Foo Fighters (‘But Here We Are’) may win Best Rock Album Grammy to make up for Album of the Year snub
It’s hard to imagine a world where Foo Fighters don’t take Best Rock Album at the Grammys this year. They’re rock favorites, achieving 13 wins in the field. Most of the band’s albums have won Grammys, and they hold the record for the most wins for any artist in this category, with five. On top of all that history, their nominated record, “But Here We Are,” is perhaps their most acclaimed yet. It scored 86 on Metacritic, their highest score ever. The album is also a tribute to their late drummer Taylor Hawkins, who passed away tragically in 2022. So history, acclaim and narrative will likely join forces to give Foo Fighters another Grammy win, and one of their most deserved at that.
Still, the Grammys can always deliver surprises. One could argue that the obvious runner-up is Paramore, whose “This is Why” was also one of the most acclaimed albums of the year. It had a similar initial reception to “But Here We Are,” earning an 85 on Metacritic. But “This is Why” seemed to age better, ranking among the top 20 most acclaimed albums of the year based on best-of-the-year lists, while Foo Fighters ranked much lower. Paramore could also be helped by support from alternative voters since the rock and alternative fields were merged this year, giving voters in alternative categories the chance to weigh in here.
Another possibility is a win for Metallica, who came back strong this year with “72 Seasons.” The album features the rock radio hits “72 Seasons” and “Lux Æterna,” both of which are nominated for Grammys as well — for Best Metal Performance and Best Rock Performance, respectively. However, “72 Seasons” is very, very likely a lock for Best Metal Performance due to their name recognition, their commercial success, and Metallica being the only act there that’s nominated anywhere else, so it would be easy for voters to pass them over here and give them the metal award as a consolation prize. It also doesn’t help that, while their album is the bestselling of the bunch based on first-week sales, its critical reception was not as overwhelmingly positive as the two aforementioned contenders.
Greta Van Fleet (“Starcatcher”) and Queens of the Stone Age (“In Times New Roman …”) round out the Best Rock Album nominees, but they’re less likely to win.
Will win: Foo Fighters, “But Here We Are”
Could win: Paramore, “This Is Why”
Dark horse: Metallica, “72 Seasons”
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