With many new thrilling songs and albums produced in 2022-2023, the 66th Annual Grammy Awards will be a momentous evening. The Grammy’s are a music industry’s most prestigious award show and recognizes the shining artists and producers from the previous year.

Here are my predictions for the upcoming evening.

Record of the Year: This category recognizes the artists and producers that contribute to the making of a song.

Nominations: “Worship,” Jon Batiste; “Not Strong Enough,” boygenius; “Flowers,” Miley Cyrus; “What Was I Made For?,” Billie Eilish; “On My Mama,” Victoria Monét; “Vampire,” Olivia Rodrigo; “Anti-Hero,” Taylor Swift; “Kill Bill,” SZA

My Projected Winner: “Flowers,” Miley Cyrus

Taylor Swift’s single off her newest album “Midnights” captures both vocals and production resulting in one of the biggest songs of the year. With six nominations it is almost a given that Swift will win at least one award at the Grammy’s this year and Record of the Year is the most promising category. However “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus is my favorite to win this award because of the up beat sound making it one of the best released singles of the year. If Cyrus were to win the award for Record of the Year it would be her first ever Grammy win in her 12 year long career. 

Song of the Year: Referred to as the songwriter’s award, this category recognizes the lyrics of a song.

Nominations: “A&W,” Jack Antonoff, Lana Del Rey and Sam Dew; “Anti-Hero,” Jack Antonoff and Taylor Swift; “Butterfly,” Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson; “Dance The Night,” Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt; “Flowers,” Miley Cyrus, Gregory Aldae Hein and Michael Pollack; “Kill Bill,” Rob Bisel, Carter Lang and Solána Rowe; “Vampire,” Daniel Nigro and Olivia Rodrigo; “What Was I Made For?,” Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell

My Projected Winner: “What Was I Made For?,” Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell

Siblings Billie Eilish and Finneas wrote a nostalgic song for one of the biggest movies of the year, “Barbie”. “What Was I Made For?” represents a loss of innocence and a struggle with self-discovery and incorporates compelling lyrics that effectively fits within the theme of the movie. The realness and finely executed delivery of the song is what makes it my favorite to win the category. 

Best New Artist: This category awards the best up and coming artists of any genre and has been around since the second Annual Grammy Awards in 1960.

Nominations: Gracie Abrams; Fred again..; Ice Spice; Jelly Roll; Coco Jones; Noah Kahan; Victoria Monét; The War And Treaty

My Projected Winner: Ice Spice

Ice Spice has had one of the biggest years for a new artist. Her unique appearance and relatable personality quickly went viral after her song “Munch (Feelin’ U)” took over TikTok in 2022. One of Ice Spice most popular songs was a feature with PinkPantheress in “Boys a Liar Pt. 2”, which caught the attention of other major artists including Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift. Even though Ice Spice might not be the most vocally talented artist to be nominated for this category this year, due to the success and fame that she obtained she is my pick for Best New Artist. 

Best Pop Solo Performance: Awards the best solo pop performances in both vocal and instrumental categories. 

Nominations: “Flowers,” Miley Cyrus; “Paint The Town Red,” Doja Cat; “What Was I Made For?,” Billie Eilish; “Vampire,” Olivia Rodrigo; “Anti-Hero,” Taylor Swift

My Projected Winner: “Vampire,” Olivia Rodrigo

After I first listened to “Vampire” I was amazed by the level of talent that Olivia Rodrigo revealed. She has an ability to build up to the chorus so elegantly. The transition from the slow piano during the chorus to the rapid pounding beat that played right before the bridge was unique, making the song more climactic. While “Flowers” is another song that I can see winning this award, the vocals from Rodrigo gives “Vampire” a more competitive edge.

Best R&B Song: Awards the best rhythm and blues song of the year. Previous winners include Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, and H.E.R.

Nominations: “ICU,” Coco Jones; “Angel,” Halle; “Back to Love,” Robert Glasper, Sir and Alex Isley; “Snooze,” SZA; “On My Mama,” Victoria Monét

My Projected Winner: “ICU,” Coco Jones

Another talented up and coming artist is nominated for a big award but this time my projected winner is Coco Jones with “ICU.” Jones has a very powerful voice that can move up and down the octave with ease. “ICU” is an underrated song that will not be overlooked by the recording academy.

Best Rap Album: Officially added in 1996, this category awards the best quality rap album of the year.

Nominations: “Her Loss,” Drake and 21 Savage; “Michael,” Killer Mike; “Heroes & Villains,” Metro Boomin; “King’s Disease Ⅲ,” Nas; “Utopia,” Travis Scott

My Projected Winner: “Utopia,” Travis Scott

The most stacked genre specific category at the Grammy’s is Best Rap Album. With many generational rappers and producers all up for the same award, it automatically solidifies controversy to ensue once the winner is announced. However, after narrowing it down to my top two rap albums this year being “Heroes & Villains” by producer Metro Boomin and “Utopia” by rapper and producer Travis Scott, my projected winner is Travis Scott. Once released in late July of 2023, the album,”Utopia,” was met with a lot of praise with many referring to it as one of Scott’s best albums. The 19 track album consists of dominant records including “My Eyes” that utilizes strong descriptive language into the lyrics to records like “God’s Country” that display Scott’s incredible rapping ability. 

Best Country Song: This category awards the best country song of the year and is typically only given to the songwriter(s).

Nominations: “Buried,” Brandy Clark; “White Horse,” Chris Stapleton; “Last Night,” Morgan Wallen; “In Your Love,” Tyler Childers; “I Remember Everything,” Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves

My Projected Winner: “Last Night,” Morgan Wallen

Arguably the most popular song of the year, “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 1 and stayed there for 16 non-consecutive weeks. The record breaking single was off of Wallen’s latest album, “One Thing at a Time” which contained a total of 36 songs. Wallen winning the award for Best Country Song is expected and would not be considered an upset due to the popularity of the song.

Album of the Year: This is the most prestigious award category at the Grammy’s and has been around since the first Annual Grammy Awards in 1959.

Nominations: “World Music Radio,” Jon Batiste; “the record,” boygenius; “Endless Summer Vacation,” Miley Cyrus; “Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd,” Lana Del Rey; “The Age Of Pleasure,” Janelle Monáe; “GUTS,” Olivia Rodrigo; “Midnights,” Taylor Swift; “SOS,” SZA

My Projected Winner: “SOS,” SZA

Every nominee deserves to be in contention to win this pristine award, but SZA’s breakthrough album, “SOS,” sets the bar close to perfection. The diverse and melodic album sets itself apart from the rest by incorporating multiple different genres all into one album. “SOS” includes songs like “Snooze” that is R&B and “F2F” that is a combination of pop and rock. “SOS” is a monumental album that people will reminisce about for years to come therefore is my pick to win Album of the Year.  

The Grammy’s are on Sunday, February 4th at 7 p.m. Central time on CBS. The prestigious award show will be hosted by comedian Trevor Noah for the fourth consecutive year and will have special performances by Olivia Rodrigo, Travis Scott, SZA and many more.