Every year, we gather around the TV to watch one of the biggest nights in music. With the GRAMMYs back in New York, the 60th annual GRAMMYs have taken over the music world again and this time to an even bigger extent. This year, some of our staff members took a look at the nominations and wrote their picks for who they think will win an award this year.
Here are the 2018 Beyond The Stage GRAMMY Award Predictions:
- Record of the Year
Winner: “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber. This is arguably the biggest hit of the year with a whopping four billion views on YouTube. It is a radio-friendly hit, and it’s a big deal that a Spanish-language track is getting not only U.S. recognition, but also major global recognition. Foreign language songs have been absent for the most part from the Grammys for decades, but “Despacito” has the mainstream success to change that and make us recognize the growth of access to music from all around the world. – Abby Fox
Winner: “Redbone” by Childish Gambino. This is sort of an underdog track that hasn’t got a lot of attention, but it has been played on radio and throughout different media platforms. Childish Gambino is a talented a musician that deserves the recognition he deserves as a musician. – Valerie McIntyre
Winner: “HUMBLE.” by Kendrick Lamar. It really seems as though this song has the perfect winning combination. A critically acclaimed rapper who the Grammys have embraced before? Check. A bouncy and irresistable beat and flow? Check. A monster hit that topped the Billboard Hot 100? Check. Also, the Grammys have been much more inclusive of hip-hop and rap in recent years, so “HUMBLE.” might just come at the perfect time to nab the Record of the Year trophy. – Blake Charles
- Album of the Year
Winner: Melodrama by Lorde. Personally, I’m a big fan of Lorde and how she captures all kinds of emotion in her album. She stands out as the only woman in a category of men. She’s also the only pop artist in the category – Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z could split votes for hip hop, and Bruno Mars and Childish Gambino are both R&B. So, Lorde could feasibly get votes from pop, rock and alternative music supporters. – Abby Fox
Winner: 24k Magic by Bruno Mars. Bruno Mars had an incredible year in 2017 and even though this album stands out from his other work, the album really showcases Bruno’s talent as a performer. – Valerie McIntyre
Winner: DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar. It seems like Kendrick Lamar just gets more and more successful with each subsequent release, so it was no surprise to see him nominated for Album of the Year once again. This is his third time being nominated for the prestigious award, and after a controversial loss to Taylor Swift’s 1989 in 2016, perhaps Grammy voters will finally award Kendrick Lamar with the Album of the Year trophy this year. – Blake Charles
- Song of the Year
Winner: Issues by Julia Michaels. I personally love Julia Michaels and this song was a top song on my playlist in 2017 and even now in 2018. I find it amazing that Michaels wrote songs for other artists. Now she’s showcasing her own music. Julia Michaels deserves this category because if she can right a song about dealing with struggles then it’s even more meaningful. – Valerie McIntyre
Winner: 1-800-273-8255 by Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid. At the end of the day, Song of the Year is an award for songwriting, and it’s hard to deny the impact that this song’s lyrics have had. After some extremely powerful live performances of the song, it became a top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, which goes to show just how many people have been impacted by the song’s powerful lyrics. Also, the fact that both Alessia Cara and Khalid are featured on the song, and are both Best New Artists nominees, can’t hurt the song’s chances. – Blake Charles
- Best New Artist
Winner: Khalid. With that sweet, distinctive R&B voice, Khalid’s album, American Teen, is full of not only laid-back tracks, but also some themes of emotional struggle. The album was also nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album, and this past summer he won Best New Artist, as voted by fans, at the MTV VMAs. He’s definitely deserving of that recognition here. – Abby Fox
Winner: SZA. SZA is easily one of the breakout stars of 2017, and it’s easy to see why. She is loved by both fans and critics alike for her sultry, honest, and sometimes explicit approach to R&B, which makes her stand out from the pack. She has seen success working with the likes Kendrick Lamar and Travis Scott on her own material, as well as featuring on tracks by Maroon 5 and Lorde. She is nominated for five Grammy awards in total, so it would be no surprise to see her walk away with the Best New Artist trophy. – Blake Charles
- Best Country Solo Performance
Winner: “I Could Use A Love Song” by: Maren Morris; Country music queen Maren Morris has been taking the country music scene by storm ever since her debut album Hero was released in 2016. Morris’ third single from the album, “I Could Use A Love Song”, was released to country radio this spring and has since been climbing the charts, and even landed at #1 on the country radio charts earlier this month. The song tells the story of someone who’s become quite jaded towards love after having their heart broken. It’s a classic country heartbreak song, but told from a fresh perspective, and between that and her musicianship on the record, Morris deserves to take home the win for this record. – Gina Scarpino
- Best R&B Album
Winner: Freudian by: Daniel Caesar; In August 2017, the world was introduced to Canadian singer-songwriter Daniel Caesar when his debut album Freudian was released. Freudian chronicles the timeline of a 20-something year old person falling in and out of love. His low-key, soft vocals help make the album easy on the ears, and pairs perfectly with the story the album tells. The album flows so effortlessly (just like Caesar’s vocals) and is incredibly easy on the ears. Freudian provides the listening audience with a fresh take on R&B, and that alone is enough of a reason for Caesar to take home a Grammy. – Gina Scarpino
- Best Urban Contemporary Album
Winner: Ctrl by: SZA Ctrl is easily an album that has defined the lives of so many 20-somethings since it’s release in June 2017. The album covers everything from the struggles of being young, to self-esteem, to femininity, all of which cater perfectly to SZA’s audience. Ctrl is full of slower, low-key songs with powerful vocals that make you want to pay attention to them. Since the album’s release, SZA has continued to impress her audience and speak to them in a way that I haven’t seen a new artist do in a long time. SZA and Ctrl have had a banner year, and I hope they get the acclaim they deserve on Sunday. – Gina Scarpino
- Best Pop Solo Performance
Winner: “Million Reasons” by Lady Gaga With the release of Lady Gaga’s Netflix documentary in 2017, a lot of people saw a side of Gaga that we haven’t seen before. Personally hearing her perform “Millions Reasons” after watching it struck something within me. She is such a strong artist and has moved pretty far from her roots which is a good thing in this case. I believe this song just brings a lot of emotion to the table. It shows how amazing of an artist Gaga is. – Chelsea Gresh
- Best Pop Vocal Album
Winner: Joanne by Lady Gaga Much like I said about “Million Reasons”, the album Joanne really shows a different side of Gaga. She really pushes herself in each song in the album to show her talent and vocal range. She really did blow everyone away with the release of this album. I would be sad to see anyone else take this award home. – Chelsea Gresh
- Best Rock Song
Winner: “Run” by Foo Fighters Iconic band, the Foo Fighters, definitely did it right with the song run. You are not expected the chorus to hit the way that it does. It is a beautiful build up and it is everything that a rock fan loves. “Run” is definitely a song that has been on repeat in my library since it was released. – Chelsea Gresh
- Best Rap Performance
Winner: “Bodak Yellow” by Cardi B When is the last time that you have gone out in public and not heard someone singing ‘Bodak Yellow”? It has been a long time. It seems every single person in the world loves this song. It brings something out in us all. I would be very surprised if this song does not take home the awake for Best Rap Performance. – Chelsea Gresh
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