The 57th Annual Grammy Awards hosted by LL Cool J will air live from the Los Angeles Staples Center this Sunday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. EST on CBS. We've examined the biggest categories and have put in our two cents on who we think should win and who we think will win each award. Vote for your pick in the poll at the bottom of the page.
Category: Best Pop Solo Performance
Nominees:
"All of Me (Live)" by John Legend
"Chandelier" by Sia
"Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)" by Sam Smith
"Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift
"Happy (Live)" by Pharrell Williams
Who Should Win: "Chandelier" by Sia
Sia's "Chandelier" is one of those rare pop songs that instead of getting really old after a while actually stands the test of time. Every new performance seems to bring out more layers. It's a truly powerful song. The range of notes Sia hits and the texture of her sound blows the other nominees out of the water. This song is also up for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Music Video, but Sia shines especially bright in this performance category. You can hear the pain in her voice, you can feel her struggle.
Who Will Win: "Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)" by Sam Smith
Sam Smith is a Grammy favorite this year. Voters obviously love him or they wouldn't have nominated him six times. Because "Stay With Me" is also nominated in the Song of the Year and Record of the Year category, his chances of winning here seem pretty solid. Smith's vocal performance certainly tops Pharrell's on "Happy" and Swift's on "Shake It Off," even though both of those songs were catchy. The only other two performances that were as good or better than Smith's would be Legend's, and of course, Sia's. However, due to the fact that "All of Me" is really only in this category as a technicality because it didn't make an impact until after last year's awards, (hell, he actually performed the song at last year's Grammys), it's not as strong of a candidate as "Stay With Me," which became eligible without the need for a technicality.
Although we think Sia's vocal performance was much more impressive than Smith's, "Stay With Me" is still an amazing song. The chord progressions and melody might be similar to Tom Petty's "Don't Back Down," but Sam took that structure and ran with it. The vocal control he has mastered makes his singing sound effortless. Although he hates the comparison, he truly does match Adele vocally, and she has won the most awards in this category so far. A win for Smith would also mark the first time in the category's four years that a male won the award.
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