The music industry will present its highest awards on Sunday at the awards Grammywhere Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga will compete for the coveted album of the year award and the chance to make history. Trevor Noah will return to host the gala for the sixth time, in what he says will be his last time hosting the Grammys. In the United States, the show will be broadcast live on CBS and can be streamed on Paramount+ at 5:00 p.m. Los Angeles time.
Any of the three artists could take home the award for best album during the ceremony in Los Angeles, according to awards experts. None of them have ever won this awardwhich Beyoncé won last year for “Cowboy Carter.”
A close three-way competition
“It’s going to be very close,” Paul Grein, Billboard’s awards editor, said of the album category. Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican rapper who will headline the Super Bowl halftime show next month, competes with “I should have thrown more photos.” It would be the first Spanish-language album to win in this category since the Grammys began 68 years ago.
If Kendrick Lamar wins for “GNX,” he would be the first male solo rapper to win the award. Only two hip-hop musicians have been awarded in this category: female artist Lauryn Hill and the duo Outkast.
For pop singer Lady Gaga, the award for best album would be the first of her famous career. He has never won any of the four major Grammy Awards despite having been in the music industry for more than two decades. This year it competes with the album “Mayhem.”
Grein predicted the trophy would go to Lamar, who won five Grammys a year ago for the single “Not Like Us.”
Current events may boost support for Bad Bunny, Grein said.
Bad Bunny skipped concerts in the US for fear of raids
The singer skipped the continental United States on his recent concert tour, saying he feared federal agents tasked with enforcing President Donald Trump’s immigration policy would show up to arrest his fans.
Hosting the halftime show for the next Super Bowl, on Feb. 8, also raised objections from critics, who argued that the entertainment for the National Football League championship game should be in English.
“I think the culture wars work in his favor,” Grein said. “There are people who will vote for him in part — not just for this reason, but in part — as a rebuke to President Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.” Lamar and Gaga are represented by Universal Music Group. Bad Bunny has signed with Puerto Rican label Rimas Entertainment.
The Grammy winners will be chosen by the Recording Academy’s approximately 15,000 voting members, industry peers who include artists, songwriters, producers and engineers, whose ranks have been replenished over the past seven years to increase diversity. Around 1,000 Latin Grammy voters have gained the right to vote this year and 73% of members have joined as of 2019.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said the changes reflect the growing popularity of different types of music, such as “K-pop” and “afrobeat”, which now have fans all over the world.
“For us, the academy, we had to live up to it,” he said. “We have to make sure we are responsible and honor music regardless of where it comes from.”
“K-pop” will be represented in the song of the year category, an honor for songwriters. “Golden”, from the Netflix movie “The K-pop Warriors”will face “APT.”, a duet between the “K-pop” singer Rose and Bruno Mars.
“APT.” It will also compete for the album of the year award, given to performers and producers, against “Luther,” Lamar’s collaboration with SZA, and Gaga’s “Abracadabra.”
In the best new artist category, R&B and soul musician Leon Thomas is considered one of the favorites. He has received a total of six Grammy nominations, including album of the year for “Mutt.” Her competitors include British soul-pop singer Olivia Dean and pop singer Alex Warren.
Among the artists who will perform are Sabrina CarpenterAddison Rae and the eight nominees for best new artist. Producers have promised some surprise appearances among artists and presenters that have yet to be announced.
