I usually don’t cover the Grammy nominations when they come out, mostly because I don’t care that much about the Grammys? The only people who really, really care about the Grammys are, like, Taylor Swift and Kanye West. Everybody else just treats the Grammys with a shrug. I mean, it must be nice to win a Grammy, but unlike the big film awards, being a Grammy-winning artist isn’t some huge deal, one way or the other. And much like the film industry, the Grammys have such a rotten history of not recognizing the contributions of artists of color, it’s easy to not take the Grammys seriously. So why care this year? Because the Grammys are setting up a showdown between Adele and Beyonce! You can see the full list of nominations here. Here are some of the big ones:
Song of the Year
Beyoncé, “Formation”
Adele, “Hello”
Mike Posner, “I Took a Pill in Ibiza”
Justin Bieber, “Love Yourself”
Lukas Graham, “7 Years”Record of the Year
Adele, “Hello”
Beyoncé, “Formation”
Lukas Graham, “7 Years”
Rihanna, “Work (feat. Drake)”
Twenty One Pilots, “Stressed Out”Album of the Year
Adele, 25
Beyoncé, Lemonade
Justin Bieber, Purpose
Drake, Views
Sturgill Simpson, A Sailor’s Guide to EarthBest New Artist
Kelsea Ballerini
The Chainsmokers
Chance the Rapper
Marin Morris
Anderson .PaakBest Pop Solo Performance
Adele, “Hello”
Beyoncé, “Hold Up”
Justin Bieber, “Love Yourself”
Kelly Clarkson, “Piece by Piece (Idol Version)”
Ariana Grande, “Dangerous Woman”
Best Pop Vocal Album
Adele, 25
Justin Bieber, Purpose
Ariana Grande, Dangerous Woman
Demi Lovato, Confident
Sia, This Is Acting
Interestingly enough, Beyonce scored more nominations than Adele, and Beyonce was nominated across the pop, rock, R&B and rap categories for various songs off Lemonade. Drake, Rihanna and Kanye West (for Life of Pablo) all scored eight nominations each. I pretty much think that in the biggest categories, it will be a head-to-head battle between Adele and Bey too. Lemonade is arguably the strongest album Beyonce has ever made, and Adele’s 25 is her huge “comeback” album after a four-year absence. It will be interesting to see how everything shakes out. Also: Beyonce and Adele are tight. They’re not BFFs, but they love and respect each other and they’re very friendly. I hope their fandoms don’t fight, because Adele is straight-up a card-carrying member of the Beyhive.
Oh, and “I Took A Pill in Ibiza” is a terrible f—king song. And who thinks The Chainsmokers will win Best New Artist?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I really hope Beyoncé wins. I like Adele, but I think Beyoncé set the world (or at least my life) on Fire with her album. Nearly a year later and I still listen to parts of it daily.
Same. I still play ‘Sorry’ all the time – really love that song.
I must confess I only bought 2 songs off Adele’s album so I can’t possibly comment on how deserving or not it is for the awards.
If you haven’t seen SNL’s version of Sorry, do check it out. Beyond hilarious!
SAME!
Love Adele but Bey deserves the W for this one.
I agree, I’m still listening to Lemonade daily. I only listened to Adele’s for maybe a month and forgot about it. Beyoncé deserves the win.
The fact that Bieber is in the running makes me want to puke…
I love Adele’s voice and snark, but Lemonade deserves ALL the awards.
And “22, A Million” for Best Alternative Album.
Is it too much to ask that Swifty stays away??? I’ve had enough of her for the past year.
Yes in terms of a complete body of work,Lemonade was fire. And clearly they are baiting Kanye and Swifty thus drama to come. Who gets nominated for 8 awards and doesn’t show up?
Yea I think they will end up splitting the top awards with Adele maybe grabbing for song and Beyoncé for album. At least that’s what I would like. I agree lemonade is a better overall album just with range and style that is offered. I’m a huge fan of both so I’m hoping both ladies bring home some awards.
I loathe the chainsmokers that is all.
anderson paak for best new artist!!! every album, mixtape or track he has touched this year has been nothing short of amazing! I can’t say enough good things
I don’t know much about the Grammy’s but was A Seat at the Table by Solange not eligible? I thought for sure she’d be nominated for something.
Album of the year always goes to some folksy act that no one even knew existed, I don’t know why they do that,they rarely give it to someone contemporary.
Didn’t Taylor Swift win it last year?
Taylor has won album of the year twice now. She is the only woman to do so, believe it or not. Adele has one too from 2012. So even though Beyonce and Adele jointly hold the world record for most Grammy wins in one night. Adele was given the top award, Beyonce had to settle for category awards.
Why? Well, I am in my forties and in my lifetime only three women of color have ever won album of the year, Whitney, Natalie Cole and Lauryn Hill. And as dominant as black artists are in the music market, all winners of the top award since 2005 have been white. Beyonce is both of color and a woman. She may loom large in the real world but that doesnt protect her from white snobbery and sexism. Queen Bey for the win!
I was shocked seeing justin Bieber in these categories, but then I remembered Taylor Swift won best album last year. The grammy’s are pretty worthless. I like Adele, but she was no where near Beyoncé this year. I hope Bey just sweeps all the categories. And yes, unfortunately the chainsmokers will def win new artist.
“The Grammy’s are pretty worthless”
Yup, it is like MTV VMA with fancier name.
Burn! I’ll have to file that one away and take credit for it sometime. 🙂
Lemonade is the first Beyonce album I actually like. I hope she wins.
And Adele has a great voice, but her songs are incredibly overrated. 25 was a collention of mediocre love ballads I personally don’t think deserve a nomination, let alone a win.
Half of these seem to be popularity nominations, not quality. Shame.
I also like Sturgill, and I wish there were more rock albums nominated for album of the year.
I feel Like Solange should gotten some nods, on the other hand God bless to see Chance and Anderson Paak getting shine, Paak in Particularly has been a BEAST all year ( ToRcH is such an amazing Joint!) also with no Frank Ocean or Solange Im Kinda Partial to Beyonce or Ye for all the things
Solange did, I think she got nominated in the R&B category.
solange definitely deserves to win over her sis in that category if they’re both nominated! Solange’s a seat at the table is some of the best work i’ve heard in a couple years and a total surprise
But Solange is probably unlikely to win though, what with Frank Ocean and The Weeknd releasing albums. Unless ofcourse, their albums don’t qualify.
It would be nice if she won it though, that was a monster effort of an album. I had never bought anything she had previously done until my sister told me to listen to ‘Cranes in the Sky’.
I mean, who knew she could sing??
i had read somewhere frank purposely took his name of grammy noms…idk whether there was any truth to that or not…cuz his album came out in time to be considered for grammy noms, so idk
but i thought Solange’s album was worlds apart from the new frank album (frank let me down with all his hype for a mediocre album)
It really deserves to be acknowledge as one of the best of the year, that sh*t is the only thing getting me and a Good chunk of my timelines through this year, I feel as though people like frank and her really spoke to the value of sitting down somewhere and working on something special, Common said recently ( rightly so) that Cranes in the sky is a song for the ages….. Also I wonder if Childish Gambino’s Awaken My Love will get nods next year… I’m not over the fact he released a Funk Album same year he did Atlanta!
I think Adele might get the Pop categories and maybe Song of the year, but Beyonce will win the Album of the Year.
That way, everybody wins….
Two unpopular opinions (on this site, at least) incoming: I thought Beyonce’s self-titled album was way better than Lemonade (although I appreciate the message) and I’m elated that Ariana Grande got nods for her stellar album Dangerous Woman. I’ll show myself out.
Nooo, come on Grant, you can stay. Sit……I also agree on the Bey comments!
I throroughly enjoyed Lemonade, but I agree that I liked her self titled album more. I listen to both all the time!
Wait which version of “I Took a Pill” the original or the remix? I could see why you hate the remix (personally I’m a fan), but I thought the original was kind of haunting and introspective.
I really hope Chance wins Best New Artist, because not only is he the best new artist, but he releases all his music in the form of mixtape/basically free and since the Grammys don’t recognize mixtapes as a music form he’s basically been snubbed for the past couple of years. So winning would basically validate his choice to not be overly commercial if that makes sense.
Album of the Year is tricky, because it all depends on whether the Grammys are celebrating popularity (a la 1989 winning last year) or art (Beck’s Morning Phase). Personally I think Lemonade, ticks both categories and is the strongest most cohesive album in the list, but I would not be surprised at all if the Grammys messed it up by going with something else.
I can see “Hello” winning song of the year
Coloring Book was probably my favorite album/mixtape to come out this year. It’s between Chance and Anderson for me but both deserve it .
I agree Lynnie, the original acoustic version of I Took a Pill is something else entirely different. Kaiser, I suggest you take a good listen to it. You get the chance of actually grasping the lyrics and realize just how much brilliant of a song it is.
I’m rooting for Adele. Just hope by Emmy time, if Kanye is well, he doesn’t go up and grab the Emmy from her and say Beyoncé had the best album of the year….oh wait he did that already…different award, different vocalist same Kanye…..just remembered he was having issues with Bey and Jay. Seriously folks Adele can sing, hope she brings it home; second choice: believe it or not, Drake.
Me too…I love Adele! I love Beyoncé too, but I just feel like Adele deserves it this year.
Genuinely curious. Why? Adele didnt stretch herself. Its the same sound, same subject matter despite what her PR tried to claim. I rooted fir her in 2012 but how is this album manifestly different from the last one?
I just enjoyed this album, there was something about it…I don’t know. Plus, I wasn’t a big fan of Lemonade. I’ll get screamed at here, but it was too much drama for me…trust me, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Beyoncé, she is amazing, but I was so tired of her during this stretch…it wore me out.
I think Adele is a far superior vocalist than Beyoncé. To me (I know this isn’t a popular opinion), all of Beyoncé’s songs sound alike. Bells and whistles as opposed to Adele’s near perfect voice and range. Guess it’s all about personal preference.
Beyoncé’s music sounds alike? Hold Up sounds like Freedom? Does Don’t Hurt Yourself sound like Daddy’s Lessons? Have you really listen to her album?
Please explain how Beyoncé’s music sound alike but Adele’s doesn’t?
Adele is not a superior vocalist technique wise. She isn’t anywhere near pefect and strains her voice to hit a lot of those ‘amazing’ notes. Also, I agree in that she didn’t stretch herself or her music at all. If this was 19 or 21 we were talking about, okay, I’d maybe say Adele. But 25 was by far her weakest effort.
You know everyone has an opinion here….”personal preference”….there’s no right or wrong.
I think Adele deserves this, because she writes or co-writes all of her own songs. Beyonce is great, but this is the exact reason she lost to Beck.
Song writing has never been a requirement for a best album win and if you go down the list of past winners, most were not song writers. Best album is like best picture at the Oscars. It assesses the entirety of the work, and therefore recognises not just the artist but the producers. She didnt lose to Beck over writing, she lost to Beck because the award is voted for by human beings with social and cultural backgrounds that guide their musical tastes. They let Muthafuckin’ Prince win a bunch of grammys in the RnB category but never a Best Album but gave it Taylor “aryan princess” Swift twice. And yes, Prince was a songwriter.
I just came on here to give you a high five Ramona!! You are 100% right in terms of how these Grammy’s work. I have to say if it’s between Beyonce and Adele, Beyonce’s record is far more deserving than Adele’s.
Prince was, in my opinion, the greatest, most prolific songwriter of all time. He was a musical genius.
*the greatest, most profilic ENGLISH SPEAKING songwriter of all time.
The people who wrote or co-wrote Beyonce’s songs deserve a Grammy, too, if their work is good. A win for a good album is a win for everyone who worked on it, not just the artist who heads it.
And Lemonade is a VERY good album.
She may win. I don’t know. I just know that was one of the reasons cited when she lost to Beck.
I love Beyonce. I adore Adele. Either of these ladies are deserving.
They do, all of the writers on any song get little grammy statues if they win. Everyone wins.
Hope Adele Snatches it All
Beyoncé deserves this. Adele already has an AOTY. Over the past 6 years Beyoncé has put out 3 amazing albums.
I kinda want Adele and Beyonce to lose in the AOTY category just for the meltdowns and the drama on the Internet
Same! XD *waiting for the flying stones directed her way*
lol best outcome for gossip and social media. But I do think pretty much everything will go to one or both.
I am a huge fan of both Adele and Beyoncé. Adele has the albums sales, no one can touch her there. But Lemonade was a phenomenon, much like Adele’s 21 was when it came out. You could make arguments for both winning AOTY, but the Lemonade is just too good. Every single song is incredible. Adele will win something at the Grammy’s, she deserves the recognition and the accolades. Lemonade should win best album, though.
I was never a Beyonce fan. Never. Not my taste at all.
And then Lemonade came out. And it’s f*cking art in every way. And it’s an album that people will be checking in 20, 30, 40 years. It’s that good, and the best bits are THAT new, THAT fresh, THAT impactful on the listener.
In sum: Give ’em all to Beyonce.
+ 1000
I think Lemonade is amazing and I think Adele’s album is also amazing BUT I love me some Sturgill Simpson and, while he may be the underdog and won’t win, I’m so proud of him for being in the same category as these women.
YES to Sturgill Simpson!!!
I like Adele but I’ve been listening to 25 at work (playlist made by management) and I didn’t realise that they were her new songs. They’re good songs but she didn’t push herself at all with this album, it got sales off the back of her 21 album (amazing).
I’m a huge Beyoncé fan and I was trying not to let my bias get in the way but I feel like Lemonade was better. It was good from start to finish with at least one song for everyone and not formulaic.
We’ll have to wait and see though but I wouldn’t be heart broken if Adele won
ANTI and Rihanna were robbed, probably because Rihanna didn’t play any games in marketing it. It’s oddly quietly been selling like gangbusters, producing singles, and getting critical acclaim. I think they’ll give her Record of the Year to make up for it.
Also, Adele and Beyonce really like and respect each other’s work, hope this isn’t spun into some catfight (of course it will be).
I agree with every word you said. Rihanna can do no wrong in my eyes. As far as the catfight, these women are pros, so no matter how they feel inside, they will be all smiles and cheering each other on.
Oh please Rihanna can’t hold a note without sounding like a goat being strangled.
Her and Taylor are two most mediocre singers out.
Quite a few people compare her voice to the goat. However, she broke Michael Jackson’s record for number 1 singles and is the third artist in music history of all recorded time for most number 1 singles. So one might say she does sell a lot of music for someone who gets ridiculed on a regular. She’s a strong woman and is probably laughing all the way to the bank!!! Taylor, yep, that one I agree with you, just horrible.
I’ll agree with you that Rihanna doesn’t have the best voice. But being a great artist is not always about vocal talent. Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson (as an adult), Lou Reed, and many other great artists don’t or didn’t have traditionally “good” voices, but brought something else very special to their vocals. I can’t think of a uncontroversially great female artist that has an uncontroversially mediocre voice. Not everyone would agree with me that Janet Jackson, Ronnie Spector and Britney Spears are great artists (but even fans of these artists, like me, typically concede their voices are mediocre), and I know some folks would fight me on the notion that Diana Ross and Stevie Nicks, both clearly great artists, have voices that aren’t traditionally strong. So let’s just say Rihanna is breaking new ground in this regard among female artists.
On the other hand, some critically panned artists, like Phil Collins and Billy Joel, have pretty great voices. (I love em both, but let’s not pretend that “the right people” think highly of their work.)
The fact that Purpose was nominated over ANTI proves what a joke the Grammys can be. Anti was interesting, different, had life. Purpose was a generic pop album with a few acoustic songs on it.
WORD.
ANTI to me is Album Of The Year.
As someone who loved, loved, ANTI. I couldn’t agree more.
I’m team Beyonce all the way this time. I love Adele, but I don’t think 25 stood up to Lemonade at all. Hell, I’ve been listening to Adele since 19, but 25 has to be my least favorite album of hers. It just felt like sappy ballads that were thrown together as opposed to an album with a message a la 21 and Lemonade. I could see Adele winning the performance award though.
can’t stand beyonce, but lemonade had some good songs. the problem with it, and beyonce in general, is that she just tries too hard. she makes me feel tense. adele is a diva, but she’s relaxed, down to earth, comfortable. with beyonce it’s all drama and too much fakeness, she’s ‘perfect’, but can’t feel her in her music or her videos at all.
Back in the day, Stevie Wonder and Elton John were going head to head. During Elton John’s acceptance speech he said, ” I would like to thank Stevie Wonder for not making a record this year”. Stevie Wonder was in the studio working on “Songs In The Key of Life”
This is one time Kanye is right. Beyoncé needs to win. She actually deserves to sweep everything. Lemonade was amazing. Is amazing.
Lukas Graham shld win Song of the year. This song vibrated my soul to the highest vibrations.
Stressed out by 21 pilots shld be record of the yr. Best song ever.
25 shld be album of the yr coz i overplayed river lee, hello and send my love, etc. Love tht album. Only liked and related to Hold Up and Daddy Lessons on the Beyonce Lemonade. Im a fan of both but i think made the better POP album. 4 is still my fave Bey album. If theres performer of the yr award, then Bey shld win it. But not album of the yr.
Best pop vocal shld go to Ariana. Shes actually becoming a force to reckon with.
Why is beyonce in the rock category? Her song is not rock and she sounds nothing like rock. Really Grammys?