Chidi Okereke
This is the season of awards and the biggest prize in music just announced their nominees for nods in the award ceremony holding on the 28th of January next year. While the list conspicuously ‘lacks’ 9ice and Skales who promised us Grammys back in the day, Jay Z and Kendrick Lamar lead nominations with 8 and 7 nods respectively. Bruno Mars has 6, while 19-year old Khalid has 5, including best new artiste.
Of course, the gramophones can go to any of the nominees, but I have predicted who will win what, with reasons. Enjoy, share.
Album of the Year
Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
Childish Gambino, Awaken, My Love!
Jay-Z, 4:44
Kendrick Lamar, DAMN.
Lorde, Melodrama
Jay-Z, 4:44 is my predicted winner. The album stirred a socio-cultural revolution and while people like 50 cent described it as Golf-Course music, it was critically acclaimed for the uniqueness, honesty, and range of its sound. The Grammys might just give the award to Bruno though. Or even Kendrick.
Song of the Year
Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber, “Despacito”
Jay-Z, “4:44”
Julia Michaels, “Issues”
Logic ft. Alessia Cara and Khalid, “1-800-273-8255”
Bruno Mars, “That’s What I Like”
If there’s any justice in the world, Despacito should be song of the year. If for nothing else, it has the most YouTube views and got the world speaking Spanish.
Record of the Year
Childish Gambino, “Redbone”
Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber, “Despacito”
Jay-Z, “The Story of O.J.”
Kendrick Lamar, “HUMBLE.”
Bruno Mars, “24K Magic”
This one is tough, really tough. Despacito may just win it again, or Kendrick’s Humble, or 24k magic. I’ll bet on Despacito, but any of these songs could take it home. Surprised Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You did not make the cut though.
Best New Artist
Alessia Cara
Khalid
Lil Uzi Vert
Julia Michaels
SZA
Khalid is favorite to win this. Could go to SZA, but Khalid has had a really great year and I predict he’ll go home with this prize.
Best Pop Solo Performance
Kelly Clarkson, “Love So Soft”
Kesha, “Praying”
Lady Gaga, “Million Reasons”
P!nk, “What About Us”
Ed Sheeran, “Shape Of You”
Shape of you should win this. There shouldn’t be any competition. None. At all. Shape of you should be record of the year sef, but what do I know?
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
The Chainsmokers & Coldplay, “Something Just Like This”
Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber, “Despacito”
Imagine Dragons, “Thunder”
Portugal. The Man, “Feel lt Still”
Zedd & Alessia Cara, “Stay”
Chainsmokers x Coldplay should take this one; one of the biggest and most unexpected collaborations this year. Song is ringing in my ears as I write this.
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
Michael Bublé, Nobody But Me (Deluxe Version)
Bob Dylan, Triplicate
Seth MacFarlane, In Full Swing
Sarah McLachlan, Wonderland
Various Artists, Tony Bennett Celebrates 90
Really don’t know, to be honest. But I like Seth MacFarlane and I want him to win this.
Best Pop Vocal Album
Coldplay, Kaleidoscope EP
Lana Del Rey, Lust For Life
Imagine Dragons, Evolve
Kesha, Rainbow
Lady Gaga, Joanne
Ed Sheeran, ÷ (Divide)
If Ed Sheeran doesn’t win this, they better divide the gramophone amongst all the nominees.
Best Dance Recording
Bonobo Featuring Innov Gnawa, “Bambro Koyo Ganda”
Camelphat & Elderbrook, “Cola”
Gorillaz Featuring DRAM, “Andromeda”
LCD Soundsystem, “Tonite”
Odesza Featuring WYNNE & Mansionair, “Line Of Sight”
No comments
Best Dance/Electronic Album
Bonobo, Migration
Kraftwerk, 3-D The Catalogue
Mura Masa, Mura Masa
Odesza, A Moment Apart
Sylvan Esso, What Now
No comments either.
Best Rock Performance
Leonard Cohen, “You Want It Darker”
Chris Cornell, “The Promise”
Foo Fighters, “Run”
Kaleo, “No Good”
Nothing More, “Go To War”
Foo Fighters are Grammy favorites, but the late Leonard Cohen had a brilliant career before he passed on, and winning the award posthumously may serve as an excellent cap to an impressive career. Nothing More may also win it though. Go To War was a brilliant song.
Best Metal Performance
August Burns Red, “Invisible Enemy”
Body Count, “Black Hoodie”
Code Orange, “Forever”
Mastodon, “Sultan’s Curse”
Meshuggah, “Clockworks”
Body Count by Black Hoodie.
Best Rock Song
James Hetfield & Lars Ulrich, songwriters (Metallica), “Atlas, Rise!”
JT Daly & Kristine Flaherty, songwriters (K.Flay), “Blood In The Cut”
Ben Anderson, Jonny Hawkins, Will Hoffman, Daniel Oliver, David Pramik & Mark Vollelunga, songwriters (Nothing More), “Go To War”
Foo Fighters, songwriters (Foo Fighters), “Run”
Zachary Baker, Brian Haner, Matthew Sanders, Jonathan Seward & Brooks Wackerman, songwriters (Avenged Sevenfold), “The Stage”
Best rock song v Best rock performance – sometimes confusing. But like said before, this is between Foo fighters and Nothing More.
Best Rock Album
Mastodon, Emperor of Sand
Metallica, Hardwired… To Self-Destruct
Nothing More, The Stories We Tell Ourselves
Queens Of The Stone Age, Villains
The War On Drugs, A Deeper Understanding
Metallica’s Hardwired should win this. I mean it’s hard to imagine the Grammys overlooking the epic statement the group made in that album.
Best Alternative Music Album
Arcade Fire, Everything Now
Gorillaz, Humanz
LCD Soundsystem, American Dream
Father John Misty, Pure Comedy
The National, Sleep Well Beast
Best R&B Performance
Daniel Caesar Featuring Kali Uchis, “Get You”
Kehlani, “Distraction”
Ledisi, “High”
Bruno Mars, “That’s What I Like”
SZA, “The Weekend”
Bruno should win this. But they might want to compensate SZA for not taking artiste of the year. So either of them.
Best Traditional R&B Performance
The Baylor Project, “Laugh And Move On”
Childish Gambino, “Redbone”
Anthony Hamilton Featuring The Hamiltones, “What I’m Feelin’”
Ledisi, “All The Way”
Mali Music, “Still”
Childish Gambino wins this. Man brought back 90’s R & B in redbone.
Best R&B Song
PJ Morton, songwriter (PJ Morton), “First Began”
Alfredo Gonzalez, Olatunji Ige, Samuel David Jiminez, Christopher McClenney, Khalid Robinson & Joshua Scruggs, songwriters (Khalid), “Location
Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, songwriters (Childish Gambino), “Redbone”
Tyran Donaldson, Terrence Henderson, Greg Landfair Jr., Solana Rowe & Pharrell Williams, songwriters (SZA), “Supermodel”
Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars), “That’s What I Like”
Location should win this. Khalid. Bruno’s what I like is a strong contender too, then Gambino’s redbone. But location should win this.
Best Urban Contemporary Album
6LACK, Free 6LACK
Childish Gambino, Awaken, My Love!
Khalid, American Teen
SZA, Ctrl
The Weeknd, Starboy
The Weeknd? Childish Gambino? American Teen? CTRL? Fam. This category is lit. But I’ll give it to the fake Starboy
Best R&B Album
Daniel Caesar, Freudian
Ledisi, Let Love Rule
Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
PJ Morton, Gumbo
Musiq Soulchild, Feel The Real
24k Magic should win this. Bruno should take this prize home.
Best Rap Performance
Big Sean, “Bounce Back”
Cardi B, “Bodak Yellow”
Jay-Z, “4:44”
Kendrick Lamar, “HUMBLE.”
Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert, “Bad And Boujee”
Hah. This is such a lit category. Bodak Yellow (want her to win, so her fairy-tale run continues) is strongest contender. But Kendrick’s Humble is a really deep song and should. Bad and Boujee may just take is sha. Hugely popular song
Best Rap/Sung Performance
6LACK, “PRBLMS”
Goldlink Featuring Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy, “Crew”
Jay-Z Featuring Beyoncé, “Family Feud”
Kendrick Lamar Featuring Rihanna, “LOYALTY.”
SZA Featuring Travis Scott, “Love Galore”
Kendrick x Rihanna. The Grammys better be loyal and give it to them
Best Rap Song
Dieuson Octave, Klenord Raphael, Shaftizm, Jordan Thorpe, Washpoppin & J White, songwriters (Cardi B), “Bodak Yellow”
Judah Bauer, Brian Burton, Hector Delgado, Jaime Meline, Antwan Patton, Michael Render, Russell Simins & Jon Spencer, songwriters (Danger Mouse Featuring Run The Jewels & Big Boi), “Chase Me”
Duckworth, Asheton Hogan & M. Williams II, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar), “HUMBLE.”
Gabouer & M. Evans, songwriters (Rapsody), “Sassy”
Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (Jay-Z), “The Story Of O.J.”
Humble? Bodak Yellow again? Even Jay’s Story of OJ? Man. This could go to either of them. But Humble is a typical grammy-winning song, so, Kendrick might just win it.
Best Rap Album
Jay-Z, 4:44
Kendrick Lamar, DAMN.
Migos, Culture
Rapsody, Laila’s Wisdom
Tyler, The Creator, Flower Boy
Same thing I said about 4:44 in album of the year. Jay Z should win this. But if he doesn’t, Kendrick should.
Best Country Solo Performance
Sam Hunt, “Body Like A Back Road”
Alison Krauss, “Losing You”
Miranda Lambert, “Tin Man”
Maren Morris, “I Could Use A Love Song”
Chris Stapleton, “Either Way”
I don’t understand how Country music works
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
Brothers Osborne, “It Ain’t My Fault”
Zac Brown Band, “My Old Man”
Lady Antebellum, “You Look Good”
Little Big Town, “Better Man”
Midland, “Drinkin’ Problem”
Same as above.
Best Country Song
Taylor Swift, songwriter (Little Big Town), “Better Man”
Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally & Josh Osborne, songwriters (Sam Hunt), “Body Like A Back Road”
Mike Henderson & Chris Stapleton, songwriters (Chris Stapleton), “Broken Halos”
Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne & Mark Wystrach, songwriters (Midland), “Drinkin’ Problem”
Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert & Jon Randall, songwriters (Miranda Lambert), “Tin Man”
Even though I don’t do Country, Taylor Swift is here – in her only nod, so she’ll win it. As per Grammy child.
Best Country Album
Kenney Chesney, Cosmic Hallelujah
Lady Antebellum, Heart Break
Little Big Town, The Breaker
Thomas Rhett, Life Changes
Chris Stapleton, From A Room: Volume 1
Lady Antebellum? That’s who I think will win.
Best Music Video
Beck, “Up All Night”
Jain, “Makeba”
Jay-Z, “The Story Of O.J.”
Kendrick Lamar, “HUMBLE.”
Kendrick, Humble should win it.
Best Music Film
(Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds) Andrew Dominik, video director; Dulcie Kellett & James Wilson, video producers, “One More Time With Feeling”
(The Grateful Dead) Amir Bar-Lev, video director; Alex Blavatnik, Ken Dornstein, Eric Eisner, Nick Koskoff & Justin Kreutzmann, video producers, “Long Strange Trip”
(Various Artists) Allen Hughes, video director; Sarah Anthony, Fritzi Horstman, Broderick Johnson, Gene Kirkwood, Andrew Kosove, Laura Lancaster, Michael Lombardo, Jerry Longarzo, Doug Pray & Steven Williams, video producers, “The Defiant Ones”
(Various Artists) Maro Chermayeff & Jeff Dupre, video directors; Joshua Bennett, Julia Marchesi, Sam Pollard, Sally Rosenthal, Amy Schewel & Warren Zanes, video producers, “Soundbreaking”
Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
Various Artists, Baby Driver
Various Artists, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2
Various Artists, Hidden Figures: The Album
Various Artists, La La Land
Various Artists, Moana: The Songs
Oh well, La La Land? Moana? Has to be between these two.
Best Score/Soundtrack for Visual Media
Jóhann Jóhannsson, composer, Arrival
Hans Zimmer, composer, Dunkirk
Ramin Djawadi, composer, Game of Thrones: Season 7
Benjamin Wallfisch, Pharrell Williams & Hans Zimmer, composers, Hidden Figures
Justin Hurwitz, composer, La La Land
Ramin Djawadi please. For the culture.
Best Song Written for Visual Media
Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, songwriters (Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone), “City Of Stars”
Lin-Manuel Miranda, songwriter (Auli’i Cravalho), “How Far I’ll Go”
Jack Antonoff, Sam Dew & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Zayn & Taylor Swift), “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)”
Sia Furler & Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Sia), “Never Give Up”
Common & Diane Warren, songwriters (Andra Day featuring Common), “Stand Up For Something”
City of Stars? Or Stand up for something.
Best Spoken Word Album
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run
Shelly Peiken, Confessions of a Serial Songwriter
Bernie Sanders and Mark Ruffalo, Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In (Bernie Sanders)
Carrie Fisher, The Princess Diarist
Bernie lost the democratic primaries to a super Hilary, fine. But now he’s been nominated twice, I’ll be legit pissed if he doesn’t win it.
Best Comedy Album
Dave Chappelle, The Age of Spin & Deep in the Heart of Texas
Jim Gaffigan, Cinco
Jerry Seinfeld, Jerry Before Seinfeld
Sarah Silverman, A Speck of Dust
Kevin Hart, What Now?
2017 has been the year of Dave Chappelle. Give. Him. His. Grammy!!
Best Musical Theater Album
Ian Eisendrath, August Eriksmoen, David Hein, David Lai & Irene Sankoff, producers; David Hein & Irene Sankoff, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast Recording), Come From Away
Ben Platt, principal soloist; Alex Lacamoire, Stacey Mindich, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, producers; Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast Recording), Dear Evan Hansen
Bette Midler, principal soloist; Steven Epstein, producer (Jerry Herman, composer & lyricist) (New Broadway Cast Recording), Hello, Dolly!
