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The Grammys are often a staid affair, with a generally older panel of judges known for making conservative and cautious choices.
This year's 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony, Sunday in Los Angeles' Staples Center, has a slightly different vibe.
The Album of the Year category alone is proof of a perhaps more progressive approach, as it features R&B icon Beyoncé, rapper Drake and pop superstar Justin Bieber. Singer Adele's inclusion was no surprise, though new country star Sturgill Simpson's nomination was unexpected, even if his genre makes him the next-closest thing to a traditional choice.
Whether Beyoncé's nine total nominations and DIY-rapper Chance the Rapper's seven translate into an evening outside the norm remains to be seen, of course. And attempting to strike a balance between new and old inevitably leaves someone unhappy, as fans stunned by the exclusion of the late David Bowie's "Blackstar" from the major categories will undoubtedly attest.
Whether the awards actually mean anything remains subjective, but the performances themselves at least usually prove entertaining. Among those slated to participate Sunday night are Beyoncé, Adele, Chance, Simpson, Bruno Mars and Katy Perry, as well as team-ups featuring Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood, The Weeknd and Daft Punk, and, perhaps most compelling, Lady Gaga and Metallica, among others.
As for the awards themselves, here's a subjectively semi-educated guess as to how things could — and should — turn out in the ceremony's four most major categories.
Album of the Year
Who should win • Beyoncé
Who will win • Adele
Comment • Cue the Beyhive's swarm. While Queen Bey's "Lemonade" was arguably the most culturally significant album of the past year, Adele's "25" was the year's top seller and, it will be argued, has more widespread appeal. Some suggest, meanwhile, that a victory by Simpson's "A Sailor's Guide to Earth" would not be that much of an upset, especially in the wake of his incendiary "Saturday Night Live" performance. Bieber's "Purpose" and Drake's "Views" are the other nominees, but are both considered long shots.
Record of the Year
Who should win • Beyoncé
Who will win • Beyoncé
Comment • This award, which amounts to Song of the Year for the performer, absolutely ought go to the song that was unquestionably the most talked-about of the year, Bey's "Formation." Remember last year's Super Bowl performance? She upstaged Coldplay with a performance of this track. Her main competition will be Adele's "Hello," while Rihanna (feat. Drake), Lukas Graham and Twenty One Pilots can all do the "just happy to be nominated" thing for "Work," "7 Years" and "Stressed Out," respectively.
Song of the Year
Who should win • Beyoncé
Who will win • Adele
Comment • The actual Song of the Year is for the songwriter(s), and while "Formation" ought to get the nod for the same reasons mentioned before, it seems unlikely the Grammys will totally overlook the "songcraft" they tend to love from a track such as "Hello" (co-written by Adele and Greg Kurstin). Quite unbelievably for anyone who finds Bieber to be an insufferable twerp, his "Love Yourself" (co-written by Bieber, Ed Sheeran and Benjamin Levin) is a dark horse here. Graham's "7 Years" and Mike Posner's "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" are the other nominees.
Best New Artist
Who should win • Chance the Rapper
Who will win • Chance the Rapper
Comment • An award that was in years past considered the kiss of death for the winner's future success, that seems unlikely for the increasingly popular Chicago native who completely eschewed a label and has never released a physical copy of an album. Kelsea Ballerini and Maren Morris deserve props for moving the country scene out of its party-bro dark ages, but they'll effectively cancel each other out. Anderson .Paak has been a critical darling but doesn't have the name recognition, while The Chainsmokers have perhaps too much bad name recognition lately in the wake of their infamous Billboard cover story and disastrous MTV Awards appearance.
Twitter: @esotericwalden 59th Annual Grammy Awards
At Staples Center, Los Angeles
When • Sunday, 6 p.m.
Host • James Corden
TV • CBS/Ch. 2