On Sunday night, the 56th Annual Grammy Awards will air on CBS. Yesterday we listed what we think the most compelling stories to come out of this year’s ceremony will be, and today we’re back with all of our predictions and proclamations.
Check out our picks for who will win, who should win and who got snubbed below, and join us again on Sunday at 8 p.m. EST as we live-blog the broadcast.
Record of the Year
“Get Lucky,” Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers
“Radioactive,” Imagine Dragons
“Royals,” Lorde
“Locked Out of Heaven,” Bruno Mars
“Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke featuring TI and Pharrell
Who Will Win: Daft Punk
Who Should Win: Daft Punk
Who Got Snubbed: “Q.U.E.E.N.,” Janelle Monae featuring Erykah Badu
Robin Thicke’s mega-hit might have out-partied “Get Lucky” in sheer saturation, but there’s no denying that Pharrell’s appearance with the chrome-domes is, without a doubt, the summer jam that reigns supreme in quality. Daft Punk and Pharrell’s not-so-subtle mission statement is slicked over by Nile Rodgers‘ virtuosic take on glossy rhythm guitars, forming an alliance we’d never imagine—but we’re perfectly happy listening to the outcome.—Tyler Kane
Album of the Year
The Blessed Unrest, Sara Bareilles
Random Access Memories, Daft Punk
good kid, m.A.A.d. city, Kendrick Lamar
The Heist, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Red, Taylor Swift
Who Will Win: Taylor Swift
Who Should Win: Daft Punk
Who Got Snubbed: Muchacho, Phosphorescent
Grammy voters love Taylor Swift—so much so that she already has 19 nominations and seven wins. That makes her the one to beat in this category, but here’s hoping Daft Punk can pull off a surprise victory for Random Access Memories and make history as the first dance album to be awarded Album of the Year since the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in 1979.
Song of the Year
“Just Give Me A Reason,” Pink featuring Nate Ruess (Jeff Bhasker, Pink & Nate Ruess, songwriters)
“Locked Out of Heaven,” Bruno Mars (Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine & Bruno Mars, songwriters)
“Roar,” Katy Perry (Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, Katy Perry & Henry Walter, songwriters)
“Royals,” Lorde (Joel Little & Ella Yelich O’Connor, songwriters)
“Same Love,” Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert (Ben Haggerty, Mary Lambert & Ryan Lewis, songwriters)
Who Will Win: Lorde
Who Should Win: Lorde
Who Got Snubbed: “Q.U.E.E.N.,” Janelle Monae featuring Erykah Badu
If we’re going to let outside factors affect discussion of “Royals,” can it be how the first woman to top the alternative chart in 17 years hasn’t even been alive that long, and it’s already outlasted Alanis’ “You Oughta Know,” which okay, was funnier. But the racism charges ignore the fact that while half her targets are rap signifiers (“Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece”), the other half are not (“trashin’ the hotel room” at least dates back to Van Halen, and there’s no star of any race that owns “islands, tigers on a gold leash”). Being teenage and a woman who speaks her mind, Lorde’s gonna be up to her curls in sexist double standards for years to come. Let’s remember this out-of-nowhere triumph from before she had a target on her back herself, a finger-snapping, simple singalong for people who simply haven’t seen a diamond in the flesh, and plenty who have.—Dan Weiss
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