The Grammy nominations are just around the corner. Here are the potential winners

Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Eminem are expected to be among the nominees announced on November 8.

Mikael Wood
| Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles — Recording Academy music professionals were invited to this year’s Grammy season by an impassioned plea from CEO Harvey Mason Jr., who sent a letter to the group’s roughly 13,000 voting members in July urging them to “vote with intention, consciousness, pride and purpose.” We’ll see what effect his request has when the nominations for the 67th Grammy Awards are announced on November 8th. (The annual ceremony itself will take place on February 2 at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.) To be eligible for consideration. , entry must be released between September 16, 2023 and August 30, 2024.

Here are our nomination predictions for some of the most closely watched categories, with potential honorees listed in alphabetical order.

Album of the Year

Beyonce, “Cowboy Carter”

Sabrina Carpenter, “Short and Sweet”

Billie Eilish, “Hit Me Hard and Soft”

Ariana Grande, “Eternal Sunshine”

Post Malone, “F-1 Trillion”

Chappell Roan, The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess

Taylor Swift, “Department of Tortured Poets”

Usher, “Coming Home”

Possible surprise: Charlie XCX, “Brother.”

The Grammys’ equivalent of a “best picture” category almost certainly reflects this year’s bumper crop of albums from top pop stars, including Beyoncé (who has won more Grammys than anyone in history) and Taylor Swift (who named album of the year unsurpassed ). four times). Look out for Usher, who released his ninth solo album just days before headlining February’s Super Bowl halftime show—a tactic that paid off in Album of the Year when Usher’s old friend Mary J. Blige employed it in 2022.

Record of the year

Beyoncé, Texas Hold’em

Sabrina Carpenter, Espresso

Billie Eilish, Birds of the Same Feather

Hozier, “Too Sweet”

Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile”

Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us”

Chappell Roan: “Good luck, baby!”

Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone, “Fortnight”

Possible surprise: Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen, “I Had Some Help”

Based on cultural impact, Kendrick Lamar’s dissing “Not Like Us” should be considered a contender for record of the year, but with the Grammys, of course, anything hip-hop related is a big question mark. Expect Beyoncé to extend her lead as the artist with the most record-breaking nominations (this will be her ninth), and Bruno Mars to tie Frank Sinatra’s seven in the category. The nod for the hit “I Had Some Help” will mark Morgan Wallen’s first Grammy nomination (after the makers of his hit “Last Night” received one last year).

Song of the Year

“Birds of the Same Feather” written by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell (performed by Billie Eilish)

“Deeper Well” written by Ian Fitchuk, Kacey Musgraves and Daniel Tashian (performed by Kacey Musgraves)

“Die With a Smile” written by Dernst “D’Mille” Emile II, James Fauntleroy, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and Andrew Watt (performed by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars)

“Two Weeks” written by Jack Antonoff, Post Malone and Taylor Swift (performed by Taylor Swift)

“Good Luck Baby!” written by Daniel Nigro, Chappell Roane and Justin Tranter (performed by Chappell Roane)

“Texas Hold’em” written by Brian Bates, Beyoncé, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bulow, Nate Ferraro and Raphael Saadiq (performed by Beyoncé)

“Turn the Lights Back On” written by Arthur Bacon, Wayne Hector, Billy Joel and Freddie Wexler (performed by Billy Joel)

“We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” written by Ariana Grande, Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh (performed by Ariana Grande)

Possible surprise: “Beautiful Things” written by Benson Boone, Evan Blair and Jack LaFranza (played by Benson Boone).

At the last Grammy Awards, five of the eight singles nominated for Record of the Year were also in the running for Song of the Year. (The record prize goes to performers and producers, while the song goes to songwriters.) So look for plenty of matches here, as well as potential appearances from Kacey Musgraves’ majestic “Deeper Well” and Billy Joel’s much-hyped comeback song that might appeal to the same voters. which placed Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That” in this category in 2023. If Swift is nominated, it will be her eighth award, which she has never won.

Best New Artist

Benson Boone

Sabrina Carpenter

Megan Moroney

Tommy Richman

Chappell Roan

Shabuzi

Britney Spencer

Teddy swims

Possible surprise: the Hanseroth twins.

Could voters nominate three country artists (Megan Moroney, Shaboosie and Brittney Spencer) for best new artist for the first time? This result would be consistent with the sentiment Nashville has been experiencing over the last two years or so. However, anyone other than Sabrina Carpenter or Chappell Rohan appears to have little chance of actually winning the prize in February – unless two new superstars split the vote.

Best Pop Vocal Album

Sabrina Carpenter, “Short and Sweet”

Billie Eilish, “Hit Me Hard and Soft”

Ariana Grande, “Eternal Sunshine”

Chappell Roan, The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess

Taylor Swift, “Department of Tortured Poets”

Possible surprise: Dua Lipa, “Radical Optimism.”

To any man releasing a pop album in 2024: good luck, baby.

Best Rap Album

21 Savage, “American Dream”

Common and Pete Rock, “The Audience, Volume 1”

Eminem, “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace)”

Future and Metro Boomin: “We Don’t Trust You”

Nicki Minaj, “Pink Friday 2”

Possible surprise: Dodge the Cat, “Scarlet”.

The Eminem nod would be his eighth for the prize, which he has only lost once when Kanye West’s “Late Registration” beat out “Encore” in 2006.

Best Country Album

Beyonce, “Cowboy Carter”

Post Malone, “F-1 Trillion”

Willie Nelson, “Frontier”

Laney Wilson, “Whirlwind”

Chris Stapleton, “Higher”

Possible Surprise: Sturgill Simpson, Passage of Desire

The biggest question is whether “Cowboy Carter” will be nominated after Nashville Country Music Association insiders dropped Beyoncé from next month’s CMA Awards.

Best Rock Album

Pearl Jam, “Dark Matter”

Black Keys, “Ohio Players”

Green Day, “Saviors”

The Rolling Stones, “Hackney Diamonds”

Dolly Parton, “Rockstar”

Possible surprise: Tribunes, “Tribunes”.

She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two years ago. Now 78-year-old Dolly Parton is vying for her first Grammy nomination in the rock category. Keep an eye on Bleachers, the group led by longtime Grammy favorite Jack Antonoff, who has been named Producer of the Year at three straight ceremonies.

Best Alternative Music Album

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, “Wild God”

Brittany Howard, “What Now”

Mk.gee, “Two Stars and the Dream Police”

Saint Vincent, “All that are Born Cry”

Vampire Weekend, “Only God Was Above Us”

Possible surprise: Clairo, “Charm”.

“St. Vincent” and “Vampire Weekend” are vying for their fourth award nominations, having each won twice. But these veterans may face a threat from Mk.gee, the 28-year-old guitar genius who has the enthusiastic support of Eric Clapton, John Mayer and Justin Bieber, with whom he has been working in the studio lately.