Who will, and who should, get a Grammy nomination this week
The Grammy nominations will be announced Thursday, which means speculating about which artists will be recognized for their achievements and which will get snubbed.
The 2019 Grammy Awards will look slightly different than previous years, with the Recording Academy expanding the awards’ biggest four general categories — album of the year, record of the year, song of the year and best new artist — from five nominees to eight, to better reflect the many entries in the main categories and the diversity of the music community the Grammys are meant to celebrate.
Here are our predictions for who’ll be among those nominees.
Album of the year
Who will get nominated: Beyoncé and Jay-Z are both frequent Grammy nominees, so they’re seemingly shoeins for their 2018 album “Everything Is Love.” The night’s more obvious potential nominees also include Drake for “Scorpion,” and Taylor Swift for her “Reputation” album. And after huge years for Ariana Grande and Cardi B, a nomination for their “Sweetener” and “Invasion of Privacy” albums, respectively, seem like shoe-ins.
Who also should get nominated: Janelle Monae’s “Dirty Computer” is a critical favorite that will hopefully get some love from the Recording Academy. So is Kacey Musgraves’ “Golden Hour,” which deserves to be recognized in the night’s general categories, not just country music.
Song of the year
Who will get nominated: A songwriter’s award, this often goes to emotional, sweeping anthems — Adele’s “Hello” and Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” are past winners — though Bruno Mars won the category with the slinky “That’s What I Like” last year. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s “Shallow” from the “Star Is Born” soundtrack seems a clear front-runner, along with Sheeran and Beyoncé’s “Perfect.” A hip-hop song has never won in the song of the year category, so Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” and one of Drake’s many 2018 singles — probably “God’s Plan” — likely will get nominated. Other pop contenders could include Taylor Swift’s “Delicate,” Ariana Grande’s “No Tears Left To Cry,” Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You” and Ella Mai’s “Boo’d Up.”
Who also should get nominated: Kacey Musgraves’ “High Horse” would be a worthwhile addition, and Demi Lovato’s “Sober” is just the kind of moving ballad that normally gets recognized for song of the year, as is Carrie Underwood’s “Cry Pretty.”
Record of the year
Who will get nominated: The record of the year award recognizes the performers and producers of the track, with the Recording Academy often awarding it to a big pop hit that made a splash that year. Bruno Mars also took home this award last year, for “24k Magic.” Expect to see some overlap between the song and record of the year fields, particularly with “This Is America,” “God’s Plan,” “Shallow” and “Perfect.” Cardi B’s “I Like It” also will likely score a nomination.
Who also should get nominated: Troye Sivan’s divine “My My My” never got the commercial play it was capable of, so seeing it in among the record of the year contenders would be welldeserved justice.
Best new artist
Who will get nominated: Cardi B and Ella Mai likely will get at least a few nominations in the night’s other main categories, so both seem preordained to get best new artist nods as well. Troye Sivan and Dua Lipa also had breakthrough years in 2018, so their names will likely land on the list, as could Bebe Rexha, who landed on many listeners’ radars with her Florida Georgia Line collaboration “Meant to Be.”
Who also should get nominated: Margo Price, Hayley Kiyoko, Jorja Smith and Years and Years were among the many young stars that impressed us in 2018 — and who, with the category’s expanded field, could get a shot.