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Grammys 2023 explainer: What is the difference between Record of the Year and Album of the Year?

The 2023 Grammys, officially known as the 65th Grammy Awards, is airing live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles
UPDATED FEB 6, 2023
While Lizzo won the Grammy for Record Of The Year award, Harry Styles won the Album Of The Year award (Photos by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
While Lizzo won the Grammy for Record Of The Year award, Harry Styles won the Album Of The Year award (Photos by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The 2023 Grammys, officially known as the 65th Grammy Awards, is airing live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The event, airing on CBS and Paramount+, recognizes the best recordings, compositions, and artistes from October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022. Among various caterogies are Record of the Year and Album of the Year.

Record of the Year and Album of the Year are two of music's most well-known terms, and yet very confusing. Grammys 2023 is witnessing groundbreaking performances as well as wins that are making history. Here is a look at the difference between Record of the Year and Album of the Year pertaining to the Grammys.

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Record of the Year

The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States. The award, which is being presented since since 1959, is given to both the performer of the song, and the recording engineers who took part in producing the song. The award highlights not just the performer but also the production of the song. 



 

This year, Lizzo was presented the Record Of The Year award for 'About Damn Time'. She was seen thanking her supporters while accepting the award, and even telling Beyonce, "You changed my life." Dedicating the award to her idol, Prince, whom she worked with before his death in 2016, she said, "When we lost Prince, I decided to dedicate my life to making positive music. And I was like ‘I don't care if my positivity bothers you, what's wrong with you?’”

She added, "And this was at a time when positive music and feel-good music wasn't mainstream at that point. And I felt very misunderstood … But I stayed true to myself because I wanted to make the world a better place so I had to be that change to make the world a better place.”

(FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Lizzo accepts the Record Of The Year award for “About Damn Time” onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Lizzo accepts the Record Of The Year award for 'About Damn Time' onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 5 in Los Angeles, California (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Album of the Year

The Album of the Year year trophy, also presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States, is awarded for an entire album. It is presented to the artiste, featured artiste(s), songwriter, producer, recording engineer and mastering engineer, who have made significant contributions to that album.



 

This year, Harry Styles won the Album of the Year trophy for 'Harry's House'. The record was nominated alongside ABBA’s 'Voyage', Adele’s '30', Bad Bunny’s 'Un Verano Sin Ti', Beyonce’s 'Renaissance', Brandi Carlile’s 'In These Silent Days', Coldplay’s 'Music of the Spheres', Kendrick Lamar’s 'Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers', Lizzo’s 'Special' and Mary J. Blige’s 'Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe)'.

(FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Harry Styles accepts the Album Of The Year award for “Harry's House” onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Harry Styles accepts the Album Of The Year award for 'Harry's House' onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 5 (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Of the two categories in question, Grammy Awards says, "In both cases, with Album Of The Year and Record Of The Year, recordings must be released in the proper eligibility period and available to the public as stand-alone purchases or audio-only streams, although exceptions are made for opera and music video/film."

The Song of the Year Grammy honors the person or people who wrote the song. The award is meant for the song composition with the lyrics and melodies, and not for the recording of the song. To be eligible for a nomination, the song must have been released on a recording for the first time, or become prominent for the first time when the nomination process is on. This year, Bonnie Raitt’s ‘Just Like That’ won the Grammy Award for the Song of the Year.

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