If Album of the Year is the biggest prize a musician can win when looking at a full body of work, Record of the Year is the same when it comes to a single track. Tus, naturally Forbes.com made a list of this year’s Grammy Winners and we could not agree more!
February 6th, 2019
Winning Record of the Year tells the musicians, producers, mixers and engineers behind the tune that they made the single that defined the year and that will be remembered for a long time to come…and while sometimes one cut does stand out from the rest, typically, it’s hard to determine what that is.
Here are the nominees, who we believe deserve to win the most, as well as the nominee we think, will actually take home the honor. The winner will be named at the sixty-first annual Grammy Awards, which air on Sunday, February 10 on CBS.
Record of the Year
Nominees:
Brandi Carlile – “The Joke”
Cardi B – “I Like It (ft. Bad Bunny and J Balvin)”
Childish Gambino – “This Is America”
Drake – “God’s Plan”
Kendrick Lamar – “All the Stars (ft. SZA)”
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – “Shallow”
Post Malone – “Rockstar (ft. 21 Savage)”
Zedd – “The Middle (ft. Maren Morris and Grey)”
Should Win: Childish Gambino – “This Is America”
Will Win: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – “Shallow”
This year, eight excellent songs are nominated for Record of the Year, and they range from acoustic singer-songwriter-style pop-rock to electronic dance music to hip-hop…so what’s going to end up bringing home the honor?
If we were picking the winners, we’d give the trophy to Donald Glover, known in the music industry as Childish Gambino, for his incredible one-off single “This Is America.” The song came out of nowhere on the weekend in the middle of 2018 when the actor/musician was hosting Saturday Night Live, and from the moment it was unleashed, it was a major smash. Not only is “This Is America” an excellently crafted piece of music that the masses can enjoy without thinking (should they choose to), it also makes important points about police brutality and race relations in this country (should everyone hearing it decide to accept the message it’s conveying). It’s timely and vital, and if any one track sums up 2018 in every way, it’s “This Is America.”
Also, it’s worth mentioning that “This Is America” was so popular upon arrival, it debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, which remains a rare feat. Only half of the nominees topped the chart, and one didn’t even reach the listing.
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section!
This article is a re-post, with small modifications, of “Grammy Predictions 2019” an article published on forbes.com by Hugh McIntyre.
Click here to visit the original content.
