The Grammy Awards 2016

So the Grammys this year is inexplicably on a monday which means I'm not going to be able to watch live. Nonetheless, I'll try to make predictions in the major categories.

Best New Artist
There's no Sam Smith in the category this year, which means it's really anyone's game. I'm going to pick James Bay, with Tori Kelly as a second choice.

Song of the Year
Taylor's Swift's Shake It Off qualified last year, and this year she has Blank Space, which is a much worse song though I am reluctant to bet against Taylor Swift at the Grammys (because they love to vote for her). Kendrick Lamar has eleven nominations, the most of any artist and his song Alright may pull off the win here though I don't love the song myself.  I'm going to pick Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud after he lost a few years ago for The A-Team (back then the nomination was surprise enough, but well deserved). This is a songwriting category, and Sheeran is one of the bets songwriters out there right now.

Record of the Year 
I'm going to pick Bruno Mars & Mark Ronson's infectious and highly-produced dance tune Uptown Funk. Otherwise they'll probably go for Taylor Swift.

Album of the Year
This could be a very interesting race. The favorites are Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar. Lamar's debut album was groundbreaking and if Grammy voters didn't vote for that one, they might not vote for him now either (or they'll attempt to rectify their past mistakes). And Grammy voters just love Taylor Swift for some reason. Chris Stapleton also released a very good album, and I don't even like country music. But I'm going to go out on a limb here and pick Alabama Shakes's fantastic album Sound and Color. Recent ceremonies have had a history of awarding Album of the Year to rockers (several upsets) Beck, Mumford and Sons, and Arcade Fire.

Update: I scored 2/4 missing on Best New Artist and Album of the Year. Best New Artist went to Meghan Trainor despite the fact that the James Bay/Tori Kelly's collaboration was one of the top performances of the night. And that she's not new (she was nominated last year?). Album went to Taylor Swift, who should apologize to Kendrick Lamar for ruining his night. Though he came away with five awards, he left empty-handed in the main categories. The best performances of the night: Lady Gaga's tribute to David Bowie, Kendrick Lamar, and Hamilton's first televised performance. Honorable mentions: Joey Alexander, BB King tribute and James Bay/Tori Kelly.