Tag Archives: Grammy Predictions

Grammys, Music

Song of the Year 2018

It’s that time of year – Grammy prediction season!  The entry period ended in September, and the nominations will be announced November 28th.

Here are my predictions for Song of the Year (subject to edit as I spontaneously contemplate this).

“Better Man” – Taylor Swift, songwriter (Little Big Town, artist)

“Green Light” – Jack Antonoff, Joel Little, Ella Yelich-O’Connor, songwriters (Lorde, artist)

“Location” – Khalid Robinson, Joshua Scruggs, Chris McClenney, Samuel Jimenez, Olatunji Ige, Alfredo Gonzalez, Barjam Kurti, songwriters (Khalid, artist)

“Look What You Made Me Do” – Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, Fred Fairbrass, Richard Fairbrass, Rob Manzoli, songwriters (Taylor Swift, artist)

“Shape of You” – Ed Sheeran, Steve Mac, Johnny McDaid, Kandi Burruss, Tameka Cottle, Kevin Briggs, songwriters (Ed Sheeran, artist)

“1-800-273-8255” – Sir Robert Hall II, Arjun Ivatury, Alessia Caracciolo, Khalid Robinson, songwriters (Logic featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid, artists)

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Album of the Year 2017

2016 was a great year for albums – we got new Adele music (finally!), Beyoncé brought us the glorious Lemonade, and so much more.

The nominees for Album of the Year:

  • 25 – Adele
  • Lemonade – Beyoncé
  • Purpose – Justin Bieber
  • View – Drake
  • A Sailor’s Guide to Earth  – Sturgill Simpson

Who Should Win: Lemonade by Beyoncé

It feels like every time Beyoncé drops an album, it becomes a critically acclaimed masterpiece, and she gets nominated for Album of the Year.  This certainly was the case fore I Am…Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé, and now for Lemonade.  And yet, she has never won.  Indeed, after her loss in 2015 to Beck’s Morning Phase, a lot of people  were upset (granted, Beck has been around in the indie rock scene for a while, so his win isn’t totally random).  However, with Lemonade, Beyoncé steps up her game and provides a whole visual experience.

Who Will Win: Probably 25 by Adele

I would not be surprised if Beyonce did win, but I feel like the Grammy’s tend to favor Adele, which technically isn’t wrong – 25 did break records (it sold over 3 million copies in one week, has sold over 10 million copies to date, etc.), and it is a solid album that discusses Adele’s next chapter in her life.

Grammys, Music

Song of the Year Prediction

Song of the Year is perhaps one of my favorite categories at the Grammys because they honor the songwriter.  Far too often, songwriters are not credited fairly for their work, which doesn’t make sense as there would be no song if it weren’t for the songwriter.

This year, the nominees are:

  • Khalif Brown, Asheton Hogan, Beyoncé Knowles, and Michael L. Williams II for “Formation” by Beyoncé.
  • Adele Adkins and Greg Kurstin for “Hello” by Adele
  • Mike Posner for “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” by Mike Posner
  • Justin Bieber, Benjamin Levin, and Ed Sheeran for “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber
  • Lukas Forchhammer, Stefan Forrest, Morten Pilegaard, and Morten Ristorp for “7 Years” by Lukas Graham

Who Should Win: Mike Posner for “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” by Mike Posner

The original version of “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” is incredibly beautiful.  It has the timeless sound to it, grabs at your heart, and you truly feel Posner’s pain.  Out of all the nominees, Posner crafted a world that his listeners travel into, and leave feeling feeling his emptiness and loneliness.  Yes, it’s not a fun experience, but it’s one that leaves me with goosebumps every time.

Who Will Win: Adele Adkins and Greg Kurstin for “Hello” by Adele

It’s not that I think Adele doesn’t deserve to win the Grammy – “Hello” is indeed a gorgeous song – I simply think “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” captured Posner’s pain a bit better.  However, out of these songs nominated, I believe “Hello” was the biggest of 2016.  Adele dominated the charts, and she is indeed incredibly talented.  She has a Grammy-winning streak – she’s won every Grammy she has won since she released 21 in 2011.  So, it seems inevitable that she will win again.

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Grammy Predictions 2017

It’s that time of year – we’re one month-ish away from the Grammys, so as usual, I thought I’d share my predictions of who should and who will win throughout the month.  I like to pretend I’m a Grammy voter – which, I’ve been repeatedly told I don’t “qualify” for – and select who I would vote for.  Obviously I can’t go through each category – there are eighty-four categories – so I’ll probably just hit the bigger categories.  Grammy voters don’t vote for every category – they vote for the top four, and then I think they vote within their specified genre.  Anyway…

Grammys, Music

2017 Record of the Year Nominations Prediction

The 2017 Grammy nominations announcement is just a few weeks away – December 14th – so here are yet more of my predictions, this time for Record of the Year:

  • “Hello” – Adele
  • “7 Years” – Lukas Graham
  • “Can’t Stop the Feeling” – Justin Timberlake
  • “Cheap Thrills” – Sia featuring Sean Paul
  • “Closer” – The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
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Album of the Year – My Predictions

Album of the Year Nominees:

  • 1989 – Taylor Swift
  • To Pimp a Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar
  • Traveller – Chris Stapleton
  • Sound & Color – Alabama Shakes
  • Beauty Behind the Madness  – The Weeknd.

Who Should Win: 1989 – Taylor Swift

This is not my inner Swiftie shining through, I truly think Swift had the strongest albums of the 2015 season after listing to all nominees.  In fact, Billboard reported it as being a “cultural juggernaut,” a term they did not use for any of the other nominees.  The fact that it had such a powerful impact in pop culture and is such a sonically strong and cohesive album, it deserves the Grammy.  The other nominees are certainly strong contenders, but none of them are “juggernauts” like 1989.

Who Will Win: 1989 – Taylor Swift

There is a chance 1989 will not win simply because Taylor Swift has already won Album of the Year.  Only a handful of artists have won this top prize more than once.  This seriously isn’t a reason not to vote for her, but politics do come in to play with Grammys…unfortunately.  But, I can’t see the Grammys giving this to anyone else as 1989 had such a huge impact on music.  Although, we were all surprised last year when Beck won for Morning Phase against Beyoncé’s self-titled album, which many considered the shoo-in.

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Best Pop Duo/Group Performance – My Predictions

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Nominees:

  • “Ship to Wreck” – Florence + The Machine
  • “Sugar” – Maroon 5
  • “Uptown Funk” – Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars
  • “Bad Blood” – Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar
  • “See You Again” – Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth

Who Should Win: “Bad Blood” – Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar

While Florence Welch’s voice in “Ship to Wreck,” like anything she sings, is pure gold, and while “Uptown Funk” and “See You Again” were perhaps the anthems of 2015, “Bad Blood” has the most cohesive collaborative nature to it.  The song emits the anger and frustration through Swift’s parts but it is even more enforced by Lamar’s sharp raps and attitude.  Swift and Lamar come from two different worlds (the former from the country-pop, the latter from rap/hip hop), and yet they can cohesively make a song together.  If you read the collaboration on paper before listening to it, it would look like a joke and like it shouldn’t work.  But it fits like a glove.

Who Will Win: “See You Again” – Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth or “Uptown Funk” – Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars

If we vote based on which song is the biggest, it would be a tie between “See You Again” and “Uptown Funk” (although, I was reading in Billboard that “Uptown Funk” was the number one song of 2015 by a significant margin), so it’s close which one will win.  I, again, think “See You Again” will win simply for the fact it’s an ode to the late Paul Walker…I also think it’s this reason why it will win the Golden Globe and get nominated and win the Academy Award.  I’m not suggesting it’s not a good song or isn’t deserving of any recognition, it just has that aspect of it to make it shine a little brighter in a group of close nominees.