2019 Grammy Awards Predictions

The 61st Annual Grammy Awards nominations were announced Friday, and I have no context for the modern music industry really. So clearly I’m going to guess who’s going to win! The ceremony, held on February 10, 2019, will feature a select number of the mass of Grammys categories, and since I don’t know what will actually be presented on the broadcast, I’ll just predict for categories I know anything about, generally. There’s just too many categories in the modern Grammy age for me to fuss around with new age albums or even contemporary blues stuff (which I can’t give a remotely informed opinion on). Keep in mind that my picks are not my favorites, or even that I’ve heard the track/album/artist. I’m just speculating wildly on who will actually take home the award/maybe a little bit of who I want to win! Fun fact: Kendrick Lamar was the most nominated artist with eight nominations. I’ll bold my guess.

Record of the Year

• “I Like It” — Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin
• “The Joke” — Brandi Carlile
• “This Is America” — Childish Gambino
• “God’s Plan” — Drake
• “Shallow” — Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper
• “All the Stars” — Kendrick Lamar & SZA
• “Rockstar” — Post Malone featuring 21 Savage
• “The Middle” — Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey

Album of the Year

• INVASION OF PRIVACY — Cardi B
• BY THE WAY, I FORGIVE YOU — Brandi Carlile
• SCORPION — Drake
• H.E.R. — H.E.R.
• BEERBONGS & BENTLEYS — Post Malone
• DIRTY COMPUTER — Janelle Monáe
• GOLDEN HOUR — Kacey Musgraves
• BLACK PANTHER: THE ALBUM, MUSIC FROM AND INSPIRED BYBlack Panther: The Album, Music From and Inspired By — Various Artists

Song of the Year

• “All the Stars” — Kendrick Duckworth, Solána Rowe, Al Shuckburgh, Mark Spears & Anthony Tiffith
• “Boo’d Up” — Larrance Dopson, Joelle James, Ella Mai & Dijon McFarlane
• “God’s Plan” — Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Brock Korsan, Ron LaTour, Matthew Samuels & Noah Shebib
• “In My Blood” — Teddy Geiger, Scott Harris, Shawn Mendes & Geoffrey Warburton
• “The Joke” — Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth
• “The Middle” — Sarah Aarons, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Marcus Lomax, Kyle Trewartha, Michael Trewartha & Anton Zaslavski
• “This Is America” — Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson
• “Shallow” — Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando & Andrew Wyatt

Best New Artist

• Luke Combs
• Dua Lipa
• Bebe Rexha
• Jorja Smith
• Greta Van Fleet
• Chloe x Halle
• H.E.R.
• Margo Price

Best Pop Solo Performance

• “Colors” — Beck
• “Havana (Live)” — Camila Cabello
• “God Is a Woman” — Ariana Grande
• “Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Goin’?)” — Lady Gaga
• “Better Now” — Post Malone

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

• “Fall in Line” — Christina Aguilera featuring Demi Lovato
• “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” — Backstreet Boys
• “‘S Wonderful” — Tony Bennett & Diana Krall
• “Shallow” — Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
• “Girls Like You” — Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B
• “Say Something” — Justin Timberlake featuring Chris Stapleton
• “The Middle” — Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

• LOVE IS HERE TO STAY — Tony Bennett & Diana Krall
• MY WAY — Willie Nelson
• NAT KING COLE & ME — Gregory Porter
• STANDARDS (DELUXE) — Seal
• THE MUSIC…THE MEM’RIES…THE MAGIC! — Barbra Streisand

Best Pop Vocal Album

• CAMILA — Camila Cabello
• MEANING OF LIFE — Kelly Clarkson
• SWEETENER — Ariana Grande
• SHAWN MENDES — Shawn Mendes
• BEAUTIFUL TRAUMA — P!nk
• REPUTATION — Taylor Swift

Best Rock Performance

• “Four Out of Five” — Arctic Monkeys
• “When Bad Does Good” — Chris Cornell
• “Made an America” — The Fever 333
• “Highway Tune” — Greta Van Fleet
• “Uncomfortable” — Halestorm

Best Metal Performance

• “Condemned to the Gallows” — Between the Buried and Me
• “Honeycomb” — Deafheaven
• “Electric Messiah” — High on Fire
• “Betrayer” — Trivium
• “On My Teeth” — Underoath

Best Rock Song

• “Black Smoke Rising” — Jacob Thomas Kiszka, Joshua Michael Kiszka, Samuel Francis Kiszka, & Daniel Robert Wagner
• “Jumpsuit” — Tyler Joseph
• “Mantra” — Jordan Fish, Matthew Kean, Lee Malia, Matthew Nicholls, & Oliver Sykes
• “Masseduction” — Jack Antonoff & Annie Clark
• “Rats” — Tom Dalgety & A Ghoul Writer

Best Rock Album

• RAINIER FOG — Alice in Chains
• MANIA — Fall Out Boy
• PREQUELLE — Ghost
• FROM THE FIRES — Greta Van Fleet
• PACIFIC DAYDREAM — Weezer (look, I have a Weezer tattoo, I gotta go with this, although I have a suspicion Fall Out Boy will win)

Best Alternative Music Album

• TRANQUILITY BASE HOTEL & CASINO — Arctic Monkeys
• COLORS — Beck
• UTOPIA — Björk
• AMERICAN UTOPIA — David Byrne
• MASSEDUCTION — St. Vincent

Best R&B Performance

• “Long as I Live” — Toni Braxton
• “Summer” — The Carters
• “Y O Y” — Lalah Hathaway
• “Best Part” — H.E.R. featuring Daniel Caesar
• “First Began” — PJ Morton

Best Traditional R&B Performance

• “Bet Ain’t Worth the Hand” — Leon Bridges
• “Don’t Fall Apart on Me Tonight” — Bettye LaVette
• “Honest” — MAJOR.
• “How Deep Is Your Love” — PJ Morton featuring Yebba
• “Made for Love” — Charlie Wilson featuring Lalah Hathaway

Best R&B Song

• “Boo’d Up” — Larrance Dopson, Joelle James, Ella Mai & Dijon McFarlane
• “Come Through and Chill” — Jermaine Cole, Miguel Pimentel & Salaam Remi
• “Feels Like Summer” — Donald Glover & Ludwig Göransson
• “Focus” — Darhyl Camper, Jr., H.E.R. & Justin Love
• “Long as I Live” — Paul Boutin, Toni Braxton & Antonio Dixon

Best Urban Contemporary Album

• EVERYTHING IS LOVE — The Carters
• THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT — Chloe x Halle
• CHRIS DAVE AND THE DRUMHEDZ — Chris Dave and the Drumhedz
• WAR & LEISURE — Miguel
• VENTRILOQUISM — Meshell Ndegeocello

Best R&B Album

• SEX & CIGARETTES — Toni Braxton
• GOOD THING — Leon Bridges
• HONESTLY — Lalah Hathaway
• H.E.R. — H.E.R.
• GUMBO UNPLUGGED — PJ Morton

Best Rap Performance

• “Be Careful” — Cardi B
• “Nice for What” — Drake
• “King’s Dead” — Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future & James Blake
• “Bubblin” — Anderson .Paak
• “Sicko Mode” — Travis Scott, Drake, Big Hawk & Swae Lee

Best Rap/Sung Performance

• “Like I Do” — Christina Aguilera featuring Goldlink
• “Pretty Little Fears” — 6lack featuring J. Cole
• “This Is America” — Childish Gambino
• “All the Stars” — Kendrick Lamar & SZA
• “Rockstar” — Post Malone featuring 21 Savage

Best Rap Song

• “God’s Plan” — Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Brock Korsan, Ron LaTour, Matthew Samuels & Noah Shebib
• “King’s Dead” — Kendrick Duckworth, Samuel Gloade, James Litherland, Johnny McKinzie, Mark Spears, Travis Walton, Nayvadius Wilburn & Michael Williams II
• “Lucky You” — R. Fraser, G. Lucas, M. Mathers, M. Samuels & J. Sweet
• “Sicko Mode” — Khalif Brown, Rogét Chahayed, BryTavious Chambers, Mike Dean, Mirsad Dervic, Kevin Gomringer, Tim Gomringer, Aubrey Graham, John Edward Hawkins, Chauncey Hollis, Jacques Webster, Ozan Yildirim & Cydel Young
• “Win” — K. Duckworth, A. Hernandez, J. McKinzie, M. Samuels & C. Thompson

Best Rap Album

• INVASION OF PRIVACY — Cardi B
• SWIMMING — Mac Miller
• VICTORY LAP — Nipsey Hussle
• DAYTONA — Pusha T
• ASTROWORLD — Travis Scott

Best Comedy Album

• ANNIHILATION — Patton Oswalt
• EQUANIMITY & THE BIRD REVELATION— Dave Chappelle
• NOBLE APE — Jim Gaffigan
• STANDUP FOR DRUMMERS — Fred Armisen
• TAMBORINE — Chris Rock

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media

• CALL ME BY YOUR NAME — Various artists
• DEADPOOL 2 — Various artists
• THE GREATEST SHOWMAN — Various artists
• LADY BIRD — Various artists
• STRANGER THINGS — Various artists

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media

• BLACK PANTHER — Ludwig Göransson
• BLADE RUNNER 2049 — Benjamin Wallfisch & Hans Zimmer
• COCO — Michael Giacchino
• THE SHAPE OF WATER — Alexandre Desplat
• STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI — John Williams

Best Song Written for Visual Media

• “All the Stars” (from BLACK PANTHER) — Kendrick Duckworth, Solána Rowe, Alexander William Shuckburgh, Mark Anthony Spears & Anthony Tiffith
• “Mystery of Love” (from CALL ME BY YOUR NAME) — Sufjan Stevens
• “Remember Me” (from COCO) — Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez
• “Shallow” (from A STAR IS BORN) — Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando & Andrew Wyatt
• “This Is Me” (from THE GREATEST SHOWMAN) — Benj Pasek & Justin Paul

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

• Boi-1da
• Larry Klein
• Linda Perry
• Kanye West
• Pharrell Williams

Best Music Video

• “Apeshit” — Ricky Saiz
• “This Is America” — Hiro Murai
• “I’m Not Racist” — Joyner Lucas & Ben Proulx
• “Pynk” — Emma Westenburg
• “Mumbo Jumbo” — Marco Prestini

Best Music Film

• LIFE IN 12 BARS — Lili Fini Zanuck
• WHITNEY — Kevin Macdonald
• QUINCY — Alan Hicks & Rashida Jones
• ITZHAK — Alison Chernick
• THE KING — Eugene Jarecki

So there you have it, my predictions for the 29 Grammys categories I know marginally more than nothing about. By my estimation, Childish Gambino was the winningest artist with four, but only because of the music video for “This Is America.” Purely from a musical perspective, he tied with Kendrick Lamar with three. Guess we’ll see how it turns out!