Grammy Nominees: EDM Style

Written by Amanda Claudio.

The nominees for the 54th annual Grammy Awards were announced yesterday, and scattered amongst the typical nods are several surprising but not undeserved electronic dance music nominations.

The EDM artists who were nominated include Afrojack, Avicii, David Guetta, Deadmau5, Duck Sauce, Skrillex, and Swedish House Mafia. Skrillex, the dubstep poster child who is often seen feverishly twisting nobs with a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth is nominated for five awards: Best New Artist, Best Dance Recording, Best Dance/Electronica Album, Best Remixed Recording (Non-Classical), and Best Short Form Music Video. The most glorifying and perhaps surprising selection to mainstream media amongst his nominations, is that of Best New Artist; an honor that has never been bestowed upon a DJ of any genre.  However, Skrillex took to his twitter yesterday, to address the nominations in his typically humble fashion

The modest prodigy said, “It’s when you’ve gotten…props by people you respect, love and care about so much…that’s prob the coolest thing about the nom…just so grateful I’ve met the people I’ve met this year, made some of the incredible friends all around the world. This crazy music life wouldn’t be half the fun and half the experience without all of you friends…” While his modesty is admirable it is unnecessary; with these nominations Skrillex has further legitimized dubstep, arguably the most controversial type of EDM. While EDM has recently catapulted to mainstream popularity, this is perhaps the proverbial calm before the storm.

These nominations speak to the growth of the culture and it seems EDM will likely take the lead in the race for this generation’s defining musical genre. If even at least one of these men is awarded the iconic gold gramophone statuette it will not only be that artists individual accomplishment but also a collective EDM triumph.