A veteran record producer and music analyst has launched a scathing attack on the current state of pop music, just weeks before the 2026 Grammy Awards ceremony. Rick Beato, a respected figure with millions of YouTube subscribers, delivered a brutal assessment of this year's Song of the Year nominees in a video that has gone viral.
A Stark Comparison to a Golden Era
Beato framed his critique by drawing a direct comparison with the 1984 Grammy Awards, a ceremony widely regarded as a high point for popular music. That year, The Police won Song of the Year for 'Every Breath You Take', while Michael Jackson dominated with his album 'Thriller' and two nominated songs, 'Billie Jean' and 'Beat It'. The nominee list was rounded out by timeless tracks from Lionel Richie and Irene Cara.
The producer first highlighted a key difference: many of the 1984 hits were credited to just a single songwriter. He contrasted this with the modern trend of tracks being created by committees, utilising numerous samples and interpolations from older works.
Deconstructing the 2026 Nominees
Beato then systematically analysed the current crop of nominees. He pointed out that Doechii's 'Anxiety' is based on a direct sample from Gotye's 2011 hit, which itself sampled a 1967 song. "So I guess Doechii just took the Gotye song, removed the vocals, and then sang her own song over it?" he questioned.
He took aim at Kendrick Lamar and SZA's chart-topping 'Luther', which is based on a 1982 Luther Vandross song written by Marvin Gaye. The track credits ten songwriters. "So it took ten people to write that song. Am I gonna hear this song in forty years like those other songs? I don't think so," Beato stated bluntly.
Lady Gaga's 'Abracadabra' was dismissed as a "very run-of-the-mill dance song" with nothing memorable, noting its interpolation of a Siouxsie and the Banshees track brought its writer total to seven. Bruno Mars and Rosé's 'APT', which uses the melody from 'Mickey', was criticised for having eleven writers. "I don't mean to keep harping on this, but this song took eleven people to write an incredible lightweight song... It sounds like a song for five-year-olds!" he exclaimed.
Sabrina Carpenter's 'Manchild' was labelled "generic," with Beato suggesting the singer had far better material in her catalogue.
A Few Rays of Hope Amidst the Criticism
Not all nominees faced Beato's ire. He praised Bad Bunny's 'DTMF' for its unique production and highlighted the melodic interest of 'Golden' from the K-pop Demon Hunters soundtrack.
His highest praise was reserved for Billie Eilish's ballad 'Wildflower', which he called "the best song on the entire list." He gushed over its great melody, understated production, and beautiful vocal performance. Crucially, he noted that Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell wrote and produced the entire song themselves.
Beato concluded with a damning prediction for the other nominated tracks. "No one's gonna remember these songs that were written by three, four, seven, ten, eleven people, forty years from now," he said, contrasting them with the enduring 1984 hits that are still streamed and discovered by new listeners today. "Nobody will remember these songs from today three years from now. They won't," he added.
