But here’s what very few people realize, or remember: She has never won Record of the Year or Song of the Year. That’s not a misprint. The biggest pop music star of the 21st century, and the one with the most No. 1 Hot 100 hits this century — 15 — has never been rewarded in either of the two all-genre Grammy categories that honor singles. Whether you love her, can’t stand her or fall somewhere in-between, that oversight for someone who is quantifiably the modern era’s most reliable crafter of indelible songs is kind of flabbergasting to consider.
Except, of course, for the part where she has to pick just one.
“I Knew It, I Knew You.” It’s easy to tick off the reasons why Swift might choose her theme song for “Toy Story 5” over either of the songs from “The Life of a Showgirl”:
The blockbuster movie factor. A star as big as Swift can’t exactly be seen as riding another franchise’s coattails; when this single was released, the blowout unveiling created such a stir, you almost could have thought “TS5” was looking to ride hers, as much as anything. But we do have to consider that there will be Grammy voters, mostly older, who managed never to hear “Ophelia,” through Swift indifference or a general seclusion from contemporary hits, who will have been exposed to “I Knew It…” because they do not wall themselves off from the biggest or most critically appreciated movies of the year. And unless they fled for the exits at the first sign of a credit, they got a swift dose of the star at her winsomest.
Surprising longevity. “I Knew It…” hasn’t quite rivaled “Ophelia” on every numbers scale — but for just about anyone else, this might be the song of their career. The fact that “Toy Story 5” has slipped down the box-office charts a little after making a gazillion dollars has not resulted in much slippage for Swift’s song. It currently stands at No. 3 on the Hot 100, and seems pretty locked into that slot, after 12 weeks of release. Songs attached to animated films usually have a limited shelf life, but this one is showing the very rare longevity of a “We Don’t Care About Bruno” or “A Whole New World,” with a twangy twist. When home video hits, the renewal it could enjoy is anyone’s guess.
So which will it be?
[This is the first in a series of columns looking at the prospects for the 2027 Grammy Awards.]
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