We asked The Recording Academy to explain a few things.

Every year after the Grammy nominations are announced, it begins. The complaints. The angry tweets. The chorus of the confused and disgusted grows louder. Why wasn't [fill in blank] nominated for [fill in blank]!? [Fill in blank] was robbed!!

This year was no different, and so BuzzFeed News got in touch with Bill Freimuth, Senior Vice President of Awards at The Recording Academy, to ask him the questions everyone is asking about this year's Grammy noms. He cleared up some misconceptions -- about this year's awards and the Grammys in general (they aren't apart of a grand Illuminati conspiracy, apparently) -- and ultimately we're much calmer after having had the conversation with an insider.

So let this serve as your primer before watching the 57 Annual Grammy Awards, which airs this Sunday at 8 p.m. EST/PST on CBS.

Hope it helps.

Getty Images Frederick M. Brown

Why is Iggy Azalea’s song “Fancy” nominated in Pop Duo/Group but her album is nominated in Rap?

It is indeed possible for an album track to fit into another genre, Freimuth tells BuzzFeed News. "An extreme example would be if a country artist recorded an undeniable dance song, produced by Zedd, for example, and that song was included on the country artist's full album. That song would be eligible in Dance regardless of the rest of the album being Country. With 'Fancy,' the Pop and Rap committees concluded that sonically, it was produced in a way to sound Pop. While music is constantly evolving, currently, with Dance and Rap, there is a blurred line – open for discussions like the committees have – as to what leans more Pop."

Christopher Polk

Why isn’t Ariana Grande up for Best New Artist?

"Our Best New Artist category probably has the most complicated set of rules of any of our categories," Freimuth tells BuzzFeed News.

He explains it thus: Essentially, a "new artist" is defined for the Grammy process as any performing artist or established performing group who releases, during the eligibility year, the recording that first establishes the public identity of that artist or established group as a performer. A Grammy nomination in a performance category in a prior year disqualifies an artist from competing in this category, unless the nomination came from a single or a guest spot on another artist's recording, and the artist hadn't yet released a full album. In the case of Grande, it's the "recording that first establishes the public identity" rule that essentially answers why she's not in the Best New Artist category. "Her debut album, Yours Truly, was released in August 2013, where it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, clearly establishing her notoriety as a recording artist," Freimuth says. "While she was eligible for the 56th GRAMMYs, Grande pulled no nominations, including Best New Artist where she was indeed submitted. This year, for the 57th GRAMMYs, she is a two-time nominee (Best Pop Album, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance).

Larry Marano

Why isn't Taylor Swift's album, "1989," nominated?

Swift, a 7-time Grammy winner, is up for three awards this year for her song "Shake It Off." While that song was released August 18, 2014 before the September 30, 2014 eligibility cut-off for the 57th GRAMMYs, Freimuth explains, her full album dropped October 27, 2014, making it and its subsequent singles eligible for the 58th Grammys. This is similar to Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," being nominated for the 55th Grammys, while her full album, Red, received nominations for the 56th Grammys.

In short, it's going to be 1989 well into 2016.

Getty Images for Moet & Chandon Astrid Stawiarz

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