Sunday’s Grammy Awards (CBS and Paramount+, 8 p.m. EST/5 PST) will likely feature some major historical moments in addition to the usual possibilities of shocks (can country singer Gayle defy the odds and win song of the year with her debut single, “abcdefu”)
Consider the all-time Grammy Award winner and the most successful rapper in history, to name a couple of potential high points.
It should come as no surprise that artists like Beyoncé, Taylor, and Adele are among those most likely to achieve those Grammy highs. We list the candidates who stand the best chance of making it into the Grammy record book.
Will Jay-Z and Beyoncé steal the show? Could Viola Davis add a G to the EGOT?
Expect some of the biggest names in music, as well as one amazing actress, to maybe make a splash:
Beyoncé and Jay-Z, the first musical pair, could go down in Grammy history as the most-awarded rapper and musician, respectively.
Despite how common she may be, Taylor Swift might eventually win song of the year this year, bringing the total number of gramophone statuettes to 12.
Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican singer, and the actor hopes to become the first performer to win album of the year recognition for a Spanish-language album.
For narrating her memoir, “Finding Me,” actress Viola Davis is nominated for a Grammy. If she wins, she will join a select group of EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) winners.
Could Beyoncé surpass every other Grammy winner ever?
Given that she has nine nominations this year, Beyoncé is probably going to surpass every other artist in terms of awards. She is currently tied with producer Quincy Jones for second place overall with 28 awards out of 79 nominations, having received 79 nominations in total. They are both seated behind 74-time Grammy nominee and Hungarian conductor Georg Solti.
As a member of the Destiny’s Child trio with the song “Say My Name,” Beyoncé earned her first Grammy in 2001. Despite all of that equipment, she has never taken home a Grammy for either the album of the year or the song of the year, two of the most prestigious awards. Both her album Renaissance and her single “Break My Soul” have been nominated this year.
Will Jay-Z surpass all other rappers to receive the most awards?
Given his four nominations compared to the man he wants to pass, who has none this year: Jay-Z, who has 24 Grammy Awards, is set to overtake him as the rapper with the most Grammy Awards in history. Kanye West has 24 as well.
The rapper from Brooklyn has received an astounding 88 nominations, including this year’s quartet that includes nominations for song of the year and album of the year (for his work on Beyoncé’s “Renaissance”) (for “Break My Soul”). He and his wife are tied for the most nominations, and they have both surpassed Paul McCartney, who has received 81 Grammy nominations to this point.
Will the extended version of “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift be her first song of the year to win?
Taylor Swift has accrued 11 Grammys from 46 nominations since winning her first Grammy in 2010 (for “White Horse” off of “Fearless”), including four in 2023.
However, she has a chance to go down in history this time. Swift has a chance with the 10-minute short film adaptation of “All Too Well,” her song about the turbulent relationship of a couple with a noticeable age gap. Despite never having won the coveted song of the year category (a songwriting honor), Swift has a shot. Similar to previous champions Lionel Richie and McCartney, Swift has received six nominations for this category.
Another opportunity exists for BTS to win the inaugural K-pop Grammy.
BTS made history by becoming the first K-pop group to be nominated for a Grammy in 2021 (their song “Dynamite” lost to Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande’s “Rain on Me” for best pop duo/group performance), while the year before they made history by becoming the first Korean band to perform on the show with Lil Nas X.
The smash song “Kiss Me More” by Doja Cat and SZA prevented another try at that historic K-pop Grammy first with their popular song “Butter” in 2022.
BTS has received three consecutive Grammy nominations this year, and with their Coldplay-written song “My Universe,” they have another opportunity to make history. Three categories include best pop duo/group performance, best music video (“Yet to Come”), and best album (for their contribution to Coldplay’s “Music of the Spheres”). The band is nominated in all three.
The album by Bad Bunny might be the first to win album of the year in Spanish.
The action film “Bullet Train,” in which Bad Bunny costarred with Brad Pitt, and the release of his hit-filled album “Un Verano Sin Ti” were just a few highlights of his eventful year (“A Summer Without You”).
The first Spanish-language album of the year Grammy, which Bad Bunny is currently in contention for, would be a significant indicator of the Recording Academy’s acceptance of the country’s multicultural reality. Bad Bunny is currently a nominee for album of the year.
Only two Latin artists—and neither for an album with Spanish-language songs—have been nominated for album of the year awards. They are Carlos Santana, a Mexican-born musician who triumphed in 2000 with “Supernatural,” and Cardi B, a nominee in 2019 for “Invasion of Privacy,” who lost to Kacey Musgraves’ “Golden Hour.”
Adele’s remote chance to make Grammy history
Adele is back in top form, and her efforts on the album “30” have earned her seven Grammy nominations for 2023. She’s been nominated for 25 Grammys and has 15 wins. But this year, the competition in all one of Adele’s categories is especially fierce.
But if she wins “Easy On Me” (her previous victories were for “Rolling In The Deep” and “Hello”), the British singer will create music history by becoming the first songwriter to win the song of the year award three times.
In addition to Bruno Mars and Paul Simon, she would be the first woman to achieve that feat if “Easy On Me” were to win the record of the year. And if she wins album of the year for the third time, she would enter an exclusive club that includes Taylor Swift, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, and Frank Sinatra. She will also become the first artist to win three straight albums.
