Grammys 2020: Who will win Record of the Year and Song of the Year – Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X …?
With the eligibility period for Grammys 2020 ending on August 31, we’ve opened predictions for Record of the Year and Song of the Year with almost 100 hits from the past year to choose from. Make your forecasts right now here in our predictions center, and keep coming back to update your ballot as often as you like before nominations are announced on November 20. (Candidate lists are subject to change pending eligibility determinations.)
Last year our racetrack odds correctly predicted five out of the eight nominees for Record of the Year: “God’s Plan” by Drake; “I Like It” by Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin; “The Middle” by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey; “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper; and the ultimate winner, “This is America” by Childish Gambino. The three contenders that surprised us were “Rockstar” by Post Malone and 21 Savage, “All the Stars” by Kendrick Lamar and SZA, and “The Joke” by Brandi Carlile.
Predicting the Grammy nominations can be especially tricky since the final decisions are made by nomination review committees that often spread the wealth to multiple genres and like to include under-the-radar critical darlings among the inescapable chart-toppers. And it’s hard to know when committees will go all in on a popular artist or shun them. Just look at the general field snubs of Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande and Beyonce in recent years.
The music story of 2019 when it comes to individual songs is certainly the “Old Town Road” duet between Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for a record 19 weeks. The country/hip-hop hybrid was so big even the CMA Awards had to recognize it. But while gigantic hits like that are usually reserved a spot in the general field, they don’t always win. The last Hot 100 record-holders — “One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men and “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber — were both nominated for Record of the Year and lost.
Billie Eilish is another threat to win. She’s already our front-runner for Album of the Year based on the combined predictions of our users, and she could follow in Lorde‘s footsteps by earning Record and Song nominations for “Bad Guy.” Lorde was also a teenage alternative pop breakout; she won Song of the Year in 2014 for “Royals,” which at 17 made her the youngest songwriter ever to win that award. Eilish will be 18 by the time the 2020 Grammys roll around.
Taylor Swift could be another possible contender. She has been nominated for Record of the Year four times and Song of the Year three times, but she hasn’t won either category yet even though she has won Album of the Year twice (for “Fearless” and “1989”). This year she has multiple hits she could put up for consideration: “Me!” featuring Brendon Urie, her VMA-winning “You Need to Calm Down” and her romantic ballad “Lover,” the title track from her latest album, which is also eligible for consideration across the board.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Other possible nominees include Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Post Malone, Miley Cyrus, Shawn Mendes and many, many more. Make your initial predictions right now to let us know who you think the favorites are.
Be sure to make your Grammy predictions so that record executives and top name stars can see how their music is faring in our Grammy odds. Don’t be afraid to jump in now since you can keep changing your predictions until nominations are announced. And join in the fierce debate over the 2020 Grammys taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our music forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.