The Grammis are

music award A music award is an award or prize given for skill or distinction in music. There are different awards in different countries, and different awards may focus on or exclude certain music. For example, some music awards are only for classical music ...

s presented annually to musicians and songwriters in Sweden. The oldest Swedish music awards, they were instituted as a local equivalent of the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s given in the United States. The awards ceremony is generally held each year in February in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

. The awards were established in 1969 and awarded until 1972 when they were cancelled, then revived in 1987. There are around 20 different award categories, which have changed over the years. Swedish artists and foreign artists who live in Sweden are eligible, as are artists in other countries if their music is produced in Sweden and targets a Swedish audience. The awards are presented by

IFPI Sverige The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 19 ...

, along with the newspaper ''

Expressen ''Expressen'' (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden, the other being '' Aftonbladet''. ''Expressen'' was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or "''Expressen'' to your rescue". ...

''.

History

The first Grammis were presented on 25 September 1969 at Berns salonger in

. They were presented annually until 1972, after which they were discontinued. This was attributed the influence of music critics on the awards, especially after the win of unidentified group Philemon Arthur and the Dung at the 1972 ceremony. The Grammis were reinstated in 1987, fifteen years later. During an acceptance speech at the 1993 ceremony, Popsicle guitarist Fredrik Norberg wished that the members of

Arvingarna Arvingarna is a Swedish dansband formed in Gothenburg in 1989. The group consists of Casper Janebrink (vocals and bass guitar), Lars Larsson (guitars, vocals and keyboards), Kim Carlsson (vocals and guitars) and Tommy Carlsson (drums and vocals). ...

would die in a bus accident. This incident caused a scandal in Sweden and the band's next record was cancelled. Following the 2011 ceremony, the separate categories of Best Female Artist and Best Male Artist were abolished and one Best Artist award was instead awarded. Following the 2019 ceremony, the award for Children's Music of the Year was cut, with the IFPI citing low submissions to the category and the challenge of having an adult jury decide on an award for children. The decision received criticism and was reinstated for the 2021 ceremony. The 2021 ceremony was postponed from its usual February date to June due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden The COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden is part of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , there have been confirmed cumulative cases and deaths with confirmed COVID-19 in Swed ...

Ceremonies

Since the 1988 ceremony, the Grammis have been held at the beginning of the year to recognize music from the preceding year. With the exception of the 1970 ceremony held in

Lidingö Lidingö, also known in its definite form ''Lidingön'' and as ''Lidingölandet'', is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, northeast of Stockholm, Sweden. In 2010, the population of the Lidingö urban area on the island was 31,561. It is ...

, every ceremony has taken place at venues in

Categories awarded

As of the 2021 ceremony, there are 21 categories, not including special awards: Special awards include: *Honorary Award of the Year *Special Award of the Year Grammis were previously awarded in the following categories:

Trophy

Klara och Johanna Söderberg i First Aid Kit

The original Grammis trophy was a plaquette of stained

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

, designed by and made to be hung on a wall. The trophy was redesigned in 2007 by

Efva Attling Efva Katarina Attling, (born on 18 February 1952) is a Swedish silversmith and jewellery designer. Early career In the early 1980s she played in the band "X Models" and released the hit single ''Två av oss'' ("Two of us"). She worked as a p ...

and made by Orrefors. It weighs , made of glass with a

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

star, and was designed so that it could be lifted with one hand. Attling described her inspiration as "the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from " Empire State", the nickname of the ...

meets the

Hötorget buildings The Hötorget buildings ( sv, Hötorgshusen or ''Hötorgsskraporna'', "-scrapers") are five high-rise office buildings in Stockholm, Sweden. Located between the squares Hötorget and Sergels Torg in the central Norrmalm district, they stand ...

List of winners

Album of the Year

Album of the Year () has been awarded since 1993.

Artist of the Year

Artist of the Year () has been awarded since 1988 for a significant contribution such as an album, concert tour, or other musical achievement. For the 2008–2011 ceremonies, there were separate awards for Female Artist of the Year () and Male Artist of the Year ().

Children's Album of the Year

An award for

children's music Children's music or kids' music is music composed and performed for children. In European-influenced contexts this means music, usually songs, written specifically for a juvenile audience. The composers are usually adults. Children's music has hi ...

has been presented since the start of the Grammis and has undergone numerous name changes over the years, the latest being Children's Album of the Year () as of the 2002 ceremony. It was not presented at the 2020 ceremony.

Classical of the Year

Awards for

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

have been presented since the inaugural ceremony (with a gap in the 1990s), then referring to "serious music" ('' seriös musik''). Classical of the Year () can be awarded to an ensemble or a soloist; it has previously been presented as two separate categories.

Dansband of the Year

An award in the

dansband (; "dance band"), or in Norwegian and Danish, is a Swedish term for a band that plays ("dance band music"). ' is often danced to in pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired ...

category has been presented since the 1988 ceremony, then called Dance of the Year (). It has been renamed several times, sometimes including Schlager in its name, and is now called Dansband of the Year (), as of the 2010 ceremony.

Electro/Dance of the Year

An award for electro and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded da ...

was first presented at the 1993 ceremony, then called Modern Dance (). It was later known as Club/Dance of the Year () and as Electro/Dance of the Year () as of the 2001 ceremony. For several years, the category was merged with the one for hip hop and soul. To be eligible, nominees must have released at least two singles or an album.

Group of the Year

Group of the Year () was first awarded at the 1969 ceremony, and subsequently during several other years.

Hard Rock/Metal of the Year

An award for

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...

music has been presented since the 1993 ceremony;

heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands develope ...

was included in the category starting with the 2012 ceremony.

Jazz of the Year

An award for a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

album has been presented since the first ceremony in 1969. For the 2000–2002 ceremonies, the category also included

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

Lyricist of the Year

Lyricist of the Year () was first awarded at the 1969 ceremony, and then annually since the 1989 ceremony. The award can be presented to an individual or a songwriting team, usually in connection to an album.

Music Video of the Year

Music Video of the Year () has been awarded since 1990 to the director of a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

that accompanies one song. The director must be a

Swedish citizen Swedish nationality law determines entitlement to Swedish citizenship. Citizenship of Sweden is based primarily on the principle of '' jus sanguinis''. In other words, citizenship is conferred primarily by birth to a Swedish parent, irrespecti ...

permanent resident Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with suc ...

. Voting for the category is done in two steps: first by a large jury, then by a specialized jury. In several years during the 2000s, the category was presented with

MTV Sweden MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a ...

Newcomer of the Year

Newcomer of the Year () has been awarded since 1988 to an artist at the beginning of their musical career. Nominees must have released at least two songs or a debut album and must not have previously submitted for nomination. A group can be eligible if fewer than 50% of its members have previously released albums. The category was previously presented as Debut Popular Production of the Year () in 1970 and 1971.

Producer of the Year

Producer of the Year () was first awarded at the 1969 ceremony and next awarded in 1988 as Best Producer (); it has since been awarded annually.

Rock of the Year

Awards for

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States a ...

on their own have been presented since the 1990 ceremony. Prior to this, awards in combined Pop/Rock categories have been presented, a practice which sometimes continued into the 1990s and 2000s. It was previously separated into group and solo artist (male and female) categories, but has been one gender-neutral award since 2012.

Song of the Year

Song of the Year () has been awarded since 1990. Previously decided by the public, it is now chosen by a jury from the ten most popular songs of the year, based on sales, airplay, and streaming.

Songwriter of the Year

Songwriter of the Year () was first awarded at the 1969 ceremony, and then annually since the 1989 ceremony. The award can be presented to an individual or a songwriting team.

References

External links

Grammis

IFPI: Grammis
{{Music awards 1969 establishments in Sweden Awards established in 1969 Events in Stockholm February events Recurring events established in 1969 Swedish music awards