BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM
Guts
OLIVIA RODRIGO
For her second album, 2022’s best new artist winner Rodrigo expanded on the biting pop-rock bangers (“brutal,” “jealousy, jealousy”) that helped round out her Grammy-winning Billboard 200 No. 1 debut album, Sour. Guts finds Rodrigo banging her head to the tune of a newer, wiser level of sarcasm on its lead single and quasi-rock opera, “vampire,” as well as the brash, tongue-in-cheek tracks “bad idea right?” and “get him back.” The new album — which bookends Rodrigo’s first college experiences and her imminent headlining arena world tour — posted a larger first-week sales total (302,000 units, according to Luminate) than Sour, cementing the “drivers license” singer’s place in top 40’s upper echelon.
Midnights TAYLOR SWIFT
No discussion about music in 2023 is complete without uttering the name “Taylor Swift.” From simultaneously occupying the entirety of the Hot 100’s top 10 to shattering consumption records across formats, Midnights — the 12-time Grammy winner’s 10th studio album — was an absolute behemoth. Featuring the Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Anti-Hero” and “Karma,” which an Ice Spice-assisted remix propelled to No. 2, on Midnights, Swift emerges from the ethereal woods of folklore and evermore and returns to a Jack Antonoffhelmed lavender haze of winking, synth-laden pop jams. Not to mention Midnights notched all its accomplishments in the thick of Swift’s rerecordings campaign.
Chemistry KELLY CLARKSON
Few artists are as synonymous with the best pop vocal album category as Clarkson. With Chemistry, her first post-divorce album, the original American
Idol winner landed her sixth nomination in the category — extending her record for the most of all time. Led by the dual lead singles “Mine” and “Me,” which are full of heartbreak but also triumph, Chemistry tracks Clarkson’s odyssey through the dissolution of her marriage and her journey back home to herself. Featuring collaborations with Steve Martin, Sheila E. and her daughter, River Rose, Chemistry — Clarkson’s ninth Billboard 200 top 10 album — is another worthy addition to a catalog committed to documenting her personal and artistic evolution.
Endless Summer Vacation
MILEY CYRUS
Cyrus may have dominated 2023 with “Flowers,” but that’s just one component of her eighth studio album. Endless Summer Vacation — which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 — heralds a new chapter in Cyrus’ chameleonic career. Following her headfirst dive into gritty glam rock on 2020’s Plastic Hearts, Cyrus opts for a breezier, more self-reflective take on contemporary pop, looping in collaborators Brandi Carlile,
Kid Harpoon, James Blake and Mike WiLL Made-It to help craft a soundscape that nods to her past while remaining focused on a much more relaxed future. The buck doesn’t stop at “Flowers,” however, with fans also gravitating toward Hot 100 hits “River,” “Jaded” and “Used To Be Young.”
- (Subtract) ED SHEERAN
Standing as the lone male nominee in this category, Sheeran’s quiet, introspective
- (Subtract) earned him his fourth nod for best pop vocal album. Shying away from the maximalist bent of ÷ (Divide) and No.6 Collaborations Project, Sheeran hunkered down with
The National’s Aaron Dessner to make an acoustic album primarily concerned with grief, loss and the most devastating parts of adulthood. From lead single
“Eyes Closed” — which features production contributions from Max Martin, Shellback and Fred again.. — to standout tracks “Life Goes On,” “Curtains” and “Boat,” Sheeran’s latest set marked a return to the unassuming guitarwielding everyman that fans (and the Recording Academy) fell in love with over a decade ago.