Why Taylor Swift Was Removed As A Nominee On Olivia Rodrigo's Album

7 December 2021, 13:04 | Updated: 9 December 2021, 13:16

Taylor Swift is no longer a nominee for 'SOUR'
Taylor Swift is no longer a nominee for 'SOUR'. Picture: Alamy/Taylor Swift/Instagram

By Savannah Roberts

Here's why Taylor Swift is no longer a credited writer for Olivia Rodrigo's Album Of The Year nomination...

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It's no secret that Taylor Swift is a massive inspiration to Olivia Rodrigo, with the 'All Too Well' songstress receiving a writing credit on the critically-acclaimed 'SOUR' album.

Olivia's debut record received a GRAMMY nomination for Album Of The Year, meaning that Miss Swift was also a nominee as a credited writer.

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However, the Recording Academy has since withdrawn the 31-year-old as well as her collaborator Jack Antonoff as nominees attached to 'SOUR'.

The songwriters are still in the running for the coveted award category with 'Evermore'.

Olivia Rodrigo listened to Taylor Swift from four years old

Taylor Swift was removed as a writer on Olivia's album
Taylor Swift was removed as a writer on Olivia's album. Picture: Alamy

Olivia's album caused a buzz online in May as Taylor was credited on the track '1 step forward, 3 steps back' due to the ballad's interpolated remnants of 'New Year's Day'– a song from 2017's 'Reputation'.

Swift, Antonoff and Annie Clark (who releases music under the name St.Vincent) are reportedly also noted as inspirations for the rising star's second single 'deja vu', as it drew comparisons to 'Cruel Summer'.

According to the Academy's rules, interpolated tracks eliminate writers from contention for GRAMMY awards.

The songwriting duo was on the ballot when the nominations were first announced in November, but have since been revoked.

Olivia Rodrigo received 7 GRAMMY nominations
Olivia Rodrigo received 7 GRAMMY nominations. Picture: Alamy
Olivia Rodrigo cited Taylor Swift as an inspiration for 'SOUR'
Olivia Rodrigo cited Taylor Swift as an inspiration for 'SOUR'. Picture: Olivia Rodrigo/Instagram

The GRAMMYs clarified their decision in a statement: "Last week, we received the correct credits from the label that recognize Annie Clark, Jack Antonoff and Taylor Swift as songwriters of an interpolation on the track, Deja Vu.

"In keeping with current Grammy guidelines, as songwriters of an interpolated track, Clark, Antonoff and Swift are not nominees in the Album Of The Year category for Sour.'

The GRAMMYs generally award most songwriters in their categories, but do not recognise credits for samples and interpolations.

An 'interpolation' in the music world is the use of a pre-existing melody or recorded sound which is then sampled or emulated in a new song.

For example, Olivia used the piano melody from 'New Years Day' in the instrumentation of '1 step forward, 3 steps back'.

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