This time last year, it seemed a sure thing that Taylor Swift would easily sweep the 57th annual Grammy Awards. But oh, what a difference a year and a couple of exceptionally impressive albums and smash hits make.
Since Swift released her regal pop turn 1989 after the last Grammys deadline, in November of 2014, Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd, Chris Stapleton, the Alabama Shakes and others have come along to provide a serious threat to Tay’s hold on the major categories.
Given this unexpected turn of events, Us Weekly’s entertainment director and music critic, Ian Drew, is weighing in with his predictions about who will take home the golden gramophones on Monday, February 15, live on CBS at 8 p.m. EST, when Swift opens the show with a sure-to-be-impressive performance.
Print this out to keep score on music’s biggest night.
Album of the Year
Alabama Shakes — Sound and Color
Kendrick Lamar — To Pimp a Butterfly
Chris Stapleton — Traveller
Taylor Swift — 1989
The Weeknd — Beauty Behind the Madness
The winner is: Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly
No other album more stirringly reflects our tumultuous times and sonically moves the needle forward as far as K-Dot’s sui generis tour de force. True, there wasn’t a lagging moment on 1989, and the Shakes, The Weeknd and Stapleton raised the bar in their genres, but Lamar crushes everything in his way and Butterfly stands as one of the hallmark hip-hop albums in history. Plus, what other album has both a conversation with a dead 2Pac and President Obama’s seal of approval? The defense rests.
Record of the Year
D’Angelo — “Really Love”
Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars — “Uptown Funk”
Ed Sheeran — “Thinking Out Loud”
Taylor Swift — “Blank Space”
The Weeknd — “Can’t Feel My Face”
The winner is: Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk”
Remember, this is an award for the overall recording, and Ronson and Bruno’s boisterous retro-funk anthem is fresh off the rousing Super Bowl Halftime Show, which will remind voters why this ruled the charts for so long last year — and that there is something on this planet that can overshadow Beyoncé. The others should get some love in alternate categories.
Song of the Year
Kendrick Lamar — “Alright”
Taylor Swift — “Blank Space”
Little Big Town — “Girl Crush”
Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth — “See You Again”
Ed Sheeran — “Thinking Out Loud”
The winner is: Little Big Town, “Girl Crush”
Think about it: This is a songwriters’ award, and the ingenious craft and lyricism of LBT’s flip-the-switch ballad broke down the walls of country radio by barreling through its innate conservatism. The rest were merely, well, all right by comparison, despite dominating airwaves on their own.
Best New Artist
Courtney Barnett
James Bay
Sam Hunt
Tori Kelly
Meghan Trainor
The winner is: Meghan Trainor
Not only can the bubbly “All About That Bass” pop darling out-sing almost everyone here — except for that astoundingly melismatic bridge riff in Kelly’s “Nobody Love” — but she honed her chops as a skilled pop songwriter to boot. Barnett also has a deliciously descriptive way with a pen, but few know it yet. And Kelly is just lucky to be there.
Best Pop Solo Performance
Kelly Clarkson — “Heartbeat Song”
Ellie Goulding — “Love Me Like You Do”
Ed Sheeran — “Thinking Out Loud”
Taylor Swift — “Blank Space”
The Weeknd — “Can’t Feel My Face”
The winner is: The Weeknd, “Can’t Feel My Face”
It’s not completely fair, but the Grammys rarely are. When it comes to actual vocal delivery, it’s a tough category, and Swift stands a chance, but my hunch is that the Academy will want to reward The Weeknd's earth-shaking coming out as a pop star as much as possible, starting with this award. Goulding was too subdued for her own good, and Clarkson’s was a throwaway song, although Sheeran could be this category’s dark horse.
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Florence + the Machine — “Ship to Wreck”
Maroon 5 — “Sugar”
Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars — “Uptown Funk”
Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar — “Bad Blood”
Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth — “See You Again”
The winner is: Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk”
Score two for this machine. It will be tempting for voters to reward Khalifa and Puth’s juggernaut pop elegy, or hit both Swift and Lamar with the same stone. However, they won’t be able to resist awarding “Funk” with as much as they can.
Best Pop Vocal Album
Kelly Clarkson — Piece by Piece
Florence + the Machine — How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
Mark Ronson — Uptown Special
Taylor Swift — 1989
James Taylor — Before This World
The winner is: Taylor Swift, 1989
Here we go: It’s Taylor’s turn! No, not the original pop Taylor, but Swift’s 80’s-inspired leap into the pop world is a shoo-in for this trophy. Everyone else will cower in her wake.
Tell Us: Who do you think will rule at this year’s Grammy Awards?