With the 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards quickly approaching on February 15, 2016 airing on CBS, the wait is almost over to see who will take home the Golden Gramophone Trophies at the end of the night. It is no surprise that 2015 was undeniably a turning point for the Music Industry.
Although there are approximately 83 GRAMMY Awards given out to the most deserving artists of 2015 by the end of the night, I am going to break down my thoughts on who I think has the best shot at victory for the Top 4 Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, and Album of the Year.
Keep in mind, these predictions are solely based on my opinion.
Each artist, of course, has an equal shot.
Record of the Year
Record of the Year is the award given to not only the performer of a single song, but also the production team as well.
Really Love
D'Angelo And The Vanguard
D'Angelo & Brent Fischer, producers; Russell Elevado, Ben Kane & Rafa Sardina, engineers/mixers; Dave Collins, mastering engineer
Track from: Black Messiah
Label: RCA Records
Uptown Funk
Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars
Jeff Bhasker, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars & Mark Ronson, producers; Josh Blair, Riccardo Damian, Serban Ghenea, Wayne Gordon, John Hanes, Inaam Haq, Boo Mitchell, Charles Moniz & Mark Ronson, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer
Track from: Uptown Special
Label: RCA Records
Thinking Out Loud
Ed Sheeran
Jake Gosling, producer; Jake Gosling, Mark 'Spike' Stent & Geoff Swan, engineers/mixers; Stuart Hawkes, mastering engineer
Track from: X
Label: Atlantic
Blank Space
Taylor Swift
Max Martin & Shellback, producers; Serban Ghenea, John Hanes, Sam Holland & Michael Ilbert, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer
Track from: 1989
Label: Big Machine Records
Can't Feel My Face
The Weeknd
Max Martin & Ali Payami, producers; Serban Ghenea, John Hanes & Sam Holland, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer
Label: Republic
My Prediction: Can’t Feel My Face – The Weeknd
It is almost impossible to predict who will win this award for Record of the Year. Since 3 out of the 5 were #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, it is safe to say any of these deserving records could win. "Can't Feel My Face" was a Pop Radio smash. The song seemed to take over a life of its own as more and more people gravitated toward the catchy, synth-pop, R&B-influenced track. The song stayed steadily at #1 for 3 weeks and in the top 10 for weeks to come. The critical reception for this song were extraordinary. Rolling Stone ranked "Face" at #1 on its year-end list to find the 50 best songs of 2015. Billboard also picked the song as the best song of 2015 on its year-end critics' picks.
Song of the Year
The Song of the Year Award is given to the writer(s) and/or composer(s) of a song.
Alright
Kendrick Duckworth, Kawan Prather, Mark Anthony Spears & Pharrell Williams, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar)
Track from: To Pimp A Butterfly
Blank Space
Max Martin, Shellback & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
Track from: 1989
Girl Crush
Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna & Liz Rose, songwriters (Little Big Town)
Track from: Pain Killer
See You Again
Andrew Cedar, Justin Franks, Charles Puth & Cameron Thomaz, songwriters (Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth)
Track from: Furious 7: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Thinking Out Loud
Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge, songwriters (Ed Sheeran)
Track from: X
My Prediction: Girl Crush – Little Big Town
This song quickly became a country classic as Little Big Town pleaded with the lyrics of a woman's jealously. Girl Crush was an instant country hit. It became the group's 2nd song to crown the U.S. Hot Country Chart and the first of their songs to hit the Top 20 on the overall charts. The heart-wrenching lyrics combined with the ever-so-concise harmonies (that is always a given for the group) created a phenomenon that generated a shift in Country Music. In past years, this award has been one to shock viewers. Could this song become one of only a handful of country songs to be given the award?
Best New Artist
The Best New Artist Award is given to a breakthrough performer who releases their first official recording to the public.
Courtney Barnett
James Bay
Sam Hunt
Tori Kelly
Meghan Trainor
My Prediction: Tori Kelly
The 22-year-old singer from California has slowly but surely gained recognition from YouTube aiming back to 2009. After being cut from the Hollywood Rounds on American Idol Season 9, Tori Kelly felt a fire in her to start a YouTube channel to cover songs, which led to her first viral video of her cover of Frank Ocean's "Thinkin’ Bout You." Shortly after, manager Scooter Braun who got her to sign with Capital Records approached her. Her debut album "Unbreakable Smile" debuted at Number 2 on the Billboard 200 Chart as well as spawning 2 singles, which both hit the Top 20 on the official Pop Songs Chart. Not to mention, Tori Kelly has received numerous positive feedback on her ability to perform live. There is no denying that her ability to belt out any note makes her the perfect recipient of this iconic award.
Album of the Year
The Album of the Year Award is given to the performer and the production team of an album.
Sound & Color
Alabama Shakes
Alabama Shakes & Blake Mills, producers; Shawn Everett, engineer/mixer; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer
To Pimp A Butterfly
Kendrick Lamar
Bilal, George Clinton, James Fauntleroy, Ronald Isley, Rapsody, Snoop Dogg, Thundercat & Anna Wise, featured artists; Taz Arnold, Boi-1Da, Ronald Colson, Larrance Dopson, Flying Lotus, Fredrik "Tommy Black" Halldin, Knxwledge, Koz, Lovedragon, Terrace Martin, Rahki, Sounwave, Tae Beast, Thundercat, Andrew “Pop” Wansel, Whoarei & Pharrell Williams, producers; Derek "Mixedbyali" Ali, Thomas Burns, Andrew Coleman, Hart Gunther, James "The White Black Man" Hunt, Mike Larson, 9th Wonder & Matt Schaeffer, engineers/mixers; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
Traveller
Chris Stapleton
Dave Cobb & Chris Stapleton, producers; Vance Powell, engineer/mixer; Pete Lyman, mastering engineer
1989
Taylor Swift
Jack Antonoff, Nathan Chapman, Imogen Heap, Max Martin, Mattman & Robin, Ali Payami, Shellback, Taylor Swift, Ryan Tedder & Noel Zancanella, producers; Jack Antonoff, Mattias Bylund, Smith Carlson, Nathan Chapman, Serban Ghenea, John Hanes, Imogen Heap, Sam Holland, Michael Ilbert, Brendan Morawski, Laura Sisk & Ryan Tedder, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer
Beauty Behind The Madness
The Weeknd
Lana Del Rey, Labrinth & Ed Sheeran, featured artists; Dannyboystyles, Mike Dean, Ben Diehl, Labrinth, Mano, Max Martin, Stephan Moccio, Carlo Montagnese, Ali Payami, The Pope, Jason Quenneville, Peter Svensson, Abel Tesfaye & Kanye West, producers; Jay Paul Bicknell, Mattias Bylund, Serban Ghenea, Noah Goldstein, John Hanes, Sam Holland, Jean Marie Horvat, Carlo Montagnese, Jason Quenneville & Dave Reitzas, engineers/mixers; Tom Coyne & Dave Kutch, mastering engineers
My Prediction: Taylor Swift – 1989
It is undeniable how much of an impact 1989 had on music between 2014 and 2015. Taylor Swift took a little over 2 years to completely transform her sound, image, and otherwise view from the public eye. 1989 was a blockbuster success. Of the 6 singles released to radio, 3 of them hit Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 ("Shake It Off": 7 weeks, "Blank Space": 7 weeks, "Bad Blood (feat. Kendrick Lamar: 1 week). By the end of 2014, only 3 months after it was released, it became the best-selling album of 2014. It is no secret that Swift came back swinging - holding nothing back in the transition into the Pop music world. With the help of Swedish Producer and synth-pop mastermind, Max Martin, her honest lyrics mixed perfectly with catchy hooks in every single song. It would be very surprising if she does not walk away with the award.
Tune in on February 15th only on CBS to see who will walk away with the Golden Gramophone Trophies at the end of the night.
