The biggest night for the music industry is set to air this Sunday, Feb 2. Beyonce currently holds the throne for number of nominations in this year’s award ceremony with Billie Ellish, Kendrick Lamar, and Charli XCX right behind her for their chance to take home the most prestigious award in the music industry.
Beyonce is tied for a total of 11 nominations for her album, Cowboy Carter, which is tying up Micheal Jackson’s Thriller for the most number of nominations for a single album. If Beyonce takes home the award for “Album of the year,” she will become the first Black woman in the 21st century to do so.
2024 was the year for mainstream music, as breakout stars such as Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan are up for the four top awards and veteran pop sensations like Billie Ellish, Taylor Swift, and Charli XCX are up for the same awards.
Who will be the biggest winners in this year’s ceremony? Let’s break down each category and our predictions on who will take home the award.
Album of the Year:
Nominees:
- New Blue Sun by André 3000
- Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé
- Short n’ Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter
- Brat by Charli xcx
- Djesse Vol. 4by Jacob Collier
- Hit Me Hard and Softby Billie Eilish
- Chappell Roan The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan
- The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift
Who Should Win?
Hit Me Hard and Soft by Billie Ellish
All these eight nominees have a shot to take home the award, but when you look at this album alone, the production, songwriting, and impact she made from her album are the main reasons she should win this award. The lyrics go into a deep dive into heartbreak and self-acceptance.
Record of the Year:
Nominees:
- “Now And Then” by The Beatles
- “Texas Hold ‘Em” by Beyoncé
- “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter
- “360” by Charli xcx
- “Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish
- “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
- “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan
- “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone
Who Will Win?
“Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
All of these nominees have a shot to take home the award, but when a diss track is being made about another rap artist, of course, it’s going to gain a lot of traction. It didn’t matter if you were in the mall, buying Christmas presents, or listening to the radio; this song was heard everywhere you went. There is a reason why the song has spent 37 weeks on the Billboard Top 100.
Song of the Year (goes to Songwriter):
Nominees:
- “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” Shaboozey. Written by Sean Cook, Jerrel Jones, Joe Kent, Chibueze Collins Obinna, Nevin Sastry & Mark Williams
- “Birds of a Feather” Billie Eilish. Written by Billie Eilish O’Connell and FINNEAS
- “Die With A Smile” Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars. Written by Dernst Emile II, James Fauntleroy, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and Andrew Watt
- “Fortnight” Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone. Written by Jack Antonoff, Austin Post and Taylor Swift
- “Good Luck, Babe!” Chappell Roan. Written by Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, Daniel Nigro & Justin Tranter
- “Not Like Us” Kendrick Lamar. Written by Kendrick Lamar
- “Please Please Please” Sabrina Carpenter. Written by Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter
- “Texas Hold ‘Em” Beyoncé. Written by Brian Bates, Beyoncé, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bülow, Nate Ferraro and Raphael Saadiq
Who Will Win?
“Good Luck Babe” by Chappell Roan
“Good Luck Babe” was a breakthrough hit this past year as it has spent 41 weeks on the Billboard Top 100 and brings the most potent lyrics as it speaks about being in a heterosexual relationship but is in denial about pursuing a relationship that “doesn’t fit their values.” The song was playing everywhere you went and is such a relatable song to the queer community.
Best New Artist:
Nominees:
- Benson Boone
- Sabrina Carpenter
- Doechii
- Khruangbin
- RAYE
- Chappell Roan
- Shaboozey
- Teddy Swims
Who Should Win?
Sabrina Carpenter
New artists like Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan have taken over the music industry. Should we award this to someone not technically brand new to the industry? Sabrina Carpenter is on her sixth studio album, and Roan is considered more new than Carpenter, but has been releasing music since 2017. However, they are both still eligible for the award as they had a breakout year. Looking at their years alone, this award is Carpenter’s one to take home. Carpenter had a breakout album where every song was on the Billboard Top 100. The opportunity to open up Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is a big step towards her career as she sold out her first arena tour. Based on Carpenter’s year, she should be the winner.
Best Pop Solo Performance:
Nominees:
- “Bodyguard” by Beyoncé
- “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter
- “Apple” by Charli xcx
- “Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish
- “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan
Who Will Win?
“Espresso” Sabrina Carpenter
Just looking at the impact alone of this song, “Espresso” is the clear winner. “Espresso” was played everywhere you went and was the song of the summer by a long slide. The song is so upbeat and catchy that it is easy to sing along or dance to. Although all of the other nominees are great songs, it can be hard to choose just one. “Espresso” is the clear winner in this category.
Best Pop Pop Vocal Album:
Nominees:
- Short n’ Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter
- Hit Me Hard and Soft by Billie Eilish
- eternal sunshine by Ariana Grande
- The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan
- The Torchered Poets Departmentby Taylor Swift
Who Will Win?
Short n’ Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter
Perfection. This album is just perfection. The vocals, plus the songwriting, screams a perfect pop album. The whole album is the epitome of what a pop album should be like, and that is why Short n Sweet will be the winner in this category.
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
Nominees:
- “Us.” by Gracie Abrams featuring Taylor Swift
- “Levii’s Jeans” by Beyoncé featuring Post Malone
- “Guess” by Charli xcx and Billie Eilish
- “the boy is mine” by Ariana Grande, Brandy and Monica
- “Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars
Who Will Win?
“Die With a Smile” Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars
“Die With a Smile” is a strong contender for this award as two very well-known artists with strong vocals team up to produce it. The song alone has spent four weeks on the Billboard Top 100 and eight weeks on the Top 200. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’s vocals meshed very well together and will be very strong winners in this category.
Best Rap Performance:
Nominees:
- “Enough (Miami)” by Cardi B
- “When The Sun Shines Again” by Common & Pete Rock Featuring Posdnuos
- “Nissan Altima” by Doechii
- “Houdini” by Eminem
- “Like That” by Future & Metro Boomin Featuring Kendrick Lamar
- “Yeah Glo!” by GloRilla
- “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
Who Will Win?
“Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar is going to win this category. That’s all I will say because it will be between “Like That” and “Not Like Us” to take home this category, but Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” will take home the award as it was a hit song and was a vicious diss track, which is still favorite towards music fanatics.
Best Country Album:
Nominees:
- Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé
- F-1 Trillionby Post Malone
- Deeper Well by Kacey Musgraves
- Higher by Chris Stapleton
- Whirlwind by Lainey Wilson
Who Will Win?
Cowboy Carter by Beyonce
Unsurprisingly, Cowboy Carter by Beyonce will take home this award as it broke records and topped several charts. She became the first Black woman to reach no. 1 in the top country albums chart. Now that’s an accomplishment! Just the cultural impact the album had alone will win this category.
Best R&B Album:
Nominees:
- 11:11 (Deluxe) Chris Brown
- Vantablack by Lalah Hathaway
- Revengeby Muni Long
- Algorithm byLucky Daye
- Coming Home by Usher
Who Will Win?
Coming Home by Usher
A leading top contender for the album is Coming Home by Usher; as the album topped the charts, his blockbuster tour, and performed the Super Bowl Halftime show, his album gained much traction. Considering Usher hasn’t won a Grammy in a decade, he can get his flowers to take this award home.
Best Dance/Electronic Album:
Nominees:
- Brat by Charli XCX
- Three byFour Tet
- Hyperdrama by Justice
- Timeless by Kaytranada
- Telos by Zedd
Who Will Win?
Brat by Charli XCX
The album’s popularity is the main reason Brat will take home the award, but it is also just thinking about its pop-culture impact. “The year of Brat” is a term we heard all summer long when this album was released. Also, the entire album gives an upbeat vibe that helps provide that party-it-girl mentality. According to the Billboard charts, the album has been sitting at the No. 1 spot for Top Dance albums for 33 weeks.
Best Latin Pop Album:
Nominees:
- Funk Generation by Anitta
- El Viaje by Luis Fonsi
- García by Kany García
- Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran by Shakira
- Orquídeas by Kali Uchis
Who Will Win?
Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran by Shakira
Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloranis a firm favorite to win the award. This is her first album in seven years so that central fact puts her on the list. The vocals on the album are beautiful, and the piano ballad gives a sense of how she is feeling and is heartfelt.
This year’s Grammys are up for a bloodbath, as such great music was released this past year. However, not everyone will go home with an award. You can catch the ceremony to see which lucky artist will go home with the most prestigious award in music on Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. MST.