The Songwriters Behind This Years' Grammy Noms

It's always interesting to me to see the writers behind the Grammy-nominated songs. Maybe it's because I admittedly follow @ShadyMusicFacts on Twitter and love a casual "this track was written by one writer" versus "this track had approximately 35 writers on it" toss of shade, but I find it fascinating. So often songwriters get overlooked by their singer counterparts (unless those artists happen to be the songwriters themselves), which is why it's pretty awesome that it's the songwriters who get the credit when it comes to the "Song" categories at the Grammy Awards.

And though the 2016 Grammys didn't offer that many surprises in terms of songwriters — of course Taylor Swift writes her own tracks and also collaborated with pop music gurus Max Martin and Shellback on "Blank Space" — there were still a handful that made me raise an eyebrow in a "huh, I didn't know that" kinda way. Take Kanye West's "All Day," which is up for Best Rap Song, for example. Did you know that literally 31 people wrote on this track? The naming of the "All Day" collaborators was literally an entire paragraph in the official 2016 Grammy nominees list. So let's give everyone their credit here, people, and check out some of the songwriters behind these 2016 Grammy-nominated songs below.

1. Paul McCartney, "All Day" (Kanye West)

While it might not surprise some of you that Paul McCartney was a writer on Kanye West's Grammy-nominated "All Day" (considering he is featured on the track and the two previously collab-ed on "Four Five Seconds" with Rihanna), I still think it's random — and totally badass.

2. Pharrell, "Alright" (Kendrick Lamar)

Before Pharrell Williams exposed the world to the earworm that is "Happy," he was busy making a living writing and producing hit after hip-hop hit. So of course he's behind Kendrick Lamar's Grammy-nominated "Alright" — it just fits in with his aesthetic.

3. Liz Rose, "Girl Crush" (Little Big Town)

Country songwriter Liz Rose is best known for her work with Taylor Swift — anyone who helps pen T. Swift's masterpiece "All Too Well" is a genius in my eyes — but it's safe to say she made headlines for her now Grammy-nominated hit "Girl Crush" with Little Big Town. Up for Song of the Year, the "controversial" track alludes to a woman wanting to kiss another woman, which definitely made some waves in country radio.

"It just hit a nerve with people," the veteran songwriter told ABC about the track. "I don't think it has anything to do with a hidden agenda, it was just about a girl who wants to be the girl that's with the guy ... The hook turns around and realize the girl wants the guy ... everybody is not going to love everything."

4. P. Diddy, "All Day" (Kanye West)

As previously noted, Yeezy's "All Day" had more than 30 writers, and yes, P. Diddy was one of them. It's always a good reminder that he didn't fade into oblivion post-J. Lo relationship and isn't just schilling his vodka on Twitter (totally kidding).

5. French Montana, "All Day" (Kanye West)

Sure, it makes sense that French Montana helped out West with this track (the two rappers obviously both run in the same music industry circles), but it's hilarious to me considering they were once kind of like brothers-in-law. It's like the same awkwardness that ensued a few years ago when Lamar Odom and Kris Humphries faced each other on the basketball court.

Regardless of the ~randomness~ of any of these songwriters, one thing's for sure: They're all talented as hell. Because hey, they just scored a Grammy nom. Congrats!

Image: Giphy