With the Grammy Awards coming up in two weeks, I've decided to share with you all my predictions on who will win the four major categories: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. As a huge fan of music, the Grammys are the only award show I really care about or pay attention to, and I like to make my predictions every year; they're usually pretty accurate. Keep in mind these are my opinions, and if I do not pick one of your favorite artists or songs, that does not mean that it is not a good song, as taste in music depends all on the individual, which it part of what makes it so diverse.

One other thing I want to clear up before I go into is the difference between Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The award for Record of the Year recognizes the artists performance as well as all the producers, engineers and mixers. The award for Song of the Year recognizes mainly the songwriters with a small consideration of the performance by the artist. Get it? Got it? Good.

1. Record of the Year

Nominees: "Redbone" by Childish Gambino, "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber, "The Story of O.J." by Jay-Z, "HUMBLE" by Kendrick Lamar, "24K Magic" by Bruno Mars

I'm going to start off by talking about "Despacito." I do not want this to win any categories in this year's Grammy Awards, but because it was the biggest song of the past year, I would understand if it won a category, however I do not think it will. "The Story of O.J." was a good record off Jay-Z's newest album 4:44, but I also do not think it was the best record on the album. I also believe that the Grammy's tend to favor artists who have not only a good record/song but also a lot of radio appeal, and for that reason only, I'm going to say that this song will not win Record of the Year. Bruno Mars has the biggest radio appeal out of everybody on this list, but again I think "24K Magic" was not the best record off his album, so I would have to discount this from winning as well, although I will give it a small chance. "Redbone" and "HUMBLE" are the two standouts for me in this category. I think that the award will be given to one of them, because Kendrick Lamar dominates the Grammy's whenever he is nominated and Childish Gambino showed a lot of versatility on his song, switching from rap to R&B/soul in a very impressive manner.

Final Verdict: I would love to see Childish Gambino win this, and I think he has a good chance of doing so, but I believe that "HUMBLE" by Kendrick Lamar will ultimately be the Record of the Year.

2. Album of the Year

Nominees: Awaken, My Love! by Childish Gambino, 4:44 by Jay-Z, DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar, Melodrama by Lorde, 24K Magic by Bruno Mars

Right away, two of these albums, to me, can be taken out of the equation: "Awaken, My Love!" and 4:44. Although they are both great albums, neither had too much radio appeal and both of these albums had songs that I feel did not fit well with the rest of the tracks, even if I did enjoy them as a whole. Both had great instrumentals and performances by the artists, but I do not think either had the mass popularity of the other three nominees. I think the other three all have a good chance of winning, but the only reason I can see Lorde winning this is because this is her only nomination. I'd give her a small chance, but I do not think her album matches up well with the remaining two. Both 24K Magic and DAMN. were massively successful albums that I think had fantastic songs all the way through. Lyrically, Kendrick Lamar is as good as he's ever been, if not better. I think the production on all the tracks, combined with his genius lyricism and ability to switch up his flow gives him a fantastic shot at winning. On the other hand, Bruno Mars had multiple songs that made top 10 on the charts for a long time, and he shows off great vocals and entertaining rhythms on all his songs. He is a very well-liked and popular performer, so I think he has an equal shot at this.

Final Verdict: I truly like all the albums in this category and do not care who wins, but if I had to guess, I think DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar will be the Album of the Year.

3. Song of the Year

Nominees: "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yenkee ft. Justin Bieber, "4:44" by Jay-Z, "Issues" by Julia Michaels, "1-800-273-8255" by Logic ft. Alessia Cara & Khalid, "That's What I Like" by Bruno Mars

Again, I need to apologize to Jay-Z fans, because I just do not think he is going to win any of the general categories. He has a lot of nominations in the rap-specific categories, and I do believe he will win at least one of them. "4:44," to me, was the best song on that album, but it just does not stand a chance against all the others. "Issues" by Julia Michaels was another great song that I just cannot see winning this. It was a big breakout hit for Julia Michaels and a song I really enjoy, but although I'd give it a tiny chance at winning, I do not think it was as big as the other nominees. As much as I hate to admit it, "Despacito" has a strong chance in this category. It was a massive hit and one of the most popular songs of the year. Everyone knows it or has heard it, so its appeal gives it a good shot. "That's What I Like" was also one of the year's biggest songs and one of my favorite song off of Bruno Mars's new album. I think it is catchy, popular, and it doesn't hurt that it is by Bruno Mars, who I think always has a chance of winning whatever category he is nominated in. This leaves us with Logic's suicide prevention song. It was popular and had an impact on both the Billboard charts and thousands of lives across the world. It increased the calls to the suicide prevention hotline by over 50% and may have helped many people in other ways. I think it was the most meaningful and important song of the year.

Final Verdict: "Despacito" and "That's What I Like" both have a good chance, but I think that Song of Year should and will go to "1-800-273-8255."

4. Best New Artist

Nominees: Alessia Cara, Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert, Julia Michaels, SZA

This category is for some reason always controversial, but I think that all of these nominees had great breakout years, and I would not mind seeing any of them take it home, although I do have my favorites. Lil Uzi Vert had a great year, but I don't see this award going to a rapper again. The last two rappers to win were Chance the Rapper in 2016 and Macklemore in 2014, and I do not think he has the radio appeal or general popularity that they did. Julia Michaels is also someone I really like but although she had a big hit in "Issues," I do not think the rest of her work is popular enough to win this. She is an underdog, and I can see her possibly winning, but I simply think the other three artists stand a better chance. SZA has a great chance, as her album had very powerful songs and some radio appeal. She has a great voice and her songs flow very well and are easy to listen to. I am not as familiar with her as I am with the others, but from my general listening, I'd say she has a strong chance of winning this category. Alessia Cara and Khalid, in my opinion, boast the strongest chances at winning Best New Artist. Alessia Cara had her own songs blow up and play all over the radio, and she was also featured on other Grammy-nominated songs such as "Stay" by Zedd and "1-800-273-8255" by Logic. She has a beautiful voice, and I heard her everywhere this year, even on the Moana soundtrack. The only thing that I think holds her back was that her album came out in 2015, and as of recent was mainly a feature on songs. Khalid, like Alessia Cara, was all over the radio and had a feature on Logic's single. His debut album was one other best of the year and had a massive amount of success considering how young and new he is. He was one of my favorite artists this year and has a great voice, so I would put him at an equal chance with Alessia Cara.

Final Verdict: I like them all, but it comes down to Alessia Cara and Khalid. To me, Khalid will edge out Alessia.

Well, there you have it, my Grammy picks for 2018. Maybe you agreed, maybe you disagreed, but either way I think this year's fields that have songs that I generally enjoy and think are deserving of the awards. I'm excited to see who wins, and I think you should be too because 2017 was a fantastic year for music, and I believe it will carry over and keep improving in 2018!