Song of the Year nominations are debatably the most competitive of them all.

To get an esteemed award saying you have created the best song of the year is a huge accomplishment. Some people may not understand what makes these winners so different from all the other songs nominated. Taking a look into this year’s Song of the Year nominations (airing on CBS on March 14th, 2021) we dive into what inspired these artists to make the acclaimed best songs of the year. What inspired the song? What hidden message is behind the lyrics? These are factors into being nominated for Song of the Year.

BLACK PARADE

-Denisia Andrews, Beyoncé, Stephen Bray, Shawn Carter, Brittany Coney, Derek James Dixie, Akil King, Kim “Kaydence” Krysiuk & Rickie “Caso” Tice

Beyoncé’s song “Black Parade” is a charity single released on June 19, 2020 (also referred to as Juneteenth) The song was also released succeeding the death of George Floyd and the protests that followed it. The song “serves as a celebration of Black culture and the support of Black activism.” Immediately after its release, the song received critical acclaim with praise for its references to black history, culture, pride, and activism. Beyoncé’s vocal performance was heavily praised by critics. With four nominations, it is the most nominated song at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.

THE BOX

-Larrance Dopson, Samuel Gloade, Rodrick Moore, Adarius Moragne, Eric Sloan & Khirye Anthony Tyler.

Roddy Ricch’s “The Box,” tells his life story through blunt lyrics. The song shows how Ricch has been able to accumulate so much money in his life. The song stayed atop the Billboard Hot 100 for multiple weeks, its success was shocking for Roddy Ricch- who never considered the song a single. The song flourished for months following consistent TikTok trends using the song. The song was one of the top hits of 2020 backing its release in February of 2020.

CARDIGAN

-Taylor Swift, Aaron Dessner

Taylor Swift’s “Cardigan” comes from her surprise eighth album “folklore”. This song is one of three songs off the album apart of Swift’s “teenage love trilogy”.  “Cardigan” -the first song of the trilogy- follows the story of a teenage girl (Betty) who got cheated on. Throughout the song, she is haunted by the memory of her boyfriend’s infidelity. We learn as the song progresses that Betty considered herself a girl “who knows nothing” before she experiences the detrimental heartbreak that she knows will affect her and stay with her forever. The song was the sixth song to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 2020.

CIRCLES
-Post Malone, Louis Bell, Kaan Gunesberk, Billy Walsh

“Circles” follows the story of someone who realizes that their relationship is stuck in a loop of breaking up and getting back together. Though they want to be together, they can’t sustain a long-term relationship with each other. The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 the week of November 30, 2019. It topped the chart for three weeks, marking Post Malone’s fourth number-one song. The song has recorded a 60-week streak on the chart and it dominated airplay for continuous months and you can still hear it on the radio today.

DON’T START NOW

-Dua Lipa, Caroline Ailin, Ian Kirkpatrick, Emily Warren

Dua Lipa chose to start her album with “Don’t Start Now” because she wanted “people to have a really good time,”. The track is a “rubbery, strutting slice of disco wrapped around her snarling kiss-off and acrobatic voice“. Dua Lipa says the song is about moving on from a difficult relationship and finding confidence when doing that. The song represents not letting others get in the way of your self-improvement. “Don’t Start Now” has been dominating the charts since its release in October 2019. According to IFPI, it was the fifth best-selling worldwide single of 2020. The single appeared on 19 charts for a total of 793 weeks chart-wide. The song also received a lot of press from multiple TikTok trends. Dua Lipa herself is up for six Grammy Awards.

EVERYTHING I WANTED

-Billie Eilish O’Connell, Finneas O’Connell

Billie’s track “everything i wanted” from a late 2019 release was revealed to be a tribute to her brother Finneas. Billie admits that she got the inspiration for the song when she dreamt about taking her own life.  Struggling with depression, Eilish said the song was “the way [she] can feel these things without doing something to [herself].”. When she and her brother later revisited the song they opted for a different approach- one where they recognized their importance to each other. The song spent 33 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at #1 on 8/24/2019.ICA

I CAN’T BREATHE

-H.E.R., Dernst Emile II, Tiara Thomas

H.E.R released the song “I Can’t Breathe” following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police brutality in May of 2020. H.E.R says the song was inspired by recent events in the United States. H.E.R said the lyrics were easy to write “because it came from a conversation with what’s happening right now, what’s been happening, and the change that we need to see”. The song was written to inspire some change in the country,  H.E.R notes that “music is powerful when it comes to change and when it comes to healing,”. The song was a very powerful piece that came comforting at a time of civil unrest in the country.

IF THE WORLD WAS ENDING

-JP Saxe, Julia Michaels

JP Saxe and Julia Michaels portray the role of exes who just mutually agreed to separate that experienced an earthquake. That traumatizing event causes them to imagine what they would do “if the world was ending”. The way they picture the situation is that a significant event like that could be able to bring them back together. Though they agreed to separate they obviously still care about each other because when a traumatic event occurs their first thought is how the other is doing. The song represents people who are no longer together but will likely never get over each other. The song was on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 46 weeks and peaked at #5 on 3/21/20. This is another song that received a lot of hype because of viral TikTok videos that kept the song relevant throughout the year.