Super Last Minute Grammy Winner Predictions

Whew, it’s the day of the 60th Grammy Awards and I’m just getting to my Grammy winner predictions for the top four categories: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist.

The big award, Album of the Year, is something of a headscratcher. Not only does this category feature no white male contenders, there hasn’t been a true rap album winner here since Outcast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below in 2004 and this year the top two contenders are Jay-Z with 4:44 and Kendrick Lamar with Damn. Both have been nominated here twice and both have lost their bids. For Jay-Z it was as a featured artist both times, for Lamar it’s been as a main artist. Lamar feels ‘due’ but a win for Jay-Z could be seen as payback for Beyoncé being snubbed here twice (including just last year for her seminal work, Lemonade). It feels like a toss-up, in a good way and a bad way, in that if either win it would be hard to call the other a snub. What that does though, is open the door for a shock win for Lorde (Melodrama). As the sole woman, and sole white person nominated, and that this is her only nomination would make for an optically bad win even for a stellar album that deserves to be here.

Album of the Year
Awaken, My Love! – Childish Gambino
4:44 – Jay-Z
Damn. – Kendrick Lamar
Melodrama – Lorde
24K Magic – Bruno Mars

My prediction: Damn. – Kendrick Lamar

Bruno Mars is a previous winner here but it’s hard to argue against Despacito, which tied the record for longest-running #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 last year (16 weeks, tying Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s 20+ year record).

Record of the Year
“Redbone” – Childish Gambino
“Despacito” – Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber
“The Story of O.J.” – Jay-Z
“Humble.” – Kendrick Lamar
“24K Magic” – Bruno Mars

My prediction – “Despacito” – Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber

Now Song of the Year is a different matter as it goes to the songwriters. Here I’m leaning more towards Julia Michaels or Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid. But, I can see Bruno Mars (previous winner here) spoiling big time.

Song of the Year
“Despacito” – Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber (Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi and Marty James Garton, songwriters)
“4:44” – Jay-Z (Shawn Carter and Dion Wilson, songwriters)
“Issues” – Julia Michaels (Benjamin Levin, Mikkel Eriksen, Tor Hermansen, Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter, songwriters)
“1-800-273-8255” – Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid
“That’s What I Like” – Bruno Mars (Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters)

My prediction: “1-800-273-8255” – Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid

Pretty much everyone here makes sense and has a stake in this win. Michaels, Cara and Khalid are top tier nominees for Song of the Year. Lil Uzi Vert is also a Rap Performance nominee. SZA is looking to be the Beyoncé heir apparent with nominations in three other fields: Rap, R&B and Urban Contemporary. That broad reach could be what puts her over.

Best New Artist
Alessia Cara
Khalid
Lil Uzi Vert
Julia Michaels
SZA

My predictions: SZA

The Grammys will be coming to you live from New York City for the first time in 15 years. Here is the breakdown of the red carpet and show times and where to see them.

3pm-6pm (ET) Premiere Ceremony (Grammys.com)
5:30pm-7:30pm (ET) Red Carpet (E!)
6:30pm-7:30pm (ET) Red Carpet (CBS)
7:30pm-11pm (ET) Grammy Awards Ceremony (CBS)

Full List of Nominees: https://www.grammy.com/sites/com/fil…st01042018.pdf

Performers:
Lady Gaga
Pink
Childish Gambino
Little Big Town
Ben Platt
Patti LuPone – “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”
Bruno Mars and Cardi B – “Finesse (Remix)”
DJ Khaled, Rihanna and Bryson Tiller – “Wild Thoughts”
Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee – “Despacito”
Logic, Alessia Cara and Khalid – “1-800-273-8255”
SZA
Kesha with Camila Cabello, Cyndi Lauper, Julia Michaels and Andra Day – “Praying”
Kendrick Lamar
U2
Elton John and Miley Cyrus
Sam Smith
Eric Church, Maren Morris and Brothers Osborne – tribute to the victims of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting
Sting
Jon Batiste
Gary Clark Jr.
Zuleyka Rivera
Chris Stapleton and Emmylou Harris
Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey – “The Middle”

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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