
Luis Fonsi
Photo: Victor Chavez/WireImage.com
"Despacito" To Taylor Swift: 15 Potential Records On The Line | 2018 GRAMMYs
GRAMMY history will be made on Jan. 28. Records will be set. Milestones will be reached. No one knows exactly which records will be set, but here are 15 that potentially could come to fruition.
Which of these possibilities will become reality? Take your best guess and then be sure to watch the 60th GRAMMY Awards on Jan. 28 to find out.
1. "Despacito": Record, Song Of The Year
Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee's "Despacito" (featuring Justin Bieber) is nominated for both Record and Song Of The Year. It is vying to become the first entry that is primarily in a foreign language to win in either category since Domenico Modugno's "Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu (Volare)" in 1958. "Despacito" is mostly in Spanish. "Volare" was in Italian.
2. Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar: Record Of The Year
Jay-Z's "The Story of O.J." and Kendrick Lamar's "HUMBLE." are nominated for Record Of The Year. If either wins, it would become the first hip-hop recording to win in that category.
3. Bruno Mars: Record Of The Year
Bruno Mars' "24K Magic" is nominated for Record Of The Year. Mars won in this category two years ago as featured artist on Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk" Should Mars win again this year, he'll become the third artist to win both as a solo artist and as a billed part of a collaboration or duo/group. Norah Jones won on her own for "Don't Know Why" (2002) and with Ray Charles for "Here We Go Again" (2004). Paul Simon won on his own for "Graceland" (1987) and twice as half of Simon & Garfunkel.
4. Lorde: Album Of The Year
Lorde's Melodrama is nominated for Album Of The Year. Should Lorde win, this will be the first time in GRAMMY history that female solo artists have won in this category (as lead artists) three years in a row. Adele won the award last year for 25. Taylor Swift won two years ago for 1989.
5. "That's What I Like": Song Of The Year
Mars' "That's What I Like," with eight credited songwriters, is nominated for Song Of The Year. So are "Despacito," with six credited songwriters, and "Issues," with five. Should any of these songs win, it would set a new record as the Song Of The Year winner with the most co-writers. The current record, shared by seven songs, is four co-writers. (Interesting side note: All seven of those songs have come since 2000.)
6. Alessia Cara: Best New Artist
Alessia Cara is nominated for Best New Artist. Should she win, she'll become the first artist who was born in Canada to win in this category.
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7. Khalid: Best New Artist
Khalid is nominated for Best New Artist. The R&B singer/songwriter is just 19. (He'll turn 20 on Feb. 11, two weeks after GRAMMY night.) Should he win, he'll become the first teenager to win in this category since Christina Aguilera, who was 19 when she took the 1999 award. (One other teenager has taken the prize. LeAnn Rimes was just 14 when she took the 1996 award.)
8. The Chainsmokers & Coldplay: Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
The Chainsmokers and Coldplay are nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Something Just Like This." The smash is vying to become the first collaboration by two groups or duos to win a GRAMMY in the Pop Field since "Feel Good Inc." by the English virtual band Gorillaz and the American hip-hop trio De La Soul. That hit took the 2005 GRAMMY for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.
9. Body Count: Best Metal Performance
Body Count's "Black Hoodie" is nominated for Best Metal Performance. This would be the second career GRAMMY for the group's co-founder, Ice-T. He was featured on Quincy Jones' "Back On The Block," the 1990 winner for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group. It almost goes without saying that Ice-T would be the first musician to win in both of these disparate categories.
10. Bruno Mars: Best R&B Album
Mars' 24K Magic is nominated for Best R&B Album. Mars is vying to become the first artist who isn't African-American to win in this category, which was introduced in 1994.
11. Jay-Z: Best Rap Album
Jay-Z's 4:44 is nominated for Best Rap Album. Jay-Z first won in this category 19 years ago for Vol. 2 … Hard Knock Life. Should he win this year, he'll set a new record for the longest span of wins in this category. Eminem currently holds that distinction, with a 15-year span of wins (1999–2014).
12. Rapsody: Best Rap Album
Rapsody's Laila's Wisdom is nominated for Best Rap Album. Should it win, Rapsody would become the first female solo artist to win in this category, which was introduced in 1995. (One group that included a woman has won in this category. The Fugees, which featured Lauryn Hill, won the 1996 award for The Score.)
13. Taylor Swift: Best Country Song
Swift's song "Better Man" is nominated for Best Country Song. Should it win, Swift will become the first woman to win three times in this category. She previously won for co-writing "White Horse" (2009) and for writing "Mean" (2011). One man — Josh Kear — has won three awards in this category.
14. Chris Stapleton: Best Country Album
Chris Stapleton's From A Room: Volume 1 is competing for Best Country Album. Should it win, he'll become the first male solo artist to win twice in this category since the category was re-introduced in 1994.
15. Sara Caswell: Best Improvised Jazz Solo
Violinist Sara Caswell is nominated for Best Improvised Jazz Solo for her work on "Can't Remember Why," a track from Chuck Owen And The Jazz Surge's album, Whispers On The Wind. Should it win, she'll become the first female instrumentalist to win in this category.
(Paul Grein is a veteran music journalist and historian whose work appears regularly at Yahoo.com and Hitsdailydouble.com.)