ‘deja vu.’ In keeping with current Grammy guidelines, as songwriters of an interpolated track, Clark, Antonoff and Swift are not nominees in the album of the year category for Sour. Antonoff and Swift are nominated in the category for Swift’s album, evermore.
It’s worth noting that another song on Rodrigo’s Sour (“1 step forward, 3 steps back”) also interpolates another Swift/Antonoff co-write — they are not credited for that at the Grammys, either.
The Grammys’ expanded Album Of The Year eligibility rules is also why Marilyn Manson is nominated for Kanye West’s Donda, despite only having a songwriting credit on one track.