It was a good day for songwriters when the 2024 Grammy Awards nominations were announced on Friday (November 10). The nominees for Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical, span across genres with Edgar Barrera, Jessie Jo Dillon, Shane McAnally, Theron Thomas, and Justin Tranter all scoring nominations.
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“I’m beyond honored and beyond surprised,” Tranter tells American Songwriter in an exclusive quote about the nomination. “It wasn’t my biggest year as a writer but I do feel it was one of my best. Big shout out to the Grammy voters for respecting the craft. And holy fuck to be with the other nominees is an actual dream come true. No bullshit.”
Tranter has long been one of the top writers in pop music. The Illinois native first broke onto the charts as a co-writer on Fall Out Boy‘s “Centuries” which reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2014. Since then, they’ve become a go-to collaborator for Selena Gomez, Gwen Stefani, and Julia Michaels, with Tranter and Michaels working closely with Britney Spears on her 2016 album, Glory. Tranter has penned such smash hits as Justin Bieber‘s “Sorry,” Imagine Dragons‘ “Believer,” Gomez’s “Lose You to Love Me” and “Hands to Myself,” and DNCE’s “Cake by the Ocean,” among countless others.
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Tranter spent much of 2022 writing songs that ended up on Imagine Dragon’s Mercury -Acts 1 & 2, and was a frequent collaborator on newcomer Jake Wesley Rogers’ LOVE EP, in addition to working with Halsey, John Legend, and others. But 2023 demonstrated the versatility of Tranter’s songwriting. Their name shows up on “River,” the second single from Miley Cyrus‘ blockbuster album Endless Summer Vacation, along with several tracks on actress Renee Rapp’s debut album, Snow Angel, and a deep cut on Chappell Roan’s debut, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
The Berklee College of Music alumnus also wrote the music for the 2023 Paramount+ series, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, co-writing all 30 songs and serving as executive music producer for the show. “Movie musicals are the reason why I ever made music in the first place, that’s the reason why music even registered as a thing in my brain,” Tranter shared with American Songwriter in April 2023 about writing music for the series, adding that “I Want More” is the song they identified with the most. “My whole life as a young queer person, I relate to that so deeply. How dare I want greatness, how dare I want to achieve greatness while being truthful about who I am… I’ve been out since 1994, so there was no hiding for me.”
This is Tranter’s first nomination for Songwriter of the Year. They were nominated for Song of the Year in 2018 for co-writing “Issues” by Michaels. The 2024 Grammy Awards air live on February 4 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and stream on Paramount+.
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