62nd Grammy Awards: Nominations & Predictions

Award show season is here to stay—hope you’re ready for my tweets. But—do awards for music, movies, and TV mean anything anymore? While that’s definitely a question worth pondering, I remain one of those people who live for them. I love seeing attendee’s red carpet attire, their reactions when they win, and especially for the speeches that make the internet talk, whether positively or negatively.

The 62nd Grammy Awards is just 10 days away from today! Have you thought about who you think is going to take home the major awards? Any preferences on who you’d like to see win? This year is a big one for artists like Lizzo (eight nominations), Billie Eilish (six) and Lil Nas X (six). Right behind is Ariana Grande (five) and H.E.R. (five).

I like trying to guess who’s going to win the big awards cause it’s just plain old fun for me. I don’t really think I’m GREAT at guessing, but there’s no harm in trying! Last year, I got 10 out of 20 guesses right. This year, I’ve shortened my list of predictions to just ten categories. Hope you come back to the blog the day after the awards show to see how I did (and my thoughts on the hits and misses of the show).

Click here to see the full list of nominations.

Record of The Year

Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s), if other than the artist.

• “Hey, Ma” Bon Iver / BJ Burton, Brad Cook, Chris Messina & Justin Vernon, producers; BJ Burton, Zach Hanson & Chris Messina, engineers/mixers; Greg Calbi, mastering engineer
• “Bad Guy” / Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell, producer; Rob Kinelski & Finneas O’Connell, engineers/mixers; John Greenham, mastering engineer
• “7 Rings” / Ariana Grande, Charles Anderson, Tommy Brown, Michael Foster & Victoria Monet, producers; Serban Ghenea, John Hanes, Billy Hickey & Brendan Morawski, engineers/mixers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
• “Hard Place” / H.E.R., Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, producer; Joseph Hurtado, Jaycen Joshua, Derek Keota & Miki Tsutsumi, engineers/mixers; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer
• “Talk” / Khalid, Disclosure & Denis Kosiak, producers; Ingmar Carlson, Jon Castelli, Josh Deguzman, John Kercy, Denis Kosiak, Guy Lawrence & Michael Romero, engineers/mixers; Dale Becker, mastering engineer
• “Old Town Road” / Lil Nas X Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, Andrew “VoxGod” Bolooki,  Jocelyn “Jozzy” Donald & YoungKio, producers; Andrew “VoxGod” Bolooki, Cinco & Joe Grasso, engineers/mixers; Eric Lagg, mastering engineer
• “Truth Hurts” / Lizzo, Ricky Reed & Tele, producers; Chris Galland, Manny Marroquin & Ethan Shumaker, engineers/mixers; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
• “Sunflower” / Post Malone & Swae Lee, Louis Bell & Carter Lang, producers; Louis Bell & Manny Marroquin, engineers/mixers; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer

Current title – “This Is America” / Childish Gambino
Likely – “Bad Guy”
My preference – “Bad Guy”

Album of The Year

Award to Artist(s) and to Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), Mixer(s) and Mastering Engineer(s) credited with at least 33% playing time of the album, if other than Artist.

• I, I / Bon Iver, Brad Cook, Chris Messina & Justin Vernon, producers; Zach Hanson & Chris Messina, engineers/mixers; BJ Burton, Brad Cook & Justin Vernon, songwriters; Greg Calbi, mastering engineer
• Norman F****** Rockwell! / Lana Del Rey, Jack Antonoff & Lana Del Rey, producers; Jack Antonoff & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Jack Antonoff & Lana Del Rey, songwriters; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
• When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? / Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell, producer; Rob Kinelski & Finneas O’Connell, engineers/mixers; Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters; John Greenham, mastering engineer
• Thank U, Next / Ariana Grande, Tommy Brown, Ilya, Max Martin & Victoria Monet, producers; Serban Ghenea, Sam Holland & Brendan Morawski, engineers/mixers; Tommy Brown, Ariana Grande, Savan Kotecha, Max Martin, Victoria Monet, Tayla Parx & Ilya Salmanzadeh, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
• I Used To Know Her / H.E.R., David “Swagg R’Celious” Harris, H.E.R., Walter Jones & Jeff Robinson, producers; Miki Tsutsumi, engineer/mixer; Sam Ashworth, Jeff “Gitty” Gitelman, David “Swagg R’Celious” Harris & H.E.R., songwriters; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer
• 7 / Lil Nas X, Joe Grasso, engineer/mixer; Montero Lamar Hill, songwriter; Eric Lagg, mastering engineer
• Cuz I Love You (Deluxe) / Lizzo, Ricky Reed, producer; Manny Marroquin & Ethan Shumaker, engineers/mixers; Eric Frederic & Melissa Jefferson, songwriters; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
• Father Of The Bride / Vampire Weekend, Ezra Koenig & Ariel Rechtshaid, producers; John DeBold, Chris Kasych, Takemasa Kosaka, Ariel Rechtshaid & Hiroya Takayama, engineers/mixers; Ezra Koenig, songwriter; Emily Lazar, mastering engineer

Current title – Golden Hour / Kacey Musgraves
Likely – I would guess that this is a toss-up between WWAFAWDWG and NFR. If Billie wins, she will be the youngest album of the year winner in Grammy history. Taylor Swift was 20-years-old when she won for Fearless.
My preference – When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? or Father Of The Bride

Song of The Year

A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

• “Always Remember Us This Way” / Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey & Lori McKenna, songwriters (Lady Gaga)
• “Bad Guy” / Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
• “Bring My Flowers Now” / Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth & Tanya Tucker, songwriters (Tanya Tucker)
• “Hard Place” / Ruby Amanfu, Sam Ashworth, D. Arcelious Harris, H.E.R. & Rodney Jerkins, songwriters (H.E.R.)
• “Lover”  / Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)
• “Norman Fucking Rockwell” / Jack Antonoff & Lana Del Rey, songwriters (Lana Del Rey)

Current title – “This Is America” / Childish Gambino
Likely – “Bad Guy” —I’m pretty convinced that Billie’s going to win almost everything (if not everything) she’s up for, and I don’t see any other song in this category really holding a candle to this in terms of cultural impact. I love “Lover” but I just don’t see this happening for Taylor.
My preference – “Bad Guy” was my favorite song of 2019, so.

Best New Artist

An artist will be considered for Best New Artist if their eligibility year release/s achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape.

• Black Pumas
• Billie Eilish
• Lil Nas X 
• Lizzo
• Maggie Rogers
• Rosalía 
• Tank And The Bangas
• Yola

Current title – Dua Lipa
Likely – Billie Eilish
My preference – I would love for Maggie Rogers to win, but I just don’t see how Billie wouldn’t win this one. I am going to guess that it’ll be between Eilish, Lizzo, and Lil Nas (also the three who have AOTY nominations).

Best Pop Solo Performance

For new vocal or instrumental pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.

• “Spirit” / Beyoncé
• “Bad Guy” / Billie Eilish
• “7 Rings” / Ariana Grande
• “Truth Hurts” / Lizzo
• “You Need To Calm Down” / Taylor Swift

Current Title – “Joanne” / Lady Gaga
Likely – Wow, this one is tricky. I would guess that if Lizzo gets anything, it’d be this one. Though there’s been lots of buzz in regards to how this song is even eligible, I think it’s going to win. I feel like the Beyoncé nom is just bizarre and personally, I don’t see how that song had any sort of effect in 2019 compared to the other ones, which I think all have some sliver of a chance to win.
My preference – This is hard because we all know how much I love Taylor, but I think “Bad Guy” and “Truth Hurts” are better songs. This is how I’d rank them in terms of preference:

1. “Bad Guy”
2. “Truth Hurts”
3. “You Need To Calm Down”
4. “7 Rings”
5. “Spirit”

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.

• “Boyfriend” / Ariana Grande & Social House
• “Sucker” / Jonas Brothers
• “Old Town Road” / Lil Nas X Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
• “Sunflower” / Post Malone & Swae Lee
• “Señorita” / Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello

Current title – “Shallow” / Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
Likely – Going to guess it’s between “Sunflower” and “Señorita”
My preference – I really don’t have a preference, as I’m not super into any of these songs but I guess I’d pick “Sucker.”

Best Pop Vocal Album

For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new vocal pop recordings.

• The Lion King: The Gift / Beyoncé
• When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? / Billie Eilish
• Thank U, Next / Ariana Grande
• No. 6 Collaborations Project / Ed Sheeran
• Lover / Taylor Swift

Current title – Sweetener / Ariana Grande
Likely – I would like to think this is where Taylor has a chance, but I don’t think she’s going to get it. I’m going to guess Billie.
My preference – If you are reading this blog post and you don’t know my preference, you don’t know me very well. (The answer is Lover)

Best Rock Performance

For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative rock recordings.

• “Pretty Waste” / Bones UK
• “This Land” / Gary Clark Jr.
• “History Repeats” / Brittany Howard
• “Woman” / Karen O & Danger Mouse
• “Too Bad” / Rival Sons

Current title – “When Bad Does Good” / Chris Cornell
Likely – I’m not even going to pretend I know which of these have a chance because I had no idea last year. I’m going to go with Brittany Howard because I know how well her album was received.
My preference – No preference, but let’s go with Howard, cause I like her.

Best Rock Song

A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Rock, Hard Rock and Metal songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

• “Fear Inoculum” / Danny Carey, Justin Chancellor, Adam Jones & Maynard James Keenan, songwriters (Tool)
• “Give Yourself A Try” / George Daniel, Adam Hann, Matthew Healy & Ross MacDonald, songwriters (The 1975)
• “Harmony Hall” / Ezra Koenig, songwriter (Vampire Weekend)
• “History Repeats” / Brittany Howard, songwriter (Brittany Howard)
• “This Land”  / Gary Clark Jr., songwriter (Gary Clark Jr.)

Current title – “Masseduction” / St. Vincent, Jack Antonoff
Likely – I honestly have no idea, but I know that Tool’s album did really well, so let’s go with Tool!
My preference – I would LOVE to see The 1975 or Vampire Weekend take this one, but I don’t really see how “Harmony Hall” is a rock song.

Best Alternative Music Album

Vocal or Instrumental.

• U.F.O.F. / Big Thief
• Assume Form / James Blake
• I, I / Bon Iver
• Father Of The Bride / Vampire Weekend
• Anima / Thom Yorke

Current title – Colors / Beck
Likely – I, I and FOTB are the two albums out of this category that are nominated for album of the year, so based on that, I will assume one of these will win. I also don’t think either of those will win AOTY, so that’s where my logic is.
My preference – Assume Form was one of my favorite albums of 2019, but I have more of an emotional love and dedication for Vampire Weekend. Either of these would be nice.

Thanks for reading! Are you going to tune into the Grammys this year?

Click here to read my previous award show coverage.

• Kristin