Sophia Michaels
This past year was an amazing one for new music. From Taylor Swift’s Lover to Ariana Grande’s Thank U, Next, 2019 brought plenty of fantastic releases. But some of the artists we were most excited by are much newer to the industry. Here’s a look at the first-time Grammy nominees who are favored to win in a few different notable categories. (Note: These predictions were made with the help of data from SEMRush.)
Billie Eilish
Not only is Billie Eilish the youngest artist ever nominated in the four most popular categories in one year, but she’s also up for two additional awards at the 2020 Grammys. She had an undeniably incredible year in 2019, and now she’s about to take on her biggest awards show yet.
Eilish is up for Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance for “Bad Guy” as well as Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for her debut “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” Additionally, her brother, Finneas O’Connell is nominated alongside her as a songwriter, and as an engineer for her album for the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.
Where do we expect her to win? Eilish has some fierce competition, but she’s a shoo-in for Best New Artis. And we wouldn’t count her out for Album of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.
Lizzo
It’s her first year as a Grammy nominee and Lizzo is up for the most awards of any single artist. While Eilish had a great year, it was Lizzo who has the most reach here, with nominations in both pop and R&B categories. Like Eilish, she’s also competing for all four of the biggest awards.
Another thing that makes Lizzo’s nominations unique? Her 2017 single, “Truth Hurts,” was determined eligible for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, as it was a sleeper hit. The track is included on Lizzo’s 2019 album, Cuz I Love You (Deluxe), as are the other two songs nominated.
Lizzo is a major contender for all of the awards she’s up for. We wouldn’t count her out for Best New Artist or for Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Jerome.” But we think her best chances are for “Truth Hurts” in its three categories, including Best Pop Solo Performance.
Lil Nas X
Coming in with six total nominations is another big 2019 name, Lil Nas X. The artist secured his place in history with “Old Town Road (Remix),” which brought with it a mash-up of rap and country music like we’ve never heard before. Coupled with its many remixes and the rapper’s casual coming out, and few can compete with the kind of year he had in 2019.
The young singer-songwriter is nominated in three of the four big categories, including Best New Artist and Record of the Year for the aforementioned hit. Lil Nas X is also up for Album of the Year for his debut EP 7, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video for “Old Town Road,” and Best Rap/Sung Performance for “Panini.”
Like the previous two artists, he is a strong contender for Best New Artist. But where his odds look even better are for “Panini” and in the duo/group category alongside collaborator Billy Ray Cyrus. Who doesn’t love to see genres mix?
Written by: CheatSheet
