The Grammys are tomorrow and there has been hours of ink spilled and keystrokes tapped about who may win and who should win. Today we predict the big four categories, including Song Of The Year, not to be confused with Record Of The Year. Song of the Year focuses on songwriting, which is why it has had winners like Luthar Vandross, Jesse Harris and Santana, instead of typical pop, chart-topping anthems. This year's batch of nominees is a mixed bag of pop hits and well-written songs as usual, but it will be close between Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar and the others from Ed Sheeran, Wiz Khalifa and Little Big Town.
Nominees:
Kendrick Lamar - Alright
Taylor Swift - Blank Space
Little Big Town - Girl Crush
Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth - See You Again
Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud
Who Should Win: Kendrick Lamar - Alright
This comes down to Taylor and Kendrick. Little Big Town would be a shocker. Ed Sheeran's x is just old at this point and "See You Again" is a good song, but not a great song in terms of writing.
1989 is a great pop album. Taylor Swift became a bonafide global pop star with the album and "Blank Space" helped propel her to those heights. The harsh, introspective love song probably will win this year, given her lobbying of the voters and it is hard to argue against this great pop song from a great album, written by some of the best right now, Max Martin and Shellback.
However when it comes to songwriting, Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" stands above the competition here. It dives into the issues facing poor, urban communities and in the end offers a hopeful message "We gon' be alright." It became much more than just a song, used for protest and became an anthem for the disenfranchised, which did eventually attract some commercial appeal.
Who Will Win: Taylor Swift - Blank Space
"See You Again" without the draw of Furious 7 would struggle as a stand-alone song compared to these other four. It helps, but does not get it over the hump.
If the voters want to shock everyone they will go with Little Big Town, but it doesn't seem likely.
Ed Sheeran just seems dated and boring at this point. Let's hope the voters feel the same way as well.
It comes down to Kendrick and Taylor. 1989 dominated the charts almost all year and the Max Martin & Shellback written "Blank Space" has led that charge. She knows how to work the system and has the right song to do so in "Blank Space," the masterfully written pop record about heartbreak by Martin, Shellback and Swift.
Kendrick is nominated for Song and Album of the Year not Record Of The Year, which is an important distinction. He could take home all of the rap awards, but his writing on "Alright" seems to have been recognized by the voters as excellent, so he could upset Taylor for Song of The Year in a category that doesn't always go exactly as predicted.
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