The Music Man: My dream (and nightmare) Grammy nominations
October 19, 2015
If you’ve read my blog for the past two years, you know I’m a sucker for awards shows. Alas, it’s getting closer every day to awards show season, where a somewhat mysterious “academy” of people tell us which movies, TV shows, stage productions and, of course, songs, were the best of the year.
This past week, I read Billboard’s early Grammy nomination predictions, and it got me thinking about the coming Grammy awards. I decided I wanted to predict some nominations myself — so I did. Without further ado, here are my inaugural Grammy nomination predictions for the “big four” categories, separated into what would be nominated in my world and what will be nominated in the proverbial real world.
Album of the year:
My world:
“Pageant Material,” Kacey Musgraves
“Run the Jewels 2,” Run the Jewels
“Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit,” Courtney Barnett
“To Pimp a Butterfly,” Kendrick Lamar
If there’s anything to be learned from this category’s recent history, it’s that an artist doesn’t have to be super popular to be nominated. That’s why I’d love to see Run The Jewels and Courtney Barnett, two artists who are each alternative in their own respects, nominated for the literal works of art they’ve created. Additionally, Kacey Musgraves deserves some recognition here for her clever sophomore effort, but she’ll likely get lost in the buzz for other pop albums. Kendrick Lamar and D’Angelo and The Vanguard’s releases are shoo-in nominations here for more than worthy artists. (Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they sweep their respective genre categories too.)
Real world:
“1989,” Taylor Swift
“Beauty Behind the Madness,” The Weeknd
“Black Messiah,” D’Angelo and The Vanguard
“To Pimp a Butterfly,” Kendrick Lamar
While Taylor Swift’s “1989” grows more lackluster to me with each listen, it’s the most sure album to be nominated, for both its insane sales and extended press coverage. “Beauty Behind the Madness” is adequate but doesn’t shine, yet it’ll probably garner a nomination for the successful singles that supported it — “Earned It,” “The Hills” and, of course, “Can’t Feel My Face.” As I said earlier, Lamar is nearly guaranteed a nomination for his epic, political and artistic record, and D’Angelo and The Vanguard will likely be recognized for the funky and socially conscious “Black Messiah,” D’Angelo’s first album in 14 years. If we’re being honest, I couldn’t think of a fifth actual nominee, so I’m going with Mumford & Sons’ third album, which has nomination potential due to Mumford & Sons’ previous record in this category and the album’s change from folk to rock.
Record of the year:
My world:
“Alright,” Kendrick Lamar
“Can’t Feel My Face,” The Weeknd
“FourFiveSeconds,” Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney
“Uptown Funk,” Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
“Where Are U Now,” Skrillex and Diplo featuring Justin Bieber
“Alright” is the most viable option for a record or song of the year nomination for Lamar, but I wouldn’t trust the Recording Academy to remember it among this year’s other more popular releases. Likewise, “Where Are U Now” showcases great production from Skrillex and Diplo, but will probably get lost in the sea of potential pop songs to be nominated for record of the year. “Can’t Feel My Face,” “FourFiveSeconds” and “Uptown Funk” were all super popular during the nomination period, and are pretty good too, so consider them near-guaranteed nominations.
Real World:
“Blank Space,” Taylor Swift
“Can’t Feel My Face,” The Weeknd
“FourFiveSeconds,” Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney
“Thinking Out Loud,” Ed Sheeran
“Uptown Funk,” Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
Like I said, “Can’t Feel My Face,” “FourFiveSeconds” and “Uptown Funk” will likely be here, and deserve to be too. “Blank Space” is likely to be the Swift song that joins them, riding off its catchiness and sheer popularity. After Ed Sheeran’s album “X” and song “Sing” garnered a few nominations at last year’s Grammys, “Thinking Out Loud” seems like it could carry over Sheeran’s success with its minimal arrangement and radio popularity.
Song of the year:
My World:
“Alright,” Kendrick Lamar
“Blank Space,” Taylor Swift
“FourFiveSeconds,” Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney
“Glory,” Common and John Legend
“Uptown Funk,” Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
Song of the year is probably the more likely category for “Alright” to be nominated in, but I’m still not super confident the academy will recognize its amazing lyrics and flow. Similarly, “Glory” showcases beautiful lyrics, but probably saw the last of its awards show popularity at this past year’s Oscars. I’d actually like to see “Blank Space” nominated here, for its clever lyrics about Swift’s relationship reputation and the catchiness of its melodies. And, of course, “FourFiveSeconds” and “Uptown Funk” should carry their success into the songwriting category as well, as both have well-written lyrics (think of all the fun ones in “Uptown Funk”) and great composition.
Real world:
“Blank Space,” Taylor Swift
“Can’t Feel My Face,” The Weeknd
“FourFiveSeconds,” Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney
“Thinking Out Loud,” Ed Sheeran
“Uptown Funk,” Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
I honestly don’t expect any differences between record and song of the year this year. Along with the three songs on the list I’ve already mentioned, “Can’t Feel My Face” and “Thinking Out Loud” seem to be safe bets to round out the nominations. Although “Can’t Feel My Face” doesn’t really impress me with its lyrics ridden with drug references, I have a feeling the academy will see past that and recognize The Weeknd further. And, just because I’m not partial toward Sheeran doesn’t mean “Thinking Out Loud” isn’t a lyrical masterpiece in its own regard.
Best new artist:
My World:
James Bay
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
James Bay and George Ezra both stood out among this year’s wave of acoustic, soulful singer-songwriters — Bay for his emotional vocals in songs like “Hold Back The River” and “Let It Go,” and Ezra for his beautiful baritone voice that shines in “Blame It On Me” and “Cassy O’.” While Hozier could be lumped together with Bay and Ezra, he stands out for the fact that he received a song of the year nomination last year for “Take Me to Church,” but couldn’t be nominated in this category until he released a full-length. Fetty Wap deserves a nomination here as well for his unique vocals and for having made one of the most popular singalong songs of the year. Perhaps the biggest long shot nominee on all of my lists is Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, the rootsy rock collective that skyrocketed to much-deserved popularity after a huge endorsement from Jimmy Fallon and a performance of their song “S.O.B.” on “The Tonight Show.”
Real World:
Fetty Wap
Hozier
Hozier is a surefire nominee here, and Fetty Wap has a lot of potential, too. Much to my dismay, Meghan Trainor will probably be nominated after “All About That Bass” garnered record and song of the year nominations last year. The country world seems to have been freaking out about Sam Hunt lately, so I put him on this list for some genre diversity. A Tori Kelly nomination could round out the list after the singer-songwriter’s back-to-back successful singles, “Nobody Love” and “Should’ve Been Us.”
So, there are my hoped and predicted nominees in the big four categories for this year’s Grammy Awards. The actual nominations won’t be announced until Monday, Dec. 7, so check back then for a reaction. Make sure to keep up with my blog as the Grammys near to read about my predicted winners, and check back for a reaction once the show is all over.
Senior Justin Curto is an avid music lover whose tastes range from alternative rock to dance pop. He enjoys supporting the Kansas City music scene by listening longer to 96.5 The Buzz, rocking out to local music and seeing artists live at his favorite venues in the area.
