with David Hopper<\/p>\n
We\u2019re a few weeks away from the Chinese New Year kicking off the Year of the Horse, but in the United States, this Sunday may start the Year of the Bunny. Bad Bunny\u2019s appearance at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, in which he is nominated for six Grammys, including Album of the Year, comes just one week before he headlines the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show. A musician being a part of two major events in a row isn\u2019t unprecedented, but the cultural context surrounding it is.<\/p>\n
Bad Bunny\u2019s mere existence has turned into a surprising \u2013 and, quite frankly, exhausting \u2013 politically charged story. His decision not to do a U.S. tour because of the immigration crackdown has served as fodder for both sides of the political spectrum. The Puppy Bowl as halftime show competition is one thing, but when a political group schedules counter-programming with different musical artists, the whole ordeal takes on a life of its own. Unfortunately, this is what the culture wars have come to.<\/p>\n
The challenge for Bad Bunny (known to his mother as Benito Antonio Mart\u00ednez Ocasio), as it is for the other Grammy nominees, will be to speak to the current moment while entertaining the attendees at the ceremony and the millions watching at home. Let\u2019s hope they succeed on both fronts.<\/p>\n
And with that, David Hopper and I present to you our predictions for the three major Grammy categories: Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Album of the Year. [Editor\u2019s note: Song of the Year honors songwriting, whereas Record of the Year honors the recording of the song \u2013 the final product that we hear.]<\/p>\n
And the nominees for Song of the Year are\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cGolden\u201d \u2013 Huntrix (from the film KPop Demon Hunters)<\/p>\n
\u201cLuther\u201d \u2013 Kendrick Lamar & SZA<\/p>\n
\u201cDtMF\u201d \u2013 Bad Bunny<\/p>\n
\u201cAbracadabra\u201d \u2013 Lady Gaga<\/p>\n
\u201cAPT.\u201d \u2013 Ros\u00e9 & Bruno Mars<\/p>\n
\u201cAnxiety\u201d \u2013 Doechii<\/p>\n
\u201cManchild\u201d \u2013 Sabrina Carpenter<\/p>\n
\u201cWildflower\u201d \u2013 Billie Eilish<\/p>\n
Alex Beene: This is where you have to love the Recording Academy more than some of the other stiffs in various voting bodies across industries. Whereas the Oscars have been slow to embrace more popular, mainstream cinematic offerings, the Grammys have had no such hesitation diving all-in on the latest trend. I fully expect \u201cGolden,\u201d the runaway hit from the popular Netflix film KPop Demon Hunters, to take this.<\/p>\n
A surprise hit among young and old listeners alike, it seized the moment in its streaming debut this summer before seeing a resurgence when the film received a theatrical release this fall. Still, there could be room for an upset here if the Academy gets sweep-happy with Bad Bunny or Kendrick Lamar\u2019s releases. \u201cLuther\u201d or \u201cDtMF\u201d could pull an upset, but I just don\u2019t see it.<\/p>\n
Alex\u2019s Prediction:\u00a0\u201cGolden\u201d<\/p>\n
David Hopper: \u201cGolden\u201d was a massive hit, spending eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. In today\u2019s fragmented media landscape, it is exceedingly difficult for a song to appeal to multiple generations and permeate society at the level of the bygone monoculture. But \u201cGolden\u201d succeeded \u2013 that tune was everywhere. Being featured in the most-watched movie in Netflix history most certainly helped.<\/p>\n
While \u201cGolden\u201d is an infectious pop song, I think its success hinged more on the vocal performance and production than the lyricism. That\u2019s why it would be my pick for Record of the Year instead of Song of the Year, which recognizes the songwriter. But, alas, \u201cGolden\u201d was snubbed for Record of the Year.<\/p>\n
For Song of the Year, I\u2019m going with Sabrina Carpenter\u2019s country-tinged synth-pop bop \u201cManchild,\u201d which disses immature and incompetent men. Double entendres and clever wordplay are Carpenter\u2019s stock-in-trade, and \u201cManchild\u201d has them in spades.<\/p>\n
David\u2019s Prediction: \u201cManchild\u201d<\/p>\n
And the nominees for Record of the Year are\u2026 <\/p>\n
\u201cLuther\u201d \u2013 Kendrick Lamar & SZA<\/p>\n
\u201cAPT.\u201d \u2013 Ros\u00e9 & Bruno Mars<\/p>\n
\u201cAbracadabra\u201d \u2013 Lady Gaga<\/p>\n
\u201cWildflower\u201d \u2013 Billie Eilish<\/p>\n
\u201cDtMF\u201d \u2013 Bad Bunny<\/p>\n
\u201cManchild\u201d \u2013 Sabrina Carpenter<\/p>\n
\u201cAnxiety\u201d \u2013 Doechii<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Subway\u201d \u2013 Chappell Roan<\/p>\n
Alex: Whereas 2026 could be the Year of the Bunny, 2025 was the Year of Kendrick Lamar. He took a victory lap from his feud with Drake. Reminiscent of a football team claiming its first national title, it stretched from the most-watched Super Bowl Halftime Show ever to a record-breaking summer stadium tour.<\/p>\n
I think this is the category where the Recording Academy gives Lamar and SZA their flowers, as \u201cLuther\u201d was widely viewed as some of their best work and one of last year\u2019s finest releases. If there\u2019s a dark horse in this category, it\u2019s Ros\u00e9 & Bruno Mars\u2019s \u201cAPT.\u201d Mars has long been a favorite of Grammy voters, with his solo tracks and collaborations frequently walking away with multiple wins.<\/p>\n
Alex\u2019s Prediction:\u00a0\u201cLuther\u201d<\/p>\n
David: Last year was indeed Lamar\u2019s year, and let\u2019s not forget the rapper took home Grammys for both Song and Record of the Year. I agree that \u201cLuther\u201d is a terrific record, and you can\u2019t deny its remarkable 13-week run at the top of the Hot 100. I love how it samples Luther Vandross\u2019s classic ballad \u201cIf This World Were Mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even though \u201cLuther,\u201d \u201cSquabble Up,\u201d and \u201cTV Off\u201d were huge hits, I don\u2019t get the sense that Lamar is a shoo-in like he was at the 2025 Grammys. Perhaps it\u2019s partly because publicity over his beef with Drake has cooled down. That said, I\u2019m thinking one of the pop stars take Record of the Year this time.<\/p>\n
Chappell Roan\u2019s \u201cSubway\u201d and Billie Eilish\u2019s \u201cWildflower\u201d both contain gorgeous vocals and top-notch production. I\u2019m thinking Eilish wins because she has a proven track record \u2013 nine Grammy wins and 34 nominations in a mere six years. The voters obviously love her, so I see history repeating itself.<\/p>\n
David\u2019s Prediction: \u201cWildflower\u201d<\/p>\n
And the nominees for Album of the Year are\u2026<\/p>\n
Deb\u00ed Tirar M\u00e1s Fotos \u2013 Bad Bunny<\/p>\n
Let God Sort Em Out \u2013 Clipse<\/p>\n
Swag \u2013 Justin Bieber<\/p>\n
GNX \u2013 Kendrick Lamar<\/p>\n
Mayhem \u2013 Lady Gaga<\/p>\n
Mutt \u2013 Leon Thomas<\/p>\n
Man\u2019s Best Friend \u2013 Sabrina Carpenter<\/p>\n
Chromakopia \u2013 Tyler, The Creator<\/p>\n
Alex: This is where our article earns its title. Upon the announcement of this year\u2019s nominations, the question was never\u00a0if\u00a0Bad Bunny was going to win a Grammy, but rather\u00a0how many\u00a0he would claim.\u00a0Deb\u00ed Tirar M\u00e1s Fotos\u00a0has this in the bag.<\/p>\n
Some will undoubtedly claim the win comes because the Recording Academy is trying to make a statement, and certainly a handful of votes could be swayed by that thinking. However, that argument overlooks the real reason it should win \u2013 it\u2019s an amazing album that showcases Benito\u2019s ability to blend genres into memorable tracks while also crafting a beautiful love letter to his native land (Puerto Rico). I give\u00a0GNX\u00a0a minor chance to upset here, but not much of one.<\/p>\n
Alex\u2019s Prediction:\u00a0Deb\u00ed Tirar M\u00e1s Fotos<\/p>\n
David: Bad Bunny is indeed the favorite. Deb\u00ed Tirar M\u00e1s Fotos is a terrific record for all the reasons Alex mentioned, and it would be a commendable milestone if an all-Spanish-language album won Album of the Year for the first time ever. But I predict that Lady Gaga plays spoiler in this category. Mayhem is her strongest album since she burst onto the scene with Fame nearly 20 years ago.<\/p>\n
After an eclectic run of albums that saw her dabble in rock, country, and vocal jazz, Gaga returned to the music she made her bones with \u2013 tantalizing, club-ready electropop. Not only is Mayhem her most fun and danceable LP in years, but it\u2019s also sonically ambitious. She makes some interesting production choices, bringing in industrial sounds with the help of Andrew Watt and Cirkut.<\/p>\n
Another important point: Gaga has never won a Grammy for Album of the Year. We all know how much the Recording Academy loves to award overdue artists (We saw it just last year with Beyonc\u00e9 finally clutching an Album of the Year statuette for Cowboy Carter, a solid album, but definitely not her best).<\/p>\n
To the Little Monsters reading this, I think your girl might just pull off the upset. Further, \u201cAbracadabra\u201d is such a well-crafted banger that I think Gaga is a live dog in the other two categories as well. So, could this be the Year of the Gaga?<\/p>\n
David\u2019s Prediction: Mayhem<\/p>\n
Tune in to CBS or Paramount+ this Sunday at 8 pm ET (5 pm PT) to find out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"with David Hopper We\u2019re a few weeks away from the Chinese New Year kicking off the Year of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270527,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[93,61,60,278],"class_list":{"0":"post-270526","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}