The Grammys do not always align with music fans on who they believe should win each category, but somehow, everyone is always eager to tune in every year. Due to COVID, the Grammys are not airing until April 3rd, over two months after their original date, but that just raises the anticipation. The nominations list is finally out, so stay tuned to see Gossip Girl’s predictions for who will take home the Grammy for the biggest categories!

  The first category in the general field is Record Of The Year. This differentiates itself from Song Of The Year because it recognizes the specific recording from the artist and also awards the producers and engineers on the specific song. This year’s nominations include:

• • “I Still Have Faith In You” – ABBA
  • “Freedom” – John Batiste
  • “I get a Kick Out Of You” – Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga
  • “Peaches” – Justin Bieber ft. Giveon & Daniel Caesar 
  • “Right On Time” – Brandi Carlile 
  • “Kiss Me More” – Doja Cat ft. SZA
  • “Happier Than Ever” – Billie Eilish
  • “Montero ( Call Me By Your Name )” – Lil Nas X
  • “drivers license” – Olivia Rodrigo 

• “Leave The Door Open” – Silk Sonic

  Obviously, there are a lot of top hits on this list, from recent emerging artists such as Olivia Rodrigo to classics like Tony Bennett. Justin Bieber will receive praise from loyal fans no matter what he releases. “Peaches” is a catchy tune, however, it does not set itself apart from any other single he has released and does not stand out significantly from the other songs on the project. When considering the production and the song itself, the top contenders would be “drivers license”, “Happier Than Ever”, and “Leave the Door Open”. “drivers license” is Rodrigo’s stand-out single, which displays her creativity as an artist and potential for her career in the future. “Happier Than Ever” is yet again another display of the genius collaboration that is Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas. To finish off the top contenders, Silk Sonic was a HIT since “Leave the Door Open” was released, and the seventies and soul inspired collaboration between Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak had young fans reminiscing on a decade that was before their time. Because of its No.1 position on the Billboard charts and the dazzling new-old sound that the duo brought back, I think Silk Sonic will take home the Grammy. 

  Album Of The Year is one of the most anticipated awards of the entire program. This award is given to the artists, songwriters, producers, featured artists, recording engineers, and mixers. The nominees are: 

• • We are – John Batiste
  • Love For Sale – Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga
  • Justice – Justin Bieber
  • Planet Her – Doja Cat 
  • Happier Than Ever – Billie Eilish
  • Back Of My Mind – H.E.R

• Montero – Lil Nas X

• Sour – Olivia Rodrigo
• Evermore – Taylor Swift 
• Donda – Kanye West 

  This year’s nominees are just from the biggest artists, not necessarily the best albums. In my humble opinion, I think the Grammy council will be choosing between Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, and Swift. Honestly this year’s nominations are not that exciting. Although Evermore has the best songwriting, it is not Swift’s biggest album and might get pushed under the rug. Donda is a very bloated album, and considering his recent controversy, it is unlikely he will be taking home a Grammy in this category. It is likely that Montero will take the Grammy for this category, considering its more new and innovative sound that has taken over TikTok in the past years. There is also a possibility of Sour or Happier than Ever winning due to their huge success on the charts, as Billie was last year’s Coachella headliner.

  Song Of The Year is an award that is given to the songwriters, so for this category, the prediction will be based off of which song has the best writing and lyrics all-around. (Full song writing credits are available on the Grammy website but the artist’s name will be listed here for convenience.)  The songs are:

• “Bad Habits” – Ed Sheeran
• “A Beautiful Noise” – Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile 
• “drivers license” – Olivia Rodrigo
• “Fight For You” – H.E.R
• “Happier Than Ever” – Billie Eilish
• “Kiss Me More” – Doja Cat ft. SZA
• “Leave The Door Open” – Silk Sonic
• “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” – Lil Nas X 
• “Peaches” – Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar and Giveon
• “Right on Time” – Brandi Carlile 

Some of these songs respectfully do not belong on this list. “Kiss Me More”, “Leave the Door Open”, “Peaches”, and “Montero” are not inherently bad songs, but they are just fun pop songs to listen to on the radio. If this award is about songwriting, a song like “Kiss Me More” that is full of expletives about a summer fling should not be the one to win. The other nominees all share at least decent songwriting and have lyrical appeal. H.E.R took home the win in this category last year, so there is a chance that she will win, but “A Beautiful Noise” has inspiring and passionate lyrics; “We can, we can rage. Against the river, feel the pain of another, I have a voice.” Keys and Carlile are not the most popular choice, but hopefully their lyricism and passion will help them secure the win. 

  The last major category is Best New Artist, and this was the easiest choice by a landslide. Here’s the list of nominees:

• Arooj Aftab
• Jimmie Allen
• Baby Keem
• FINNEAS
• Glass Animals 
• Japanese Breakfast 
• The Kid LAROI
• Arlo Parks
• Olivia Rodrigo 
• Saweetie 

  Surprisingly, this category has some amazing picks. FINNEAS, Japanese Breakfast, Baby Keem, and Olivia Rodrigo all put out outstanding albums in the past year, and artists like Saweetie and Kid LAROI have had great success as of late. They even included smaller artists like Aroof Aftab. The Grammys are notorious for not putting new artists in this category, example: Japanese Breakfast, Glass Animals, and Arlo Parks. I do give credit for the diverse and exciting picks for this year’s category though. As much as I loved Japanese Breakfast’s new record, the obvious answer is Olivia Rodrigo. From her High School Musical the Musical the Series fame and quick success in her recent album, Rodrigo has taken the world by storm. 

  As the Grammys quickly approach, artists and fans alike are getting ready to see who will take home the awards from their respective categories. Hopefully, fans will be pleasantly surprised this year. Kanye West has been taken off the performance list, but we can still expect performances by Olivia Rodrigo, BTS, Billie Eilish, Jack Harlow, and more.