The 8 biggest snubs of the 2024 Grammys nominations

Before this year, Reneé Rapp was best known for playing Regina George on Broadway (a role she'll reprise in the movie version of the "Mean Girls" musical) and Leighton Murray in HBO's "The Sex Lives of College Girls."

More recently, Rapp took a big risk by leaving the HBO show to focus on her music career — and it paid off.

Her debut album, "Snow Angel," is one of the best releases of the year and would've been a worthy nominee for best pop vocal album.

Rapp was already nominated for best new artist at the 2023 VMAs; a best new artist nod at the Grammys would've solidified her status as a rising star, and deservedly so. Instead, she came up empty-handed.

The best new artist category at the Grammys is designed to honor a significant breakthrough year in a musician's career.

Although Sabrina Carpenter has been a fixture in pop circles since her Disney Channel days, 2023 saw her take major strides on the path to mainstream acclaim: she scored a viral hit, "Nonsense," and opened for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. Carpenter also released the deluxe version of her latest album, "Emails I Can't Send," which includes "Feather," possibly her best song to date.

But unlike her mentor, Carpenter received zero Grammy nominations this year.

This year, RAYE released her first album since she split from her label, Polydor Records, following a long-drawn-out dispute over creative control.

The result, "My 21st Century Blues," is a triumph for independent artists and pop stars alike. It received overwhelming praise and boasts one of the year's most impressive vocal performances.

Indeed, RAYE would've been a natural fit in several categories: best new artist, best pop vocal album, best pop duo/group performance for "Escapism," and best R&B performance for "Worth It," at the very least. But the resilient singer-songwriter is absent from the nominee roster.

This is the second year in a row that Mitski has been submitted for best new artist and come away with zero nominations.

Mitski has been an indie darling for years, but in 2023, she released one of her most acclaimed albums yet, "The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We." It also yielded the single "My Love Mine All Mine," which debuted at No. 76 on the Billboard Hot 100 — her first-ever appearance on the chart.

It may seem wrong to root for an accomplished songwriter — who's been making poignant, innovative music for more than a decade — to be nominated for best new artist. Still, it's hard to deny that Grammy recognition for Mitski is long overdue.

Not to mention, longevity has hardly blocked an artist from being nominated in this category. Jelly Roll, who is nominated for best new artist this year, has been releasing music since 2011.

Paramore's sixth album was a welcome return for the band after six years of inactivity. "This Is Why," which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, was hailed by critics for its mature and fresh spin on the punk-rock tradition.

Album of the year shouldn't have been out of the question, and the title track would've been a fair nominee for record of the year.

Unfortunately, Paramore was relegated to genre-specific categories: best rock album and best alternative music performance.

Noah Kahan, a first-time nominee this year, will compete for best new artist against buzzy names like Ice Spice, Fred Again, and Gracie Abrams.

Although it's well-deserved, it's strange that Kahan received recognition in one of the ceremony's most respected categories and nowhere else.

Kahan's exceptional third album, "Stick Season," jumped to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 after he released a deluxe version in June. The extended rollout has included collaborations with Post Malone, Kacey Musgraves, Lizzy McAlpine, and Hozier. Olivia Rodrigo recently covered the title track.

In just one year, Kahan went from playing for 3,000 people at Pier 17 to three sold-out shows at Radio City Music Hall — and next year, he'll play at Madison Square Garden. It wouldn't be a stretch to call "Stick Season" a sensation.

Naturally, it was submitted for a variety of awards, including album of the year, best Americana album, best American roots performance for "Dial Drunk," best pop solo performance for "Stick Season (Live)," and best rock song for "We're All Gonna Die."

I'm not necessarily saying Kahan deserved all of these nominations, but I'm not not saying that.

Released back in February, "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2" has proven to be one of the year's most enduring hits. The combination of PinkPantheress' delicate vocals and Ice Spice's cheeky rhymes ("He say that I'm good enough, grabbin' my duh-duh-duh") is irresistible.

The song's success likely led to both artists being included on the "Barbie" movie soundtrack, which received a ton of love from Grammy voters. So for "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2" to be ignored is inexplicable.

In fact, PinkPantheress herself is missing from the list of nominees — even though Ice Spice collected four nods, including best new artist.

Doja Cat may be sowing a contentious relationship with her fans, but no one can deny her impact. Her hit single "Paint the Town Red" topped the Billboard Hot 100 in September, ending a yearlong drought for rap songs atop the chart.

Doja has also been established as a Grammys favorite, earning three consecutive record of the year nominations for "Say So" in 2021, "Kiss Me More" in 2022, and "Woman" in 2023.

This year, "Paint the Town Red" should've been the newest addition to her streak, but it was only nominated for best pop solo performance.