Grammys: Who Should Win Each Major Category

The Grammys are here again to celebrate some of the best music to come out in 2017 (and late 2016).

There’s a slew of high-profile nominees, including: Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, Bruno Mars, Lorde, Lady Gaga, Kesha, Justin Bieber, Childish Gambino, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, Ed Sheeran.

Big names such as these lead to some tough competition throughout the nominations. The Recording Academy voters have a variety of reasons for picking some songs, album and artists win over others, but we here at PopCulture.com have broken down the major categories and weighed in on what artists deserve to take home a Grammy.

Scroll through to see what artists made the cut.

Album of the Year

Nominees: Awaken, My Love! (Childish Gambino), 4:44 (Jay-Z), Damn. (Kendrick Lamar), Melodrama (Lorde), 24K Magic (Bruno Mars)

What Should Win: Damn. (Kendrick Lamar)

Why: The Album of the Year category is stacked this year, with a crop of solid nominees. Mars has the best shot to win with his addictive electro-funk pop, but Lamar’s well-crafted hip-hop album provides a mix of quality and accessibility that deserves to be honored.

Record of the Year

Nominees: “Redbone” (Childish Gambino), “Despacito” (Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber), “The Story of O.J.” (Jay-Z), “Humble.” (Kendrick Lamar), “24K Magic” (Bruno Mars)

What Should Win: “Redbone” (Childish Gambino)

Why: While “Redbone” is up against a barrage of Top 40 hits, Childish Gambino smooth funk and R&B track had lasting power that just can’t be denied. Plus, the track’s jammy funk helps it stand out against the hip-hop and pop cuts here.

 

Song of the Year

Nominees: “Despacito” (Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi and Marty James Garton), “4:44” (Shawn Carter and Dion Wilson), “Issues” (Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Julia Michaels and Justin Drew Tranter), “1-800-273-8255” (Alessia Caracciolo, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury and Khalid Robinson), “That’s What I Like” (Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus and Jonathan Yip)

What Should Win: “That’s What I Like” (Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus and Jonathan Yip)

Why: Bruno Mars’ “That’s What I Like” just stands out more than the other nominees, some of which come off very middle-of-the-road. “Despacito” stands a chance to take the award due to the massive success of the song, but Mars and his songwriters deserves to at least win here if they lose out on the other major categories.

 

 

Best New Artist

Nominees: Alessia Cara, Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert, Julia Michaels, SZA

Who Should Win: Khalid

Why: While it’s hard to not give Best New Artist to SZA, Khalid is equally as talented. He had some extra high-profile collaborations in 2017 that just barely give him the edge here.

Best Pop Vocal Album (Non-Traditional)

Nominees: Kaleidoscope EP (Coldplay), Lust for Life (Lana Del Rey), Evolve (Imagine Dragons), Rainbow (Kesha), Joanne (Lady Gaga), ÷ (Divide) (Ed Sheeran)

Who Should Win: Joanne (Lady Gaga)

Why: While Sheeran is the favorite here, Gaga’s country-inspired record brings a mix of variety, stellar vocals and solid songwriting that should bring her home a trophy.

Best Pop Performance (Solo and Duo/Group)

Solo Nominees: “Love So Soft” (Kelly Clarkson) “Praying” (Kesha), “Million Reasons” (Lady Gaga), “What About Us” (P!nk), “Shape of You” (Ed Sheeran)

What Should Win: “Praying” (Kesha)

What Should Win: As solid as Gaga’s “Million Reasons” is, “Praying” is a much more powerful song. After Kesha’s very public battle to get out of her record deal, the song was simultaneously a triumphant return and reinvention for one of pop’s most colorful voices. 

 

Duo/Group Nominees: “Something Just Like This” (The Chainsmokers andColdplay), “Despacito” (Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber), “Thunder” (Imagine Dragons), “Feel It Still” (Portugal. The Man), “Stay” (Zedd and Alessia Cara).

What Should Win: “Despacito” (Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber)

What Should Win: In what is an overall bland selection of pop cuts, the chart dominance of “Despacito” is hard to ignore.

Best Rap Performance / Album

Performance Nominees: “Bounce Back” (Big Sean), “Bodak Yellow” (Cardi B), “4:44” (Jay-Z), “Humble.” (Kendrick Lamar), “Bad and Boujee” (Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert)

Who Should Win: “Bodak Yellow” (Cardi B)

Why: “Bad and Boujee” and “Humble.” took over the spring, but it seems like the rest of the year was dominated by Cardi. Her dominant presence and rhymes on “Bodak Yellow” put it just ahead of the competition.

 

Album Nominees: 4:44 (Jay-Z), Damn. (Kendrick Lamar), Culture (Migos), Laila’s Wisdom (Rapsody), Flower Boy (Tyler, the Creator)

Who Should Win: Damn. (Kendrick Lamar)

Why: Another stacked category here, with each artist deserving the award in their own right. However, Lamar gets the edge due to Damn.’s aforementioned quality and accessibility.

Best Rock Performance / Album

Performance Nominees: “You Want It Darker” (Leonard Cohen), “The Promise” (Chris Cornell), “Run” (Foo Fighters), “No Good” (Kaleo), “Go to War” (Nothing More)

What Should Win: “You Want It Darker” (Leonard Cohen)

Why: Many rock purists will want to toss the award to the late Cornell, fellow late icon Cohen’s “You Want It Darker” is just heads about all the other songs in this category. Cohen knew his death was coming and managed to create a grim, poetic swan song before he passed. 

 

Album Nominees: Emperor of Sand (Mastodon), Hardwired…to Self-Destruct (Metallica), The Stories We Tell Ourselves (Nothing More), Villains (Queens of the Stone Age), A Deeper Understanding (The War on Drugs)

Who Should Win: Queens of the Stone Age

Why: It’s tempting to give Metallica the trophy based on their legacy alone, but Queens of the Stone Age is one the few mainstream rock bands working today that still puts out exciting and interesting albums, such as Villains.

 

Best Country Song / Album

Song Nominees: “Better Man” (Taylor Swift), “Body Like a Back Road” (Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne), “Broken Halos” (Mike Henderson and Chris Stapleton), “Drinkin’ Problem” (Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne and Mark Wystrach), “Tin Man” (Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall)

Who Should Win: “Tin Man” (Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall)

Why: It’s tough to bet against a Little Big Town song penned by Swift or a solidStapleton cut, but Lambert’s tender ballad deserves the trophy here. Lambert is perhaps the strongest female voice working in country today, and “Tin Man” is one of the best songs of her career.

 

Album Nominees: Cosmic Hallelujah (Kenny Chesney), Heart Break (Lady Antebellum), The Breaker (Little Big Town), Life Changes (Thomas Rhett), From a Room: Volume 1 (Chris Stapleton)

What Should Win: From a Room: Volume 1 (Chris Stapleton)

Why: There’s some pretty standard pop-country fare here, and Stapleton stands out and deserves to pick up his second Best Country Album Grammy. Like previous winner Sturgill Simpson, Stapleton takes away the flash from country music and focuses on writing compelling songs that are in line with the genre’s roots.