The 66th Annual Grammy awards airs from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles this Sunday, Feb. 4 at 8 P.M. To celebrate some of America’s favorite musical artists, here are five of the strongest and most competitive categories to look out for on Sunday night.
Album of the Year
“World Music Radio” – Jon Batiste
“the record” – boygenius
“Endless Summer Vacation” – Miley Cyrus
“Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” – Lana Del Rey
“The Age Of Pleasure” – Janelle Monáe
“GUTS” – Olivia Rodrigo
“Midnights” – Taylor Swift
“SOS” – SZA
Arguably one of the more interesting categories, the Album of the Year award garners anticipation this year through an extremely competitive field of nominees. Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” headlines the bunch, but there are plenty of worthy titles on this list. Lana Del Rey looks for her first Grammy win with “Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd,” and SZA has a chance at leading the show in awards after a landmark nine nominations for her work on “SOS.” Overall, this is a category that will receive plenty of attention following Sunday’s event.
Best New Artist
Gracie Abrams
Fred again..
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Coco Jones
Noah Kahan
Victoria Monét
The War And Treaty
This year the Best New Artist award seems to be shaping up with a strong field of candidates. With a smattering of diverse artists from a variety of different genres, some fan favorites include Noah Kahan, Jelly Roll, Victoria Monét, Ice Spice and Coco Jones. It’s going to be an exciting watch, and it will be hard to be disappointed in a winner when all nominees are as popular and acclaimed as they seem to be right now.
Record of the Year
“Worship” – Jon Batiste
“Not Strong Enough” – boygenius
“Flowers” – Miley Cyrus
“What Was I Made For?” [From The Motion Picture “Barbie”] – Billie Eilish
“On My Mama” – Victoria Monét
“Vampire” – Olivia Rodrigo
“Anti-Hero” – Taylor Swift
“Kill Bill” – SZA
To clear up potential confusion, the Record of the Year award is given each year to the best recording of a track, whereas the Song of the Year award is more so an award for the songwriters or headlining artists. This year, the nominees for Record of the Year are familiar with the most competitive categories in the Grammy circuit, and watching the award breakdown is going to be particularly interesting for some superfans come Sunday. Swift and SZA are battling it out as the two juggernauts going into the awards show, but there are plenty of other intriguing candidates on the list. Following a controversial Critics’ Choice awards snub, Billie Eilish seeks to even the odds with “I’m Just Ken” with an award of her own, and boygenius has made plenty of noise with their six nominations, hoping to notch an award for “Not Strong Enough” at Sunday’s ceremony.
Best Rap Album
“Her Loss” – Drake & 21 Savage
“MICHAEL” – Killer Mike
“HEROES & VILLAINS” – Metro Boomin
“King’s Disease III” – Nas
“UTOPIA” – Travis Scott
It seems like every year, there is one massive snub in this category that is so egregious it’s hard to even understand how it happened. This year is no different. Somehow, Gunna’s “A Gift & a Curse” didn’t make the top five despite massive sales and overwhelming success, but that doesn’t stop the category from creating a good amount of hype from mere name value. Travis Scott, Drake/21 Savage, Metro Boomin, Killer Mike and Nas are enough to generate curiosity, and it’s looking like quite the tossup as of now as to who the winner might be. While artists like Drake, 21 Savage, Metro Boomin and Scott find appeal with popular audiences, it’s going to be fascinating to see how a critical success like Killer Mike fares in the eyes of the Academy.
Best Progressive R&B Album
“Since I Have A Lover” – 6LACK
“The Love Album: Off The Grid” – Diddy
“Nova” – Terrace Martin And James Fauntleroy
“The Age Of Pleasure” – Janelle Monáe
“SOS” – SZA
This year is especially exciting for fans of progressive R&B with the success of stars like SZA and Janelle Monáe on popular charts. SZA is the name of the night, and if she’s able to pull it off, she could walk away from the Crypto.com arena with a legendary Grammy haul.
It’s gearing up to be an electrifying night for music fans next Sunday. Make sure to tune in on CBS at 8 p.m. to watch some of America’s biggest stars shine.