Predicting the 59th Annual GRAMMY Awards

The nominees for the 59th annual Grammy awards were released on December 6 and features 83 categories filed under 30 different fields.  2016 was the year of new musical releases from highly anticipated artists like Beyonce and Drake. Beyonce’s highly grossing visual album Lemonade was nominated for 9 different Grammy awards, and artists like Drake and Kanye West trail closely behind with 8 nominations for their widely celebrated albums. The Grammys not only features musical albums from pop culture icons like Drake and Rihanna but also displays lesser known categories like music videos and classical compositions. The awards will take place at 8pm in Los Angeles and will be hosted by The Late Late Show host James Corden.

General Field

(Predicted winners are in bold.)

Record Of The Year

• “Hello” — Adele
• “Formation” — Beyoncé
• “7 Years” — Lukas Graham
• “Work” — Rihanna Featuring Drake
• “Stressed Out” — Twenty One Pilots

Album Of The Year

• 25 — Adele
• Lemonade — Beyoncé
• Purpose — Justin Bieber
• Views — Drake
• A Sailor’s Guide To Earth — Sturgill Simpson

Best New Artist:

• Kelsea Ballerini
• The Chainsmokers
• Chance The Rapper
• Maren Morris
• Anderson .Paak

Song Of The Year

• “Formation” — Khalif Brown, Asheton Hogan, Beyoncé Knowles & Michael L. Williams II, songwriters (Beyoncé)
• “Hello” — Adele Adkins & Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Adele)
• “I Took A Pill In Ibiza” — Mike Posner, songwriter (Mike Posner)
• “Love Yourself” — Justin Bieber, Benjamin Levin & Ed Sheeran, songwriters (Justin Bieber)
• “7 Years” — Lukas Forchhammer, Stefan Forrest, Morten Pilegaard & Morten Ristorp, songwriters (Lukas Graham)

Pop Field

Pop vocal album

• 25 — Adele
• Purpose — Justin Bieber
• Dangerous Woman — Ariana Grande
• Confident — Demi Lovato
• This Is Acting — Sia

Pop solo performance

• “Hello” — Adele
• “Hold Up” — Beyonce
• “Love Yourself” — Justin Bieber
• “Piece By Piece (Idol Version)” — Kelly Clarkson
• “Dangerous Woman” — Ariana Grande

Pop duo/group performance

• “Closer” — The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey
• “7 Years” — Lukas Graham
• “Work” — Rihanna Featuring Drake
• “Cheap Thrills” — Sia Featuring Sean Paul
• “Stressed Out” — Twenty One Pilots

R&B Field

R&B Song

• “Come and See Me” — J. Brathwaite, Aubrey Graham & Noah Shebib, songwriters (PartyNextDoor Featuring Drake)
• “Exchange” — Michael Hernandez & Bryson Tiller, songwriters (Bryson Tiller)
• “Kiss It Better” — Jeff Bhasker, Robyn Fenty, John-Nathan Glass & Natalia Noemi, songwriters (Rihanna)
• “Lake By the Ocean” — Hod David & Musze, songwriters (Maxwell)
• “Luv” — Magnus August Høiberg, Benjamin Levin & Daystar Peterson, songwriters (Tory Lanez)

Urban Contemporary Album

• Lemonade — Beyoncé
• Ology — Gallant
• We Are King — KING
• Malibu — Anderson .Paak
• Anti — Rihanna

Best R&B album

• In My Mind — BJ The Chicago Kid
• Lalah Hathaway Live — Lalah Hathaway
• Velvet Portraits — Terrace Martin
• Healing Season — Mint Condition
• Smoove Jones — Mya

R&B performance

• “Turnin’ Me Up” — BJ The Chicago Kid
• “Permission” — Ro James
• “I Do” — Musiq Soulchild
• “Needed Me” — Rihanna
• “Cranes in the Sky” — Solange

Rap album

• Coloring Book — Chance The Rapper
• And the Anonymous Nobody — De La Soul
• Major Key — DJ Khaled
• Views — Drake
• Blank Face LP — ScHoolboy Q
• The Life of Pablo — Kanye West

Best Rap performance

• “No Problem” — Chance The Rapper Featuring Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz
• “Panda” —Desiigner
• “Pop Style” — Drake Featuring The Throne
• “All The Way Up” — Fat Joe & Remy Ma Featuring French Montana & Infared
• “That Part” — ScHoolboy Q Featuring Kanye West

Best rap/sung performance

• “Freedom” — Beyoncé Featuring Kendrick Lamar
• “Hotline Bling” — Drake
• “Broccoli” — D.R.A.M. Featuring Lil Yachty
• “Ultralight Beam” — Kanye West Featuring Chance The Rapper, Kelly Price, Kirk Franklin & The-Dream
• “Famous” — Kanye West Featuring Rihanna

Rap song

• “All The Way Up” — Joseph Cartagena, Edward Davadi, Shandel Green, Karim Kharbouch, Andre Christopher Lyon, Reminisce Mackie & Marcello Valenzano, songwriters (Fat Joe & Remy Ma Featuring French Montana & Infared)
• “Famous” — Chancelor Bennett, Ross Birchard, Ernest Brown, Andrew Dawson, Kasseem Dean, Mike Dean, Noah Goldstein, Kejuan Muchita, Patrick Reynolds, Kanye West & Cydel Young, songwriters (Kanye West Featuring Rihanna)
• “Hotline Bling” — Aubrey Graham & Paul Jefferies, songwriters (Drake)
• “No Problem” — Chancelor Bennett, Dwayne Carter & Tauheed Epps, songwriters (Chance The Rapper Featuring Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz)
• “Ultralight Beam” — Chancelor Bennett, Kasseem Dean, Mike Dean, Kirk Franklin, Noah Goldstein, Samuel Griesemer, Terius Nash, Jerome Potter, Kelly Price, Nico “Donnie Trumpet” Segal, Derek Watkins, Kanye West & Cydel Young, songwriters (Kanye West Featuring Chance The Rapper, Kelly Price, Kirk Franklin & The-Dream)

Music Video/Film Field

Best Music Video:

• “Formation” — Beyoncé
• “River” — Leon Bridges
• “Up & Up” — Coldplay
• “Gosh” — Jamie XX
• “Upside Down & Inside Out” — OK Go

Best Music Film:

• I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead — Steve Aoki
• The Beatles: Eight Days A Week The Touring Years — (The Beatles)
• Lemonade — Beyoncé
• The Music Of Strangers — Yo-Yo Ma & The Silk Road Ensemble
• American Saturday Night: Live From The Grand Ole Opry — (Various Artists)

Production, non-classical field

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical:

• Are You Serious — Tchad Blake & David Boucher, engineers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer (Andrew Bird)
• Blackstar — David Bowie, Tom Elmhirst, Kevin Killen & Tony
• Dig In Deep — Ryan Freeland, engineer; Kim Rosen, mastering engineer (Bonnie Raitt)
• Hit N Run Phase Two — Booker T., Dylan Dresdow, Chris James, Prince & Justin Stanley, engineers; Dylan Dresdow, mastering engineer (Prince)
• Undercurrent — Shani Gandhi & Gary Paczosa, engineers; Paul Blakemore, mastering engineer (Sarah Jarosz)

Rock Field

Rock song

• “Blackstar” — David Bowie, songwriter (David Bowie)
• “Burn the Witch”  —Radiohead, songwriters (Radiohead)
• “Hardwired” — James Hetfield & Lars Ulrich, songwriters (Metallica
• “Heathens” — Tyler Joseph, songwriter (Twenty One Pilots)
• “My Name Is Human” — Rich Meyer, Ryan Meyer & Johnny Stevens, songwriters (Highly Suspect)

Rock album

• California — Blink-182
• Tell Me I’m Pretty — Cage The Elephant
• Magma — Gojira
• Death Of A Bachelor — Panic! At The Disco
• Weezer — Weezer

Rock performance

• “Joe (Live From Austin City Limits)” — Alabama Shakes
• “Don’t Hurt Yourself” — Beyoncé Featuring Jack White
• “Blackstar” — David Bowie
• “The Sound Of Silence” — Disturbed
• “Heathens” — Twenty One Pilots

Alternative music album

• 22, A Million — Bon Iver
• Blackstar — David Bowie
• The Hope Six Demolition Project — PJ Harvey
• Post Pop Depression — Iggy Pop
• A Moon Shaped Pool — Radiohead

Best dance recording

• “Tearing Me Up” — Bob Moses
• “Don’t Let Me Down” — The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya
• “Never Be Like You” — Flume Featuring Kai
• “Rinse & Repeat” — Riton Featuring Kah-Lo
• “Drinkee” — Sofi Tukker

Best dance/electronic album

• Skin — Flume
• Electronica 1: The Time Machine — Jean-Michel Jarre
• Epoch — Tycho
• Barbara Barbara, We Face A Shining Future — Underworld
• Louie Vega Starring…XXVIII — Louie Vega

Comedy Field

Best Comedy Album:

• …America…Great… — David Cross
• American Myth — Margaret Cho
• Boysih Girl Interrupted — Tig Notaro
• Live At The Apollo — Amy Schumer
• Talking For Clapping — Patton Oswalt

MUSICAL THEATER

Best Musical Theater Album:

• Bright Star — Carmen Cusack, principal soloist; Jay Alix, Peter Asher & Una Jackman, producers; Steve Martin, composer; Edie Brickell, composer & lyricist (Original Broadway Cast)
• The Color Purple — Cynthia Erivo & Jennifer Hudson, principal soloists; Stephen Bray, Van Dean, Frank Filipetti, Roy Furman, Scott Sanders & Jhett Tolentino, producers (Stephen Bray, Brenda Russell & Allee Willis, composers/lyricists) (New Broadway Cast)
• Fiddler On The Roof — Danny Burstein, principal soloist; Louise Gund, David Lai & Ted Sperling, producers (Jerry Bock, composer; Sheldon Harnick, lyricist) (2016 Broadway Cast)
• Kinky Boots — Killian Donnelly & Matt Henry, principal soloists; Sammy James, Jr., Cyndi Lauper, Stephen Oremus & William Wittman, producers (Cyndi Lauper, composer & lyricist) (Original West End Cast)
• Waitress — Jessie Mueller, principal soloist; Neal Avron, Sara Bareilles & Nadia DiGiallonardo, producers; Sara Bareilles, composer & lyricist (Original Broadway Cast)

Music for Visual Media Field

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media:

• Amy — (Various Artists)
• Miles Ahead — Miles Davis & Various Artists)
• Straight Outta Compton — (Various Artists)
• Suicide Squad (Collector’s Edition) — (Various Artists)
• Vinyl: The Essentials Season 1 — (Various Artists)

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media:

• Bridge of Spies — Thomas Newman, composer
• Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight — Ennio Morricone, composer
• The Revenant — Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto, composers
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens — John Williams, composer
• Stranger Things Volume 1 — Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein, composers
• Stranger Things Volume 2 — Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein, composers

Best Song Written For Visual Media:

• “Can’t Stop The Feeling!” — Max Martin, Shellback & Justin Timberlake, songwriters (Justin Timberlake, Anna Kendrick, Gwen Stefani, James Corden, Zooey Deschanel, Walt Dohrn, Ron Funches, Caroline Hjelt, Aino Jawo, Christopher Mintz-Plasse & Kunal Nayyar), Track from: Trolls
• “Heathens” — Tyler Joseph, songwriter (Twenty One Pilots), Track from: Suicide Squad
• “Just Like Fire” — Oscar Holter, Max Martin, P!nk & Shellback, songwriters (P!nk), Track from: Alice Through The Looking Glass
• “Purple Lamborghini” — Shamann Cooke, Sonny Moore & William Roberts, songwriters (Skrillex & Rick Ross), Track from: Suicide Squad
• “Try Everything” — Mikkel S. Eriksen, Sia Furler & Tor Erik Hermansen, songwriters (Shakira), Track from: Zootopia
• “The Veil” — Peter Gabriel, songwriter (Peter Gabriel), Track from: Snowden

Composing/Arranging Field

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella:

• “Ask Me Now” — John Beasley, arranger (John Beasley)
• “Good ‘Swing’ Wenceslas” — Sammy Nestico, arranger (The Count Basie Orchestra)
• “Linus & Lucy” — Christian Jacob, arranger (The Phil Norman Tentet)
• “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” — John Daversa, arranger (John Daversa)
• “We Three Kings” — Ted Nash, arranger (Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra With Wynton Marsalis)
• “You And I” — Jacob Collier, arranger (Jacob Collier)