My favorite awards show of the year is just a few days away! I’m not as excited about it as I have been in the past, mainly because most of the nominees are so mainstream. It’s great that the Academy is noticing current trends in music and making some more “hip” selections, but a lot of really deserving artists got shut out in favor of artists we heard over and over on the radio for the better part of last year.
Even though a lot of my favorites weren’t nominated, I thought I would have a little fun this year anyway and make some predictions for the bigger categories. If you’d like to read the full list of nominees, hop on over to the official Grammy site and read them here. So without further ado, here’s a list of nominees and my winner predictions for several of the biggest categories.
RECORD of THE YEAR:
Nominees: Get Lucky – Daft Punk, featuring Pharrell & Nile Rogers, Radioactive – Imagine Dragons, Royals – Lorde, Locked Out of Heaven – Bruno Mars, Blurred Lines – Robin Thicke, featuring T.I. and Pharrell.
Who Should Win: Royals – Lorde
Who Will Win: Royals – Lorde
Why: She’s 17, incredibly talented and the type of artist the Grammy voters normally love.
ALBUM OF THEYEAR:
Nominees: The Blessed Unrest – Sara Bareilles, Random Access Memories – Daft Punk, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City – Kendrick Lamar, The Heist – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Red – Taylor Swift
Who Should Win: The Blessed Unrest – Sara Bareilles
Who Will Win: Red – Taylor Swift
Why: Sara Bareilles was a surprise nomination in this category and as much as I’d like to see her take home a Grammy, I think this award will go to Taylor Swift who also won this category back in 2010.
SONG OF THE YEAR:
Nominees: Just Give Me A Reason – Pink, featuring Nate Ruess, Locked Out of Heaven – Bruno Mars, Roar – Katy Perry, Royals – Lorde, Same Love – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Who Should Win: Locked Out of Heaven – Bruno Mars
Who Will Win: Same Love – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Why: This award is a song writers award – it’s not actually given to the artists. Same Love will win because of the equality message it’s built around.
BEST NEW ARTIST:
Nominees: James Blake, Kendrick Lamar, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Kacey Musgraves, Ed Sheeran
Who Should Win: Kacey Musgraves
Who Will Win: Kacey Musgraves
Why: Kacey’s more traditional country sound and non-traditional lyrics are turning more than a few heads outside of Nashville. It’s nice to see a country artist writing about things that matter instead of beer and trucks.
POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE:
Nominees: Brave – Sara Bareilles, Royals – Lorde, When I Was Your Man – Bruno Mars, Roar – Katy Perry, Mirrors – Justin Timberlake
Who Should Win: Brave – Sara Bareilles
Who Will Win: Mirrors – Justin Timberlake
Why: This category is especially tough and really anyone except Katy Perry could walk away a winner, but Justin Timberlake hadn’t had new music for 7 years so expect him to conquer this category.
ROCK PERFORMANCE:
Nominees: Always Alright – Alabama Shakes, The Stars (Are Out Tonight) – David Bowie, Radioactive – Imagine Dragons, Kashmir – Led Zeppelin, My God is the Sun – Queens of the Stone Age, I’m Shakin’ – Jack White
Who Should Win: Radioactive – Imagine Dragons
Who Will Win: Radioactive – Imagine Dragons
Why: Imagine Dragons had a great year and Radioactive was everywhere in radio, movies and TV. Some of the more classic artists in this category could could sway the vote for sentimental reasons, but I’d be surprised if anyone else won in this category.
COUNTRY SOLO PERFORMANCE:
Nominees: I Drive Your Truck – Lee Brice, I Want Crazy – Hunter Hays, Mama’s Broken Heart – Miranda Lambert, Wagon Wheel – Darius Rucker, Mine Would Be You – Blake Shelton
Who Should Win: Mama’s Broken Heart – Miranda Lambert
Who Will Win: I Drive Your Truck – Lee Brice
Why: The song’s about a man dealing with the death of his brother who died while serving in the Army. It’s based on a true story and a it a pretty moving song, which is why I think it will take home the Grammy.
COUNTRY ALBUM:
Nominees: Night Train – Jason Aldean, Two Lanes of Freedom – Tim McGraw, Same Trailer, Different Park – Kacey Musgraves, Based on a True Story – Blake Shelton, Red – Taylor Swift
Who Should Win: Same Trailer, Different Park – Kacey Musgraves
Who Will Win: Based on a True Story – Blake Shelton
Why: Blake Shelton’s career is at an all time high and his status as the favorite judge on the Voice will seal his victory in this category. (Side note: If Taylor Swift takes wins this award, I’ll be outraged. Red is not a country album. It’s a pop album and should not have been nominated in this category.)
So there you have it. My predictions. Feel free to disagree and tell me why. Join me on Twitter Sunday night where I’ll be live-tweeting the show: @lostbetweenpgs.