Grammys 2017 Predictions: Who Will Win Album Of The Year?

The nominations for the 2017 Grammys are finally here and feature the usual artists with a few surprises thrown in. As expected, Beyoncé leads all nominees with nine nominations including record of the year, album of the year and song of the year.

Not too far behind Bey are Rihanna with eight, Drake with seven and Kanye West with six. Newcomers Lukas Graham find themselves in the running for record of the year and song of the year while Mike Posner’s “I Took a Pill In Ibiza” also snuck into song of the year category. Drake also found his album, “Views,” in the field for album of the year. Check out our predictions for some of the major awards below:

Record of the Year

• “Hello” – Adele
• “Formation” – Beyoncé
• “7 Years” – Lukas Graham
• “Work” – Rihanna Featuring Drake
• “Stressed Out” – Twenty One Pilots

While song of the year is awarded to the songwriter, record of the year is all about the song itself. Being as big of hit as it was this year, Beyoncé should expect to take home the award.

Prediction: Beyonce - “Formation”

Album of the Year

• “25” – Adele
• “Lemonade” – Beyoncé
• “Purpose” – Justin Bieber
• “Views” – Drake
• “A Sailor's Guide to Earth” – Sturgill Simpson

It’s not often a black artist wins the illustrious album of the year – since 1959, only 10 have – but Beyoncé could be added to the small list. While Adele is an industry darling, who has won AOTY in 2012, it’s hard to deny “Lemonade’s” impact in 2016.

Prediction: Beyoncé - “Lemonade”

Song of the Year

• “Formation” – Beyoncé
• “Hello” – Adele
• “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” – Mike Posner
• “Love Yourself” – Justin Bieber
• “7 Years” – Lukas Graham

Song of the year and album of the year don’t go hand in hand, so don’t expect the Queen Bey to win this one. Danish pop group Lukas Graham has a real shot at winning the award for their hit song “7 Years,” but expect Adele to take the award.

Prediction: Adele - “Hello”

Best New Artist

• Kelsea Ballerini
• The Chainsmokers
• Chance the Rapper
• Maren Morris
• Anderson .Paak

The best new artist award is always a tough one to pick. Chance The Rapper should be the frontrunner after he took over music in 2016 but Anderson .Paak and The Chainsmokers may make it difficult for him. Morris and Ballerini will also make it tough as country artists have taken the award before.

Prediction: Chance the Rapper

Best Rap Album

• “Coloring Book” – Chance the Rapper
• “And the Anonymous Nobody” – De La Soul
• “Major Key” – DJ Khaled
• “Views” – Drake
• “Blank Face LP” – ScHoolboy Q
• “The Life of Pablo” – Kanye West

When it comes to rap music, the Grammy committee tends to get it pretty wrong. With Drake being a favorite when it comes to hip-hop awards, he may be expected to win, but historically, Kanye West has done very well in the best rap album category, winning four times. Chance the Rapper is the dark horse, but with the Grammys nominating a mixtape (“Coloring Book”) for the first time, Chance could continue his amazing year.

Prediction: Chance the Rapper - “Coloring Book”

Best Rap Song

• “All the Way Up” – Fat Joe & Remy Ma Featuring French Montana & Infared
• “Famous” – Kanye West Featuring Rihanna
• “Hotline Bling” - Drake
• “No Problem” – Chance the Rapper Featuring Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz
• “Ultralight Beam” – Kanye West Featuring Chance the Rapper, Kelly Price, Kirk Franklin & The-Dream

With Drake in the field, it’s easy to say he will win. While Kanye’s “Ultralight Beam” may have been one of the year’s best rap songs, Chance the Rapper a real shot at cleaning up in the rap categories.

Prediction: Chance the Rapper - “No Problem”

Best Rap/Sung Performance

• “Freedom” – Beyoncé Featuring Kendrick Lamar
• “Hotline Bling” – Drake
• “Broccoli” – D.R.A.M. Featuring Lil Yachty
• “Ultralight Beam” – Kanye West Featuring Chance the Rapper, Kelly Price, Kirk Franklin & The-Dream
• “Famous” – Kanye West Featuring Rihanna

D.R.A.M.’s “Broccoli” probably won’t get serious consideration but it should. But with “Broccoli” out, Kanye West may take the award for his collaboration with Chance, Kelly Price, Kirk Franklin and The-Dream.

Prediction: Kanye West - “Ultralight Beam”

Best Pop Solo Performance

• “Hello” – Adele
• “Hold Up” – Beyoncé
• “Love Yourself” – Justin Bieber
• “Piece by Piece (Idol Version)” – Kelly Clarkson
• “Dangerous Woman” – Ariana Grande

It’s hard to argue against Beyonce or Adele taking this award but Ariana Grande has become a favorite in the music industry and for good reasons. What Grande lacks in size she makes up for in voice.

Prediction: Ariana Grande - “Dangerous Woman”

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

• “Closer” – The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey
• “7 Years” – Lukas Graham
• “Work” – Rihanna Featuring Drake
• “Cheap Thrills” – Sia Featuring Sean Paul
• “Stressed Out” – Twenty One Pilots

If “Closer” doesn’t win this award it would be a shock. The Chainsmokers’ single has been a monster hit this year and it would be difficult to find a bigger pop song this year.

Prediction: The Chainsmokers - “Closer”

Best Pop Vocal Album

• “25” – Adele
• “Purpose” – Justin Bieber
• “Dangerous Woman” – Ariana Grande
• “Confident” – Demi Lovato
• “This Is Acting” – Sia

Justin Bieber has a shot at taking this award home but expect the race to be between Adele and Ariana Grande. Adele is the easy bet but Grande could pull off the upset.

Prediction: Ariana Grande - “Dangerous Woman”

Best R&B Performance

• “Turnin’ Me Up” – BJ the Chicago Kid
• “Permission” – Ro James
• “I Do” – Musiq Soulchild
• “Needed Me” – Rihanna
• “Cranes in the Sky” – Solange

Both Rihanna and Solange are very deserving of this award and it’s tough to choose between either of them. Solange was a favorite of critics in 2016 but Rihanna’s work was also lauded this year.

Prediction: Solange “Cranes in the Sky”

Best R&B Song

• “Come See Me” – PartyNextDoor Featuring Drake
• “Exchange” – Bryson Tiller
• “Kiss It Better” – Rihanna
• “Lake By the Ocean” – Maxwell
• “Luv” – Tory Lanez

If you ask many R&B fans, out of this list, Bryson Tiller has the best song but Tory Lanez’s hit song and Maxwell’s comeback single may challenge him.

Prediction: Maxwell - “Lake By the Ocean”

Best Urban Contemporary Album

• “Lemonade” – Beyoncé
• “Ology” – Gallant
• “We Are King” – KING
• “Malibu” – Anderson .Paak
• “Anti” – Rihanna

This will finally settle the year-long debate: who had the better album, Beyoncé and Rihanna? While Anderson .Paak’s album is nothing to scoff at, this battle is clearly between Bey and Rih.

Prediction: “Lemonade” - Beyoncé

The 59th Annual Grammy Awards air on CBS on Feb. 12, 2017 in Los Angeles.