Music’s most prestigious award show is back with their new crop of nominees. The Grammy’s relevancy and credibility has been fading, especially with the amount of times they’ve snubbed Black artists for general category awards. With a lot of the big artists not dropping during this timeframe because of the pandemic, they had a chance to show that they’re still paying attention to what’s important and quality in music these days. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, they manage to make some outrageous exceptions yet again.
General Categories
The biggest surprise about this section isn’t who made the list, but who didn’t. The Weeknd has had one of the biggest albums of 2020, the biggest song of 2020, and one of the most critically acclaimed pop albums of the year, but he was shut out of these nominations. Not only was he absent for the general categories, but he ended up with no nominations at all. Prior to the nominations being announced, he was leading all betting polls to win these awards, and now it turns out he’s not even nominated. He’s expressed his own thoughts on it, demanding transparency from the committee. There have also been rumours that because The Weeknd decided to perform at the Super Bowl this year instead of The Grammy’s, they are getting revenge by not nominating him. I’m sure they’ll be more to this story in the coming weeks, but personally, this is the biggest travesty of these nominations. But, it’s also a nice reminder that these award shows really don’t mean that much in the long run.
The Best Album of the Year category is the weirdest of the bunch. You have a couple heavy hitters with critically acclaimed projects that were a shoo-in, which were Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa’s projects. There’s the indie darling sister group HAIM, which isn’t that much of a surprise either. Post Malone’s album didn’t get good reviews at all, but he’s so big that he’ll get nominated no matter what. But then Jacob Collier and the Black Pumas deluxe album make the list? It’s not that either of them are bad, but there’s no reason why either of them should be anywhere near this award, especially with the standard edition of the Black Pumas album out in June 2019. Coldplay and Jhene Aiko being nominated doesn’t make much more sense either, as each album came and went within a couple weeks and weren't that acclaimed. This category could’ve been so much better if you took out some of the unnecessary picks and put in After Hours, Circles, and Fetch The Bolt Cutters. Taylor Swift seems to be the easy pick for this one, and I would be shocked if it went to someone else.
Song of the year doesn’t bring any surprises. Beyonce, Post Malone, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Roddy Ricch, and Dua Lipa all have their big singles in here. H.E.R and Julia Michaels also bring their two new, impactful songs released over the past year. This one seems like it’s up for grabs now that “Blinding Lights” isn’t in here, and the same applies for the record of the year category too. Record of the year features more hip hop than the rest with Dababy and Megan Thee Stallion getting some love. Four of the same songs from the previous category make their way over here, and it will likely be one of those four that will win this one as well.
Best New Artist is it’s own mess too. There are some quality names and new artists like Chika and D Smoke, but most of these artists seem like they have been around too long to be considered a new artist. Phoebe Bridgers, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, and Kaytranada have all had multiple projects before 2020, and all well known before then as well. There’s always so much contention over what is considered a new artist, and this year just makes it even more confusing than before. Likely though, it will be one of the “new” artists that isn’t that new at all.
Album of the year:
Who do I think will win? Taylor Swift - Folklore
Who do I want to win? HAIM - Women in Music Pt. III
Record of the year:
Beyonce - “Black Parade”
Black Pumas - “Colors”
Dababy - “Rockstar” (Feat. Roddy Ricch)
Post Malone - “Circles”
Megan Thee Stallion - “Savage Remix” (Feat. Beyonce)
Who do I think will win? Billie Eilish - “Everything I Wanted”
Who do I want to win? Megan Thee Stallion - “Savage Remix” (Feat. Beyonce)
Song of the year:
Beyonce - “Black Parade”
Roddy Ricch - “The Box”
Taylor Swift - “Cardigan”
Post Malone - “Circles”
JP Saxe - “If The World Was Ending” (Feat. Julia Michaels)
Who do I think will win? Taylor Swift - “Cardigan”
Who do I want to win? Beyonce - “Black Parade” or H.E.R. - “I Can’t Breathe”
Best New Artist:
Who do I think will win? Megan Thee Stallion
Who do I want to win? Megan Thee Stallion or Phoebe Bridgers
Pop
I have no idea who Justin Bieber paid to get “Yummy” nominated, but he somehow gets three nominations in pop music categories. Lady Gaga also gets two actually deserved nominations for her 2020 album Chromatica. K-Pop icons BTS also get one nod for their hit “Dynamite”, which is one of the first times a K-Pop group has been nominated for a grammy. Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa from above also find their way into multiple awards down here, and are likely to win at least one down here.
Best Pop Solo Performance:
Justin Bieber - “Yummy”
Taylor Swift - “Cardigan”
Who do I think will win? Taylor Swift - “Cardigan”
Who do I want to win? Billie Eilish - “Everything I Wanted”
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
J Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny & Tainy - “Un Dia (One Day)”
Justin Bieber - “Intentions” (Feat. Quavo)
Lady Gaga - “Rain on Me” (Feat. Ariana Grande)
Taylor Swift - “Exile” (Feat. Bon Iver)
Who do I think will win? Taylor Swift - “Exile” (Feat. Bon Iver)
Who do I want to win? Taylor Swift - “Exile” (Feat. Bon Iver)
Best Pop Vocal Album:
Who do I think will win? Taylor Swift - Folklore
Who do I want to win? Taylor Swift - Folklore or Lady Gaga - Chromatica
Dance/Electronic
There are only two categories in the Dance/Electronic section, but there’s some quality nominations here that are kind of surprising. Kaytranada is nominated for both his newest album and his song “10%” which is a fantastic collaboration with Kali Uchis. Flume also has a great track nominated with Toro y Moi called “The Difference”, that proves he can still make hits after getting experiment with last year’s mixtape. Talented rappers Amine and Slowthai feature on Disclosure’s nomination “My High”. The most surprising nomination is for Best Dance/Electronic Album, and Arca herself was able to get a nomination. Her music is so experimental and otherworldly that it doesn’t seem to appeal to Grammy voters at all, but it’s an accepted surprise to see that she was nominated.
Best Dance Recording:
Diplo & SIDEPIECE - “On My Mind”
Disclosure - “My High” (Feat. Amine & Slowthai)
Flume - “The Difference” (Feat. Toro y Moi)
Jayda G - “Both of Us”
Kaytranada - “10%” (Feat. Kali Uchis)
Who do I think will win? Flume - “The Difference” (Feat. Toro y Moi)
Who do I want to win? Flume - “The Difference” (Feat. Toro y Moi) or Kaytranada - “10%” (Feat. Kali Uchis)
Best Dance/Electronic Album:
Who do I think will win? Kaytranada - Bubba
Rock/Alternative
This year’s rock categories are dominated by women, and deservedly so. Phoebe Bridgers, Fiona Apple, and Brittany Howard all make three appearances each in these categories, and are the frontrunners to win as well. HAIM’s fantastic song “The Steps” was also nominated for the Best Rock Performance category. There’s also quality nominations for Michael Kiwaunaka, The Strokes, Tame Impala, Poppy, and more that are 100% worthy of their nominations. Overall, the rock section is definitely one of the best sections that they had in these nominations.
Best Rock Performance:
Fiona Apple - “Shameika”
Phoebe Bridgers - “Kyoto”
Grace Potter - “Daylight”
Who do I think will win? Phoebe Bridgers - “Kyoto”
Who do I want to win? Fiona Apple - “Shameika” or HAIM - “The Steps”
Best Rock Song:
Who do I think will win? Brittany Howard - “Stay High”
Who do I want to win? Fiona Apple - “Shameika” or Phoebe Bridgers - “Kyoto”
Best Rock Album:
Who do I think will win? The Strokes - The New Abnormal
Who do I want to win? The Strokes - The New Abnormal
Best Alternative Music Album:
Who do I think will win? Brittany Howard - Jaime
Who do I want to win? Brittany Howard - Jaime or Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
R&B
As with most categories, there’s a bit of a mixed bag in here. It has arguably my favorite category of the whole Grammy’s with the best R&B song. All five of the nominations are great songs from Beyonce, Robert Glasper, a duet with Skip Marley and H.E.R, Chloe x Halle, and Olu from Earthgang’s duet with Tiana Major9! This is the one where anyone could take it home, and I’ll be totally happy for them.
Best progressive R&B album is another category with a load of quality albums. This is a newly named category, because who knew having a category called Best Urban Contemporary Album and only nominating Black artists for a decade would be considered racist. Either way, there are plenty of great projects here including Thundercat, Chloe x Halle, Robert Glasper, and the Free Nationals. Although, it will most likely go to Jhene Aiko, even though she released the worst project in my opinion. The other categories have some good stuff too, including nominations to Beyonce, Jacob Collier, Brittany Howard, Yebba, Ledisi, Ant Clemons, Giveon, and more. But these two above are some of the best in the whole list.
Best R&B Performance:
Jhene Aiko - “Lightning & Thunder” (Feat. John Legend)
Beyonce - “Black Parade”
Jacob Collier - “All I Need” (Feat. Mahalia & Ty Dolla $ign)
Emily King - “See Me”
Who do I think will win? Beyonce - “Black Parade”
Who do I want to win? Beyonce - “Black Parade”
Best Traditional R&B Performance:
The Baylor Project - “Sit On Down” (Feat. Jean Baylor & Marcus Baylor)
Who do I think will win? Chloe x Halle - “Wonder What She Thinks of Me”
Who do I want to win? Chloe x Halle - “Wonder What She Thinks of Me”
Best R&B Song:
Robert Glasper - “Better Than I Imagine” (Feat. H.E.R. & Meshell Ndegeocello)
Beyonce - “Black Parade”
Tiana Major9 & Earthgang - “Collide”
Chloe x Halle - “Do It”
Skip Marley & H.E.R. - “Slow Down”
Who do I think will win? Beyonce - “Black Parade”
Who do I want to win? Tiana Major9 & Earthgang - "Collide”
Best Progressive R&B Album
Who do I think will win? Jhene Aiko - Chilombo
Who do I want to win? Thundercat - It Is What It Is or Chloe x Halle - Ungodly Hour
Best R&B Album
Who do I think will win? John Legend - Bigger Love
Hip Hop
For one of the first times in a long time, the hip hop category is actually pretty solid all the way through. There may be a couple duds in the nominations, like Dababy’s “Rockstar”, but everything else is really good. The Best Rap Album category is full of lyric-driven hip hop from some kind of big and older names like Nas and Royce Da 5’9”. Personally, Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist’s Alfredo should easily be the winner in the category though, but I’m just shocked that Freddie was able to get a nomination, and especially on the album where he says, “My name cocaine they ain’t gon’ put me in the nominees”.
Some of the best songs of the year find their way into these categories, including Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage” remix with Beyonce and Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later” with Lil Durk. These are both the frontrunners in most of these categories too. Glad to see that Pop Smoke was able to get at least one nomination, but it’s disappointing that Juice Wrld and especially Mac Miller were left out of the nominations.
Best Rap Performance:
Big Sean - “Deep Reverence” (Feat. Nipsey Hussle)
Megan Thee Stallion - “Savage Remix” (Feat. Beyonce)
Who do I think will win? Megan Thee Stallion - “Savage Remix” (Feat. Beyonce)
Best Melodic Rap Performance:
DaBaby - “Rockstar” (Feat. Roddy Ricch)
Drake - “Laugh Now, Cry Later” (Feat. Lil Durk)
Roddy Ricch - “The Box”
Who do I think will win? Drake - “Laugh Now, Cry Later" (Feat. Lil Durk)
Who do I want to win? Drake - “Laugh Now, Cry Later” (Feat. Lil Durk)
Best Rap Song:
Roddy Ricch - “The Box’
Drake - “Laugh Now, Cry Later” (Feat. Lil Durk)
DaBaby - “Rockstar” (Feat. Roddy Ricch)
Megan Thee Stallion - “Savage Remix” (Feat. Beyonce)
Who do I think will win? Lil Baby - “The Bigger Picture”
Who do I want to win? Drake - “Laugh Now, Cry Later" (Feat. Lil Durk) or Megan Thee Stallion - “Savage Remix” (Feat. Beyonce)
Best Rap Album:
Who do I think will win? Nas - King’s Disease
Who do I want to win? Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Alfredo
Other
All three of the music videos I’ve seen that are nominated are great, so hopefully they win. I’m sure Beyonce’s “Brown Skin Girl” with will, and deservedly so, but Anderson Paak’s “Lockdown” and Future’s “Life is Good” are both awesome videos as well. The same goes for the best music film of the year. I’m sure Beyonce’s Black is King will win, and it is a beautifully shot film with lots of symbolism that deserves to win on that alone.
Non-Classical Producer of the Year has quite a few good names as well. Flying Lotus made it on with only his work on Thundercat’s project, but Lotus’s influence reaches way further than that and definitely deserves to be nominated for a Grammy. Dan Auerbach also did a lot as well with everyone from Cee-Lo Green to Marcus King. The person that will likely win is Jack Antonoff, and while he didn’t have as great of a 2020 as he did 2019, he’s still more than worthy of winning this category.
There are also quite a few other artists that are nominated for random awards that I hope win too. I’m glad to see Kamasi Washington nominated for his Becoming soundtrack for the Michelle Obama book by the same name. Dev Hynes got two classical nominations for his composition Fields, played by Third Coast Collective out of Chicago. I’m also rooting for Laura Marling to win Best Folk Album, Fantastic Negrito to win Best Contemporary Blues Album, and Lido Pimenta to win Best Latin Rock Album. It’s also kind of funny to see Kanye nominated for Best Contemporary Christain Album after peeing on his Grammy earlier in the year.
Overall, the Grammys did what they do every year. Some improvements and quality nominations for a lot of small-ish people, but make some gigantic mistakes that makes it abundantly clear that they don’t know much about the current state of music. It seems like they went even further with both of those ideas this year. There are almost more quality, smaller artists that will likely now be getting more attention this year because of them, but there haven’t been as many mind-boggling exemptions from the nominations in just as long. So overall, it’s likely a bit worse than normal because of this wild inconsistency. As with the Grammy’s in general, it’s fun to hate sometimes and it’s yet another list of nominations to get the people talking and hating.
Producer of the Year, Non Classical:
Who do I think will win? Jack Antonoff
Who do I want to win? Jack Antonoff
Best Music Video:
Future - “Life is Good” (Feat. Drake)
Who do I think will win? Beyonce - “Brown Skin Girl”
Who do I want to win? Beyonce - "Brown Skin Girl”
Best Music Film:
Who do I think will win? Beyonce - Black is King
Who do I want to win? Beyonce - Black is King
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