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by Albert Rodriguez
SGN A&E Writer
When 2015 closes out, Adele's 25 will claim the top spot on the year's biggest selling albums list. It achieved this feat in a single week with nearly 3.5 million units sold, on the strength of its leadoff single "Hello," which also broke sales records. But neither will be up for Album, Record or Song of the Year when nominations for the Grammy Awards are revealed on December 7. That's because the Grammys, the music industry's top accolade, don't operate on a calendar year. The eligibility period stretches from October 1 of the previous year to September 30 of the current. This makes Adele's album and first released track ineligible for 2016's awards, though they're expected to vie for 2017's batch of prizes.
That said, let's take a look at possible contenders for this year's Grammy Awards in six categories.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Although Adele finished strong, 2015 really belonged to Taylor Swift. The pop giant commanded the charts for most of the year with a string of hits, "Bad Blood," "Style," and "Wildest Dreams," plus a sold out stadium tour that landed her at Seattle's CenturyLink Field in early August. "Shake It Off" made the cut for last year's Grammys, but 1989 didn't come out until October 24, 2014, and thus makes it a prime contender going into Monday's nominations. The blue ribbon panel that selects nominees for the General Field categories Album, Record, Song of the Year, Best New Artist likes to feature a mix of genres, so expect Kendrick Lamar's critically-acclaimed To Pimp a Butterfly to represent the hip hop side and perennial favorites Foo Fighters to be included from the rock world, unless Alabama Shakes' beautifully crafted Sound & Color squeaks by them. From the country field, it's either Chris Stapleton's CMA-winning Traveller or a long shot, Kacey Musgraves' sophomore effort, Pageant Material, and if the R&B genre claims one of the five slots, it'll go to Black Messiah by D'Angelo or Wildheart by Miguel. 1989 and The Weeknd's Beauty Behind the Madness are the pop frontrunners.
Probable nominees:
1989 Taylor Swift
To Pimp a Butterfly Kendrick Lamar
Sonic Highways Foo Fighters
Traveller Chris Stapleton
Beauty Behind the Madness The Weeknd
Could sneak in:
Sound & Color Alabama Shakes
Black Messiah D'Angelo
Wildheart Miguel
A Head Full of Dreams Coldplay
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful Florence + the Machine
Before This World James Taylor
Cass County Don Henley
Longshots:
Pageant Material Kacey Musgraves
Currents Tame Impala
Art Angels Grimes
Servant of Love Patty Griffin
RECORD OF THE YEAR
Swift has two opportunities to nab an ROTY nod, as 2014's "Blank Space" and 2015's "Bad Blood" (featuring Kendrick Lamar) are both eligible. But the behemoth is "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson (featuring Bruno Mars), which flooded the airwaves and became more of a phenomenon than a hit single. Other pop contenders include Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud," The Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face," Walk the Moon's "Shut Up and Dance," and Jason Derulo's "Want to Want Me." If a country tune makes the cut, look for Stapleton's "Tennessee Whiskey" or Little Big Town's CMA-Single and Song of the Year winner "Girl Crush" to be included, and from the R&B and rap field the battle is between Miguel's "Coffee" (featuring Wale), Wiz Khalifa's "See You Again" (featuring Charlie Puth), or Lamar's "Alright."
Probable nominees:
Blank Space Taylor Swift
Uptown Funk Mark Ronson (featuring Bruno Mars)
Can't Feel My Face The Weeknd
Girl Crush Little Big Town
Alright Kendrick Lamar
Could sneak in:
Bad Blood Taylor Swift (featuring Kendrick Lamar)
Tennessee Whiskey Chris Stapleton
Thinking Out Loud Ed Sheeran
See You Again Wiz Khalifa (featuring Charlie Puth)
FourFiveSeconds Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney
Cheerleader Omi
Biscuits Kacey Musgraves
Take Your Time Sam Hunt
Longshots:
Adventure of a Lifetime Coldplay
Budapest George Ezra
Where Are U Now Skrillex and Diplo (with Justin Bieber)
American Kids Kenny Chesney
SONG OF THE YEAR
Song of the Year, awarded to the songwriter(s), has traditionally pitted sappy ballads and easy listening hits against each other, yet recently has featured a more eclectic, hipper group of nominees. Many of the ROTY contenders are favorites here as well, though a few outsiders, such as John Legend and Common's Oscar champ "Glory" could pull a surprise, as could Sia's "Elastic Heart."
Probable nominees:
Blank Space
Can't Feel My Face
Thinking Out Loud
Girl Crush
Glory
Could sneak in:
Uptown Funk
Bad Blood
Elastic Heart
Biscuits
FourFiveSeconds
Take Your Time
Longshots:
Tennessee Whiskey
Budapest
Fight Song
BEST NEW ARTIST
This is where things get wonky. You might recall that Hozier and Meghan Trainor received Song of the Year nominations last December for "Take Me to Church" and "All About That Bass," respectively. Trainor actually scored an ROTY nod as well. But because both artists released their full-length albums after October 1, 2014, they now qualify for this year's Best New Artist category, and both are considered shoo-ins going into Monday's announcement. Joining them will likely be country newbie Sam Hunt, pop group Walk the Moon, singer songwriter Vance Joy, and possibly alternative vocalist FKA twigs. Scottish electro trio Chvrches, for some inexplicable reason, is on the ballot, despite having breakthrough success already two years ago with their debut album. It'll be interesting to see who the Grammy folks nominate from a very long list of contenders.
Probable nominees:
Hozier
Meghan Trainor
Sam Hunt
Walk the Moon
Vance Joy
Could sneak in:
Chvrches
Twentyone Pilots
Tori Kelly
Tinashe
Fetty Wap
FKA twigs
Tove Lo
George Ezra
Elle King
Thomas Rhett
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats
Troye Sivan
Longshots:
James Bay
Tobias Jesso Jr.
Courtney Barnett
The Chainsmokers
Allen Stone
BEST DANCE/ELECTRONIC RECORDING
As EDM becomes increasingly popular, so does this category featuring singles and tracks. In a highly competitive field, it seemed certain that Major Lazer's "Lean On" with MO and DJ Snake would not only be nominated, but would capture the award. Strangely, however, it was submitted in the pop field. This opens the door widely for Galantis' "Runaway (You & I)," Disclosure's "Bang That," Zedd's "Beautiful Now" (featuring Jon Bellion), and Diplo and Skrillex's "Where Are U Now" collaboration with Justin Bieber. I'd love to see Alesso's "Heroes (We Could Be)" with Tove Lo sneak in, or The Chainsmokers' "Roses" (featuring Rozes).
Probable nominees:
Runaway (You & I) Galantis
Bang That Disclosure
Beautiful Now Zedd (featuring Jon Bellion)
Where Are U Now Diplo and Skrillex (with Justin Bieber)
Monument Royksopp & Robyn
Could sneak in:
Go The Chemical Brothers
Heroes Alesso (featuring Tove Lo)
Real Love Clean Bandit & Jess Glynne
Never Catch Me Flying Lotus (featuring Kendrick Lamar)
74 Is the New 24 Georgio Moroder
BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM
Always competitive, this category spotlights some of the best bands and most innovative artists in all of music; case in point: 2015 winner St. Vincent for her critically praised self-titled album. Previous winners Wilco are almost guaranteed a spot with Star Wars, as is Alabama Shakes with Sounds & Color, plus Tame Impala's Currents, which would give the Australian group back-to-back nominations in this race; ditto for Cage the Elephant, who could score again for Cigarette Daydreams. Northwest act Modest Mouse could make it in, as they have in the past, with their latest work, Strangers to Ourselves, though Seattle-based Death Cab for Cutie's Konsigi was submitted for Best Rock Album. The female trio Sleater-Kinney is also a serious threat with their reunited effort No Cities to Love.
Probable nominees:
Star Wars Wilco
Sounds & Color Alabama Shakes
Currents Tame Impala
No Cities to Love Sleater-Kinney
Vulnicura Bjork
Could sneak in:
Strangers to Ourselves Modest Mouse
Cigarette Daydreams Cage the Elephant
The Waterfall My Morning Jacket
Better Nature Silversun Pickups
M3LL155X FKA Twigs
Depression Cherry Beach House
Carrie & Lowell Sufjan Stevens
Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit Courtney Barnett
Broke With Expensive Taste Azalia Banks
What Went Down Foals
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