Beyonce and Adele Duel for Top Grammys Honors

As the music elite gathers in Los Angeles for the Grammy Awards on Sunday, one question circles: Will Beyoncé finally win the coveted Album of the Year award?

The 41-year-old has the best chance of winning Grammy gold with nine nominations, following the release of ‘Renaissance’, her rich, multi-layered ode to club music.

She’s a strong contender for the night’s main awards – but so is British ballad Adele, whose introspective ode to the ugly scream, ’30’, earned her seven nods.

The showdown drew obvious comparisons to 2017, when Adele scooped top awards at the music industry’s glitzy gala, excluding culture-shattering Queen Bey’s “Lemonade.”

Six years later, Beyonce has gone on to make history as the most Grammy-winning woman; with four more wins on Sunday, she could overtake classical conductor Georg Solti for the most wins of any artist.

But when it comes to the three big prizes – best album, best record and best song – Beyonce is curiously still an underdog.

It has never won Album of the Year honors and although it has the most nominations for Record of the Year with eight, it has never won that award either.

She only scored song of the year once, for “Single Ladies” in 2008.

But industry watchers, including Billboard, predict this will finally be the year Beyonce wins the Grammy for Album of the Year, arguably the most prestigious award of the night.

“I hope so, because she doesn’t deserve it?” Nile Rodgers, the co-founder of the group Chic who is credited with contributions to “Renaissance”, told AFP.

Rodgers, the Supremes, Nirvana and others will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy at Sunday’s ceremony.

“She’s arguably the most culturally significant artist in the world,” Merck Mercuriadis, the music publishing mogul who was once Beyonce’s manager, said at a pre-Grammy gala.

Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift in the mix

Beyond the Beyonce-Adele rematch, a slew of contemporary superstars, including Kendrick Lamar, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift, also have a strong chance of lifting the night’s major trophies.

The star-studded 65th Annual Grammys, once again hosted by comedian Trevor Noah, will include performances from Styles, Bad Bunny, Lizzo and Mary J. Blige.

“Tune in… if only for a free night of therapy!” Noah joked on Twitter.

Bad Bunny, arguably the world’s biggest commercial artist, has three chances to win a Grammy with his breakthrough hit “Un Verano Sin Ti,” also up for album of the year.

It’s the first time an all-Spanish album has had a chance at the coveted award, and it’s the first time the Puerto Rican reggaeton megastar has earned a solo nomination in major Grammy categories.

A Bad Bunny victory in this area “would mean a lot to all Spanish speakers and our culture, because it really says, ‘Hey, Spanish music is just as respected as English music and music really has no barriers. ‘” said Colombian artist Sebastian. Yatra told AFP.

Styles, Lizzo and Doja Cat are all among the top nominees, while pop juggernaut Swift could take home the Song of the Year award that has eluded her for years.

The superstar – who kept his vow to re-record his first six albums to gain control over his rights to them – has a shot at winning the award celebrating songwriters for his 10-minute version of ‘All Too Well’. “

“Surreal Week”

After several years of Grammys with clear best new artist favorites — Olivia Rodrigo, Megan Thee Stallion and Billie Eilish — Sunday’s race is wide open.

For Molly Tuttle, a bluegrass artist in the running, even a nomination means “that my music can reach a wider audience and new opportunities may arise for me”.

“It’s just been a surreal week. It’s been a whirlwind so far,” she said.

The category has become increasingly eclectic and reflects the impact of the internet age on popular music, and many nominees – including Brazilian Anitta, Eurovision rockers Maneskin and rapper Latto – have all found viral fame on TikTok.

“It’s cool,” said JD Beck, who, along with co-artist DOMi, forms their eponymous experimental jazz duo which is up for two Grammys this Sunday, including Best New Artist.

“We ignore everything, we try to be very insightful until it’s over,” he told AFP with a blasé smile.

“Yeah, focus on the game and not completely mess it up,” DOMi joked.

The Academy – made up of music makers including artists, composers and engineers – has also shortlisted a coterie of enduring industry stars for the Grammys, with Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson and ABBA each taking home a handful of awards. appointments.

No matter who wins, the attention of the Recording Academy boosted the career of Samara Joy, who, with a nod in the jazz categories, earned a shot at best new artist.

“You know, in the last few months a lot more people have started picking up the phone,” she told AFP with a laugh.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)