The KC connections to Sunday’s Grammys: Taylor Swift, Janelle Monáe and a huge honor

Kansas City’s “adopted daughter” and a true daughter of Kansas City, Kansas, are vying for one of the top honors at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.

Taylor Swift, who is up for six awards, including album of the year for “Midnights,” earned that “adopted” designation from KC’s own Jason Sudeikis. The actor was talking about Swift’s regular appearances at Chiefs games to cheer on boyfriend Travis Kelce.

Swift has won 12 Grammy Awards over the years (out of 52 nominations). She’s tied with Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon with three album of the year awards. If she gets it again this year, she’ll make Grammy history as the first artist to win that category four times.

Also vying for that big award is KCK native Janelle Monáe, for her album “The Age of Pleasure.” The album was also nominated for best progressive R&B album. Monáe has received 10 nominations over the years but has never won.

Grammy prognosticators are mixed over who will win album of the year, but many lean toward “SOS” from SZA, who has the most nominations this year.

Swift’s “Midnights” was also nominated for best pop vocal album. “Karma” is up for best pop duo/group performance. And “Anti-Hero” was nominated in categories that Swift surprisingly has never won: best pop solo performance and two biggies: song of the year (given to the songwriter) and record of the year (for the performer).

The 66th annual Grammy Awards will start at 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 4, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Here’s what you need to know:

Who’s hosting the Grammys?

Comedian Trevor Noah will once again host, for the fourth year in a row. Noah is also up for a Grammy this year, receiving his second nomination for best comedy album.

He’s also a newly minted Emmy winner, with his final season of “The Daily Show” taking home the award for outstanding talk series at the January ceremony.

How can I watch the Grammys?

The main show will air live on CBS beginning at 7 p.m. Central. Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers can also watch live and on demand. Paramount+ Essential subscribers have to wait until the next day.

The Grammys can also be watched through live TV streaming services that include CBS in their lineup, like Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV and FuboTV.

Who has the most Grammy nominations?

SZA enters the Grammys with a leading nine nominations. “Kill Bill,” her revenge anthem cloaked in an R&B ballad, earned her nods for record of the year, song of the year, and best R&B performance. “SOS” is also up for album of the year and best progressive R&B album. The 2024 ceremony is the second time SZA has been nominated for record, album, and song.

Victoria Monét and Phoebe Bridgers have the second-most nominations, with seven. Six of Bridgers’ are with her band boygenius.

Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Brandy Clark, Jon Batiste and producer Jack Antonoff also earned six. Monét is the only leading nominee also up for best new artist.

Who is performing?

Joni Mitchell, nominated for best folk album, will perform at the Grammys for the first time. Other performers announced earlier include Eilish, Rodrigo, Dua Lipa, Billy Joel, Burna Boy, Luke Combs and Travis Scott. In addition, U2 will deliver the first broadcast performance from Sphere in Las Vegas.

How can I watch the red carpet?

E! will host its “Live From the Grammys Carpet” show with its mix of fashion coverage and celebrity interviews, starting at 5 p.m. Central.

What’s new at the Grammy Awards?

In June, the Recording Academy announced that the Grammys would add three new categories to its 2024 award show: best pop dance recording, best African music performance and best alternative jazz album.

The new best African music performance category will highlight “regional melodic, harmonic and rhythmic musical traditions,” according to a Recording Academy press release. Before the addition, those artists would compete in the best global music performance category, introduced in 2022.

Another notable change: The Academy announced “only human creators” could win, a decision aimed at the use of artificial intelligence in popular music.

“Here’s the super easy, headline statement: AI, or music that contains AI-created elements is absolutely eligible for entry and for consideration for Grammy nomination. Period,” Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason Jr. told the Associated Press. “What’s not going to happen is we are not going to give a Grammy or Grammy nomination to the AI portion.”

Nominees in the top categories

Record of the year: “Worship,” Jon Batiste; “Not Strong Enough,” boygenius; “Flowers,” Miley Cyrus; “What Was I Made For?” (From The Motion Picture “Barbie”), Billie Eilish; “On My Mama,” Victoria Monét; “Vampire,” Olivia Rodrigo; “Anti-Hero,” Taylor Swift; “Kill Bill,” SZA.

Album of the year: “World Music Radio,” Jon Batiste; “the record,” boygenius; “Endless Summer Vacation,” Miley Cyrus; “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd,” Lana Del Rey; “The Age of Pleasure,” Janelle Monáe; “GUTS,” Olivia Rodrigo; “Midnights,” Taylor Swift; “SOS,” SZA.

Song of the year (goes to songwriter): “A&W,” Jack Antonoff, Lana Del Rey & Sam Dew, songwriters (performed by Lana Del Rey); “Anti-Hero,” Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift, songwriters (performed by Taylor Swift); “Butterfly,” Jon Batiste & Dan Wilson, songwriters (performed by Jon Batiste); “Dance the Night” (From “Barbie The Album”), Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (performed by Dua Lipa); “Flowers,” Miley Cyrus, Gregory Aldae Hein & Michael Pollack, songwriters (performed by Miley Cyrus); “Kill Bill,” Rob Bisel, Carter Lang & Solána Rowe, songwriters (performed by SZA); “Vampire,” Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters (performed by Olivia Rodrigo); “What Was I Made For?” (From the Motion Picture “Barbie”), Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (performed by Billie Eilish).

Best new artist: Ice Spice, Gracie Abrams, Fred again., Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan, Victoria Monét, The War and Treaty.

Awards season 2024 schedule

Here are other key dates for this year’s awards season:

▪ BAFTA (British Oscars): Feb. 18.

▪ SAG Awards: Feb. 24 (Sudeikis and his TV series, “Ted Lasso,” are up for four awards).

▪ Academy Awards: March 10.

▪ Tony Awards: June 16.