2019 Grammy’s: Who Will Win vs. Who Should Win
Grammy season is upon us! With the awards show gearing up for February 10th, nominations for all 84 categories have been released, with some big and surprising names in the mix. Check out some of the nominations below, including who will win and who should win.
Record of the Year:
“I Like It”-Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin
“The Joke”-Brandi Carlile
“This Is America”- Childish Gambino
“God’s Plan”- Drake
“Shallow”-Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
“All The Stars”- Kendrick Lamar & SZA
“Rockstar”-Post Malone ft.21 Savage
“The Middle”- Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey
Photo: Cardi B, Instagram
Who Will Win:
This a close one: Cardi and Drake arguably had the song of the year with their respective singles. You couldn’t go anywhere without hearing either the heavily Spanish influenced track featuring reggeaton’s biggest stars, or Drake speaking on who he really loves (spoiler alert: only his bed and his mama). Based on the Grammy’s history of snubbing Drake and choosing surprise candidates for big categories, this award will most likely go to Belcardis, AKA Cardi B. After a year of straight wins, Cardi is a strong contender for taking home Record of the Year.
Who Should Win:
But just because Cardi’s song was everywhere does not mean it deserves Record of the Year. “I Like It” is fun, catchy and the tongue in cheek bars certainly entertain, but has it left a footprint on the culture? Childish Gambino’s “This Is America”, while extremely controversial, is unlike anything released in the past year. Combining the energetic beats of rap with dark, violent undertones, Childish Gambino captures the strange place our culture is currently at: a juxtaposition of the consumption of black culture in a society that does not protect them from senseless, racist violence. Talk about powerful.
Album of the Year:
Invasion of Privacy- Cardi B
By The Way, I Forgive You- Brandi Carlile
Scorpion- Drake
H.E.R.- H.E.R.
Beerbongs and Bentleys- Post Malone
Dirty Computer- Janelle Monae
Golden Hour- Kacey Musgroves
Black Panther- various artists
Photo: Janelle Monae, Instagram
Who Will Win:
While Post Malone had a considerable amount of success with Beerbongs and Bentleys, his album is very much what gentrified R&B sounds like. Cardi’s album was certainly great for a new artist; in fact, her emergence into the industry has to be one of the fastest and best come ups in recent years. However, while the album was solid and delivered consistent songs, it might be too generous to give her Album of the Year.
Drake’s Scorpion was underwhelming considering not only the hype, but the drama surrounding the album’s release. While it spawned one of Drake’s most popular songs (and endless videos on the Keke challenge), Scorpion isn’t fit to take home Album of the Year.
H.E.R., AKA Gabi Wilson, will most likely take home this award. Soft and dreamy, the album showcases not only amazing vocals, but some amazing songwriting. H.E.R., who up until June’s BET Awards remained anonymous, certainly has mastered the art of revealing more with less.
Who Should Win:
H.E.R. is a beautiful work of art that deserves recognition. A debut album this sultry, this smooth, this mysterious is definitely worth a Grammy.
Photo: H.E.R., Instagram
Song of the Year:
“All The Stars”- Kendrick Lamar & SZA
“Boo’d Up”-Ella Mai
“God’s Plan”- Drake
“In My Blood”- Shawn Mendes
“The Joke”- Brandi Carlile
“The Middle”- Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey
“Shallow”- Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
“This Is America”- Childish Gambino
Who Will Win:
God’s Plan is arguably too big, too popular to ignore. One of Drake’s great features is that the man knows what it takes to make a hit. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s insanely likeable. This one is a pretty clear win.
Who Should Win:
From the biggest movie soundtrack of the year, SZA and Kendrick Lamar’s All The Stars is a pretty good collaboration between the legendary rapper and breakout R&B star. The song, which throws SZA in a more pop-like beat, showcases exactly why we love SZA; her playful voice and style is in sync with the song.
However, the song sizes up pretty small against Ella Mai’s monster hit, Boo’d Up. A throwback to old R&B, Ella Mai made everyone sing along, harmonizing with the British singer on the highs of love. The song went everywhere fast, and was followed up with a strong debut album, Ella Mai. For an awards show that likes to give newcomers recognition and a spotlight, Ella Mai certainly deserves this award.
Photo: Ella May, Instagram
Best Rap Album:
Invasion of Privacy- Cardi B
Swimming- Mac Miller
Victory Lap- Nipsey Hussle
Daytona- Pusha T
ASTROWORLD- Travis Scott
Who Will Win:
This category is filled up with some good contenders, and then again, it’s not. Many have called out the Recording Academy for not nominating J. Cole, whose K.O.D. album received rave reviews from fans and critics alike, along considerable commercial success. Lil Wayne also failed to get a nomination for Tha Carter V, which included impressive hooks, clever bars and some incredible story telling (“Mona Lisa”, anyone?).
Cardi’s album deserves some recognition for being a solid debut album. There’s no doubt that it has solidified her place as a great artist, not a one-hit wonder, but it’s a little questionable if the album is of Grammy quality.
Nipsey Hussle’s debut album, Victory Lap, is a much stronger debut album. Chronicling his journey from a man on the block to an entrepreneur and indie rapper, Victory Lap is an ode to black wealth and black struggle. It is just a question if this will matter more to the Academy when they can potentially give Mac Miller a posthumous Grammy for Swimming, an almost Frank Ocean-esque album that slowly but surely unravels his thoughts about addiction and lost love. The album truly shows growth on Miller’s part, and is a great work, making this album much wiser and better than his older works.
However, it seems like Daytona has the strongest chance of winning. Daytona was a quality album, by far one of Pusha T’s best. It’s hardcore gangster rap on a Jay-Z level; Pusha has certainly learned to master his flow and razor-sharp lyrics. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to have a gifted producer like Kanye West working on the album.
Photo: Pusha T, Instagram
Who Should Win:
For pushing boundaries, maintaining popularity and appeal AND being incredibly unique in not only the production but collaborations, rap verses and overall album flow, ASTROWORLD deserves this Grammy. Travis Scott has truly produced not only one of the biggest albums of the year, but perhaps of our time.
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