64th GRAMMY Awards winner predictions: Expect Olivia Rodrigo, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett to score big

Jon Batiste leads the 64th GRAMMY nominations with 11, followed by Doja Cat, H.E.R., and Justin Bieber with eight each. The stage is also set for another Taylor Swift/Kanye West battle, this time in Album of the Year. Swift won the award last year (for folklore), her third overall, but this year evermore is her only nomination. West is also nominated in three rap categories, including Best Rap Album (Donda).

12-time GRAMMY-winning artist (and EGOT winner) John Legend will be receiving the first-ever Recording Academy Global Impact Award for his personal and professional achievements in the music industry.

I expect Olivia Rodrigo and Lady Gaga to do well on GRAMMY night but they’ll face fierce competition from Billie Eilish in the Album of the Year. I’m expecting Rodrigo to win here, based on the recent track record of this category but Gaga and Tony Bennett have a very good shot. It would mark his first win in this category since his 1995 MTV Unplugged live album and the first studio record of standards since Natalie Cole’s 1992 winner Unforgettable…with Love, comprised of covers of songs from her father, legendary crooner Nat King Cole. It’s going to be close, I thik. Record of the Year could be a battle between between the three superstars, where I think Gaga and Bennett will come out on top. Rodrigo seems prime for wins in Song of the Year, Best New Artist and Pop Vocal Album but again, will face a fight with Eilish and in BNA, with her brother Finneas.

Originally, the GRAMMYs ceremony was originally scheduled for January 31, 2022, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles; however, on January 5, 2022, the Recording Academy postponed the ceremony indefinitely due to health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 Omicron variant. On January 18, 2022, the ceremony was rescheduled to April 3, 2022, and switched its location to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. What didn’t change was the winner voting period, which started December 6, 2021 and ended a full three months ago, on January 5, 2022.

The Recording Academy will present the 2022 GRAMMY Awards show on Sunday, April 3, on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on demand on Paramount+ from 8–11:30 p.m. ET / 5–8:30 p.m. PT. Prior to the telecast, the GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony will be streamed live on GRAMMY.com and the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel.

Here are my winner predictions with possible spoilers for top categories of the 64th GRAMMY Awards.

Record Of The Year

“I Still Have Faith In You” — ABBA

“Freedom” — Jon Batiste

PREDICTED WINNER: “I Get A Kick Out Of You” — Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga

“Peaches” — Justin Bieber Featuring Daniel Caesar & Giveon

“Right On Time” — Brandi Carlile

“Kiss Me More” — Doja Cat Featuring SZA

“Happier Than Ever” — Billie Eilish

“Montero” (Call Me By Your Name) — Lil Nas X

POSSIBLE SPOILER: “drivers license” — Olivia Rodrigo

“Leave The Door Open” — Silk Sonic

Album Of The Year

We Are — Jon Batiste

POSSIBLE SPOILER: Love For Sale — Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga

Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe) — Justin Bieber

Planet Her (Deluxe) — Doja Cat

Happier Than Ever — Billie Eilish

Back Of My Mind — H.E.R.

Montero — Lil Nas X

PREDICTED WINNER: Sour — Olivia Rodrigo

Evermore — Taylor Swift

Donda — Kanye West

Song Of The Year

“Bad Habits” — Fred Gibson, Johnny McDaid & Ed Sheeran, songwriters (Ed Sheeran)

“A Beautiful Noise” — Ruby Amanfu, Brandi Carlile, Brandy Clark, Alicia Keys, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Linda Perry & Hailey Whitters, songwriters (Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile)

PREDICTED WINNER: “drivers license” — Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters (Olivia Rodrigo)

“Fight For You” — Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. & Tiara Thomas, songwriters (H.E.R.)

POSSIBLE SPOILER: “Happier Than Ever” — Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)

“Kiss Me More” —  Rogét Chahayed, Amala Zandile Dlamini, Lukasz Gottwald, Carter Lang, Gerard A. Powell II, Solána Rowe & David Sprecher, songwriters (Doja Cat Featuring SZA)

“Leave The Door Open” — Brandon Anderson, Christopher Brody Brown, Dernst Emile II & Bruno Mars, songwriters (Silk Sonic)

“Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” — Denzel Baptiste, David Biral, Omer Fedi, Montero Hill & Roy Lenzo, songwriters (Lil Nas X)

“Peaches” — Louis Bell, Justin Bieber, Giveon Dezmann Evans, Bernard Harvey, Felisha “Fury” King, Matthew Sean Leon, Luis Manual Martinez Jr., Aaron Simmonds, Ashton Simmonds, Andrew Wotman & Keavan Yazdani, songwriters (Justin Bieber Featuring Daniel Caesar & Giveon)

“Right On Time” — Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters (Brandi Carlile)

Best New Artist

Arooj Aftab

Jimmie Allen

Baby Keem

POSSIBLE SPOILER: Finneas

Glass Animals

Japanese Breakfast

The Kid Laroi

Arlo Parks

PREDICTED WINNER: Olivia Rodrigo

Saweetie

Best Pop Vocal Album

Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe) — Justin Bieber

Planet Her (Deluxe) — Doja Cat

POSSIBLE SPOILER: Happier Than Ever — Billie Eilish

Positions — Ariana Grande

PREDICTED WINNER: Sour — Olivia Rodrigo

Best Pop Solo Performance

POSSIBLE SPOILER: “Anyone” — Justin Bieber

“Right On Time” — Brandi Carlile

“Happier Than Ever” — Billie Eilish

“Positions” — Ariana Grande

PREDICTED WINNER: “drivers license” — Olivia Rodrigo

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

PREDICTED WINNER: “I Get A Kick Out Of You” — Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga

“Lonely” — Justin Bieber & benny blanco

POSSIBLE SPOILER: “Butter” — BTS

“Higher Power” — Coldplay

“Kiss Me More” — Doja Cat Featuring SZA

Best Dance/Electronic Recording

POSSIBLE SPOILER: “Hero” — Afrojack & David Guetta

“Loom” — Ólafur Arnalds Featuring Bonobo

“Before” — James Blake

“Heartbreak” — Bonobo & Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs

PREDICTED WINNER: “You Can Do It” — Caribou

“Alive” — Rüfüs Du Sol

“The Business” — Tiësto

Best Alternative Music Album

Shore — Fleet Foxes

If I Can‘t Have Love, I Want Power — Halsey

POSSIBLE SPOILER: Jubilee — Japanese Breakfast

PREDICTED WINNER: Collapsed In Sunbeams — Arlo Parks

Daddy’s Home — St. Vincent

Best Rock Album

Power Up — AC/DC

Capitol Cuts – Live From Studio A — Black Pumas

PREDICTED WINNER: No One Sings Like You Anymore Vol. 1 — Chris Cornell

POSSIBLE SPOILER: Medicine At Midnight — Foo Fighters

McCartney III — Paul McCartney

Best R&B Performance

“Lost You” — Snoh Aalegra

“Peaches” — Justin Bieber Featuring Daniel Caesar & Giveon

“Damage” — H.E.R.

PREDICTED WINNER: “Leave The Door Open” — Silk Sonic

POSSIBLE SPOILER: “Pick Up Your Feelings” — Jazmine Sullivan

Best Rap Performance

“Family Ties” — Baby Keem Featuring Kendrick Lamar

PREDICTED WINNER: “Up” — Cardi B

“m y . l i f e” — J. Cole Featuring 21 Savage & Morray

“Way 2 Sexy” — Drake Featuring Future & Young Thug

POSSIBLE SPOILER: “Thot S***” — Megan Thee Stallion

Best Rap Album

The Off-Season — J. Cole

Certified Lover Boy — Drake

King’s Disease II — Nas

PREDICTED WINNER: Call Me If You Get Lost — Tyler, The Creator

POSSIBLE SPOILER: Donda — Kanye West

Best Melodic Rap Performance

“P R I D E . I S . T H E . D E V I L” — J. Cole Featuring Lil Baby

POSSIBLE SPOILER: “Need To Know” — Doja Cat

PREDICTED WINNER: “Industry Baby” — Lil Nas X Featuring Jack Harlow

“Wusyaname” — Tyler, The Creator Featuring Youngboy Never Broke Again & Ty Dolla $ign

“Hurricane” — Kanye West Featuring The Weeknd & Lil Baby

Best Country Song

POSSIBLE SPOILER: “Better Than We Found It” — Jessie Jo Dillon, Maren Morris, Jimmy Robbins & Laura Veltz, songwriters (Maren Morris)

“camera roll” — Ian Fitchuk, Kacey Musgraves & Daniel Tashian, songwriters (Kacey Musgraves)

“Cold” — Dave Cobb, J.T. Cure, Derek Mixon & Chris Stapleton, songwriters (Chris Stapleton)

“Country Again” — Zach Crowell, Ashley Gorley & Thomas Rhett, songwriters (Thomas Rhett)

PREDICTED WINNER: “Fancy Like” — Cameron Bartolini, Walker Hayes, Josh Jenkins & Shane Stevens, songwriters (Walker Hayes)

“Remember Her Name” — Mickey Guyton, Blake Hubbard, Jarrod Ingram &Parker Welling, songwriters (Mickey Guyton)

Best Country Album

Skeletons — Brothers Osborne

Remember Her Name — Mickey Guyton

POSSIBLE SPOILER: The Marfa Tapes — Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall & Jack Ingram

PREDICTED WINNER: The Ballad Of Dood & Juanita — Sturgill Simpson

Starting Over — Chris Stapleton

Best Jazz Vocal Album

Generations — The Baylor Project

POSSIBLE SPOILER: SuperBlue — Kurt Elling & Charlie Hunter

Time Traveler — Nnenna Freelon

Flor — Gretchen Parlato

PREDICTED WINNER: Songwrights Apothecary Lab — Esperanza Spalding

Best Latin Pop Album

PREDICTED WINNER: Vértigo — Pablo Alborán

Mis Amores — Paula Arenas

Hecho A La Antigua — Ricardo Arjona

Mis Manos — Camilo

Mendó — Alex Cuba

POSSIBLE SPOILER: Revelación — Selena Gomez

Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling)

Aftermath — LeVar Burton

Carry On: Reflections For A New Generation From John Lewis — Don Cheadle

Catching Dreams: Live At Fort Knox Chicago — J. Ivy

PREDICTED WINNER: 8:46 — Dave Chappelle & Amir Sulaiman

POSSIBLE SPOILER: A Promised Land — Barack Obama

Best Music Video

“Shot In The Dark” — AC/DC

“Freedom” — Jon Batiste

“I Get A Kick Out Of You” — Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga

“Peaches” — Justin Bieber Featuring Daniel Caesar & Giveon

“Happier Than Ever” — Billie Eilish

POSSIBLE SPOILER: “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” — Lil Nas X

PREDICTED WINNER: “Good 4 U” — Olivia Rodrigo

Best Music Film

POSSIBLE SPOILER: Inside — Bo Burnham

David Byrne‘s American Utopia — David Byrne

Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter To Los Angeles — Billie Eilish

Music, Money, Madness…Jimi Hendrix In Maui — Jimi Hendrix

PREDICTED WINNER: Summer Of Soul — Various Artists 

For the full list of all 86 categories go to grammy.com.