2021 Grammy Awards Winners Scored

The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, hosted by Trevor Noah, were held in a semi-virtual setting last night, with no in-person audience populating the Los Angeles Convention Center. As usual, social media ran with the snubs, the big performing moments, and praiseworthy wins, which is how I consumed the event. What was unusual, at least for the Grammys so far, was the dynamic that COVID-19 has wrought for every event, and all the other awards shows. Of those awards shows, I feel the most out of touch with the Grammys, but as with all of them (the main ones for each medium, at least), I think seeing what the respective industry “academies” want to self-congratulate is interesting. In the case of this 2021 installment of the Grammys, which recognized music from what feels like a million years ago (the eligibility period was September 1, 2019 to August 31, 2020), The Recording Academy saw Beyoncé as the biggest winner. She took home four awards after receiving the most nominations (9), and although I was correct in predicting Beyoncé would receive the most awards, I had doubled just how many…I guess winning eight of nine nominations would be a tall order. Anyways, I’ll now score my 63rd Annual Grammy Awards predictions, from the 31 of 83 categories I had even a passing familiarity with. I’ll mark my choice with a * and bold the actual winner.

Record of the Year

• “Black Parade” — Beyoncé
• “Colors” — Black Pumas
• “Rockstar” — DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch
• “Say So” — Doja Cat
• “Everything I Wanted” — Billie Eilish
• “Don’t Start Now” — Dua Lipa
• “Circles” — Post Malone
• “Savage” — Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé*

Album of the Year

• CHILOMBO — Jhené Aiko
• BLACK PUMAS — Black Pumas
• EVERYDAY LIFE — Coldplay
• DJESSE VOL. 3 — Jacob Collier
• WOMEN IN MUSIC PT. III — HAIM
• FUTURE NOSTALGIA — Dua Lipa
• HOLLYWOOD’S BLEEDING — Post Malone
• FOLKLORE — Taylor Swift*

Song of the Year

• “Black Parade” — Denisia Andrews, Beyoncé, Stephen Bray, Shawn Carter, Brittany Coney, Derek James Dixie, Akil King, Kim “Kaydence” Krysiuk & Rickie “Caso” Tice (Beyoncé)*
• “The Box” — Samuel Gloade & Rodrick Moore (Roddy Ricch)
• “Cardigan” — Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift (Taylor Swift)
• “Circles” — Louis Bell, Adam Feeney, Kaan Gunesberk, Austin Post & Billy Walsh (Post Malone)
• “Don’t Start Now” — Caroline Ailin, Ian Kirkpatrick, Dua Lipa & Emily Warren (Dua Lipa)
• “Everything I Wanted” — Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell (Billie Eilish)
• “I Can’t Breathe” — Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. & Tiara Thomas (H.E.R.)
• “If the World Was Ending” — Julia Michaels & JP Saxe (JP Saxe ft. Julia Michaels)

Best New Artist

• Ingrid Andress
• Phoebe Bridgers
• Chika
• Noah Cyrus
• D Smoke
• Doja Cat
• Kaytranada
• Megan Thee Stallion*

Best Pop Solo Performance

• “Yummy” — Justin Bieber
• “Cardigan” — Taylor Swift
• “Everything I Wanted” — Billie Eilish
• “Don’t Start Now” — Dua Lipa
• “Say So” — Doja Cat
• “Watermelon Sugar” — Harry Styles*

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

• “Un Dia (One Day)” — J Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny & Tainy
• “Intentions” — Justin Bieber ft. Quavo
• “Dynamite” — BTS
• “Rain On Me” — Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande*
• “Exile” — Taylor Swift ft. Bon Iver

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

• BLUE UMBRELLA — Burt Bacharach & Daniel Tashian*
• TRUE LOVE: A CELEBRATION OF COLE PORTER — Harry Connick, Jr.
• AMERICAN STANDARD — James Taylor
• UNFOLLOW THE RULES — Rufus Wainwright
• JUDY — Renée Zellweger

Best Pop Vocal Album

• CHANGES — Justin Bieber
• CHROMATICA — Lady Gaga
• FUTURE NOSTALGIA — Dua Lipa
• FINE LINE — Harry Styles
• FOLKLORE — Taylor Swift* (I don’t really understand how this can win “Album of the Year” but then not beat everything out in a different category…)

Best Rock Performance

• “The Steps” — HAIM
• “Stay High” — Brittany Howard*
• “Not” — Big Thief
• “Shameika” — Fiona Apple
• “Kyoto” — Phoebe Bridgers
• “Daylight” — Grace Potter

Best Rock Song

• “Kyoto” — Phoebe Bridgers, Morgan Nagler & Marshall Vore (Phoebe Bridgers)
• “Lost in Yesterday” — Kevin Parker (Tame Impala)
• “Not” — Adrianne Lenker (Big Thief)
• “Shameika” — Fiona Apple (Fiona Apple)
• “Stay High” — Brittany Howard (Brittany Howard)*

Best Rock Album

• A HERO’S DEATH — Fontaines D.C.
• KIWANUKA — Michael Kiwanuka
• DAYLIGHT — Grace Potter
• SOUND & FURY — Sturgill Simpson
• THE NEW ABNORMAL — The Strokes*

Best Alternative Music Album

• FETCH THE BOLT CUTTERS — Fiona Apple
• HYPERSPACE — Beck
• PUNISHER — Phoebe Bridgers*
• JAIME — Brittany Howard
• THE SLOW RUSH — Tame Impala

Best R&B Performance

• “Lighting & Thunder” — Jhené Aiko ft. John Legend
• “Black Parade” — Beyoncé*
• “All I Need” — Jacob Collier ft. Mahalia & Ty Dolla $ign
• “Goat Head” — Brittany Howard
• “See Me” — Emily King

Best Traditional R&B Performance

• “Sit On Down” — The Baylor Project ft. Jean Baylor & Marcus Baylor
• “Wonder What She Thinks of Me” — Chloe x Halle*
• “Let Me Go” — Mykal Kilgore
• “Anything for You” — Ledisi
• “Distance” — Yebba

Best R&B Song

• “Better Than I Imagined” — Robert Glasper, Meshell Ndegeocello & Gabriella Wilson (Robert Glasper ft. H.E.R. & Meshell Ndegeocello)
• “Black Parade” — Denisia Andrews, Beyoncé, Stephen Bray, Shawn Carter, Brittany Coney, Derek James Dixie, Akil King, Kim “Kaydence” Krysiuk & Rickie “Caso” Tice (Beyoncé)*
• “Collide” — Sam Barsh, Stacey Barthe, Sonyae Elise, Olu Fann, Akil King, Josh Lopez, Kaveh Rastegar & Benedetto Rotondi (Tiana Major9 & EARTHGANG)
• “Do It” — Chloe Bailey, Halle Bailey, Anton Kuhl, Scott Storch, Victoria Monét, Vincent van den Ende (Chloe x Halle)
• “Slow Down” — Nasri Atweh, Badriia Bourelly, Skip Marley, Ryan Williamson & Gabriella Wilson (Skip Marley & H.E.R.)

Best Progressive R&B Album

• CHILOMBO — Jhené Aiko*
• UNGODLY HOUR — Chloe x Halle
• FREE NATIONALS — FREE NATIONALS
• FUCK YO FEELINGS — Robert Glasper
• IT IS WHAT IT IS — Thundercat

Best R&B Album

• HAPPY 2 BE HERE — Ant Clemons
• TAKE TIME — Giveon
• TO FEEL LOVE/D — Luke James
• BIGGER LOVE — John Legend*
• ALL RISE — Gregory Porter

Best Rap Performance

• “Dior” — Pop Smoke
• “Deep Reverence” — Big Sean & Nipsey Hussle
• “Bop” — DaBaby
• “What’s Poppin” — Jack Harlow
• “The Bigger Picture” — Lil Baby
• “Savage” — Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé*

Best Melodic Rap Performance

• “Highest in the Room” — Travis Scott
• “Laugh Now Cry Later” — Drake & Lil Durk
• “Rockstar” — DaBaby & Roddy Ricch
• “Lockdown” — Anderson Paak*
• “The Box” — Roddy Ricch

Best Rap Song

• “The Box” — Rodrick Moore, Samuel Gloade (Roddy Ricch)
• “The Bigger Picture” — Dominique Jones, Rai’Shaun Williams, Noah Pettigrew (Lil Baby)
• “Laugh Now Cry Later” — Du”rk Banks, Rogét Chahayed, Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Ron LaTour & Ryan Martinez (Drake ft. Lil Durk)
• “Rockstar” — Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, Ross Joseph Portaro IV & Rodrick Moore (DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch)
• “Savage” — Beyoncé, Shawn Corey Carter, Brittany Hazzard, Derrick Milano, Terius Nash, Megan Pete, Bobby Session Jr., Jordan Kyle Lanier Thorpe & Anthony White (Megan thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé)*

Best Rap Album

• ALFREDO — Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
• BLACK HABITS — D Smoke
• A WRITTEN TESTIMONY — Jay Electronica
• KING’S DISEASE — Nas*
• THE ALLEGORY — Royce da 5'9"

Best Spoken Word Album

• ACID FOR THE CHILDREN: A MEMOIR — Flea
• ALEX TREBEK — THE ANSWER IS… — Ken Jennings
• BLOWOUT: CORRUPTED DEMOCRACY, ROGUE STATE RUSSIA, AND THE RICHEST, MOST DESTRUCTIVE INDUSTRY ON EARTH — Rachel Maddow
• CATCH AND KILL — Ronan Farrow*
• CHARLOTTE’S WEB — Meryl Streep

Best Comedy Album

• BLACK MITZVAH — Tiffany Haddish
• I LOVE EVERYTHING — Patton Oswalt*
• THE PALE TOURIST — Jim Gaffigan
• PAPER TIGER — Bill Burr
• 23 HOURS TO KILL — Jerry Seinfeld

Best Musical Theater Album

• AMÉLIE
• AMERICAN UTOPIA ON BROADWAY*
• JAGGED LITTLE PILL
• LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
• THE PRINCE OF EGYPT
• SOFT POWER

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media

• A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
• BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC*
• EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA
• FROZEN 2
• JOJO RABBIT

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media

• AD ASTRA
• BECOMING
• JOKER*
• 1917
• STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

Best Song Written for Visual Media

• “Beautiful Ghosts” — CATS
• “Carried Me with You” — ONWARD
• “Into the Unknown” — FROZEN 2
• “No Time to Die” — NO TIME TO DIE*
• “Stand Up” — HARRIET

Best Recording Package

• EVERYDAY LIFE — Coldplay*
• FUNERAL — Lil Wayne
• HEALER — Grouplove
• ON CIRCLES — Caspian
• VOLS. 11 & 12 — Desert Sessions

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

• Jack Antonoff*
• Dan Auerbach
• Dave Cobb
• Flying Lotus
• Andrew Watt

Best Music Video

• “Brown Skin Girl” — Beyoncé Knowles-Carter & Jenn Nkiru*
• “Life Is Good” — Julien Christian Lutz
• “Lockdown” — Dave Meyers
• “Adore You” — Dave Meyers
• “Goliath” — Yoann Lemoine

Best Music Film

• BEASTIE BOYS STORY
• BLACK IS KING*
• WE ARE FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME
• LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE
• THAT LITTLE OL’ BAND FROM TEXAS

Well, my success rate went down from last year. This 2021 Grammys saw me predict correctly 15 out of 31 times, or a 48 percent score; last year, I got a 60 percent. That’s a D instead of an F! Perhaps I should keep up with a more diverse field of (contemporary) music if I want to be guess correctly for a relatively arbitrary recognition of the “best in music!”