Grammy Awards 2015: What Are The Differences Among Song, Record And Album Of The Year? Categories Confuse Fans

There are more than 83 categories at the 57th annual Grammy Awards so its understandable that things can get a little confusing. Fans might be wondering about the difference between Song, Album and and Record of the Year. If you're one of the Grammy awards viewers asking yourself why Album and Record of the Year of two different categories, fear not! We’ll make sense of all the category crossovers.

At first glance, Song and Record of the year can look like the same category. Both award individual songs, and all but one of the nominees in each for the 2015 ceremony are identical -- “Stay With Me” by Sam Smith, “Chandelier” by Sia, “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift and “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor. However, there is a difference!

Song of the Year honors the songwriter and is judged only on the composition of the song. Record of the Year, on the other hand, awards the track as a whole, factoring in the vocal performance, production and instrumentation. This explains how “Take Me To Church” by Hozier can be nominated for Song of the Year for its passionate lyrics and melody, but last left off of Record of the Year, while “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea, a relatively simple song from a songwriting standpoint, can make the cut for Record of the Year thanks to its tight production.

Now, while colloquially people may use the term “record” to refer to an album, the Grammys don't. For the Grammys, record only denotes one song. Album signifies a compilation of new material, as in the Album of the Year category.

Do the the confusing awards descriptions make a little more sense now? Click here to watch 57th annual Grammy Awards live on CBS.

Who do you think will win Song and Record of the Year? Tweet your thoughts to @Ja9GarofaloTV.