Grammys R&B contenders: More wins for SZA? Breakthrough for Normani and Tinashe?

The R&B field at the Grammys is often one of the best, with a great balance of acclaimed industry favorites and urban radio chart-toppers. While this eligibility period has been a little slow in comparison to other years for the genre, there are still a lot of artists looking to score noms, including returning champs and 2024 breakouts.

Last year’s big R&B winner was SZA, who took home two awards in the field for her hit “SOS” era. This year the singer-songwriter is back with her hit “Saturn,” which topped multiple radio formats. The track is quite introspective and will probably be liked by most voters, especially those who are still on a SZA high.

That said, SZA will face competition from two previous winners. The first is Muni Long, who scored a big hit this year with “Made For Me.” The song achieved TikTok virality and peaked in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, a run similar to her previous Grammy-winning song “Hrs and Hrs.” While the original version of “Made For Me” isn’t eligible due to being submitted last year, Long will likely submit its live version, which itself went viral, or the remix duet with Mariah Carey.

The other returning winner for SZA to worry about is Coco Jones, who just won Best R&B Performance for “ICU.” This year she’s back with “Here We Go (Uh Oh),” which has been climbing up the R&B radio charts. While the track isn’t necessarily as mainstream as “Saturn” or “Made For Me,” it is quite traditional and will surely peak quite high on adult R&B radio, and the lasting Jones hype could end up helping it too.

Some artists are looking for their first nominations. Another hit with a lot of buzz this year is Tinashe’s “Nasty,” which could end up the being the biggest R&B hit in contention if it keeps rising. The song has spread like wildfire on TikTok and has so far peaked in the top 60 of the Hot 100, with still a lot of room to grow. It would be wild if “Nasty” doesn’t become a big radio hit, boasting easily one of the stickiest hooks of the year. So if the song ends up peaking at just the right time during nomination voting, then you might want to add it to your predictions.

Another artist who isn’t new but might get her big break is Normani. The singer recently released her debut solo album, “Dopamine,” which features the budding hits “Candy Paint” and “1:59.” While she isn’t necessarily a major commercial performer, she may have enough industry love to get in.

One of the highest-profile eligible names is definitely Usher, with his album “Coming Home.” He has had quite the renaissance in the past few months, scoring his first top-25 hit in years on the Hot 100 with “Good Good,” featuring 21 Savage and Summer Walker. While that song failed to get nominated at the Grammys last year, it gave the R&B legend a second wind of popularity, which was further aided by his acclaimed performance at this year’s Super Bowl. This new album was a success, debuting at number-two on the Billboard 200 and receiving positive reviews. As such, you might expect Usher to be ahead for a Best R&B Album win, especially with previous victories for multiple albums in the past. As for his songs, Usher’s team might push “Ruin It All,” which features Grammy fave H.E.R., or the newest single “Kissing Strangers.”

Some contenders might face category confusion, but could end up in R&B. Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” is undeniably not an R&B record, but a song like “II Hands II Heaven” is likely to be submitted in this field. Similarly, while Kaytranada is mainly an electronic producer, the R&B sensibilities of his new album “Timeless” could place the album or some of its songs in the R&B field. PJ Morton’s “Cape Town to Cairo” is R&B at its core, but it’s so inspired and influenced by global music, particularly African music, that one has to wonder if it’ll be shifted to Best Global Music Album.

Similarly, Chris Brown’s hit “Sensational,” featuring Lojay and Davido, could end up either in the global or R&B field. There’s also Jacob Collier, who has been submitted and nominated in the field before, and who released his latest album “Djesse Vol. 4” this year. While it includes R&B songs, it might not qualify as an R&B album as a whole. Still, expect his viral cover of “Bridge over Troubled Water,” featuring John Legend and Tori Kelly, to be a contender, or perhaps “Wherever I Go,” featuring Michael McDonald and Lawrence, or “Cinnamon Crush,” featuring Lindsey Lomis. Last but not least, Ariana Grande’s “The Boy Is Mine (Remix)” featuring Brandy and Monica could be Grande’s first foray into the R&B field, similar to how Justin Bieber broke into the genre a few years ago with “Peaches.”

To top things off, there are a few namechecks of Grammy favorites you might expect. For Best Progressive R&B Album, we might see records from Terrace Martin and Alex Isley (“I Left My Heart In Ladera”) and Hiatus Kaiyote (“Love Heart Cheat Code”). For Best R&B Album, it’s likely that both Chris Brown (“11:11”) and Ledisi (“Good Life”) make it in too.

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