What Can We Expect From 2021’s Grammy Awards?

So close to the deadline to submit your song to compete for the 2021’s Grammy Awards, – which ends with August – which artists are most likely to appear between the nominees for the main categories?

Billboard is an American entertainment and music magazine that publishes reviews, opinions and news about the music world; and it’s also responsible for some of the most important charts like Hot 100 and Billboard 200. Every year, based on a study of the charts, they release a list with the most likely artists to appear on the main categories of the Grammy’s – a.k.a. One of the most important music awards there is. So let’s take a look at who they are betting on.

Best New Artist

This category rewards new artists that are making a huge success out there, giving them proper credit and visibility for their work. It could also mean that a new artist, just starting in the music industry, can kick-off with a Grammy nominee and, maybe, the Gramophone Trophy in hands!

The bets are high for artists that went viral with a little help from the app TikTok. Doja Cat’s ‘Say So’ helped the 24-year-old rapper reach a high level of popularity with her album, Hot Pink.

And don’t be mistaken, she’s not the only one who had a little help from this social media. Megan Thee Stallion is wrecking the charts with her songs, earning collaborations with Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. The same goes for Tones and I with ‘Dance Monkey’ – that seems to be everywhere around the internet – and for Summer Walker with ‘Girls Need Love’, featuring Drake.

And as for the rest of the category, Billboard showed some other names that may not be as known by the mainstream industry as the artists already mentioned. But, their probabilities of appearing in this category are high. Some of the names are Ingrid Andress, Gabby Barrett, Rex Orange County and Conan Gray.

Do you know the difference between the categories ‘Song of The Year’ and ‘Record of The Year’?

Yes, there is a difference between two of their main categories. As the Academy explained, ‘Record of The Year’ is all about the recording of the song. So it basically recognizes the artists, producers and engineers who helped the song become what they are. Meanwhile, the ‘Song of The Year’ recognizes the composers and the songwriters of a song.

It’s important to know the difference to understand why different artists are nominated in those categories. Once they analyze various aspects, sometimes a song “isn’t good enough” to make it to both lists, even though some of them are lucky. So let’s take a look at Billboard’s bets.

Song of The Year

Many different artists appeared on this list, most of them with very different styles of music, but all of them well-established artists. Everybody’s favorite, Harry Styles, leads the race with ‘Adore You’, one of the fans’ favorites from his latest album Fine Line. Also on the run is Billie Eilish, the girl who won all the main 2020 Grammy Awards categories, will probably show her face on next year’s award with ‘everything i wanted’. Besides, bets on Post Malone are high this year, and his song ‘Circles’ could easily be nominated for SOTY.

Other great artists were mentioned with their lead singles from their new albums, such as the ex-couple, The Weeknd with Blinding Lights and Selena Gomez with Lose You To Love Me. Alicia Keys’ ‘Underdog’ and Dixie Chicks’ ‘Gaslighter’ are some other of Billboard’s bets.

Other songs like Bob Dylan’s ‘Murder Most Foul’; Travis Scott’s ‘Highest in the Room’; Future and Drake’s ‘Life Is Good’ and Megan Thee Stallion’s featuring Beyoncé ‘Savage Remix’ have a pretty great chance to appear in this category. Still, they will most likely appear in rap and rock categories.

Record of The Year

Even though we know ‘Song of the Year’ and ‘Record of the Year’ are two different categories, sometimes a song is so good it can appear in both categories. This happens with Billie Eilish, The Weeknd, Post Malone, Maren Morris, Harry Styles, Megan Thee Stallion with Beyoncé, Travis Scott and Future with Drake – who has two chances to appear in this category with ‘Life is Good’, and his latest single, ‘Toosie Slide’.

But of course, there are a few artists everyone is dying to see in the Grammy’s next year. Starting by Dua Lipa with Future Nostalgia’s first single, ‘Don’t Start Now’; A song that’s been stuck in everyone’s head ever since its release in 2019. And of course, a woman who’s loved by the Academy, has an Oscar, two Golden Globes and eleven Grammys, Lady Gaga. The bets are high because Billboard believes that both ‘Stupid Love’ and ‘Rain on Me’ could be nominated in this category. Doja Cat’s ‘Say So’ and Roddy Ricch’s ‘The Box’ could also appear as nominees for Record of The Year.

Album of The Year

And here it is! The most import category of the night and the last one to be announced. Winning this category means a lot to an artist, and there are many great albums on the race. Some artists were already mentioned in other categories but didn’t miss their opportunity to appear in this one.

Starting by Post Malone with Hollywood’s Bleeding, released in 2019. The album has many collaborations, including rock’s god Ozzy Osbourne. Harry Styles’ ‘Fine Line’, The Weeknd’s ‘After Hours’ and Dua Lipa’s ‘Future Nostalgia’ are the fans’ favorite for this category and could easily show their faces in the award next year.

Lady Gaga with her newest album ‘Chromatica’ and Taylor Swift’s ‘folklore’ are still being analyzed, but Billboard bets they’ll probably appear in minor categories like Best Pop Album.

Fiona Apple is killing it with her latest album ‘Fetch the Bolt Cutters’ after years on a break without being nominated to a Grammy. Also, the super group The Highwomen, with their self-titled debut album, could be nominated for the first time, even though two out of four members of the band are already Grammy winners. Luke Combs’ ‘What You See Is What You Get’ and Roddy Ricch’s ‘Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial’ also have great chances to run for AOTY.

Other albums were also quoted, but their chances are lower. Some of the names are Dixie Chicks’ ‘Gaslighter’, Lil Uzi Vert’s ‘Eternal Atake’, DaBaby’s ‘Kirk’, Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘Suga’ and Mac Miller’s posthumous album ‘Circles’.

It might take a while until we know if Billboard was right about their assumptions, but we can have fun imagining who we’ll see with a trophy on their hands on January 2021.

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The article above was edited by Laura Enchioglo. 

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