Contributors: Drew Howard & Harry Johnson
The Grammys are famously the most difficult mainstream award shows to predict, all the more reason why it’s also one of the most anticipated. With major past upsets like Beck winning “Album of the Year” over Beyoncé or Macklemore defeating Kendrick Lamar for “Best Rap Album,” music’s biggest night always throws in a curveball or two to much excitement.
The 2020 Grammys are looking to be no exception to this tradition. Thanks to stacked competition from the likes of Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Taylor Swift and more, there doesn’t appear to be one category this year whose winner is an absolute lock. With the ceremony only days away, Pop Crave is sizing up the competition in six of the biggest categories of the night. Continue reading for our predictions on who will win as well as who we think is most deserving below:
Album of the Year
- ‘i, i’ – Bon Iver
- ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell!’ – Lana Del Rey
- ‘WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?’ – Billie Eilish
- ‘thank u, next’ – Ariana Grande
- ‘I Used To Know Her’ – H.E.R.
- ‘7’ – Lil Nas X
- ‘Cuz I Love You’ – Lizzo
- ‘Father of the Bride’ – Vampire Weekend
Who will win: “Album of the Year” appears to be a wide open category with three frontrunners: ‘Cuz I Love You’ by Lizzo, ‘thank u, next’ by Ariana Grande and ‘When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?’ by Billie Eilish. All three projects saw commercial and critical success among a diverse enough fan base to win the popular vote here. With that said, we’re giving the slight edge to ‘WWAFA, WDWG?’ by Eilish, which would make her the youngest artist in history to win AOTY.
Of course, what kind of Grammys ceremony would it be without a major upset? If anyone can pull a surprise for the biggest award of the night, our bet is on ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell!’ by Lana Del Rey.
Who should win: We’re rooting for ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell!’ by Lana Del Rey, arguably the peak effort by one of the most influential alternative artists this decade. LDR will almost definitely be shut out of the Song of the Year category, meaning AOTY will be her only chance to take the podium this year. Plus, who wouldn’t want to see LDR win her first ever Grammy in any category for AOTY?
Record of the Year
- “Hey, Ma” – Bon Iver
- “bad guy” – Billie Eilish
- “7 rings” – Ariana Grande
- “Hard Place” – H.E.R.
- “Talk” – Khalid
- “Old Town Road” – Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus
- “Truth Hurts” – Lizzo
- “Sunflower” – Post Malone & Swae Lee
Who will win: Past winners of “Record of the Year” have often been the most defining and prominent songs of their respective years, so it only feels appropriate to give this title to “Old Town Road.” The genre-bending smash broke countless records and was inescapable for much of the year’s duration. Billie Eilish appears to be Lil Nas X’s biggest rival here with her acclaimed smash “bad guy,” but it feels like this is OTR’s award to lose.
Who should win: “Hard Place” by H.E.R. feels as though it is being criminally overlooked by many, with her smooth vocals and gorgeous melody making for a captivating listen from start to finish. She’s also had five general field nominations in the past two years, so to see her walk away without a win there just wouldn’t feel right.
Song of the Year
- “Always Remember Us This Way” – Lady Gaga
- “bad guy” – Billie Eilish
- “Bring My Flowers Now” – Tanya Tucker
- “Hard Place” – H.E.R.
- “Lover” – Taylor Swift
- “Norman Fucking Rockwell!” – Lana Del Rey
- “Someone You Loved” – Lewis Capaldi
- “Truth Hurts” – Lizzo
Who will win: For those unfamiliar, “Song of the Year” is separate from “Record of the Year” because it specifically celebrates the accomplishments of the songwriter(s). As the most nominated artist of the night, we think “Truth Hurts” has the best chance of taking home SOTY thanks to its cultural impact and Lizzo‘s endearing performance. Another very probable winner is “bad guy” by Billie Eilish, while “Lover” makes a strong case for the award considering it was written solely by Taylor Swift.
Who should win: We’ll go with “Truth Hurts” once again thanks to its impact on Summer 2019 and belated, breakout success. A Grammy win for Lizzo here would be undeniably well earned and yet another testament to the power of streaming.
Best New Artist
- Black Pumas
- Billie Eilish
- Lil Nas X
- Lizzo
- Maggie Rogers
- ROSALÍA
- Tank and the Bangas
- Yola
Who will win: There are really only two competitors here: Lizzo and Billie Eilish. Both completely different in sound and brand, Eilish and Lizzo find common ground in the fact that they’re beloved personalities outside of their critically-acclaimed music. We think Grammy voters will go for Eilish, though, considering that Lizzo‘s success was largely driven by music that many industry insiders were already familiar with back in 2017 and 2018.
Who should win: As the artist with the biggest Billboard 200 album of the year, the most streamed Spotify album of the year and the only song (“bad guy”) to dethrone Lil Nas X‘s “Old Town Road” after its 19 week run, Eilish dominated 2019 in a way that recalls the breakout years of Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. She’s undeniably the biggest new artist of the year in terms of numbers, and it doesn’t hurt that her debut album is one of the most forward-thinking mainstream pop albums in recent memory.
Best Pop Vocal Album
- ‘The Lion King: The Gift’ – Beyoncé
- ‘WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?’ – Billie Eilish
- ‘thank u, next’ – Ariana Grande
- ‘No. 6 Collaborations Project’ – Ed Sheeran
- ‘Lover’ – Taylor Swift
Who will win: This category most definitely feels like a face-off between Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish, and with them being big fans of each other, we’re sure they’d both prefer the other to win. Each album landed both commercial success and critical acclaim, making this one of the most difficult categories to pin down. We’re giving ‘thank u, next’ the edge here due to the strong support Grande appears to have from pop voters.
Who should win: : “thank u, next” felt like a defining moment for pop not just in 2019, but for the latter half of the 2010s decade too. Channeling heartbreak and pain into one of the year’s most acclaimed and biggest records is a testament to Grande’s talent and growth, and it only feels appropriate to reward it here. This would also make her the first artist to win the award in two consecutive years, as ‘Sweetener’ took home the prize at last year’s ceremony.
Best Pop Solo Performance
- “Spirit” – Beyoncé
- “bad guy” – Billie Eilish
- “7 rings” – Ariana Grande
- “Truth Hurts” – Lizzo
- “You Need To Calm Down” – Taylor Swift
Who will win: As much as we love Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, we’re considering them non-factors in the “Best Pop Solo Performance” category at this point. Once again, it’ll likely be a race between “Truth Hurts” and “bad guy” with “7 rings” by Ariana Grande playing the dark horse role. Possibly the toughest category of the night, we’re going to place our bets on “Truth Hurts.”
Who should win: Ariana Grande is one of the few artists capable of convincingly singing “The Sound of Music” in one verse and rapping over a killer trap beat in another on the same song. We’re giving the award to “7 rings” for Grande‘s vocal agility alone.
Share your Grammy predictions with us over on Twitter at @PopCrave!
