The Grammys are one of the most (if not the most) prestigious ceremonies for musicians to date. A Grammy is awarded by The Recording Academy’s voting membership to honor recording artists’ excellence and achievements. The award show first aired in 1958 and was originally known as the Gramophone Awards, hence the shape of the gold-plated trophies gifted to each musical artist.

 The 61st annual Grammy awards are scheduled to air on the tenth of February 2019, live from Santa Monica, California. Neil Portnow, president and CEO of The Recording Academy, is responsible for hosting the Grammys and has expressed his delight to celebrate songwriters, producers, engineers, mixers, and recording artists. Nominations were announced on the seventh of December for all eighty-four categories.

 Songs that were once deemed wondrous have failed to stand the test of time, and music listeners are wanting something new. Fans are expecting all new artists like R&B singer H.E.R. to win, who surfaced on Billboard Top 200 for the first time ever in 2018. Singers like Jorja Smith and Dua Lipa have had an immense growth in their supporters, verifying a promising race for the Best New Artist category. Fans of the recent cinematic masterpiece A Star is Born are heated about second time director Bradley Cooper’s film not being eligible for the running this year, but the soundtrack single “Shallow” is to still be considered for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

 Ten time Grammy winner Taylor Swift has been nominated yet again for Best Pop Vocal Album, but many anticipate her possibly being snubbed by Camila Cabello’s self-titled tracklist “Camila.”

 Ariana Grande has been Twitter’s unofficial woman of the year, constantly finding herself in the limelight. After a terrorist attack at her show in Manchester, Ariana hosted a fundraiser for the families affected. Not only was she struck with this tragedy, but ex-boyfriend and rapper Mac Miller passed away, and she then broke off her engagement with Pete Davidson. Ariana still made an effort to spread love in a time of grief with her musical artistry, releasing pop album “Sweetener,” and her single “thank u, next,” and it is her great perseverance and optimism that has had her elected for the Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album categories.

 Senior Abbie Stepnoski expressed her excitement for this year’s award ceremony: “I’m honestly just excited to see what everyone is wearing.” With the nominees finally being unveiled, there are plenty of surprises in each category and tight races sure to be impossible to call.