This year's Grammys ceremony takes place on March 14th
If it were any other year, the Grammys would most likely be done and dusted already.
Indeed, this year's event was originally scheduled to take place in late January but was pushed back because of Covid-related health and safety delays.
The new date for the ceremony is March 14th, when the 63rd Grammy Awards will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, but there will be no live audience in attendance this year.
Nevertheless, it's a big night in music – so let's take a look at this year's nominees and who is likely to win the main categories.
Record Of The Year
"Black Parade" — Beyoncé
"Colors" — Black Pumas
"Rockstar" — DaBaby Featuring Roddy Ricch
"Say So" — Doja Cat
"Everything I Wanted" — Billie Eilish
"Don't Start Now" — Dua Lipa
"Circles" — Post Malone
"Savage" — Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé
The biggest award on the night is obviously the one that everyone wants to win. It's a strong list; we reckon Dua Lipa ought to win for one of the best pop songs in recent years, but Beyoncé's 'Black Parade' is worth a flutter, too.
Prediction: Dua Lipa
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Song Of The Year
"Black Parade" — Beyoncé
“The Box" — Roddy Ricch
“Cardigan" — Taylor Swift
"Circles" — Post Malone
"Don't Start Now" — Dua Lipa
"Everything I Wanted" — Billie Eilish
"I Can't Breathe" — H.E.R.
“If The World Was Ending" JP Saxe Featuring Julia Michaels
This is an award for songwriters; it's a similar list to Record of the Year, but with slightly different criteria. We reckon Taylor Swift (who wrote 'Cardigan' with Aaron Dessner of The National) will bag this one.
Prediction: Taylor Swift
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Album Of The Year
Chilombo — Jhené Aiko
Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition) — Black Pumas
Everyday Life— Coldplay
Djesse Vol. 3 — Jacob Collier
Women In Music Pt. III — Haim
Future Nostalgia — Dua Lipa
Hollywood's Bleeding — Post Malone
Folklore — Taylor Swift
We'd love to see Dua Lipa or Haim win this one, but once again, it'll probably go to Taylor Swift with Post Malone as an outside bet.
Prediction: Taylor Swift
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Best New Artist
Ingrid Andress
Phoebe Bridgers
Chika
Noah Cyrus
D Smoke
Doja Cat
Kaytranada
Megan Thee Stallion
An award that recognises the acts that have enjoyed a significant breakthrough year, surely this one belongs to Meghan Thee Stallion?
Prediction: Meghan Thee Stallion
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Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
"Un Dia (One Day)" — J Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny & Tainy
"Intentions" — Justin Bieber Featuring Quavo
"Dynamite" — BTS
"Rain On Me" — Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande
"Exile" — Taylor Swift Featuring Bon Iver
This is a tough one to call. Bad Bunny certainly had a huge 2020 – he was the most-streamed artist globally on Spotify, after all. This could be his award, although Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande will run it close. And well, you can never discount K-pop group BTS – especially considering 'Dynamite' was everywhere last year.
Prediction: Gaga and Grande
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Best Pop Vocal Album
Changes — Justin Bieber
Chromatica — Lady Gaga
Future Nostalgia — Dua Lipa
Fine Line — Harry Styles
Folklore — Taylor Swift
This is a two-horse race. Discounting the inconsistent 'Changes' and the equally patchy 'Chromatica', the remaining three albums in the category are strong titles. However, as much as we enjoyed 'Fine Line', it's unlikely to beat Swift or Lipa. The deserving winner here would be Dua Lipa.
Prediction: Dua Lipa
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Best Pop Solo Performance
"Yummy" — Justin Bieber
"Say So" — Doja Cat
"Everything I Wanted" — Billie Eilish
"Don't Start Now" — Dua Lipa
"Watermelon Sugar" — Harry Styles
"Cardigan" — Taylor Swift
We're going to discount Bieber here, because it's just not a good song. The remaining tracks are all great. At the risk of repeating ourselves, Dua Lipa really ought to win this one. However, Doja Cat and Billie Eilish are good outside bets here.
Prediction: Billie Eilish
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Best Rock Performance
"Shameika" — Fiona Apple
“Not" — Big Thief
“Kyoto" — Phoebe Bridgers
“The Steps" — HAIM
"Stay High" — Brittany Howard
"Daylight" — Grace Potter
This is a mighty strong list. We would love to see Phoebe Bridgers take home the Grammy, but considering how acclaimed Fiona Apple's most recent album was (not that that really means anything, of course), she can't be discounted. However, we'll go with Phoebe here.
Prediction: Phoebe Bridgers
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Best Rock Song
"Kyoto" - Phoebe Bridgers
"Lost In Yesterday" - Tame Impala
"Not" - Big Thief
"Shameika" - Fiona Apple
"Stay High" — Brittany Howard
Again, this award is judged from a songwriting perspective. For that reason, Fiona Apple is our bet.
Prediction: Fiona Apple
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Best Rock Album
A Hero's Death — Fontaines D.C.
Kiwanuka — Michael Kiwanuka
Daylight — Grace Potter
Sound & Fury — Sturgill Simpson
The New Abnormal — The Strokes
Well, we certainly know which album we want to win this category (c'mon Ireland!) Fontaines DC should triumph as it's the best record on this list (Kiwanuka is also superb, but in our eyes it's certainly not a rock album). If not Fontaines D.C., it could go to The Strokes, who made a solid comeback last year with 'The New Abnormal'. But feck it, we're feeling patriotic today.
Prediction: Fontaines D.C.
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Best Rap Song
The Bigger Picture - Lil Baby
The Box - Roddy Ricch
Laugh Now Cry Later - Drake
ROCKSTAR – DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch
Savage - Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé
Roddy Ricch may have doubled his chances in this category, but it's got to be Meghan Thee Stallion and Beyonce for the brilliant 'Savage'. Any other outcome would be a travesty.
Prediction: Meghan Thee Stallion feat. Beyonce
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Best Rap Album
Black Habits — D Smoke
Alfredo — Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
A Written Testimony — Jay Electronica
King's Disease — Nas
The Allegory — Royce Da 5'9"
Aside from D Smoke, there are a lot of stalwarts on this list this year (and rather depressingly, no female artists). Nevertheless, we're going to call it for Nas, who's nominated for his 13th solo album.
Prediction: Nas
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Best Alternative Music Album
Fetch The Bolt Cutters — Fiona Apple
Hyperspace — Beck
Punisher — Phoebe Bridgers
Jaime — Brittany Howard
The Slow Rush — Tame Impala
Something tells us that this year is going to be Fiona Apple's. The worthy contenders here (Phoebe Bridgers and Tame Impala) would do well to challenge here, but we'd put our money on 'Fetch the Bolt Cutters'.
Prediction: Fiona Apple
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Best Folk Album
Bonny Light Horseman — Bonny Light Horseman
Thanks For The Dance — Leonard Cohen
Song For Our Daughter — Laura Marling
Saturn Return — The Secret Sisters
All The Good Times — Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
We're huge fans of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, but considering their album was a collection of covers, we'd place Laura Marling's beautiful seventh studio album above it. However, we reckon Leonard Cohen's final studio album will win a posthumous Grammy for the late icon.
Prediction: Leonard Cohen
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